Thailand’s stock exchange was at the center of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which began with pressure on the Thai baht.
Thailand had maintained a close relationship between the baht and the U.S. dollar while carrying substantial foreign-currency debt. Speculators attacked the baht, and Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate system on July 2, 1997. The currency then lost much of its value.
Financial stress spread across East and Southeast Asia, affecting Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies. Falling currencies made dollar-denominated debts more expensive, while companies and banks faced defaults, withdrawals, and collapsing asset prices.
The International Monetary Fund arranged rescue programs for several countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea. The crisis is sometimes described only as a currency crisis, but stock-market crashes, banking failures, property declines, and corporate debt were also central parts of the turmoil.