Mixed in 1980

Chapter 329 Sword Pointing at Hengsheng
Chen Fan carefully examined the documents. Just as Yu Jing had said, Hang Seng Bank's reserves were not substantial, and much of its capital had been borrowed.

This is quite common in Hong Kong.

Especially in recent years, Hong Kong's economy has been booming, the property market has been surging, and there has been a surge in lending activities, with banks investing a lot of their funds.

Insufficient bank reserves can lead to a crisis. Once bad debts or non-performing loans occur, and banks are unable to promptly repay deposits to customers, bank runs are inevitable.

Chen Fan put down the documents, lit a cigarette, and gently tapped the armrest, pondering the possibility of attacking Hang Seng Bank and completing the acquisition.

The founder of Hang Seng Bank was from Hong Kong!
The reason it became HSBC Holdings was that in 65, a stock market crash occurred in Hong Kong, and Hang Seng Bank refused to pay a US dollar check worth about HK$700 million issued by Ming Tak Bank.

Under the manipulation of British capital, the news spread quickly, triggering a run on the bank and ultimately resulting in the loss of a large amount of deposits, leaving them with no choice but to sell their shares.

"If the British can take Hang Seng Bank this way, we can take it back too! Let's do it!"

Flicked his cigarette ash, a cold glint in Chen Fan's eyes: "How about transferring another portion of funds to Hang Seng Bank? 30 billion US dollars should be enough?"

Yu Jing shook her head slightly: "President Chen, we don't need that much. According to my estimate, another 20 billion US dollars will be enough. This can be done jointly by multiple companies under our umbrella."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Except for Xinghuo Real Estate!"

Xinghuo Real Estate is going to act as the borrower, and now that the land it owns is being fully developed, it will inevitably need to take out bank loans.

The reasons are ready.

The entire operation was quite simple: deposit a large amount of funds into Hang Seng Bank and then obtain loans from the bank through various means.

If enough funds are lent out and the bank's reserves are insufficient, then if the deposits are withdrawn or transferred, the bank will inevitably be unable to make payments.

In such a situation, with the media's help to hype it up, a run on the bank can be quickly created.

One person can't do this alone. Banks aren't stupid; they'll definitely take precautions. If you can get a group of people to do it together, the chances of success are much higher.

The Hang Seng of today is not the Hang Seng of tomorrow.

It's a decent bank in Hong Kong, but compared to HSBC and Standard Chartered, it's far inferior, and there's a chance to acquire it.

"Who should we collaborate with?"

The Li family behind Li Hongying, the Zhao family behind Hua Sanshao, Liu Jianxiong, and Hu Yingxiang are all old friends, so it's not difficult to bring them together.

But not enough!

Banks aren't stupid enough to lend money to just a few people; otherwise, Chen Fan could have single-handedly bankrupted Hang Seng Bank by using his assets as collateral.

More people need to unite.

That would require selecting a group of people from Hong Kong's wealthy elite. The pro-British faction should be excluded first, as cooperating with these people would likely result in being betrayed.

The Huo family and Li Zhaoji can both be won over.

Li Zhaoji is relatively easy to win over. On the one hand, his stance is not wrong, and on the other hand, he holds 18% of the shares in the gas company.

If necessary, shares can also be exchanged.

As for the Huo family, they weren't very familiar, but they did have some interactions. Kwai Chung Port was under their control, and the Huo family was in the shipping business, so they inevitably had business dealings.

Another point is that the Huo family has an excellent relationship with the higher-ups, making it the most suitable time for them to take the lead.

Having figured this out, Chen Fan picked up the phone and called Sun Shaojie: "Senior brother, is it convenient for you to come to my house now? I have something important to discuss."

"Wait for me for half an hour."

Sun Shaojie quickly dealt with his work and arrived at the Chen family home in less than half an hour. Seeing Zhou Wenya and Yu Jing there, he guessed that Chen Fan was about to make a big move.

