In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 815 Citibank's Power Game: Miller is About to Close the Net
After leaving MIT, Lin Haoran saw no need to stay in Boston any longer.

Back at the hotel, he had his entourage pack their luggage and head directly to New York City.

Boston is only about 300 kilometers from New York, and the route offers typical East Coast scenery.

The vehicle drove smoothly on the highway. Lin Haoran leaned back in the comfortable back seat, watching the scenery rushing past the window, but his mind was still replaying the events from the open class he had just attended.

The gasps of amazement, doubts, and even dismissive boos were all within his expectations.

Placing future "common sense" in undeveloped soil is bound to cause controversy.

He doesn't care about temporary praise or criticism; what truly matters is that he has sown the seeds, especially in the hearts of the most curious and adventurous elites at top universities.

These seeds will take root and sprout at the right time in the future, becoming potential assets in his business empire and even a larger vision.

As for his pessimistic predictions about US stocks, he remained completely unfazed.

Huanyu Investment Company's strategy has been underway in secret for some time. Through complex financial instruments and offshore structures, it is gradually building short positions against some overvalued companies with weak cash flow, while also screening for high-quality assets that can withstand the winter and even rise against the trend during the crisis.

These operations require extremely high skill and absolute secrecy, so they cannot be revealed to the public.

Let the outside world speculate and question; when the tide goes out, it will be clear who is swimming naked.

Night had already fallen when the vehicle entered downtown New York City.

The skyscrapers of Manhattan are brightly lit, resembling glittering golden castles.

Lin Haoran settled down at the Marriott Hotel next to the Citibank headquarters building. He stayed there not because it was luxurious, but because it was next to the Citibank building.

However, what he didn't know was that his remarks at MIT that day had spread like wildfire throughout the United States and were only getting worse.

Just as Lin Haoran settled into the Marriott Hotel, the evening edition of The Wall Street Journal was already on the desks of executives at major financial institutions in New York.

The front-page headline was particularly eye-catching: "The Arrogant Prediction of an Eastern Business Prodigy: Is a Major Correction Imminent for US Stocks?"

Meanwhile, CNBC's evening financial program was discussing this topic at length.

"Let's see what Mr. Lin actually said," the host said to the camera. "He predicted that US stocks would face a significant decline, which is completely contrary to the general view on Wall Street."

In the audience, Morgan Stanley's chief strategist scoffed: "That's complete nonsense. President Reagan's economic policies are working, and the fundamentals of the U.S. economy have never been healthier."

What caused even greater uproar was that Citibank Chairman Walter Riston was also pressed by reporters for his opinion on the matter while attending another business forum.

Facing the camera, the banking giant cautiously stated, "Mr. Lin is an important partner of ours, but we have different views on the outlook for US stocks."

These remarks were widely reported by major media outlets.

The New York Times wrote in its commentary that evening: "The fact that even his closest partners disagree with Lin Haoran's judgment speaks volumes."

At the same time, experts and leaders from financial giants such as Mellon, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and UBS all delivered speeches.

As if by prior arrangement, the heads and chief economists of these financial giants refuted Lin Haoran's predictions, either implicitly or directly, in their respective public forums or through media statements.

The next morning, Lin Haoran got up very early.

As the curtains were drawn back, the morning sun streamed into the bedroom, bathing the entire space in golden light.

He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the newly awakened city of New York.

The Citibank building next door gleamed in the morning sun, and the morning rush hour traffic was already flowing on the street below.

Lin Haoran patted Guo Xiaohan's sexy, perky buttocks, and Guo Xiaohan finally woke up from her deep sleep.

She rubbed her eyes, sat up sleepily, and her silk nightgown slipped off her shoulders, revealing her smooth skin.

"Good morning, Haoran. What time is it?" Her voice still carried the languor of someone who had just woken up.

Last night, Lin Haoran was completely unaffected by the outside world and kept her up until after midnight, which made Guo Xiaohan a little tired, but Lin Haoran was in high spirits now.

"It's just past seven," Lin Haoran said casually, buttoning his shirt. "I'm going downstairs for breakfast. Are you coming? If not, you can stay in the hotel and sleep in a little longer."

The hotel also offers room service, but Lin Haoran felt that going downstairs to the restaurant would allow him to better experience the pulse of the city.

