COVID, inflation stress-test Asia 25 years after financial crisis

Risks simmer in smaller economies as debt burden swells

The Thai baht's plunge on July 2, 1997, touched off the Asian financial crisis. Twenty-five years later, the region's resilience is being put to the test. © Reuters

KENTARO IWAMOTO, Nikkei staff writer

July 2, 2022 09:44 JST

TOKYO -- On July 2, 1997, the baht plunged, as Thailand gave up the currency's dollar peg after being hit by short-selling.

That day marked the start of the Asian financial crisis, which swept the region from Indonesia to South Korea, prompting rescue measures by the International Monetary Fund.