Which 1997 event triggered a major Southeast Asian stock-market collapse after Thailand devalued its baht?

The 1997 event triggered by Thailand’s baht devaluation was the Asian financial crisis. Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate arrangement on 2 July 1997, allowing the baht to float after intense pressure on its reserves.

The crisis spread through financial and currency markets across East and Southeast Asia. Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines were among the economies heavily affected, although the effects differed by country. Falling currencies increased the local-currency burden of foreign-currency debts, while investors withdrew capital and equity markets declined.

The International Monetary Fund organized major rescue programs for Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea. The crisis also prompted debate about short-term capital flows, fixed exchange rates, bank regulation, and the social costs of austerity. It is sometimes called the Asian currency crisis because exchange-rate collapses were central, but stock markets, banks, companies, and households were all affected. The Mexican peso crisis occurred in 1994–95, while Russia’s major crisis came in 1998, making those names unsuitable for this event.