Remora

The domino theory applies to economic malaise as well...and Vietnam has certainly been a pilot fish for East Asia in the past.

Vietnam devalues currency by more than 5%

By Tim Johnston in Bangkok

Published: November 25 2009 08:18 | Last updated: November 25 2009 13:06

Vietnam devalued its currency by 5.4 per cent against the dollar on Wednesday and raised interest rates by a full percentage point in an effort to cut inflation and end weeks of damaging uncertainty which has seen ever increasing pressure on the currency.

For weeks, the government had insisted that it would not give in to the pressure: “Vietnam will not devalue our currency,” Nguyen Minh Triet, president, told a seminar in Singapore last week. “We will take cautious steps on our monetary policy.”