After divorce, I can hear the voice of the future

Chapter 822 Thirty Years in Hedong, Thirty Years in Hexi

People like Ma Yun who understood Lu Liang's plan were ultimately few and far between, which is why Tianxing Financial's acquisition of thirteen Japanese companies went so smoothly.

Furthermore, some financial institutions have proactively contacted Xingheng Investment, expressing their willingness to sell their own shares to help Tianxing Financial increase its shareholding ratio, provided there is a reasonable premium.

After all, the Nikkei index fell by nearly 4000 points, and the market capitalization of the entire market evaporated by $1.28 trillion. Not every institution can escape unscathed.

The majority of institutions are trapped inside, suffering heavy losses along with retail investors.

They urgently need to earn some money from other sources to offset the losses from the Nikkei crash and strive to deliver a satisfactory result to investors next year.

As the year draws to a close, with only one month left, 2018 will be over, and they don't have much time left.

No fund manager is willing to let the year's efforts be wasted due to unexpected factors in the last quarter.

“Agreed. As long as the selling price is lower than before the big drop, we’ll accept any offer.” Lu Liang received a call from Ishikawa Maya and, upon learning of the situation, granted him extensive authority.

After all, ever since Tianxing Financial announced its takeover bid, the stocks of all thirteen companies surged, driving a market rebound and triggering a dramatic comeback.

If you were to buy the same number of shares now, you would need to pay at least twice as much money.

The secondary market is only suitable for starting a fire; if they want more shares, they still need to trade with institutional shareholders.

"Mr. Ma, what have you been busy with lately? How about we grab a bite to eat sometime?"

After assigning all the tasks, Lu Liang called Ma Yun, intending to borrow his team to expand into the Japanese market.

There is no shortage of intelligent people in the world, but they lack sufficient information to deduce the full picture of events.

Just then, Jian Yiwei was very unpopular with the people, and Anshan used his poor health as an excuse to hide in a sanatorium to avoid the storm.

Tianxing must seize the power vacuum, act swiftly and decisively, and implement the plan.

Once they figure it out, they will enact a few new targeted laws, and all the previous efforts will become futile.

When it comes to how to develop the online payment market, Ma Yun considers herself second to none.

Although there are more WeChat Pay users than Alipay users in China.

However, the reason why Alipay lost to WeChat is largely due to the nature of application software.

Alipay leans towards finance, while WeChat leans towards entertainment. The former has more users with large savings accounts, while the latter is mainly for spending pocket money.

Ma Yun smiled and said, "Would Mr. Lu be interested in being a teacher in the mountainous areas of your province? Giving roses leaves a lingering fragrance."

"My level isn't that high yet; I'm still only thinking about making money," Lu Liang chuckled, explaining the reason for the call.

Ma Yun said, "President Lu, you flatter me too much. I'm no longer involved in the Ant matter. If Tianxing really has any needs, I'll help you contact President Zhao."

Zhao Zhe, 51, has worked for many years at CICC and CITIC and has extensive experience in financial management. He is also the new chairman of Ant Group.

Under his leadership, Ant Group mitigated the negative impact of its failed IPO, connected to the credit reporting system, and began to intentionally scale back its online lending business.

It is said that they are sorting out assets and intend to fix the bug in Ant Group's previous ABS issuance without collateral.

“Mr. Zhao can’t help me with this; only Mr. Ma can. I owe you a favor,” Lu Liang said again.

He had also heard of this Zhao Zhe.

His identity isn't as mysterious as the outside world makes it out to be, like some kind of "red son" or something.

It was purely his plans and style of operation that satisfied the regulatory authorities, which is why he became the chairman of Ant Group.

To put it bluntly, it means being obedient.

The regulators don't really care who becomes the new chairman; they only care whether Ant Group is controllable.

Zhao Zhe is capable, but he can't help Lu Liang.

After all, Alipay was created by Jack Ma, and developing the East Asian market was also a decision he advocated.

Therefore, only he knows which people are suitable for Tianxing Financial now.

After thinking for a long time, Ma Yun said in a deep voice, "Three times the salary, and I'll recommend a team to you, with all positions from system backend maintenance to marketing."

The triple salary wasn't for him, but for the team members. After all, Ant Group couldn't go public, and the equity promised to them had all vanished.

Old Ma felt guilty, and Lu Liang was short-handed.

By doing Lu Liang a favor, he could also give them an explanation, which was a win-win situation.

Lu Liang said, "Money is not a problem, but I need to be quick. Ideally, they should be in Japan by next Monday to take over all of PayPal Group's business."

"The acquisition of PayPal was completed so quickly?" Ma Yun's eyes widened, speechless with surprise.

"No, but it's about the same."

