THAILAND

Japanese Investors Still Positive: Japanese investors are reassessing Thailand since the recent political unrest but still regard it as Southeast Asia’s brightest hope, analysts said. Mingsaarn Kaosaard of the Thai Development Research Institute said inadequate communications and rising land costs had made the Japanese think twice about investing in Thailand even before the army turned its guns on pro-democracy protesters in Bangkok. “Even with these problems, Thailand is a better prospect than others in the region,” she said. “Its economy is freer than most members of ASEAN (the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations).” Thailand attracted $5 billion in foreign investment last year, $1.79 billion from Japan.