In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

The night outside the window was deep in Victoria Harbour, with starlight and neon lights intertwining on the water to create a shimmering gold effect.

Inside the bedroom of Shi Xundao's villa, however, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, with a touch of springtime charm.

After their tender moment, Guo Xiaohan nestled in Lin Haoran's arms, her slender fingers unconsciously tracing circles on his chest. Her face was still flushed, but her eyes held a hint of worry.

“Brother Haoran,” she said softly, her voice still a little hoarse, “Is it really okay that Forbes magazine is involved? After I returned to Hong Kong, I saw that many newspapers today were reprinting their article, and it said some pretty nasty things.”

Guo Xiaohan was well aware of Forbes' reputation.

She knew that this financial magazine held a high position in the American business community when she was studying in the United States.

So now that her fiancée is being targeted by Forbes, she is worried.

Lin Haoran looked at the beauty in his arms, gently stroking her back as if soothing a lazy cat.

Then, he said with a smile, "They're just clowns. Do they think they can shake the foundation by seizing on a so-called 'valuation bubble'? Don't worry, Xiaohan, just as Zhixue and I said, I already have a plan to fight back."

His eyes were calm, yet they carried a confidence that allowed him to control everything, instantly calming Guo Xiaohan's anxious mind.

"Alright, it's late, let's go to sleep!" Lin Haoran glanced at the wall clock; it was already 12:30 AM. He then switched on the bedroom light switch on the bedside table.

The bedroom was plunged into a gentle darkness, with only the faint light from Victoria Harbour outside the window filtering through the sheer curtains and outlining the hazy contours of the furniture.

Guo Xiaohan wanted to ask something more, but Lin Haoran's steady breathing and strong arms around her acted like the most effective tranquilizer, gradually suppressing her chaotic worries.

She softly hummed in agreement, burying her face deeper into the crook of his neck, inhaling his reassuring scent, her tense nerves gradually relaxing.

Lin Haoran did not fall asleep immediately.

In the darkness, his eyes were open, his pupils reflecting the distant and fragmented lights outside the window. His thoughts surged like the undercurrents of the deep sea, steady yet swift.

Forbes, the long-established financial media founded in 1917, certainly has an influence that cannot be underestimated.

Its corporate reporting, business analysis, and customized standards, to some extent, define the standards by which the United States and even the Western world perceive business success.

Its scrutiny is a severe stress test for any company seeking to establish itself in the international capital market.

But pressure has always been his fuel for moving forward.

He understands and cherishes Guo Xiaohan's concerns.

This reminded him that this battle was not only about business interests, but also about the feelings of those around him, and even more so about the dignity and status of Lin Haoran and all his businesses on the global business map.

His counterattack plan had already taken shape in his mind when he received Su Zhixue's call, or even earlier, when he saw the initial draft of the biased Forbes report.

Forbes likes to set standards, but now that MediaCorp has set its own standards, it has made Forbes jealous.

However, he does have the confidence now and is not afraid of Forbes at all.

What I just told Guo Xiaohan was just the tip of the iceberg, and it was mostly meant to comfort her.

The real killer move is more complex and more deadly.

Doesn't Forbes like to set standards?

He then instructed his Oriental Media Group to set more new standards.

Lin Haoran already has a rough idea in mind. Perhaps in the future, when the foundation of Oriental Media Group is solid and Global Investment is more powerful, he can support the creation of a "new business media" or "influence ranking" with a more global vision, more emphasis on innovation and sustainable value, rather than just focusing on wealth figures.

Redefining business success from an Eastern perspective.

This takes time, resources, and, most importantly, the right timing.

But the seeds can be planted first.

Of course, all of this must be based on the premise that the entity itself is strong enough.

The Revival Fund must operate successfully to stabilize Hong Kong's core assets;
Global Investments needs to secure its gains in the US stock market and look for the next round of opportunities;
And his various conglomerates will continue to enhance their influence...

My thoughts are clear, and my steps are well-defined.

Lin Haoran slowly closed his eyes, his breathing becoming long and even, as if he had fallen asleep.

But only he knew that deep within his consciousness, that sophisticated thought machine was still running at high speed, calculating the possibilities of every variable and adjusting the strategy for each step.

Guo Xiaohan, nestled in his arms, seemed to be dreaming of something. She stirred slightly and uttered a muffled murmur.

Lin Haoran subconsciously tightened his arms around her, giving her a more secure support.

Outside the window, Hong Kong is fast asleep.

