In January 1997, international speculators headed by George Soros began to launch an attack on the long-coveted Southeast Asia financial market.

They began to sell Thai baht and buy US dollars. The Thai baht plummeted. Its purpose is very clear:

To disrupt the Southeast Asian financial market in order to fish in troubled waters and make a fortune. The chaos and out-of-control management of real estate, foreign exchange

reserves, and financial markets in some Southeast Asian countries have provided speculators with golden opportunities. Picking the weak ones

Soros’s wishful thinking is: start with Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, which are the most vulnerable

, and then disrupt Asia’s “Four Little Dragons” Singapore , South Korea, Taiwan, China, and finally occupied Hong Kong in an attempt to create the impression that they were invincible, destroy market confidence, and trigger a "herd" mentality. Soros believes that as long as one country's financial market is knocked down, other countries will inevitably fall one after another. This is the so-called "domino" effect.

Thailand has become the first target.

In May, international currency speculators began to sell the Thai baht on a large scale, and the exchange rate against the US dollar fell sharply. Facing the fierce attack of speculators, the Bank of Thailand and the Bank of Singapore joined forces to enter the market and adopted a three-pronged approach to defend the Thai baht position. They spent US$12 billion to absorb the Thai baht; Local banks were prohibited from lending the Thai baht to offshore speculators; interest rates were significantly raised. After a close fight, the status of the baht was temporarily preserved.

In this regard, international currency speculators launched a strong counterattack. They had only one trick: to raise funds

and sell the Thai baht hard. Soros began to advance step by step. At the same time, the Thai baht's devaluation has been wave after wave, and the Thai baht's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar has repeatedly hit new lows. The Thai government changed its generals at the last moment, and the former Finance Minister Anlei Weerawang was forced to hand over his seal. This move by the Thai government was like dropping a heavy bomb on the rough lake, and the Philippines became the victim.

The peso exchange rate began to fluctuate sharply.

The sad passing of Anlei Weerawang failed to prevent Thai Baht from losing ground. In June, speculators began to sell U.S. Treasury bonds to raise funds and once again launched a fatal blow to the Thai baht. The Bank of Thailand fought back. At that time, people's hearts

were panicked, everyone was in danger, and various shortcomings hidden under the peaceful and prosperous age were exposed one by one. In order to stabilize the morale of the military, on June 30, Thai Prime Minister Chaeli gave a televised speech: "I reiterate once again that the Thai baht will not depreciate, and we will

let those speculators lose all their money. Go back. "Swear to go back, but the financial market is like a helpless man.

At this time, the Bank of Thailand has run out of ammunition and food, and its only 30 billion US dollars in foreign exchange reserves have long been spent. Just two days after the Thai Prime Minister's speech, the Bank of Thailand was forced to announce the implementation of a floating exchange rate system and abandon the 13-year-old exchange rate system pegged between the baht and the US dollar. On the same day, the Thai baht plummeted 20%. On July 29, the Governor of the Bank of Thailand Loncha Maharaja announced his resignation. On August 5, the Bank of Thailand decided to close 42 financial institutions. So far, the Thai baht has Finally lost

.

At the same time, the weakness of the Philippine peso can make it become another target of speculators. The Philippine central bank has tried to raise interest rates four times in a week and announced an expansion of interest rates. The exchange rate of the peso against the US dollar fluctuated widely, trying its best to resist Soros. But the situation is over and there is no way to turn it around. On July 11, the Central Bank of the Philippines announced that it would allow the Philippine peso to fluctuate within a wider range

. For a time, the peso devalued horribly. In fact, this marked the complete defeat of the peso defense war

.

Like a drug addict, Soros was obviously not satisfied at this time. They went out everywhere to find the next target to hunt

Malaysia and Indonesia entered his within sight.

Malaysia’s central bank attempted to increase the cost of short-selling the Malaysian ringgit to prevent speculators from making trouble.

Indonesia also entered the market to support the Indonesian rupiah.

