Rebirth of the Hong Kong Millennium Conglomerate

Chapter 84 Selling Oil

After clearing out his crude oil futures positions, Zhang Zeyang immediately drove to the headquarters of Qiangu Group.

The atmosphere in the conference room on the top floor of the group was serious and solemn. Chief Financial Officer Zhou Mingyuan, Legal Director Chen Mo, Human Resources Director Lin Huimin, Administrative Manager Wang Kai, along with department heads, Mai Lisi, and Ma Shiming, had already been notified and were waiting there.

Zhang Zeyang pushed open the door and walked straight to the head seat of the conference table. He glanced at everyone present and said bluntly, "The futures liquidation work has been successfully completed. Now, it's time to start the crude oil spot liquidation plan."

As soon as he finished speaking, a slight commotion arose in the conference room. It should be noted that the scale of crude oil spot stockpiles held by Qian Gu Group was no less than that of futures contracts, and its value was already astronomical given the current surge in oil prices.

"However, the sale of spot crude oil cannot be conducted in the name of Qiangu Group." Zhang Zeyang changed the subject and said, "I have decided to establish a brand new company, Qiangu Energy Co., Ltd., and all spot crude oil will be sold in the name of this new company."

This decision surprised many, but upon reflection, it became clear that establishing an independent energy company was a way to achieve professional operation.

"Zhou Mingyuan." Zhang Zeyang looked at the financial director.

"Yes, Mr. Zhang." Zhou Mingyuan immediately straightened up, his gaze focused.

"You are in charge of Qian Gu Energy's registration, coordinating with all relevant departments such as industry and commerce and taxation, and ensuring that the registration process is completed as quickly as possible to obtain the business license."

"Understood! I guarantee to complete the core registration process within three days and obtain all operating licenses within a week!" Zhou Mingyuan solemnly promised.

"Chen Mo." Zhang Zeyang turned to the director of the legal department.

"Mr. Zhang," Chen Mo responded, adjusting his glasses and looking serious.

"You led the legal department to follow up on the registration process, reviewed all legal documents, ensured the company registration process was legal and compliant, and drafted various contract templates required for spot trading to avoid legal risks during the transaction process," Zhang Zeyang added. "Especially for clauses involving cross-border transactions, we had to fully consider the legal differences between different countries to ensure everything was foolproof."

"Please rest assured, Mr. Zhang, the legal department will oversee all legal risks to ensure the transaction proceeds smoothly," Chen Mo replied calmly.

Then, Zhang Zeyang's gaze fell on Lin Huimin, the HR director: "Director Lin, the company registration and staffing must proceed simultaneously."

You are responsible for coordinating the core personnel within the group, selecting professionals familiar with energy trading, marketing, and logistics to form the core team of Qiangu Energy.

At the same time, based on business needs, we are urgently recruiting a batch of supplementary personnel. They must possess strong professional skills and execution capabilities, and must complete the initial setup of the company within one week to ensure immediate commencement of spot sales operations.

"Received, Mr. Zhang. We will immediately begin personnel deployment and recruitment after the meeting, without delaying the work progress." Lin Huimin was already prepared, and the initial personnel plan was recorded in her notebook.

Finally, Zhang Zeyang looked at Mylis: "Mylis, you are the core person in charge of the crude oil business. You are in charge of the spot sales of Qiangu Energy."

In addition, you should immediately contact Vincent Fang of the Qian Gu Daily and have them cooperate in releasing a statement clearly informing the market that Hong Kong Qian Gu Energy Co., Ltd. has a large amount of crude oil available for sale, and also publish the company's contact information and address for negotiations.

"Okay, Mr. Zhang. I will contact the Qian Gu Daily immediately to ensure the news is published tomorrow, and at the same time, I will assemble a sales team and prepare to receive buyers from various countries."

"Very good." Zhang Zeyang nodded in satisfaction. "All departments must work together to efficiently advance all tasks. The establishment of Qiangu Energy is not only for clearing out existing inventory, but also an important step in the group's layout of the energy industry. I hope you can devote your utmost effort to successfully completing this task."

After the meeting, all departments immediately took action, and the entire Qian Gu Group was mobilized.

Zhou Mingyuan led his finance team in several groups to various government departments. Thanks to the group's influence and ample preparation, the registration process proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

Chen Mo's legal team worked through the night to draft various legal documents and contract templates to ensure that every clause was rigorous and standardized.

Lin Huimin coordinated internal staff allocation while simultaneously contacting headhunting firms for emergency recruitment, including interviews, hiring, and onboarding training.

Training is conducted simultaneously.

Mylis immediately called Vincent Fang of the Millennium Daily to discuss the details of the news release and ensure the accuracy of the information. At the same time, he began to sort out the spot inventory and formulate a sales strategy.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the tense yet orderly busyness.

Just four days later, Qian Gu Energy Co., Ltd. completed all the registration procedures, obtained its business license and relevant operating permits, and the core team was all in place. The office was located on another floor of the Qian Gu Group headquarters, with all the necessary facilities, ready to start business at any time.

