And it was the start of what became known as the Asian currency crisis in 1997-98.
In some ways the Asian currency turmoil and economic recession has taken the heat off politics.
When the Asian currency contagion started, there was initially a flight of funds from East Asia to India.
In recent months Asian currency and stock markets have been hammered, threatening to plunge the entire region into a recession.
Analysts said the main effect of the changing U.S. political landscape would be felt in the Asian currency markets, rather than in equities.
Mr. Sokol entered Mr. Buffett's world when MidAmerican shares tumbled after several geothermal projects in Indonesia were delayed amid the Asian currency crisis.
News of more deaths from the disease in Indonesia helped push stockmarkets down in Europe this week, and rattled south-east Asian currency markets.
The kip suffered the greatest fall of any Asian currency, plunging from 1, 000 to the greenback in July 1997 to more than 5, 000 today.
Mr. Hariharan: We are looking at some Asian currency contracts, but to introduce currencies it takes a lot of time since central banks are involved.
"There are the questions of the impact of the Asian currency crisis on China and the effectiveness of the Japanese fiscal stimulus, " says Philippine Central Bank Governor Gabriel Singson.
Two years after the Asian currency crisis abruptly slammed booming economies into reverse and threatened a global recession, there has been much talk about reforming the international financial architecture, but less action.
While GDP growth for the region is expected in the 4% to 5% range, in line with the East Asian Tigers, currency pressures and inflation, along with the possibility of a substantial slowdown in either Brazil or China, pose huge risks for the region.
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It has also dipped against the euro and was trading at 113.60 yen against the single currency in Asian trade on Thursday - the lowest level since July 2011.
From mid-2005 to mid-2008, many more Asian countries increased their currency exchange movements with the RMB (34 out of 52 cases) rather than with the dollar (14) or the euro (19).
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More recently as some of Asian currencies have weakened, currency analysts say the ringgit is now close to its fair value.
The weakness in Asian economies will have some currency and traffic effect on United, which as recently as 1994 got 60% of its operating income from the Pacific.
One brokerage, SocGen-Crosby, suggests creating currency boards in Asian countries.
Currency intervention by Asian central banks helps to explain why America has so far been able to finance its deficit without higher American bond yields or a bigger fall in the dollar.
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The local currency, said the Asian government official, would be resolutely defended against attacks by speculators.
And compared with 2010, when Asian central banks routinely intervened in currency markets, this year has been less dramatic.
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Thus it is in no danger of the currency collapse which turned Asian debt from a potential problem to a rout.
European and Asian stock markets, the Euro currency and U.S. stock indexes were hit hard to the downside on the Cyprus developments over the weekend.
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The drop in value of local currencies against the dollar has caused immense difficulties for Asian carriers: dollars are the currency in which aircraft are traded and aviation fuel is priced.
In overnight news, U.S., European and Asian stocks were weaker and the Euro currency was firmer.
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Yet, incredibly, the Administration and the IMF are now telling Brazil not to try to "prop up" its currency, thereby inviting an Asian-Mexican-style free-fall.
Yet, incredibly, the Administration and the IMF are now telling Brazil not to try to "prop up" its currency, thereby inviting an Asian-Mexican-style free fall.
It encouraged individuals and financial institutions to invest in the East Asian countries, and reassured them about currency risk by the belief that the IMF would bail them out if the unexpected happened and the exchange pegs broke.
But with their foreign-currency reserves all but exhausted, other Asian countries would be hard-pressed to follow suit.
He was lucky not to be badly hit when the Thai currency was dramatically devalued during the 1997 Asian financial meltdown.
The debt of Asian economies is also now partly in their own currency, which would fall in a crisis, taking some of the strain.
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