Thailand was at the center of the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997.
The crisis became acute when Thailand abandoned its long-standing peg of the baht to the U.S. dollar on July 2, 1997. The baht then fell sharply, exposing weaknesses in Thailand’s banks, finance companies, and heavily indebted businesses.
Financial pressure spread across East and Southeast Asia. Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines experienced severe currency and market turbulence, while stock markets and property markets suffered major declines. International investors withdrew capital, worsening the regional shock.
The International Monetary Fund arranged a major assistance program for Thailand in August 1997. Although Thailand was the starting point of the crisis, Indonesia and South Korea later required especially large rescue programs. The event is often called a currency crisis, but its stock-market consequences were a major part of the broader financial collapse.