In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

As the listed company with the highest market value in Hong Kong, the shares of Bank of Hong Kong are very dispersed.

There are countless consortiums and securities companies that hold its shares. In addition to the British consortium in Hong Kong, there are also many consortiums in the United States and Europe.

It is also because of this that no consortium can actually hold a controlling stake in Huifeng Bank.

This is also the reason why Shen Bi, a professional manager of Huifeng Bank, was able to wield tremendous power in Huifeng Bank.

Almost the entire board of directors listens to him.

Only when Huifeng Bank encounters serious losses, such as when it is dragged down by Haifeng Bank, will it be criticized by shareholders at the annual shareholders' meeting.

Even so, his position is difficult to shake.

After all, losses are inevitable when expanding into overseas markets.

The shares of Huifeng Bank are too dispersed, which is a good opportunity for Lin Haoran.

It would be a huge waste if you give up an opportunity that has 100% chance of making money.

Thinking of this, Lin Haoran said to Dai Shi: "Go and lock the office door first. I have a task for you to do."

Upon hearing this, Dai Shi did not ask any more questions. He stood up and quickly walked over to lock the door, then returned to his chair and waited for his boss's arrangements.

"Is short selling of Huifeng Bank's stocks allowed? Is there such a thing as malicious short selling?" Lin Haoran asked.

"Boss, yes, at present, the Securities and Futures Commission allows short selling of all listed company shares in the entire Hong Kong securities market. There will be no restrictions. It is a normal financial securities investment. As for malicious short selling, there are currently no relevant regulations for this situation.

However, in Hong Kong, if you need to short a certain stock, after selling it, the funds will enter the account, but they will be temporarily frozen and cannot be withdrawn at will. The funds will not be unfrozen until the shares are bought back and returned to the lender!" Dai Shi answered without hesitation.

In fact, the Hong Kong securities market's restrictions on malicious short selling did not begin until the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

During the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998, the Hong Kong stock market suffered a fierce attack from international speculators, including large-scale short selling of Hong Kong stocks and the Hong Kong dollar.

In September 1998, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) jointly introduced measures to completely ban "naked short selling" (i.e. short selling without prior borrowing of stocks) and restore the short selling price increase rules.

The measures are aimed at preventing market manipulation and preventing short selling from exacerbating panic-driven market declines.

But now, it is still the early 1980s and securities laws are still imperfect. Therefore, the current stock margin lending market, even if there is suspicion of malicious short selling, is completely legal and compliant.

Lin Haoran nodded, and the worries in his heart were immediately relieved.

He was worried that all his hard work in shorting Huifeng Bank would be wasted if all the money he earned was punished by the CSRC. Wouldn't that be a waste of his work?

Now that it is legal, what is he afraid of?

So, he continued, "In the next three days, I want you to apply for securities lending from the brokerage firms that own Huifeng Bank shares in their own stock pools; at the same time, apply for stock loans from institutions and shareholders of Huifeng Bank. It doesn't take too long, three to six months will be enough, the more the better, there is no upper limit!

In addition, in order to speed up, you can negotiate with Citibank for the shareholders of Huifeng Bank in Europe and the United States and hand over this business to them. In Europe and the United States, it is obviously easier for Citibank to lend stocks to these shareholders. You only need to be responsible for the Hong Kong side.

In this way, we can borrow the most Huifeng Bank shares in the shortest time."

Under normal circumstances, shareholders, securities firms, investment banks, etc. will agree to short selling stocks.

After all, they have no intention of selling the stocks, and the shares remaining in their hands are nothing more than static assets.

By lending stocks, they can not only obtain additional interest income, but also revitalize this part of assets without losing equity.

So, from their perspective, it's a good deal.

If they can earn considerable interest by lending stocks, it will undoubtedly be a profitable business for them.

Moreover, stock lending is a common practice in the financial market, and the risks are controllable. As long as the borrower has sufficient credit and collateral, they naturally have no reason to refuse.

"Boss, the current margin lending rate in Hong Kong is relatively high. Are you sure you want to short Huifeng Bank?" Dai Shi was afraid that his boss did not understand the unspoken rules and potential risks of the Hong Kong securities short-selling market.

