World’s biggest stock rout deepens as Thai market rescue falters
Seven months after $4.5 billion was newly injected into the Vayupak Fund, analysts have been left perplexed by how little it’s helped the benchmark SET Index. The stock gauge has tumbled more than 16% this year, making it the world’s worst performer among 92 indexes tracked by Bloomberg. Over the past 12 months, foreigners pulled out $4.2 billion, the most across Southeast Asia.
At the heart of weak investor sentiment is a lack of confidence that policymakers will be able spur the economy beyond tourism, as well as deep-rooted concerns about high household debt, political uncertainties and corporate scandals. US President Donald Trump’s tariff war is adding to the headwinds as a stronger dollar has forced investors to flee from emerging markets.
The faltering rescue plan — which aims to revive the stock market by investing into local firms — is offering policymakers and investors a warning about the ability of state-run investment funds to spur markets. What Thailand’s government does next will determine its status among market peers.
When authorities announced fundraising for Vayupak last August, analysts lauded the news, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgrading Thai stocks on expectations it would help attract foreign capital. Political instability and poor corporate earnings had roiled Thailand’s markets for much of 2024, and officials pinned their hopes on a stock market renaissance on the fund.
Live Events
The market rallied for a while before the challenges set in. Government data showed that Thailand’s