In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 154: Making a fortune, earning 57 billion!
In the agency team's office, everyone is actually quite free.

Because Lin Haoran's gold futures contract has not yet started to be closed.

It was obvious that there were people from Citibank inside the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Although the price of gold futures changes every moment, they can understand the rise and fall in real time at the Citibank headquarters building several kilometers away.

At 9:632.96 am, the opening price of gold futures was $ per ounce.

As a result, as soon as the market opened, the price of gold futures began to rise rapidly.

By 4 p.m., the final closing price of gold futures was $675.62 per ounce.

In addition to paying attention to changes in gold prices, Lin Haoran's team also pays attention to the amount of capital inflows. These will be recorded, which will be of certain reference value for when he should take action in the future.

The reason for such a big increase today is entirely due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on the 27th.

After fermenting for six weeks and Sundays, this matter has already become a hot topic around the world.

Gold prices often rise before a war or conflict breaks out.

This is because the impending war has caused panic among people, and gold, as a safe-haven asset, has been favored by investors.

Coupled with last month's Iranian hostage crisis, the second oil crisis that pushed inflation to its peak and other factors, gold prices ultimately rose explosively, rising by $42.66 per ounce in just one day.

When the market was about to close, the heads of the brokerage team were curious as to why Lin Haoran had not yet decided to take action.

The big rise is naturally because everyone keeps buying, causing the price to continue to be pushed up.

But such a large increase at one time is also risky, and it is very likely to fall on the next trading day.

However, Lin Haoran was very calm.

Gold prices falling? Not yet.

It was only over 600 US dollars per ounce, which was a long way from the final price of 850 US dollars per ounce.

In his opinion, the price must reach at least US$700 or even US$800 per ounce before he will take action.

After the market closed, Lin Haoran returned to the hotel.

He didn't know the exact day when the highest point would be reached. He only knew that the price of gold would skyrocket in January and would reach a maximum of $850 per ounce, after which the price of gold would begin to fall.

Moreover, he had no plan to close the position at the highest point. After all, it was a futures contract worth more than one billion US dollars. If the price dropped too much due to his plan and the final transaction price was too low, it would be a waste of time.

Eight hundred and fifty dollars per ounce, he had no control over the timing at all.

Therefore, he would be very satisfied if he could sell it at $800 per ounce.

The 31st passed in the blink of an eye, and time officially entered January 1980st, 1.

On New Year's Day, all exchanges around the world are closed, so Lin Haoran doesn't need to pay attention to the gold market.

On this day, Lin Haoran specially brought the two brothers Li Weidong and Li Weiguo to Chinatown in New York.

Everything here seems so familiar to them, as if they were walking on the streets of Hong Kong, with a greater sense of intimacy.

It was not until the evening, after having a very authentic Cantonese dinner at a very famous Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown, that Lin Haoran left Chinatown with his two bodyguards and returned to the Marriott Hotel next to the Citibank headquarters building.

This hotel is very luxurious, and Lin Haoran moved directly into a presidential suite with three bedrooms and two living rooms. Although it was a temporary residence, he felt quite comfortable.

After New Year's Day, on January 1, the price of gold futures continued to rise, from the closing price of $2 per ounce on the previous trading day to a high of $675.62 per ounce. Although it fell slightly at the close, it still reached $689.69 per ounce.

Lin Haoran remained as steady as a rock and was in no hurry to close his positions.

Time soon came to January 1rd, and the price of gold futures continued to rise, and today it directly broke through the 3 US dollar/ounce mark. Although the increase was not as high as the previous day, the closing price also reached 703.36 US dollars/ounce.

On January 1, the closing price fell back to $4 per ounce.

At this time, even John Reed became anxious and persuaded Lin Haoran to lock in the profit.

After all, the sudden decline has made some people panic.

However, he had no intention of selling it just like that. Knowing history, he knew very well that this was just an ordinary price correction and the price would definitely rise again on the next trading day.

After all, it is still far from the highest price of $850 per ounce that he remembered.