But in the end, it could not stop the powerful attack of speculators, and the exchange rate between the Malaysian ringgit and the Indonesian currency

The US dollar exchange rate dropped again and again.

The loss of positions in neighboring countries has begun to affect the Singapore currency, which has always been known as the "refuge currency". Even though Singapore has taken measures such as raising interest rates, the Singapore dollar's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar continues to fall.

Under Soros's tough stance, governments around the world have felt powerless and have given up their defense actions. They have begun to

succumb, as if they would not fight back. While the domestic currency is allowed to rise and fall in the market, on the other hand, international currency speculators are even more emboldened to do whatever they want in the Southeast Asian financial market and run rampant for a while.

The currency sniper war in Southeast Asia has made everyone feel at risk, and financial authorities in various countries have tried their best to avoid falling into this quagmire

Even during this trend, they have been The United States, which had been sitting on the sidelines, also began to express its stance. Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board

Greenspan said that he was particularly "disturbed" that this crisis was largely involved by one country.

Another country, the United States, is willing to help "countries affected by this fluctuation."

The aggressive arrogance of international speculators has made the international community more aware of collective responses to currency crises.

On July 25, high-level representatives of central banks and monetary authorities from 11 countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and New Zealand, attended the meeting< /p>

A meeting was held in Shanghai. A statement issued after the meeting stated that a stable currency market is very important. Asia-Pacific

Countries will study together with the International Monetary Fund to discuss relevant issues. The country has provided new aid measures to assist member states in making economic adjustments when necessary. For Southeast Asian countries, this news at least makes them feel that they are fighting a desperate battle with international currency speculators. No longer seem so alone when fighting.

On August 5, crisis-ridden Thailand agreed to accept the International Monetary Fund’s standby

loan plan and package of measures with stringent conditions. On August 11, in order to save Thailand, which is short of funds, the International Monetary Fund hosted a meeting of central bank governors from more than a dozen countries and regions in the world in Tokyo, Japan. The International Monetary Fund p>

The IMF and some Asian countries and regions committed to share a financing plan for Thailand of a total of US$16 billion (later increased to US$1

6.7 billion), of which China and Hong Kong, China, has each pledged to lend Thailand US$1 billion. On August 21, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announced that it would grant Thailand a temporary loan worth US$3.3 billion to help it tide over the difficulties.

While Southeast Asian countries were asking for help and actively planning, international speculators disappeared and suddenly stopped

attacking. On August 20, the currency exchange rates of Southeast Asian countries temporarily stabilized, and people in Southeast Asian countries took a big breath: Okay, the storm has finally passed!

Just like the calm before the storm, the calm appearance breeds murderous intent. It is obviously too early for the countries in the east to be happy, and the new round of "violent storm" is just waiting for a suitable opportunity. , what is helpless is that

this tranquility only lasted for a few days; the neighboring countries to the east had not had time to wipe away the blood on their bodies. At the end of August, another round of jaw-dropping decline came in an instant. This time, ASEAN member Brunei was also dragged into the water.

At this point, Soros showed an attitude of not giving up on others, and he was still brave enough to chase the enemy, and once again concentrated his firepower on sweeping Southeast Asia

. Entering September, the storm has continued to rage for the third month, and the decline in the foreign exchange market continues. The economic conditions of East

South Asian countries continue to deteriorate. On October 19, Thailand’s Finance Minister Thanon Bidaya also left office full of melancholy

Sadly.

It was not until early November that the black storm, which had been a nightmare for Southeast Asia for more than four months, gradually calmed down.

According to industry insiders, this turmoil has come to an end.

But for Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, which is at the epicenter of the earthquake, it is okay to play the crown, but the celebration is already bitter.

