1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 718 The Hong Kong government is dumbfounded!

"Me? I'm not in a hurry."

"Actually, I suggest you don't rush. Given the current economic situation, the stock market will not rebound in the short term."

"Since you are currently holding US dollars, I actually suggest that you wait and see."

"Compared to the stock market, I think we can wait for the Hong Kong dollar to collapse."

"The current exchange rate of Hong Kong dollar to US dollar is 1 to 7. I think this exchange rate will probably continue to fall. I feel that this wave will drop to below 8, or even 8.5 is not impossible."

“For you, every slight change in the exchange rate means an extra Hong Kong dollar in profit for your US dollars. If the exchange rate really falls to eight, your Hong Leong Group’s US$100 million will be worth HK$800 million, which is HK$100 million more than the current HK$700 million!”

"Ah Yang, are you saying the exchange rate will continue to fall?"

Guo Ling and the others asked hesitantly, "It's already dropped by more than ten points, is it going to continue to fall?"
Unlike the stock market, exchange rates generally don't fluctuate wildly.

"Pretty much. I reckon that given the current situation, the exchange rate will continue to fall."

Li Changhe said calmly.

"Isn't the Hong Kong government going to take any action?"

"Perhaps this is exactly what the Hong Kong government wants to see happen!"

He Houzhao said with a cold laugh.

Being part of the He family, he had a clearer perspective than other businessmen.

"I recommend that you wait a while. Of course, if you are really in a hurry, I can lend you the money first."

“I also have some Hong Kong dollars, which I am gradually investing in the stock market, but it’s impossible for me to buy them all at once.”

"So if you have a target you're interested in, you can tell me in advance, and I'll transfer the money to you first. Once everyone transfers in the foreign exchange funds, you can return the money to me."

Li Changhe then "kindly" said.

"This"

"Ah Yang, we're a little embarrassed about this. How about this, we'll pay interest on the money you lent us? Let's agree on a figure together."

"Your intention in making us postpone this was to let us make money in the foreign exchange market. Now you're even lending us funds in advance to buy stocks at rock-bottom prices. We can't let this money go to waste."

Guo Ling then spoke up.

"Yes, let's set a figure. This money will be considered a loan, and we'll pay it back with interest."

"Anyway, Yang-ge, you said that the exchange rate will fall further. The Hong Kong government will pay for this money anyway, so it won't be considered a loss for us."

Several people spoke up one after another.

"Forget about interest, but I still have an intention."

"I also want to acquire some shares in these companies. I hope you can use your accounts to acquire them in a diversified manner, so that while you are acquiring your target shares, you can also help me acquire some of the shares I want to acquire."

Li Changhe then revealed his intentions.

Upon hearing this, Guo Ling and his men naturally felt obligated to take on the responsibility.

These are all things that happen easily. Anyway, now we're all in the same boat, sharing both loss and fortune.

"Ah Yang, which company's shares are you trying to acquire? It's not going to be one of the four major trading companies again, is it?"

Guo Ling then jokingly said.

In Hong Kong, the only companies that Bao Zeyang could acquire so quietly are probably Tak Fung and Swire.

Only their size justifies Li Changhe's acquisition of them.

“I have a big appetite. This time I want to acquire some of the high-quality companies in Hong Kong Island, and I also need to do some stock buybacks for my own company, so I need to diversify.”

Li Changhe said with a smile.

"Understood, no problem. Anyway, we'll be using your brokerage firm this time, so you can just handle it as is."

The group readily agreed.

While Li Changhe was talking with Guo Ling and the others, on the other side, in Central, at the HSBC headquarters.

Recently, he has been very busy. During the day, he has to discuss many important financial matters with the Governor's Office, so he has to work overtime at night to handle many of HSBC's affairs.

At that moment, Sir Michael Sandberg happened to see a document, which was HSBC's recent income and expenditure statement.

A large portion of this income came from repayments made by Bao Zeyang's investment company.

Upon seeing this, Shen Bi immediately remembered it.

Last year, the other party used Hongkong Land's shares as collateral to borrow HK$2 billion.

But that's not the point. The point is that although the other party borrowed Hong Kong dollars, they immediately converted the money into US dollars.

And now.
"Is this kid really so prescient?"

When Shen Bi recalled this incident, he was suddenly struck by a sense of shock.

As the head of HSBC, he naturally knew what the Hong Kong government and Downing Street would do next.

Following the stock market and real estate, foreign exchange is next. In fact, the devaluation of the Hong Kong dollar has already begun.

