Thailand's currency crisis helped trigger the 1997 Asian financial crisis and related stock-market crashes.
On July 2, 1997, Thailand abandoned its attempt to maintain the baht's fixed exchange-rate regime and allowed the currency to float. The baht then depreciated sharply. Investors, lenders, and companies across the region faced growing doubts about foreign-currency debts, property bubbles, banking systems, and exchange-rate arrangements.
Financial stress spread to other Asian economies, including Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Stock markets fell, currencies weakened, businesses failed, and several countries required international assistance. The crisis was not caused by a single identical weakness everywhere; local banking and debt conditions differed significantly.
Thailand is described as the trigger country, not the only country affected. The crisis also had consequences beyond Asia, contributing to pressure on emerging markets and later turbulence in Russia and elsewhere.