Sure enough, as soon as Chen Fan explained the situation, Sun Shaojie couldn't help but laugh: "That British guy is really unlucky to have offended you."

"First, can we handle the people?" Chen Fan asked.

Sun Shaojie hummed in agreement: "The Huo family is fine, they have an excellent relationship with us. The Li Zhaoji family isn't a big problem either. Why don't you bring in Bao and Dong, the shipping magnates?" Chen Fan retorted irritably: "Bao is a director of HSBC, and Hang Seng is controlled by HSBC. If I were to poach his staff and ask for his help, would I be out of my mind?"

"As for Dong the Shipping King, I'm really not familiar with him."

Dong, Bao, and Zhao were the three shipping magnates of Hong Kong and the third of the world's seven shipping magnates, all of whom were big names in the shipping industry.

After thinking about it carefully, Sun Shaojie realized that it made sense. This was a business matter and had nothing to do with political stance, so it wouldn't be appropriate to force the shipping magnate onto the bus.

“Dong the Shipping King is also a patriotic businessman. I’ll help you make the connection later, and it will definitely work out.”

That's how it was settled.

Sun Shaojie personally accompanied Chen Fan to Hong Kong, where they visited the Huo family, the shipping magnate Dong, and Li Zhaoji, and quickly finalized the matter.

Li Zhaoji saw Chen Fan off and then clicked his tongue, saying, "This kid is really ruthless. He set up a trap for Hang Seng. The British probably won't get any benefits."

Thinking of this, I laughed again.

He coveted Chen Fan's 18% stake in the gas company and wanted to take this opportunity to acquire a portion of it from Chen Fan to see if he could achieve controlling ownership.

Unfortunately, Chen Fan did not agree, but only promised to let him invest in Hang Seng after the acquisition was completed.

Li Ka-shing had no complaints about this. Although Hang Seng Bank was not as good as HSBC or Standard Chartered, it was still a top-tier bank in Hong Kong.

Being able to invest in it means it's a valuable asset.

What he was required to do was very simple: take out a loan from Hang Seng Bank and then transfer the loan funds out of his account. That was all.

Even if the acquisition fails in the end, the only loss will be the interest. Chen Fan also promised that he would be fully responsible for the interest lost if the acquisition fails.

This shows just how much Chen Fan hates Britain!
It truly lives up to the media's assessment of him: he's a ruthless person; if you offend him, he'll retaliate even if it means losing money.

The idea that harmony brings wealth is utter nonsense!

Everyone knows that Chen Fan has tens of billions of US dollars in cash, which is a completely different concept from having tens of billions of US dollars in assets.

In terms of assets, Chen Fan is even more terrifying.

No one in Hong Kong can compare to him in terms of assets. The land he controls alone is enough to secure his position as the richest man in Hong Kong, and it is indisputable.

"The younger generation surpasses the older generation!"

With a sigh, Li Zhaoji began to make arrangements. He was determined to do this well and gain the greatest benefit.

Find projects and apply for loans in batches.

As one of Hong Kong's top billionaires, with businesses spanning real estate, finance, energy, and logistics, obtaining loans is relatively easy for him.

To everyone's dismay, Chen Fan actually ran away.

Such a large project, yet the initiator didn't stay to oversee it, as if it had nothing to do with him.

This is really puzzling!

We're all top-tier billionaires, so why am I working myself to the bone while you're living a carefree life?

Chen Fan had no intention of staying in Hong Kong. If he stayed, the British would worry that he might cause trouble. It would be better for him to go back to Beijing to be with his children.

The kids in the family went out to play and have all become wild, causing trouble at home all day long, which gives Chen Fan a headache.

This is the first time I've realized that being too active in a child isn't good either.

"Dad, hug!"

Yan Yin walked over. This little girl has gotten wild with her play, but she's too lazy. After playing for a while, she runs over and wants to be held and played with.

(End of this chapter)