The Southeast Asia Currency Crisis began in 1997 and continued for about nine months. The crisis saw its beginning in Thailand, with the Thai baht showing dramatic depreciation in the range of forty to eighty percent. This phenomenon was the momentum for a domino effect, as the currencies in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and the Philippines began to show signs of depreciation at similar rates. With such high rates of currency depreciation, the stock markets crashed and many banks and businesses were forced to file bankruptcy.  The Southeast Asian Currency Crisis came without any major indication to many who were hit the hardest. Asian nations with what appeared as relatively stable economies with low inflation, balanced budgets, and high domestic savings saw sudden decreases in their currency values. On the other hand, foreign investors saw signs of trouble ahead of time. The value of Southeast Asia’s imports far exceeded their exports, causing large trade deficits. Southeast Asian exporters relied on their shipped goods in main markets, such as the United States, for economic stability and growth. Their dependency in their exports and the US market greatly affected Southeast Asian currencies by the changes in the value of the dollar. When the dollar began appreciating against currencies in Southeast Asia, their exports plummeted and became less competitive in the market. By mid-1997, the dollar appreciated over fifty percent against the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan depreciated by about twenty-five percent against the dollar. With low exports, this slowed down their economies dramatically.  To make matters worse, Asian currencies were often overvalued, which made foreign trade even more unappealing. Asian economies also relied heavily on foreign investors and maintained significant amounts of foreign debts. Furthermore, their financial sectors were underdeveloped, which also slowed down the recovery once they were hit with the currency crisis. Fearful that the Southeast Asia Currency Crisis would spread worldwide, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided the Southeast Asian countries with loans and credits hoping to rebuild currency values. The Asian economy slowly recovered after a nine month period.   REFERENCEhttp://www.fas.org/man/crs/crs-asia2.htmShapiro, Alan. Foundations of Multinational Financial Management: Chapter 2, page 38-39