As expected, on January 1, the gold futures price once again broke through the $5/ounce mark, reaching a high of $700/ounce and closing at $721.13/ounce.

On January 1, gold futures continued to rise, closing at $6 per ounce. The increase was not significant and was basically the same as the previous day's price.

On January 1, the closing price was $7 per ounce.

On January 1, the closing price was $8 per ounce.

On January 1, the closing price was $9 per ounce.

……

As late as January 1, the closing price of gold futures reached $18 per ounce, and it seemed that a break through $783.69 per ounce was imminent.

At this time, even the chairman of Citibank, Mr. Walter Reston, admired Lin Haoran very much.

They have all seen Lin Haoran's performance during this period.

It's just too calm and too confident.

This was a deal involving more than one billion US dollars. Even for them, it would be difficult to remain calm. However, Lin Haoran was as steady as a rock, without showing any sign of nervousness at all.

If Lin Haoran had followed their advice when he first arrived in New York and closed his position when the price was over $600 per ounce, he would have lost at least $200 million.

But Lin Haoran was not worried at all that the gold price would fall sharply. Instead, he calmly continued to wait for the gold price to continue to rise. All this could be said to be Lin Haoran's own credit. On the contrary, Citibank did not provide any useful advice.

The surge in gold prices during this period has made everyone believe that the price of gold is expected to break through $1000 per ounce.

However, just when everyone thought that the price of gold would continue to soar and even break through $1,000 per ounce, Lin Haoran had already planned to close his position.

Because the current price is not much different from the peak.

Therefore, he decided to let Citibank's futures brokerage trader close his position on the next business day.

The following days, the 19th and 20th, are weekends and the futures exchanges are closed.

Therefore, the next trading day will be the 21st.

Lin Haoran spent this weekend in a tense and complicated mood.

Because he knew that it was time to reap the harvest.

I just don’t know how much reward it can bring to me this time?

He has been in the United States for nearly twenty days. During this period, Lin Haoran would call Hong Kong every two or three days to report his safety.

Although he is far away in the United States, he knows the situation of Qingzhou Yingni Company and Wan'an Group very well.

In addition, this weekend, relevant US departments released several figures.

The US ISM manufacturing PMI index fell from 51.3 to 29.4, and the unemployment rate rose from 5.7% to 7.5%...

These data let everyone see how pessimistic the current brokerage situation is.

People in the financial industry saw an opportunity to make money.

The price of gold will definitely rise sharply on the next working day!
Even John Reed came to him in person at the hotel on the 20th to tell him how much impact these indices had on the gold market.

Everyone knows that on January 1, the increase in gold prices will definitely be no less than that on the 21th and 28st of last year.

Everyone believes that with so many factors affecting the price of gold coming together, the price of gold will rise to more than one thousand dollars in a few days, including the experts at Citibank.

However, Lin Haoran told John Reed his next plan.

"Mr. John, I think I should start closing my positions. The company I like in Hong Kong is currently being coveted by others. Although I also want my gold futures to continue to rise, for the sake of subsequent business layout, I decided to sell my gold futures tomorrow.

We Chinese have an old saying that one should not be greedy. At least I am very satisfied now. Although I was full of confidence in the future of gold at the beginning, I dared to gamble so big and directly took up a gold futures contract of up to 10 million US dollars with a leverage of 5 times.

But I didn’t expect that it would rise so much in the next six months, so this is completely beyond my expectations. I have been very satisfied for a long time. Now, it’s just a matter of making more or less money, the difference is actually not that big! ”

It was naturally impossible for Lin Haoran to tell him his true thoughts, but it was easy for him to find an excuse to prevaricate.

The reason he gave was convincing enough for others. No one would think that he could really predict the high price of gold and that he was just lucky to sell it just before the high.

Sure enough, John Reed did not stop Lin Haoran's plan.

For them, although they can provide advice, the futures are not theirs after all; they are merely futures brokers.