“I’ll go with you,” Guo Xiaohan said, getting up, but her lower back ached and she hissed softly. She glared at Lin Haoran reproachfully, “It’s all your fault last night…”

Seeing this, Lin Haoran lost his desire to go down to the restaurant.

He chuckled softly, leaned down and kissed her forehead: "Then you rest a little longer, I'll have the restaurant send up breakfast."

He dialed room service and expertly ordered two classic American breakfasts: fried eggs, bacon, and whole-wheat toast, plus fresh juice and coffee, and also had a copy of today's latest mainstream newspaper delivered.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Haoran walked out of the bedroom and sat on a lounge chair on the balcony outside the suite, admiring the rising sun gilding the Manhattan skyline.

The glass curtain wall of the Citibank Tower reflects dazzling light, and on the street below, yellow taxis shuttle like busy worker ants through the jungle of steel and concrete.

Lin Haoran took a deep breath of the morning air, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

This feeling of being at the center of a storm yet feeling at ease reminded him of when he first made his mark in Hong Kong.

At that time, when facing a behemoth like Jardine Matheson, he also faced countless doubts. People felt that it was like an egg hitting a rock for a young man with no powerful background to dare to challenge a British conglomerate that had dominated Hong Kong for a century.

But in the end, he proved his doubters wrong, and Jardine Matheson became his defeated opponent, even being expelled from Hong Kong.

Room service brought breakfast quickly.

The waiter skillfully set out the exquisite tableware on the small round table on the balcony, and a rich aroma wafted from the silver coffee pot, along with a thick stack of the day's newspapers.

After the waiter left and closed the door, Guo Xiaohan came out wearing a silk robe and sat down opposite him, still sleepy.

The eye-catching headline on the front page of The Wall Street Journal immediately caught her attention: "Eastern prophecy suffers Waterloo? Lin Haoran's pessimistic view on US stocks is collectively questioned by Wall Street."

She looked at Lin Haoran with concern, only to find him leisurely spreading butter on his toast, as if those glaring headlines had nothing to do with him.

"Brother Haoran, it seems you're on the front page again. Aren't you going to take a look?" she couldn't help but ask.

Lin Haoran took a sip of coffee before leisurely opening the Financial Times.

The financial section devoted two full pages to refuting his claims by various experts, with the comments from Merrill Lynch's chief analyst highlighted: "This is the wishful thinking of a young man lacking market experience."

While Lin Haoran and Guo Xiaohan were leisurely enjoying breakfast on the hotel balcony, the media storm he had sparked was rapidly escalating across the United States.

The New York Post’s front-page photo of Lin Haoran giving a speech at MIT was accompanied by a highly provocative headline: “Does this Hong Kong Chinese think he knows more about the stock market than Wall Street?”

The report quoted several anonymous traders as saying sarcastically, "Let him go back to the East and keep dreaming!"

Meanwhile, at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the trading floor before the market opened was filled with teasing of Lin Haoran.

"I heard that Chinese kid is shorting US stocks," a burly trader sneered loudly. "Looks like he has too much money!"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the crowd.

In a high-end café in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, several well-dressed investors flipped through the Wall Street Journal and made a blunt comment: "These nouveau riche from the East are always like this, thinking they can do anything once they've made a little money."

In a university bar in Boston, several Harvard students are having a heated argument.

“I heard him speak yesterday,” said a student wearing glasses. “His technology predictions were very insightful.”

"Come on," another student interrupted, "Even the chairman of Citibank doesn't approve of him, isn't that enough to prove the point?"

Meanwhile, financial programs on major television stations further fueled the trend.

CNN's morning financial program invited a commentator known for his sharp remarks, who sarcastically remarked, "Mr. Lin Haoran clearly doesn't understand that the strength of the American economy is beyond the comprehension of an outsider like himself. This is not Hong Kong."

The Fox Business Network host even launched a poll on the show: "Do you think Lin Haoran's prediction will come true?"

The results showed that 95% of the audience chose "no," while the remaining 5% did not choose "yes" but rather chose neutral.

This atmosphere of widespread ridicule even spread to the entertainment industry.

A popular comedian joked about Lin Haoran on a morning show: "I heard that a Chinese investor predicted that the US stock market would fall, which reminds me of a saying from my grandmother—'Don't try to teach a fish to swim in front of professionals!'"

However, at the center of this media storm, Lin Haoran remained surprisingly calm.

"These people are absolutely despicable!" Guo Xiaohan said angrily as she watched a commentator on TV mocking Lin Haoran.