Lu Liang smiled as Tianxing announced its bid for Mitsui Sumitomo, and at the same time, an authorization agency contract was delivered to Ota Rei.

Previously, Ota Rei was a chairman who had no shares but received an annual salary, much like Zhao Zhe of Ant Group today.

But now, owning the 6.75% stake in Tianxing through authorized nominee shareholders is like being an emperor commanding an army of 100,000. Although the acquisitions on the secondary market are only common stock and don't grant decision-making power, common stock still has its holders.

If Tianxing Financial holds it, it is common stock; if it is held by Ota Rei on his behalf, it is weighted stock that can be converted into A/B shares.

After a long silence, Lao Ma said softly, "I will talk to Zhao Zhe and ask them to complete the handover of work within the two days of the weekend if possible."

"Thank you."

Just as Lu Liang was on the phone with Ma Yun, Ota Rei convened a board meeting of the group in the name of chairman.

"Ohta, what's going on? Don't you know the Japanese stock market is rebounding and Tianxing Financial is taking over the group? Is everyone busy?" Sumitomo Group's representative, Shunta Tanabe, practically wore his displeasure on his face.

After all, a chairman without equity is like the prime minister of Japan, who only talks about "private Marseille" all day long, and if you say he should step down, he should step down.

In recent years, Ota Rei has been generating continuous revenue for the group through his long-term cooperation with Lu Liang.

Otherwise, they would have already replaced him with someone recommended by the Sumitomo Group as chairman.

“Mr. Ota, just say what you need to say. There’s no need to wait for everyone to arrive. Everyone’s quite busy,” Mitsui Takahei chimed in.

Offending Lu Liang led to a public relations crisis for Sumitomo Mitsui, which also forced them to relinquish control of the PayPal Group.

His great mission, bestowed upon him by heaven, vanished like a bubble.

He can only become a non-executive director of the group and honestly remain in his position for a few years for observation.

So now he dislikes everyone, even Ota Rei, who once helped him.

"Mr. Tanabe, Mr. Mitsui, let's wait until everyone is here before making the announcement, so we don't have to repeat it again."

Ota Rei smiled, a secret sense of triumph about to be achieved.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; after enduring years of humiliation, he is finally going to stand up today.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, representatives of the group's employees, several executive directors, and the company secretary all arrived.

Ota Rei glanced at the company secretary and instructed him to start recording all subsequent conversations from this moment on.

"I've gathered everyone here today mainly to announce three things," he said with a smile, his tone unhurried.

"The first issue is naturally the equity of PayPal Group. Although everyone has reached a consensus, it was not recorded by the script supervisor. So let's go over it again today and vote on it again."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the people present showed dissatisfaction. Tanabe Shunta said coldly, "Ota, if this is the only thing, don't blame me for not reminding you that our time is very precious."

Ceding territory, paying indemnities, and signing humiliating treaties are not things to boast about or talk about publicly.

Since everyone agreed to this decision, let's tacitly turn the page and pretend it never happened.

Ota Rei actually dared to bring it up again, clearly humiliating them once more.

"Mr. Tanabe, if you have something urgent to attend to, you can leave now. The company secretary will send you a copy of the meeting outline later."

With a smile on his face, Ota Rei slowly picked up the thermos in front of him and calmly took a sip of tea.

Tanabe Shunta frowned. He wasn't stupid. He had dared to be arrogant before because he had Ota Rei under his control and was sure that Ota Rei wouldn't dare to get angry.

But now Ota Rei has turned the tables on him, appearing completely calm and collected, and the balance of power between the two has suddenly shifted.

"I'd like to hear what you have to say."

With a blank expression, Tanabe Shunta abruptly pulled back his right leg, which had already stepped out, and sat down again at the long round table.

“Since everyone agrees, let’s vote on the first thing.” Ota Rei was the first to raise his hand, agreeing with Sumitomo Mitsui’s decision to hand over the management of the PayPal Group to Tianxing Financial.

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!"

The nine-member board of directors unanimously approved the resolution.

Everyone turned to look at Ota Rei, waiting for what he would say next.

If he doesn't have anything particularly important to say, he shouldn't blame them for not giving him face.

"I'm sure everyone knows that our group was targeted by Tianxing Financial in the stock market."

Ota Rei took out an agency agreement from his briefcase, smiled calmly and said, "Mr. Lu is too busy to deal with the Mitsui Sumitomo matter, so he has entrusted me to hold the shares on his behalf and handle the matter himself."

"idiot!"

Upon seeing the licensing agreement, everyone present glared fiercely at Ota Rei.

Because they all knew what it meant when Ota Rei acquired the shares held by Tianxing Financial.

This means that from now on, Ota Rei will no longer be a high-level employee, but a shareholder.

The crucial point is that he's also the chairman!
(End of this chapter)