And Thai companies have paid off much of the foreign currency debts that ignited the crisis in the first place.

The letter said the Soviet Union had about $65 billion in hard currency debt.

Any foreign currency debt owned by the government?

Private foreign currency debt can be resolved in the usual bankruptcy manner.

It's foreign currency sovereign debt that is fundamental - since as we have seen it is a little harder to put a country into administration.

Overloaded with suddenly more expensive foreign currency debt, enterprises around the region were plunged into crisis.

Imports from the West were curtailed, exports boosted, and hard currency debt reduced substantially.

And unlike in Asia, most corporations are not burdened by foreign currency debt they will be unable to pay after devaluation.

So all of the money used to service foreign currency debt has to come from a country's balance of payments transfers.

In the last three years Soviet hard currency debts have nearly doubled.