A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

In late September, after the Plaza Accord was published in the media, the yen depreciated significantly, with the exchange rate falling to around 220.

In March, the USD/JPY exchange rate was still at 260, which is equivalent to a drop of 15%. More importantly, the Plaza Accord stipulated that the USD/JPY exchange rate should fall by 20% from 250, that is, below 200.

As a result, countries began selling off dollars, and governments caused the dollar to fall.

Kuril Islands Prefecture, Japan.

Thousand Islands Bank.

"President, the president of Art Electronic Company, Yuda Ying, has arrived!"

Upon hearing the report from his staff, Norio Ohga felt as if the end of the world was nigh.

It turns out that Yu Tianying (Chen Wenying) of EA commissioned Chiba Bank to short the 'USD/JPY' exchange rate, with a margin of 20 million US dollars and leverage to 2 billion US dollars.

Norio Ohga believed that the possibility of the yen appreciating was extremely low, so he had Chiba Bank 'intercept' Amada Ei's funds, which was equivalent to implementing a betting agreement.

As expected, this move cost Chiba Bank over 2 million US dollars, though it hadn't yet "collapsed" at that point.

Chen Wenying walked into Norio Ohga's office with a smile. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he said, "President Ohga, please help me close my short position. I plan to exit with a profit."

Norio Ohga quickly said, "Ameda-kun, the dollar to yen exchange rate is likely to fall further. Why don't we wait a little longer?"

"not necessary"

Chen Wenying was overjoyed. Judging from Norio Ohga's expression, he guessed that the other party had indeed fallen for the trap. Moreover, the information he had obtained from bribing people at Chiba Bank confirmed this: Chiba Bank had not actually completed the transaction on the international market.

"President Oga, you didn't give me a fake transaction slip, did you?!"

Norio Ohga was taken aback, then quickly said, "How is that possible?"

Chen Wenying said with a smile, "I heard that Chiba Bank did not place any large short orders in the foreign exchange market. Of course, I can ignore that, but please close my position immediately. I plan to take profits. Of course, as you predicted, I actually think it will drop to 200 by the end of the year, and I think I will make even more money then."

Seeing Chen Wenying's smiling face, Norio Ohga immediately realized that he had probably fallen into a trap.

Now, he either has to "take over," but if that happens, Chiba Bank will suffer a direct loss of more than 2 million US dollars. In that case, he will inevitably be disgraced, ousted by the board of directors, and may even face imprisonment.

Either
Ohga Norio was jolted awake, as if grasping at a straw, and said, "Amada-kun, save me! I'm willing to do anything for you, including acquiring Chiba Bank."

Chen Wenying felt a pang of regret for not coming, after all, it was over 2 million in profit, was it worth it?
But he soon realized that his goal was to acquire Chiba Bank, not the $2 million profit. His father must have already arranged for other funds to enter the foreign exchange market; that was the family's main source of income, and he was just bait.

Chen Wenying immediately said, "President Dahe, what do you mean by this? Could it be that you really didn't short sell, but instead used fake documents to deceive me? You should know that this can lead to jail time."

Norio Ohga knew that if he didn't become Amada Ei's 'dog,' he would die a terrible death.

He could only first explain the whole story, then beg Chen Wenying for forgiveness and offered to do anything.

Chen Wenying didn't need to get any proof from Norio Ohga; he only needed to "not close the position for the time being" to control Norio Ohga.

"It's not impossible! If you help me acquire Chiba Bank, I can tear up your documents."

Norio Ohga was overjoyed and readily agreed.

At this point, the acquisition of Chiba Bank is a done deal.

It's quite simple. This bank's shares are relatively dispersed, and it is managed by a professional management team headed by Norio Ohga. The shares are held by the board of directors.

The reason Chen Wenying waited for an opportunity was not because the equity was difficult to acquire, but because he wanted to gain a good reputation, that is, to make it a bona fide acquisition.

With Norio Ohga acting as an inside man and the other shareholders being so dispersed, the acquisition will be easy and a friendly one; moreover, it will significantly reduce costs.

On the Italian coast, Chen Guangliang's new superyacht, "Tranquility," has been put into service.

He didn't make a big fuss about it, and the 'Tranquility' was even registered under a company's name, so it was bound to be reported by the media sooner or later.

However, on the day the 'Serenity' was put into service, Chen Guangliang did something 'out of line'. Instead of having his four wives and concubines come to celebrate with him, he invited his new generation of lovers—Donatella, Lizhi, Guan Jiahui, and Monica—to his 'Serenity'.

Of course, these four women also brought along their four children with Chen Guangliang, each of whom had a son.

