Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 336

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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336. Let’s start the operation right away.

Nomura Securities Headquarters, Chuo Ward, Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
Unlike the calm atmosphere that had prevailed until the morning, as hedge funds launched their rupiah attack and the Indonesian stock market began to shake, the derivatives division was seized with tension.

“The IDX has fallen again and broken through 600!”

At the cry of a subordinate that sounded almost like a scream, Nakamura Shoichi, the department head, checked the monitor displaying the Indonesian stock market chart, scrunched his face, and let out a low groan.

[IDX : 599.70 (
17.57)]

It was difficult to hide his bewilderment as the Indonesian stock market, which had been rebounding on bargain buying, collapsed and plummeted the moment the hedge funds attacked the rupiah.
Then Okamura Hideo, speaking in a strained voice, said urgently.

“The rupiah against the dollar has plummeted 17.8%, from 2.64 to 3.11!”
“What! It’s broken through 3 rupiah in a single move.”

As Nakamura Shoichi raised his eyebrows and repeated the question, Okamura Hideo, bewildered by the sudden turn of events, answered.

“Yes. The Bank of Indonesia has begun emergency intervention, but it appears to be struggling to prevent the rupiah’s collapse.”
“This is maddening.”

As Nakamura Shoichi frowned, Usami, an executive director in a gray suit, burst into the office with a flushed expression and shouted.

“What is going on here!”
“Director Usami. You’ve arrived.”

Nakamura Shoichi quickly rushed forward and bowed his head.

“The Indonesian stock market is collapsing again, I hear!”

Caught off guard by Usami’s sudden appearance, Nakamura Shoichi racked his brain for an explanation and answered awkwardly.

“That’s correct. We’ve currently broken through the 600-point level.”

Upon hearing the story, Usami’s face crumpled in displeasure.

“Why has the atmosphere suddenly shifted like this?”
“Well….”

Nakamura, though uncertain of the precise cause, couldn’t simply admit ignorance, so he spoke whatever came to mind.

“As the rupiah has plummeted under attacks from currency speculators, it appears foreign investors are hastily withdrawing their capital from the Indonesian stock market.”
“What’s the rupiah exchange rate right now?”

At that, Okamura quickly checked the monitor and answered in Nakamura’s stead.

“3.11, or rather 3.13 rupiah per dollar.”
“What!”

Usami’s eyes widened in shock.

“Just moments ago when I checked, it hadn’t exceeded 3 rupiah—it’s already fallen that far!”
“The selling pressure on the rupiah is so intense that even with the Bank of Indonesia intervening by releasing its foreign reserves, the decline shows little sign of stopping.”

At Okamura’s response, Usami’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Are the currency speculators’ attacks really that fierce?”

Nakamura quickly interjected to continue the conversation.

“Beyond the speculators’ assault, foreign investors who had capital in Indonesia are withdrawing funds from the stock market out of concern for currency losses, then rapidly converting those proceeds into dollars—and this is further accelerating the rupiah’s collapse.”
“Damn it!”

The curse escaped Usami’s lips involuntarily as he absorbed the information.
As the rupiah fell, foreign investors rushed to pull their money out, causing the Indonesian stock market to crash, and when they converted those liquidated funds into dollars, it further depressed the rupiah’s value—a vicious death spiral had formed, and it was entirely understandable that Usami would react this way.
Facing the worst-case scenario, Usami clenched his lips tightly and fixed his gaze on Nakamura.

“Surely the 450-point level won’t be breached.”

Unable to meet his eyes directly, Nakamura replied in an uncertain voice.

“If the rupiah continues to decline at this rate… it would be difficult to completely rule out that possibility.”
“Damn it all!”

Usami erupted with a convulsive shout.

“No! This absolutely cannot happen!”

With his eyes narrowed to slits, Usami bellowed at Nakamura in an enraged voice.

“Do whatever it takes to prevent 450 from collapsing!”

Nakamura’s expression twisted into one of helpless distress.

“I wish I could, but I don’t see any viable options.”
“So you’re just going to sit idle with your hands folded? If the options trigger again, we’ll owe the Eldorado Fund a staggering one billion dollars!”

Nakamura could offer no response, merely lowering his head.
Usami’s fury intensified at the sight, his entire body radiating exasperation.

“Help the Bank of Indonesia defend the rupiah, or buy up the top-cap stocks to prevent the index from falling further—do something, anything!”
“That’s not within our purview, and if we intervene carelessly, we’ll only compound our losses.”

Nakamura shook his head, his tone skeptical.
Usami understood the directive was unreasonable, yet he couldn’t simply stand by and do nothing.

“Get Katsunaga, the Trading Department head, to my office immediately! No, I’ll go myself—it’ll be faster!”

With that, Usami strode away with hurried steps.
Okamura, who had been holding his breath while observing the exchange, finally sidled over and spoke.

“He really does seem determined to prop up the Indonesian market by any means necessary.”
“I suppose so…”

But was such a thing even possible?
Nakamura’s face darkened as he gazed in the direction Usami had vanished.

* * *

Two days later.
Despite the desperate defense efforts by the Indonesian government and central bank, the rupiah continued its decline, plummeting to 3.24 per dollar.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian stock market experienced an even steeper collapse than the currency, descending into outright panic.

[IDX : 508.65 (
46.83)]

Seok-won leaned back in his plush chair, displaying the Indonesian stock market chart on his monitor while speaking with Porter, who had returned to Japan.

