THAILAND MAINTAINS ‘BB’ SOVERIEGN RATING…FOR NOW

According to Allianz affiliate and country risk rating firm Euler Hermes, Thailand has maintained its ‘BB’ sovereign rating, despite the recent political unrest which saw former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ousted in a bloodless military coup on September 19 ^th . “Due to its solid economic infrastructures, the country seems to have little exposure in the short term but, failing a rapid return to democracy, it could encounter difficulties in the medium term,” said Phillipe Brossard, research director at Euler Hermes. The current economic conditions, says the ratings fir, are quite different from those in 1997 when the country suffered an economic meltdown. Companies are better managed, the currency floats more freely, the stock market is far less speculative and the macroeconmic infrastructures are far more solid.