Chinese hotpot restaurants were closed down amid a foreign business crackdown in Bangkok's 'new Chinatown'.

At least 12 Chinese-funded establishments operating without licenses were shut down by authorities in the city's Huai Khwang district last month.

Paitoon Ngammuk, director of the Huai Khwang District Office, said around 20 Chinese businesses - including restaurants, spas, hotels, and supermarkets - have sprouted in the district in the past year alone.

However, some of them were found to allegedly be violating the Foreign Business Act as they did not have the proper business permits.

Local media also reported that the area had been linked to Chinese 'grey businesses' in Thailand due to its rapid growth. Many restaurants had been identified as suspected money laundering outfits for profits from dugs, people trafficking and illegal gambling.

The crackdown was launched in a bid to curb the shady businesses, though some owners, citing rental constrictions, reportedly refused to comply with the rules and opted to shut down instead.

Praphruk Hankijjakul, Huai Khwang District representative at the Bangkok Metropolitan Council, said: 'Business is crashing. Foreign tourists and local people used to flock to visit the Ganesh shrine at the corner of the Huai Khwang intersection. They crossed the road to the neighborhood and stopped at restaurants to enjoy food and drinks.

'These days, the area is nearly empty. Chinese tourists are turning to other places.'

Undesirables from China have become attracted to Thailand in recent years due to its lax law enforcement, in contrast with the oddly effective rewards system for good behaviour and crackdown on disobedience that has been enforced across the Communist state.