The Financial Crisis in South-East Asia – Its Impact on Austria

At present it is not possible to gauge the extent of the financial and economic crisis in South-East Asia. The effect of this crisis on Austria will, however, remain marginal: there are few direct trade links between Austria and the countries in question (exports to these countries amount only to 1½ percent of total exports). Austria's main trading partners are not greatly affected and the European economy has recently taken an upward turn. Moreover, Austrian banks are not very active in Asia's loans extended to this region amount to only 1¼ percent of total foreign loans outstanding. Nonetheless, the current crisis should be taken as an opportunity to regulate and stabilize exchange rates between major currencies and the international financial system.