We are all reborn, who wants to be the richest man?

Chapter 244 Dominate Hong Kong Island
At the end of July, the Hong Kong government held a press conference. When the reporters saw the battle at the scene, they knew something big was about to happen.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Peng Lizhi, Far East Group President Welch, and HSBC Chief Executive Officer Shen Bi.

It is no exaggeration to say that to a certain extent, these three people can basically determine the economy of Hong Kong Island.

However, if someone observes carefully, they can see that the expressions of the three people today are slightly different.

Sitting in the middle, Financial Secretary Peng Lizhi was neither sad nor happy, with a calm expression.

Welch on the left is smiling and full of joy.

The only person who can be said to be looking bad is Shen Bi, who is sitting on the right. Although he is not angry, his face is always drawn, giving people the feeling that he is not interested.

Shen Bi had reason to be angry because he was coerced by HSBC's directors.

Except for a few who supported Shen Bi and agreed with his view that Hang Seng was worth much more than that, most of the directors voted in favor of selling Hang Seng.

This is the first time that Shen Bi has felt such a helpless feeling since he took office as the head coach of HSBC. The previous board of directors was basically a decoration, and they were all based on his opinions as a formality.

Since the Jianing case, everything has changed, and he can feel that some people have had a crisis of trust in him.

Therefore, today's press conference is not Shen Bi's psychological wish, but that he has to come and participate as the top class member of HSBC.

The host of the Hong Kong government at the scene made a concise opening and then turned the conversation to Peng Lizhi, "Now I would like to invite the Financial Secretary, Mr. Peng Lizhi, to speak."

When his name was called, Peng Zhizhi still had the same expression without any emotion. He leaned forward and pointed at the microphone. His words were very formatted, like a robot, lukewarm and emotionless.

"Today's press conference will mainly announce several major events that may affect the future economic direction of Hong Kong Island.

The first thing was that after discussion by the Hong Kong government, in order to better manage the Hong Kong stock market, it was decided to merge the four stock exchanges into one and establish the United Exchange on January 1983, 1."

The merger of the four institutions was proposed as early as 1979. People on Hong Kong Island also know that the Financial Secretary has been actively carrying out the work of merging the four institutions recently.

Although I didn't expect the speed to be so unusually fast, it's not too surprising news.

"The second thing is that the Hong Kong government decided to transfer the financial warehouse from HSBC to Far Eastern Bank and hand over the management of the Exchange Fund to Far Eastern Bank."

"boom". As soon as Peng Zhizhi finished speaking, the reporters at the scene exploded.

The fiscal treasury is the account used by the Hong Kong government for revenue and expenditure. The salaries of personnel in the civil service, medical, and education systems are all issued from this account.

Now that this account has been transferred to Far East Bank, it can be said that Far East Bank will have a clear understanding of the use of every fund of the Hong Kong government.

Then there is the Exchange Fund. It is self-evident what this huge amount of low-cost funds means to banks.

Especially after Hong Kong Island may implement a U.S. dollar-bound exchange rate next year, this foreign exchange fund will become even more profitable for a bank.

At that time, the equivalent US dollars stored in Hong Kong dollars flowing within Hong Kong Island will benefit Far East Bank a lot. It is said to be a guarantee fund, but who can guarantee that it will not be misappropriated?
As long as it is not excessive, this is an unspoken rule. Even 1% of US dollar reserves is a large number and can create a lot of value for a bank in a year.

Facing the reporter below who raised his hands in the air and couldn't help but want to ask questions, Peng Zhizhi pressed his hands and said, "I will let you ask questions after I announce everything. Please be patient now."

After speaking, he ignored some reporters who were still raising their hands and continued, "We all know that the right to issue banknotes in Hong Kong Island has always been three banks, but since the acquisition of Benefit Bank by HSBC, it has basically been two banks issuing banknotes.

After consideration, the Hong Kong government decided to transfer the advantageous right to issue banknotes to the Far East Bank and continue to maintain the three banks that can issue banknotes."

The right to issue banknotes has also changed, but compared with the previous incident, this incident did not cause much sensation.

"The last thing is that after careful discussion by the Hong Kong government, it has been decided to designate Far East Bank as the settlement bank on Hong Kong Island from January 1 next year."

As soon as Peng Zhizhi finished speaking, all the reporters below raised their hands. This piece of information exploded more than any previous information.

After the host named a reporter, the first reporter named was quite excited.

"Director Peng Jishi, HSBC has been acting as the central bank of Hong Kong Island. Now that the Hong Kong government has handed over the finance, foreign exchange and settlement banks to Far East Bank, has it officially confirmed that Far East Bank is the central bank of Hong Kong Island?
Why did the Hong Kong government abandon HSBC? Are there any details here that we don’t know? "

“First of all, what I want to say is that the Hong Kong government is only cooperating with Far East Bank and has not officially designated Far East Bank as the central bank of Hong Kong Island.

As for the details, they are not that complicated. The Hong Kong government considers both Hong Kong people and Hong Kong Island and feels that this is more convenient for us."

Peng Lizhi’s answer was relatively vague, which dissatisfied the reporters below.

"Mr. Shen Bi, what does HSBC think of this matter?"

Since Peng Zhili was unwilling to say more, reporters targeted Peng Zhili.

The biggest victim of this incident is undoubtedly HSBC. They are looking forward to Shen Bi saying something against the Hong Kong government or expressing some dissatisfaction.

