In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

In the blink of an eye, a night passed.

This morning, a notice was posted on the doors of all branches of Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank.

The general content of the announcement is: At the request of the government, in order to ensure the stable development of Hong Kong's financial industry, the preferential policies previously launched by Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank, with a one-year fixed deposit interest rate of 1% and a five-year fixed deposit interest rate of 4.5%, will be implemented until July 5.

Starting from July 7, the deposit interest policies of the two banks will return to previous levels, that is, 15% for one-year time deposits and 1% for five-year time deposits.

Today is July 7th, which means that if you want to enjoy high-interest deposits, there are only 10 days left.

This announcement spread throughout Hong Kong in an instant.

The branches of Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank had not yet opened for business, but this matter had already caused an uproar in the entire Hong Kong financial circle and even among the citizens.

In restaurants, teahouses, and on the streets, people are talking about the high-interest deposit discount that is about to end.

Those who were still hesitant are now panicking, fearing that they will miss this rare high-interest opportunity.

In a breakfast shop in Tsuen Wan, several men wearing shirts and ties, who looked like office workers, sat around a table. One of the middle-aged men frowned and said, "Have you heard that the high-interest deposit provision of Bank of East Asia has ended?

This announcement came out too suddenly. I had been thinking of waiting and seeing if Huifeng Bank would also match the interest rate. Now, there are only 5 days left. If I don’t deposit now, I will miss the chance!”

Although Bank of East Asia's market share has increased significantly during this period thanks to its high interest rate policy, in fact, most citizens still prefer Bank of East Asia.

This bank, which has a history of more than 100 years and has long dominated the Hong Kong financial sector, has always been a symbol of stability and reliability in the eyes of citizens.

It is undoubtedly a difficult task for Bank of East Asia to change the citizens' inherent impression in a short period of time.

Moreover, not all customers are keen on making fixed-term deposits. Most people still prefer current deposits so that they can withdraw funds flexibly at any time.

Therefore, even though Bank of East Asia raised its interest rates to a level that Bank of East Asia could not match during this period, resulting in the loss of many customers, there are still many people who trust Bank of East Asia more and continue to keep their deposits in Bank of East Asia.

Even so, as the high interest rate policy attracted a large number of time deposit customers who originally had time deposits in other banks to switch, Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank still brought a huge impact to the entire Hong Kong banking industry. Other banks had to face a series of problems such as customer loss and changes in capital structure.

This may seem contradictory, but in fact it profoundly reflects the complex considerations of Hong Kong citizens when making financial decisions and the diverse ecology of Hong Kong's financial market.

It is precisely because of this that Governor MacLehose has been so calm during this period.

Because he knew that although the behavior of Bank of East Asia had thrown the entire Hong Kong financial industry into chaos, the impact would not affect the foundation of Hong Kong's financial system in the short term.

And those loyal users of Huifeng Bank have been looking forward to Huifeng Bank following the deposit interest rate of Bank of East Asia.

It’s a pity that they will never be able to wait.

As ordinary citizens, they naturally do not know that the banking industry also has its own red lines. Once this red line is crossed, it may cause the bank to suffer losses. Therefore, Huifeng Bank is simply unable to follow up.

Another middle-aged man frowned and agreed, "That's right. The current economic environment is unstable. It's so hard to get an interest rate of 4.5% or 5%! In the past, I couldn't even think about it. I was planning to wait until I got this month's salary before considering it. Now it seems that I have to deposit the money in advance."

At this time, an older man with gray hair spoke slowly: "You young people are too impulsive. Although the interest rate is high, you have to consider the liquidity of your funds. If your family needs money urgently during this period, the interest rate will be greatly reduced if you withdraw it in advance."

The middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "Uncle, you have a point, but this opportunity is too rare. I calculated that if I save 20, I can live on the interest alone! If there is an emergency at home, I can just ask relatives and friends for help. If I miss this high interest, I will lose it."

