Chapter 437: A Completely Victorious Financial War
“What kind of foreign cooperation?” Ross also asked with interest.
If you want to open up the market in Hong Kong or any overseas place, the best way is to cooperate with local giants. In this way, you can not only get big projects yourself, but also serve as a model for others to watch, thus Get opportunities for development.
Generally, this kind of large-scale cooperation is difficult because most local corporate giants and local bank giants have cooperated for a long time, and their internal interests are intertwined. It is difficult for external banks to participate.
But Yang Wendong is different. He is a new force that has emerged in Hong Kong in the past ten years. Although he has cooperated a lot with local banks, relatively speaking, he is definitely more suitable for overseas banks to cooperate with, and Changxing Group has overseas The products are very popular, and Citibank is very clear about this. It is a very high-quality partner.
Yang Wendong said: "I can promise to borrow no less than 10 million U.S. dollars from Citibank in the next three years with a mortgage."
When the Hong Kong economic crisis breaks out, he will also need a lot of funds for bargain hunting. So it is necessary to borrow money, but now it can become a bargaining chip; because for any bank, loans with lower risks are the resources they dream of.
“10 million U.S. dollars.” After hearing this, Ross was very excited and said, “Then what do you want me to do?”
Yang Wendong smiled and said, “It’s very simple, let’s go to Hang Seng together. At the bank headquarters, reporters will take photos of us and The photo of the chairman of Hang Seng Bank, don’t worry about the rest;
After that, don’t accept interviews here. If you are really pestered by reporters, just say you have no comment. In short, no Just admit it and don’t deny it.”
"There has to be a time limit, right?" Ross asked.
Yang Wendong said: "Let's limit it to one month."
If the problem of Hang Seng Bank has not been solved in one month, it will be hopeless; in fact, a run is like a cancer , if you can't suppress it with thunderous force in the early stage, there will be no hope of saving later. It usually only takes a week or two to get over it.
"Okay, when will we leave?" Ross asked.
Yang Wendong smiled and said: "It can be done now."
The two soon arrived at the headquarters of Hang Seng Bank. As planned, He Shanheng brought many senior executives of Hang Seng Bank to the door of the building to greet them. Naturally, there were many reporters around, taking pictures of everyone.
"Who is this ghost guy? Yang Wendong was accompanied by He Shanheng who came out to greet him in person?"
"Yes, it seems that his identity is very unusual. He Shanheng was too polite. Then The smile feels like seeing the Governor of Hong Kong ”
“This is Ross, the head of Citibank in Hong Kong. I have met him before, but he rarely appears in public.”
“Citibank? What are you doing at Hang Seng? Acquisition or investment? ”
"No matter what it is, this is big news."
Reporters discussed among themselves that the run on Chinese banks such as Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia has become the biggest news in Hong Kong;
Hang Seng Bank is the largest, and now that Yang Wendong is involved, it has brought unknown variables. Now that the boss of Citibank is here, it must be even bigger. News.
Ross was just going through the motions, but He Shanheng was naturally very considerate and took Ross to visit the headquarters of Hang Seng Bank. The two of them laughed and talked about how they could cooperate in the future;
< br>Banks are not all competitors. Many banks will form a banking syndicate to invest in a large project. This is also to avoid risks.
An hour later, Ross left Hang Seng Bank under the escort of Yang Wendong and He Shanheng. This scene was still photographed by reporters
Back on the top floor of Hang Seng Bank again, Yang Wendong made a phone call. After hanging up, he faced He Shanheng said with a smile: "Sheng He, several newspapers in Hong Kong have added expedited editions of newspapers on this matter. Many people will be able to read it this evening;
And by tomorrow, more than half of the people in Hong Kong will Chinese newspapers will publish this story. At noon tomorrow, half of the people in Hong Kong who care about Hang Seng Bank will think that Citibank is planning to acquire or invest in Hang Seng Bank. "
"It's amazing, I admire it," He Shanheng praised. If you control the media and have such power, I always thought that the media is just to earn some advertising fees. "Earning advertising fees is just the most inconspicuous role of the media." Yang Wendong laughed. He said with a smile: "But ordinary media companies can only make this amount of money through normal operations;
If you want to play the biggest role, you still have to cooperate with big capital. ”
The media is a weapon that must be placed in the hands of special people to exert its greatest power. It is like an ordinary thermal weapon. In the hands of ordinary people, its lethality is very limited, but in the hands of professionals, its power can be increased dozens of times. .
