Donald Trump's protectionist policies aside, rising political risk in Southeast Asia is casting a shadow over economies that have been a driver of global growth in recent years.
Foreign investors pulled out of Thailand stocks at the fastest pace this year in October. The Philippine peso has sunk close to levels last traded during the global financial crisis. Malaysia's currency is also in a funk.
The common denominator is heightened political risk — from President Rodrigo Duterte's stinging attacks on the U.S. and his violent crackdown on crime in the Philippines to the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Thailand that's removed an anchor of stability in the country. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, meanwhile, is embroiled in a funding scandal that's being investigated by authorities around the world.
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