Chapter 219: Memoirs of the Financial Crisis (1)
In the 1960s, Japan took the lead in licking the scars of World War II through the Korean War, came out of the shadow of World War II defeat and economic collapse, and became the leader of East Asian economic development, rising rapidly, and becoming the second largest economic power after the United States. In the United States Fortune magazine and other authoritative magazines for many years, the names of many Japanese companies have appeared among the world's top 500, and the familiar ones to Chinese are actually some home appliances and automobile companies, such as Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Toyota, Mitsubishi, etc., in fact, there are more famous consortia in Japan, such as Mitsui, Sumitomo and so on.
At a time when Chinese companies have not yet gone global, these Japanese companies have already made it to the top 500 companies.
In the 1970s, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan quickly seized the opportunity of the major adjustment of the international industrial structure, focusing on the development of tourism, ports, airports, trade, automobiles, electronics, finance and other industries, and soon became the world's fastest economic development region, and was known as the Asian Tigers.
To this day, Chinese still talk about the large-scale development of Taiwan's electronics industry and IT industry, which once almost became the processing base of the world's IT industry.
In the 1980s, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines also caught up, with strong economic growth, and then became the "Asian Tigers".
Asia has created a gratifying situation in which economic growth has taken off from the dragon to the tiger.
In 1978, China began to test the reform and opening up policy, seizing a historical development opportunity period of the Asian economy, and China began to release its vitality, with an average GDP growth rate of more than 9%, ranking first in the world at that time.
After the dragon and tiger leaped, immediately after, the Golden Triangle began to rise. The economies of Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar have also begun to kick off, and Vietnam in particular has also begun to clone China's reform and opening up policy, and its economic development is changing with each passing day.
A Pacific Rim Economic Circle is on the horizon.
In a landmark report, Dr. Jaha of the Asian Development Bank said that over the past 20 years, East Asia's economy has grown at an astonishing 8 percent a year, well above the world average of 2.8 percent over the same period, while the world's developed countries grew at only 3 percent. In the 1960s, Asia accounted for only 4% of the world's GDP, and by the 1990s, that figure had reached 25%. The US magazine Newsweek said that in fact, East Asia does not have to wait that long, as long as it is by 2000, East Asia's GDP will account for more than 30 percent of the world's total.
The emergence of the Asian miracle is just beginning, Asia is like a magic lamp that has just been lit, as long as you are willing, shout twice at the magic lamp, any miracle will appear, and never worry about when the lamp will run out of oil.
And for the nouveau riche who have made enough money in Asia, those who are brave and early advants, Asia is like a mint like no other in the world, a lot of wealth is rolling in, and the only thing that can be done is to put a little money for them, hurry up and prepare the biggest and fastest money counter!!
And the capitalist Western world still thinks that it is too slow to make money from industry, so let's play capital operations! Moreover, under the advocacy of the liberal economic theory of European and American economists, it seems that the four Asian tigers and tigers have opened up their finance, and what is the free financial market is pursued, but more importantly, the free financial market is not perfect, and the loopholes are like grid stockings, and there are white flowers and eye-catching white meat everywhere!
Sure enough, from Thailand and the Philippines to Malaysia and Indonesia, from Xinjiapo and Taiwan to Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, free finance allows them to taste the white flesh every time. Everything was set according to the original assumption, and European and American capital completely controlled the financial war.
In an effort to reverse the decline, Thailand has accepted the IMF's prescription and agreed to the IMF's (International Monetary Fund) harsh conditions: urging Thailand to privatize its state-owned enterprises, implement tax reforms, bankrupt troubled financial companies and banks, and allow foreign ownership of more than 25% of Thai commercial banks. On August 25, the government unveiled a package that included the International Monetary Fund's proposal to allow foreign companies to hold more than 25% of the shares in financial companies, which means that foreign capital could be taken advantage of at a low price to buy into Thai banks.
On September 3, the baht continued to fall, falling to 37.65.
The baht has fallen 43 percent since July 2, when Thailand abandoned its linked exchange rate system and adopted a floating exchange rate system.
