Starting with a fully invested A-share portfolio to become a capital...

Chapter 272 Double 11 Overturns China Unicom, All Institutions in Hong Kong Suspend Short Selling Business

7th floor, Block A, Changtai.

Open-plan trading office area.

When Lin Guangchang, with his prematurely gray hair and refined appearance, pushed open the soundproof glass door, Zeng Lingshan, Feng Weiqiang, and Chen Xiaoqun, who had returned to their home base early, greeted him.

Good morning, brother who supports his family.

Good morning, Third Brother.

Good morning, Brother Yang.

Lin Guangchang smiled and looked at the three little ones, asking, "Good morning. Did you buy anything last night on Singles' Day?"

"I bought a few winter clothes. I have to say, the prices on Singles' Day are really low, almost half the price of usual."

Chen Xiaoqun was the first to answer.

“I bought some food, it’s 20% off,” Feng Weiqiang replied immediately.

Zeng Lingshan thought for a moment and said, "I bought a pair of Anta basketball shoes. They were 40% off, so it only cost me less than 50 yuan."

Although he didn't have his own bank card or securities account, he could ask Feng Weiqiang and Chen Xiaoqun for help. The three of them were staying in the same hotel suite.

Before he could finish speaking, Zeng Lingshan asked in return, "Third Brother, what did you buy?"

"Coffee beans, filter paper, and household items," Lin Guangchang said as he walked to the area where the coffee machine was located, and began skillfully washing the cups, preparing to make coffee.

While washing the cups, he added, "Online shopping has a very promising future. Take some time to look up related concepts; you might be able to make some arbitrage profits."

“Okay,” Zeng Lingshan replied.

Feng Weiqiang suddenly remembered something and asked, "Brother Yangjia, have you seen the sales figures for the first hour of Singles' Day?"

"How many?"

Lin Guangchang countered with a question.

"6942 million Chinese yuan, and that's just the data from midnight to 1 a.m. I wonder how much has been traded now," Feng Weiqiang remarked.

"Speaking of sales volume, it seems like not many mainland China version iPhone 3GS units have been sold? I'm not sure, let me check again."

As soon as Chen Xiaoqun finished speaking, she quickly operated her computer, opened the Taobao webpage, and searched for the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS.

The first store that catches the eye is the official direct sales store of China Unicom, which sold 102 phones. The second store is the official Apple flagship store, which sold 83 phones. The third store and the ones that follow are all resellers, and they all have the word "Hong Kong" on their names, which obviously indicates that there is something fishy going on.

"Pfft!"

Chen Xiaoqun couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing: "Hahaha, the China Unicom direct store only sold 102 units, and the Apple official flagship store did even worse, selling only 83 units. Such a lively online shopping festival, and they actually sold less than 200 units."

"This time, their underwear has been stripped off!"

Feng Weiqiang gloated.

Offline stores don't know how many domestically sold iPhone 3GS units China Unicom and Apple actually sold. You could say they sold 1000 or 1 units, but consumers have no way of verifying it.

But online stores are different; the number of transactions is what matters.

Zeng Lingshan couldn't help but smile and looked at Feng Weiqiang and Chen Xiaoqun, asking, "The sluggish sales of the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS, does this mean we've won?"

"That's for sure."

"Winning Ma!"

Just as Feng Weiqiang and Chen Xiaoqun finished speaking, Liao Guopei's magnetic voice suddenly rang out.

"What do you mean, 'won'?"

Good morning, Foot Brother.

Good morning, Foot Bro.

Good morning, Second Brother.

Chen Xiaoqun, Feng Weiqiang, and Zeng Lingshan quickly greeted them. Before they could reply, Lin Guangchang, who was fiddling with the coffee machine, said with a smile, "The Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS has been completely exposed. It couldn't even sell on Singles' Day. Less than 200 units were sold in one night."

"Hey!" Liao Guopei slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "I almost forgot, today is Singles' Day. If the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS really doesn't sell well, then we're all set."

“Hey, you’ve really got a steady footing, come over here,” Chen Xiaoqun gestured.

Liao Guopei strode over, and when he saw the transaction volume on the display screen, he couldn't help but slam his fist on the table and say, "Good heavens, Joker is truly a prophet! The Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS is just a pretty face, all show and no substance."

