REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANGKOK - Continuing political uncertainty, derailed infrastructure plans and sliding domestic demand are making big Thai companies look more keenly at investing elsewhere in the neighborhood rather than in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.

At the Reuters ASEAN Summit, two of the country's largest companies, Siam Cement PCL SCC.BK and Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods PCL CPF.BK, outlined growth strategies that are now firmly focused outside their home country.

"We are investing more in ASEAN and less in Thailand, where we focus on high value-added products," Siam Cement chief executive Kan Trakulhoon said during an interview in Reuters Bangkok office on Thursday.

CP Foods told the summit how it is targeting 75 percent of company revenue to come from foreign operations within the next five years, up from 65 percent currently.

"Growth in emerging countries will surpass the domestic market," said chief executive Adirek Sripratak, noting his company plans to expand in nearby Philippines and Vietnam.

On Friday, there was another piece of gloomy data on the Thai economy, as factory output fell for the 11th straight month in February, by 4.4 percent compared with a Reuters poll forecast for a 3.5 percent drop.

For months, the outlook for growth has worsened even though officials hope exports - which account for about 60 percent of the economy - will rise and lift the economy this year.

The central bank recently cut its 2014 economic growth forecast to 2.7 percent, compared with 4.8 pct last October, just before anti-government protesters took to the streets to seek the removal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Indonesia can overtake

That political uncertainty has been weighing on foreigners who invest in Thai securities. A March 14 research note from Nomura showed foreigners have been net sellers of Thai equities this year, with net sales of 837 million USD. Indonesia and Philippines by contrast have seen net purchases by foreigners of 1.01 billion USD and 171 million USD, respectively, so far in 2014.

The chief executive of PT Astra International (ASII.JK), Indonesia's largest listed company by market capitalization, said it anticipates that Southeast Asia's largest economy could overtake Thailand as the region's biggest auto market within two years. Thailand is also a major production base for international auto manufacturers, but Indonesia is hoping to supplant it in coming years.

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