In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 132 Gold Futures Leverage Trading
"Boss, as far as I know, Citibank's headquarters building is not on Wall Street, but on Lexington Avenue, 7 kilometers away from here," said Su Zhixue.

"Then we can only take a taxi. Haven't you ever been to New York? How do you know that Citibank's headquarters building is not on Wall Street?" Lin Haoran asked curiously as they walked.

"Because something happened at the Citibank headquarters building last year that attracted the attention of media around the world. All major news media in Hong Kong also reported on it during that period. If you didn't pay attention to it at the time, I can't explain it now. But after you see the Citibank headquarters building, it will be easier for you to understand when I explain it to you." Su Zhixue replied with a smile.

Lin Haoran nodded, without asking any more questions, hailed a taxi and went directly to the Citibank headquarters building.

There was indeed a lot of traffic in downtown New York at this time of year. It took nearly half an hour to drive a short distance of 7 kilometers.

After getting off the car, Lin Haoran finally saw this majestic building.

Citigroup Center is one of the most majestic skyscrapers in New York City, towering over the city skyline with its 279-meter height and unique 45-degree roof.

What surprised Lin Haoran the most was that the base of the building was actually supported by four large pillars, rather than a normal building structure.

The building is constructed on four 35-meter columns, one located in the center of each side of the building.

“Boss, you see, the base of this building is supported by four pillars. It was because of this design that we experienced a thrilling incident last year.

On August 8 last year, the US Meteorological Department suddenly issued an alert that the strongest hurricane ever recorded in Canadian waters formed on the south side of Bermuda. A day later, the wind speed of this hurricane named Ella had increased to 30 kilometers per hour and was heading towards New York.

At this time, the building's designer William Le Messerier discovered that they had calculated a terrible result: there was a flaw in the design of the building. Once the hurricane wind speed exceeded 133 kilometers per hour, the bolts of this super-high-rise building that relied on only four large pillars would break, and the building might suffer devastating damage.

Hurricane Ella formed suddenly, with wind speeds quickly exceeding 220 kilometers per hour, far exceeding the building's wind resistance coefficient. After the news spread, it caused a great panic. Citibank even informed the police and the Red Cross of the possible collapse of the building and entered a state of preparedness.

However, just when everyone was paying attention to this matter, a sudden turn of events occurred. Hurricane Ella turned northeast 85 kilometers from the New York coastline and headed straight for the Canadian waters, and New York City escaped the disaster. "Su Zhixue looked up at the magnificent building and talked about what happened here.

Although it was his first time to come here and see the building with his own eyes, last year, newspapers and TV news had reported what happened here, and there were also clear photos and videos to watch, so he had a very deep impression of the building.

At that time, Lin Haoran had not yet traveled through time. His predecessor was still working at the cement factory in Yuen Long, thinking about how to develop the cement factory, so he was not aware of this matter.

"It's indeed a very interesting thing. Let's go in and take a look at this legendary building." Lin Haoran said with a smile.

The four people walked into the elevator. With Lin Haoran's Citibank Black Gold Card, they had almost no obstacles in the elevator. The security guard did not stop them from entering the elevator. Instead, he quickly notified the leader via the intercom after letting them in.

Citibank's black gold card represents customers with assets exceeding 100 million US dollars. There are only a few issued in the world. It is the symbol of Citibank's most distinguished customers. The security guards naturally know who not to stop.

When the elevator arrived at the reception lobby of the building, staff in suits were already waiting at the elevator door.

"Sir, what business do you need?" Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him with the name tag saying "senior manager", it was obvious that his job here was to receive distinguished guests.

"I want to conduct a futures transaction involving more than 100 million US dollars, and I want your Citigroup to be in charge of this matter." Lin Haoran directly stated his purpose.

After hearing Lin Haoran's words, the middle-aged man immediately realized that this matter was not something he could be responsible for.

So the middle-aged man said, "Sir, please go to the rest area and wait for a moment. I will report this matter to my leader immediately." The middle-aged man said directly.

He didn't think Lin Haoran was bragging, because customers holding Citibank Black Gold Cards had this ability.

Lin Haoran nodded and took the three of them to a rest area nearby. Soon a young lady came up and asked what drinks they needed.

Not long after he sat down, just a few minutes later, the middle-aged man returned to Lin Haoran again.

"Sir, I have reported to my superiors. John Reed, the senior vice president of our company, will receive you in person. I will take you to his office now." The middle-aged man said respectfully.

"Well, thank you for the trouble." Lin Haoran nodded.

