What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 665 Project Approval (4k)

Guo Shanfeng's clarification regarding the short selling was quickly overshadowed by other current events in China, while the legal troubles involving major short sellers continued to receive attention, and the short selling ban on a German company was hardly noticed.

Li Song often browsed public opinion, so he never expected that Xu Xin would ask him related questions.

"Is there any good news regarding the lawsuit against Guoshanfeng?" Xu Xin asked directly, pointing out the crucial change.

Li Song was taken aback. A series of thoughts flashed through his mind: the way top investors screen effective information, the attention that well-known Chinese investors pay to public opinion, and the analysis of events by a clever mind...

He asked, "Why do you ask that?"

Xu Xin pointed at Li Song's face: "You have that inexplicable smile on your face!"

Li Song: "..."

Yeah, sometimes you can't use too many filters.

After a brief consideration, he said, "We are currently negotiating with them. President Yu also has other companies' violations that he can use as leverage."

Xu Xin showed little surprise and slowly nodded: "I guessed it. The exposure of Guoshanfeng was sudden. If it weren't for that, a new short-selling report should have been released in the past six months. It didn't stop on its own; it was interrupted by an accident."

Li Song hesitated, as if things weren't quite as they seemed, but... never mind.

Xu Xin shared her thoughts for a while, and seeing that her husband had packed up his documents and was about to leave, she also prepared to go to work. But suddenly, as if possessed, she asked, "Is there any news over there related to Today Capital?"

Li Song was stunned for a moment, and after hesitating for two seconds, he saw suspicion rising on his wife's face.

He could only say in a low and quick voice, "Uh, BaFin suspects you have some kind of business dealings with Guo Shanfeng."

Xu Xin was completely stunned!
Despite previous speculation, BaFin is a foreign official organization. It's one thing for them to write things up in their reports, but how can they make such accusations without any evidence?!

She blurted out, "Why should I?!"

“BaFin is waiting for funding information from the Cayman Islands, believing there might be evidence linking it to Capital Today,” Li Song said, adding, “Oh right, and also Red Falcon Capital.”

Xu Xin gritted her teeth: "What do you mean 'oh right'? What do you mean 'there's more'? The first one to come to mind is the Red Falcon!!"

Li Song remained silent. "Oh yes, that's how it should be."

Xu Xin pondered this logic again and angrily exclaimed, "This is completely fabricated!"

She couldn't sit still any longer: "No, I have to call Yu Xing!"

Today Capital's funds are almost entirely from overseas institutions in US dollars, and with its successful investments in companies such as JD.com and Silicon Carbon Data, it is a leading and trustworthy investment institution in the East.

Much of the money it receives comes from long-term institutions such as foreign sovereign wealth funds and family offices.

Xu Xin does not want to get involved in lawsuits, insider trading, or other troubles that could damage the company's reputation, as these could affect Today Capital's upcoming major fundraising plans.

"This is not what President Yu wants to see either," Li Song advised.

Xu Xin glared at her and said, "Will you not tell me if I don't ask??"

Li Song was tempted to slip away.

As Xu Xin dialed the number, she angrily asked, "Whose side are you on?"

Li Song touched his employee ID card in his pocket and remained silent.

The call connected quickly.

Xu Xin, suppressing her anger slightly, inquired about the matter.

Yu Xing confirmed the authenticity and reassured him, "BaFin's vice president is coming soon. We can discuss this together then. I will protect Today Capital's reputation."

“They shouldn’t have done that!” Xu Xin said. “You should have done that!”

Yu Xing calmly replied, "I am an evil short seller, I can choose not to do this. If you don't want to, I won't talk to BaFin. You can talk to him yourself if you have something to say."

Xu Xin was speechless.

“It was originally BaFin’s problem, and this is only because of President Li’s sake,” Yu Xing said. “If there are any other issues, let him talk to me.”

The phone wasn't on speakerphone, but the conversation could be heard in the quiet living room.

Li Song looked at his wife who had hung up the phone and whispered, "He's right, he's a big short seller... not bad."

Xu Xin stared at her husband, feeling that something was not quite right. If Yu Xing specifically mentioned Today Capital during the negotiations, wouldn't that confirm the collusion between the two parties? But if he didn't mention it, what if they were named and smeared?
After struggling with her thoughts for a while, she sighed and cursed at Li Song, who was in cahoots with her: "You son of a bitch..."

Li Song thought this was meant to be a dig at President Yu, and coughed, saying, "The suspicion of insider trading might be trouble, but it could also be an opportunity."

