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

Chapter 754, Chapter 753: "Man proposes, God disposes."

Just then, a middle-aged man in his early forties, dressed in a dark suit, walked over from another group of people with a wine glass in his hand. He looked at Fang Qingye with a smile and extended his hand: "President Fang, hello! I am Zhang Jinchuan from CICC (Hong Kong) Investment Banking Company."

Fang Qingye had no recollection of Zhang Jinchuan; it was clearly their first meeting. However, his enthusiasm was likely due to the presence of Zhu Yunlai, the former CEO of CICC.

After the two shook hands, as expected, Zhang Jinchuan continued, "President Zhu often mentions you and speaks highly of you. He said that in last year's battle in LEM copper futures, you were the key figure in turning the tide and defeating the Wall Street investment banks." He paused briefly and then added, "President Zhu was the CEO of CICC Hong Kong, and I was his assistant at the time."

That's it!

Fang Qingye immediately smiled and said, "President Zhu, you flatter me. It's mainly because President Zhu gave the right command." He spoke humbly.

Their conversation quickly attracted the attention of others. Li Zekai and Qin Feng stopped talking about horse racing, and the middle-aged man who had been chatting also ended his hushed English conversation. All eyes turned to Fang Qingye.

Zhu Yunlai not only came from a distinguished family, but he himself was also a prominent figure in the financial world. Especially during his tenure at CICC in Hong Kong, he led the company to handle almost all the overseas listing projects of a number of large state-owned enterprises, including China Telecom, PetroChina, Sinopec, China Unicom, PICC, and China Life, transforming CICC into the most internationally competitive investment bank in China at the time.

Due to his outstanding achievements, he was named one of the "25 Most Influential Business Leaders in Asia" by Fortune magazine in 2005, and he is a household name in Hong Kong's financial circles.

Even though he has now retired, his influence remains.

This unfamiliar young man was an old acquaintance of Zhu Yunlai, and Zhang Jinchuan, the general manager of CICC Xiangjiang, treated him with great courtesy.

The foreigner in his forties standing next to me couldn't help but ask in slightly broken Chinese, "Mr. Fang, last year in the LEM copper futures market, the bullish camp, led by CICC and including many Chinese state-owned and private capital firms, defeated the short sellers from Goldman Sachs, Red Kite Fund, Mitsui & Co., and other institutions. Among them, a Hong Kong hedge fund called Tuofang Fund performed particularly well... May I ask what your relationship is with this company?"

“Hey…that’s Chairman Fang’s company.” Before Fang Qingye could speak, Qin Feng had already answered first.

“Oh… I finally meet you in person!” Guo Charlie introduced himself: “I am Crawford, Chairman of Global Banking for Asia Pacific at HSBC. My Chinese name is Guo Charlie Fang. Your Tuofang Fund and your name, Fang Qingye, are now very well-known in the international investment banking circle, in your Chinese terms.”

In other words, he's a thorn in their side, right?

Fang Qingye added in her mind, but remained humble on the surface: "Mr. Guo Charlie, you flatter me."

At this moment, the other middle-aged man who had been talking privately with Guo Charlie introduced himself: "Hello, Mr. Fang, I am Zheng Zhipeng from New World Development. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zheng. I am also honored to meet you here." Fang Qingye shook hands with him politely.

Zheng Zhipeng is the vice president of New World Development and the future successor of the family business. Unlike the third generation, Li Changxi, who is still gaining experience, he has already taken control of a considerable portion of the family conglomerate's real power.

"Hey, Qin Feng, didn't you say he was the chairman of Ele.me? How come he's also the controller of Tuofang Fund? And why does President Zhang call him 'bank president'?" Li Changxi asked curiously in a low voice.

"He is also the president of Jinghai Bank in mainland China. These are his identities."

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"

“He came to Hong Kong this time as the chairman of Ele.me to discuss listing matters, so naturally he used that title,” Qin Feng explained in a low voice. “He has too many identities to introduce them all at once.” “Almost messed things up!” Li Changxi glared at him and then turned to Fang Qingye, smiling broadly as he said, “Mr. Fang, my apologies, I forgot to formally introduce myself just now. I am Li Changxi, a director of Cheung Kong Holdings.”

"Hello, Mr. Li," Fang Qingye replied politely.

"I heard from Qin Feng that your Ele.me Group plans to go public in Hong Kong?" Li Changxi asked casually.

"Yes. However, Ele.me's shareholding structure includes both A and B shares, which conflicts with the current regulations of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. I am here today to communicate and exchange ideas with the relevant parties."

Not bad... I was just looking for an opportunity to explain the purpose of my trip to Hong Kong, and this person did a great job of being a straight man.

Fang Qingye thought to herself.

“Yes, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange currently does not allow listed companies to use an dual-class share structure, which is indeed outdated. Look at Nasdaq, the NYSE, the Singapore Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, and the Australian Securities Exchange in the United States; they all allow dual-class share companies to list. Nasdaq, in particular, has gathered many globally renowned dual-class share companies, such as Google, Facebook, Berkshire Hathaway, Netflix, etc., and they are thriving.” Zhang Jinchuan continued, supporting Fang Qingye.

He has his reasons: CICC Hong Kong holds multiple licenses issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, one of which is to be responsible for the IPO sponsorship and underwriting of domestic and foreign companies in Hong Kong and around the world!

Fang Qingye understood this implication perfectly well. He simply smiled slightly and remained silent.

Zheng Zhipeng remained silent and did not comment.

A delicate balance exists within Hong Kong's business ecosystem. The four major families and other conglomerates are deeply involved in various sectors, while core financial infrastructure such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are primarily government-led and avoided by the government. This tacit understanding, formed over history, maintains the stability of Hong Kong's business community.

Guo Charlie shook his head after hearing this: "Mr. Zhang, as you know, Sir Chow Chung-kong, the chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has a rather conservative style. It will be quite difficult to get him to agree."

“It’s all up to human effort… don’t you think so, President Fang?” Zhang Jinchuan smiled and threw the topic back to Fang Qingye.

"That's right. As the old Chinese saying goes, 'Man proposes, God disposes.'"

As the group conversed, the lights gradually dimmed, focusing their beams on the main stage. Ms. Hsiao Fang-fang, founder of the Child Protection Foundation, gracefully stepped to the microphone to deliver her opening remarks:

"Thank you so much for taking the time to attend this evening and supporting the work of the Protecting Children Foundation. Every act of kindness is a beacon illuminating a child's future; every generous donation builds a solid protective wall for the future of our society. On behalf of all the children who may benefit from this, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your compassion and kindness..."

The audience burst into warm applause.

After the speeches, the cocktail party officially began, and Fang Qingye followed Qin Feng around to get to know each other.

Qin Feng knows many people, including Jonathan Blake, Chairman of Asian Investment Banking at JPMorgan Chase; Zhou Guohua, President of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited; Eleanor Vance, Vice President of Institutional Business for Asia Pacific at BlackRock; and Chen Qiren, Executive Director of Hong Kong Wing On Group. Of course, Fang Qingye had met some of them once at the Cloud Account Summit held in Shanghai last year, and some were introduced to each other.

The fine wines created a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere in the banquet hall, but this was just a warm-up for the main event of tonight's charity fundraising dinner—the auction.

(End of this chapter)