The skyscrapers of Central are now just silhouettes, while the waters of Victoria Harbour gently lap against the shore.

Meanwhile, in the United States, far across the Pacific Ocean, it was daytime, and the sun was high in the sky.

Times Square in New York remains bustling, and although the Nasdaq Stock Exchange is closed, discussions about Hong Kong, Lin Haoran, and the Forbes report are likely still brewing in some trading rooms, clubs, and editorial offices.

John Reed didn't leave until he had lunch at home with his wife and children.

He drove his Ford directly to the Citibank headquarters building.

Of course, he wasn't going to Citibank's headquarters office, but rather to Foresight Capital's office.

After reading the Forbes article in the morning, he keenly realized that the opportunity to repay Lin Haoran had arrived.

During his time in the United States, Lin Haoran helped him on numerous occasions, including helping him defeat the biggest competitor within Citigroup's senior management. He also fully explained to him the concept of the US stock market decline, allowing him to make early preparations.

Unfortunately, influenced by opinions from experts in the US financial industry and the media, John Reid ultimately failed to implement the original plan of 10x leverage, and instead reduced the leverage to 3x.

The end result is a significant reduction in potential profits.

Even so, the forward-looking capital he controlled still made a fortune.

As of yesterday, profits had exceeded $300 million, reaching $3.62 million!
The reason why the profit suddenly increased from more than 100 million to more than 300 million was because the company decisively increased its capital two weeks ago, thus increasing its leverage.

To this day, no one in the top management of Citibank knows about this money.

Citigroup suffered a loss of $5.4 million in the recent US stock market downturn due to its adherence to flawed investment principles, even with timely stop-loss orders.

This is also Citibank's largest loss in nearly three years.

This issue had already been the subject of several arguments at board meetings.

A loss of over 500 million US dollars is a heavy blow, even for a financial giant like Citigroup.

This is enough to hold several senior executives accountable, force the board to re-examine its risk strategy, and create cracks in the previously stable power structure.

However, all of this has nothing to do with John Reed, the Citibank vice president.

The reason is simple: he initially supported Lin Haoran's remarks.

He tried to stop them, but to no avail.

Because, apart from him and Lin Haoran, not a single executive director at Citigroup believed that the US stock market would fall.

Even Citibank Chairman Walter Riston.

In this situation, neither Lin Haoran nor John Reed could do anything but remain silent and stop arguing.

These were all recorded in the board meeting minutes.

However, John Reed did not do nothing.

He knew that if, as Lin Haoran had said, the US stock market did fall for several consecutive months, it would be a disaster for Citibank's existing strategy.

He couldn't persuade the entire board to change strategy, but as the vice president of Citibank and chairman of Foresight Capital, he had the authority to mobilize resources within his jurisdiction to leave a spark for his own future turnaround.

This is Foresight Capital, a relatively independent department within the Citigroup system that focuses on high-risk, high-return emerging fields and special opportunities.

While the head office remained immersed in the optimistic sentiment of an "eternal bull market," John Reed quietly began to make moves in the opposite direction to the mainstream by utilizing the Foresight Capital platform.

Although the leverage was reduced from the planned 10 times to 3 times, the direction was clear and the position was firm.

Today, the $3.62 million profit lies quietly on Foresight Capital's balance sheet, like a shining medal.

Meanwhile, at headquarters, there was a bloody wound of $5.4 million, along with the ensuing anger, accusations, and panic.

He did not become complacent because of this.

After all, John Reed was the vice president of Citigroup and Walter Riston's successor, so naturally he wanted Citigroup to do better.

I turned the padlock with the key and pushed open the glass door of Foresight Capital's office; there was no one inside.

Everyone has a day off today.

He strode quickly toward his office.

In the morning, after reading Forbes' latest article, he decided to make his plans over the past month public!

It's time to tell those board members who will always stick to their so-called "professional judgment" what true vision and execution really are.

So, early in the morning, he called each of the executive directors to hold a board meeting on this special day!
All the top executives, including Chairman Walter Riston, were puzzled by John Reid's inexplicable phone call.

However, when John Reed said he had something important to report about the company's losses, all the executives agreed to the meeting.

After all, they had been quite annoyed for the past twenty-odd days.

They are all responsible for the profit and loss of more than 500 million US dollars, so how could they be in the mood for a vacation?
The meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m.

I checked the time; it was just 1 p.m., still early!
He opened the filing cabinet and took out a stack of materials that had been prepared in advance.