“My friend bought a Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS, and regretted it after two days. He concluded that it had all the 3G capabilities, but the phone's functions couldn't be fully utilized. He complained that it was almost like a 2G feature phone,” Lin Guangchang chimed in.

As a native of Shanghai, his friend was not short of money. He went to queue up to buy the iPhone 3GS on the day it was released in China, but regretted it a few days later and found it very troublesome to return it.

"Billions in put options, plus short selling accounts, how much are we going to make this time?" Liao Guopei licked his lips, he couldn't help but sigh, following Zhang Yang, you can really eat nine meals in three days.

"Over a billion?"

"I'd guess over two billion!"

"five billion!"

"Haha, what the hell is this 5 billion? You want China Unicom to be cut in half?!"

"Who knows? Haha!"

Laughter filled the trading office area, and the scales of victory for shorting China Unicom have now completely tipped in favor of the "Zhangjiang gang".

As soon as Zhang Yang pushed open the soundproof glass door, he heard a series of hearty laughs.

"What's making you laugh so happily?"

Upon seeing Zhang Yang, Liao Guopei quickly shared the good news: "Double 11 has completely exposed the true nature of the domestic version of the iPhone 3GS. We only sold less than 200 in one night. This is Double 11, a shopping festival that Ma Yun has been promoting for half a month. We should have beaten the Joker."

"We made the right bet."

Lin Guangchang echoed this sentiment.

"NONONO." Zhang Yang returned to his seat and corrected, "We don't call this gambling; we profit by using market knowledge to deduce stock prices."

"It looks good, I like it, haha." Liao Guopei laughed continuously.

Good morning, boss.

Good morning, boss.

Good morning, Joker!

Zeng Lingshan, Feng Weiqiang, and Chen Xiaoqun quickly greeted him. After only half a month of getting to know each other, they realized how terrifying Zhang Yang was.

With a near 100% win rate and an exceptional understanding of policy, news, and technical factors, calling him a "god of candlestick charts" is no exaggeration.

"Good morning." Zhang Yang replied with a smile, then opened his computer and said, "Now you know the importance of raising awareness, right? Even though the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS has been proven in the markets of Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, and even Hong Kong and Taiwan, it doesn't mean that it can do whatever it wants in the mainland market."

"I've learned a lot from you, boss."

"I've got it now, I've really got it this time."

"You can't make money beyond what you know; that's absolutely true."

Everyone responded enthusiastically.

To make money in the capital market, there is a lot to learn, but it all boils down to four words: improve your understanding.

In his 1997 book, "Rich Dad Poor Dad," Kiyosaki introduced the concept of "financial intelligence" and emphasized that the difference in perception between assets and liabilities is the root cause of wealth inequality.

In addition, Buffett's best partner, Charlie Munger, also advocated the "mental grid" theory in "Poor Charlie's Almanack".

He believes that successful investing requires integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines such as mathematics, biology, and economics, and proposes the idea of ​​"fishing where there are many fish," emphasizing that the boundaries of cognition determine the ability to identify opportunities. His core viewpoint has been distilled into: the ceiling of your cognition is the upper limit of your wealth.

"I'm really looking forward to the market opening today. I wonder if China Unicom's shareholders will panic, haha."

"I bet his pants were soaked with fear."

Liao Guopei and Lin Guangchang sang in unison.

Just as they predicted, retail investors holding China Unicom tickets are now feeling like they've been struck by lightning, with panic spreading rapidly.

[Little Darling]: Damn it, do Chinese consumers have any taste at all? The Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS isn't selling, while Nokia phones are selling like hotcakes. Do Chinese consumers even understand 3G phones?

[Seeking a Son with a Large Sum of Money]: I bought two mainland China iPhone 3GS phones offline and also hold 30 RMB worth of China Unicom stock. I'm asking for advice: should I jump off a building in this situation? I'm waiting online, it's urgent.

[I'll Marry Landmine Girl in This Life]: It's hopeless. Double 11 really exposed the true nature of the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS. Sales on Taobao are so bad, and JD.com, which didn't have any promotions, is even worse. Nobody is buying it.

[Lonely Wild Boar]: The key issue is that China Unicom treats consumers like they're Japanese. The Hong Kong version of the iPhone 3GS only sells for around 4000 yuan, but we start at 6999 yuan. I've never seen such a rip-off of consumers.

Perhaps Ma Yun didn't expect that instead of defeating JD.com, Paipai.com, and eBay, Double 11 would bring down China Unicom.

