| What's the Impact of the China Quake | |
|---|---|
| May 12, 2008 20:39 |   |
 | An earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter scale hit Sichuan Province in southwest China on May 12th. The death toll is reported to have reached close to 100,000. Our hearts go out to the families affected by this. What would the economic impact of this worst quake in 30 years be for Chinese stock market, China stocks in the US, and the world equity market in general? Steve Lin http://www.chinastockinfo.com/ |
| May 12, 2008 21:41 | #1 |
| Due to the earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan, is not a econormical center. I think the economic will not be impacted worst than the ice-snow crise in south China early this year. But we lost 10000 lives already. and the death will reach much higher in today's report. |
| May 13, 2008 09:44 | #2 |
| Steve, I think you mean 10,000 on the death toll, not 100,000. Let's hope it never comes to that. I doubt the impact on the Chinese stock market will be near as great as the impact on human life. I'm sad for the tourist industry in the area that will suffer greatly from this - Chengdu, and Sichuan as a whole, is such a beautiful area to visit. |
| May 14, 2008 04:47 | #3 |
| So far the papers in the US are saying the toll may be closer to 25,000 :( The very first thing the talking heads on the financial networks mentioned was the economic impact, not the loss of life... jerks. Other than internal supply routes and transportation there will be minimal effects on the overall economy because Sichuan only accounts for 3% of exports. That being said, there will probably be an increase in commodity prices in China compounding the already staggering inflation. |
| May 14, 2008 21:31 | #4 |
| So far the papers in the US are saying the toll may be closer to 25,000 :( Jarchack, I am eager to know where they got the source. Did they send their reporters to the disaster areas? According to Chinese reports, the death toll has reached to 14866, not as big as US newpapers reported. |
| May 14, 2008 22:15 | #5 |
| Jimmy, the fact is that whether it is American or Chinese media, projections on the death toll are going to be guesses by either group. Right now the Chinese media is reporting the number of confirmed deaths, while the American media is projecting the devastating toll this quake will have as a whole. I believe both could be correct. However, the sad truth is that with every passing day, numbers from both country's media outlets are projecting higher and higher numbers. The number of "missing" people is numbered in the multiple tens of thousands. The more time that passes between the earthquake and their rescue, the more likely the rescue effort will unfortunately become a recovery effort. As I've said before, I just hope and pray that this doesn't reach the 100,000 mark that Steve originally mis-typed (at least I think so). And to keep with this thread's theme, I just read that of the estimated $20 billion in damage this earthquake has probably caused, only about 5% of that is insured. In other words, will this affect the country's economy as a whole? I doubt it will too much. But the individuals and families in this region are going to be devastated for possibly the next decade or even longer. Sometimes we look at the big picture too long and fail to realize just how much this is going to affect individual lives. Many will be starting life from scratch, and in the whole scheme of things, I think that's much more devastating than a small dip in the market. |
| May 15, 2008 20:16 | #6 |
| Chinese government is saying they are looking to have 50,000 dead just in Sichuan alone. *sigh* |
| May 15, 2008 21:36 | #7 |
| A shame that major military powers can't contribute 1% of their spending for armaments to mega-disasters like this. Maybe this would be a better world if that were to happen. Instead of impressing other countries with "military might" they could be impressed with "good will' |
| May 18, 2008 22:22 | #8 |
| "And to keep with this thread's theme, I just read that of the estimated $20 billion in damage this earthquake has probably caused, only about 5% of that is insured.' Jsummers83, that is why those insurance companies' shares fell after the earthquake happened. Many investors are afraid that those insurance companies will have to pay a lot of money to the victims. I just heard that some insurance companies had had decided to pay the bill for those victims. Really good! Actually, they didn't need to do so. This is what the condition in the contract says. On the other hand, two insurance companies (I couldn't remember their names) have announced to raise those orphans untill they are 18 years old. Applause for them! |
| Jun 26, 2008 11:07 | #9 |
| If insurance companies are paying when they are not obliged to it is simply because it is cheap advertising...even if they really do it. Overall, the effect on the Chinese economy is minimal. It might slow the economy 1% but the govt was trying to slow it more than that any way. |
Post a Reply to: What's the Impact of the China Quake
Copyright © 1998-2024 All rights reserved.