America: My Time

Chapter 1196 Soros's Conspiracy
Chapter 1186 Soros's Conspiracy

The actions of these guys in Southeast Asia are a huge joke. I don't know what they were thinking, so easily believing what Soros and his ilk said. They actually thought Standard Chartered Bank was a philanthropist who would help them at this time. These guys seem to have forgotten how they targeted John, 7-Eleven, and other retail companies. And they still dare to ask Standard Chartered Bank for help!
Those guys are disgusting him, provoking him, even testing his strength, Standard Chartered Bank's strength, and Hurricane Investment's strength. It seems these guys have already started preparing for a major battle in Hong Kong! This is just Soros's own thought, and it may not be true. There are many more people behind this, but those guys are hiding deeper, and it won't be easy to find their weaknesses. Moreover, at this time, he can't just start a confrontation with them without any reason!
"Heh, interesting. Soros really dares to think big, and those guys in Southeast Asia certainly dare to do big things. What do they take Standard Chartered Bank for? What do they take the British for? Standard Chartered Bank is an important member of the Bank of England. Do they think they have the ability to make Britain compromise? However, now that this has happened, we can't just do nothing. We were restrained before, but we don't need to be now!"

As John finished speaking, his eyes were filled with fighting spirit. They thought they could restrain Standard Chartered Bank with such petty tricks? These guys were overthinking it. Even Soros could act recklessly, so what did he have to worry about? Before, he cared about his reputation and was unwilling to take the initiative, earning the reputation of a financial assassin. Now he didn't need to worry about that anymore. These guys' stupidity gave him enough excuse.

Standard Chartered Bank reacted swiftly, abandoning its previous mildness and engaging in a cutthroat competition for profits. This shift by Standard Chartered finally made those in Southeast Asia realize they had been deceived, tricked by figures like Soros, who had created another formidable enemy. Standard Chartered's move further escalated the situation in Southeast Asia, leaving them powerless to stop it; it was all their own doing. If they hadn't been foolish enough to provoke Standard Chartered, this outcome would have been entirely different.

At this point, those guys wanted to apologize and restore everything to its original state, but unfortunately, Standard Chartered Bank wouldn't give them that chance. Did they really think John was so easygoing that they could be fooled? With a seemingly valid reason, Standard Chartered Bank also joined the feast, frantically reaping profits in Southeast Asia!

"Damn it, I told you long ago not to provoke John. Standard Chartered Bank wouldn't get involved in this mess and wouldn't help those guys. But you insisted on inciting them. Now look what's happened. Standard Chartered Bank's move directly affects our own interests. Their influence in Southeast Asia is something we can't compare to!"

"So what? You don't really think we're going to let those guys drag Standard Chartered Bank into the mire. I'm not stupid, how could I not know John's capabilities? This is just a test. Standard Chartered Bank's reaction is enough to prove that John has been planning this all along. If we target Hong Kong, we will inevitably face his counterattack. Standard Chartered Bank is the one we have to face."

"We can ask Morgan, the White House, and the Federal Reserve to intervene and stop all of this from happening!"

"What a joke! Do you think Morgan is stupid? And do you think John would care if the White House intervened? As for the Federal Reserve, that's even less likely. You should know that the Federal Reserve and Wall Street did not notify John about this operation. Even if they intervened, it wouldn't make any difference. This is something we have to face! Unlike Southeast Asia, John has huge assets in Hong Kong. We can't just attack him like that. Besides, Standard Chartered Bank is also the issuing bank of Hong Kong's currency!"

Although he understood the consequences of attacking Hong Kong's financial markets, Soros wasn't afraid; in fact, he was somewhat excited. This would be a contest between him and John. If he could defeat him, he could replace John, gaining recognition from Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, and even global financial institutions. Breaking John's undefeated record would bring him enormous benefits, far exceeding the superficial gains!

"With Standard Chartered's dollar reserves, taking over Hong Kong will not be an easy task. Furthermore, we don't know exactly how much gold Standard Chartered has in its reserves, which is the most troublesome thing."

