Risks are rising sharply in Thailand, says a survey of expatriate business executives which rates Singapore as Asia's least risky economy and Indonesia the worst.
The Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said yesterday in its latest survey that "risks are rising sharply in Thailand as a result of the continuing domestic political problems and the possibility of social unrest."
It added that "conditions could deteriorate in 2007."
Thailand's military ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup last September. The junta has promised to hold elections and a return to democracy by the end of this year.
Of the 14 societies surveyed by PERC, "Thailand is the one that foreign investors should perhaps monitor most closely in the months ahead for changes that could affect business risks," it said.
Thailand's recent moves to impose currency controls and limit foreign stakes in Thai companies have shocked foreign traders and business people.
In a best-to-worst ranking from zero to 10, Singapore got an overall score of 2.74, beating Japan which was in second place with a grade of 3.13, PERC said in the survey.
Singapore's score was slightly lower than Australia's 2.69 but better than that of the US at 3.15. Australia and the US were included in the Asian survey as a basis for comparison, PERC said.
Excluding those two nations, Hong Kong came in third after Japan with a score of 3.33, followed by Malaysia at 4.66, Taiwan at 4.76, South Korea at 4.78 and Vietnam at 5.36.
China was in eighth place with a grade of 5.44, followed by Thailand at 5.49, the Philippines at 5.74, India at 6.24 and Indonesia at 6.79.
The PERC survey measured risks relating to domestic politics, social instability, institutions, human resources, physical factors and external developments to get an average overall ranking.
While Singapore retained the overall lead, perceptions of the domestic political situation "worsened slightly" from five years ago and threats from external risks saw a "big" rise, PERC said.
The increasing vulnerability to external developments is a result of more Singapore firms expanding overseas where risks are higher and beyond the control of the government to manage, PERC said.
"As can be seen in the case of Temasek's investment in Shin Corp in Thailand, these investments potentially expose Singapore to new economic and diplomatic problems," the consultancy said.
State-linked investment firm Temasek Holdings last year bought Thai telecom giant Shin Corp from Thaksin's family. The deal sparked protests that led to Thaksin's ouster.
Singapore was in fourth place behind Japan, Australia and Hong Kong in the variable measuring social instability risks and was in 10th place when measured against external political risks.
PERC said that while Indonesia received the worst score overall, "perceptions have improved considerably over the past five years" due to improvements in domestic political and social disorder risks. It said the main problem in Indonesia is that "its key institutions are weak, while its physical and human infrastructure is poor."
INFRINGEMENT: The investigation comes after a complaint from Vicor Corp, with the company seeking a limited exclusion order as well as cease-and-desist orders, the ITA said The US International Trade Commission (USITC) has launched a Section 337 investigation naming Taiwanese technology companies, including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), as respondents. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) pledged assistance if needed. The USITC said on Friday in a statement that it had voted to institute an investigation under Section 337 of the US Tariff Act of 1930 into certain vertical power delivery systems, related components and computing devices incorporating such systems. The investigation covers 20 companies from Taiwan, China, Germany and the US, the commission said, adding that it
INDUSTRY STANDARD: Most global semiconductor companies have tied employee bonuses directly to corporate profits, the union said, urging Micron to do the same Micron Memory Taiwan Co’s (台灣美光) Taoyuan union secured strike authorization yesterday after a six-day vote, ramping up pressure on management to build a reasonable profit-sharing mechanism. Before the strike, the Taoyuan union “encourages” members to join a protest in Taipei on Oct. 19, union chairman Jerry Lin (林哲瑞) told a news conference in Taipei. The union did not rule out staging a snap strike, Lin said. The union has 2,258 registered members, with 88.3 percent backing the strike, he said. The vote comes as Micron’s board of directors is meeting today and tomorrow in the US. The union expects the board to respond
Elon Musk said his business empire would build and operate Terafab independently, quashing speculation about industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) swooping in to run his ambitious chipmaking venture. Based in Texas, the Terafab project is Musk’s effort to break into the business of fabricating chips, in service of his companies Tesla Inc and SpaceXAI. While Musk had said that he was in discussions with TSMC, the trillionaire clarified in an X post yesterday that the only matter under consideration is for TSMC potentially leasing some part of the planned site and would not involve any operational role. “Maybe TSMC
PACKAGING PUSH: The chipmaker said that it would begin ramping up silicon interposer production in New York in the first half of 2028 to support AI systems GlobalFoundries Inc shares gained as much as 7 percent after the chip manufacturer announced a five-year, US$2 billion deal to provide US production capacity to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電). Under the agreement, announced on Thursday, GlobalFoundries is to help supply components known as silicon interposers. The US company is to rely on manufacturing at its facility in Malta, New York, and said it has the option to expand capacity “as customer demand grows.” An interposer is a small layer of silicon that sits between a chip and its packaging. It is home to the wires that carry electronic signals and
RSS