Short Selling Henglong (2)

At the same time, in the Chairman's Office on the twenty-eighth floor of Henglong Group headquarters, Zhao Jianguo stared at the computer screen.

He was fifty this year, yet looked at least ten years younger than his actual age—he worked out year-round, dyed his hair jet black, and wore custom-made Italian suits.

At that moment, his brows were tightly furrowed, and the rhythm of his fingers tapping on the Rosewood Desk had noticeably quickened.

"A total of twelve million shares traded this morning, three times the usual average daily Trading Volume."

Speaking into the speakerphone, he suppressed a flare of anger in his voice. "Who exactly is buying? Who is selling?"

On the other end of the line was Henglong's Board Secretary, Liu Mingyu.

"Chairman Zhao, something isn't right." Liu Mingyu sounded tense.

"We checked the trading seats. The sell orders are concentrated in the derivatives trading desks of major banks like Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs. This is clearly synthetic Short Selling through TRS or CFD, and the scale... is huge."

"How huge?" Zhao Jianguo's voice turned cold.

"By our estimates, the short positions established this morning alone exceed six million shares, with a notional principal possibly over 63 million Hong Kong Dollars."

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

63 million—and that was only one morning.

This was no minor probing. It was a deliberate ambush.

Zhao Jianguo fell silent for several seconds, his gaze sweeping over the towering buildings of Jiangbeizui outside the window.

Behind those glass curtain walls, how many pairs of eyes were watching Henglong's stock price? How much capital was stirring restlessly?

"What level of opponent do you think we're dealing with?" he asked.

Liu Mingyu hesitated. "Anyone capable of operating at this scale would at least be a Hedge Fund managing several billion in assets. It could be an international Vulture Fund, the kind that specializes in targeting highly leveraged real estate companies. Our Q3 Report showed a Net Debt Ratio of 75%, but anyone in the business knows that companies in this industry all have Off-Balance Sheet Liabilities."

"Our debt ratio is high because we're expanding!" Zhao Jianguo raised his voice. "If we don't acquire land now, we won't even have a ticket into the game five years from now! What do those Wall Street leeches know about Chinese Real Estate?"

"Yes, Chairman Zhao, you're right." Liu Mingyu hurriedly agreed. "Then should we..."

"Prepare the funds." Zhao Jianguo cut him off and made his decision.

"Two Hundred Million. Transfer one hundred million each from the group's accounts and my private accounts. Have it in place this afternoon. If they keep selling, we'll take it."

"Two Hundred Million?" Liu Mingyu was startled. "Chairman Zhao, with Market Defense Funds of this size, if the regulators find out..."

"Use at least twenty different securities accounts, spread across more than ten brokerages."

Zhao Jianguo's voice allowed no doubt. "Keep each purchase below five hundred thousand shares to avoid triggering disclosure requirements. Lin Wanqing has experience with this—have her handle it."

"Understood. I'll arrange it immediately."

After hanging up, Zhao Jianguo rose to his feet and walked to the Floor-to-Ceiling Window.

Outside, thick fog rose from the river, gradually swallowing the outlines of the buildings on the opposite bank.

He thought of the calm eyes his son had worn when he refused to pledge his shares last week, of Zhang Qingxue's airtight legal opinion, and of the increasingly evasive attitude the banks had taken toward lending over the past three months...

Every clue linked together in his mind, forming a suspicion that sent a chill down his spine.

But then he shook his head.

It couldn't be Xiao Chen.

That boy didn't have the capital or connections to mobilize short-selling funds worth hundreds of millions.

Then who could it be?

Zhao Jianguo picked up his phone and dialed Lin Wanqing.

"Wanqing, look into something for me." His voice had returned to calm. "Check the recent cash flows in our overseas trust accounts, especially transactions with financial institutions in Hong Kong and Singapore."

Lin Wanqing paused on the other end. "Did something happen?"

"Someone is Short Selling the company's stock in large volumes." Zhao Jianguo did not hide it. "I need to know whether someone has obtained information through other channels that we don't know about..."

"I understand." Lin Wanqing's voice was steady. "I'll have a report for you before the end of the workday."

After ending that call, Zhao Jianguo dialed another number.

"Director Chen, are you free tonight? Yes, there's something urgent I'd like to ask about... Regarding market manipulation and malicious Short Selling, have there been any new developments on the regulatory side recently?"

The fog outside grew thicker and thicker.

Zhou Xi. Fog blanketed the entire city.

Before Market Open, Zhao Chen received an encrypted message from Zhang Qingxue:

"Henglong has made a move. According to internal sources, they've prepared at least Two Hundred Million in Market Defense Funds, already dispersed across multiple accounts. Be careful today."

Zhao Chen replied, "Received. Execute the Phase Two plan."

His Phase Two plan was simple: a War of Attrition.

He had stopped trading yesterday afternoon precisely to give his father time to raise funds.

9:30 a.m. Market Open.

Henglong opened at 10.45, down 0.01 right from the start.

Zhao Chen did not rush to make a move.

He waited Ten Minutes and watched the market. Trading was light at first, until 9:40, when a sell order for 2 Million Shares suddenly slammed into the 10.44 level—this was not his order.

Other capital was following the trend and Short Selling!

The stock price was instantly driven down to 10.43.

The moment it touched that level, Buying Pressure of more than Five Million Shares surged in from below, rapidly pulling the price back up to 10.46.