In 1997 and 1998, the world encountered its worst financial
crisis since the Second World War. For East Asia in particular,
it was a devastating blow that threatened to reverse a whole
generation of progress in two short years. Much has been written
about how governments and supranational bodies should have coped
with this crisis and what they can do to prevent such a
recurrence in the future.
This book is distinct; it focuses, instead, on the impact of
such crises on the corporate sector, particularly:
- How a national economic crisis impacts companies in the
affected country
- How companies respond to such a crisis
- How companies can evaluate key strategic options in an
economic environment that is changing every day
- How companies undertake drastic financial and business
portfolio restructuring in a crisis environment
- Finally, what determines the vulnerability of a company
to a national economic crisis?
This book seeks to find answers to such questions through case
studies of six East Asian companies located in Indonesia,
Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia, and belonging to varied
industrial sectors: banking, finance, natural resources, and a
diversified conglomerate. The actions of the companies
encompassed corporate and financial restructuring, investment
banking, financing decisions and derivatives. As backdrop, the
book presents a brief economic history of the four countries
involved covering the period till the 1997 meltdown. Individual
discussions on each of the six companies in the last part of the
book provide both a framework of analysis, and information and
insights about how these companies actually managed under the
economic crisis; raising issues and offering lessons that are
relevant to corporate finance managers and chief executives
world-wide.
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