The middle-aged man's words were recognized by many people present.

After all, since the oil crisis, although the stock market and some industries seem to have shown some signs of recovery, ordinary citizens are still living a tight life.

Prices rise from time to time, job opportunities are not so stable, and income growth is slow.

It can be said that the unemployment rate in the past two years is much higher than in previous years.

In this case, many citizens will downgrade their consumption and prefer to keep their money in banks to reduce unnecessary expenses and obtain stable returns to protect against unknown risks.

The high interest rate policy of Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank was undoubtedly like throwing a fire on a pile of dry wood, instantly igniting the enthusiasm of many citizens to save.

Another young man chimed in, "My dad left me a legacy, and I originally planned to save it regularly for a year, but now I've decided to save it for five years. Otherwise, the interest will return to the original amount after a year, and I'll lose money."

"Yeah, yeah, I have that plan too."

"After this announcement, who would still want to make a one-year deposit? Either make a life deposit or a five-year deposit!"

"This Governor's Office is really meddling in other people's business. Isn't this a normal business practice for the Bank of East Asia?"

"In my opinion, the Governor's Office should not be blamed for this. It must be the interference of banks such as Huifeng Bank. After all, they are unwilling to increase interest rates, and they can't just sit there and watch the Bank of East Asia suck away the funds of other banks. So it is Huifeng Bank and others that should be blamed."

"Anyway, I will not continue to use Huifeng Bank in the future. Bank of East Asia is also a long-established bank, and it has the support of the capital tycoon Lin Haoran. What is there to be afraid of? With just the Hong Kong Land Group, there is no need to worry about Bank of East Asia going bankrupt."

"That's true. Although Huifeng Bank seems to be older, it is a British bank after all. Since Chinese entrepreneurs like Lin Haoran are rising, shouldn't we, as Chinese, spend more on our own people?"

"Speaking of Huifeng Bank, it's so infuriating. I queued up to withdraw cash at Huifeng Bank yesterday. I started queuing in the afternoon, but it wasn't my turn until the end of the day. I don't know if I can withdraw the money today. Oh!" said a middle-aged man in a black suit indignantly.

Although major banks cannot prevent customers from withdrawing cash, they can reduce the speed of service and thus slow down the pace of capital outflow to a certain extent.

The originally efficient business processing process has become sluggish, and the operating speed of window staff has slowed down significantly. Every time a business is processed, the information must be checked repeatedly and lengthy communication and confirmation must be carried out with the customer.

Fortunately, there were many customers withdrawing cash from banks in almost all of Hong Kong, so even if these banks deliberately slowed down their efficiency, the major branches of Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank were still very busy and could not cope with the workload.

Therefore, even if those banks do this intentionally, it will not have much impact on Bank of East Asia.

The announcements from Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank sparked heated discussions throughout Hong Kong, with the response growing increasingly significant.

Because of this announcement, the number of people queuing up at major banks such as Huifeng Bank, Hengsheng Bank and Standard Chartered Bank is more than before.

The delayed services of major banks have also made customers increasingly dissatisfied, and some people have even started to cause trouble in the banks.

Of course, this is something to talk about later.

……

12 o'clock noon.

At Hong Kong's Kai Tak International Airport, an airplane circled twice in the air and, after obtaining approval from the tower, finally landed smoothly on the airport runway.

At this moment, Lin Haoran was already waiting in the airport exit hall with a group of bodyguards.

The person who could make Lin Haoran come to greet him personally is certainly not an insignificant figure.

He is Mr. Walter Wriston, Chairman of Citibank.

Mr. Walter Wriston has been in Singapore for some time.

Even the time originally planned to meet Lin Haoran was changed.

This morning, Walter Reston personally called Lin Haoran and told him the time he would arrive in Hong Kong.

Although the cooperation between Lin Haoran and Citibank has only lasted for more than two years, the two parties have always had a very pleasant and tacit cooperation.