"Yes, even if it is only sold for 800 US dollars per ounce, it is already beyond imagination. Mr. Lin, if you choose to close your position at this time, I support you. I have been working in the financial industry for many years. In these years, I have seen all kinds of financial geniuses who speculated in stocks, futures, bonds, foreign exchange, etc., but they all went bankrupt because of their greed.

Almost every year, people jump off buildings on Wall Street. That is normal. Mr. Lin was able to decisively close his position when there was good news about gold. In fact, it also means that Mr. Lin is not confused by the achievements in front of him. You really don't look like a person of this age! " John Reed admired the young man in front of him more and more.

After chatting with John Reed for a while, he said goodbye.

In the blink of an eye, it was Monday, January 1st.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Lin Haoran arrived at the office of the brokerage team on time.

Taking advantage of the fact that the New York Mercantile Exchange had not yet opened, Lin Haoran briefly told everyone about his decision to close his positions today.

Once the gold price breaks through $800/ounce, they will take action.

Telling them in advance also allows them to be mentally prepared.

After all, for such a large amount of gold futures, adequate preparations must be made.

After learning about Lin Haoran's plan, these people also started to take it seriously.

Even John Reed was in the office just before half past nine, when the New York Mercantile Exchange opened.

As expected, as soon as the market opened, after a weekend of fermentation, investors had already gone crazy.

In everyone's opinion, it is certain that gold futures will rise to $1000 per ounce. Now it is only over $10 per ounce, so there is still a lot to be gained if you buy now. Therefore, the price of gold futures rose as soon as the market opened, and in just minutes, it broke through $ per ounce.

Lin Haoran is also always paying attention to price changes.

When the price broke through 800 US dollars per ounce, Lin Haoran decisively gave the order and started closing his positions!
197.63 million ounces of gold futures were directly hit into the futures market.

At this moment, countless investors have already gone crazy. Even if such a huge futures contract is put into the market, it will be quickly digested.

Moreover, futures prices continued to rise during this process, but the increase was not as exaggerated as in the first ten minutes.

But it is obvious that there are far more buyers than sellers, and with high demand, prices will naturally continue to rise.

In just half an hour, all 197.63 million ounces of gold futures held by Lin Haoran were sold out, with nothing left!

Meanwhile, gold prices have surged to a high of $842.76 an ounce.

However, behind this astonishing increase, the momentum of the market's rise has shown signs of fatigue, and seems to be unable to keep up.

As the transaction came to a successful conclusion, everyone in the venue breathed a sigh of relief, including Lin Haoran.

As for whether the market shows signs of fatigue, it has little to do with them.

Afterwards, Lin Haoran, John Reed and others applauded and celebrated. This tense and fierce financial battle finally came to an end.

The air was filled with a sense of relief and ease after victory.

The battle ended unexpectedly smoothly, with almost no obstacles throughout the process.

When their transaction was completed and the futures price climbed to nearly $1980 per ounce, Lin Haoran had already realized that he had previously known that the highest point of the gold surge in was $ per ounce, and the date of achievement was most likely today.

For him, all this was a pure surprise and the result of complete accident.

Since it is the highest point, it will naturally start to fall afterwards. In other words, more than 800 US dollars per ounce is already the peak and it is impossible to rise further.

Therefore, his transaction this time can be said to be a great victory.

The brokerage team is already calculating it.

As for the settlement of funds, it will take 1 to 2 working days for the funds to reach the futures company. At that time, he will settle with Citibank, and everything will be done according to the contract.

While they were calculating, Lin Haoran was still paying attention to the price of gold.

John Reed is the same. They all want to know how high the price of gold can go today.

However, what John Reed and others did not expect was that after the price of gold rose to US$850 per ounce, the price stopped rising.

Because the rising speed at this time has begun to fatigue.

Not only did the gold price not rise, it began to fall continuously in the short term.

When the futures market closed, the gold futures price finally fell to $799.96 per ounce, which was not only $850 per ounce less than the highest level of $50 per ounce, but even fell below the price of $800 per ounce.

In this situation, even John Reed was confused.

