[Kyoto News] One Tiger After Another

Financial contagion spreads from one East Asian nation to another

As a recession emerges in South Korea, Japan struggles with another beast of its own. The yen has experienced an all-time low in value since the start of the crisis, but never has it experienced such a large dip as 5.7% in the last 20 days. The fall in demand for Japanese exports and declining investment in Japan is understandable. The recent recession in Thailand, the major scandal in Indonesia, and the asset bubble and eventual panic in South Korea are all possible reasons for a dip in investor confidence in Japan, also known as one of the most interconnected and open economies in Asia pre-crisis. The fall in export demand from neighbouring SEA nations following the BOP crisis and recession is a plausible explanation for the pessimism directed towards major Japanese export-oriented industries and companies. 


Consequently, Japanese efforts to defend the yen are failing to sustain it at the current value any longer, as evident in the recent devaluations. With major capital outflows and dwindling foreign reserves to defend the yen, Japan is in a BOP crisis. All eyes are on the IMF.
Location: Kyoto, Japan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[Financial Times] Thai Baht Loses its Peg, Value Plummets

The beginning of an exchange rate-induced crisis in what was a tiger economy  A shocking tragedy befalls the Kingdom of Thailand as the state proceeded to float its currency following its perceived inability to sustain its peg to the greenback. A series of speculative attacks amounted to a sharp depreciation of the Thai baht, sending ripples across interlinked financial systems in the Asia-Pacific region. Notably, huge current account deficits, growing real estate asset bubbles, lax regulations in the financial sector, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves diminished investor confidence in the currency and the economic strength of the country. Inevitably, compounded with rumours of a currency devaluation, speculative attacks largely undermined the Bank of Thailand’s ability to defend the baht, ultimately floating the currency. 
Read more

[Asia Times] Thai Imports at Record Low, Worry Brewing

Trade conditions worsen, exporters panic while domestic producers celebrate   With the further depreciation of the Thai baht, Thailand’s quantity demanded for imports has declined  due to a diminishing external value of the Baht (and hence more expensive foreign goods for Thai locals).  This has led to a fall in export demand for trade partners like Japan and Indonesia, with this impact being  the worst in South Korea. In the past month, South Korean exports of electronics, manufacturing materials,  and even basic construction materials like wood and cement have declined by 10.2% as these  export-oriented industries see their long-term profitability being threatened. Smaller enterprises have been  pushed to the brink of insolvency, with a few companies barely breaking even.  Thai manufacturers are ecstatic about such uncompetitive markets, however the general consumer does  seem to think differently. Prices are slowly rising as well, with the...
Read more