Correspondingly, there are already signs of political instability, and the prestige of the ruling party is declining like a declining stock market, and people are beginning to doubt the ability of the ruling party. Opposition parties are increasingly calling for the resignation of those involved.
A democratic society is good! It's good that if you can't do it, I'll do it. A dictatorship is that even if you don't do a good job, you won't let me do it.
On September 14, some 2,000 angry Thai workers demonstrated in Bangkok to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Chaiwalit, saying that the financial crisis had hit their lives hard and that no one was responsible. They threatened to mobilize tens of thousands of workers to take to the streets if the government did not heed their demands.
The ruler always ignores the voice of the people, and only **** society will adopt an indifferent and cold-blooded attitude towards people's property, because he can ignore people's voices, anyway, you don't have votes in your hand, just shout, what do you like. Protecting the wealth of the people from infringement is in itself the sacred mission of the Government.
Workers also blame the International Monetary Fund for making the lives of Thailand's poor even poorer by the harsh conditions he has proposed.
The leaflet distributed to the rally crowd read: "The IMF is the representative of the international monetary fund, so why should we hand over our economic sovereignty to them?" ”
On October 22, under pressure from the opposition party (there are still opposition parties!) Thailand's finance minister, Dr. Thanion, who had been in office for just four months at a time of crisis, resigned. On the same day, the Thai baht fell to an all-time low of 39.90 to see off the powerless hero.
The stock index also fell by 80%, and the total market value of the stock lost 50%. Investors are in mourning and have suffered heavy losses.
He did not have the creative thinking to solve the problem, and he still followed Dr. Lim Nikwong's approach, which was naturally a mistake. The only bright spot is that he came from the banking system and killed several banks with his own hands, a bit like Paulson, the current US Treasury Secretary.
After the resignation of Thannon Chai Wali appointed Gosi. Ban Benli is the new finance minister, and he hopes that the doctor who has drunk foreign ink will be able to surprisingly win and manage the chaotic economy.
However, Thanon's resignation has convinced more people that he is nothing more than a substitute for the dead, and that it is the bigger fish that is really responsible. After changing two finance ministers, they didn't solve the problem, but can changing the third finance minister solve the problem? Now that we know that a third finance minister can solve the problem, why not replace it sooner? This proves that either the employment is negligent or the employment is untimely.
And time can't wait.
Amid the wave of opposition opposition from the coalition, Thai Prime Minister Chai Walit had to announce his resignation on November 7 and leave the prime minister's office in disgrace.
This is not so much a victory for the opposition party as a victory for Soros.
On November 9th, King Bhumibol of Thailand. Adulyadej issued an edict appointing the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Trump. He was appointed as the new prime minister of Thailand and formed a new government. Ban Benli has only been in office for two weeks.
Commanded in times of crisis
Talented King Bhumibol of Thailand. In poetic terms, Adulyadej said to the new Prime Minister: "You need to take responsibility for the work you have undertaken and carry it out with strength, honesty and wisdom." ”
The king was beloved by the people, and his greatest hobby was photography, and large portraits of the king holding a camera can often be seen on the streets of Thailand.
The baht coin also bears a portrait of him wearing glasses.
It is said that one of his famous sayings is: "Anyone who has drunk Thai water and eaten Thai rice is considered a Thai." It can be seen that he is generous and tolerant.
This is Chuan. Lap Pai served as Thailand's prime minister for the second time, a position he held from 1992 to 1995.
River. Born in 1938 in Trang province in southern Thailand, he entered politics at the age of 31 and has rich management experience, having held important positions such as Minister of Justice, Minister of Commerce, and Prime Minister.
River. The assumption of office by the Legislature faction is obviously a fact that the people expect to see, and they have high hopes for this talented ruler to take the helm and get Thailand's economy, which has been mired in the whirlpool of financial crisis, out of its predicament as soon as possible.
River. The Legionists also expressed their determination to revive the economy.
People seem to see the light of day.
In fact, from an export point of view, the depreciation of the currency is not a bad thing, because the prices of its products are more competitive in the international market, and the tourism industry in Thailand, which is an important industry, has become more attractive.
