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Asia is far behind in y2k repair. This threatens the entire world economy. Even before y2k becomes the critical factor, Asia is in turmoil. What happens in 1999 and beyond? Who has enough capital to bail out Japan?
But it's more than just the banks. It's the supply chain. The West is dependent on Asian production. What happens when these supply lines break?
This appeared in the AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (Dec. 24).
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Australian organisations with operations or partners in South-East Asia are expected to encounter severe difficulties as the 2000 computer bug sweeps across the poorly prepared region.
The vice-president of the Thai Management Association Arporna Sribhibhadt last week was among those in the region urging businesses to do more to address the looming "Y2K" problem.
Speaking at the "Year 2000 Trans-century IT Time Bomb conference" in Bangkok, Mr Sribhibhadt said that 90 per cent of all applications would be affected by year 2000 issues and that the cost of addressing the problem would double year on year until the turn of the century. . . .
And Mr Phil Dodd, vice-president of Unisys' year 2000 business in Asia and the South Pacific, said: "The year 2000 problem and the domino effect that will be evidenced in supply chain breakdowns will make the currency crisis appear as a mere blip."
Mr Dodd said that following talks with the Thai Government he believed that at least one of the country's "major public infrastructure" systems would fail by 2000.
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