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

Chapter 771 This is by no means a simple strategic investment! Rather, it may be a meticulously designed capital operation!

Fang Qingye was on her way to Yongjiang, while Lin Wei had already returned to her suite and was slowly sipping a cup of coffee.

The door was knocked open, and assistant Wang Jingyan walked in, asking in a low voice:
"Mr. Lin, are we really going to withdraw from this project? With the good working relationship between the investment bank and the Yongjiang government in the past, as well as your personal relationship with Secretary Wu of the municipal government, we can completely shut out Hengtai Securities and successfully take over the project."

Lin Wei glanced at her: "Jingyan, I think you know very well that the biggest beneficiary of securing the underwriting rights for these 30 billion yuan in local government financing vehicle bonds is not Goldman Sachs China, but Jinghai Bank! Why use company resources and even my personal connections?! We've already given Jinghai Bank this opportunity to cooperate; whether they can seize it is their business. It's fine if Hengtai Securities tries to disrupt things; I want to see if Fang Qingye has the ability to break the deadlock!"

After saying that, Lin Wei elegantly sipped her coffee.

Fang Qingye was arriving in a car.

The car sped south along the highway, the heavy rain still pouring down. Near the Jiangsu province border, the group stopped at a service area for a short rest, refueling and having a simple meal before continuing their journey.

As night deepened, the fields outside the window fell into deep darkness, with only a few scattered lights shining from the distant villages. Just then, Qingye's phone chimed, and WeChat popped up with data from Hengtai Securities sent by the Data Management and Analysis Department.

As a Hong Kong Stock Exchange main board listed company, collecting information was not difficult for Hengtai Securities. Fang Qingye quickly browsed through the information, and several pieces of information soon caught his eye:
Company registered address: Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Province

总部办公地址：燕京市金融大街17号中国人寿中心11楼（2016年9月19日起租用）

Major shareholder structure: Xicheng State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (holding 20.42%), Mintian Holdings (holding a total of 17.04%).

Mintian Holdings.

Fang Qingye smiled.

What a coincidence!
This morning I was still considering whether to contact the Mintian Group, but I didn't expect them to show up uninvited!

He quickly calculated the equity gap: Xicheng State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission was only 3.38 percentage points higher than Mintian Holdings.

Let's look at the subsequent shareholder list—Huazi Industry, Zhongchang Hengyuan, and Shencheng Yida.
Huazi Industry?

This is one of the important capital platforms under the Mintian Group!

A slight smile appeared on Fang Qingye's lips as she dialed Yang Ming's number in the Data Management and Analysis Department.

"Minister Yang, the information has been received. Immediately initiate a shareholding penetration analysis of Hengtai Securities. Focus on verifying whether there are any undisclosed concerted action relationships, voting rights delegations, or hidden connections among the top ten shareholders. Four layers of penetration, ultimately I need to know who its actual controller is."

"Time? The sooner the better, of course. I need to see the complete equity structure diagram and analysis conclusions before eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Qingye looked at the night view outside the window and fell into deep thought again.

It's a pity this is in Zhejiang Province. If it were in Jiangsu Province or Shanghai, would it be so troublesome?

I went straight to the relevant leaders!

At 8 p.m., the group arrived in Yongjiang city and checked into the Shangri-La Hotel, where Chen Danlu's team was staying.

Fang Qingye quickly washed up, made a cup of tea, and then Chen Danlu and Qian Duo knocked on the door and entered his suite.

"Sit down, you've had a long day." Fang Qingye gestured for the two to sit on the sofa. "Any new news?"

“Yes,” Chen Danlu continued, “Lu Guoxiong, deputy head of the Yongjiang negotiation team and general manager of Yongjiang City Investment, just called and said that the team leader—who is also Wang Zheng, the vice mayor in charge of finance and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission—is going to the province for an emergency meeting and suggested that the meeting be adjourned for a day.”

Before Fang Qingye could speak, Qian Duo interjected, "I think this is just an excuse! They're definitely secretly contacting people from Hengtai Securities!"

Qian Duo is in her early thirties, with a neat short haircut, and speaks in a rapid-fire, crisp manner.

