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

Chapter 675: Multiple sides win big, but the matter is not yet settled.
"Report this to the president immediately." Takahashi Taro paused for a moment, then sneered, "Run? Even if he runs to the ends of the earth, the intelligence department will find him!"

Recently, the London Metal Exchange (LME) Regulatory Committee made significant progress in its investigation into its warehousing data, confirming that Mitsui & Co. had engaged in long-term and systematic falsification of data reporting, and subsequently imposed a hefty fine of US$100 million on the company.

This incident quickly drew widespread attention in the international market and had a significant impact on the LME's warehousing reputation and the transparency of metal trading.

Mitsui & Co. subsequently issued a public apology to its global investors on its official website, acknowledging serious deficiencies in its internal controls and compliance processes, and stating that it would fully cooperate with subsequent rectification efforts.

At the same time, it was emphasized that the fraud was "an individual employee's violation of regulations," and it was claimed that senior management was unaware of it.

The head of the inventory management section of the metals division and one employee were criminally indicted by the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office on charges of dereliction of duty and securities market manipulation. Two department heads from the Finance and Investment Division and the Non-Ferrous Metals Division were dismissed, and Taro Takahashi, the managing director in charge of these divisions, resigned.
This event also quickly spread in the LME futures market, with short sellers suffering heavy losses and long positions gaining momentum. The price of the ACD main contract recovered the $5000 mark in one fell swoop.

Market analysts point out that Goldman Sachs, Red Kite, and Mitsui & Co. suffered heavy losses in this copper futures battle, with each incurring losses of around $10 billion.

Two days ago, a typhoon hit Nanxin, leaving the Four Seasons Nursery in a mess. Workers were busy cleaning up the flowers and seedlings damaged by the typhoon and clearing away the mud.

Fang Qingye was sitting in her office on the second floor, talking on the phone with Ouyang Shaoqiang in Hong Kong.

"Boss, the other side's Copper Heart Project has failed, and all the major short sellers have suffered heavy losses. But according to intelligence analysis, they won't give up so easily. Mitsui & Co.'s balance sheet problems are much more serious than publicly disclosed—they have at least $100 billion in debt that depends on copper prices remaining below $4500 to cover. Now that it has risen to $5000, they need a lower price to revalue their assets and avoid triggering a margin call."

"How exactly will it be done?" Fang Qingye asked, taking a sip of tea.

"This time, they're serious about the spot market battle," Ouyang Shaoqiang laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Based on AI model analysis, they plan to use every available VLOC (Very Large Ore Carrier) to transport at least 15 tons of hidden inventory from hidden warehouses in Europe, mainly non-LME registered warehouses in Rotterdam, to Asia within the next four weeks. The goal is to push Singapore's LME registered inventory to a historical high of over 35 tons, creating a visual impact."

"Perfect timing! Your intelligence confirms this: the first ship, the 'Ocean Behemoth,' has departed from Hamburg loaded with 4.2 tons of Chilean cathode copper and is expected to arrive in Busan in 23 days. The second ship, the 'Pacific Dawn,' is loading 3.8 tons of African copper in Rotterdam, destined for Singapore. All of this will be reflected in the LME weekly inventory report as a 'surge in visible inventories.' Boss, your intelligence is quite accurate!"

Fang Qingye chuckled but did not answer.

This was sent by Smith, but Fang Qingye did not tell Ouyang Shaoqiang any information about Smith.

"Go on."

"Okay, we also analyzed that there is an 87% probability that the Fed's September FOMC meeting will be accompanied by a 25 basis point rate hike. This will increase the annual opportunity cost of holding commodities such as copper with zero interest rates by nearly 1.2%, forcing more index funds and ETFs to sell their long copper positions."

Fang Qingye listened and pondered for a moment: "So short selling in the futures market is just a facade; the real battle lies in the physical control of spot inventory?"

“Yes.” Ouyang Shaoqiang said on the other end of the phone, “Whoever controls the physical inventory and logistics nodes holds the anchor of pricing power. Right now, they are sparing no expense, spending $35 a day to rent VLOC fleets, trying to make this oversupply drama as big as possible.”

"Thank you for your hard work. I will pass this information on to CICC. It just so happens that Mr. Zhu is coming to my nursery for tea this weekend," Fang Qingye said with a smile.

Zhu Yunlai really came to have tea.

During a meeting in Guiyang in early July, he told Fang Qingye that once they got through this difficult time, he would come to her nursery for tea when he had time.

Two days ago, Fang Qingye received a call from Zhu Yun, who said she was coming to Shanghai for a meeting and would visit Nanxin on the weekend.