"What's the interest rate now?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.

"At present, the normal annualized interest rate for short selling in Hong Kong is calculated at about 12% of the current stock market value, that is to say, the monthly interest rate is around 1%. If you want to short sell for half a year, plus handling fees and the like, the shares of Huifeng Bank need to fall by at least 7% before you can make money." Dai Shi replied.

Earlier in Lin Haoran's office, when he discussed with Ma Shimin, Cui Zilong, Chen Shoulin and others how to deal with Huifeng Bank, Dai Shi was not present.

After all, Dai Shi is only the general manager of a subsidiary, and is not on the same level as Ma Shimin and others.

Therefore, Dai Shi had no idea how Lin Haoran would deal with Huifeng Bank next.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have these worries.

"The monthly interest rate is 1%? Then can we sign a flexible agreement? For example, we sign a contract within half a year. If it is sold in one month, we will pay the interest rate of one month. If it is sold in three months, we will pay the interest rate of three months?" Lin Haoran thought for a while and asked.

The monthly interest rate of 1% is indeed not low, but he is not sure when the stock price of Huifeng Bank will fall the worst.

Although these can be roughly guessed through his plan, the time cannot be fixed after all.

"According to the practice of our Hong Kong securities lending market, the plan you proposed can indeed be negotiated with the securities owner. However, if the maximum time limit is set at half a year, then at least three months' interest must be paid. Simply put, if we return the stocks one month after signing the agreement, we still need to pay three months' interest.

In the end, it all depends on whether the owner of the voucher agrees. As long as both parties can sit down and discuss, everything will be easy and not a big problem. " Dai Shi thought for a moment and answered seriously.

Lin Haoran nodded when he heard this. He could accept this.

He just didn't want to pay too much interest to these Huifeng Bank shareholders.

He had no idea how much the share price of Huifeng Bank would fall, but it would definitely not fall less.

In addition, Huifeng Bank's stock price will inevitably suffer a severe blow as their plans are implemented one by one.

As long as the plan goes smoothly, it is only a matter of time before the stock price falls far beyond the cost of short selling.

"Can this matter be kept secret?" Lin Haoran thought for a moment and continued to ask.

"Boss, it is almost impossible to short Huifeng Bank on a large scale like you are planning without being noticed, especially when it comes to large transactions. As a large financial institution, Huifeng Bank not only has a mature monitoring system, but also a powerful intelligence system that can track abnormal trading behaviors and share data with regulators.

In addition, the shareholders who hold Huifeng Bank shares are more or less connected to the senior management of Huifeng Bank. Even if we sign a confidentiality agreement with them, it will be useless. Others will find ways to leak information to the senior management of Huifeng Bank in exchange for some benefits or to avoid potential risks. "

Dai Shi frowned slightly, a look of helplessness appeared on his face, and he told the truth.

"Okay, I get it. In that case, I'll give you three days. During this period, you can borrow as many Huifeng Bank shares as you can. After each loan, I'll have the trader sell it in secret. Huifeng Bank's stock price is still high, so it's a good time to short it.

However, we should try to diversify our operations as much as possible when making moves, so as not to attract excessive attention from the market, so as to prevent Huifeng Bank from noticing our large-scale selling actions in advance.

Besides, don’t we hold 3% of Huifeng Bank’s shares? Sell these 3% of shares as well. There is no point in keeping them!” Lin Haoran instructed carefully.

At that time, Huifeng Bank sold 1% of it to him at a low price, allowing him to not only become a shareholder of Huifeng Bank but also a member of the board of directors.

Moreover, there were no restrictions at that time.

Now that the relationship between the two parties has fallen out, there is naturally no need for him to keep shares in Huifeng Bank.

3% of the shares, based on a market value of 200 billion, can be sold for 6 million Hong Kong dollars.

Fortunately, the extra 2% of shares acquired previously was not considered a loss. At that time, the market value of Huifeng Bank was only more than billion yuan. Lin Haoran had no intention of entering the banking industry. He knew that Huifeng Bank would become one of the top ten banks in the world according to the normal development trend, and it was only a matter of time before the market value exceeded one trillion yuan.

It is for this reason that he increased his holdings in Huifeng Bank.

