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 For decades, Thailand’s rotating-door politics was a sideshow for companies and investors. The recent eight-day seizure of Bangkok’s airports by anti-government protesters changed that.

“They could camp out in Government House for five years and nobody would really notice,” said Christopher Bruton, a director at Bangkok-based Dataconsult Ltd., which does market research for companies looking to invest in Southeast Asia. “But camp out in the airport and you get noticed pretty quickly.”

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Bloomberg:

 For decades, Thailand’s rotating-door politics was a sideshow for companies and investors. The recent eight-day seizure of Bangkok’s airports by anti-government protesters changed that.

“They could camp out in Government House for five years and nobody would really notice,” said Christopher Bruton, a director at Bangkok-based Dataconsult Ltd., which does market research for companies looking to invest in Southeast Asia. “But camp out in the airport and you get noticed pretty quickly.”

...

“In the past when there was a problem, most of the protesters would directly go to the government,” said Pramon Sutivong, president of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, in an interview. “But this time we feel the protesters went too far by taking the country’s economy as a hostage to force what they are trying to do.”

...

As long as the constitution favors unelected bureaucrats and judges over elected politicians, instability will continue, Kristina Kazmi, an Asia analyst, wrote in a report for IHS Global Insight, a U.S.-based research firm.

“If the parliament does indeed elect a prime minister, the PAD does not approve of, the same cycle of protests and deadlock will start again,” she wrote in the Dec. 2 report.

Similar protests may push some new investment to other Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, because such lawlessness encourages street gangs in Bangkok, some business leaders said.

“Even investors who have known Thailand for a long time are afraid things might get out of hand,” said Nandor von der Luehe, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers

The Nation:

Thailand's projected economic growth for 2009 has been revised downward by research houses to between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent, on the back of rapidly falling global demand and domestic political concerns. A UOB KayHian report yesterday said the gloomier macroeconomic outlook had prompted its economic team to aggressively downgrade Thailand's economic growth projection for next year.

It has scaled down projected growth from the previous 3.2 per cent to only 0.5 per cent.

"The recent political blow-out, which resulted in atemporary shutdown of both international airports, will have serious implications for the Kingdom's economic outlook," UOB KayHian said.

DBS Global Research issued a report yesterday cutting its growth forecast for Thailand in 2009 to 1.5 per cent, from the previous prediction of 3.2 per cent. The 2008 growth forecast has also been revised downward, from 4.9 per cent to 4.4 per cent.

"The reduction in growth comes mainly from a weaker fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009, led by a disappointing export performance," it said. "In Thailand's case, domestic political developments are also a concern. If the Democrats come back to power, it is possible that we will see a resolution to the political crisis, but it is too early to be sure about this."