Executives of CAT Telecom, an international long-distance phone service provider, have said the political crisis last month is responsible for the company’s ten per cent drop in revenue. However, they believe the company will still be able generate five billion baht in profits this year. Thanwadee Wongtheerarit, a vice-president of CAT Telecom, has admitted that other than the increasingly fierce competition in the long-distance phone service market, the company has also been affected by the recent political unrest and the financial crisis in Europe.

Go here to see the original:
CAT Blames Political Crisis for 10% Drop in Revenu

The output of other sectors was also affected during the recent crisis, although less markedly because they had been growing slower than the sectors linked to external demand.
The continuation of certain government policies, especially the pension to the elderly and free education should also support higher consumption levels for the poor. The longer-term goal of reducing reliance on external demand will take time, especially given political uncertainties that hinder the government’s ability to implement not only its investment program but also needed structural reforms.

In any case, Thailand’s strong rally in 2009 should still be considered in context.
But while Thai bosses may feel powerless to change market perceptions about political risk, plenty can be done to at least separate one’s company from the herd. Too many Thai companies have free floats and trading liquidity that are too constrained to attract institutional investors.

The modern Thai capital market can essentially be divided into two phases, beginning with “The Bangkok Stock Exchange” which was privately owned, followed by the establishment of “The Securities Exchange of Thailand”.

The inception of the Thai stock market began as far back as July 1962, when a private group established an organized stock exchange as a limited partnership. The group later became a limited company and changed its name to the “Bangkok Stock Exchange Co., Ltd.” (BSE) in 1963.
Despite its well-intended foundation the BSE was rather inactive. Annual turnover value consisted of only 160 million baht in 1968, and 114 million baht in 1969. Trading volumes continued to fall sharply thereafter to 46 million baht in 1970, and then 28 million baht in 1971. The turnover in debentures reached 87 million baht in 1972, but stocks continued to perform poorly, with turnover hitting an all time low of only 26 million baht. The BSE finally ceased operations in the early 1970s.

It is generally accepted that the BSE failed to succeed because of a lack of official government support and a limited investor understanding of the equity market.