Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 464 Population and Markets

In mid-May, hundreds of international hedge funds, led by Quantum Fund and Tiger Fund, launched a fierce attack on Thailand's stock and foreign exchange markets.

After the probing in February, everyone understood the weakness of the Bank of Thailand and its insufficient foreign exchange reserves.

Faced with aggressive international speculators, the Thai government naturally intervened in the market, using its foreign exchange reserves to sell US dollars and buy Thai baht.
At the same time, it joined forces with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia to intervene in the spot market and spend money to purchase Thai baht;

Furthermore, domestic banks are strictly prohibited from lending Thai baht to international speculators, and overnight lending rates have been significantly increased.

Of course, the Thai government also has to deal with the media and information manipulation by international speculators—including coercing Thai banks to provide customer information on forward foreign exchange contracts, threatening to crack down on media outlets that publish negative news, and the police starting to track down people who publish negative news!

Downtown Los Angeles, California Plaza Phase 2 building.

Los Angeles has very few skyscrapers, with only a few in the downtown financial district and Century City, after all, this is an earthquake zone!

In the office of Charles Johnson, chairman of the Franklin Templeton Foundation, on a high floor of the building, Aaron sat on a sofa admiring the Los Angeles skyline.

"It seems that banks are about to embark on another wave of mergers and acquisitions!"

Looking at the First Intercontinental World Center building across from the Los Angeles City Library not far away, Aaron's words were tinged with regret; the building would probably have to be renamed.

However, Los Angeles residents generally refer to this building as the Library Building, as it is the tallest building in California.

Charles Johnson smiled. "Are you talking about Wells Fargo's acquisition of First Intercontinental Bank?"

Wells Fargo and First Intercontinental Bank are both large regional banks in California. Last year, Wells Fargo acquired First Intercontinental Bank, becoming the ninth largest commercial bank in the United States!

First Intercontinental Bank is a bank holding group with $580 billion in assets and 1133 branches in California and 12 western states.
But Wells Fargo's hostile takeover bid of $116 billion was successful.

"Although Wells Fargo's size increased significantly after acquiring First Intercontinental Bank, it has cut more than 5000 jobs in the six months since the merger to save costs, representing over 11% of its workforce."

"Right now, Wells Fargo is facing numerous problems, such as incompatible computing systems and queues at remaining branches."

"Moreover, the two banks have very different service models, leading to the loss of many top business personnel and customers;"

"As of now, Wells Fargo's deposits have fallen 1.5% month-over-month, loans have dropped 3%, stock prices have declined, and market capitalization has lost over $40 billion!"

Charles Johnson knew that Dawn had been doing business with First Intercontinental Bank, headquartered in Los Angeles;
Wells Fargo, headquartered in San Francisco, has now acquired First Intercontinental Bank, which will certainly have little impact on Dawn.

Dawn remains an important client of theirs!
Aaron stood up and stretched. "Why would I care about these things?"

"Is everything alright in Thailand?"

Charles Johnson also stood up, saying, "Don't worry, international speculative capital and investors are pessimistic about the Thai baht."

"How much of a role can the Thai government play with its limited foreign exchange reserves?"

Seeking support from other Asian countries? They're all in the same state of turmoil as Thailand; how much help could they possibly offer?
"However, you actually invested $20 billion in the Southeast Asian market, that's really bold!"

Aaron smiled. "It's a rare opportunity, of course I can't miss it..."

In the evening, Aaron picked up Wang Zhuxian at the Saxophone Fifth Avenue boutique in Beverly Hills, and then they went to the upscale restaurant at the Wilshire Hotel for dinner.

"Did something happen in Hong Kong that you came to the United States at this time?"

Aaron sipped his wine and asked. Wang Zhuxian shook her head. "No, Hong Kong is still the same, it's just that as July 1st approaches, the atmosphere there is becoming increasingly oppressive."

"I went to the mainland this time, planning to open a garment factory in Shenzhen."

"A garment factory, a manufacturing industry?" Aaron nodded. "That's feasible. The inland areas have a large population, which is a huge advantage."

"You should also know a little about the current situation in Southeast Asia. In the future, a large number of low-end manufacturing industries will move to China."

Moreover, China is currently working hard to negotiate with other countries to join the WTO. When that happens, China's economy will take off.

"Oh, you know about the clothing industry too?"

Aaron smiled and shook his head. "I'm not sure of the specifics, but in Southern California, employment in the garment industry is currently declining."

"Since the 1980s, Southern California, where Los Angeles is located, has been the largest garment manufacturing center in the United States, employing over 100000 people at its peak last year."

"Starting this year, the U.S. federal government and the California government raised the minimum wage, increasing costs for local garment manufacturers. Everyone is moving to low-cost developing countries, and the number of people employed in the garment industry in the Los Angeles area is declining sharply."

Wang Zhuxian nodded. "Yes, labor is cheap in mainland China, which is suitable for this kind of labor-intensive industry. That's why I have this plan!"

"You want to go into business now, does that mean you're no longer focusing on acting?"

"Well, I don't really want to film anymore. If Media Asia Films needs me, I'll do it too."

Aaron thought for a moment, "Alright, if you don't want to film, then don't. Going into the clothing business is a good option, and we could even co-own a large department store in mainland China."

"I can help with introducing some European and American brands!"

Aaron said, shrugging his shoulders. With his current status, it was too easy.

"Since we're going to be in garment manufacturing anyway, developing it into a branded chain store wouldn't be a bad idea!"

Wang Zhuxian smiled somewhat awkwardly, "I haven't thought that far ahead. Right now, I just want to start a garment factory first."

"After all, I had no prior business experience. I invested in Shinco VCD, but I didn't manage it. As for the audio-visual store I invested in, business was so-so."

"The piracy of cassette tapes, CDs, and VCDs is now extremely serious!"

Aaron wiped his mouth. "Don't worry, let's take it one step at a time. The massive shift in manufacturing is a global trend."

"Southeast Asia will suffer significant losses this time, while China's development in recent years has been quite good, and it is eager to attract foreign investment."

"Investing there would be a good idea; there's no shortage of market and population!"

As he spoke, Aaron thought for a moment and realized that he could acquire a chain store and expand into China.

"By the way, what do you think of that Saks Fifth Avenue boutique department store you frequent?"

"Ah, not bad, I quite like all the clothes inside!"

"Okay, I plan to acquire this chain of high-end department stores when the time comes..."

(End of this chapter)