After divorce, I can hear the voice of the future

Chapter 778 To be old and not die is to be a demon
"OFAC is the functional department that participates in the formulation and implementation of sanctions policies. It is under the Ministry of Finance. Delime can apply for Section 31 of the Funds Amendment Act to temporarily release the funds through collateral."

For Americans, life revolves around three things: birth, death, and paying taxes.

The IRS wields power in the United States comparable to the Ming Dynasty's combined Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) and Dongchang (Eastern Depot) at their peak.

Li Ka-shing wouldn't dare say he could 100% help Delime unfreeze its funds, but he could find another way.

Lu Liang only needs to pay a small price to get two powerful departments under the Ministry of Finance to fight each other.

OFAC was established in 11. That year, Mao represented the United States in participating in and leading the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, also known as the 'Pivot to Asia Strategy,' which was mainly aimed at curbing the economic development of several East Asian countries.

Against this backdrop, OFAC was created, primarily responsible for issuing, managing, and implementing economic and trade repression measures against states and individuals.

Mao's move was more of a precautionary measure, preparing for unforeseen circumstances.

However, OFAC's leadership at the time clearly misunderstood the situation, adhering to the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free," and began a massive crackdown on East Asian companies in the United States, including but not limited to freezing funds and forcibly increasing welfare benefits at their US factories.

Forced into a corner, several East Asian countries had no choice but to bring up the concept of a free trade zone again, marking their closest brush with success in history.

When the Americans found out, they immediately sensed something was wrong.

After all, by establishing a free trade zone, Japan can escape the fate of being periodically exploited by the US, Dongda can mitigate the impact of the dollar's depreciation on exports, and Korea can gain a certain degree of independence.

Together, these three countries account for 26% of the global economy. Even if the US and Europe combined, they couldn't stop the economic take-off of East Asia.

Moreover, if the cooperation among the three countries continues to deepen and they abandon the use of the US dollar for settlement, then the dollar hegemony will be completely over. Therefore, the free trade zone project must not be implemented.

So, Mao frantically patched the system to fix the bugs.

For example, the head of OFAC was dismissed, and amendments were initiated, adding 32 new laws, the most crucial of which is Article 31.

To ensure the normal development of a business in the United States, if funds are frozen by any department, Section 31 of the Amended Act can be invoked to apply for a loan from OFAC under the guise of collateral, with an annual interest rate typically around 2%.

If a company has $10 million in frozen funds, it can apply for a $10 million loan; if it has $1 billion, it can apply for a $1 billion loan.

OFAC will negotiate with the department that froze the funds, investigate and understand the situation.

The interest generated during this period will not be borne by the company; OFAC will only collect it in a lump sum once the funds are unfrozen.

With the amendment of laws, the suicide of Japan's Finance Minister at home, and the frequent mentions of North Korea by the United States, relations between the two countries have been stalled from warming up.

After a series of combined measures, the once-promising Three Kingdoms Free Trade Zone ultimately came to nothing.

“Since then, OFAC was almost wiped out by massive layoffs, and was not reinstated until April of this year.”

Li Ka-shing raised his teacup, brought it to his nose to smell the faint aroma of tea, took a small sip, and a smile of approval appeared on his face.

He is from Chaoshan and has a deep understanding of tea.

This tea is not bad.

Li Ka-shing paused for a moment, then put down his teacup: "OFAC has been shelved for too long and urgently needs an opportunity to perform."

Even the most powerful country is not monolithic; the internal situation of the Ministry of Finance is somewhat similar to that of Hong Kong a few months ago.

At that time, Lu Liang was a newcomer. If he had chosen to develop the Hong Kong market steadily, it would have taken at least several years to achieve any significant results.

However, that kind of development was too slow, so he chose to challenge the most powerful local forces in the market in order to prove his strength and quickly gain a foothold.

The same applies to OFAC, which is a department that has been reactivated and given renewed importance.

No one knows how much power it wields or how many resources it can mobilize, and it desperately needs an opportunity to prove itself.

The best way to deal with them is to indirectly prove their strength by challenging the authority of the IRS.

After pondering for a long time, Lu Liang asked, "Does OFAC have the guts? It's facing the IRS."

Li Ka-shing sighed, "Suppressing the development of Dongda University has become the most correct action in American politics."

Lu Liang immediately understood and respectfully asked, "Mr. Li, do you have any good suggestions, or friends?"

If curbing the development of the University of Tokyo becomes a politically correct approach, then the power of the functional departments responsible for formulating and implementing policies will be amplified infinitely.

Does it dare?

The answer is yes!

Li Ka-shing smiled and nodded: "I have a friend named Terence Paul, the Deputy Director of the Treasury Department, who also serves as the Minister of OFAC. He should be happy to help with this."

Lu Liang then asked, "Mr. Li, how would you like Delimei to cooperate with Cheung Kong Holdings?"