In the past month or so, the Hong Kong dollar has depreciated by nearly 20 percent, while the Hong Kong government's Financial Services Office and the Exchange Fund have not made any moves, which is abnormal in itself.

After all, according to the functions of the Exchange Fund, what they need to do is stabilize the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate and participate in buying or selling when the Hong Kong dollar fluctuates significantly, thereby stabilizing the currency market.

Letting the market fall now is actually a gesture.

But after remembering Bao Zeyang's contract, Shen Biren suddenly felt something was amiss.

According to Bao Zeyang's original loan agreement, he borrowed HK$20 billion from HSBC, and after three years, he would have to repay more than HK$25 billion.

However, the other party converted it into US dollars, and this exchange rate difference alone almost wiped out the interest.

At the time, I thought that he wanted to make money from the exchange rate difference, which meant he would just pay less interest.

But now it seems the other party had anticipated this day?

and many more?

He knew very well that Bao Zeyang had borrowed more than just 20 billion from HSBC.

At that time, he borrowed money like crazy throughout Hong Kong Island, with a total loan amount of nearly HK$9 billion.

Is it because he foresaw this day and was just waiting to buy at the bottom?

Shen Bi suddenly felt a little numb.

That guy, he can't be that crazy, can he?
If they were to buy at the bottom of the market at this time and pour in tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars, wouldn't their economic war plan be completely ruined?

No, I have to investigate this myself immediately.

After saying that, Shen Bi picked up the phone and immediately gave the instructions.

That night, thanks to a phone call from Sir Michael Sandberg, many people at HSBC started working overtime.

The next morning, Shen Bi arrived at the company unusually early.

Upon arriving at the office, he summoned his secretary.

"So, how's the investigation I asked you to do last night?"

Knowing Shen Bi's instructions from the previous night, the secretary immediately began to report.

"For the senior class, time is too tight, and we can't collect very detailed data."

"The statistics we have so far show that Mr. Victor borrowed a total of HK$8.8 billion from various banks, but we have only been able to find out where the money went afterward."

“HSBC and Hang Seng only kept a total of US$500 million, and this money was deposited in the names of Hongkong Land and Bosak Group.” “And this money was all withdrawn a month ago.”

"There is also some money, which is said to have been deposited in several US banks, including JPMorgan, Chase Manhattan, and Citibank. We cannot access the specific data on this, as they will not disclose it to us."

The secretary replied quickly.

Upon hearing this, Shen Bi immediately panicked.

The other party said a month ago, which means it was during the stage when the Prime Minister was preparing to visit China.

So at that stage, Bao Zeyang was not optimistic about the Hong Kong stock market.
He's already preparing to buy at the bottom before we've even discussed it?

Is this kid really that cunning?

Or?
Shen Bi suddenly had some doubts. Could he have some inside information?

After thinking about it, Shen Bi felt it was somewhat unlikely. Where would he get inside information about negotiations between two countries?

Unless he already knew the mainland's attitude?

Thinking of Bao Zeyang's continued wavering on the Hong Kong issue, Shen Bi began to hesitate again.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Bi then picked up the phone.

Regardless of the inside story, he had to go to Government House.

Soon, Sir Michael Sandberg arrived at Government House.

When Sir Michael Sandberg explained the situation at the Governor's House, Edward Youde was stunned.

what's the situation?
The stock market has already fallen so much, and you suddenly tell him that someone has tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars or even more, eyeing the assets in Hong Kong Island with covetous eyes?
Isn't this going to cost them their lives?

The most common pattern in the stock market can be summed up in four words: chasing highs and selling lows!
The more the market falls, the more panicked investors become, leading to a sell-off and a chain reaction that causes the entire stock market to collapse.

Conversely, once the stock market starts to rise, investors will flock in, easily creating a trend and generating a surge of interest.

If Bao Zeyang were to pour his billions of yuan into the stock market and trigger a surge in prices, the panic caused by the sell-off would likely be quickly dispelled by the influx of new funds.

Once the stock market panic subsides, a chain reaction of panic in the real estate market and other related sectors could lead to chaos.

Most importantly, this panic was originally aimed at the mainland, but now the people of Hong Kong have broken it themselves. What does that mean?

“Mike, we have to stop him now. We can’t let him throw such a large sum of money into the market.”

"Otherwise, all our plans will be in vain."

Britain doesn't have unlimited funds. Its economic situation has been poor in recent years, and Downing Street won't provide them with enough financial support, since they themselves don't have enough to spend.