Xu Xin stared at Li Song and said solemnly, "Li Song, don't speak for me, don't speak for Today Capital."

Li Song accepted the warning, even though he felt he meant well.

When he communicated with President Yu the day before yesterday, he learned that BaFin's vice president was going to fly to Shanghai, and that the president of BlackRock Germany would also be coming with him.

Analysis suggests this may be related to BlackRock's holding of shares in Wilcard.

In addition, he felt that Mr. Yu's way of talking about this matter was rather strange, and he seemed to have a greater focus and interest in this BlackRock Germany president than BaFin Legre.

Li Song took the time to specifically look up this president named 'Mötz'. He was indeed quite influential, having previously held a prominent position in German politics. However, in 2009, he transitioned from politics to business, becoming active in the economic sphere and holding positions in several large companies. He seemed to be a revolving door figure.

He wasn't sure what other shady dealings might be going on, but the unusual interest that President Yu had shown made him think... well, something was definitely going on.

Upon arriving in Lingang, Li Song did not see President Yu, but when he bumped into Zhang Yangxu at the corner, he was stopped in his tracks by a rather casual remark from the other party.

"Mr. Li, the Hong Kong hedge fund of Over Peak is about to open. Are you interested in it?"

Li Song looked at Zhang Yangxu and subconsciously pointed to himself: "Me? I..." "Judging from the current situation, there is a very high probability that Wilcard is problematic, but it has a short-selling ban, and Ren Ping and Liu Jiankai have enough time to investigate and verify overseas." Zhang Yangxu conveyed his boss's meaning, "The evidence of manipulating the Silver case has also been secured, and BaFin is willing to communicate further, so President Yu asked me to ask you."

Li Song was plunged into immense shock and hesitation.

He holds a PhD in finance from Columbia University and has worked at Morgan Stanley, but that was over a decade ago. The opportunity he has in front of him at Peak Capital Management... could mean managing billions of dollars.

After a moment of digestion, Li Song couldn't help but ask, "Why me?"

Zhang Yangxu looked at the person in front of him with some envy.

After hearing what President Yu meant, he asked the same question, "Why him?" The boss's answer was simple: "Be obedient."

Zhang Yangxu fulfilled his duties as a secretary very well, and answered General Manager Li's question seriously: "General Manager Yu said you are one of our own."

Li Song's inner emotions were beyond words.

Zhang Yangxu continued, "President Li, please consider this. We also need to consider President Xu's thoughts. Hedge funds may not publicize this much, but they don't have many..."

Li Song decisively interrupted, "I'm willing."

He understood what Zhang Yangxu meant. Hedge funds would certainly keep a low profile, but people in the industry would know that if he were to take charge, it would likely be linked to his relationship with Xu Xin, making things even more complicated.

However, why be so fixated on things that are inherently difficult to explain?
Just as she said, she couldn't represent her side, and likewise, she couldn't represent herself.

Upon hearing this answer, Zhang Yangxu couldn't hide his envy. He could be obedient too!

However, Mr. Li does have a financial background after all.

Li Song noticed the envy in Secretary Zhang's expression, puffed out his chest slightly, and said resolutely, "I won't let President Yu down!"

Zhang Yangxu sensed that President Li was full of fighting spirit, but he was not afraid that President Li lacked talent; he was afraid that President Li wanted to actively display his talents.

He carefully crafted his words, saying tactfully, "Mr. Li, Mr. Yu has a plan for how to use the fund, and the funding channels he's currently dealing with are quite complex. He will definitely be conservative and restrained in this regard."

Li Song nodded: "I understand."

Zhang Yangxu hesitated, unsure of what President Li had figured out, but he didn't continue, since the fund wasn't solely under President Li's responsibility.

After a moment of excitement, Li Song suddenly asked about President Yu's schedule, wanting to express his stance today.

Zhang Yangxu replied, "I'm afraid it won't work today. President Yu is meeting with people from CATL. He wants to elevate the status of the battery division in silicon carbon, which is related to many subsequent plans. He may not have time tonight."

Li Song smiled and said, "Okay, this isn't something I'm in a hurry for. I'll finish up the work I have on hand first."

With the silver manipulation case essentially complete, Vilcard needs to wait for feedback on more information, but he actually quite enjoys the feeling of sifting through, comparing, and verifying various pieces of information.

Of course, it might feel better to run a hedge fund.

Just as Li Song continued to finish his work with great enthusiasm, Yu Xing was receiving the technical team from CATL in the conference room.

Silicon Carbon Group had previously reached a cooperation agreement with CATL, which included patent licensing and the assignment of some employees. Otherwise, without talent, the joint venture would be just an empty shell.

