In Thailand, demonstrations and the reform agenda carry on side by side. Last month's protests against the government of prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva may have caught the international headlines but they did nothing to deter investors who have faith in the administration's market-friendly approach.
It undoubtedly helps that the Thai finance minister, Korn Chatikavanij, is a former investment banker and his instincts are to promote competition, the free movement of capital and efficient markets. All the same, for many governments this would be the time to lay low and hold off on new measures until the political storm had passed.