Lin Haoran simply smiled and continued reading the Financial Times in his hands.

When he read the chief analyst's comment, "wishful thinking," he even chuckled.

"You can still laugh?" Guo Xiaohan asked incredulously.

"What's wrong with laughing? The time hasn't come yet, anything is possible," Lin Haoran said with a smile, crossing his legs.

Before they knew it, it was 9:30 a.m. Meanwhile, at the New York Stock Exchange, the opening bell had just rung.

Influenced by public opinion, investor sentiment was exceptionally high, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% at the opening.

Cheers erupted in the trading hall, and some people even unfurled a banner that read, "Let Lin Haoran go back to the East."

After leaving the hotel, Lin Haoran went to the Citibank headquarters building.

As he entered the building, he noticed that many employees were looking at him strangely. Before, when he came in, the employees would respectfully address him as Chairman Lin, but now very few people greeted him.

However, Lin Haoran didn't care about this.

He walked straight to the elevator and quickly went up to the top floor executive office.

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I met Richard Miller, the executive director in charge of global markets.

Upon seeing Lin Haoran, he grinned and said, "Hey, Mr. Lin, I heard you've become a celebrity in America now, albeit as the 'Wall Street clown'."

Richard Miller's rival is John Reed, and Lin Haoran has a good relationship with John Reed, so he is destined not to miss any opportunity to strike at Lin Haoran.

Lin Haoran smiled instead of getting angry, and calmly straightened his cuffs: "Mr. Miller, I remember your trade in crude oil futures last year. It seems that you are more experienced than me in the role of the 'clown'."

Miller's smile froze instantly, and his face turned ashen.

That trade cost him nearly forty million dollars, a scar he least wants to mention on Wall Street.

"The market hasn't closed yet," Lin Haoran said gracefully as he walked past him. "Why rush to put on a one-man show?"

He went straight to Walter Riston's office, and the chairman's secretary immediately stood up when he saw him: "Mr. Lin, the chairman is waiting for you."

Upon entering the chairman's office, Walter Riston immediately stood up from his chair, his voice tinged with apology: "Lin, you've seen today's newspapers, haven't you? I need to explain yesterday's statement."

“No need to explain,” Lin Haoran interrupted calmly. “Business is business, everyone has their own opinion, and I understand.”

Walter Riston looked slightly surprised, then his expression turned admiring: "I admire your magnanimity, but..."

He changed the subject, "The market continued to rise this morning, and your prediction seems to be..."

"Perhaps, I'm not a god, am I?" Lin Haoran smiled and said.

He no longer intended to explain the impact of Reaganomics to Walter Riston; it was unnecessary.

Citibank won't trust him in the future if they don't suffer this loss.

This is also a good opportunity for him to expand his influence within Citibank.

Seeing that Walter Riston did not continue to speak, Lin Haoran smiled and continued, "Mr. Walter, please rest assured that even if we have different opinions, our relationship will not change. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

“Oh, right, Mr. Lin, if you’re not busy today, please stay at the Citibank Building. There’s an important board meeting at 2 p.m.,” Walter Riston finally said.

"Oh? Initiated by Mr. Miller?" Lin Haoran asked, a thought striking him.

“Yes, Lin, it was Mr. Miller who initiated it. I think you should know the reason for it. John Reed may have made a big mistake this time.” When he mentioned John Reed, Walter Riston gave Lin Haoran a meaningful look, his eyes full of regret.

It was as if they were blaming Lin Haoran for leading John Reed astray.

The evidence provided by Richard Miller still left Walter Riston with a hard time accepting it.

He didn't expect that John Reed would actually listen to Lin Haoran's judgment and make the corresponding investment arrangements.

Did he really misjudge John Reed?

He originally really saw John Reed as his successor. He had been at the helm of Citibank for more than a decade and it was time for him to retire and hand over the reins to a younger and more capable person.

John Reed's performance over the years has indeed satisfied him greatly, so he values ​​John Reed highly.

But it was indeed disappointing to Walter that John Reed would so readily trust the judgment of an outsider and put Citibank's funds at risk.

Hopefully, today's meeting will make them reconsider their decision!
Lin Haoran nodded. It seemed that Miller had finally made his move. He hadn't expected Miller to launch an attack so soon after returning to New York.

It seems that Miller's confidence began to swell because his speech at MIT was met with unanimous opposition from almost all the top economic experts in the United States. He believed that he could take this opportunity to bring down John Reid.