The minutes of Foresight Capital's fourth-quarter investment strategy meeting clearly recorded concerns about market overheating and hedging recommendations;
The summary of the exchange with Lin Haoran's team has removed sensitive details but retained the core viewpoints on the global economic cycle and risk assessment; detailed transaction records and profit and loss analysis reports, as well as a "Preliminary Recommendations on Citibank's Strategic Adjustment in the Current Market Environment" written by him personally.

He needs these materials to construct a flawless narrative:

The success of Foresight Capital is not due to luck, but rather to the strategic achievement based on rigorous analysis and contrarian thinking. The greatest credit for all of this goes to Lin Haoran.

The head office's huge losses were precisely due to clinging to outdated ideas and ignoring early warning signals.

To repay Lin Haoran, he decided to mobilize the entire Citibank to support him.

He could no longer stand what Forbes was doing.

The way to get Citibank's top management to support Lin Haoran is simple: let them see that although Citibank lost a lot in this operation, Lin Haoran has made back more than half of the lost funds!
The difference between losing more than $500 million and losing more than $100 million is obviously huge!

In this way, he, and Lin Haoran, are both great benefactors and saviors of Citibank!
John Reed didn't mind giving some credit to Lin Haoran.

After all, without the other party, there would have been no $3.62 million profit for Foresight Capital.

Citigroup's total losses are likely far more than $5.4 million, and may even be more severe due to its slow response and excessive leverage.

After organizing the documents, he sat back in his large office chair, flipping through the data in the accounts while imagining the scene at the board meeting later.

He imagined the scene in the meeting room that afternoon, with the usually aloof directors now looking overwhelmed and confused, their eyes filled with doubt, exhaustion, and even disbelief.

As he thought about it, he couldn't help but recall his hesitation during that period.

If we had believed Lin Haoran's idea back then and stuck to our original plan of 10x leverage, the profit wouldn't be just $3.62 million now, but a staggering $8 million.

Fortunately, I managed to salvage the situation midway through, which significantly increased the profit.

This profit is not only enough to completely cover the losses incurred by Citibank in this venture, but there will even be a surplus!
Unfortunately, I ultimately couldn't persevere; I was too afraid.

Regret, sighs, and other complex emotions welled up in my heart.

Unfortunately, there's no going back in this world, and regretting it now is useless.

But thinking about it, I did earn $3.62 million, which was a huge gamble that risked my future. Now that I've won, I should be content.

Thinking of this, John Reed smiled.

After all, compared to the desolate and fearful situation at the head office, the office of Foresight Capital was filled with the tranquility and lingering glow of a victor.

This is ultimately his own achievement, and he has every reason to be proud of it!
When everyone else distrusted Lin Haoran's words, he was the only one who not only believed them but also put them into action!

Ultimately, Foresight Capital saved Citibank from a loss of over $300 million!
This way, Citibank's profit and loss figures for this year won't look so bad.

More importantly, this report card will greatly solidify his position within Citigroup and may even accelerate his process of succeeding Walter Riston.

This is not just about repaying a debt of gratitude, but also a precise and brilliant leap forward in his personal career.

He glanced at the clock on the wall; the hands pointed to 1:15.

It's almost time.

He neatly packed all the documents into a high-end briefcase, took a deep breath, stood up, and straightened his suit and tie in front of the reflection in the office's floor-to-ceiling windows.

The person in the mirror had sharp eyes and a calm expression, exuding a confidence and certainty as if about to step into the center of the stage.

As he stepped out of the office, the corridor remained deserted, with only the echo of his footsteps reverberating.

Take the private elevator straight to the top floor, to the offices of Citibank executives.

Their board meeting will be held there.

As John Reed stepped out of the elevator, the first person he saw was Chairman Walter Riston.

During this period, Chairman Walter Riston's face had clearly become much more weathered.

If we were to name the person most responsible for Citigroup's losses, it would undoubtedly be Chairman Walter Ristol.

After all, it was he who ultimately made the decision, rejecting Lin Haoran's warning and sticking to the original optimistic strategy.

The current massive loss of $5.4 million is like a heavy mountain weighing on the shoulders of this veteran financial figure who has dominated the global financial world for decades.

“John.” Walter Riston saw John Reed and forced a smile, his eyes filled with exhaustion and lingering worry.

“I hope you really have good news. The rest of the board has arrived.” Walter Riston glanced at John Reid and sighed.

He regretted it so much.