Meanwhile, on February 18, 1974, a striking message appeared at major newsstands in Hong Kong—the front page of the "Qian Gu Daily" published an announcement with the headline: "Qian Gu Energy Co., Ltd. of Hong Kong is established, and a large quantity of crude oil spot is offered for sale."

The announcement was concise and clear, explicitly informing energy demanders in Asian countries and regions that Qian Gu Energy Limited currently holds a large-scale crude oil inventory with excellent quality and reasonable prices. It welcomes government energy departments, oil companies, shipping companies and other relevant entities from various countries to come to Hong Kong to discuss procurement matters, and also provides detailed information on the company's address, telephone number and contact person.

This news came like a bolt from the blue, instantly causing a huge uproar in the Asian energy market.

At that time, Asian countries were facing a severe oil shortage due to the Middle East oil embargo.

Countries like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, which are highly dependent on oil imports, have seen industrial production grind to a halt due to oil shortages, transportation has been severely affected, and many cities have even implemented strict blackout and power rationing measures.

Agricultural machinery and fishing vessels in Southeast Asian countries are also unable to operate normally due to fuel shortages, which has severely impacted food production and fishing.

Even some countries with a small number of oil fields are far from meeting their domestic demand and urgently need to purchase crude oil from the international market.

Against this backdrop, the news that Qian Gu Energy Co., Ltd. holds a large amount of crude oil spot inventory has undoubtedly brought hope to Asian countries mired in energy crisis.

On the day the announcement was released, Qian Gu Energy's phone lines were inundated with calls from buyers from more than a dozen countries, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, inquiring about purchasing matters. The phone rang incessantly, and the operators were overwhelmed with work.

The next morning, Qian Gu Energy's office welcomed its first batch of buyers.

Most of them rushed to Hong Kong from various countries overnight, their faces showing exhaustion but unable to hide their eagerness. As soon as they arrived at the company, they couldn't wait to discuss the details of the purchase.

The company's conference room and reception area were packed with people, their languages ​​mingling together, creating a tense yet exciting atmosphere.

Buyers have expressed their willingness to purchase crude oil at reasonable prices, and many companies have even offered to pay a premium in order to secure the supply.

Qian Gu Energy's sales team, following the strategy devised by Mylis, received each batch of buyers in an orderly manner, verifying their qualifications, negotiating prices, and signing letters of intent. The entire process was well-organized.

For a time, Hong Kong became the focus of the Asian energy market due to the emergence of Qian Gu Energy, attracting flights from various countries.

Ships continued to pour into Hong Kong, and the area beneath the offices of Millennium Energy was bustling with activity.

At this moment, however, the atmosphere is completely different in the mansion of Hong Kong shipping magnate Sir Yue-Kong Pao in Repulse Bay.

Bao Yugang was sitting on the sofa in the living room, holding a copy of the "Qian Gu Daily" in his hand. His eyes were fixed on the front page news about Qian Gu Energy selling crude oil spot, his expression was complicated and hard to read, and he remained silent for a long time.

Sunlight streamed into the living room through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the silver strands at his temples, but it couldn't dispel the melancholy between his brows.

His son-in-law, Wu Guangzheng, sat to the side, also holding a newspaper, his eyes filled with emotion, and remained silent.

As a renowned shipping magnate in Hong Kong and even the world, Pao Yue-kong's Worldwide Shipping Group boasts a massive fleet that shuttles between major ports around the world year-round, transporting various bulk commodities.

The crude oil stockpiled by Qian Gu Group was transported to Hong Kong through his shipping company.

I remember a few months ago, Myris approached him, saying that the Qian Gu Group needed to transport a batch of crude oil to Hong Kong and hoped to use his fleet.

At the time, Y.K. Pao didn't think much of it, treating it as just another ordinary shipping order. After all, crude oil transportation was a crucial part of the shipping industry, and his fleet frequently handled such orders.

He even personally coordinated and allocated the best quality oil tankers to ensure that crude oil could be transported to Hong Kong safely and quickly.

Moreover, a large portion of the crude oil was sourced through connections made with the help of Y.K. Pao.

Leveraging his connections in the global shipping industry, Myris quickly found suitable suppliers and purchased a large quantity of crude oil at a relatively low price.

At that time, international oil prices were relatively stable. Although Bao Yugang felt that it was a bit abnormal for Qian Gu Group to hoard such a large amount of crude oil, he never thought that a global oil crisis was about to break out and oil prices would soar to such an astonishing level.

If he had been able to keenly perceive the business opportunity back then, if he had been able to stockpile crude oil with the Qian Gu Group, if he had had more foresight, then this immense wealth would not only belong to the Qian Gu Group, but also to Bao Yugang.

With his financial strength and fleet size, if he were to stockpile crude oil, the profits would probably be more than he earned in half a lifetime of hard work.

But reality doesn't offer "what ifs"!

He could only watch helplessly as the crude oil he had helped transport and purchase skyrocketed in value within just a few months, and was now being sold to the public at exorbitant prices, bringing unimaginable huge profits to the Qian Gu Group.

He himself could only watch as a bystander as this feast of wealth unfolded, his frustration and regret beyond words.

Please vote for me! Please vote for me with your monthly tickets!