I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 661, Section 660: "This is not an investment, this is a war!"
"President Fang, what evidence do you have?" Wu Jianguo asked immediately.

Fang Qingye did not answer immediately, but looked at the host and said, "Chairman Chen, I would like to have my Hong Kong branch team answer this question."

Chen Quanxun already knew that Fang Qingye had brought two assistants with her, so he nodded in agreement.

Fang Qingye immediately took out her phone and made a call. Less than two minutes later, footsteps were heard in the hallway, and then a man and a woman walked in.

She's a foreign girl!
The attendees looked at the blonde, blue-eyed Vasilisa and began to whisper among themselves.

This is a closed-door meeting for Chinese people, how come a foreign woman showed up?!

"Let me introduce you all. This is Ouyang Shaoqiang, manager of the Hong Kong branch of Tuofang Company, and this is Vasilisa, the branch's chief investment analyst. She is Russian, graduated with a master's degree in financial mathematics from Moscow State University, and also obtained a doctorate in financial mathematics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Richmond. She joined Tuofang Company last year."

Fang Qingye gave a brief introduction to Vasilysa, and then asked Dr. Vasilysa to explain some intelligence from the LME.

Fang Qingye repeated the explanation to Vasilisa in English. The girl nodded, opened her laptop, and began to explain in English, while Ouyang Shaoqiang acted as the translator.

"According to intelligence our team obtained from the LME, Trafigura, Mercuria, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and Wall Street investment banks have conspired to short copper futures in secret, which they call the 'Copper Heart Plan.' The goal is to drive the price below $4000, triggering panic selling by Chinese long positions, and then they will buy in at an even lower price to control the physical copper supply chain."

Vasilisa's words caused another uproar in the room, and someone immediately questioned her: "Dr. Vasilisa, where did you get this information from, and is it true and reliable?!" It was Wu Jianguo who spoke again.

Unfortunately, he was speaking in Chinese, and Ouyang Shaoqiang didn't translate. Vasilisa couldn't understand him and looked at him blankly.

"Everyone, please be quiet and let Vasilisa finish speaking!" Chen Quanxun stood up to stop everyone's discussion, and then gestured to Vasilisa to continue speaking. The girl continued.

"Please look at the big screen, everyone." Vasilisa opened a PowerPoint presentation.

"The funds shorting the copper market did not come from a single source; the companies involved collaborated, forming a tiered, rhythmic 'three-stage rocket' propulsion model:"
"Level 1: The traders laid the groundwork with 'spot ammunition,' with Trafigura, Mercuria and Mitsui & Co. playing the role of 'spot ballast.'"

"They are using their global warehousing and logistics networks to systematically and on a large scale make copper, which is mainly hidden in private warehouses in Europe and Africa, visible and register it in LME-approved warehouses in Busan, South Korea, New York, USA and Singapore."

The movement, storage, and insurance of these massive physical commodities generated enormous cash flow demands. They used their copper warehouse receipts as collateral to obtain revolving credit lines and structured trade finance from Wall Street investment banks at extremely low interest rates. This money was used to cover the costs of physical operations and also became the "ammunition" for their next move.

"Their strategic objective is to create a sense of panic about an impending 'supply surge' in the physical realm, providing 'seeing is believing' data support for short selling. Every increase in the LME inventory report psychologically puts pressure on the bulls."

Level Two: Investment Banks' "Financial Derivatives" Amplification: These investment banks use the fees and interest earned from traders' collateralized financing business, along with their own capital, to directly establish massive short positions in copper futures. They are not only brokers, but also "major short sellers" directly involved in the market.

More importantly, they designed and issued large quantities of structured notes and put options linked to copper prices, packaging these complex financial products and selling them to institutional investors, hedge funds, and wealthy private clients worldwide.

While providing financing, Wall Street investment banks simultaneously launched their proprietary trading and commodities departments.

Level Three: Coordination of psychological warfare through public opinion and information. According to intelligence...

There is ample evidence that a portion of the funds flowed to top public relations firms, industry consulting firms, and economists. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will release research reports that can be described as "doomsday reports" at the appropriate time, with sensational titles such as "The Myth of 'Chinese Demand' for Copper Prices Has Ended" and "Copper Will Fall to $4000 or Even Lower." These reports will then be widely reprinted by global financial media, further reinforcing pessimistic market expectations and inducing more trend-following hedge funds and retail investors to join the short-selling camp, creating a "herd effect."

"Gentlemen, this closed loop of cash flow is clear yet brutal:"
Traders create pressure on the spot market → obtain low-cost financing from investment banks → investment banks take advantage of this opportunity and information superiority to short sell and issue short-selling products → public opinion guides market sentiment → prices plummet → traders and investment banks close out their short positions at low prices and reap huge profits → at the same time, traders can redeem the copper warehouse receipts pledged during financing (which have depreciated due to the price crash) at a very low cost, or directly have investment banks dispose of the pledged assets (i.e., purchase physical copper at a low price), thus completing the harvesting of physical assets.

Vasilisa spoke for a full 40 minutes before she finished explaining the entire process.

The room fell completely silent.

The business owners were somewhat confused, but the participants in the financial futures industry looked at each other with fear in their eyes.

If this is indeed the case, copper futures prices will plummet!
After the two finished speaking, Fang Qingye stood up and said, "I obtained this intelligence in the airport waiting area while attending a meeting in Guiyang. It came from an intelligence company in the LME market, but I cannot disclose its specific name. Our team has carefully analyzed this intelligence and believes it to be accurate. Unfortunately..."

"We only obtained the general outline of the Copper Heart Project. As for the specific data, such as the specific amount of revolving credit lines and structured trade finance obtained from Wall Street investment banks at extremely low interest rates, the specific position size of the other party, etc., this is top secret intelligence of the other party, and we have no way of knowing it."

"Of course, some people will question the accuracy of this information, but just treat it as an interesting story," Fang Qingye said and sat down.

After Ouyang Shaoqiang and Vasilisa left, the meeting room erupted in discussion again, with constant controversy and doubts.

At this moment, Zhu Yunlai from CICC stood up and said, "Our intelligence analysis department at CICC has also obtained similar intelligence."

Zhu Yunlai said only one sentence before sitting down, but his words plunged the meeting room into silence.

Most of the people present know very well who Zhu Yunlai is and what kind of company CICC is.

His words confirmed the authenticity of the information!
After a few seconds of silence, discussions resumed, this time not with questioning but with a discussion of the seriousness of the matter.

Copper Heart Project!

These four words have been deeply engraved in the hearts of the participants.

At this moment, a middle-aged man sitting in the front row stood up, strode towards the podium, and looked serious.

Director He of the National Development and Reform Commission was also the highest-ranking official present at the meeting.

"Comrades, after listening to everyone's remarks, we should clearly realize that we are not facing a group of speculators, but a united fleet with financial capital at its core, industrial capital as its vanguard, and information capital as its cover. Their goal is not only to profit from price differences, but also to destroy pricing power, thereby controlling more strategic physical resources at the bottom of the cycle."

"This is not an investment, this is a war!" Director He's last sentence was thought-provoking.

(End of this chapter)