He regretted not listening to Lin Haoran's advice and instead sticking to his own conservative ideas.

If Citibank had listened to Lin Haoran's advice, it wouldn't have lost more than $500 million, but made more than a billion dollars, right?

However, regret is useless.

He didn't have much hope for what John Reed said on the phone.

After all, in the face of losses of this scale, any "good news" sounds like a placebo.

He only hoped that John Reed wouldn't bring any worse news or offer any impractical or troublesome suggestions.

“I understand, Mr. Walter.”

John Reed nodded, then smiled and said, "I believe that what I bring is not only good news, but also a good remedy that can fundamentally reverse Citibank's current passive situation."

Walter Riston gave him a deep look, said nothing more, just sighed heavily, turned and pushed open the heavy walnut wood conference room door.

Inside the door, a heavy atmosphere almost hits you.

Around the long conference table, Citibank's core decision-makers, more than a dozen directors, were all present, including Mr. Li Guowei, Lin Haoran's representative.

Many directors turned their attention to John Reed, filled with doubt and even a hint of dissatisfaction at his emergency call to a board meeting on the first day of the new year.

Some people frowned even more when they saw the calm yet confident smile on John Reed's face, while others sat up a little straighter.

“John, everyone’s here, including Mr. Lee, who came all the way here.” Walter Riston sat down at the head of the table, his voice weary. “Let’s get started. Hopefully, your ‘remedy’ will be worth the time we’ve given up our vacation and the current predicament of Citibank.”

All eyes were fixed on John Reed, like spotlights.

Li Guowei sat on the side, his face calm and revealing little emotion, only giving John Reed a slight nod in greeting.

John Reed walked to the briefing area at the front of the conference room without immediately opening his bulging briefcase.

He looked around the room, his gaze lingering on the faces of the dozen or so directors, before finally taking a deep breath.

"Chairman, fellow directors," his voice broke the oppressive atmosphere of the meeting room, "before we begin any complex explanations and suggestions, I would like to ask you to confront two sets of the most fundamental and impactful figures."

These images perhaps most vividly reveal the stark contrast between the extremes of "cognitive split" that Citigroup has experienced over the past month.

He turned around, walked to the huge whiteboard, and picked up a thick black marker.

The pen tip glided across the smooth whiteboard, making a soft, scratching sound that was particularly clear in the quiet meeting room.

He quickly wrote two huge, starkly contrasting numbers side-by-side in the center of the whiteboard:
Citibank Headquarters: Loss -$540,000,000
Citigroup Foresight Capital: Earnings +$362,000,000
"..."

An eerie silence instantly filled the conference room.

There were no gasps or gasps; it was as if everyone was frozen in place by these numbers, their breaths stopped.

It wasn't that they weren't surprised, but rather that they didn't react immediately.

They were still bewildered, faced with two strings of numbers.

Walter Riston's hand holding the cigar paused slightly, and the barely maintained calm on his face shattered instantly. Shock, disbelief, and a complex emotion that was hard to describe flashed quickly in his eyes.

The expressions of the other directors were even more varied, a mix of astonishment, surprise, doubt, and bewilderment.

Li Guowei, however, did not show any surprise on his face.

After all, as Lin Haoran's representative, he already knew some of the inside information.

The deathly silence lasted for a full five or six seconds before being broken by a dry, trembling question: "Three, three hundred and sixty-two million US dollars? Profit? John, are you, are you sure about this number?"

The question came from a very senior director, whose voice was filled with disbelief and shock.

“Absolutely true.” John Reed put down his pen and turned to face the crowd.

"This is the final confirmed figure as of yesterday's US stock market close, after the most rigorous internal calculations by Foresight Capital and cross-verification with data from three independent custodian banks. All related trading instructions and position records are here."

He patted the thick briefcase beside him, very certain.

"This profit of $3.62 million was achieved through independent decision-making and resolute execution by the Foresight Capital team, based on a complete, contrarian investment strategy that has been ruthlessly validated by market trends."

"Wow~"

At that moment, the conference room was filled with gasps of astonishment and exclamations of surprise.

"Mr. John, is this true?"

"How is that possible? How could Foresight Capital make so much profit?"

"Mr. John, how did you do that?"

The $3.62 million profit left all the board members utterly astonished.

They stared at the grim figure of a 5.4 million loss on the whiteboard, then at the dazzling 3.62 million profit beside it. The stark contrast sent shockwaves through everyone's hearts. (End of Chapter)