The Genius Investor Who Picks up The Conglomerates - Chapter 346



Only Krnovel

Episode 346: Disaster (4)

Mount Fuji, called a beautiful goddess by the Japanese and considered the spirit and symbol of Japan for a long time, has actually erupted once every 100 years for the past 1,200 years, and the last eruption was 300 years ago, during the 1707 Howei Earthquake.

Mount Fuji, located at the intersection of the Eurasian plate, North American plate, and Philippine plate, contained a huge magma chamber. The Great Nankai Earthquake caused a strong shock to the Philippine Sea Plate, causing the magma chamber to explode.

***

Kwaaaang!!!

At the same time as there was a roar as if heaven and earth were breaking apart, red-hot flames shot up into the sky from the crater at the top of Mt. Fuji.

Soon, black smoke reminiscent of the abyss of hell spewed out, and terrifying lightning flashed through it.

Black volcanic ash, which shot up to a height of 6,000 meters from the crater, began to cover the surrounding sky like poison.

The erupted lava devastated Fujiyoshida, the closest area to Mt. Fuji, in just two hours and flowed into Kawakana Prefecture.

In addition, high-temperature volcanic stones that could cause death if hit rained down like a rain of death in a nearby 20km area.

“oh my god······.”

All employees of the Korea Meteorological Administration who were watching the scene of cruel destruction created by Mother Nature with a drone were speechless.

Fortunately, the Korea Meteorological Administration, which had read the signs of Mt. Fuji’s eruption, evacuated nearby residents in advance to prevent an unexpected incident.

But the real disaster began now.

Tokyo, the capital of Japan and Asia’s largest megacity, is located only 106.74km from Mt. Fuji.

Since Mount Fuji in Japan is located in a westerly wind zone, all volcanic ash was directed to the east.

The harsh wind carried a black disaster and headed towards Tokyo, where 35 million people live.

The Japanese people were immersed in despair as they looked at the sky turning black, as if black ink had been spilled on blue drawing paper.

“Oh my god…”

“Why are you putting us through this ordeal?”

Because the shock and wounds of the Great Nankai Earthquake had not yet subsided, the shock was several times greater.

The volcanic ash that spread around Mt. Fuji affected not only Tokyo, but also Kanagawa, Yamanashi, and Chiba prefectures, and the ash continued to accumulate for a week.

A whopping 4cm of volcanic ash accumulated in Tokyo. An average of 8 cm of volcanic ash accumulated in Yokohama and Kawasaki cities.

The city center, where white volcanic ash had fallen, looked as if it had been hit by heavy snow.

However, the damage caused by volcanic ash was so great that it could not be compared to snow.

Even if just 1cm of volcanic ash accumulates, proper visibility is impaired and the floor becomes slippery, making cars and subways virtually unable to function properly. However, it could not be melted with calcium chloride like snow.

The fine particles of volcanic ash even affected power transmission facilities, and soon power was paralyzed and communication infrastructure in Japan was cut off.

But the vicious cycle did not end here.

The volcanic ash that flew into the water source caused the depletion of drinking water, and the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides contained in the volcanic ash destroyed the granary region of the Kanto region, creating a food shortage.

Above all, the area that suffered the most critical blow was the Japanese economy.

The volcanic ash that filled the sky prevented even airplanes from flying, and this blockage of air logistics led to a huge economic blow.

Naturally, the stock market fluctuated like crazy, and the Japanese people, consumed by fear, randomly hoarded food and prices began to soar frighteningly.

In a bleak situation with no solution in sight, foreign capital began to withdraw from the Japanese stock market, and the Nikkei 225 index began to shrink quickly like a balloon with a hole in it.

Japan, hit by two huge disasters in succession – the Great Nankai Earthquake and the Mt. Fuji explosion – is in a virtual state of despair and has no choice but to ask for desperate help from neighboring countries.

***

“Oh…Jesus.”

As Stephanie watched the miserable city of Tokyo covered in volcanic ash on TV, a cry of seeking God came out of her mouth.

“Isn’t it a dream…? A volcanic eruption in this day and age….”

Matthew also stared at the news with a heavy face, looking at Stephanie muttering as if she was mad.

“Many experts have been warning us for a long time that Mt. Fuji will definitely erupt one day. Although I didn’t know it would happen now.”

“Japan had already suffered over 100,000 casualties and astronomical economic losses due to the Great Nankai Earthquake, but the recent eruption of Mt. Fuji made it even worse. No, it would be a shame to compare it that way. Two counter punches to vital points in a row. “It’s acceptable to be alive.”

“Still, they say there are fewer casualties than expected? Fortunately, it seems like signs of an eruption were discovered early and evacuations were carried out well in advance. I guess that’s a good thing…? Wouldn’t there definitely be less damage than during the earthquake?”

Matthew shook his head at Stephanie’s words.

“It is very fortunate that there are not many victims, but the economic damage may be greater than that of the Great Nankai Earthquake.”

“Yes…? No way. The estimated damage suffered by Japan from that earthquake alone is close to 72 trillion yen.”