Fang Qingye laughed after hearing this: "Why would a deputy mayor be doing this 'secretly'? He's just saving face for us. Fine... We'll have the day off tomorrow too. Director Qian, you ladies can go shopping."

The seven-person negotiation team sent by Jinghai Bank included Chen and Qian, along with five colleagues from investment, legal, and risk control departments, three of whom were women. Qian Duo muttered under her breath, "With negotiations going on like this, who's in the mood for shopping..."

“It’s all about balancing work and rest,” Fang Qingye said, taking a sip of tea. “Our focus is no longer on the Yongjiang local government, but on Hengtai Securities. Have you all read the materials that Minister Yang sent out? What are your thoughts?”

"President Chen, let me speak first." Qian Duo opened her notebook and spoke very quickly:
"According to the interim report disclosed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hengtai Securities' net profit for the first half of the year was RMB 1.98 million, a sharp drop of 83% year-on-year. According to the 'Measures for the Management of Risk Control Indicators of Securities Companies,' its risk coverage ratio must be maintained above 100%. Using RMB 1 billion of its own funds for a single bond investment is like a person weighing 100 pounds trying to lift a 1,000-pound cauldron! I suspect they may have used capital reserves for a specific purpose."

Chen Danlu, on the other hand, was much more composed, nodding in agreement: "That's true. A sharp drop in profits is often accompanied by a deterioration in cash flow. What we should be more concerned about is: Is Hengtai Securities facing huge liquidity pressure? Does it have any debts that are about to mature? At this critical juncture, instead of hoarding cash to weather the storm, locking up a huge amount of funds in a bond for a long time is tantamount to suicide. Unless... this 10 billion yuan is not a 'long-term investment' at all, but a 'bridge loan' with other intentions."

That hit the nail on the head.

Fang Qingye inwardly approved, but outwardly remained expressionless: "What you said makes sense. On the way, I called Minister Yang again and asked him to thoroughly analyze the equity structure of Hengtai Securities."

"Equity structure analysis?" The two asked in unison, both being industry veterans who instantly grasped the deeper meaning.

"President Fang, do you suspect that there are cross-shareholdings or related relationships among the top ten shareholders disclosed by Hengtai Securities, or even an undisclosed actual controller?" Qian Duo pressed.

Fang Qingye nodded.

"Otherwise, why would they do something so unusual? Something fishy must be going on."

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.

If this is true, it's definitely not a simple strategic investment! It could be a meticulously planned capital operation! There might even be some kind of conspiracy hidden behind it!

"Let's stop here for today. Everyone should get some rest. We'll discuss it again tomorrow morning after Minister Yang sends us the results. Also, President Chen." Fang Qingye said, looking at Chen Danlu, "Call Lu Guoxiong tomorrow morning and tell him that I'm treating their negotiation team to dinner tonight. If necessary, I'll call Mayor Wang personally."

"Ok."

“Okay, that’s settled. Note: Tonight’s conversation is only to be known by the three of us,” Fang Qingye reminded him.

"Understood! I will never tell Lin Wei of Goldman Sachs! That woman is watching from the sidelines, like she's enjoying the show!" Qian Duo felt angry when she recalled Lin Wei's tone when she called Fang Qingye that afternoon.

"President Qian, what's the matter?" Chen Danlu said calmly. "I've said it before, we are just business partners with her, definitely not friends. That woman... she's simply a beautiful snake."

It seems he still harbors resentment over Lin Wei's "trap" of him in their recent financial product collaboration.

"Alright, alright, that's enough talk. Go back and rest." Fang Qingye waved her hand with a smile.

After seeing the two off, Fang Qingye stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking towards the distant Yongjiang Port.

The port was brightly lit, and the work area remained busy, with the red signal lights of the tower cranes flashing regularly in the night. Further away, the river was pitch black, with only a few navigation lights stubbornly shining.

The city continues to function, and the game of capital never stops.

He stood quietly, lost in thought.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Which one?"

"I am Lin Wei. Is Director Fang still awake?"

"No," Fang Qingye replied, stepping forward to open the door.

Lin Wei was standing outside the door, holding a cup of coffee in her hand, a slight smile on her delicate face.

(End of this chapter)