But now, as the boss of Bank of East Asia, as the saying goes, there can't be two tigers in one mountain, Huifeng Bank's market share is bound to plummet under the various attacks of Bank of East Asia. In other words, the Huifeng Bank in this world will definitely not have such a glorious future as the Huifeng Bank in his previous life.

If that’s the case, why does he still keep shares in Huifeng Bank?
It would be better to cash out and invest in other more valuable companies!

"Okay, boss. I will do these according to your instructions and report to you any progress at any time!" Dai Shi replied respectfully.

"Well, do a good job. You are fully responsible for this matter. I will talk to Mr. Allen and ask him to cooperate with your work throughout the process!" Lin Haoran stood up, patted Dai Shi on the shoulder and encouraged him.

He was still very relieved about Dai Shi.

The loyalty level of 92 cannot be compared with Su Zhixue, but there is definitely no problem with loyalty.

Moreover, Dai Shi was also one of the first people to follow him. His ability to get things done is obvious to all. He has demonstrated outstanding execution and adaptability in many past affairs. Otherwise, he would not have been appointed by Lin Haoran as the deputy general manager of Galaxy Securities.

Lin Haoran believed that Dai Shi would be able to complete such an important and complex task of shorting Huifeng Bank excellently given to him.

After giving the order, Lin Haoran immediately called Chen Shoulin, Ma Shimin and others, asking them to instruct the companies that depended on them to temporarily postpone the transfer of financial funds to the Bank of East Asia.

Although Chen Shoulin, Ma Shimin and others did not understand the boss's purpose, they still expressed their willingness to notify the bosses immediately.

Fortunately, it is still early and those companies have not started to transfer funds yet. After all, it is not possible to transfer so much funds in a short period of time, otherwise short selling would not be so easy.

In addition, the current Huifeng Bank has no time to take care of the negative news released by Lin Haoran, and it will not notice the various actions against Huifeng Bank that Lin Haoran has secretly planned in a short period of time.

However, Dai Shi didn't have much time left. Even if the bosses of these companies didn't spread the news, they couldn't keep it secret for long. Because of this, Lin Haoran only gave him three days.

Borrow as much as you can.

Once some of their plans were leaked, the share price of Huifeng Bank would have plummeted before they could short sell. By that time, there would be no need to short sell Huifeng Bank.

At present, with the credibility of banking and securities companies, it is not difficult to borrow stocks from securities firms and shareholders, so it does not take long.

It depends on how many shares you can borrow.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Haoran specifically asked Galaxy Securities about the share price of Huifeng Bank.

Surprisingly, the share price of Huifeng Bank did not fall but instead rose back to around HK$210 billion.

Through the transaction situation, some traders judged that these should be the operations of Huifeng Bank's headquarters. They used the securities companies they controlled to push up Huifeng Bank's stock price, thereby giving shareholders enough confidence and preventing Huifeng Bank's stock price from collapsing due to panic caused by public opinion in the market.

In addition, under the manipulation of the Galaxy Securities Company's traders, Lin Haoran took advantage of Huifeng Bank's price increase and sold nearly half of his 3% stake in Huifeng Bank, cashing in nearly million Hong Kong dollars.

After receiving the task from Lin Haoran, Dai Shi went to negotiate with securities companies and investment banks all over Hong Kong.

Galaxy Securities has the backing of the Jardine Matheson Group and possesses strong financial resources. Therefore, there is no need for negotiation. Basically, those securities companies, shareholders and investment banks are willing to lend the shares of Huifeng Bank in their hands to Galaxy Securities.

After all, in the financial market, there is stable interest income and the ability to revitalize assets without losing equity. Why not do such a business?

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Dai Shi called Lin Haoran to report that in just a few hours in the afternoon, he had negotiated with five securities companies and three shareholders and obtained 7.8% of Huifeng Bank's shares.

In addition, through the connection with the president of Citibank's Hong Kong branch, Dai Shi handed over the matter of borrowing stocks from Huifeng Bank shareholders in Europe and the United States to Citibank.

Although some commissions and fees will be paid, it is undoubtedly a very cost-effective deal to be able to leverage Citibank's extensive network of contacts and resources in Europe and the United States to greatly improve the efficiency and scale of stock borrowing.

