The 1997 Thai currency collapse that helped trigger the Asian financial crisis was called the Tom Yum Kung crisis.
Thailand abandoned its long-standing exchange-rate peg on July 2, 1997, allowing the baht to float after intense pressure from currency traders and a sharp loss of foreign-exchange reserves. The baht then depreciated substantially, making dollar-denominated debts much more expensive for Thai companies and financial institutions.
The crisis spread across Asia as investors reassessed currencies, banks, and heavily indebted corporations. Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies experienced currency pressure, falling stock markets, capital outflows, and recessions. The International Monetary Fund organized major assistance programs, including a package for Thailand.
“Tom Yum Kung” is the name commonly used in Thailand, after the country’s spicy and sour shrimp soup. It is not the same as Mexico’s 1994–95 Tequila Crisis or Russia’s 1998 ruble crisis, although all involved severe financial stress.