1997

May: Thai currency attacked by speculators.

July: Malaysian, Philippine, Thai and Indonesian currencies all slump.

14 August: Indonesia abolishes its system of a managed exchange rate. The rupiah plunges.

16 September: 15 budgeted mega-projects postponed.

8 October: Indonesia says it will ask the IMF for financial assistance.

31 October: Indonesia's IMF package is unveiled. It provides for as much as US$40 billion in aid.

1 November: Sixteen banks closed as first step in IMF package. Causes rush on other banks & panic all round. IMF later admits it was a mistake.

5 November: IMF approves a US$10 billion loan for Indonesia as part of the massive international package.

The 15 mega-projects are quietly reinstated about this time.

12 November: IMF Director Camdessus visits Jakarta, reveals much more reform is planned, and aid is subject to 3-monthly reviews.

5-15 December: Suharto takes 10 days rest after a 12-day world tour, misses ASEAN summit.

9-12 December: Finance Minister asks for debt roll-over in Washington, but gets none.

1998

6 January: Indonesia unveils an expansionary 1998/99 budget, contrary to IMF demands of a budget surplus. The rupiah loses half its value over a five-day period.

9 January: Ratings agency Standard & Poor downgrades Indonesia's currency to 'junk bond' status.

10 January: Suharto once again postpones the 15 mega-projects.

10 January: Megawati Sukarnoputri announces she is ready to become president. Amien Rais had made a similar announcement in September. They appear on several platforms together to denounce Suharto.

12 January: Former cabinet minister and economic guru Sumitro Djojohadikusuma says Indonesia needs a new government.

15 January: IMF Director Camdessus stands over Suharto while the latter signs a new IMF agreements.

January till mid-February: Anti-Chinese food riots take place in at least a dozen places throughout Java, three in Sulawesi, and in Sumbawa and Flores.

11 January: All but 22 of the 286 companies listed on the Jakarta stock exchange are technically bankrupt. Property companies are the worst.

21 & 27 January: National Economic and Financial Resilience Council chaired by Suharto announces a raft of reforms, but the rupiah does not recover.

27 January: Government announces a moratorium on repaying debts and interest, and promises to guarantee all obligations entered into by commercial banks.

9 February: Suharto foreshadows the government will institute a 'currency board' system to peg the rupiah to the US dollar. The IMF, World Bank, and Bill Clinton think it won't work, and threaten to cut off aid.

(16 February, 1998)