The investment climate is the fundamental socio-economic framework in which firms operate – the macroeconomic and trade policies they face, the labor and financial markets in which they recruit and raise money, the available infrastructure and imposed regulations, as well as all other areas of public policy impacting on private business.
In Thailand, the uncertain political situation since 2006 has negatively affected the country’s economy. The Productivity and Investment Climate Survey, which was fielded in 2007 at a time of great political instability and policy uncertainty, clearly reflected the pessimistic views of business managers. One interesting finding of the recently released Thailand Investment Climate Assessment Update is that instability and economic policy uncertainty became major issues – firms that perceived it a major or severe obstacle doubled from one-third in 2004 to two-thirds in 2007.
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