Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1222 Taking advantage of the situation
The reason Li Dongling supported Zhang Wenqing in establishing the Ya'an Security Bureau was precisely for this moment.

Ya'an Company is not just a gatekeeper or bodyguard for buildings; more importantly, it provides support for Dongling High-Tech's overseas expansion.

Without a certain level of self-defense capabilities and without fangs to intimidate outsiders, both Dongling High-Tech's overseas companies and its dispatched personnel might just become walking RMB in the eyes of some people!
In my past life, why did accidents targeting Chinese people keep happening in Southeast Asia? Besides the traitors who only schemed against their own people, it was because the locals had no sense of fear.

Fear of power but not of virtue is a characteristic of many overseas locals; if they haven't been hurt, of course they won't be afraid.

With Ya'an's presence, Dongling High-Tech's overseas branches can be protected when they open up local markets or acquire mineral resources there.

It's hard to say how effective it will be, but if local thugs, gangs, or similar groups dare to make a move, cutting off their claws and teeth can prevent a lot of trouble.

Of course, brute force and violence cannot solve all problems, and everyone knows that, but there must be something that makes people wary.

In addition to Ya'an's ability to protect itself, hiring international public relations and lobbying firms to win over local influential figures and members of parliament who are helpful to Kunlun Minerals and to build connections in the local area is also crucial.

The key to success lies in balancing strength and flexibility; this approach is not only applicable to Dongling Hi-Tech, but also to major overseas companies.

Which giant company hasn't suffered losses when venturing overseas? It's just a matter of how big or small the losses are. The key is whether they can recover their losses and prevent others from imitating them in the future.

After being cheated by Mike Lynch, known as the "British Bill Gates," HP sent Lynch's entire family to go scuba diving, leaving only his wife to inherit Lynch's estate and pay off his debts.

HP's approach is not an isolated case. When Raytheon of America exported Patriot missile systems to Turkey, it was tricked and lost a huge dollar order, and instead bought the Russian S-400 system.

Two years later, the Turkish executive in charge of procuring Raytheon systems was involved in a car accident.

As for other things, DuPont sending its competitors to ride in dirt planes and blowing up their laboratories and factories is something they are very familiar with.

The four giants of the American Trust era—Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and DuPont—could be summed up in one sentence: even if you drained the Atlantic Ocean, you wouldn't have a drop of blood left to the heads of these four giants. There wasn't a single living person on their blacklist.

When these four giants went overseas, they used money and guns to pave the way, with salesmen and mercenaries working together.

Giants that can establish themselves overseas generally have means to counter their competitors.

Dongling High-Tech doesn't need to be so domineering. After all, Li Dashan always persuades people with reason. But when the other party is unethical and unscrupulous, it is necessary to retaliate without hesitation.

This isn't about taking a step back to open up a world of possibilities; rather, taking a step back will be seen as weakness, and the other side will devour you until there's nothing left but bones.

Li Minghan nodded emphatically to Li Dongling. Dongling High-Tech and Cyberport have already done so much for Kunlun Minerals. If he still can't achieve something, he'll leave without Li Dongling even having to say a word.

"In the future, the funds and gold reserves of companies such as Cyberport, Kunlun Mining, Tse Sui Luen Jewellery, Hong Kong City Telecom, and Ning's Trading in Hong Kong and overseas will be entrusted to Hong Kong Base Bank!"

Li Dongling looked at Li Yonghong and said, "In addition, the revenue and profits of overseas companies such as Dongling High-Tech North America and Dongling High-Tech Europe will gradually be handed over to Hong Kong-based companies."

Leaving aside the headquarters of Dongling High-Tech, the foreign exchange earned will definitely be handled by inland banks.

However, foreign exchange reserves will gradually ease and become less scarce, allowing Dongling High-Tech's overseas companies to slowly start depositing their earnings in Hong Kong banks.

"In addition, if companies invested in by Cyberport's Silicon Harbour project and the Hong Kong City Future Industry Foundation have loan needs, Hong Kong Foundation Bank can also provide appropriate support after passing the risk assessment."

Li Dongling's words made Li Yonghong sit up straight, his breathing becoming a little rapid.

Previously, Hong Kong-based Bank was not particularly prominent in Hong Kong. It was just one of the few "ordinary" banks in the city, ranking in the lower middle range among the more than one hundred banks in Hong Kong. Well, it can't be said to be at the bottom, but it was used to highlight banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered.

Previously, Hong Kong-based banks' biggest profits, besides ordinary users' savings, came from lending money to real estate companies, providing mortgages to homebuyers and earning the difference between the mortgage rates and credit card interest.

However, although Hong Kong-based Bank has a banking license in Macau and can conduct business in Macau, it is still inconspicuous. At least it can't get a piece of the lucrative Macau gaming industry pie, and can't even smell the fish.

The acquisition of Cyberport was also due to Soros's short selling, which caused a lot of Hong Kong real estate companies to collapse, housing prices to fall continuously, and many mortgage borrowers to run away and go bankrupt, causing the bad debt ratio of Hong Kong-based banks to soar. The same was true for the credit card business.

With Hong Kong-based bank's profits plummeting and its share price halved, Cyberport has an opportunity to seize the chance to acquire the bank!
Backed by Cyberport, Hong Kong-based bank has escaped bankruptcy, but it's not dead yet, though it's far from fully recovered.