The expected surge did occur, but wasn’t it too short a period of time?
It lasted less than a day and it was unable to continue rising?

What happened to the promise of going straight up to $1,000 per ounce?
At this moment, the way he looked at Lin Haoran changed. Isn’t this luck too good?
"Mr. Lin, I have to say, you are really lucky!" John Reed said with emotion.

"Mr. John, this was just an accident. I also think I'm lucky. Although the price has fallen at the closing, it may rise tomorrow. All of this is uncertain. But no matter what, I'm very satisfied with today's results." Lin Haoran said with a smile.

Although it is still unclear how much money he can make, all of his gold was sold at more than $800 per ounce, which means that the average price was above $800 per ounce.

And he owns 197.63 ounces!
Even if we only calculate it at the lowest price of $800 per ounce, without deducting various miscellaneous fees such as handling fees, the total sales amount is $15.81 billion!
Isn’t it scary!

And he only invested 50 million US dollars for this!

In other words, in just over half a month, based on the invested funds, minus the leverage of 4.5 million, the increase was more than 20 times!
Moreover, this is just calculated based on the lowest number. The actual profit is a little more than this number. We will know it only after the calculation is done over there.

At this time, Mr. Walter Reston, Chairman of Citibank, who learned the news, hurried down from his office and came to the office where Lin Haoran and others were.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lin!" Mr. Walter Reston said solemnly.

"Mr. Walter, congratulations!" Lin Haoran laughed.

By doing this business with Lin Haoran, Citibank made a lot of money just from the interest on leveraged funds.

In addition to the interest on leveraged funds, there is also futures commission. For such a huge transaction, commission is naturally inevitable.

Then, Lin Haoran, Mr. Walter Reston, and Mr. John Reed sat in the office and started chatting.

They are actually all waiting for the accounting results and want to know how much money they actually earned in the end!

After most of the calculations, the final result finally came out.

These 197.63 million ounces of gold futures were ultimately sold at an average price of $826.88 per ounce.

In other words, the final transaction amount was US$16.34 billion!
The trading unit of gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange is 100 ounces per lot, and the handling fee for each lot is US$10. In the end, he only paid about US$20 to the New York Mercantile Exchange. This amount of money is naturally a drop in the bucket compared to Lin Haoran's US$16 billion.

Apart from the New York Mercantile Exchange's transaction fees, the largest expenditure was on the part of Citibank.

This time, 90% of his funds are leveraged funds, which means that Citibank has advanced the money first.

This advance payment will naturally require interest, and the interest is not low, and it is calculated based on a one-year period. In addition, the part of the advance payment also needs to be returned to Citibank.

The funds he had after leverage were $5 million, which means that $4.5 million of it was advanced by Citibank. The original contract signed with Citibank had already stated that the interest on the $4.5 million would be calculated at 6%. When the leveraged funds and the interest are added together, $4.77 million needs to be subtracted here.

In addition to this, there is another fee, which is the broker's trading commission.

The transaction commission originally agreed upon in the contract was 0.5% of the transaction value, which is 16.34% of US$0.5 billion. In the end, a transaction commission of US$817 million needed to be paid.

Ignoring the insignificant transaction fees of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Lin Haoran's final profit was calculated in detail by on-site professionals.

First, the total revenue of US$16.34 billion is deducted from the US$4.5 million in advance required for leveraged transactions, and then the US$2700 million in interest incurred from borrowing and the US$817 million in commissions generated during the transaction are deducted.

After this series of calculations, the amount of funds Lin Haoran finally received was still approximately 11 billion US dollars.

During this period, the exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and the US dollar has risen slightly and has now returned to the previous level of 5 to 1.

In other words, if the US$11 billion is converted into Hong Kong dollars, it would be equivalent to HK$4880 billion!
More than 57 billion Hong Kong dollars, Lin Haoran really made a lot of money this time.

With an investment of 2.5 million US dollars, or about 57 million Hong Kong dollars, he eventually made a profit of more than billion Hong Kong dollars.