However, if Thailand has to repay a large amount of national debt at this time, and it is still settled in US dollars, then Thailand will suffer a big loss, and at the same time, it will not be conducive to the import of a large number of raw materials.
On November 7th, Gosi. Ban Ben painted a sad picture of the country, saying that Thailand's exports had increased from 2.8 percent to 3.2 percent as a result of the currency depreciation, well above the zero growth rate in 1996, but the cost of manufacturing had increased, and Thailand's GDP growth was expected to be only 0.6 percent in 1997 and not more than 1 percent in 1998, while inflation was 12 percent.
That is to say, Thailand's imports are far greater than its exports, otherwise it would not have been possible not to benefit from the sharp depreciation of the baht. At the same time, it also shows that Thailand's foreign debt is ultra-short-term, and it has reached the point where it has to be repaid, which is its most fatal life!
It is this fateful goal that Soros will hit with one blow!!
As a result, the Thai government will not only be seized by the state speculators to take away a large amount of assets and deplete foreign exchange reserves, but also the international hot money through the leverage combination of various financial instruments, from the hands of Thai investors to legally rob, swept away the people's blood and sweat accumulation, third, but also through the repayment of short-term debts, swept away Thailand's financial accumulation, because the 10 billion US dollars to be repaid before has become 20 billion at this time! This is calculated, and it is ruthless enough!!
Through the hands of the International Monetary Fund, the Bank of Thailand will be fully controlled, and the core purpose is to further realize economic colonization, realize wealth transfer and wealth appreciation, and then further control its national industrial capital.
Hundreds of billions of dollars in assets have been wiped out. (It may seem like a drop in shadow from China's 2008 slump, but Thai politics has let inept finance ministers go one after another.) The star of the world economy, who almost never reaches out to the IMF to beg, has been reduced to a debtor who has to borrow $150 billion and accept very harsh terms.
Isn't this one of Soros's achievements?
In order to confuse the Thai government, Soros and others pretended to be innocent, and this poacher, known as a great philanthropist, even planned to go to Thailand to engage in charity and help the poor.
This reminds me of the story of Zhuge Liang's filial piety.
The difference between human cruelty and animal cruelty is human hypocrisy.
Gosi. As soon as Ban Benli's voice fell, the black gauze hat fell to the ground.
The finance minister, who had been in office for only 15 days, left his post with the collapse of the old government.
River. The Legislature immediately appointed him to Lam. Lin Man Xiamin is the new Minister of Finance, and this person is also a Sichuan Minister. The last time he was Minister of Finance during his tenure as Prime Minister.
4 finance ministers in 6 months! If in 1997 there was to be the most difficult job in the world, it would be Thailand's finance minister.
However, as soon as the new finance minister took office, the baht fell to 45, and international speculators have already shouted a new low price of 50.
The bears in the foreign exchange market and the bears in the stock market sing and harmonize, echoing each other from afar, and the stock market is also dying.
The next crucial move for the new government is to boost the confidence of the people, not to stop at external forces, when in fact almost all problems come from external problems, and in the final analysis, they are internal problems.
Therefore, the newly appointed Kawa. The Legislature immediately held a press conference to appeal to the people for their support.
Because he knows what it means to conform to the will of the people and what is the power of the people, and only with the support of the people can the situation be reversed.
He immediately mobilized all the news media, including the street propaganda horn truck, to publicize Thailand's brilliant economic achievements and the grand prospects of Thailand in the near future.
Confidence! It's faith that counts!
The Thai baht seems to have stopped falling and stabilized, at 45 baht to one dollar, the early bearish market participants also began to buy the bottom of the stock, the stock market began to recover, and the financial crisis seems to have passed.
However, it's not over yet.
On December 8, Ta Lin, the new finance minister who had taken office as a new official, announced the forced closure of 56 financial companies that had been suspended in the early days, leaving more than 20,000 financial workers unemployed.
A large number of white-collar workers have joined the ranks of the unemployed, and another 20,000 families are facing existential threats.
And some listed financial companies are in danger of being directly delisted.
Maybe it's a quick way to cut through the mess and put it to death. This is also a kind of shock therapy, right?
The collapse of a large number of financial companies has brought about a series of chain reactions.