If Li Changhe were to actually fight, where would they get such a large sum of money to go head-to-head with him?

HSBC has already spent a lot of money in this wave, and they can't keep fighting Bao Zeyang head-on.

In that case, Sir Michael Sandberg wouldn't dare, because if the bank ran out of money and there was a bank run, HSBC would be finished instantly.

After all, lowering the exchange rate itself carries the risk of a bank run. However, the people of Hong Kong Island are not talking about Hong Kong dollars, but rather about converting Hong Kong dollars into US dollars.

The US dollars held by the Exchange Fund are unlikely to be enough for the people of Hong Kong Island to withdraw, as the economic support from the UK is indispensable.

“I will go and talk to him, but Your Excellency, I think this time we may have to pay a price.”

“This young man is very cunning. He has set up such a big game, and he will not be easily persuaded by us.”

"Just like before, we wanted him to express his opinion on public opinion, but he kept refusing to agree."

Shen Bi then spoke to You De.

Of course he wanted to talk to Bao Zeyang, but he needed to have the resources to do so.

HSBC certainly can't support him anymore, since if Bao Zeyang relied on HSBC, Shen Bi would have already taken him under control.

Now we can only let Youde grant us the authority to see what that kid's intentions are in Hong Kong.

"Okay, go ahead. As long as it's within our authority, we'll agree to it."

"This can also be considered as us winning him over. This young man is truly more capable than we imagined."

"Don't let him ruin our plans."

Yud immediately agreed.

Sir Michael Sandberg nodded, then thought for a moment and continued, “Your Excellency, I think you should make a call to Downing Street.”

"It would be best to ask Mr. Dennis to call Bao Yugang and ask him to persuade Bao Zeyang. Otherwise, this guy might not give anyone face!"

Denis Thatcher was the Iron Lady's husband and a close friend of Y.K. Pao. The two often played golf together. In fact, Y.K. Pao's close relationship with the Thatcher family began with Denis.

Moreover, Sir Michael Sandberg knew that the Iron Lady had taken Y.K. Pao with her on her trip to China, and that she had a private meeting with Pao at Government House after returning to Hong Kong Island.

Therefore, simply pressuring Bao Zeyang may not be effective in the current situation; it may be necessary for Bao Yugang to step in.

“I understand, Mike. I will call Downing Street immediately and ask Mr. Dennis to intervene.”

“Then I will arrange a meeting with Bao Zeyang immediately.”

The two men split up. After leaving Government House, Sir Michael Sandberg immediately arranged for someone to meet with Paul Chak-yeung.

Meanwhile, Li Changhe, who was in Australia, also received a call from Shen Bi.

"Shen Bi wants to meet with me?"

"What's meant to happen will happen eventually. Let's go back to Hong Kong Island."

Li Changhe knew that this meeting was bound to happen eventually, so he didn't refuse and immediately returned to Hong Kong Island with Gong Xue.

That evening, it was still Victoria Peak.

This time, however, Shen Bi invited Li Changhe not to the Indian restaurant, but to Shen Bi's own home.

"Vic, I heard you've been at the Lisboa Casino in Macau lately?"

"You can go to the Lisboa Casino for fun, but don't get addicted!"

Upon meeting, the two exchanged greetings, and Shen Bi first spoke to Li Changhe with concern.

Li Changhe shook his head: "Mr. Daban, if it weren't to avoid you, would I have gone to Macau?"

"I was over there to avoid the storm on Hong Kong Island, and now my office is overflowing with interview requests."

"I'm afraid I can't even eat in peace when I go out to eat now."

Li Changhe explained his reasons without any hesitation, and Shen Bi sighed upon hearing them.

"There's nothing we can do. This is a major issue concerning the entire Hong Kong Island. It's not just you; we're all in a real bind right now."

"Look at how badly the stock market has fallen. It's absolutely terrible. I'm so worried about it."

"Ah Yang, I remember you still have some funds. Why don't you invest them in the stock market now and try to save the Hong Kong market?"

Shen Bi then smiled and said to Li Changhe.

After listening, Li Changhe looked at Shen Bi with amusement.

"Mr. Big Boss, let's not beat around the bush. Do you really want me to intervene and save the market right now?"

"As a Hong Konger, it is my duty to save Hong Kong stock market investors. As long as you give the order, the money in my hands can be put into the stock market immediately."

Li Changhe then spoke decisively.

Upon hearing this, Shen Bi was somewhat taken aback. Why would this kid be so obedient this time?

(End of this chapter)