There is no choice but the flowers fall

In this crisis, Thailand is probably the worst sufferer. The violent financial crisis has brought this country to a sudden

Hit rock bottom. Before this, Thailand had a dizzying image as one of the "Four Little Dragons" in Asia. A small business owner recalled: "It seemed that we were quite rich, so that everyone started to prepare to go there." Buy a Mercedes-Benz. "They

are keen on beach houses, Swiss Omega, French XO, German Mercedes-Benz, and Japanese Panasonic. Like Americans,

they also arrange to travel to Europe in style every year; send their children to private schools... When you meet a

country housewife on the outskirts of Bangkok, she even sells food on the street The hawkers may be members of the stock army; "Money comes so easily". At that time, they would say in such a joking tone that they were preparing to travel to Europe. But now, Thai

people are dumbfounded as they watch Soros and his likes take away everything that originally belongs to them; their family cars are being towed away by the police, and unemployment is beginning to bother them. , the romantic trip to Europe had to be cancelled, and the children had to transfer to cheap

public schools... Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said: "This guy (referring to Soros) came to our country

p>

Overnight, more than ten years of struggle of our people have been wiped out. "

Chawang, the president of a bank in Thailand, said: "We can only watch Soros. These gangsters and robbers deprived us of the wealth we once had. We just want to say, don’t you just want money? "

For all Southeast Asians, they used to have a fortune. A large amount of wealth disappeared in an instant. Chanuwast, the president of Samat Telecommunications Company, said: Bangkok people have not even had time to enjoy the prosperity. As soon as the car came off the production line, the housing price dropped. The newly painted paint hasn't dried yet. But they have lost everything. Indonesian musician Bonnie Legumahe has been struggling for 30 years to buy a house with a dream garden. When he was about to move in, a storm came and "I had to give it away." He

p>

Say.

It is inevitable to live in an era of worrying about food and to be frugal, but the feeling of having experienced a vast ocean

still makes them immersed in the aftertaste of wealth. In a square in the center of Bangkok, a vendor yelled at the top of his voice to rent clothes, "You can rent anything. Students from private universities almost rent clothes in order to maintain their dignity." Rent everything from head to toe. "The hawker said that his business is quite popular, and the shopping mall is still crowded on Sundays. The only difference is that he has no money and can only hang out. Just like many old people in Beijing walking birds.

Those rich and wealthy people can only watch as 50% or more of their property disappears without a trace

It is estimated that from March to September, The top 12 richest people in Malaysia lost US$13 billion in the stock market alone

The children of Indonesian President Suharto were also forced to sell their companies to avoid ending up with nothing

>

The appearance of the face. "The world of the past no longer exists." said Ramsam, president of Agricultural Bank of Thailand, the third largest bank in Thailand.

The strange scenery of Bangkok is still so beautiful and moving, and the high-rise buildings in Kuala Lumpur are still so row upon row; but

However, the gap between the rich in the past and the poor now is so far away. "This is not just a sense of loss

", the professor at Taiil University sighed helplessly.

Facing reality, perhaps this is the most painful and helpless choice for the people living in the east!

Three months later, the financial crisis sweeping Southeast Asia hit Hong Kong Island—the wolf finally came.

Black Monday

Perhaps, in the memories of many Hong Kong people, the Hong Kong "stock market crash" in October 1987 is like a It was a nightmare that still frightens me to this day.

In October 1997, another round of "big bear market" swept the entire Hong Kong stock market.

October 20th

is the 10th anniversary of the "Black Monday" tragedy on Wall Street in the United States. Because of this, it has become the most anxious event for investment analysts

One day, however, the atmosphere of terror did not appear in the Wall Street stock market. On the contrary, after the Dow Jones index fell 210 points in a week, it rebounded 74 points that day.

While investment analysts are celebrating, on the other side of the world, there are already crises and undercurrents

Ten years later, another "Black Monday" began to come, but this time it enveloped Hong Kong, known as a shopping paradise.

On October 20, the Hong Kong stock market began to fall. On October 21, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell by 765

． 33 points, and continued this momentum on the 22nd, falling by 1,200 points. On the 23rd, concerns about the outlook for the Hong Kong dollar caused Hong Kong's interbank lending rates to rise steadily. On the 21st, the overnight interest rate, which was only about 7%, once soared 300 times. In this market atmosphere, Hong Kong stocks suffered their fourth consecutive setback, falling 10.41%.

