America: My Time

Chapter 1564 The decisive battle begins

Chapter 1554 The Final Battle Begins

It is precisely because these old guys like Rockefeller are all calculating and are setting up a grand scheme that they have neither the time nor the energy to fight John to the death. That would not be good for them. At the same time, it can also make the oil capital lower its guard, making them feel that the power of these old families is weakening, making them more crazy. That's why this series of events has occurred!
John knew this, which is why he acted so recklessly. Unfortunately, the oil giants didn't know this; they didn't have John's confidence. John's tough stance did force the old guard, like Rockefeller, to back down. However, this situation exacerbated the conflict between the donkey and the elephant. After all, the weakening of the established families' power naturally made the newer wealthy families restless and full of ambition.

Seeing John's conglomerate grow from a mere twenty years into one of the largest in the United States, who wouldn't be tempted? Even knowing John was a prodigy, the allure of the American Dream drove these men mad, making them all frantic. And this was exactly what Rockefeller and his ilk wanted. In their eyes, everything was under their control. Oh! There was one person outside their control—John—but they didn't see it as a problem. As long as their calculations were sound, they could still reap considerable profits!
Unfortunately, these old guys have forgotten one thing: when their influence begins to weaken, order also collapses. Without order, the impact and damage on the United States will be even greater, driving the country into a more insane state. Perhaps these old guys are hiding behind the scenes and do not need to face any pressure or threats, but the entire United States will fall into a terrible disaster. Once the conflict between the donkey and the elephant becomes intense, the entire United States will sink deeper and deeper!

Although John could see through all of this, he was powerless to stop it, because it was an inevitable trend. He himself was trying to minimize his presence, and so were those old guys. He could see through the crisis in the United States because he had memories of the future and understood the extent to which the United States would go. But others did not know this, especially those old guys. They always felt that the United States was not afraid of any challenge, after all, Russia had already fallen.

“Stop now. Stop investing in Hong Kong real estate. If we continue, people will get restless. We don’t need to invest too much money in this area. From now on, we should focus on finance. The war in the United States is about to break out!” John’s voice was calm, but it sounded like a thunderclap to Yuan Tianfan.

To outsiders, John was seen as primarily buying up stocks of major companies in Hong Kong and engaging in financial investments, but he wasn't particularly involved in real estate. John's real estate target was the mainland in the north. However, after the Asian financial crisis, many people discovered that John's real estate company actually controlled a considerable amount of real estate resources, and all of them were top-quality properties.

During the Asian financial crisis, many Hong Kong tycoons were forced to sell some of their prime assets, which Standard Chartered Bank snapped up at bargain prices. The client was John's real estate company. Upon hearing John's words, Yuan Tianfan knew that Standard Chartered Bank was about to get busy.

Yuan Tianfan was also aware of the situation in Hong Kong. After all, if he didn't know about the changes in those Hong Kong bigwigs, he wouldn't be able to sit in Standard Chartered Bank's position. With the end of the financial crisis, some people naturally began to make changes.

Although John had considerable assets in Hong Kong, he never aggressively expanded his holdings. Even during the Asian financial crisis, John did not frantically acquire assets in Hong Kong, but instead transferred more funds to invest overseas and in China.

Yuan Tianfan had heard about the situation in the United States, and he was also aware of the changes in South Korea. However, he did not expect things to end so quickly. Faced with so much pressure, his boss resolved all the crises so easily and gained an absolute advantage. This was an outcome that Yuan Tianfan had not anticipated.

Although somewhat surprised, Yuan Tianfan calmly said, "Okay, I'll start making arrangements now, get everyone back, and get the safe house up and running. But this time, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to keep it from others."

"Of course. At this crucial moment, how could we possibly hide anything from those guys on Wall Street? Even if we launch a global operation, we can't escape their notice. Not only will Standard Chartered be under their watchful eye, but Hurricane Investment and Chengxin Bank will also be targeted, and even the two banks in South Korea and Japan will be watched. Don't underestimate the capabilities of those guys on Wall Street. If they want to know, they can definitely do it! We don't need to pay attention to them. We just need to target those guys and complete all our plans as quickly as possible."

Despite being in Hong Kong, John still understands the situation in the United States. Since those old guys like Rockefeller have already taken action, there's no need for him to waste his time and energy. As for what the oil capital thinks, that's not important. As long as he quickly withdraws, everything will be fine, and someone else will take care of the rest.

"No problem, but will withdrawing quickly cause unnecessary losses?"

“A little loss won’t have a huge impact. If we were to suffer such a small loss, we might end up paying a much higher price. Standard Chartered Bank will be shifting its focus overseas from now on. Hong Kong is no longer the priority. We also need to continue to improve our safe houses. This time, all of our safe houses have been exposed.”

John's safe houses were exposed during this operation, which is not a good thing. He needs to make preparations for the next step, otherwise he won't have any safe houses available when the next opportunity comes. After all, there are too many people watching him, and no matter how much secrecy he tries to maintain, problems will still arise!
"Boss, what should we do with the stocks we hold? The bigwigs in Hong Kong are starting to get uneasy. After all, the financial crisis is over, and they don't want to see us holding too many of their shares. They're worried that we might launch an offensive against them, or even complete a takeover?"

