Which 1997 crisis began when Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange rate for the baht and spread across Asian markets?

The 1997 crisis that began when Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange rate for the baht and spread across Asian markets was the Asian financial crisis.

Thailand devalued the baht on 2 July 1997 after pressure on its foreign-exchange reserves made the currency peg difficult to defend. Investors then reassessed other economies with large foreign debts, fragile financial systems, or heavily leveraged companies.

Currency declines and falling stock markets spread through Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The turmoil also reached Hong Kong and contributed to a worldwide market sell-off, although its economic effects varied from country to country.

The International Monetary Fund arranged major assistance programs, including a large package for South Korea. The crisis is often called the Asian financial crisis rather than simply a stock-market crash because collapsing currencies, banking failures, corporate debt, and equity-market losses were closely linked.