Thailand Falls 5 Places In Investment Risk Rankings

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INVESTMENT

Thailand falls 5 places in investment risk rankings

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thailand is ranked the 47th-safest investment destination in Euromoney magazine's latest survey of country risk.

This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July.

Meanwhile, Singapore is ranked the third-safest investment destination in Asia, followed by Hong Kong, in a long-standing survey that ranks countries and territories according to economists' and risk specialists' perceptions of economic, political and structural risk.

Both Singapore and Hong Kong are now considered safer than Germany, the United States and Britain by participating economists.

Taiwan and Japan are ranked third and fourth respectively in the region, with both jurisdictions receiving improved ratings from economists in the past 12 months.

However, India, Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka all bucked the positive Asian trend.

More than 400 economists and country-risk specialists from a range of financial institutions take part in the Euromoney survey, evaluating the risks faced by international investors in more than 180 markets.

The experts were asked to score each country or territory out of 10 across 15 variables of sovereign risk, including metrics such as bank stability, government finances, hard and soft infrastructure and institutional risk. Each variable was then weighted to give an overall score out of 100 (100 = no risk; 0= maximum risk). The expert scores were then averaged to provide a country risk score.

The first-quarter results indicate that Singapore, which has been the highest-rated Asian sovereign market in the poll since 2010, is now considered one of the safest investment destinations in the world, having climbed three places in 2011 to third globally, with a score of 88 out of 100.

Singapore is now rated ahead of Luxembourg, Sweden and Canada in the ratings, thanks to strong scores for both economic and political risk. The island state is also considered to have the most stable banking sector in the region, ahead of Macau in second place.

China

Mainland China, which came 35th globally with a score of 62 out of 100, has also performed well, rising five places in the past 12 months. It ranked ahead of Italy and Spain but behind Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar in the global survey.

China's scores in the economic section came under pressure in the first quarter as economists lowered their scores for economic outlook and bank stability after the softer economic data from that country in the last six months.

South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan also performed well in the rankings, each rising by more than one place since March 2011.

India's country-risk ranking declined seven places after it received declining scores for political and economic risk.

Vietnam fell 14 places after receiving declining scores in the survey indicators for economic outlook, monetary policy/currency stability and bank stability since March 2011. The country is currently rated 85th globally, alongside Ghana and Mongolia.

Sri Lanka's country-risk ranking fell nine places in the past 12 months as economists awarded the country lower scores in the indicators for corruption, institutional risk, regulatory policy environment and government stability.

It now ranks 81st globally, below Azerbaijan and Serbia.

North Korea and Laos are considered the continent's riskiest countries by participating experts.

-- The Nation 2012-04-12

[Pib]

Political instability,corruption, and disaster risks will do that to a country.

[CalgaryII]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

Edited April 12, 2012 by CalgaryII

[Hyponeros]

The plane story, putting a focus on the government unrealybility on paying bills must have had a bigger impact than the democratical election of a new government!

[Clayton777]

What do you thinks going to happen when Thaksin comes back, more civil unrest and tempers flaring !

[drdoom6996]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

fixed, by who?

[CalgaryII]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

fixed, by who?

Voters.....Not complicated.

[h90]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

Mr. Abhisit was voted from the majority in the parliament. The same as Samak and Somchai.

Surayud and not Abhisit was coup installed and from all the best premier Thailand had since Chuan.

[mowgus]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

fixed, by who?

Voters.....Not complicated.

Except that voters in Thailand vote based on who gives them the most money (read: votes are bought). They don't vote based on who they think will do the best job. Then again....that's not that far off from almost every other democratic country. It's just more 'in your face' here.

I don't think the rating drop was a surprise to anyone. Well, anyone with any sense. Just look at Thai stock prices during the flood or political unrest. When I invest in other countries, I know that an economic drop will most likely only be temporary...who knows with Thailand. They need longer term stability to get an investment nod.

[Tbone]

No big surprise here . . . . . so where is the SAFEST investment destination . . . . or is that a secret???

[bigbamboo]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

Maybe the confidence rankings have slipped because the 'stable' Thai government is run by a man who is a fugitive from justice having been found guilty by the Thai courts of corruption.

For your average foreign investor that must be a worry.

[JSL]

No big surprise here . . . . . so where is the SAFEST investment destination . . . . or is that a secret???

Sweden

[WhizBang]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Sorry if you are offened because someone dissed your sweetheart.

At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

Fixed? Are you joking? This is just the calm before the storm.

[Hyponeros]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

Mr. Abhisit was voted from the majority in the parliament. The same as Samak and Somchai.

Surayud and not Abhisit was coup installed and from all the best premier Thailand had since Chuan.

Abhisit the best PM Thailand had??? Says who? The neo-fascist royalists?

[osiboy]

so shocked by this news, never thought there were better places to loose your life savings your home ,car and business than thailand

[how241]

No big surprise here . . . . . so where is the SAFEST investment destination . . . . or is that a secret???