Unexpectedly, they were disappointed again. Shen Bi behaved very calmly.

"HSBC respects the Hong Kong government's decision and believes it is the best decision.

In addition, HSBC has decided to sell Hang Seng Bank to Far East Bank and relocate it to England."

"Boom" is another explosive news.

In the eyes of these reporters, based on the current situation, HSBC seems to have been forced to leave. The Hong Kong God of Wealth is so powerful that he actually forced HSBC to relocate. "I would like to ask Mr. Shen Bi, why is HSBC re-registered? Or are there any other reasons? Even if it is re-registered, there is no need to sell Hang Seng Bank, right?"

A reporter from Southeast Asia emphasized the word "reason" very strongly and wanted to ask Shen Bi if HSBC had been coerced.

"No, the relocation is entirely for the development of HSBC.

The reason may be that the acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland must be a company registered in England.

As for selling Hang Seng, it was entirely because Far East Bank offered a price that HSBC would find difficult to refuse.

This is approved by the HSBC board of directors and is a decision we have made for better development."

In order to reject Luo Nianzhong in person, London required that the company acquiring Royal Bank of Scotland must be a locally registered company. This is also the reason why HSBC must relocate.

The Royal Bank of Scotland can be regarded as London’s compensation for HSBC’s losses on Hong Kong Island.

As for why HSBC gave up Hang Seng Bank, it was because they were afraid of Barclays.

As the saying goes, there are policies and countermeasures. Don’t you need a locally registered bank? Barclays always fits the bill, right?

If Luo Nianzhong persuaded those big British families to work together, HSBC would have no chance.

Even if the acquisition doesn't make you sick, HSBC will feel uncomfortable.

Now Hang Seng Bank is exchanged for Luo Nianzhong's letting go of Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as the stability of HSBC's stock. Most HSBC shareholders think this deal is worthwhile.

"So HSBC has completed the acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland and has become a global bank with operations in Asia, the United States and Europe, right?"

"It is safe to say that we have entered into the final stages of negotiations with Royal Bank of Scotland."

As soon as Shen Bi finished answering, the host took over. Before coming up, he was asked to control the situation and ask each person at most two to three questions.

"Now, I would like to invite Mr. Welch, President of Far East Group, to announce a decision related to the future economy of Hong Kong Island."

If it hadn't been for the host's reminder, the reporters would have almost forgotten about this working emperor of the world who has been smiling and sitting there without saying a word since he came in.

It is true that the news from both the Hong Kong government and HSBC is so exciting that they cannot think about anything else.

Now I suddenly realize that the biggest beneficiary today is sitting here, right?

But Welch didn’t come here today because of what the Hong Kong government and HSBC said. He had other major things to announce?
"Ahem, apart from the Hong Kong government and HSBC, the most important thing I came over today is that Far East Bank and the investment financial institutions under the Far East Group have major decisions to announce.

We all know that the economy of Hong Kong Island is currently unstable. I believe you all know the specific reasons, so I will not describe them one by one.

Our chairman, Mr. Luo Nianzhong, and Far East Group are very optimistic about the future of Hong Kong Island, so they decided to spend HK$50 billion to rescue the market and increase investment in Hong Kong Island.

In addition, Far East Group will take a series of actions to deepen its investment and construction in Hong Kong Island."

After Welch finished his announcement, the place below turned into a vegetable market again, with a constant buzz.

The HK$50 billion bailout does not include Far East Group’s subsequent investment and construction. Today’s news is really more powerful than the last.

This is not only 50 billion Hong Kong dollars, but there are also many deep-seated reasons that make these reporters think about it. For example, is the Far East Group on the side of Britain?
Sure enough, the first reporter raised this question. "Mr. Welch, does this mean that the Far East Group is on the British side?"

“One of the purposes of the Far East Group is not to participate in political governance, so your problem does not exist at all.

Regardless of the final sovereignty issue, we firmly believe that the development of Hong Kong Island will be better. This is the reason why we have increased our investment in Hong Kong Island.

The Far East is the Far East of Hong Kong Island, and this is our base camp. If we are not optimistic about Hong Kong Island, we will have plenty of opportunities to leave here, and we will not spend large sums of money here.

According to the results of Far East's internal report evaluation, no matter what happens in the future, Hong Kong Island is one of the best investment locations in the world, and the annual investment rate of return will be among the best in the world."

Welch’s words not only made the reporter’s eyes widen, but even Peng Zhizhi glanced at him.

The reporters were conflicted because of Welch's words.

Undoubtedly, the optimism within the Far East Group will make many people confident in the future of Hong Kong Island, and will also attract a large number of foreign investors.

However, Far East's internal reports have not experienced the test of the outside world, and no one knows the specific accuracy.

Peng Zhizhi was a little dissatisfied. What do you mean, no matter what happens to Hong Kong Island in the future, Hong Kong Island is one of the best investment places?

Doesn't this mean that even if the British withdraw from Hong Kong Island, they will still run and dance? This is not what the Hong Kong government and London want to see.

Luo Nianzhong doesn't care about this. The tacit understanding you think is yours, and I didn't promise to cooperate with you.

So when Welch asked him whether he needed to cooperate with the Hong Kong government, Luo Nianzhong shook his head and told the truth.

"Now that we have a golden presence on Hong Kong Island, we don't need to cooperate with anyone or anything if we want to."

(End of this chapter)