After Soros's defeat in Hong Kong, British and Chinese banking giants such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of China, and CITIC Hong Kong Bank took advantage of the industry downturn and launched a new round of reverse mergers, taking advantage of low prices to crush or even devour their competitors.

Hong Kong-based banks aren't doing too well right now, especially when facing giants like HSBC, where they're quite passive. But now, with Li Dashan depositing funds from Cyberport and Dongling High-Tech's overseas companies into Hong Kong-based banks, plus providing funding for companies involved in the Silicon Harbor project, Hong Kong-based banks' fortunes have instantly improved!

The banking business of Dongling High-Tech alone is enough to make Hong Kong Bank live quite comfortably. To be honest, it has instantly doubled Hong Kong Bank's deposit scale!
One major client, Dongling Hi-Tech, is equivalent to Hong Kong-based banks, attracting a large number of corporate deposits.

"Mr. Li, I wonder if there's any opportunity with Hong Kong-based banks..."

"Don't count on it in the short term!"

Li Dongling knew what Li Yonghong wanted to ask, so he spoke directly.

"If Hong Kong-based banks are lucky in the future, they may be able to obtain a banking license to enter the mainland market, or be allowed to allow large clients with deposits of over one million to invest their money in Hong Kong-based banks' branches in the mainland. That would already be considered very lucky!"

Li Dongling said directly that Li Yonghong's thoughts were definitely about whether Hong Kong-based banks could enter the mainland banking market.

However, Li Dongling is unlikely to go against Hong Kong banks such as HSBC, Bank of East Asia, and Hang Seng Bank, which have already obtained licenses to enter the mainland banking industry, just for the sake of Hong Kong Fund.

If Li Dashan (Li Keqiang) were to forcefully help Hong Kong-based banks obtain mainland banking licenses, not to mention the amount of connections and resources he would need to utilize, it would inevitably provoke dissatisfaction from both Hong Kong and mainland banks, potentially making Hong Kong-based banks the target of public criticism. In the end, it might even leave Hong Kong-based banks with no foothold in the mainland.

The opportunity to enter the mainland banking market can only be waited for; this is something that cannot be rushed.

Although Li Yonghong felt some regret, he also knew that such things could not be forced.

"Opportunities to enter the mainland market will have to wait, but entry into the Southeast Asian banking market is wide open for Hong Kong-based banks!"

Li Dongling looked at Li Yonghong and said, "Wall Street institutions, with the help of Soros, have opened up markets in places like Siam and South Korea. Hong Kong Bank is definitely not as good as Wall Street institutions, which can freely fleece investors."

However, there is an opportunity to acquire or partner with local consortia to invest in some local small and medium-sized banks and obtain entry tickets into the banking markets of Siam, South Korea, and other places!

Li Yonghong never expected that the philanthropist Li would allow Hong Kong-based banks to expand into Southeast Asia.

Frowning slightly, Li Yonghong explained to Li Dongling, "Mr. Li, the economies of Southeast Asia are currently sluggish. Places like Siam don't know when they will recover. Entering the region now and obtaining a banking license might be risky!"

Li Yonghong wasn't unwilling to let Hong Kong-based banks enter Southeast Asia; it's just that Southeast Asia was in a mess after Soros's actions, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that all industries were in decline.

Not all regions are like the inland areas, where the economy is beginning a strong recovery. Some regions have been completely crippled and unable to get back up after being tormented by Soros. This is actually the normal situation.

Places like Siam, let alone not being able to recover in the last few years, have no hope for decades to come. After its ambition to become a developed country was shattered, Siam basically gave up, abandoned its manufacturing business, started relying on nature, transformed into a tourism country, and at one point became a sex paradise for white men from America and old Europe.

To be honest, Li Yonghong's concerns were not unreasonable, but in this world, what is there that only brings benefits and no risks?

"There are risks, but sometimes, we have to face them!"

Li Dongling said to Li Yonghong, "Dongling Hi-Tech, Cyberport, and other companies all need Hong Kong-based banks to go global, establish banking operations locally, and provide necessary support for companies going overseas!"

The fact that Hong Kong-based banks can establish themselves in places like Siam, South Korea, and Singapore is not simply due to their ability to open branches in those places.

Wherever Hong Kong-based banks go, they can establish channels, connections, and resources. In the future, companies like Hong Kong City Telecom will thrive when they enter these areas.

It's not just companies affiliated with the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST); other Chinese companies, when entering overseas markets, will naturally cooperate with Hong Kong-based banks.

Chinese tourists visiting the area often choose to deal with Hong Kong-based banks when exchanging currency, depositing money, or withdrawing cash.

Given the scale of Chinese companies expanding overseas and the presence of Chinese people all over the world, Hong Kong-based banks are unlikely to lose money overseas. The question is how much they can earn overseas!

"Cyberport Corporation will also provide Hong Kong-based Bank with approximately US$4.5 million to acquire banking licenses in Southeast Asia and establish branches there!"

Li Dongling said that if you want the horse to run fast, it definitely needs to be fed. You can't let people work on an empty stomach. Even Zhou Bapi wasn't that ruthless.

(End of this chapter)