Asia strong despite political mess

Korea, Thailand and Taiwan have all experienced political volatility in recent months. But according to Barings, the recent coup in Thailand, the diplomatic crisis in North Korea, and the large scale protests in Taiwan, do not represent a common theme of political instability threatening to affect the strength of Asian markets. Khiem Do, Baring’s head of Asian multi-asset, said: “Obviously, the markets didn’t react well when North Korea announced the nuclear test. "The market fell by 2.5pc and the Korean won weakened by 1.5pc. The sentiment on the Korean stockmarket throughout t...