Retrenching. (South Korea is struggling to regain economic strength despite receiving an International Monetary Fund aid package)(Business This Week; includes other international business news briefs)(Brief Article)

Economist (US), The, December, 1997

South Korea, the beneficiary of a huge IMF-brokered rescue package earlier this month, seemed sicker than ever. Five more merchant banks were closed down, and the government took control of two big banks, SeoulBank and Korea First. Under the Fund's pressure, it agreed to open the door a little wider to such foreign investors as might be tempted into the stricken economy. Another big chaebol, Halla Group, defaulted on its debts. Moody's, a credit rating agency, downgraded 31 Korean financial institutions.

On four consecutive days the South Korean won sank by its 10% daily limit, plumbing record lows against the dollar. So did the Indonesian rupiah, after news that 76-year-old President Suharto needed a rest. The ringgit recovered after Malaysia said it would slash...

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