HSBC Economist Sees Asia Echoes of 1997 Crisis, But Says Differences Outweigh Similarities

According to CNBC, HSBC chief economist Frederick Neumann said Asia's financial environment now shows some striking similarities to the period before the 1997 Asian financial crisis, including elevated U.S. Treasury yields, a weaker Japanese yen and tech optimism. He said the differences between 1997 and 2026 outweigh the similarities, arguing that Asian economies are now exporters of capital rather than importers, which makes higher U.S. funding costs and a weaker yen less of a pressure point. Neumann said the more important risk for the region is its reliance on the U.S. AI hardware boom, which has supported growth in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore through electronics exports. He warned that if rising U.S. bond yields and funding costs slow that boom, or if the yen unsettles global funding markets, demand for Asian goods could weaken and growth could fade.