It was a cloudy day, and the weather wasn't too hot. Zhu Yun arrived in Nanxin at 10 a.m., and Fang Qingye had already brewed tea in the pavilion and was waiting for his arrival.

"Ms. Zhu, please try my cold-brewed tea made from Dancong tea." Fang Qingye smiled and poured Zhu Yunlai's teacup with the teapot.

Cold brew tea is an extraction method that involves steeping tea leaves in cold water for an extended period of time, typically 6-12 hours, to slowly extract polyphenols, amino acids, and other substances. Fang Qingye uses an ice drip brewing pot, with ice on top, a filter in the middle, and tea in the bottom. The tea is dripped into the bottom container and chilled for 2 hours to allow the flavors to meld, resulting in a purer taste.

Zhu Yunlai picked up the teacup, took a sip, and exclaimed, "Not bad, sweet and refreshing. I've been a bit anxious and stressed lately, so this tea will help me cool down."

"Hehe, Mr. Zhu, things are basically settled, can you rest assured now?" Fang Qingye said.

Zhu Yunlai chuckled. He naturally understood the meaning behind Fang Qingye's words. He took another sip of tea before saying:

"Wall Street's copper heart project has failed, but the matter is far from over. Those Wall Street bigwigs and international traders will not give up easily. According to my sources, they have shifted their focus from futures to spot trading."

"Hmm." Fang Qingye nodded in agreement. "I received similar news. Please wait a moment." After saying that, Fang Qingye stood up and walked towards her office on the second floor. She returned a few minutes later with a stack of documents in her hand.

"This is a summary of data analysis and intelligence obtained from other sources by the Hong Kong branch, for your reference."

Zhu Yunlai put down her teacup, took the documents, and looked at them carefully. After a while, she looked up and sighed softly, "It seems this is going to be a tough battle."

Fang Qingye then noticed that Zhu Yunlai's temples seemed to have many more gray hairs than when she was at the Lujiazui Forum.

So he comforted him, saying, "Yes, but I think they can't win in the futures market, let alone the spot market. After all, we have a large number of copper mining companies such as Jiangxi Copper and Minmetals Industry, as well as the State Reserve Bureau. We can adjust the spot reserves at our own pace. Mr. Zhu, don't overwork yourself and take care of your health."

"Hehe. You really need to take care of your health. I've been feeling a bit weak lately," Zhu Yunlai said with a smile. "Once I finish this task assigned to me, I plan to resign."

"You want to resign?"

“Yes, CICC should hand over this responsibility to the younger generation.” Zhu Yunlai said, then looked at the lush flowers in the nursery: “I also want to take a break, drink some tea, plant some flowers, and enjoy life.”

“Great! Come have some tea here whenever you have the time,” Fang Qingye said.

"Okay."

This high-profile copper futures battle ended with a partial victory for Chinese companies, including CICC, while Wall Street investment banks and the three major international traders suffered heavy losses.

However, the struggle for pricing power in copper has not ended. It has quietly shifted from the futures market to the spot market. It is no longer a battle of numbers on a screen in the trading hall to decide the outcome, but a silent but more deadly and protracted contest taking place in global cargo ships, warehouses, trade contracts and settlement systems.

The war continues.

However, private investment companies, including Fang Qingye's Tuofang Company, have completed their missions, with futures prices above $5000 per ton, and his own funds have gradually withdrawn.

After more than two months of fierce competition, Topway Corporation earned a total profit of US$4.58 million, which can be considered quite substantial.

This time, Ouyang Shaoqiang's Hong Kong branch performed exceptionally well as the main force of Tectonic Technology. Therefore, Fang Qingye decided to completely separate the Hong Kong branch and reorganize it into a hedge fund wholly owned by Tectonic Technology, named Tectonic Capital Management, with tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in capital, becoming an undeniable force in the capital market.

As September approached and the weather gradually cooled down, Bai Ou, who had been on maternity leave for nearly three months after her parents returned from their trip to the United States, couldn't stand it anymore and insisted on going to work in Shanghai. Her family couldn't dissuade her and had no choice but to let her go.

This morning, Bai Ou, carrying her son and mother, along with bags of baby supplies, took a car to Shanghai. Fang Qingye asked Yue Kai to drive them there, and he was only at ease after settling them in at the villa in Shanghai.

Of course, he also had another important matter to attend to in Shanghai: to visit Ele.me headquarters and discuss with executives the upcoming pilot program for social security for delivery riders.

(End of this chapter)