Vinayaganae Part 1

Beyond India and Hinduism

Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of many Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.[190]

Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures.[191] The period from approximately the 10th century onwards was marked by the development of new networks of exchange, the formation of trade guilds, and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders.[192] The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.[193]

Hindus migrated to the Malay Archipelago and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them.[194] Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the Malay Archipelago in great numbers, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences.[195] The gradual spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region.[196] In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles.[197] Even today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.[197]

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha#Beyond_India_and_Hinduism