However, CATL is unwilling to directly transfer its own employees to the joint venture factory. In addition, if the Silicon Carbon Group can really promote the development of lithium iron phosphate technology, the experience honed by these talents can also be put to use in its own company.

Yu Xing was aware of this idea, but he didn't care. The Silicon Carbon Group itself had a battery laboratory and did not rely entirely on suppliers for automotive battery safety. Otherwise, it would not have insisted on the technical route despite repeated lobbying from third parties.

Furthermore, as CATL is determined to focus on the ternary lithium technology route, the core members of these lithium iron phosphate batteries are somewhat being reassigned. Their final choice will depend on the cooperation and treatment they receive, which are all negotiable.

Silicon Carbon Group has secured funding from its Hong Kong IPO, and factory and R&D work is now underway.

Yu Xing had Cui Zhiyu introduce the work in this area, and after the atmosphere became more lively, he raised the requirements from the Silicon Carbon Group regarding lithium iron phosphate technology: "The Silicon Carbon Group's Jiuzhou was the number one new energy vehicle in China last year, and it can also be said to be the number one domestically produced vehicle. We believe that range-extended technology is not a short-term solution to meet domestic demand, and infrastructure development is far from a simple matter of one, two, three, or four years."

"But on the other hand, Tesla's Model 3, which was released last month, received an astonishing number of orders, which is also a trend that cannot be ignored."

"Everyone knows that Tesla uses ternary lithium batteries, which naturally have higher energy density. The Silicon Carbon Group has already started a project to develop pure electric vehicles, but the most important thing is the development of battery technology. If lithium iron phosphate batteries cannot take another step forward in energy density, then our talk about the quality of pure electric vehicles is just empty talk."

“The Silicon Carbon Group is not in such a hurry. We have discussed it repeatedly and hope to first create a technological benchmark and build a world-class pure electric sports car that can be a non-mass-produced model.”

When Hu Chengzhi, CATL's deputy chief technology officer, heard this request, he felt it was reasonable.

For a top-tier sports car, the requirements for the power battery are naturally higher, and the technology can be refined and transferred from non-mass production to mass production.

He glanced at his colleagues, took a sip of tea, and succinctly pointed out the implicit requirements in those words: "Well, it must have the ultimate peak power output, high volumetric energy density, stable performance under all operating conditions, and safety under extreme conditions."

Hu Chengzhi continued, "Currently, the laboratory can produce high-rate LFP cells with a peak discharge of 20C, which can meet the power requirements of supercars accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 2 seconds. However, how to solve the internal resistance and heat generation during high-current discharge..."

Yu Xing nodded slightly and continued, "This is a matter of life and death for using lithium iron phosphate batteries in supercars."

He pondered and said, "For a supercar to break the 100 km/h mark, it must continuously discharge at high power, which requires extremely low internal resistance and extremely strong heat dissipation. Otherwise, once it overheats and runs out of control, no matter how high the energy density or how good the battery cycle is, it will be meaningless."

Hu Chengzhi glanced at President Yu with some surprise. This was direct communication. He didn't see anyone passing notes or whispering to each other. It seemed that President Yu had carefully considered the matter before making his request.

For top-tier sports cars, the internal resistance and heat generation of ternary lithium batteries are secondary issues, as they are inherently good conductors and can easily achieve 10C+.

In short, at the supercar level, lithium iron phosphate is afraid of overheating during operation but not of thermal runaway, while ternary lithium is the opposite: it is afraid of thermal runaway but not of overheating during operation.

If lithium iron phosphate cannot solve this problem, sports cars will not dare to continuously accelerate on the track, and may break down after just one lap.

Yu Xing looked at Hu Chengzhi, then glanced at the technical backbone of CATL and Silicon Carbon Group present, and said: "This is a problem that we must overcome. CATL may think it is not worth it, but Silicon Carbon has firmly established its position on research and development. If the money allocated from this IPO is not enough, then I will short sell to support you. Investigations and lawsuits are all things to come later."

Those in the meeting room knew that Shanfeng was facing serious litigation issues, and for President Yu to make such a statement could not be considered insincere.

The two groups of technical experts looked at each other and could feel the excitement in each other's eyes. Those who work in technology are not afraid of difficult problems, but they are afraid of not being supported by their superiors and not having resources at their disposal.

If the big short sellers are even saying things like this, what are they afraid of?
　Thank you so much to 37天下无双 for your silver donation! I am overwhelmed with gratitude to receive such a generous donation even after my last book was finished.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)