After all, it was a huge amount of money, and he didn't want to just find someone to make a deal. Citibank also occupied a relatively important position in Hong Kong's financial industry, and its strength in the United States and even the world was even more significant. If he could take this opportunity to establish a good relationship with the senior management of Citibank, it would be a good thing.

Then Lin Haoran took Su Zhixue and followed the middle-aged senior manager into the elevator again.

As for Li Weiguo and Li Weidong, they sat in the rest area waiting.

Here, there is no need to worry about personal safety, Citibank still has its credibility.

If someone really wants to deal with you, even if they have ten or a hundred bodyguards, it will be useless.

Soon, the elevator went up to the 55th floor of the building, which was also the core office area of ​​Citibank's senior executives. After getting out of the elevator and passing through a long corridor, the senior manager led them to the door of an office.

"Tuk-tuk-tuk."

The door was opened, and a middle-aged man about 40 years old appeared in front of Lin Haoran.

"Hello, sir. Please come in." John Reed made a gesture of invitation with a gentle smile on his face.

Originally, Lin Haoran had no feeling about the name John Reed. After all, there were many people named John Reed, and it was normal to have the same name.

But after seeing him in person, I felt a sense of familiarity with him.

Isn’t this the future chairman and CEO of Citigroup?
The reason why Lin Haoran recognized him was because he accidentally learned about the history of Citibank in his previous life.

Originally, this memory was not very deep, but after seeing John Reed in person, the memory seemed to awaken.

John Reed was an excellent banker. Under his leadership, Citibank became the largest commercial bank in the world.

And his resume is also very brilliant.

In 1965, John Reed joined Citibank, then known as First National City Bank, and three years later he was promoted to department vice president.

In 1969, at the age of 30, John Reed became the youngest senior vice president in the company's history.

From 1984 until his resignation in 2000, Reed served as chairman and CEO of Citigroup, and concurrently as chairman and CEO of Citibank, the group's main subsidiary.

He worked at Citigroup for 35 years, holding the group's top position for 16 years.

In other words, this middle-aged man in front of him will become the big boss of Citibank in a few years, just like Shen Bi in Huifeng Bank, but his status will be much higher than Shen Bi's.

Unexpectedly, the person who would receive him would be this future financial industry tycoon. Of course, his current position is not low, he is the vice president.

Being able to take over the top position in just a few years means that he is now at a level second only to the top leader.

"Let me introduce myself first. I am John Reed, the vice president of Citibank. What is your name, sir? It is rare to see such a young billionaire." John Reed shook hands with Lin Haoran with a smile, and then asked.

"My name is Lin Haoran. I'm from Hong Kong. I'm currently the chairman of two Hong Kong listed companies. This time, I want to entrust your company to make a futures transaction. Citibank is also a very famous bank in Hong Kong. I fully believe in Citibank's business capabilities." Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"Mr. Lin, please take a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

"No thanks." Lin Haoran said.

"Hong Kong. I have been there on business trips several times. Our Citibank has a very long history in Hong Kong. If I remember correctly, our Citibank started operations in Hong Kong for the first time in 1902. So Hong Kong is also an important market for us. Thank you very much, Mr. Lin, for choosing our Citibank as your partner bank. I wonder what futures transactions you would like to entrust us to do?" John Reed asked.

"I wonder if I can do the transaction in a leveraged manner if I entrust Citibank to do this business?" Lin Haoran asked.

“Of course, we can provide 5 to 10 times leveraged trading. Leveraged trading requires you to deposit a certain percentage of margin as collateral for the transaction.” John Reed explained.

When Lin Haoran heard this, his eyes lit up instantly. He was very confident about the future rising trend of gold.

The Hong Kong stock market does not allow for leveraged investment, but futures here allow for it. Hong Kong is indeed worthy of being the world's top financial center.

In this way, you can keep some funds for your own use.

"I plan to invest in gold futures. Mr. John should also know that the current gold market is rising very well. I am also very confident about the future of the gold market, so I want to invest a sum of money into the gold futures market. However, I have a concern and question. How much money will have an impact on the gold futures market in the short term?" Lin Haoran continued to ask.

"Mr. Lin, the gold futures market is a very large market. Especially since 1976, the gold market price has been rising steadily. In May this year, the rate of increase in gold prices has accelerated a lot, and the market trading volume has increased significantly.

Our experts even speculate that global gold market transactions have exceeded 10 trillion ounces this year. On the New York Mercantile Exchange alone, there are now 650 million gold futures transactions per month. The scale of this market is huge.

As for how much money will affect the gold market, I personally think that if it is less than 5 million US dollars, it will not cause a big impact if we operate it. If it is more, it may have a certain impact on the gold market!" John Reed helped Lin Haoran analyze.

(End of this chapter)