Which 1997 crisis began when Thailand devalued the baht and spread across East Asia?

The Asian financial crisis began when Thailand devalued the baht in July 1997 and spread across East Asia.

Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate arrangement on 2 July 1997 after heavy pressure on the baht. Currency depreciation, capital flight, corporate debt, and fragile banking systems then produced severe stress in Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies.

The crisis was not simply a stock-market crash: currencies, banks, companies, and national economies were all affected. The International Monetary Fund arranged major assistance programs, notably for Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea, while governments introduced reforms and austerity measures. A common mix-up is treating the event as exclusively Thai; Thailand supplied the starting point, but the crisis became regional.