Mixed in 1980

Chapter 370 Old Huo's Explosive Announcement
"Who suggested detonating it ahead of schedule?" Chen Fan asked in surprise, pondering the question carefully.

The idea is indeed good. It's better to let the British take the blame for the housing market crash before 1997 than to take the blame after 1997.

A housing market collapse is no small matter.

Many people couldn't bear the consequences and either jumped off buildings or burned coal in their bedrooms, causing public hope for the future to plummet.

Let the British take the blame; it will make things much easier for them in terms of both management and public opinion, as everyone will only blame the British.

An early collapse is also good for the economy, as the market will enter a self-adjustment cycle more quickly, which is beneficial for development after 1997.

However, the idea was quite radical, and the British would never agree to it. They always thought that after reaping the benefits, they would leave gracefully and leave the mess for China.

"A group of economists discussed this and built a model. As long as everyone works together, there is a chance to trigger it ahead of schedule."

Xin Yingjie crossed his legs and took a drag of his cigarette: "The higher-ups will announce that a large amount of land will be allocated next year, and a large number of low-rent housing units will be supplied."

"The rest is up to you to do!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan frowned: "The idea is correct. The rest is the war of public opinion. As long as we control the public opinion, we can indeed ignite the real estate market."

"The most important issue here is controlling the media and smearing Britain and foreign investment, while preventing the smears from falling on ourselves."

"This requires intervention from higher authorities!"

Although Chen Fan was nicknamed "half of the King of Hong Kong" in Hong Kong, Hong Kong was still under British control, so he couldn't completely control public opinion.

It's different if the higher-ups intervene. 97 is coming soon, and those who are supposed to obey will have to obey. After 97, Chen Fan will be able to deal with them without the higher-ups having to step in.

As for the British-controlled media, there's no need to think too much; in the end, they'll definitely smear each other.

After seeing Xin Yingjie off, Chen Fan pondered for a moment. He thought that prematurely triggering the real estate market would involve too many interests and would also have a strong impact on the financial market.

Including the previously planned actions against HSBC and Standard Chartered, if the property market is ignited ahead of schedule, the strategy towards these two banks will need to be further developed.

The original plan was to deal with these two banks after 1997, but the authorities suddenly wanted to ignite the real estate market ahead of schedule, so they had to make plans for them in advance.

Besides that, there's the stock market!
A collapse in the real estate market will definitely affect the stock market. Taking advantage of the situation to short the market and then buy back at the bottom is a good strategy that can make a lot of money.

After carefully considering each step, Chen Fan picked up his phone and called the shareholders of Hang Seng Bank, asking them to come to a meeting.

I don't go to Hong Kong myself.

A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall, and a wise man does not fall into a collapsed nest. There is no need to go to Hong Kong to take risks. Who knows if the British will take such a risk?

In May of this year, Li's son, Xiao Chao, was kidnapped by the notorious gangster Cheung Tze-keung, who then demanded a ransom from the Li family.

“Mr. Li is incredibly wealthy, so we won’t ask for too much. We’ve been entrusted by our brothers to borrow 20 billion from Mr. Li! All in cash, no new bills.”

"Even if I gave you 20 billion, you still couldn't withdraw it from the bank!"

In the end, the bank determined that the maximum amount that could be withdrawn was HK$1 billion. Including the HK$38 million in cash taken from Li Ka-shing's home, the total ransom reached HK$10.38 billion, setting a Guinness World Record.

In such a security environment, it wouldn't be difficult for the British to target Chen Fan; in fact, the notorious gangster Cheung Tze-keung had already taken note of Chen Fan.

With repeated hype from the British, everyone in Hong Kong knows that Chen Fan's assets will reach hundreds of billions of US dollars next year.

It would be strange if someone as ruthless as Cheung Tze-keung didn't have his eye on him!
Two days later, the shareholders arrived, and Chen Fan invited them directly to his home. Accompanying them were Zhou Wenya, Yu Jing, and Han Ting and Xin Yingjie from the Ministry of Commerce.

When Han Ting, as the official representative, explained the intentions of the higher-ups, everyone frowned.

An early collapse would harm everyone's interests.

Nobody took it to heart. They had already made enough money, and were about to go on a rampage in Southeast Asia. A little loss in the real estate market was nothing.

But detonating it prematurely would inevitably lead to conflict with the British.

Hong Kong is not a peaceful place. It's easy for the British to pull off some tricks. It's not impossible for them to have someone impersonate a robber and kidnap someone.

"Arrange for your family members to come to the mainland!"

