1997 Asian financial crisis

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A financial crisis gripped much of East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. It began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1999 was rapid, and worries of a meltdown quickly subsided. Originating in Thailand on 2 July, where it was known as the Tom Yum Kung crisis (Thai: วิกฤตต้มยำกุ้ง), it followed the financial collapse of the Thai baht after the Thai government was forced to float the baht due to lack of foreign currency to support its currency peg to the U.S. dollar. Capital flight ensued almost immediately, beginning an international chain reaction. At the time, Thailand had acquired a burden of foreign debt. As the crisis spread, other Southeast Asian countries and later Japan and South Korea saw slumping currencies, devalued stock markets and other asset prices, and a precipitous rise in private debt. Foreign debt-to-GDP...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Original: Max Roser, Low vision version: Angkun-ane, CC BY 4.0