Another Asian Financial Crisis: Monetary Links between Hong Kong and China 1945—50

Abstract

At the beginning of July 1997 Thailand was forced to allow the baht to fall 20% against the $US, triggering a financial crisis across Asia. This crisis toppled governments in the region and sent out a series of shock waves that threatened prosperity in the rest of the world. The main symptom of the crisis was a profound distrust in the currencies of developing countries in Asia which precipitated repeated devaluations in the ‘miracle’ economies of Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia. One of the results of the Asian financial crisis is renewed interest in the monetary relations of the region, and in the mechanics of the transmission of currency instability between countries.