Sweden

Based on what ? More info, please.

[how241]

What do you thinks going to happen when Thaksin comes back, more civil unrest and tempers flaring !

Give the Thais some time. Even the USA politicial system isn't perfect after 200+ years.

[belg]

as you can never own your own company on your own land in this country, who is willing to invest much of anything anyway ?

Edited April 12, 2012 by belg

[TackyToo]

Why is nobody mentioning- Thailand the hub of avalanches...?

[anterian]

1. Singapore is ranked the third-safest investment destination in Asia, followed by Hong Kong,

2. Taiwan and Japan are ranked third and fourth respectively in the region.

I am confused!

[JetsetBkk]

1. Singapore is ranked the third-safest investment destination in Asia, followed by Hong Kong,

2. Taiwan and Japan are ranked third and fourth respectively in the region.

I am confused!

It's "The Nation" reporting - guaranteed to confuse and obfuscate.

[h90]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

Mr. Abhisit was voted from the majority in the parliament. The same as Samak and Somchai.

Surayud and not Abhisit was coup installed and from all the best premier Thailand had since Chuan.

Abhisit the best PM Thailand had??? Says who? The neo-fascist royalists?

Sorry I meant Surayud was the best, not Abhisit

[Crushdepth]

Apparently Afghanistan rated as the 48th safest place for investment, with hell in 49th position.

[lovetotravel]

At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

The political risk has been increased. Courtesy of Mr. Thaksin. If he would leave well enough alone, Thailand would be doing much better. And yes, political instability would be fixed then.

[pisico]

Political instability,corruption, and disaster risks will do that to a country.

May I add a few qualifiers to your accurate quote?

Endemic corruption, political instability and governments' indolence to prepare for and/or enact effective plans to lessen the effect of known seasonal disasters such a floods. The inaction of Thailand to the Dutch offer of help boggles the mind. They know a thing or two about dealing with water after reclaiming nearly 40% of their territory from the sea.

We have not heard it all yet from the foreign companies that are planing to pull out of Thailand. We will never hear again from the many small Thai companies devastated by the last floods.

Would you invest your money in such a country?

[roamer]

Political instability,corruption, and disaster risks will do that to a country.

May I add a few qualifiers to your accurate quote?

Endemic corruption, political instability and governments' indolence to prepare for and/or enact effective plans to lessen the effect of known seasonal disasters such a floods. The inaction of Thailand to the Dutch offer of help boggles the mind. They know a thing or two about dealing with water after reclaiming nearly 40% of their territory from the sea.

We have not heard it all yet from the foreign companies that are planing to pull out of Thailand. We will never hear again from the many small Thai companies devastated by the last floods.

Would you invest your money in such a country?

Many TV members do invest in Thailand, condominiums, houses, a business, land. The values of all these things can go pear shaped when the

[Chris Lawrence]

Political instability,corruption, and disaster risks will do that to a country.

That sounds like Greece.........

[Chris Lawrence]

What the Nation won't show is the list. I can't understand the coment on Mrs Y? Much of the disaster felief that was put in place for the floods in Bangkok was put there by the previous government?

The Nation's reporting is usually disjointed; they haven't disapointed with this story. Its a shame that TV readers have to put up with this diatribe of poor information. They could have expanded this to be a reasonable report.

[tingtongfarang]

Political instability,corruption, and disaster risks will do that to a country.

That sounds like Greece.........

Greece has corruption at a different level or different caliber and as a guest there as we are in thailand would,nt be so noticable..ie not slapped in your face around every corner, Still not many companys invest in greece i think mostly because of the similar work ethics to the thais,

I lived in greece for 14 years..built a house, invested and worked, I have many friends there who did similar or in many cases more extravagant and risky investments which they or i would never even contemplate in thailand,

Apart from government corruption and work ethics there is little to compare between thailand and greece.

Edited as i just now remembered the similar driving style and lack of concern for safety...condition of government hospitals or emergency services...ah f#ck it...they are comparable.

Edited April 12, 2012 by tingtongfarang

[hellodolly]

"This marks a fall of five places as the Kingdom received deteriorating scores for political risk after the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister last July"

Quickly slip in some agenda here. Maybe no-one will notice.....why not!

Never mind that the 15 variable risks have no correlation to political risk and Ms. Y......... Would the coup installed electoral minority Govt. of Mr. Abhisit - the unelected chosen one - have done better........... Considering the slippery political slope he was on, I somehow don't think so. I would suggest that the electoral 'righting of the good ship politics in Thailand" probably prevented a slide greater than this one of five places. At least the political instability problem has been fixed.

So you are saying that Yingluck is so bad Thailand slipped down five places when she took over from Abhist who you say was on a slippery political slope.

Well we agree on that point she is really bad. But I think she is cute and has a nice smile.