The Economic Crisis
At the start of Chavalit's premiership, the Thai economy was already on shaky ground. In February 1997, foreign-exchange dealers began to mount speculative attacks on the baht, alarmed at the size of Thailand's private foreign debt - 250 billion baht in the unproductive property sector alone, much of it accrued through the proliferation of prestigious skyscrapers in Bangkok. The government valiantly defended the pegged exchange rate, spending $23 billion of the country's formerly healthy foreign-exchange reserves, but at the beginning of July was forced to give up the ghost - the baht was floated and soon went into free-fall. Blaming its traditional allies, the Americans, for neglecting their obligations, Thailand sought help from Japan; Tokyo suggested the IMF, who in August 1997 put together a rescue package for Thailand of $17 billion. Among the conditions of the package, the Thai government was to slash the national budget, control inflation and open up financial institutions to foreign ownership. Chavalit's performance in the face of the crisis was viewed as inept, and in November, he was succeded by Chuan Leekpai , who took up what was widely seen as a poisoned chalice for his second term. Businesses unable to pay their debts were looking to lay off hundreds of thousands of employees and the IMF has been keeping the squeeze on the government to implement its austerity measures. In October 1998, the Chuan Leekpai administration was strengthened by the Chat Patana Party joining the government coalition. During the first half of 1999, the Thai economy gradually showed signs of improvement, both in terms of price stability and growth. Tourism too has shown a steady increase, with more than eight and a half million visitors to the kingdom in 1999
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