Asian currencies fall on Yamaichi collapse<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Asian currencies weakened yesterday as
\ninvestors worried over a new round of volatility following the
\ndeteriorating market situation in South Korea and the collapse of
\nJapanese brokerage Yamaichi.<\/p>\n
Tokyo's action to avert a further escalation of the crisis
\nafter the fall of Japan's fourth largest securities firm and the
\nrevelation of IMF measures to be imposed on South Korea would
\ndetermine the course of Asian units in the next few days,
\nanalysts said.<\/p>\n
\"If the measures of the IMF are seen as insufficient\" to save
\nSouth Korea, \"then we could see chaos in the weeks ahead,\" said
\nJoanne Chong, an analyst at British investment house IDEA.<\/p>\n
Alison Seng, a regional economist at Standard and Poor's MMS,
\nnoted that \"the trend of financial turmoil in Japan is extending\"
\nand the \"fast action\" of government would do much to prevent a
\ncontagion from battering the currencies.<\/p>\n
At the close of foreign exchange trading here Monday, the
\nSouth Korean won slid to 1,110 to the US dollar after opening
\naround 1,055. The Taiwan dollar dropped to 32.416 after closing
\nlast week at 32.20 to the greenback.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asian currencies fell from their closing rates of
\nFriday, with the Singapore dollar at 1.5927 from 1.5895 to the US
\ndollar, the Malaysian ringgit at 3.4700 from 3.4600, and the Thai
\nbaht at 39.13 from 39.00.<\/p>\n
The holiday in Japan limited volatility in dollar-yen trading,
\nwith the yen quoted in a tight range of 126.45 to 127.00 against
\nthe dollar, before closing at 126.99, analysts said.<\/p>\n
\"Japan and Korea are the biggest economies in Asia and people
\nare very apprehensive on what's going to happen when the markets
\nopen tomorrow in Tokyo,\" said Tan Kee Wee, vice-president of
\nUnited Overseas Bank (UOB) Investment Research.<\/p>\n
\"I feel the (Southeast Asian) currencies are oversold ... but
\nright now it's just wait and see,\" Tan added.
\nHowever, dealers expected then yen to fall through the 127-yen to
\nthe dollar level when trading resumes Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Chong said they saw the yen \"touching 127.27 levels,\" as the
\ncurrency was seen to mirror an expected plunge in the stock
\nmarket Tuesday after Nikkei futures were traded last week below
\n500 points.<\/p>\n
There was also sentiment that the yen should fall to 130,
\nanalysts said.<\/p>\n
Tokyo had been swift Monday in issuing statements outlining
\nits moves to help the finance industry in the wake of the
\nYamaichi collapse.<\/p>\n
But it remained to be seen how the Bank of Japan would handle
\nany other cases of \"hidden debt\" that could emerge later on, and
\nhow it could manage the merger of weak banks to stronger banks,
\nwhich took time, Chong said.<\/p>\n
\"Once the skeletons are all out of the closet, we hope the
\nBank of Japan would have a current plan,\" she added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-currencies-fall-on-yamaichi-collapse-1447893297",
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