3 Because the financial counterpart to this surplus is a deficit on the financial accounts, it represents the net capital outflow to the industrial economies. $ billion is a big number and stands in sharp contrast to the situation preceding the Asia crisis.
For example, in 1996 the combined current account balance of the developing economies was a deficit of $ billion, representing a capital inflow of that amount from the industrial world. The sources of the $ billion in net capital flow out of the developing economies are remarkably concentrated.