Reborn in America, I'm serious about making money.

The Asian financial crisis also affected mainland China, but the impact was much smaller compared to other places; the main reason is that mainland China's financial system is underdeveloped.

Isn't that ironic?

Because it was underdeveloped, it was not harvested.

At that time, mainland China only had a secondary stock market; there were no stock index futures, no bond market, no short-selling mechanism, no hedging mechanism, no delisting mechanism, and so on.

There's nothing there, just this backwardness; but being backward has its advantages, you can't short sell, and there's a 10% daily price limit and T+1 settlement, it's just that awesome...

This kind of stock market is a true financing market, where it's not easy to cash out; a bull market only occurs every few years.

Lihua Group's real estate subsidiaries in mainland China have made quite a splash in some regions. They have been acquiring land on a large scale, especially in the southeastern coastal areas, with over a hundred plots! These massive projects—one hundred real estate developments—will be launched simultaneously.

Why adopt such a "100-city linkage" strategy?

The reason is that Lihua Supermarket has made substantial profits in the mainland market and has a large cash reserve, but converting these funds into foreign exchange is by no means easy. This is not due to any other factor, but because its foreign exchange reserves are limited and cannot meet Lihua Supermarket's exchange needs.

At the same time, if these funds cannot circulate, they will face the risk of currency devaluation. As time goes by, after twenty years, the real purchasing value of currency will continue to decline.

In Guangzhou, Yangcheng Lihua Real Estate Company, a subsidiary of Lihua Real Estate Group, is fully committed to building Lihua Modern City in Baiyun District, and officially broke ground in 1998.

Manager Yang sat at his desk, looking at the bank manager across the street with a slightly puzzled expression. He wondered to himself, "What could this person's purpose be in suddenly showing up here?"

At this very moment, Zhou, the branch manager of the Guangzhou branch of Universe Bank, was also experiencing a great deal of inner conflict while sitting in the meeting room. Finding a high-quality client these days is no easy feat, but he found it difficult to resist such a tempting opportunity.

Speaking of Lihua Real Estate Group, it is backed by the even more powerful Lihua Retail Group.

Lihua Supermarket has more than 4,000 stores across mainland China, making it the number one supermarket giant in the country.

Moreover, in this year's disaster relief efforts, this company demonstrated an extraordinary sense of social responsibility, donating a total of more than 300 million yuan in funds and materials through various means!

This is why Lihua Real Estate Group is highly regarded by its top management and has become a well-known and reputable company. Since entering the mainland market nearly seven years ago, it has never experienced any capital outflow, meaning it has kept all its wealth within China.

At the same time, the group has become the holding company for thousands of upstream related enterprises, including various types of businesses, directly employing nearly three million people. It is no exaggeration to say that such a large-scale and stable enterprise faces virtually no risk of bankruptcy.

Furthermore, they have invested heavily in numerous labor-intensive industries, successfully creating a significant number of jobs. This is especially commendable given the recent wave of layoffs in state-owned enterprises, which has created an exceptionally severe and worrying overall employment situation.

Guangzhou holds a pivotal position as one of the core development cities for both Lihua Retail Group and Lihua Real Estate Group. This city has witnessed the rise and prosperity of the two major Lihua groups, boasting dozens of supermarkets and numerous real estate projects about to commence construction.

Such a massive project requires huge amounts of working capital, and whether or not he can get these funds to flow from their bank is crucial for him as the president of Yangcheng Bank.

If he could make Lihua Group their client, he could potentially advance his career to the next level; if it were that simple, it would be easy. However, reality was different from his expectations, and he couldn't help but feel immense pressure and at a loss.

"President Zhou, please have some tea."

Manager Yang's Kung Fu tea is of a very high standard. I'm not bragging, but you really can't find anyone with his level of skill in the entire Lihua Group.

Snapping out of his reverie, President Zhou immediately smiled and took the small teacup. He took a sip, savored it for a moment, and then said, "I've long heard of Mr. Yang's exceptional skill in making tea. I'm fortunate to have tasted it today, and it truly lives up to its reputation."

Manager Yang poured him some more, then poured himself a glass, wondering if he wanted me to deposit money or take out a loan. But the Lihua Group was one of the most financially well-off companies in the entire mainland; how could they possibly be short of money?

"You're overthinking it; it's all trivial stuff, just for passing the time."

Manager Yang had been wanting to ask the other party what was on their mind for a while, but mainland businessmen usually exchange pleasantries first before getting down to business.

The two chatted aimlessly for another half hour before finally getting down to business. It was mainly because Director Zhou realized that the other person was unyielding and wouldn't talk about anything serious, so he had to take the initiative.

"Mr. Yang, you can open an account with our Universal Bank. Our services... blah blah blah... cooperating with us has a significant advantage over other banks..."

After he finished speaking, Manager Yang said, "Mr. Zhou, we hit it off immediately. It's not that I don't want to help, but the boss above requires that all cash be transferred from overseas banks."

President Zhou had heard that all the funds of the Lihua Group's companies were transferred from overseas banks.

Overseas Bank entered the mainland in 95. It was originally called Golden Globe Bank. Later, it was acquired twice and became Overseas Bank. It relied on Lihua Group. Overseas Bank had no shortage of business with all its enterprises in the mainland.

Especially in recent years, its bank branches, following Lihua Retail and Nanhua Real Estate, have spread all over the mainland. Against this backdrop, overseas banks simply do not have many tasks.

Sometimes, President Zhou still envies overseas banks. They not only don't have much competitive pressure, but they also don't have much performance evaluation. This makes him even think about switching jobs. However, since the other party is a foreign-funded, private enterprise, he decides to give up on the idea.

"Mr. Zhou, I don't really understand. If they are all just Hong Kong companies, why would they entrust all their business to overseas banks? Is there some... unknown relationship involved?"

Upon hearing this, Manager Yang laughed and said, "I can't say for sure about this. Years ago, the Lihua Hotel and the Overseas Trust and Financial Group were acquired by one person, who later resold them."