The vulnerability brought on by the rising external short-term debt and the loss in competitiveness, in part, following the devaluation of the Chinese currency in 1994, was accentuated by a sharp slowdown in exports in 1996, not only for Thailand but for all newly industrialized countries in Asia. Thai exports registered their first negative growth in 1996, raising doubts over the nation’s capacity to repay its 40 billion US dollar short-term debt