Thailand was the starting point of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The crisis became acute on July 2, 1997, when Thailand abandoned the baht’s fixed exchange-rate arrangement and allowed the currency to float. The baht then depreciated sharply, exposing heavy foreign-currency debts and weaknesses in Thailand’s financial sector.
Financial pressure spread across East and Southeast Asia. Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies faced currency declines, capital outflows, bank failures, or emergency international assistance. The International Monetary Fund arranged a major support program for Thailand, followed by programs for Indonesia and South Korea.
Thailand is the correct starting point, although the crisis was regional and had multiple causes. A common mistake is naming Indonesia because its economic and political upheaval became especially severe. Another is calling it only a stock-market crash: currency markets, banks, property markets, and sovereign finances were all deeply involved.