“Of course, earthquakes and tsunamis are terrible disasters, but volcanic ash from volcanic eruptions also causes just as much damage. Let’s think about the most recent eruption of Iceland’s Laki volcano.”

“Ah! I remember. When there was an aviation crisis?”

“That’s right. The Icelandic volcanic eruption caused a complete suspension of all European flights. Contrary to expectations that it would end in just a few days, the volcanic ash traveled through convection currents and affected all of Europe. At the time, nearly 30% of all flights worldwide. Flights were canceled, and 1.2 million passengers per day were affected, the largest loss since World War II. However, if you look at this, this is only a small portion of the total damage.”

It was Matthew’s unique, calm voice, but somehow it sounded spookier than most ghost stories.

“The major earthquake that occurred this time was certainly a terrible disaster, but fortunately there was no damage to the nuclear power plant, and although numerous buildings were destroyed and people were killed, the damage was not enough to paralyze the entire country of Japan. But the Mt. Fuji eruption is different. Asia’s largest megacity. All transportation, communication, and electronic infrastructure in Tokyo was paralyzed due to the volcanic ash, and the area where many factories were concentrated also lost electricity and all operations stopped. “It is a sign that the Japanese government may be in danger of collapse, so it is throwing everything at its face and relying on its allies to quickly restore its basic infrastructure in order to avoid ruin.”

“It’s scary. Really… It won’t even affect Korea, right?”

I answered Stephanie’s concerned question.

“You don’t have to worry about direct damage from volcanic ash at all. Fortunately, the volcanic ash is flying toward East Japan and the Pacific Ocean. However, indirect damage that will occur in the future cannot be helped.”

Matthew nodded in agreement.

“It will definitely be that way. It is a global economic system connected to the global value chain. Other countries will also suffer damage, but the damage will be enormous due to the nature of our country’s industry, which imports various chemicals, steel, and parts materials as intermediate goods, reprocesses them, and exports them. ”

The atmosphere in the conference room became even more serious.

“Manufacturing and exports are problems, but the bigger problem is the financial market. Tokyo is the largest financial hub in Asia. In particular, the yen is treated as a safe currency and has great international influence. The economic damage caused by the Great Nankai Earthquake and the Mt. Fuji eruption The yen will weaken, which in turn means that the dollar will weaken, and the exchange rate will soar like crazy. It is obvious that anxiety will increase as the country is geographically close to us. .”

The reasoning of Kim Seon-gi, a former banker and extensive knowledge of global economic trends, was quite reasonable.

“The same goes for the stock market. Even if you think back to the East Japan Earthquake, the aftermath did not appear immediately, but instead fluctuated. Ironically, the temporary strength appeared due to economic recovery following damage recovery and expectations of growth due to economic stimulus measures to be poured in the future. However, the situation is completely different this time. The process of dealing with the damage caused by volcanic ash will inevitably take a long time, and the global economy will quickly decline, leading to rapid recovery of foreign funds invested in Japan. “Korean automobile companies that are doing this may benefit, but it will also have a negative impact on the Korean economy at a macro level.”

No one refuted Kim Seon-gi’s words.

In any case, since many meaningful opinions emerged, I felt the need to organize them to some extent into a representative position.

“It is unfortunate that Japan experienced something like this, but it has already happened. Moreover, it happened not by man-made disaster but by a natural disaster. This means that no one could have predicted it and it is something that cannot be undone. Therefore, we It is right to focus on what we can do. First of all, Stephanie and Matthew said that the crisis is an opportunity. I believe you know that if you seize the opportunity in a difficult situation, you can rise to the top in an instant. If there is anything you need my help with, please let me know.”

Matthew and Stephanie nodded at my words.

“I understand. If Dylan actively helps, I don’t think there will be any major problems.”

It was a tone that conveyed strong trust in me.

“And Executive Director Kim, please focus on securing cash for the time being. We will not hesitate to liquidate assets that have generated sufficient profits. There will be useful uses for them in the future.”

“Yes, I will do that, CEO. Ah! By the way, isn’t the expiration date of the Nikkei 225 put option you bought tomorrow…?”

Seongi Kim asked me with a serious look on his face, and I glanced at the calendar and nodded.

“It’s already happened.”

Stephanie, who became impatient with my calm tone of voice, stuttered and asked.

“Now, wait a minute! How much has the Nikkei 225 index fallen now? So many crazy things happened one after another that I couldn’t even check it properly.”

The answer came from Kim Seon-gi’s mouth.

“It is a miserable level. Not only did the circuit breakers that were activated one after another, but both the level of decline and the volatility of the index showed a plunge that surpassed that of the East Japan Earthquake. The index, which hit the 38,400 level, has fallen below the 30,000 mark since yesterday.”

“It’s crazy… It’s a loss of over 20% in just one month, right? Oh my God… Now, wait a minute. So, what is the return on the put option that Dylan bought now?”

Stephanie’s trembling eyes turned to me, and I shrugged my shoulders at her.

“Well, I’m not worried about it right now. I’ll know for sure when it expires tomorrow.”