What's most devastating is that at 8:23 a.m., Alibaba posted a poster on its official Weibo account showing the transaction volume in the first eight hours, with the words "Transaction volume in 8 hours exceeded 4.76 million" clearly written in extra-large font.

Why do we say that killing someone means destroying their spirit?
The 4.76 million yuan in sales within 8 hours demonstrates the great success of the Double 11 shopping festival, which fully unleashed users' potential purchasing power.

So now comes the problem.

There are no problems with the Double 11 promotion, so why is the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS not selling?

The answer is obvious: the market simply doesn't buy into the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS.

……

Hangzhou, China.

Fresh House City Hotel.

When He Jingxing, chairman of China Unicom, woke up and opened his laptop, he felt as if the sky had fallen. He had never expected that the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS would be so unpopular with the market. What's more, the e-commerce platform even published the sales figures for the first eight hours.

"no!"

"No, no, no!"

"This is really going to be a disaster!"

He Jingxing panicked. He didn't have the habit of staying up late and went to bed early last night. If he had known that the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS was so bad, he should have stayed up all night and called Ma Yun and Liu Qiangdong immediately to ask them to hide the specific sales figures.

at this point.

He could only try to salvage the situation after the fact.

He Jingxing quickly took out his phone, found Ma Yun's phone number, and then dialed it.

"Dududu-"

Perhaps because she had stayed up late, Ma Yun didn't answer the phone immediately. It rang more than a dozen times, and just as it was about to be automatically disconnected, the call was finally answered.

"Mr. He."

Hearing the tired voice, He Jingxing asked, "Just woke up, Mr. Ma?"

"Yeah, I just woke up." Ma Yun replied, yawning as she thought to herself, "You woke me up, didn't you?"

He had already put his phone on vibrate mode and instructed his executive Zhang Yong to take full charge of Double 11, planning to catch up on some sleep. Unexpectedly, a phone call from He Jingxing disrupted his plans.

However, there was nothing she could do. The other party was the chairman of China Unicom, so Ma Yun had to give him face and could only say the insincere thing of "waking up naturally".

He Jingxing knew the other person was lying, but in the adult world, as long as the truth isn't revealed, the conversation can continue.

"That's perfect, Mr. Ma. I have something I'd like to ask you to do: hide the sales figures for the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS."

He Jingxing kept it brief.

Upon hearing this, Ma Yun breathed a sigh of relief and replied without hesitation, "No problem, Mr. He, I'll take care of it right away."

"Thank you, Mr. Ma. If you have time tonight, I'd like to treat you to dinner."

"Okay, I'll definitely come."

"It's settled then, tonight. I'll send the address to your phone later."

"no problem."

Ma Yun and He Jingxing exchanged a few more polite words before hanging up the phone.

Without hesitation, He Jingxing called Liu Qiangdong again and asked him to block the sales of the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS on JD.com.

On the other hand, Ma Yun was somewhat curious about the sales figures of the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS during Singles' Day, which could actually prompt He Jingxing to make a special call.

He walked to the desk and opened the laptop that was placed on it.

After successfully booting up, I opened Taobao and searched for related terms.

"this!"

Ma Yun exclaimed in surprise, muttering to herself, "Only a little over 100 units were sold in one night, and even with the Apple store, it's less than 200 units. China Unicom's stock price is going to plummet."

It wasn't that he was gloating, but rather that he simply couldn't hold back his emotions when he saw this data.

Keep in mind that this is Singles' Day (November 11th). Ma Yun has been spending tens of millions of yuan on publicity since the beginning of October. It is China's first shopping festival.

It's also worth mentioning that He Jingxing secretly lowered the price by 1000 yuan by citing discounts on online shopping platforms.

The fact that the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS, priced at 5999 yuan, still failed to attract buyers indirectly demonstrates that it is a complete failure.

"We need to block him right away, lest his butt gets seen by others."

Ma Yun found Zhang Yong's phone number and pressed the dial button.

……

And at the same time.

the other side.

Hong Kong Island, China.

Due to the "mysterious short seller," Hong Kong media have been paying close attention to the development of China Unicom and the mainland China version of the iPhone 3GS. When they discovered that the mainland China version of the iPhone 3GS had been thoroughly exposed during the Double 11 shopping festival, various reports followed.