Citibank has a huge influence in the international financial field, and Lin Haoran's overseas layout also needs to utilize Citibank's resources and connections.

Lin Haoran provided the money and Citibank provided the resources, and both parties were happy. It was a win-win situation.

Mr. Walter Wriston's special trip to Hong Kong this time is not to consolidate the cooperative relationship between the two sides.

"Mr. Walter Reston, long time no see!" The airport exit hall was crowded with people coming and going. Lin Haoran had a sharp eye and spotted Walter Reston, chairman of Citibank, walking from a distance with a bodyguard. A warm smile immediately appeared on his face and he quickly walked forward to greet him.

"Mr. Lin, thank you so much for coming to pick me up in person!" Walter Reston also responded cheerfully with a smile on his face, and there was a hint of cordiality in his voice as if he was meeting an old friend.

The two men walked towards each other quickly and held hands, like two old friends who had not seen each other for a long time.

After a brief greeting, they went to the airport parking lot together under the escort of bodyguards.

Citibank also has a branch in Hong Kong. Normally, the person in charge of Citibank in Hong Kong would come to pick us up at the airport.

However, Mr. Walter Reston made a special trip to visit this time, and Lin Haoran worked closely with him, so personally meeting him at the airport showed his sincerity and importance.

Along the way, Lin Haoran had a pleasant conversation with Walter Reston.

He also arranged for Walter Wriston to stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central, playing the role of a good host.

After having lunch at the Joylai Restaurant, Walter Reston said goodbye to Lin Haoran and went to inspect their Citibank Hong Kong branch.

As for the negotiations between the two parties, they were scheduled for the next morning, in Lin Haoran's private meeting room.

After separating from Walter Reston, Lin Haoran did not rush back to his office, but went to Mary Hospital.

A few days ago, Lin Haoran learned from Bao Yugang's son-in-law that Bao Yugang had undergone a major operation at the beginning of the month.

The operation was very successful. Now that more than a week has passed, I think it’s time to visit.

As an elder who has good connections in Hong Kong's business community, Lin Haoran should go and visit him.

In a high-end recovery room in Queen Mary Hospital, Lin Haoran finally met Bao Yugang, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

At this moment, Bao Yugang's face was a little pale, which was due to his weakness after the major operation, but he was still in good spirits.

He was half lying on the hospital bed, with a few business magazines beside him, flipping through them. Led by Bao Yugang's son-in-law Wu Guangzheng, Lin Haoran gently opened the door, his footsteps were very light.

Bao Yugang heard the noise and slowly raised his head. Seeing that it was Lin Haoran, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint smile.

"Haoran, why are you here? And why did you make such a special trip?" Bao Yugang's voice was a little hoarse after the surgery, but his tone was full of kindness.

After all, he had just undergone a major surgery not long ago. It would definitely be impossible for him to recover in such a short time.

Despite this, Lin Haoran could see that Bao Yugang was in very good spirits now.

To Bao Yugang, Lin Haoran can be regarded as his savior today.

If it weren't for Lin Haoran's reminder, he might not have known that he had cancer.

Even if you have a physical examination every year, it is not a targeted examination, so it is not easy to find out.

When Bao Yugang thought about the possibility that the disease would be discovered in the late stage if not discovered in advance, he felt frightened and shuddered.

He naturally knew very well what late-stage cancer meant.

At that point, even if you have a lot of money, it will be of no use and you can only watch your life slip away.

Lin Haoran's reminder undoubtedly bought him precious time for treatment. The disease cannot be cured in the late stage, but it can be cured in the early stage.

What's more, with Bao Yugang's status, it would be no problem for him to gather the world's top doctors to perform surgery and treatment on him.

Since the disease is in the early stages and he has the world's best treatment, Bao Yugang is naturally full of confidence in his recovery.

Seeing Lin Haoran at this moment, my heart is filled with gratitude.