Li Ka-shing said, "Cheung Kong plans to divest its entire port and shipping business, with an initial market valuation of approximately US$280 billion. Currently, there is still a funding gap of US$56 billion..."

As evening fell, Li Chaoren, satisfied, left the Tianxing Financial Building with his son, Li Zhekai.

As if sensing something, before getting into the car, he hunched over and looked up at the top of the building, a smile appearing on his face.

Meanwhile, Lu Liang stood by the window, expressionless, watching the vehicle drive away until it merged into the traffic and disappeared from sight.

He turned to look at the letter of intent for cooperation on the table, his face showing melancholy, and sighed, "To be old and not die is to be a monster."

At the age of ninety, Li Ka-shing has been active in the business world for over half a century. Even though Lu Liang had connections and Li Ka-shing needed his help, Lu Liang was always led by the nose during their interactions.

Ninety years have truly been worthwhile; the old fox has a thorough understanding of the political landscape and legal provisions of various countries.

After a moment's thought, Lu Liang put aside his melancholy and called Hilt to inquire about the feasibility of Li Ka-shing's suggestion.

Hilt was taken aback and couldn't help but ask a question similar to Lu Liang's: "Does OFAC have that much authority?"

"Wait a few days until Wen Chao goes to New York, then you can give it another try. If it works out, great; if not, there's no loss."

After ending the call, Lu Liang summoned Wen Chao, who was handing over his work to Li Junwei, and informed him of Li Chaoren's proposal.

Unlike Hilt, Wen Chao didn't even ask any questions, showing 100% trust in Lu Liang.

He believed that since Lu Liang had adopted the plan provided by Li Ka-shing, it must be feasible, and all they needed to do was implement it.

In the following days, Lu Liang disappointed the Hong Kong media by remaining silent, as if he had never come.

Standard Chartered Bank was the first to be eager to act, and its then CEO, He Jiafan, personally visited them.

"Mr. Lu, HSBC is scaling back its operations. What actions does Tianxing plan to take?" he asked.

HSBC adopts a defensive posture.
Bank of China is detached from worldly affairs.

What should Standard Chartered do next?
To put it bluntly, Standard Chartered wants to erode HSBC's market share, but it doesn't dare to offend Skystar.

Therefore, sending He Jiafan over to sound out the situation is the best way to clearly define the market and avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Lu Liang couldn't help but chuckle and asked softly, "Mr. He, do you think HSBC is more important to me, or is the Hong Kong market more important?"

HSBC?

He Jiafan pondered for a moment before giving his answer.

Seeing Lu Liang shake his head,

He added, "A stable and prosperous Hong Kong!"

Since HSBC adopted a defensive posture, all foreign forces have retreated, and Hong Kong has ushered in a long-awaited period of stability.

There were no more protesters on the streets; even if there were, they were disorganized and undisciplined, and would disperse as soon as they were shot.

So much so that there was a rumor circulating that Lu Liang was sent by Dongda University to clean up the chaos in Hong Kong.

Because in a normal capitalist society, power controls everything, and capital controls power.

Due to some historical issues, power and capital belong to two incompatible factions in Hong Kong.

However, with the outbreak of the New World War, HSBC was defeated by Tianxing, and power and capital in Hong Kong began to converge.

That's why we have a prosperous and stable situation.

Lu Liang was speechless for a moment, then laughed and said, "Mr. He, how come you also like conspiracy theories like those third-rate tabloids?"

He can confidently say that Tianxing Financial's establishment in Hong Kong has absolutely nothing to do with the mainland.

As for whether the mainland side took advantage of the situation, that's none of his business.

"HSBC and Hong Kong are not important to me, but not having HSBC is very important to me."

Lu Liang smiled and gave the answer to the question.

The reason Tianxing Financial settled in Hong Kong was simply to make it easier for its funds to enter the international market.

But he didn't like that a huge creature was entrenched in his base.

If we can completely destroy HSBC
Lu Liang had already done that a long time ago.

However, HSBC is one of only three companies that hold the right to issue currency.

You can't kill him by trying to kill him.

It's a good thing that HSBC is now self-criticizing; Tianxing has no reason to target it again.

Having achieved its objective, Tianxing's next goal is to fully prepare for battle and await the best opportunity to set sail.

He Jiafan pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "So, when Standard Chartered expands its market, Tianxing won't stop it?"

Lu Liang said with a smile, "Mr. He, you shouldn't ask me about this kind of thing. You should ask Chen Jiebin. He's the real boss."

"Understood, understood." He Jiafan was delighted to receive a definite answer, and could finally report back to the board of directors.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he bowed and took his leave of Lu Liang, turning to depart when Lu Liang's voice suddenly came from behind him.

“Mr. He, just focus on making some money. Don’t let Standard Chartered get involved in too many pointless messes.”

He Jiafan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly assured him, "Please rest assured, Mr. Lu, Standard Chartered is not the same as HSBC."

(End of this chapter)