Acronym Definitions

Term Definition
BOI and BOI Company The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is a government body aimed at encouraging foreign investment in Thailand. A Thai company can enjoy a range of benefits from being certified by the BOI. Major advantages of setting up a BOI company in Thailand include, but are not limited to: significant tax waivers, multiple work permits without the requirement of showing four Thai employees per permit, four hour processing times for work permits at One Stop Service Centre and even the ability to own land, even if the company is majority controlled by non-Thai nationals.
LLC Limited Liability Corporation
LLP Limited Liability Partnership
LOI An LOI or Letter of Intent is a letter written by a buying party and presented to a selling party in anticipation of conducting some initial investigation into whether or not the business may suit them to proceed further in the purchase process.

It serves two main purposes. Firstly it details what the buying party wishes to learn or corroborate before deciding to proceed any further (and before an offer is considered or made). Secondly, it will be authorized by the buying party's person who has authority to deal with the purchase and it will introduce that person or people who will be acting on their behalf.

LOI's are really only used for purchases of larger businesses (typically M&A), where the person or people making the initial enquiries are only representatives of the Buyer. They are rarely used for small business purchases.
Ltd Limited Liability Company
MLS Multiple Listing Service
NDA An NDA is a 'Non-Disclosure Agreement', also referred to by other names, like Confidentiality Agreement and Proprietary Information Agreement, etc, is a legal contract between two or more parties. It is used in business transactions where the parties agree to keep certain information confidential. NDAs are frequently used in commercial real estate and business transfers.
ROI Return on Investment

In terms of buying businesses, commercial properties or buying into a business partnership, ROI is more commonly used to define a period (ie, ROI period) It is used by Buyers to determine the value they should pay. Effectively, Buyers want to know how long it will take for them to have their investment returned. So in terms of buying businesses and commercial properties, ROI is really ROI period.

For example, a Buyer may be willing to invest (say) SGD 500,000 in a restaurant (for example) if they receive an after tax profit of that half a million over a set time period. The period is pretty much up to the Buyer or Investor. So if the Buyer wants a ROI of (say) three years or less then, to be suitable for the Buyer, the business should be able to demonstrate it makes at least SGD 167,000 net profit each year.
SPA Sale and Purchase Agreement

Sometimes also called a Sales Agreement, it is a contract between Buyer and Seller, typically agreed and signed on the date a deposit is made to purchase/sell a business. It details the price, conditions and terms of the sale/transfer and is typically drafted by the Broker or the Buyer