Unbelievable! During the Singles' Day shopping festival in mainland China, Taobao sold 4.76 million yuan worth of goods in just eight hours, but the number of officially imported iPhone 3GS units sold was less than 200 – a truly dismal figure!

Renowned financial expert Li Jiji offers a sharp commentary: The Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS has been ruthlessly abandoned by the mainland market, and China Unicom is about to face its most severe stock price liquidation!

Insider information or real skill? How much profit can be made from billions in put options? Stay tuned to Hong Kong Island Finance Frontline, where renowned economic expert Zhou Xiaomin analyzes the betting logic of a mysterious short seller!

The Hong Kong media's instigation completely ignited public opinion surrounding China Unicom in Hong Kong.

[Fool's Luck]: Damn it! This mysterious short seller from the mainland is really something. I secretly bought 10 yuan worth of short positions. I'm going to make a killing this time, aren't I?

[Tonight, let's turn the tables]: I heard that someone opened a 10 billion HKD bearish position, and China Unicom fell by 10%, wouldn't that be a net profit of 1 billion HKD?
[Lu Ye Shi Xuan Zhuan]: It's not just tens of billions, I heard it's hundreds of billions. This time, the institutions are going to lose so much that even their own mothers won't recognize them.

[Vibrant Greater Bay Area]: Is it still possible to short sell? I have a bold idea.

Since short selling is allowed in Hong Kong Island, many retail investors are eager to try it out.

In contrast, all financial institutions in Hong Kong received instructions from their superiors to cease accepting short-selling orders from China Unicom.

Institutions aren't stupid; their willingness to accept short orders is based on careful consideration from multiple perspectives.

Take China Unicom as an example. Before the official launch of the iPhone 3GS in China, its price increase was expected to be unprecedented. Some people came to short sell, which was exactly what institutions wanted, since they could not only earn daily interest but also hedge against risks.

However, when the market unanimously turns bearish, and institutions believe that China Unicom's stock price will fall, taking short orders at this time seems a bit like doing charity or giving away money.

At this moment, in the president's office of Goldman Sachs, the muscular David Smith, with a sharp look in his eyes, said in a deep voice: "So, the iPhone 3GS, exclusively distributed by China Unicom, simply can't sell in the mainland market?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

Solan Avery nodded in response, and then added, "Hong Kong media are all reporting on the sales of the mainland China version of the iPhone 3GS during Singles' Day. I don't know if anyone is trying to boost it."

"No need to think, there definitely is."

David Smith took a deep breath and quickly came up with a solution: "See if other institutions can still open short positions, and have someone buy some short positions to hedge the profits and losses."

"this…"

Solan Avery hesitated for a moment before replying, "As far as I know, all institutions in Hong Kong Island are no longer accepting short orders from China Unicom."

He then changed the subject, saying, "Now that things have come to this, I think we need to pool the funds of major Hong Kong institutions and launch a counterattack when China Unicom's stock price reaches a temporary bottom. This might reduce our losses."

Even the incredibly popular Double 11 shopping festival couldn't save the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS; a consensus on price declines has already formed.

Should we intervene to rescue the market now?

It's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
Numerous examples have shown that contrarian investing often comes at a heavy price.

At this point, some might ask, doesn't Buffett often buy when no one is interested and sell when everyone is talking about it? Isn't that going against the trend?
Really not!

Counter-trend trading means making a trading strategy that goes against the trend in a market with high certainty.

Take the H1N1 flu concept in April as an example. When the World Health Organization warned that H1N1 flu was becoming global, related pharmaceutical companies entered a period of rapid speculation.

Although it's still unknown who will lead the charge, it's certain that the global spread of H1N1 influenza will cause pharmaceutical stocks to rise.

Is the sector's upward trend highly certain?
Very strong!
If you are bearish at this point, or short selling, that would be counter-trend trading.

Buffett's trading strategy involves planning for the future in advance, demonstrating a level of understanding that surpasses that of most retail investors. Other investors may think that the stock market guru Buffett is old and no longer capable, buying only worthless stocks. However, time has proven time and again that Buffett is still the same Buffett, a stock market god who stands above all investors.

Of course.

Except for Washington stock market investors.

……

When the time came to 9 o'clock, Hong Kong stocks had already entered the opening auction. China Unicom's stock price did not disappoint everyone's expectations, falling by 7.84% to HK$10.16, and it seemed that it was about to break HK$10.

