The Shutdown Bangkok Protests: How Safe of an Investment is Thailand?

The “Shutdown Bangkok, Restart Thailand” protests and seemingly never ending series of political crises in Thailand may have emerging market investors in the iShares MSCI Thailand Index Fund (THD), the Thai Fund Inc (TTF), the Thai Capital Fund (TF) or the (soon to be launched) DMS Thailand Select 33 Index Fund feeling on edge. But having just been to Bangkok where I observed some of the protests, I think the impact of this latest Thai political crisis compared with previous ones is being blown out of proportion by Western media as the real political test for Thailand has yet to come while the country itself faces the same root problem increasingly faced by all democracies (including our own).

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Note: All photos in this article were taken by myself on Tuesday, February 25, 2014. I have uploaded the over 100 pictures I took of the protests here plus a couple of videos in a YouTube playlist here to give you a sense of what the Western media may not be showing as the protests, at least during the weekday when I was there, are much less dramatic than previous ones.

What is the Cause of Thailand’s Latest Political Crisis?

In case you are not a follower of Thai politics, here is a quick summary of the political quagmire that Thailand has fallen into in recent years:

To read more, go to the complete article on our SeekingAlpha page by clicking here. Likewise and if you are interested in our other articles about the iShares MSCI Thailand Index Fund, the Thai Fund Inc, the Thai Capital Fund or the (soon to be launched) DMS Thailand Select 33 Index Fund or about investing in the Thailand, visit our Thailand tagged articles here.

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