FACTBOX-Perceptions of Thai political risk
(For the main story click [ID:nBKK479462] and a Q+A on Thai protests [ID:nBKK470377])
Oct 17 (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters rallied on Saturday to demand a petition calling for a royal pardon for fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra be submitted to the country's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The demonstration by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship took place in Bangkok two days after concerns about the king's health triggered a seven percent plunge in the Thai stock market as panicked investors offloaded their Thai assets.
Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning monarch, is seen as a unifying figure in the country of 67 million people. He has been treated in hospital since Sept. 19 for fatigue, loss of appetite and pneumonia, the Bureau of the Royal Household said.
Following are indicators showing perceptions of Thai political risk compared with its regional peers.
IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT COUNTRY RISK RATINGS
Risk analysis firm IHS Global Insight assigns countries an overall risk rating of 1 to 5. The higher the number, the greater the perceived risk for companies operating in that country. Here's the IHS latest rankings, issued in October.
Thailand Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Political 3.25 2.75 2.50 2.75 Economic 3.00 2.50 2.75 2.50 Legal 2.50 2.50 3.25 2.25 Tax 2.50 2.00 2.50 2.75 Operational 2.75 2.25 3.00 2.50 Security 2.75 2.25 2.75 3.75 --------------------------------------------------------------- -
WORLD BANK WORLDWIDE GOVERNANCE INDICATORS
The WGI project, backed by the World Bank, produces a comprehensive set of annual indicators for six dimensions of governance. The numbers represent the country's relative world ranking, with 100 being the highest and 0 the lowest.
Detailed trend in Thai governance rankings:
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Political Stability 12.9 17.3 19.7 28.4 31.7 Voice and Accountability 32.2 30.3 30.8 50.0 55.3 Government Effectiveness 58.8 60.7 64.9 66.4 64.5 Regulatory Quality 59.9 56.3 59.0 64.4 62.9 Rule of Law 54.1 52.4 53.8 55.7 54.3 Control of Corruption 42.9 45.4 51.0 54.4 50.5
Trend in regional rankings for political stability:
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Thailand 12.9 17.3 19.7 28.4 31.7 Singapore 96.2 91.8 94.2 89.4 89.9 South Korea 59.8 62.5 59.6 63.9 63.0 Vietnam 56.5 56.3 60.6 59.1 55.3 Malaysia 50.2 52.4 56.7 62.5 57.2 China 33.5 32.2 35.6 38.5 41.3 Cambodia 34.4 26.9 31.3 30.8 30.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------
ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT POLITICAL INSTABILITY INDEX
In an analysis published in March, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the world's countries according to their vulnerability to social or political unrest.
Countries were rated from 1 to 10. The higher the number, the greater the perceived vulnerability to unrest.
The table below shows the rating for Thailand and other Asian nations, as well as their ranking among 165 countries analysed. Zimbabwe was ranked the most vulnerable with a score of 8.8, and Norway was in 165th place with a rating of 1.2. Country Rating Ranking Thailand 7.0 38 Cambodia 8.0 4 Pakistan 7.8 7 Myanmar 7.1 33 Indonesia 6.8 51 Philippines 6.8 53 Malaysia 6.5 63 South Korea 5.1 116 Laos 5.1 116 China 4.8 124 India 4.5 135 Hong Kong 4.0 146 Japan 3.8 150 ---------------------------------------------------------------- (Compiled by Andrew Marshall and Martin Petty; Editing by John Chalmers)
