On the whole, things were looking up for the region by the 1990s. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of the 'Asian Tigers' – Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea – whose economies had soared in recent decades. On the back of market-minded reforms, the formerly closed countries of Vietnam and Cambodia were beginning to open up. The upward trend was derailed, however, in 1997 when the collapse of the Thai baht sparked a financial crisis throughout Asia. The value of the Indonesian rupiah plummeted, destablising Indonesia to the point that long-time dictator Sukarno stepped down. More than two decades later, following intervention from the international finance community, the region is in a better place than before the crisis – though corruption, inefficiencies and political tensions continue to throw wrenches.