The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Singapore

India, Malaysia and Thailand face the highest political and social risk among Asia-Pacific countries in 2009, mainly because of internal instability, a political risk consultancy said.

India's highest risk score of 6.87 on a scale of 10 also reflected fears over Pakistan, the Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said in a report, warning of social unrest and insecurity if things worsened in the neighbouring nation. The consultancy assessed 16 countries on factors such as the risk of disruptive political change, the threat posed by social activism and vulnerability to policy changes by other governments. A score of zero represented the best socio-political situation and 10 the highest risk.

Contributing to India's high score was uncertainty over the outcome of general elections next year, rising communal violence and increased militant attacks, PERC said in the report released on Monday.