Thai stocks, currency plunge over election uncertainty

Thai stocks and the baht currency tumbled on Thursday as uncertainty deepened about a February election that anti-government forces are determined to block in their bid to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The benchmark index dropped 2.7 percent to a four-month low of 1,263.72 before the midday break and the baht lost for a 10th straight day against the dollar. Investors are worried a February 2 poll will not go ahead, leaving Yingluck’s government exposed to prolonged attacks by opponents.

National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut said on Thursday security agencies were considering declaring a state of emergency after protesters said they would try to “shut down” the capital from January 13.

“The situation has intensified,” Paradorn told a news agency. “We may need to call for tougher measures and security agencies have planned for that.”

The latest bout of political tumult erupted in November after a blunder by the ruling Puea Thai Party, which tried to push through an unpopular amnesty bill that would have annulled the jail sentence of Yingluck’s self-exiled brother and former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, the divisive tycoon at the heart of eight years of on-off conflict.

Protesters say Yingluck is a puppet of Dubai-based Thaksin, who they call a corrupt crony capitalist who has subverted a democratic system that needs to be suspended and overhauled.

Yingluck dissolved parliament on December 9 to defuse massive street protests. However, calling a new election she is almost certain to win has had the opposite effect, sparking deadly clashes, mysterious shootings and concerns about military intervention or legal paralysis.