Old Huo gritted his teeth and lit a cigarette: "There's less than a year left. Just hang in there and it'll be over. When we get back, we'll hire more bodyguards."

Director Han understood everyone's concerns: "You can rest assured about security; security will be provided on the mainland." Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief!

With official intervention, safety is guaranteed. Back then, when Chen Fan was shot at by more than a dozen robbers with guns, it was all done by government personnel.

After agreeing on the details, they went their separate ways the next day. Three days later, hosts and photographers from Hong Kong's TVB and ATV came over to conduct an exclusive interview with Chen Fan.

September 15th, evening news!
The interview was broadcast simultaneously by two television stations. The host asked, "Mr. Chen, as the largest real estate developer in Hong Kong, what is your view on Hong Kong's housing prices?"

Chen Fan: "Without a doubt, Hong Kong's housing prices are too high and extremely unhealthy."

Host: "Mr. Chan, with Hong Kong property prices soaring, do you and the shareholders of Hang Seng Bank bear primary responsibility?"

"Based on the information we have, you are the main force behind real estate speculation, especially in the first three months after the Spring Festival, it was you who quickly pushed the housing price above 10,000 yuan."

Chen Fan: "We bear secondary responsibility!"

Host: "How so?"

Chen Fan: "In fact, throughout 1995 we were suppressing housing prices and preventing them from rising. Last year, at least 150 billion US dollars flowed into the Hong Kong property market."

"The result was that our sales office was vandalized, our employees were beaten, and most of our senior executives received death threats, forcing us to suppress the rise in housing prices."

Host: "So you're driving up housing prices?"

Chen Fan: "It's not that simple. If housing prices rise slowly, foreign investors will quickly sell their properties, cash out, and leave, leaving Hong Kong people to take over."

"Only when housing prices are high enough that ordinary people can't afford to buy a house will they avoid becoming the ones left holding the bag."

Host: "By using the term 'sucker,' do you have a pessimistic view of the Hong Kong property market and believe that the market will inevitably collapse in the future?"

Chen Fan smiled: "It's not like it hasn't collapsed before!"

……

"Fuck...how dare he?"

After reading the interview, Shen Bi felt a chill run down his spine: "How dare he? He still has many properties, and he still owns the most in Hong Kong."

"Aren't you afraid of a housing market collapse if you openly predict its downfall?"

"If it collapses, he'll suffer the biggest losses, damn it... Does he hate money?"

Shen Bi was right to criticize. Chen Fan still owns the most houses. He developed 31 communities in one go, but only sold half of them.

In addition, he also owns 10 plots of land.

If the housing market collapses, he will suffer the greatest losses, and his net worth may even plummet. But Chen Fan doesn't care. He has already taken away a huge amount of cash by selling houses.

At almost the same time, both foreign and Hong Kong local capital were criticizing the housing market, saying that the housing prices were driven up by the foreign investors and that the housing market was unhealthy.

That's incredibly shameless!

He's the type to eat meat while cursing, and then kick it while it's done. Even the bloodsuckers on Wall Street have more integrity than him.

Not only them, but also property speculators are complaining. House prices are not rising and they are not selling, so everyone is suffering significant losses. Now all they can do is shout, "No matter how high the house prices are, mainlanders will take over."

Just comfort yourself!
Leave some hope, leave some room for imagination. Maybe after 1997, mainlanders will see how developed Hong Kong is and come over to be the ones to take over.

The mainland has such a large population, and although its GDP per capita is somewhat lower, it also has wealthy individuals. It would be sufficient if only a small number of these wealthy individuals came to the mainland.

The truth is, you're overthinking it!
Before September was even over, mainland officials held a press conference, severely criticizing Britain for its inaction and rampant speculation on Hong Kong property prices, which led to housing difficulties for locals.

The mudslinging was created by the British, so it will definitely be thrown at the British, and specific figures will be presented to clearly show that the housing market is the result of foreign speculation.

In addition, it was announced that after 1997, a large amount of land would be released, and 75,000 low-rent housing units would be provided within the next 5 years, averaging 15,000 units per year.

After the press conference, the shareholders of Hang Seng Group had already made arrangements with the media to start a frenzy of hype surrounding the news, effectively pouring cold water on the real estate market.

The kind that's ice-cold to the bone!
After seeing the news, Old Huo rubbed his face vigorously. His family members had all been sent to Guangzhou, and now it was his turn to drop the bombshell!
Chen Fan originally wanted to do it himself.

Old Huo disagreed. He had been ripped off by the British back then, and he wanted to personally expose the truth so that the British would see clearly: Old Huo also holds grudges and is not so easy to mess with!
PS: Second update!
(End of this chapter)