The Britain had absolutely no interest in Hong Kong's stock market. In their view, a stock market in a colony was merely a cash cow for British trading companies or conglomerates. When times were good, they could occasionally make a quick profit. What truly deserved the attention and effort of Britain conglomerates was the London Stock Exchange, Europe's largest financial center.
"How's the exchange doing?" Song Tianyao asked, handing the signed document back to Luo Zhuankun and taking a sip of water.
Luo Zhuankun put the documents into his briefcase. "Fifty minutes ago, I had someone place a sell order for 7,000 lots of stock, which was then quickly absorbed by buy orders from other licensed securities firms. New buy orders were then placed. The small group of Shanghai people who entered the market early today should have made some profit. This will also encourage other Shanghai people who are still hesitant to enter the market. Today, I plan to raise the share price of Xizhen Properties to four yuan. According to my prediction, the amount of hot money from Shanghai entering the market tomorrow will increase several times over. After that, we won't need to raise the share price too much. We can just quietly push it up from the sidelines. The Shanghai people stimulated by the share price and profits will be enough to make the stock continue to climb."
"Does Bao Yuehan have any news about the Lin Family?" Song Tianyao nodded slightly.
He trusted Luo Zhuankun's abilities; his professional skills were beyond question. Since he had already entrusted the whole matter to Luo Zhuankun, Song Tianyao no longer asked too many trivial questions. He could simply wait for Luo Zhuankun to give him the results.
"No, the Lin Family shouldn't have mortgaged their assets to HSBC to raise funds yet." Luo Zhuankun placed his briefcase on the side of his desk and said to Song Tianyao, "They will contact Jardine first, since they don't know what price Jardine is willing to offer to sell the shares back to them."
Song Tianyao pondered for a moment, "If there's no news from HSBC, could the Lin Family be trying to acquire it from Chinese-owned banks like the Bank of East Asia...?"
"That's unlikely. The shares are in Jardine's hands. Jardine is a board member of HSBC and holds two seats on the HSBC. Of course, Jardine would want the Lin Family to borrow money from HSBC to get the shares back. Unless the Lin family has lost their minds, they would definitely consider borrowing money from HSBC first. Once they borrow money from Chinese banks, Jardine's attitude might become tougher. The Lin Family won't make that mistake," Luo Zhuankun said to Song Tianyao with certainty.
Song Tianyao, holding a water glass, said, "That's what I thought too. But even if the Lin Family hadn't contacted Jardine, they should have contacted HSBC first after seeing the unusual stock price this morning. Bao Yuehan works in HSBC's securities department and is the most well-informed. If he didn't receive the news, is it because the Lin Family is delaying, or do they have another way to raise funds? If it were me, I would have contacted HSBC today..."
"Ring ring!" The phone rang.
Song Tianyao fell silent. Luo Zhuankun grabbed the receiver. "Wealth-Through Securities, Luo Zhuankun."
However, he immediately switched to English: "Mr. Bao Yuehan? Sure, you can speak now, really? Great, thank you. After I'm done with these few days, I'll invite you to play golf. That's all. I'm passing on the message to Mr. Song and also conveying Mr. Song's gratitude to you."
After the conversation, Luo Zhuankun hung up the phone, his wolf-like eyes gleaming with excitement as he looked at Song Tianyao.
"Mr. Song, speak of the devil, and he appears! It's Bao Yuehan HSBC on the phone."
"The Lin Family has contacted HSBC?" Song Tianyao and Luo Zhuankun exchanged glances, hoping to get a positive answer from each other's eyes.
Luo Zhuankun rubbed his palms and said to Song Tianyao, "No, Bao Yuehan called and said he received the latest news that Mainland China is preparing to revalue personal deposits from the Kuomintang era according to a set ratio, so that every depositor can withdraw a certain percentage of their Kuomintang- era deposits. If HSBC wants to continue operating in Mainland China, it must accept this condition. Now the HSBC board of directors is terrified by this news."
"If HSBC agrees, they can expect to pawn their pants." Song Tianyao laughed excitedly, put down his water glass, clapped his hands lightly, and said, "Well done! Long live China! Damn it, those HSBC Foreign Devils should understand that they shouldn't always treat China person like idiots! After the war, HSBC could exchange banknotes printed by the Japan during the Japanese occupation in Hong Kong because HSBC controlled the printing of money in Hong Kong. The exchange rate and the fixed exchange rate were all in HSBC's hands. But now the exchange rate is in China's hands. How to exchange and withdraw money is decided by the China person, and their attitude sounds very clear: HSBC plundered so much China wealth back then, and this time... "China Morse must obediently return at least half, otherwise the Britain staff and assets of HSBC's Mainland branches will be permanently seized. Morse must be having a major headache now. Many people advised him to withdraw from Mainland China as the civil war was nearing its end, but he insisted on doing business with the Communist Party, thinking that the Communist Party were like those parasites in the Kuomintang, able to satisfy their appetites with a few private benefits? Now that China has set its price, Morse, who treated the Communist Party like economic idiots, should prepare to bear the consequences. If he's lucky, he might get a peaceful and respectable retirement; if he's unlucky, he might be sent back to his hometown of London by the board of directors. Sigh, I really hope Morse can accept these conditions.
"HSBC can't accept this; it can't afford it. With branches in over a dozen cities, and decades of operation in China, HSBC has countless depositors. During periods of devaluation, 20,000 Fabi couldn't even buy a box of matches; during periods of strength, 20,000 Fabi could buy an apartment in the suburbs of Shanghai. They're the same currency, so how can they exchange it? By batch number or by year? China won't agree. And to exchange both the devalued and Fabi the strong period rate, HSBC's resources simply can't withstand it. I think China doesn't intend to let HSBC continue operating, so they're simply making exorbitant demands," Luo Zhuankun said, handing Song Tianyao a Ho Choi cigarette.
After lighting the candle, Song Tianyao said, "I know it's impossible to accept, but I can't help thinking how wonderful it would be if I could."
"I had originally arranged to have lunch with Mr. Keswick, Jardine tycoon of Jardine Keswick, but he had to rush to a meeting at the HSBC board meeting. So I was able to find time to meet with you two at the last minute. I apologize, Mr. Tang, please don't mind my haste." Lin Xiaosen pulled out his chair, looked at Studwell and Tang Boqi across from him, and smiled apologetically, "I heard from my elder brother that Mr. Studwell and Mr. Tang could give me some advice?"