Stocks shine as Thais, Filipinos nurture stability

The two Asian nations with the region's best performing stock markets in the past year are unlikely havens for global investors: Thailand and the Philippines.

Both are better known for troubled politics but have outshone higher-octane neighbors as new leaders nurture relative calm.

The PSE benchmark in the Philippines has soared 29 percent. Thailand's SET index is up a whopping 33 percent.

By contrast, an index compiled by MSCI that tracks stocks in 12 Asian countries is up a ho-hum 2 percent.

The Philippines, long blighted by a succession of deeply corrupt governments, has gained a measure of credibility due to the stability ushered in by the 2010 election of President Benigno Aquino III.

Thailand too has benefited from an improvement in its politics.-The Philippine Star (October 17, 2012 4:46PM)