At six o'clock in the evening, Lin Haoran had just returned to the Shi Xundao Villa when he received a call from the Governor's Office.

"Mr. Lin, I'm sorry to bother you. I hope you can come to the Governor's Mansion now. I have prepared dinner and am waiting for your visit!" Although Mai Lihao's tone was very polite, there was also an unquestionable majesty.

Lin Haoran was not surprised by the call from the Governor's Office.

It was nothing more than that he asked the media to release the dark secrets of Huifeng Bank in the past, forcing Shen Bi to go to the Governor's Office for help and let Mai Lihao personally come forward to negotiate.

However, he is the top leader of Hong Kong after all, so we still have to give him some face no matter what.

Therefore, Lin Haoran replied directly: "Mr. Governor, I just got home. Please wait for me for twenty minutes and I will be there now."

"Thank you for your help!" Mai Lihao said with a smile.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Haoran did not delay and got back into the car and told Li Weidong to drive to the Governor's Mansion.

Ten minutes later, the car arrived safely outside the Governor's Mansion.

He was quite familiar with the Governor's Office in Hong Kong, and without the guidance of the staff, he quickly arrived at Mai Lihao's office.

As expected, in the Governor's office, Lin Haoran saw another big boss, Mr. Shen Bi, the boss of Huifeng Bank.

In addition, Bao John, the second-in-command of Huifeng Bank, was also among them.

At this moment, Shen Bi and Bao John's faces were not looking good, especially when they saw Lin Haoran appear.

At noon, the two of them came to the Governor's Mansion together.

As a result, Governor MacLehose went to the New Territories for an inspection today.

It was not until after four in the afternoon that Mai Lihao came back.

Afterwards, the two of them had a secret conversation with Mai Lihao for more than an hour.

Shen Bi and Bao John tried to explain to MacLehose the current difficulties faced by Huifeng Bank and the huge impact that Lin Haoran's secret layout might bring, hoping that MacLehose could mediate and resolve this potential crisis.

Regarding some previous illegal activities that were done without the knowledge of the Governor's Office, Shen Bi also openly apologized to Mai Lihao on behalf of Huifeng Bank and promised to pay a hefty fine to the Governor's Office.

It was impossible for Mai Lihao to watch Huifeng Bank's access to the sea being blocked because of the scandal, so he finally agreed to invite Lin Haoran over and try his best to get the other party to stop and make peace, or at least stop adding fuel to the fire by reporting the scandal and plunging Huifeng Bank into a deeper quagmire.

"Mr. Lin, thank you for your help!" Seeing Lin Haoran, Mai Lihao personally came to the door to greet him and shook hands with him.

"As a citizen of Hong Kong, I will obey the Governor's orders. Moreover, it is my honor that the Governor has personally invited me." Lin Haoran responded with a smile.

His tone was neither flattering nor impolite.

"Mr. Lin, please come in and sit down. The kitchen is still preparing dinner. Let's chat first." Mai Lihao pointed to the sofa in the negotiation area.

Lin Haoran nodded and followed Mai Lihao to the sofa.

Shen Bi did not greet Lin Haoran, and Lin Haoran did not give him face either.

After all, the two sides had completely fallen out because of the Bank of East Asia incident.

It can be said that people are too lazy to even maintain superficial politeness.

"Mr. Lin, I invited you here this time. I'm sure you should know the reason. I won't beat around the bush. As the middleman this time, I am here to mediate the conflict between you and Huifeng Bank." Mai Lihao said straight to the point.

"Mr. Governor, as the Governor of Hong Kong, you must be very clear that this matter was first instigated by the Huifeng Bank. They targeted me and my industry without any reason. Their methods were despicable and their actions were overbearing. I was just protecting myself and fighting back within a reasonable and legal scope." Although facing Mai Lihao, Lin Haoran was not afraid at all.

"Then what conditions do you want in order to give up your malicious reports on Huifeng Bank? Mr. Lin, you might as well tell me frankly. As long as it is within a reasonable range, I will try my best to facilitate a reconciliation between the two parties." Mai Lihao looked at Lin Haoran sincerely, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

Malicious reporting?

