Bangkok · Situation
Raising capital in Bangkok
Fundraising fails on preparation far more often than on the business. The model does not reconcile to the accounts, the cohort data does not exist, the cap table has an old convertible nobody modelled, and the founder spends the diligence period building things they should have had a year ago.
This is the single most common trigger for a first fractional CFO. The mandate has a defined start and a defined end, and the person who runs it should have sat on the other side of the table.
What this calls for
- A financial model that reconciles to the statutory accounts
- Historic cohort, retention and unit economics data
- A clean cap table with all instruments modelled through to exit
- A data room built before diligence starts, not during it
- Someone who can hold the diligence conversation without the founder in the room
What is specific to Thailand
- Severance runs to 400 days of uncapped wages while employer social cost is capped at THB 10,500 a year. A bad executive hire is cheap to carry and ruinous to exit.
- Each foreign executive on payroll needs THB 2m of registered capital and four Thai employees. A consulting contract avoids the quota.
- Statutory audit and TFRS compliance are annual and mandatory even for tiny companies, so the recurring need is a few days a month of senior judgment, not a full-time seat.
- Authority in Thailand is documented, not implied. The DBD company affidavit names the authorised directors and the signing condition, so a fractional CFO who is not a registered director cannot sign bank mandates, tax filings or contracts. Every Thai engagement has to resolve the signatory question separately, usually with a limited power of attorney.
The Bangkok numbers
Fractional, per monthTHB 120,000–350,000/month (USD 3,700–10,700), typically THB 150,000–250,000 at two days a week. Advisory-only mandates — a monthly board pack and a call — run THB 50,000–90,000.
Full-time, all-inBase THB 250,000–450,000/month for a Bangkok CFO or COO. All-in with 13th month, bonus, medical and car allowance: THB 4.5m–8.0m a year, roughly USD 138,000–245,000.
SeveranceLabour Protection Act s.118: 30 days’ wages at 120 days’ service, 90 at one year, 180 at three, 240 at six, 300 at ten, and 400 days — about 13.3 months — at twenty years. No wage cap. Payment in lieu of notice on top, and restructuring terminations can reach 360 days.