Throughout the 1980's and the 1990's Asia's economic growth astonished the world. The region's stock markets soared to new heights unprecedented economic growth rates were recorded and an acquisitive new middle class emerged. Then overnight, it all fell apart. The question now being asked is: Who brought the party to an end?
In this penetrating and thoughtful account, Philippe Delhaise points the finger squarely at Asia's antiquated banking and financial systems. Everything else - the currency panics, the social and political shocks - is simply a stream of consequences flowing from the main source. What is exceptional about the crisis is not that it happened, but the manner in which it came about, inflicting indiscriminate devastation to all.
The story of the Asian Crisis is a tale of greed and sorrow, of intelligent people making unforgivable mistakes and of a collective misunderstanding about the management of economic expanison. Asia will undoubtedly recover, but the speed and strength of its re-emergence will depend on how well it has learned it's lessons. The concluding chapter of the book outlines the many issues that need to be addressed and provides a template for the future development of the region's finance industry.
About the Author: Philippe Delhaise grew up in Belgium where he obtained degrees in Engineering, Economics and Philosophy. He later earned a MBA degree at the University of Chicago. He was a bank manager for fifteen years in Beirut, Tehran, Tokyo, Singapore and Hongkong before establishing several companies in Hongkong and Singapore servicing the banking industry. Among them was Asia’s first regional bank rating agency, Capital Information Services, that became the basis of the Asia division of Thomson BankWatch. In his present position, Philippe Delhaise heads a team of analysts who monitor over 300 banks in 16 Asian countries for the benefit of the international investment and financial community. He has produced numerous research papers on banking risk in Asia. His many speaking engagements around the world for various Asian bankers associations have confirmed him as a specialist of financial risk in Asia. Philippe Delhaise has written articles for the Asian Wall Street Journal and is frequently interviewed or quoted by leading financial news agencies such as Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC and the Financial Times. Always on the road, Philippe Delhaise regularly stops over at his office in Hongkong and at his home in Paris, where the single father raises two teenage daughters.