Lin Haoran almost laughed inwardly.

If this is called malicious reporting, then what do you call the series of strategies that Bank of East Asia has adopted?
However, he did not refute this slightly absurd characterization on the spot, but narrowed his eyes slightly and continued: "It is not difficult for me to stop. Huifeng Bank and the Hong Kong Banking Association behind it will withdraw their malicious suppression of Bank of East Asia.

In addition, Mr. Shen Bi must publicly apologize to the Bank of East Asia in front of the citizens of Hong Kong on TV. These are my only requirements. Otherwise, I will not stop!"

As soon as Lin Haoran finished speaking, Shen Bi and Bao Yuehan stood up angrily.

It would be difficult for them to accept the Hong Kong Banking Association withdrawing its suppression of the Bank of East Asia, as this would mean that all their previous plans would be ruined.

Not only that, but Shen Bi also has to apologize to the Bank of East Asia in front of everyone in Hong Kong?

The consequence of this would be that the reputation of Huifeng Bank in Hong Kong would suffer a severe blow, Shen Bi's personal image would plummet, and he would lose face in the financial world, which they naturally could not tolerate.

Who is Shen Bi? He is the chairman of the board of directors of Huifeng Bank.

They couldn't help but recall that a year ago, Niu Bijian, the boss of Jardine Matheson, was also forced to apologize to Lin Haoran on live television.

As a result, not long after that, Jardine Matheson was driven out of Hong Kong by Lin Haoran.

Shen Bi's face turned pale, veins popped out on his forehead, and he pointed at Lin Haoran and shouted angrily: "Lin Haoran, don't go too far! How can our Huifeng Bank be coerced by you like this! Your so-called 'self-protection and counterattack' is just disrupting the financial order of Hong Kong. You still want us to apologize, which is simply wishful thinking!"

Hearing this, Lin Haoran smiled and said, "If that's the case, then what else can we talk about?"

Lin Haoran looked calm, with a faint smile on his face. He slowly stood up, looked directly at Shen Bi, and said word by word: "Mr. Shen Bi, I came here with the attitude of solving the problem, but since you are so tough, I have nothing to say.

The situation that Huifeng Bank is facing now is entirely your own fault. I, Lin Haoran, always repay favors with favors and revenge with revenge. You attacked me first, so don't blame me for being rude."

Mai Lihao rubbed his brows with a headache. When he called Lin Haoran over, he had already guessed that things would not be so easily solved.

As expected, if neither side is willing to give in, there is no possibility of reaching an agreement.

But he couldn't just watch Huifeng Bank's overseas expansion being hindered.

Mai Lihao's face was slightly gloomy, and with a bit of majesty in his eyes, he looked at Lin Haoran and said in a slightly tough tone: "Mr. Lin, I understand your dissatisfaction with Huifeng Bank, but the financial stability of Hong Kong is of vital importance.

As an important part of Hong Kong's financial system, if the Bank falls into a deep crisis, it will not only affect the Bank itself, but the entire Hong Kong financial market may suffer a severe blow, and the interests of countless ordinary people will also be affected. I hope you can put the overall situation first and make appropriate concessions.

Otherwise, don’t blame the Governor’s Office for taking necessary measures to maintain financial order.”

Lin Haoran sighed inwardly. As expected, Huifeng Bank was a British-owned enterprise after all, and was in cahoots with the Governor-General's Office.

"It is not impossible for me to stop using the media to retaliate against the Bank of East Asia. But the Governor's Office must make a promise: from now on, you will not interfere in the competition between the Bank of East Asia and the Bank of East Asia.

Moreover, you must issue a written commitment to the whole of Hong Kong, clearly guaranteeing that the Governor's Office will not interfere in this competition in any way, whether directly or indirectly. "Lin Haoran responded in a tough tone.

On the way here, he had already anticipated that the Governor's Office would put pressure on him, so he was mentally prepared for this and had carefully considered how to deal with it.

In fact, revenge through exposing scandals in the media was only part of his plan, and even if he stopped this part, it would not be a big deal for him.

As long as the Governor's Office agrees not to interfere, then he will not have to worry about his subsequent actions against Huifeng Bank. (End of this chapter)