Lessons from the 1997 Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis in 1997 plunged many ASEAN countries into recession. The crisis dragged down the Indonesian rupiah, the Thai baht, the Malaysian ringgit and other currencies. Even the Hong Kong dollar came under enormous pressure, though the city managed to prevent a devaluation because it had more than US$80 billion in foreign reserves. Phenomenal economic growth was put to a halt, banks went bankrupt and foreign investors fled with their capital. Economically, Southeast Asia contracted by 30 percent in 1998. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore were hard-hit by the crisis. Jingdong Hua, IFC vice president and treasurer, shared his thoughts with the Myanmar Times on how Myanmar can learn from its ASEAN neighbours. What can Myanmar learn from other ASEAN countries?
