In contrast, a number of countries (Taiwan and Singapore, for example) introduced greater exchange rate flexibility without exhausting their foreign exchange reserves. These countries did not suffer the same violent downdrafts in their foreign exchange markets. In recent years Hong Kong and China have all accumulated substantial stocks of foreign exchange.
While the motives for these buildups were not all economic, they may have helped these economies to weather recent financial turbulence at less cost than other emerging market economies in the region. The Asian crisis has focused attention on the adequacy of information about official reserves.