So, is Miller about to "close the net"?

But Miller probably didn't know that all of this was just a scheme set up by Lin Haoran and John Reed.

Originally, Lin Haoran had no problem with this Miller director, but ever since Li Guowei was "bought off," he could no longer tolerate this person at Citibank.

Anyone who dares to lay a hand on those around him will have to pay the price of being expelled from Citibank!
Moreover, kicking Miller, that disgusting troublemaker, out of the board of directors would enhance John Reid's prestige at Citibank, which would be more beneficial for him as well.

As for shorting US stocks, John Reed has been secretly preparing for the operation and is currently still in the targeted investigation stage, so it will not be discovered in the first place!

Lin Haoran understood the situation, but remained outwardly calm: "Mr. Walter, I don't know what happened. As you know, I've been in Boston for a while and only returned to New York last night."

Walter Riston opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't continue. Instead, he said, "Whether you know it or not, I hope you can attend the board meeting this afternoon, as this matter is directly related to your judgment."

Lin Haoran nodded slightly: "Of course, I will attend on time."

After leaving the chairman's office, Lin Haoran went straight to John Reed's office.

When I pushed open the door, John Reed was standing by the window, looking down at the bustling street below with a slight frown.

Upon hearing the door open, John Reed immediately turned around and, seeing Lin Haoran, beamed with delight.

Lin Haoran was about to say something, but John Reed quickly shook his head, signaling Lin Haoran to keep quiet.

Just as he was looking at the other person with suspicion, John Reed strode over to Lin Haoran and whispered in his ear, "Don't talk about our business. There must be a bug in the office."

Lin Haoran suddenly realized something. A glint flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and laughed loudly, "Mr. John, I heard you've been having some trouble with your investments lately?"

John understood, and sighed with feigned annoyance, "Well, let's not talk about that anymore. You'll find out this afternoon."

The two exchanged a knowing smile and began to put on their act without tacit agreement.

After exchanging a few trivial words, John Reed finally couldn't help but whisper in Lin Haoran's ear, "Mr. Lin, let's go down to the office at Foresight Capital and find an empty office to talk. I have something important to discuss with you!"

Lin Haoran nodded, which was taken as an agreement.

The two left the office one after the other, and then took the elevator to the floor where Foresight Capital's office was located.

The news quickly reached Miller's office.

“Mr. Miller, they didn’t discuss anything substantial in the office before leaving,” a subordinate hurriedly reported as he entered Miller’s office.

"What?" Miller jumped up from his chair. "Where did they go?"

"According to the elevator directions, it went to the floor where Foresight Capital is located. We only installed a bug in Mr. John Reed's office there; we didn't install one anywhere else," the subordinate replied.

The subordinates' message was clear: if John Reed wasn't speaking in his office, they couldn't eavesdrop.

Miller nodded and said, "Understood. Go back to work and continue listening. If you can't hear anything, then forget it."

For him, he already had enough evidence to deal with John Reed, so it didn't matter if he couldn't eavesdrop on the conversations at Foresight Capital.

After his men left, Miller stood by the window, gazing at the bustling street below, a smug smile playing on his lips.

He could almost see John Reed looking pathetic at the board meeting, and he could see himself at the pinnacle of power at Citigroup.

"John, John, this time you're finally going to fall into my hands," Miller muttered to himself, a triumphant gleam in his eyes.

He had been waiting for this opportunity for several years, and now it had finally come to him!

Meanwhile, in an empty office at Foresight Capital, Lin Haoran and John Reed sat down.

“This office is not used regularly, so there is absolutely no listening device!” John Reed said confidently.

"Mr. John, how did you know your office was bugged?" Lin Haoran asked curiously.

"I don't know, these are just my guesses, but based on my understanding of Miller, he is very likely to do so. Now is a critical moment, and we have to take precautions."

"Miller, and the forces behind him, have always been ruthless. I believe he'll use any underhanded trick to bring me down," John Reed explained.

Lin Haoran exclaimed in surprise, "Mr. John, I didn't expect you to be so cautious!"

"Let's not talk about that anymore, Mr. Lin. You probably already know that Citibank will be holding an executive board meeting at 2 p.m., which was initiated by Richard Miller."

His purpose is self-evident. We've laid so much groundwork, and it seems he's finally ready to make his move. John Reed then changed the subject.

(End of this chapter)