Unrest, coup curb investment proposals in Thailand

BANGKOK, June 10 (Reuters): The value of applications to invest in Thailand fell 42 per cent in January-May from a year earlier, the Board of Investment (BOI) said on Tuesday, referring to a period of political unrest culminating in a military coup.

Months of political unrest also hurt consumption and cut public spending. The army seized power on May 22 in a bid to restore order and business confidence.

The total value of investment applications fell to 308 billion baht ($9.5 billion) in the first five months of this year from a year earlier, Udom Wongviwatchai, the BOI's secretary-general, said in a statement.

Within that, foreign investment requests dropped 10 per cent to 230 billion baht, he said.

Investment requests from Japan, Thailand's biggest investor, fell to 72.8 billion baht in the first five months, Udom said. He gave no comparison but the BOI website gave a figure of 168 billion baht for the same period last year, meaning requests had dropped 57 per cent this year.