CrazyExpat Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 The economic resilience that saw companies from Ford Motor Co. (F) to Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) invest in Thailand even amid its worst political violence in two decades may be tested next month as polls indicate a win for the party removed from power twice in the past five years. Pheu Thai, backed by exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, led the ruling Democrats by 13 percentage points in a poll released June 18 by the National Institute of Development and Administration. The army, which deposed Thaksin in 2006, has warned voters to avoid picking the “same thing” as previous times; disputes over the last election led to airport seizures, arson attacks and protests that killed more than 100 people. Clashes between rural and urban voters in the country of 67 million people didn’t stop successive governments embracing trade and foreign investment or deter tourist arrivals, which jumped to a record in 2010. The economy last year grew the fastest since at least 1995, and Thai stocks were among the world’s 10 best performers. “Our companies have endured coups over the last few decades and survived,” Hugh Young, who helps manage $70 billion in Asian equities at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd., said by e-mail. “We’re just watching and hoping for the best” from the July 3 vote, he said. The ability of the world’s top exporter of rice and rubber to also attract manufacturers that account for 40 percent of gross domestic product makes the economy more vulnerable to global setbacks than domestic troubles. Thai GDP fell 2.3 percent in 2009 amid a global recession, then jumped 7.8 percent last year. The government’s planning agency sees growth between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent this year as global demand slows. For full article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-21/thai-election-may-test-economic-resilience-that-lured-dow-ford.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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