This is definitely a terrifying number. Even in the next few decades, this amount of money will be a huge sum of money, not to mention that we have just entered the 80s!

At the same time, Citibank also reaped great rewards from this transaction, with profits reaching more than 35 million US dollars. This is a win-win situation for both Lin Haoran and Citibank.

For Citibank, such a transaction could bring in a net profit of more than 30 million US dollars, which was rare and could be regarded as a major success in its business.

Although Citibank is a world-class financial giant with a staggeringly large capital scale, and even Hong Kong's banking giant, such as Bank of Hong Kong, seems extremely weak in front of Citibank, its annual net profit growth rate is not out of reach.

This is because most of the funds within the bank come from depositors' deposits, and these deposits require the bank to pay corresponding interest to the depositors.

In addition, Citibank's investments have a certain loss rate every year. It is impossible to make money on all investments. Sometimes it is normal for the loss portion of an investment project to be higher than the profit portion.

Although Citigroup's main business is banking, it has already used its strong capital to enter major industries such as arms, oil, chemicals, and trade over the years, and ultimately controlled a large number of companies.

When the market is good, the companies that rely on these investments will naturally make huge profits.

However, when the market conditions are bad, these companies are often prone to losses, thereby reducing Citibank's profits.

Today, during the oil crisis, although a few industries have made huge profits, the vast majority of industries have suffered heavy losses, otherwise there would not have been an economic crisis.

Therefore, after deducting various operating costs, the bank's net profit is often relatively limited.

However, the profit of more than 30 million US dollars brought to Citibank by this transaction is definitely a huge single transaction profit for the bank.

"Mr. Lin, it's a pleasure to work with you. We will transfer the funds to your Citibank account as soon as possible, and it will arrive as early as tomorrow afternoon!" Mr. Walter Reston, chairman of Citibank, personally walked to Lin Haoran, shook hands with him and said with a smile.

"Mr. Walter, I am very satisfied with this cooperation. Thank you for the help from Citibank. I hope we can become long-term partners!" Lin Haoran also replied with a smile.

"Of course, we are long-term partners now, aren't we?" Mr. Walter Wriston said with a hearty smile.

The conversation was very lively because both parties made a lot of money.

In the evening, perhaps in order to get closer to Lin Haoran, Citibank held a celebratory banquet for Lin Haoran in one of their high-end restaurants.

Not many people came because neither side was willing to publicize it. Only participants in this financial battle came, namely members of the brokerage team responsible for Lin Haoran's futures, Mr. John Reed, Mr. Walter Reston, Lin Haoran, two bodyguards, and several other Citibank executives whom Lin Haoran met for the first time.

For Citibank, they made more than 35 million US dollars from Lin Haoran, and it was worth it just to hold a celebration banquet for him!

"When does Mr. Lin plan to return to Hong Kong?" John Reed asked at the celebration banquet.

"After the funds arrive, I will stay in New York for a few more days and then go back. I have been in the United States for quite a long time this time, and there are many things waiting for me to deal with in Hong Kong." Lin Haoran replied with a smile.

He did not give a specific time for his return because there was no need.

After the celebration banquet, Lin Haoran returned to the Marriott Hotel.

The next morning, since Lin Haoran's gold futures positions had already been closed, there was no need for him to go to Citibank's headquarters.

After lunch at noon, Lin Haoran made a special trip to the Citibank headquarters building.

As he expected, today's gold futures price did not rise back to yesterday's highest level, and it did not even break through $800 per ounce. Instead, it fell slightly. In the end, the closing price on January 1 was set at $22 per ounce.

Seeing this price, John Reed admired Lin Haoran's good luck even more.

It turned out that they evacuated just near the highest point. This was incredible luck.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Haoran finally received good news. The New York Mercantile Exchange had finally completed the settlement, and the funds had been transferred to the account of Citibank's Citi Futures Brokerage Department, and would eventually be further settled by Citibank.

After the settlement, Lin Haoran's Citibank account also received a total of more than 11 billion US dollars.

This huge sum of money has finally arrived!

(End of this chapter)