Thailand is in the grip of another bout of civil unrest. The Philippines is still recovering from a devastating typhoon. Southeast Asia does not look the most obvious place for an investor to put his or her money now, but the region has also been home to some of the best-performing stock markets in the world over the past five years.

In the early 1990s, when visitors to China still had to pay their hotel bills using foreign exchange certifcates, southeast Asia was a favourite among western investors. Money poured in, attracted by young and rapidly urbanising populations and relatively open economies.

But in 1997 the party ended, as governments, companies and consumers in the region struggled to service the debts they had accumulated. Currencies and stock markets slumped. The IMF was called in to bail out several countries. Malaysia reimposed capital controls.