Which currency crisis began in Thailand in 1997 and helped trigger major Asian stock-market crashes?

The Asian financial crisis began in Thailand in 1997 and helped trigger major Asian stock-market crashes.

Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate system on July 2, 1997, allowing the baht to float after intense pressure on the currency. The baht then lost substantial value, and financial stress spread through economies that had large foreign-currency debts, weak banking systems, or heavily leveraged property markets.

Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies experienced severe currency, banking, and stock-market turmoil. Equity prices fell sharply as foreign investors withdrew capital and companies struggled to repay dollar-denominated loans. The International Monetary Fund arranged major assistance programs, including a package for South Korea.

The crisis is often called the Asian financial crisis rather than simply an Asian stock-market crash because currencies, banks, property markets, and government finances were all involved. Russia’s 1998 crisis followed later and was related through global financial contagion, but it was not the original event.