A fragrant breeze wafted by, and Chen Guangliang, standing on one of the two glass curtain walls facing the 'salon area' on the deck, was immediately struck by its beauty.

Four lovers, dressed in bikinis, walked towards him in a sexy and alluring manner. Their styles were very different, but they all had one thing in common—they were BIG!
Even Guan Jiahui, thanks to Chen Guangliang's early development, was close to a D-level size, but she was indeed the smallest.

Donatella is undoubtedly the most powerful queen, Lizhi and Monica are about the same, and Guan Jiahui is at the bottom.

At this time, Chen Guangliang was wearing a pair of boxer shorts. Although he was 75 years old, he had the physique of a middle-aged man and no age spots. He looked like he was only in his early forties.

"Darling, did you have any special plans for bringing the four of us together this time?" Donatella, the 'eldest sister' of the four women, sat down next to Chen Guangliang first and said coquettishly.

Chen Guangliang took the opportunity to put his arm around her slender waist and buried his head in her deep eyes, but only touched her without moving.

"I have many ideas, but I don't know if I can get the cooperation of the four beauties!"

The four women all muttered something, clearly still feeling a bit awkward.

Donatella and Monica are like sisters, as are Kwan Ka-wai and Lee Chi. However, this is the first time the two groups of sisters from China and abroad have met, although they have already gotten to know each other for a day.

Guan Jiahui quickly sat down on the other side of Chen Guangliang and said coquettishly, "Aren't you afraid we'll get angry and never talk to you again?"

"Know yourself and know your enemy, what is there to worry about? You little girl, you've been with me for seven or eight years, do you think I don't know you? If you wanted to run away, you would have run away long ago. You're even going to have my baby!"

Guan Jiahui hooked her arm around the man's and said coquettishly, "Uncle."

Back then, she was still young and naive, and became this man's caged bird. She never regretted it, never thought of taking the money and leaving, and didn't even dare to consider 'climbing the social ladder'; she submitted to this man in everything. After some banter, the five of them walked towards the pool on the deck, enjoying the life under the blue sky and white clouds.

During this reunion, Chen Guangliang not only gave each of his four daughters and four children US$2000 million in cash (mainly for investment), but also decided to set up a family office for this "small family" in Zurich with an initial capital of US$1 million.

In other words, Chen Guangliang expects to spend US$1.8 million on them and their children within three months.

Of course, this is stress-free.

Although he had already distributed his businesses to his fifteen children before the 1980s, his other assets were mostly held in the form of a family office and a family foundation.

However, Chen Guangliang still has two to three billion Hong Kong dollars in his personal account.

Moreover, during this period of yen appreciation, Chen Guangliang personally engaged in foreign exchange speculation, entrusting Ping An Investment to invest 200 million US dollars in foreign exchange trading, and has now made a profit of about two times.

Based on the yen's exchange rate, the USD/JPY exchange rate could reach approximately 120, which Chen Guangliang anticipates could yield a profit of over one billion US dollars. As for the Chen family business, it primarily focuses on investments in Japanese real estate and securities, and does not involve themselves in the futures or foreign exchange markets.

It can be said that Chen Guangliang's heart is still young, and he still wants to create great wealth for these four women and children.

night.

The sauna on the "Tranquility" was anything but tranquil. Four alluring women, all dressed in black bodysuits and stockings, were taking a sauna with Chen Guangliang.

Hutchison Whampoa has established its first overseas office in London. At the opening ceremony, CEO Simon Murray said that Hutchison Whampoa is looking for acquisition targets and has the capacity to invest US$10 billion in Europe over the next 12 to 18 months.

Ma Shimin said this in front of reporters, so it was published in Hong Kong newspapers immediately, creating a significant public opinion.

Since Jardine Matheson announced its relocation in 1984, news about the Chan family's relocation has been constant. Chan Man Kit, as the family representative, has also come forward to respond, stating that Cheung Kong has absolutely no intention of relocating its registration.

Now, facing renewed public opinion, Chan Man-kit once again addressed the Hong Kong media, saying:

"What Simon Murray really meant was: if there are suitable targets, Hutchison Whampoa is capable of investing US$10 billion overseas within the next five years."

In a later interview, Simon Murray continued to make pronouncements: "Hutchison Whampoa has already established a set of guidelines for overseas expansion. These guidelines include that the overseas companies acquired must be of a certain size, have reasonable profits and assets, not be engaged in labor-intensive businesses, and must be in businesses that Hutchison Whampoa is familiar with. The regions where they are located must be politically stable, have a sound economy, a reasonable tax structure, and facilitate the repatriation of profits. In addition, currency and population are also important considerations."

