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Thailand plays down unrest impact on foreign investment

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Thailand's finance minister on Monday said anti-government protests had not deterred foreign investors in the country, but said its tumultuous politics were "impossible to understand".

"Broadly speaking, we're not seeing any signs yet that investors are staying away because of the political situation," Korn Chatikavanij told reporters at an Asian investment conference in Hong Kong.

"The main issue... is that we manage it in a civilised manner within the rules of law and under democratic principles," he said.

"On the government side, we intend to fully adhere to that and deal with the issues being raised."

But the minister conceded that historically, Thailand's reputation for political unrest had been an impediment to investors.

One of the issues "is that we have politics that is impossible, frankly, to understand", he told the investment conference, organised by Credit Suisse.

Korn's comments came as the government extended a security law and supplied personnel guarding key sites with weapons, raising the stakes in a standoff with thousands of protesters loyal to deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin -- who still enjoys strong support for the populist economic policies he introduced when in power -- was ousted in a 2006 coup. He has been living abroad, mostly in Dubai, to avoid a jail term for corruption.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-03-22

Published with written approval from AFP.

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[Jonathanpattaya]

It doesn't seem to be affecting confidence if the strength of the Baht is any indication.