"Uncle Bao, congratulations. I heard that your operation was very successful. I have wanted to come and see you for a long time, but I was afraid of disturbing your rest. I wish you a speedy recovery." Lin Haoran walked quickly to the bedside, gently placed the flowers and fruit basket in his hands on the table beside him, and said with a smile.

Bao Yugang nodded slightly, his eyes full of relief: "Haoran, you are thoughtful."

The two didn't chat for long. After all, Lin Haoran knew that what Bao Yugang needed most right now was quiet cultivation.

Before leaving, Bao Yugang smiled and said to Lin Haoran: "Haoran, I know that your Bank of East Asia is now competing with Huifeng Bank. Don't worry, I will lend a helping hand at the critical moment!"

"Thank you, Uncle Bao." Lin Haoran laughed, but didn't take it seriously.

After all, he also knew that Bao Yugang and Huifeng Bank had a long-term alliance.

It can be said that Bao Yugang’s ability to become the world’s shipping king is inseparable from the support of Huifeng Bank.

Of course, both parties are pursuing their own interests. It is impossible to say that Huifeng Bank is selfless, so the relationship between the two parties can be said to be like the current relationship between Lin Haoran and Citibank. The two parties have a very close cooperative relationship.

Therefore, Lin Haoran believed that no matter what, Bao Yugang would not offend Huifeng Bank for him.

In this case, Bao Yugang probably can't give him any help.

This was Lin Haoran's inner thought. From the beginning to the end, he never had any hope that Bao Yugang could provide any significant help to the Bank of East Asia.

The reason why he reminded Bao Yugang before was not only because he respected this senior in the business world and had helped him many times, but also because Bao Yugang invited him to invest in Wharf Holdings, and he also hoped that Bao Yugang would continue to operate Wharf Holdings for a long time in the future. In this way, as an important shareholder of Wharf Holdings, he would naturally be able to make money without doing anything.

After all, he will control 49% of Hutchison Whampoa shares in the future.

Although we haven't reached this point yet, it is already underway.

With the cooperation of major shareholder Bao Yugang, it was not difficult for the two to privatize Hutchison Whampoa.

The assets of Hutchison Whampoa are real fixed assets, and their market value can be said to be seriously underestimated.

Therefore, being able to hold 49% of Hutchison Whampoa shares at a very low price, Lin Haoran can be said to have picked up a great bargain.

It was already evening when we left Queen Mary Hospital.

Lin Haoran then went directly to the Bank of East Asia.

He was busy all day today. First, he received Mr. Walter Reston, chairman of Citibank, and then went to visit Bao Yugang. The whole day was very fulfilling.

When we arrived at the headquarters of Bank of East Asia, many people had already gone off work, but the headquarters of Bank of East Asia was still busy.

During this period, almost all employees of Bank of East Asia were working overtime.

After all, opportunities to seize market share are unpredictable.

If you don't seize such a good opportunity, you will regret it if you miss it.

Lin Haoran stepped into the headquarters office of Bank of East Asia. The hall was brightly lit, employees were rushing around, and the ringing of telephones and the sounds of discussion were intertwined, forming a busy and orderly working scene.

He walked straight to the president's office. Dashan was sitting on the desk, holding a pen in one hand and writing something on a piece of paper with the other. When he saw Lin Haoran coming in, he quickly put down his work and stood up to greet him: "Boss, you're here."

"Well, tell me how things went today." Lin Haoran pulled over a chair, sat down and asked with a smile.

"Yes, Boss. After we posted the news about the five-day deadline this morning, it caused a huge stir throughout Hong Kong. Afterwards, I heard that the number of people withdrawing cash from major banks increased dramatically. Some citizens even took leave during work hours to withdraw cash, just to deposit the money in our bank.

In addition, the number of people waiting in line to deposit money at our 32 branches has also increased significantly, and our employees have also stepped up to handle business. Although it is not yet the settlement time, if nothing unexpected happens, our deposit volume today should be much higher than yesterday. "Dashan reported.