Tsang Yam-kuen, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that day that Hong Kong's basic economic factors were good and the stock market's decline was mainly due to

the temporary speculation caused by external factors. Investors should not panic. He said: "I don't think this is a stock market crash." He believes that no matter what, the SAR government must first defend the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate. Although there was speculation in the Hong Kong dollar the night before, the speculation had subsided by this time. At the same time, Yam Chi-kang, CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, also delivered a speech, claiming that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority had repelled speculators the night before.

Perhaps it is because of the strong intervention measures of the SAR government, or perhaps because the confidence of the SAR government and financial managers

has infected investors. On the 24th, for four consecutive trading days After a sharp decline, the Hong Kong stock market rebounded strongly on that day. The Hang Seng Index rose by 718 points, or 6.89%. On the 27th, Donald Tsang reiterated that Hong Kong's current The linked exchange rate system will not change, and only speculators will suffer losses in this event.

At this time, stock markets around the world formed a vicious cycle of widespread plummeting. On the 27th, the New York Dow Jones Index

plummeted by nearly 554.26 points, the largest drop in history. It was a miserable day, which resulted in the automatic suspension of trading for an hour

. The Tokyo stock market plummeted by more than 800 points after opening. On the 28th, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plummeted by more than 1,400 points

, a drop of 13.7%. It reached a low of 8775.88 points throughout the day and closed at 9059.89 points.

The number of points dropped reached a record high The worst in history. Under this situation, the fluctuations in the Hong Kong stock market are not limited to its own factors.

In this regard, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa emphasized that the shock in the Hong Kong stock market is only a temporary adjustment. Shen Guofang, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said that the Hong Kong stock market has experienced such fluctuations in the past, which is not surprising. Fluctuations in the Hong Kong stock market are matters that the SAR government must handle on its own. The central government It will follow the principle of "one country, two systems" and will not directly intervene in Hong Kong's stock market and the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar. Beijing remains confident in Hong Kong's overall economy.

In response to questions from members, the Secretary for Financial Affairs of the Provisional Legislative Council of the SAR said that the society is very concerned about stabilizing the joint exchange rate system

As for the operation of the market, the SAR government’s consistent policy It is "freedom", and administrative interference should be reduced to a minimum.

Anson Chan, Chief Secretary for Administration of the Special Administrative Region, advised the public to remain calm, not to have allergic reactions, to be cautious when entering the market and

to act within their capabilities.

Hong Kong public opinion expressed strong confidence. "Sing Tao Daily" commented: "After experiencing

the economic crisis in the past, Hong Kong will recover quickly and become more prosperous. , this time should be no exception. The US Treasury pointed out that since the global stock market crash in 1987, the return rate of the Hong Kong stock market in the past 10 years has ranked first in the global stock market.

After the 1997 stock market crash, as long as Hong Kong vigorously develops its economy, the return rate in ten years' time may be the highest in the world. "

The Battle to Defend the Hong Kong Dollar

This "invisible war" caused by Soros shocked the world like a volcanic eruption.

Thailand and Malaysia, the epicenter of the earthquake, are suffering terribly. On the other hand, Hong Kong, across the sea, has tightened its nerves more than ever before. People are aware of this. It is only a matter of time before the "black financial undercurrent" lands on Hong Kong Island. Faced with the aggressive arrogance of international financial speculators, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa cautiously stated that the Hong Kong SAR The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has abundant foreign exchange reserves and its economy is growing steadily. More importantly, the Hong Kong SAR has the support of a strong motherland, so this storm will not have a particularly serious impact on Hong Kong.

In fact, as early as August 1997, speculators made several tentative attacks on the Hong Kong dollar.

