Foreigners selling out of Thailand fast as King's death clouds outlook

Singapore

OVERSEAS investors are pulling money from Thailand's stocks at the fastest pace this year.

Foreign funds sold a net US$514 million of Thai equities last month, more than five times as much as from the Philippines, with the bulk of the outflows coming after the Oct 13 death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who had been a source of political stability in a country wracked by numerous coups. While the SET Index has recovered most of its losses from a plunge in the days before the 88-year-old monarch died, valuations remain a concern at a level 22 per cent above the 10-year average.