"Yeah, I saw that too. The line in the business hall downstairs of the head office is several hundred meters long." Lin Haoran said with a smile.

Before, when he came here, although there was also a long queue, it was only about a hundred meters long.

Today's team is indeed much longer than before.

This is also normal. Previously, because there was no time limit, many people were not in a hurry.

But now, things are different. There are only five days left for the high interest rate. Those citizens who were still waiting or hesitant are now panicking, fearing that they will miss this rare high-interest opportunity. Naturally, they flock to banks and want to deposit funds before the deadline.

"In addition, I heard that conflicts broke out in many bank business halls today. Some citizens were emotional because of the long waiting time and slow business processing, and they had disputes and even physical conflicts with bank staff. Even in Huifeng Bank, many branches had such incidents. The sound of police cars was heard from time to time on the streets.

Although our bank is also facing huge business pressure, fortunately, our employees have responded properly and no similar situation has occurred so far." Dashan continued, with a hint of relief in his tone.

"It's their fault for deliberately slowing down the service. They deserve it!" Lin Haoran said with some gloating.

The more chaotic the operations of Huifeng Bank are, the better it is for Bank of East Asia.

Citizens who are full of resentment at other banks due to inefficient services and cumbersome cash withdrawal procedures are very likely to have an increasing favorable impression of Bank of East Asia due to disappointment and anger.

By acting in this way, aren't these banks destroying the good reputation they have worked so hard to build?

He was very clear about the practices of these banks.

After all, when the Bank of East Asia encountered a bank run before, although it also used a similar method of delaying withdrawals, that was not a direct order from the top management of the Bank of East Asia.

In fact, Huifeng Bank secretly poached people from Bank of East Asia, and then instructed these poached people to deliberately delay the withdrawal services and deliberately discredit Bank of East Asia.

When Bank of East Asia noticed this situation, it simply went with the flow and took advantage of the situation.

In this way, not only did it delay the withdrawal time of some customers and ease the financial pressure, it also successfully cleared itself of the issue, making it difficult for the outside world to directly blame the management of Bank of East Asia.

Once the matter was made public, those who had been criticizing Bank of East Asia naturally had no reason to keep holding on to it, and some of the negative views of Bank of East Asia also eased as the truth gradually became clear.

Time passed quickly and it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.

When the bank statistics came out, even Lin Haoran was very surprised.

Unexpectedly, the additional funds added today are not just more than yesterday.

Throughout the whole day, the time deposits attracted by Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank even exceeded HK$30 billion, reaching HK$31.22 billion!
The day before, it was only HK$22.93 billion.

That is to say, without increasing the number of branches, deposits increased by more than HK$800 million today.

And, most importantly, of the HK$31.22 billion in time deposits, as much as HK$30.81 billion was in 5-year time deposits, while the amount in 0.41-year time deposits was only HK$ billion.

This data difference is extremely significant, which fully demonstrates that when faced with the temptation of high interest rates, most citizens prefer to choose long-term and stable deposit methods to lock in the current high interest rates and obtain more generous interest returns.

In addition, after 5 days, the high-interest deposit preferential policies of Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank will officially end, which is also the most important reason for everyone to apply for a 5-year fixed deposit.

Lin Haoran looked at the data report and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Such a huge inflow of funds not only brought sufficient capital reserves to Bank of East Asia and Dao Heng Bank, but also further enhanced their status and influence in the Hong Kong financial market.

This also means that Bank of East Asia's strategy of launching a high-interest deposit policy has been a huge success, successfully attracting a large number of customers and causing a strong impact on competitors such as Huifeng Bank.

He had thought that today's regular funds would increase, but he didn't expect it to increase so much.

Even Dashan, the president of Bank of East Asia, did not expect this.

From this perspective, Lin Haoran is looking forward to seeing how much funds Bank of East Asia can absorb in the remaining four days.

The more funds it absorbs, the bigger chunks of meat Bank of East Asia will tear off from other banks such as Huifeng Bank! (End of this chapter)