In any case, Hutchison Whampoa's move marks the beginning of its overseas expansion.

In fact, Hutchison Whampoa's parent company, CK Asset Holdings, has long been developing overseas, with substantial properties in Singapore, Japan, and Canada.

A villa in London.

After his vacation, Chen Guangliang had a gathering with his third wife.

At this time, the third wife's daughter, Chen Daiyi, was essentially "removed" from the Chen Guangliang family's business empire by marrying into the ducal family. She only received some properties and a small number of shares in the Harold Group as her dowry. It wasn't that Chen Guangliang had any objection to his daughter marrying into the ducal family; he was simply wary of the British ducal family eyeing the third wife's assets.

As a result, Chen Wen-ou of the third wife's family will inherit Mattel Group and Red Bull Europe, while Chen Wen-west will inherit Harrods Group (positioned as a luxury department store and luxury goods group) and the real estate finance business.

“Father, this is the planning proposal for Canary Wharf. Once we decide to invest, it will probably cost around £30 billion (approximately US$30 billion). And this is just an optimistic estimate!”

Chen Wenxi handed his father an internal document from the London government.

The London government established a semi-official development company, LDDC, to acquire land ownership. LDDC then partnered with private developers to transfer the land to private companies for development. This public-private partnership model avoided issues related to land ownership during development.

Given Audrey Hepburn's relationship with Thatcher and Chen Wenxi's performance in Britain and Europe over the years, this project was pre-arranged.

Chen Guangliang carefully reviewed the documents. He needed to carefully vet his son, as this project was far too massive.

He didn't doubt Chen Wenxi's abilities at the age of thirty, but sometimes ability alone couldn't solve problems; he needed 'luck'. In his previous life, Thatcher had agreed to the Canary Wharf Group's transportation plan, but later, due to differences in party governance, one light rail project was halted, almost causing the project to go bankrupt.

Of course, the London government was also afraid that this project would become the world's largest unfinished project, so the transportation network was eventually completed. The Canary Wharf Group did not truly succeed until the 21st century, and it was not until 2012 that it surpassed the number of employees of the City of London.

Ultimately, this project requires long-term investment.

If it weren't for the fact that the Hepburn family, the third branch of the family, needed strong political connections in the UK, Chen Guangliang might not have allowed them to get involved in this project. Of course, this project has a good long-term return, but it requires sufficient patience and strength.

Chen Guangliang looked at it for more than an hour before looking up at Chen Wenxi and saying, "Suppose we officially start operating in 1987, but the subway or light rail line might be suspended for a few years due to a change of government, are you confident that you can persevere?"

Chen Wenxi was very smart; he immediately understood that his father was simply presenting various difficult problems for discussion.

He immediately said, "From the family's perspective, we are naturally very confident. Especially with my father's guidance this time on shorting the dollar in the foreign exchange market, I can continue to generate a large cash flow."

The US dollar is expected to depreciate by approximately 30-35% against the German mark, the Swiss franc, and the Italian lira over the next 17 months. Meanwhile, the Hepburn family's loans from European banks, with annual interest rates as low as 6%, still yield substantial profits.

So in this round, Chen Guangliang gave Chen Wenxi the foreign exchange of US dollars against the currencies of three European countries, intending for him to earn hundreds of millions of US dollars to help his business.

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "Good, you were able to think of the family's heritage first, which shows that you have grown up. You are fifteen brothers and sisters, and although you may seem to be doing your own thing, the family keeps you closely connected."

In other families, perhaps "even close brothers should keep clear accounts," but in the Chen Guangliang family, as long as Chen Guangliang is alive, there is no need to be so clear-cut in crucial moments.

Chen Wenxi said respectfully, "Although my family is my backing, I believe that even if the Canary Wharf Group encounters some troubles along the way, in the long run, it will definitely be able to replace the City of London and become the Wall Street of Europe."

He also knew in his heart that even if something went wrong, there was no need to trouble the whole family; his second branch of the family was enough.

In the current arrangement by their father, the eldest brother is in charge of Mattel Group and Red Bull Europe, while he is in charge of Harrods Group and Canary Wharf Group. However, apart from these, the investment companies under their mother's control still manage a huge amount of assets.

Next, Chen Guangliang asked with concern, "What about Gucci?"

"Progress is going well. Maurizio has agreed to help us acquire his uncle's family's shares and to cooperate with Harold Group."

Maurizio is a third-generation member of the Gucci family, but he doesn't get along with his uncle's family. Bringing in an outsider is ideal. (End of Chapter)