寿险风暴只是开始，亚洲要面对”美元错配“与”资本回流“

Core Viewpoint - The systemic risk of dollar asset maturity mismatch has been exposed by significant losses in Asian life insurance, marking a fundamental reversal in capital logic that has persisted for decades, leading to a massive $7.5 trillion "great retreat" from U.S. assets towards local markets [1][4]. Group 1: Life Insurance Sector Crisis - The Taiwanese dollar's surge in May caused severe impacts on the value of $294 billion in U.S. Treasury holdings, with a potential $18 billion unrealized loss due to a 10% appreciation of the TWD [2]. - Taiwanese life insurance reported a $620 million loss in April due to market volatility from tariffs, with net worth dropping to a near 11-month low of 24.172 trillion TWD [2]. - Japanese life insurance companies also faced significant losses, with Meiji Yasuda Life reporting a staggering increase in bond losses from 161.4 billion JPY to approximately 1.386 trillion JPY [2]. Group 2: Maturity Mismatch Issues - Life insurance companies, as major buyers of long-term bonds, face a critical weakness due to maturity mismatch, where rising interest rates lead to substantial declines in bond values, resulting in massive unrealized losses [3]. Group 3: Shift in Investment Strategy - The historical strategy of Asian export nations to invest in U.S. assets has been challenged, with a total of $7.5 trillion invested in U.S. stocks and bonds since 1997, peaking at $354 billion in annual inflows in 2004 [4][5]. - By 2024, capital inflows from Asia to the U.S. have dropped to $68 billion, only 11% of the trade surplus with the U.S., indicating a significant shift away from the "American exceptionalism" narrative [5]. Group 4: Capital Reallocation Opportunities - The transition from holding dollar assets to questioning U.S. exceptionalism could lead to a reallocation of $2.5 trillion or more in global markets, benefiting emerging market currencies and stock markets [6]. - Asian currencies, including the yen, are currently undervalued by approximately 57% based on purchasing power parity, suggesting potential for appreciation and capital inflow [7].