Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"Mr. Chen, it's an honor to meet you!"

Zhou Muliang was a typical capable banker, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Even in this hot weather, he was still dressed in a suit and tie without a single wrinkle. Chen Dong simply shook hands with him briefly before they parted ways.

"Mr. Zhou, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Seeing that Chen Dong had no intention of continuing the conversation, Li Guangdong said to Chen Dong, "Mr. Chen, let's go upstairs first. Manager Mi and his group are already waiting in the room."

After saying that, Li Guangdong led the way, taking Chen Dong and his group directly into the elevator. The Lijing Hotel is a long-established hotel in Hong Kong, decorated very luxuriously. With a "ding" from the elevator, they arrived at the third floor.

The group walked on the thick, dark red carpet to the room numbered '303'. Li Guangdong gently tapped the sapele wooden door with his finger before pushing it open and making way for Chen Dong to go in first.

Inside the room, Mi Lian was holding a thick document and talking to a young man next to him. He looked up and saw Chen Dong enter. He smiled and stood up, "Zai Dong, you're here. Have a seat."

"President Mi, you guys are faster than me. I thought I'd have to wait for you here," Chen Dong said, pulling up his trouser leg and sitting down on the sofa next to Mi Lian.

Mi Lian picked up the cigarette pack, swiped a few cigarettes around, lit his own cigarette with a lighter, and then waved his hand to extinguish the lighter before saying, "Xiao Ma and I came directly from Shenzhen by car. It only took a little time to get through customs, but we were definitely faster than you guys."

"That's true," Chen Dong nodded. Seeing that the two had started chatting, Li Guangdong asked, "What would you like to drink, coffee or tea? I'll have the waiter bring it up."

"Tea, please. I don't like the coffee here in Hong Kong," Mi Lian casually replied. Chen Dong echoed, "Just serve tea. We're all Chinese, so let's not have coffee."

Li Guangdong paused on the phone, then pretended not to understand the deeper meaning in Chen Dong's words and called the front desk. After finishing all this, he came over and sat down. "Mr. Chen, President Mi, after we finish talking, I've made a reservation downstairs for a welcome dinner."

"No need, no need. I've finished my business here and have to rush to the airport. I really can't spare the time. I appreciate Minister Li's kindness," Chen Dong politely declined. "I'll treat Minister Li next time."

Mi Lian also shook his head and said, "Mr. Li, we have regulations. There are restrictions on hospitality during business trips, so it's really inconvenient."

The waiter quickly brought up the tea and food. Once everything was ready, the room door closed, and Li Guangdong sat up straight, handing Chen Dong the same document he had given to Mi Lian. "I invited you two to Hong Kong today to discuss some specific details regarding the framework we discussed in Tuocheng last time."

"Our Singapore Cabinet has agreed in principle to the general direction of bilateral currency swaps and third-party supervision of debt accounts. However, regarding specific terms, especially the way debt repayment is linked to swap quotas, Advisor Zhou has prepared a more detailed plan. Today, we will try to finalize the general framework, and the remaining technical details can be discussed later."

Chen Dong took the document from Li Guangdong and began to carefully review it. Seeing that Chen Dong and Mi Lian were both looking at the document, Zhou Muliang also opened his own document, which was entirely in English, and selected some important clauses to discuss. "Mr. Chen, President Mi, regarding the quota for the bilateral currency swap, the Singapore government suggests starting with the equivalent of 1.5 billion Singapore dollars, and conducting an assessment based on the actual clearing volume after one year of operation."

Chen Dong read slowly, letting Zhou Muliang talk as he carefully examined the document for any obvious loopholes. After nearly twenty minutes, Chen Dong finally closed the document, lit another cigarette, and waited until Mi Lian had finished reading before clearing his throat and saying, "Minister Li, Mr. Zhou, the measures and regulations in this document are very well thought out, but there are some details that I think should be mentioned in advance."

"Mr. Chen, please feel free to speak."

After tapping his cigarette ash, Chen Dong said, "Regarding the scope of use of the swap funds, Tuocheng International Bank only allows trade settlement and port logistics investment. Electronic product manufacturing is not within the scope of use of this swap currency. If Singapore wants to invest in China's electronics industry, it can go through the normal foreign investment channels and does not need to use swap funds to bypass it."

"As for the repayment ratio of historical debt, it cannot simply be 'extracting a certain percentage from the bilateral clearing service fee,' but must be clearly stated that half of the service fees collected by Singapore Bank and the Tuocheng Offshore Centre will be specifically used to repay historical debt for a period of fifteen years. This figure is not worth discussing further."

Chen Dong continued, "If Singapore feels that the 15-year term is too long, we can shorten it, but the annual repayment amount must be increased accordingly. In short, the total repayment amount must not be less, but the time limit can be adjusted flexibly."

Li Guangdong frowned deeply. He glanced at Zhou Muliang, who shook his head slightly, indicating that the conditions were much harsher than he had expected.

Li Guangdong coughed lightly. "Mr. Chen, half of the service fee is too high. The bilateral clearing business is just starting out. Singapore Bank still needs to invest a lot of manpower and resources to build the system and train personnel. If half of the service fee is taken from the beginning, our operational pressure will be very high."

"Minister Li," Chen Dong leaned back in his chair, his legs crossed, toes pointing directly at Li Guangdong, "that's not how you calculate it. Your Singapore Bank's investment in manpower and systems is a one-time thing, while the growth of bilateral clearing business is continuous."

Today you might think half is a little more, but by this time next year, if your business volume doubles, the absolute value of half will be more than your total service fees for the entire year now.

Milne nodded and added, "Minister Li, the debt has been delayed for a long time. If it is not paid off soon, Singapore's credit rating will always be a hidden danger. This swap plan is essentially using the credit of the Chinese yuan to back your Singapore dollars. If you can't even pay half of the service fee, the Chinese government will have to reconsider Singapore's sincerity in this deal."

Upon hearing this, Li Guangdong and Zhou Muliang looked at Mi Lian. Finally, Zhou Muliang spoke up, "President Mi, our Po County government is here with a sincere attitude to negotiate, but the one-time repayment ratio is simply too high. How about this, we'll increase it in stages, starting with 15% in the first year? What do you two think?"