"Ignore those guys. Their little schemes are crystal clear. They're thinking of buying back their shares, but where will our profits come from? Tell them that as long as they don't affect our interests, we won't interfere with their operations, much less launch a takeover bid. In short, we're just trying to preserve our assets!" John knew how rapidly Hong Kong's development would unfold. How could he possibly hand over such a lucrative opportunity now? Not only were the Hong Kong tycoons impatient, but the British conglomerates were also filled with regret and wanted their assets back. But John ignored them all!

Although the asset restructuring is complete, many things still require careful handling. After all, this is no small matter, and such restructuring needs time to prove its worth. Even with John's exceptional foresight, caution is still necessary, especially in Hong Kong and throughout Asia. Any adjustments needed should be made promptly.

The impact of the Asian financial crisis was astonishing, and the consequences of this battle were also significant. In this Asian financial crisis, Standard Chartered Bank not only emerged unscathed but also gained enormous profits. Even though Hong Kong was dominated by HSBC, this battle also impacted the foundation of HSBC.

Nowadays, people in Hong Kong generally believe that it is safer to keep their money in Standard Chartered Bank, and it is even safer to cooperate with Standard Chartered Bank. After all, wealthy people or companies that have maintained dealings with Standard Chartered Bank have received funds from Standard Chartered Bank when they were in trouble. Although the amount was not large, it could save their lives in critical moments, while others do not have such benefits!

The Asian financial crisis devastated countless people in Hong Kong, leaving many wealthy individuals bankrupt. Without strong connections, banks wouldn't even look at you. Many Hong Kong tycoons sided with HSBC, willing to trust them, yet ultimately ended up destitute, or at best, suffering heavy losses. This starkly contrasts with the situation of Standard Chartered Bank's clients, thus shaking HSBC's very foundation!

"Boss, shouldn't we expand into the US to complete our global presence? The only country we haven't yet entered is the US, while HSBC has already established a presence there long ago?" At this moment, Yuan Tianfan voiced his thoughts, highlighting HSBC's biggest weakness: the lack of business in the US!

"Sure, if you think it's feasible, then go ahead and do it. You could even make an acquisition if necessary. If it's Chengxin Bank that makes the move, I'm afraid those old guys will be scared. If it's Standard Chartered Bank, they'll be more accepting. Just don't rush into expansion, lest you leave yourself with hidden dangers. If there are any problems, you can contact Hurricane Investment and let them handle it."

With Yuan Tianfan's wisdom, he naturally understood the meaning behind John's words and knew what to do. He should head to the United States with great momentum, but he had to be wary of these guys' counterattack. After all, no one wanted to see John's expansion, especially in the financial field! Although Standard Chartered Bank's intervention could lower the guard of those old guys, they would not turn a blind eye. This time it was Standard Chartered Bank, but what if it was another bank next time?
“I will arrange all of this carefully!” Although John mentioned Hurricane Investment, Yuan Tianfan would not do so unless absolutely necessary. After all, he was the head of Standard Chartered Bank. If he needed to rely on Hurricane Investment for expansion in the United States, it would make him seem incompetent, which was not something he was willing to accept.

"You can decide for yourself. I won't force you. If it really doesn't work out, you can contact me!" John saw through Yuan Tianfan's thoughts at a glance and understood him, so he didn't blame him.

Seeing John's reaction, Yuan Tianfan breathed a sigh of relief. He was genuinely worried that his boss would be dissatisfied, since Hurricane Investment was a powerful force in the United States and very influential on Wall Street, which would save Standard Chartered a lot of trouble. However, he couldn't accept this "convenience".

John also observed Yuan Tianfan's performance and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This was the arrogance of talented people. Even if they had their own ideas, they couldn't force others to do things. There were clearly shortcuts, but these geniuses were unwilling to accept them. Their arrogance wouldn't allow them to do so.

While he understood the situation, such an arrangement did have some impact on his own plans, which led John to a crazy idea, a sudden thought.

Although he has now completed his plan to disappear behind the scenes and successfully restructured his assets, allowing him to vanish from the public eye, this does not mean he can rest easy. Those who want to investigate him will still have clues. This gave John another idea: should he carry out another asset restructuring on a small scale to hide himself even deeper and not give those guys any chance?

Of course, this thought only flashed through John's mind for the time being, but he ultimately put it aside. Time was of the essence, and now was not the time to continue; doing so would only bring him more trouble. This time, his proactive attack had earned him the wrath of many. Even the slightest mistake could cost him dearly. Don't be fooled by the fact that those old guys like Rockefeller have compromised; given the chance, they will still strike decisively and deliver a fatal blow!
John was well aware of his own situation, and so were his enemies. The asset restructuring seemed to have stabilized, but only John knew that it was only on the surface. Many things were still dangerous. Just like the changes in South Korea, even small South Korea was experiencing such problems. Would Southeast Asian countries also encounter problems? Even those guys in Japan would not turn a blind eye if they found an opportunity. People are driven by self-interest, and who wouldn't want to tear a piece of their flesh from their own body?

Of course, what worries John most is Bell Labs' mobile communications upgrade plan, which could affect the interests of many people. Under these circumstances, caution is paramount. There are quite a few people in Hong Kong watching, and this also affects the interests of some. These people have conflicts with John; they may not be capable of achieving anything, but they can certainly sabotage John's plans. John cannot ignore these troublemakers and must be vigilant to avoid losses to his own interests!

(End of this chapter)