On August 14 and 15, some powerful investment funds entered Hong Kong. In the foreign exchange market, they used financial futures to buy Hong Kong dollars using 3-month or 6-month Hong Kong dollar futures contracts, and then quickly sold them short, causing the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar against the U.S. dollar to drop for a time. It fell to 7.75/1. 7.75 is known as an important psychological key point for the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate. Hong Kong's financial authorities responded quickly by tightening monetary policy and raising interbank interest rates to combat speculators. . The Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised loan interest rates to banks, forcing banks to hand back excess positions, leaving speculators who borrowed money to sell Hong Kong dollars to buy U.S. dollars to face a tough situation. , being discouraged by the extremely high cost of speculation,

the Hong Kong market was restored to calm on August 20, and the speculators returned without success.

However, people know very well that these speculators will not give up, and a bloody fight between the two sides is inevitable

The Hong Kong authorities are taking precautions, using policies and public opinion offensives to remind these "money swimmers." "

Don't act rashly. The attitude of the Hong Kong financial management authorities is extremely clear: resolutely maintain the stability of the linked exchange rate system.

The Chief Executive of the SAR, Tung Chee-hwa, who was visiting the UK, emphasized before leaving London that the SAR government There is great determination to maintain the linked exchange rate

; Financial Secretary Donald Tsang and Secretary for Financial Services Hui Shi-yan met with the media and reiterated that maintaining the linked exchange rate

is the Hong Kong government’s preferred goal. In order to It is inevitable that interest rates will soar due to this goal. We hope that the people of Hong Kong will be calm

for a moment. Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan called on everyone to remain calm. The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce issued a statement of support

p>

The linked exchange rate system and called on those in the financial market to think calmly and re-examine the foundation of Hong Kong's economy to stabilize the market

Tsang Yam-kuen said at an investment conference: "I want to reiterate that we do not. It will change our currency system or

our relationship with the US dollar. Only speculators will die by speculating in Hong Kong dollars. "

International speculators have repeatedly attacked the Hong Kong dollar, not only aiming to profit from the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar, but also adopting a comprehensive

strategy to benefit from the stock market and futures market. Their The method is to first accumulate a large number of short positions in the futures market, then buy forward U.S. dollars and sell forward Hong Kong dollars to build momentum when the Hong Kong government responds to attacks on the Hong Kong dollar.

< p>When measures were taken to significantly raise interest rates, the stock sentiment turned dim, and people were worried that a sharp increase in interest rates would push down the stock and property markets. At this time, speculators took advantage of the situation to sell futures, causing the futures index to plummet. As a result, people in the stock market are panicked and sell stocks in a panic. Speculators can close their short positions and make huge profits. In other words, although speculators are trading in the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate. There was no success, or even small losses, but they made a fortune in the futures market.

In response, the Hong Kong financial authorities launched tit-for-tat measures. One was to use huge measures.

The foreign exchange reserves are to absorb Hong Kong dollars, and the second is to raise interest rates and tighten monetary policy.

After some confrontation, Hong Kong stocks stopped falling in a row

and began to soar strongly, mainly due to the entry of Chinese and foreign funds into the market, and 24 blue-chip and red-chip stocks were listed

The company repurchased shares from the market, driving the market upward. China Telecom's return to the level above the IPO price also had a certain stimulating effect, causing red chips and state-owned enterprises to recover and rebound. In addition, interest rate cuts in mainland China have also become a rising theme for the market.

These factors caused the Hang Seng Index to rebound rapidly. Following the strong rebound in the stock market, the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate returned to stability. At this point, this thrilling battle to defend the Hong Kong dollar has come to an end. The Chief Executive of the SAR, Tung Chee Hwa, praised Financial Secretary Donald Tsang and his colleagues for their handling of this crisis as "really worthy of praise". Although this contest ended with the arduous victory of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the shock it brought to people was not limited to the crisis itself. It forced more

More people to think about.

Financial Secretary Donald Tsang finally publicly stated that the Hong Kong government will conduct an internal review as soon as possible and meet with academics and business people

to summarize the financial crisis and find a better counterattack This is a way to prevent the Hong Kong dollar from being attacked by foreign exchange speculation

again.