2011年12月19日月曜日

キム・ジョンイルの死

北朝鮮のキム・ジョンイル総書記が死去したとの報道だ。今年は最後の年末まで波乱がある。

アメリカのWall Street Journalはこんな風に伝えている。
SEOUL—Kim Jong Il, the dictator who used fear and isolation to maintain power in North Korea and his nuclear weapons to menace his neighbors and threaten the U.S., has died, North Korean state television reported early Monday. 
His death opens a new and potentially dangerous period of transition and instability for North Korea and northeast Asia. Mr. Kim in September 2010 tapped the youngest of his three sons, Kim Jong Eun, to succeed him, and North Korean state television on Monday said the younger Mr. Kim will lead the country. 
South Korean stocks were down 4.6% on the news early Monday, and officials were closely monitoring levels of the won against other currencies.
China eventually took over as North Korea's main benefactor. Prodded by Beijing, Mr. Kim experimented with economic liberalization in 2002 by allowing some markets to form. But by 2008, Mr. Kim grew fearful that economic freedoms were eroding the power of his regime. He ordered crackdowns that included a confiscation of private savings in late 2009. 
Mr. Kim also resisted efforts by China, the U.S. and other countries to persuade him to give up the nuclear-weapons research that his father started in the 1970s. The research climaxed in October 2006 when North Korea first tested a half-megaton nuclear device. It tested a more powerful nuclear explosive in May 2009, leading to stiff sanctions by the United Nations Security Council that further damaged the economy. 
Over the past year, Mr. Kim repeatedly reached out to China for more economic and security assistance and lashed out at the three countries long considered to be North Korea's main enemies: South Korea, Japan and the U.S.
(出所: Wall Street Journal, 12, 19, 2011、から抜粋のうえ引用)
総書記死去でやはり韓国ウォンは売られたよし。

韓国総合株価指数(KOSPI Composite Index)も本日は3.4%下げている。朝方から欧州危機をうけて、ジリジリと下げていたが、12時30分前後に1790前後から1750辺りまで、一挙に2%以上奈落に落ちるように下がり、出来高もその前後に取引が集中している。その直後、13時33分にロイターが以下の報道を流している。
(Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while on a train trip, state media reported on Monday, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear program.
韓国では売りが殺到し、逆に、米ドルは急騰したとのこと。どうやら情報自体は複数のルートで市場に到着・伝播していたようだ。
TOKYO—The dollar was up against the euro and the yen in Asia on Monday, as a report of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death prompted traders to buy a safe-haven dollars and sell riskier currencies and stocks. 
"The first reaction was to buy the dollar while selling the euro, the South Korean won and Asian shares," said Etsuko Yamashita, chief economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (出所: 上と同じ)
3時49分時点でBloombergは、以下のように説明している。
Asian stocks fell after reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has died, extending earlier losses sparked by Fitch Ratings saying it may cut the credit ratings of European nations. 
HSBC Holdings Plc (5), Europe’s biggest lender, dropped 2.9 percent in Hong Kong on speculation the worsening European debt crisis will hurt bank earnings. Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s biggest exporter that gets about 20 percent of sales from Europe, slid 3.6 percent in Seoul. Billabong International Ltd. (BBG) slumped 44 percent in Sydney after the surfwear maker cut its earnings outlook. 
“The market has been pretty weak, and when something unexpected happens in this kind of sentiment, people want to go for safety,” said Tim Leung, who helps manage about $1.5 billion at IG Investment Ltd. in Hong Kong. “Whether a successor would be able to stabilize the situation with Korea is important to see. In the short term, people would want to close some of their positions to see what happens next.” 
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 2.1 percent to 110.15 as of 3:10 p.m. in Tokyo, heading for its biggest decline since Nov. 10. Six shares fell for each that rose in the measure. The gauge dropped 2.3 percent last week as signs of slowing economic growth in China and Japan and concern that Europe’s debt crisis is worsening overshadowed improving U.S. data.
今日のキム・ショックは、アジア全域で2~3%の資産価値が消える程度のものだった。アジアにとってはネガティブ・ショックだったが、その分アメリカにとってはポジティブ・ショックになった。

ショックとしては限定的である。後継者が決まっているということもあるだろう。5%を超えるような大暴落にならなかったのは、ある程度、総書記の死去と当面の成り行きを市場が織り込み済みであったのかもしれず、と同時に評価するべき経済活動のない北朝鮮という国が、これから政治的に少々混乱しようとも、世界市場にはほとんど影響がない。そんな冷徹な計算を市場がしているということかもしれない。

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