[Beyond the Chinese merchant issue you mentioned, Indonesian companies that borrowed heavily in cheap dollars from overseas instead of taking on complex domestic loans are now panic-buying dollars in response to the rupiah’s collapse, creating a vicious cycle that further accelerates the exchange rate surge.]
“Since the rupiah’s value has fallen, the interest and principal they need to repay have ballooned significantly. For these companies, it’s like having a fire at their feet.”
[Exactly.]

Korea, which also carried substantial short-term foreign debt, had experienced the same phenomenon during its currency crisis, so I wore a bitter expression as I held the receiver.

[It’s only natural to take out insurance when you can clearly see an enormous tsunami bearing down on you.]
“And if the rupiah plummets to the bottom and they exchange the dollars they’ve been holding, they could reap substantial currency gains.”
[That’s certainly a possibility.]

Since a company’s fundamental purpose was to pursue profit, I couldn’t fault them for this.

‘In fact, if they failed to respond quickly and simply sat idle, the company’s very survival could be jeopardized.’

When the IMF crisis actually struck, companies that remained oblivious to external developments and made no preparations whatsoever collapsed in succession without any means of resistance.
Conversely, those that sensed something was amiss, accumulated dollars in advance, and prepared countermeasures were able to significantly expand their operations by acquiring bankrupt companies after enduring the severe ordeal.
Dismissing my brief reverie, I moved the mouse to display a new rupiah exchange rate chart alongside the existing one on the monitor.

“If the market strengthens its perception that the rupiah will continue declining, not just hedge funds but other investors will join in selling rupiah, causing the decline to accelerate further.”
[I also believe there’s a very strong possibility of that happening. When it does, the Indonesian stock market will collapse and break through the 450-point level.]

Porter’s voice had regained its composure, unlike when he’d visited Korea two days earlier.
I smiled faintly and responded.

“It only needs to drop another 60 points to break 450, so it shouldn’t be difficult.”
[By now, the Japanese securities firms that entered into option contracts with us must be absolutely panicking.]

Porter chuckled softly as he spoke.

“How’s the Nikkei futures short sale progressing?”
[As concerns grow that the yen will strengthen further due to the Southeast Asian currency crisis, causing the Nikkei to decline, buyers for futures have completely disappeared in recent days.]
“It’s unfortunate, but if they’re not fools, no one would be betting long right now, so there’s nothing we can do about it.”

I smacked my lips and issued instructions in a tone that showed little regret.

“Instead, once Manager Choi Ho-geun’s team finishes building out the short-selling position, we’ll leak details of the options contract we signed with Japan’s Big Four Securities Firms to the media.”

Porter, catching on immediately to what I intended, nodded.

[Heh heh. I understand. Having to pay out tens of billions of dollars through the options contract alone would be incredibly painful. And if the stock price plummets on top of that, our executives will be absolutely grinding their teeth.]
“If word gets out that we’ve suffered losses in the tens of billions of dollars, the current management won’t find it easy to keep their positions anyway. Either way, it doesn’t matter, does it?”
[Ha ha ha! I see.]

Porter burst into even more delighted laughter upon hearing my composed response.
After exchanging a few more words and ending the call, I pressed the speakerphone button and dialed Manager Choi Ho-geun.
The line rang, and shortly after, Manager Choi Ho-geun’s voice came through.

[Yes. This is Choi Ho-geun.]
“It’s me.”
[Ah. President.]
“The short-selling preparations are complete, right?”
[Yes. We’re on standby, just waiting for your signal.]

I pulled up the stock price tickers for Nomura Securities, Daiwa Securities, Nikko Securities, and Yamaichi Securities on my monitor in sequence, checking the current prices before issuing my command.

“Then start the operation immediately.”
[Understood.]

After ending the brief call, I leisurely picked up my mug and sipped my coffee while murmuring to myself.

“Well then, let’s see what Manager Choi Ho-geun is capable of.”

* * *

Manager Choi Ho-geun, his dress shirt sleeves rolled up and his necktie loosened, set down the receiver and drew in a deep breath before exhaling.
Then he checked the stock prices of Japan’s Big Four Securities Firms displayed on the large market board across from him.

[Nomura Securities: 1609.3]
[Daiwa Securities: 885.9]
[Nikko Securities: 790.6]
[Yamaichi Securities: 760.3]

Manager Choi Ho-geun, his eyes gleaming sharply like a hunter facing his prey, turned his head to look at Assistant Manager Jung Hwan-yeop seated at the computer and asked.

“How’s the Nikkei sentiment?”
“Overall weakness, but the stock prices of the Big Four Securities Firms aren’t dropping significantly.”
“If they’d fallen more, there would be less profit for us to take. We’re fortunate.”
“That’s right.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun glanced around at his other team members and asked.

“Do we have sufficient short-selling volume secured?”
“Yes. We’ve deposited 16.523 billion yen as collateral into the Goldman Sachs Japan branch account and completed the securities lending according to the collateral ratio.”

Yu Seok-hyun immediately looked up and answered.
To avoid any issues later, they planned to open an account under a shell company name at the Goldman Sachs Japan branch and conduct transactions through it.
To maximize profits from this short sale, they’d combined the Capital Operations Department’s funds with all the spare cash held by Daeheung Venture Capital and placed their entire bet.
In other words, if the short sale failed, the company could go bankrupt, which made Manager Choi Ho-geun’s shoulders feel even heavier.

“Then start selling according to plan.”
“Yes!”

Manager Jung Hwan-yeop and the team members simultaneously picked up their receivers, and with their other hands tapping keyboards, they rapidly entered sell orders.
Throughout this, Manager Choi Ho-geun stood with crossed arms and a tense expression, monitoring the stock price movements of the Big Four Securities Firms displayed on the large market board.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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