Three Chinese food delivery platforms under scrutiny

The Department of Business Development (DBD) has launched an investigation into the operations of three Chinese-language food delivery platforms, catering mainly to Chinese tourists and expatriates, to determine whether they are legally registered or whether they have used Thais proxies as shareholders.

The platforms named by DBD Director-General Poonpong Naiyanapakorn are Gokoo, Feixiang (Flying Elephant) and E-Gets which, he said, have become popular among Chinese tourists and residents who are experiencing a language barrier.

Citing an initial investigation report, he said that the three platforms were registered in the form of limited liability companies, with two of them being majority-owned by Thai partners and the third is majority-owned by Cambodians.

Gokoo Online was registered on September 21, 2020, with 30 million baht registered capital. 80% of the shareholding is held by Thais. The Fly Holding (Thailand) company, which operates the Feixiang platform was registered on September 1, 2021, with 25 million baht registered capital. It is 51% owned by Thai nationals.

E-Gets Technology (Thailand) which operates the E-Gets platform was registered on August 3, 2023, with 20 million baht registered capital. The company is 90% owned by Cambodians and was granted investment privileges by the Board of Investment.

Poonpong said that the DBD is coordinating with relevant agencies to check the sources of funding of the three companies, the management structure and the relationships of the shareholders, to determine whether the Thai shareholders are serving as nominees.

He warned that companies operating reserved businesses and which are using Thais as nominee shareholders will face a maximum imprisonment of three years, a fine of between 100,000 baht and one million plus a daily fine of between 10,000-50,000 baht if convicted by the court.

He said the three platforms use the Chinese language as a means of communication with their clients and payments are made through various online channels, which are now under investigation.

He insisted that the DBD has placed importance on fair business competition and protecting the interests of Thai businesses.