"Retreating without a fight is impossible. You don't think this battle is what it seems on the surface, you don't think we can control all of this, do you? Even if you want to give up, it's impossible. The Federal Reserve won't accept it, the White House won't accept it, and even our Wall Street counterparts won't accept it. We can't avoid this battle!" Soros sneered disdainfully at those who were considering retreating. These guys thought this financial war was just about harvesting funds. They were too naive. There was a much deeper plan behind it.

It was precisely because Soros understood all this that he had such an expression, and that he kept probing John's true intentions and Standard Chartered's strengths and weaknesses. This battle in Hong Kong was unavoidable; it was not something he could decide! Standard Chartered's reaction had a far-reaching impact, making many people uneasy and fearful. With Standard Chartered's actions, the situation in Southeast Asia became increasingly chaotic and terrifying, yet those guys were powerless to do anything about it. After all, they were the ones who actively provoked Standard Chartered, forcing them to take action against them.

As Southeast Asia descended into chaos, John began to have some thoughts. It was impossible to have a fair and square battle with Soros; doing so would be a slap in the face to the Federal Reserve and the White House, bringing him a lot of unnecessary trouble and making him appear too arrogant and domineering, which would damage his public image.

John has gained a lot of benefits by leveraging his perfect public image. He won't let his image collapse unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, Standard Chartered Bank wouldn't have maintained a mild attitude and not directly and openly targeted those guys in Southeast Asia, thus losing a lot of profits for nothing!
Faced with provocation, John needed to retaliate, but the current situation made him wary and worried. Could this be a conspiracy by Soros and those oil-rich capitalists? If he acted impulsively and started a fight with them, those guys would have a reason to attack him, or even break the rules.

John never dared to underestimate the oil tycoons; after all, these guys were too greedy and too cunning. There was nothing they wouldn't do; these guys would sell their souls to the devil for profit. Profit was above all else—that was John's impression of them!
Before John could react, the strategy for luxury brands was already underway. Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel and Valenciennes had reached an agreement. Not only them, but other luxury brands also accepted John's proposal.

Right now, they are only focused on seizing market share and building brand awareness, not on making a profit. What they need to do now is invest in cultivating the market. They don't need to pay too much attention to the influence of spokespeople. Instead, they need to get started, build brand awareness in China, and let Chinese people know about and understand their brand.

Karl Lagerfeld still had some reservations. After all, Chanel's influence made him unwilling to accept a relatively unknown newcomer as a spokesperson. However, Valentino's father did not have such concerns. He shared the same idea as John: he did not care about immediate gains or losses, nor did he care whether a newcomer would affect Valentino's reputation. If even the name is not well-known, what reputation can you talk about? You have to let people know about your brand first before anything else can happen!

"Hehe, this old lady really sticks to her principles. Oh well, let her have her way. We shouldn't interfere. Let's speed up our pace and not let their ideas affect our plans in China!" John didn't want to criticize the old lady's ideas, after all, that's just the old man's personality.

Following the split of the Yongyuan Group into three companies, these three companies have been expanding rapidly after stabilizing, doing everything in their power to strengthen themselves, and the acquisition spree continues. Although not as clean and efficient as before, they haven't stopped their pace of development. However, in the vast Chinese market, not everyone has John's foresight to invest the time and effort to plan and seize market share!

In many people's eyes, China is poor and their products have no market. However, they have no idea how amazing the changes in China will be and how crazy the market will become. By the time they want to get in, it will be too late!
That's why John decided to entrust this matter to Wang Jinhua and the Phoenix Group. After all, the Phoenix Group's influence in China is constantly expanding, which will naturally attract more attention and create more opportunities.

However, choosing suitable spokespeople for major luxury brands now doesn't require exorbitant fees; it simply involves expanding their reach in China and enhancing their brand awareness. John had considered starting a magazine, but ultimately abandoned the idea. After all, China isn't like Europe or America, and the media isn't under his control!
(End of this chapter)