On November 10th, yesterday, Huaguo Unicom's A-shares closed at 7.16 yuan, while its Hong Kong-listed shares closed at HK$11.02. Huaguo Unicom has been falling for several consecutive days, with its K-line not only breaking below the 10-day moving average and forming a death cross, but also the MACD and KDJ indicators pointing to a downward correction.

It is worth mentioning that the "Short-Term Out-of-the-Dots Option Contract" purchased by the "Zhangjiang Gang" had an exercise price of HK$10. Moreover, since it was an American-style option, Zhang Yang could exercise his right at any time and sell the option contract he held to institutions at an anchor price of HK$11.68, as long as the stock price fell below HK$10.

Taking HK$10.16 as an example, the current price difference is HK$1.52. One option is equivalent to 1000 shares of China Unicom, which means that each option currently yields an average profit of HK$1520.

The "Zhangjiang gang" holds a total of 856164 short-term out-of-the-money option contracts, which means that they have already made a profit of HK$13.0136 billion, equivalent to RMB11.477 billion. This does not include the more than 30 billion yuan from short selling.

The early decline in Hong Kong stocks has fueled panic among mainland retail investors.

[Big Pineapple]: It's over, it's over, China Unicom is dead, China Unicom is going to bury everyone in the ground, the Hong Kong stock price dropped by 7.84% in the opening auction, that's outrageous!
[Happy Stock Trading]: This is hopeless, this time it's really hopeless. China Unicom has definitely made a strategic mistake this time. Anyone who still holds its stock will never recover in this lifetime!
[Lu Bu is my son]: China Unicom's Hong Kong stock has collapsed, and it's estimated that China Unicom's A-share stock will also fail to break out of its own market trend. I don't know what happened, brothers, you should run.

[Violent barking]: You guys don't even know why the price is falling? Open Taobao and look at the sales of the mainland China version of the iPhone 3GS. China Unicom didn't hit the daily limit down, oh no, Hong Kong stocks don't have restrictions, it's good that it didn't fall by 10%.

No one expected that Singles' Day could not only cut product prices, but also stock prices.

Xu Xiang, who had just left the Eastmoney Building, also received a call from Ma Xinqi.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Something's happened, boss. The Double 11 shopping festival exposed China Unicom's dirty secrets. Now China Unicom's Hong Kong stock has fallen by more than 8%, and it's about to break HK$10. It really feels like it's going to get out of control!"

"What??"

Xu Xiang wondered if he had misheard and asked again, "China Unicom dropped by 8%?"

"Yes, Hong Kong media outlets have all joined in, and Caiyan.com even put this on their front page. I can't believe that China Unicom will hit its daily limit down when the A-share market opens."

Ma Xinqi's voice trembled slightly; this round of short selling was truly unbelievable.

Can a blue-chip stock with a market capitalization of hundreds of billions really hit its daily limit down...?

Xu Xiang muttered to himself.

Upon hearing this, Shu Yimin, who was standing nearby, immediately felt a pang of anxiety and asked, "Brother Xiang, what happened? What? A blue-chip stock worth hundreds of billions of yuan has hit its daily limit down?"

"Could it be China Unicom?"

Sun Guodong inquired.

Xu Haiou frowned and replied, "Has some bad news come out again?"

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

"Yes, Master."

Xu Xiang hung up the phone first, then said with a serious look: "The sales of the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS on Taobao's Double 11 may be very poor. I don't know if this is Zhang Yang's plan. If so, then this guy is waiting for us to jump into the fire pit at least a month, or even two months in advance."

"Really? One or two months?"

Shu Yimin exclaimed in surprise.

"It's just speculation, but one thing is certain: this Singles' Day was the last straw that broke the camel's back." Xu Xiang's eyes grew increasingly serious.

He had a premonition that the recent events were not coincidences. For example, the recent 3G battle among the three major operators was definitely being orchestrated by a powerful force behind the scenes.

Is it flamboyance?
It's really possible.

If all of this was just a calculated scheme by Zhang Yang…

Xu Xiang shuddered at the thought and muttered to himself, "The sluggish sales of the Chinese version of the iPhone 3GS, the infighting among the three major carriers, and the final straw on Singles' Day—could it be that he set up this trap from the very beginning, just waiting for us to fall into it?"

(End of this chapter)