He Shan Heng also said: "This morning's data shows that the number of people coming to withdraw money is a little less than yesterday. Although it can't be explained for a long time, there is a trend of improvement;
With today's incident, as long as There will be another wave of media publicity, and I am sure I can survive it. "
" He Sheng, your 1% interest increase will probably have a great effect. "Yang Wendong added: "But even if this level is passed, Hang Seng Bank will suffer a huge loss. ”
No bank can emerge unscathed from a run. The Liao Chong Hing Bank back then actually still exists. The descendants of the Liao family are still running it, but it has basically become smaller than a bank.
"It is estimated that the loss is 30 to 40 million, and the profit for a year or even more than a year is gone." He Shanheng sighed and said: "Compared to Guangdong Trust, I am much better."
Yang Wendong asked again: "He Sheng, as long as you survive the run, many people who withdraw money in the early stage will lose interest, so you can make a lot of money here, right?"
Run on this kind of thing , it is a two-way loss for depositors and banks. Depositors lose interest, let alone banks.
He Shanheng shook his head and said: "I did save on their interest, but they took away more than 100 million in funds. I borrowed these funds at high interest rates or collected them in advance from other customers. When I come back, the interest I pay is actually greater.”
"That's true." Yang Wendong nodded and continued: "However, Hang Seng Bank only lost funds this time. It did not lose branches or other assets. The foundation is still there. As long as you survive this time, it will not be difficult to recover in the future; < br>
And with this run, ordinary people will only trust Hang Seng Bank more.”
“Well, I hope so,” He Shanheng could only say helplessly,
This. For a period of time, he could hardly sleep every night. If there were no health problems, he might be as direct as Liao Baoshan.
Yang Wendong added: "We can't relax now. Although we control the media, good things don't go out and bad things spread thousands of miles. Once a rumor that is harmful to Hengsheng spreads, it will be more beneficial than ten pieces of news. Faster.”
People generally pay more attention to negative news, so in the past life, the Internet was full of hostility, and TikTok was filled with a lot of unpleasant news. This is one of the fundamental reasons why it is easy to spread rumors but difficult to explain.
"Yes." He Shanheng said: "I'll leave this matter to Yang Sheng. When things return to normal, I will definitely give Changxing Media generous advertising fees."
"Okay. ." Yang Wendong smiled, which is what it should be.
Even if you are a shareholder, but you use your own resources to help the joint venture company, the joint venture company should naturally pay.
Hong Kong, HSBC Headquarters.
Sanders looked at the newspaper he just bought, frowned and said: "Citibank is actually involved, Shen Bi, what do you think?"
The middle-aged man named Shen Bi said: "Citibank is involved. It is not well-known among ordinary people in Hong Kong, but it is still known to many people among the middle-class social groups. Whether this matter is true or false, it will make many rich people stop withdrawing money;
So Once this happens, Hang Seng Bank's financial pressure will drop sharply. With the amount of cash they have now, they may be able to survive. There will be fewer and fewer people trying to withdraw money due to the large-scale media publicity. < br>
Unless we add another fire."
"What fire?" Sanders asked.
Shen Bi said: "Our bank will come forward and refuse to provide foreign exchange business to Hang Seng Bank. The reason is that Hang Seng Bank has funding problems."
"In this case, we will end up personally." Sanders frowned Said: "Once we fail to do this, we will become an enemy that is rejected by all Chinese banks in Hong Kong. They are more likely to look for cooperation with Standard Chartered or even Citigroup." Even if we cannot do it without us in the short term, we will do it step by step.
And even if it succeeds, we will not be able to acquire Hang Seng again. The Hong Kong government will probably let Standard Chartered do it. ”
Everyone knows about some things, but as long as there is no irrefutable evidence and the parties involved do not step forward to intervene personally, then even if others know it in their hearts, they will not express it.
But it’s another thing if you end it yourself. HSBC belongs to half of the central bank. If you end it yourself and then acquire it, it will be too ugly.
Shen Bi said: "This is the only way now. Yang Wendong personally steps down to support us. We are roughly aware of his financial strength. Now Citigroup may also drop out;
And we can only stand behind and use some Rumors, I'm afraid that won't work. Now Yang Wendong directly refuses everyone to be interviewed, just to prevent this trick. "I didn't expect that after planning for so long, I actually lost to the media." Sanders frowned and said: "It seems that Yang Wendong already knew the influence of Chinese newspapers when he started his business in the early days;
From newspapers to radio stations to TV stations and even movies, all publicity He controls a large part of the channels. "
"Yes, Yang Wendong is indeed incredibly powerful." Shen Bi paused and then said: "Actually, there is another way. Since Yang Wendong. So powerful, why should we become his opponents?”
"What do you mean? You want to persuade Yang Wendong to betray Hang Seng?" Sanders asked in surprise: "Do you think this is possible?"
Shen Bi said: "It is indeed unlikely, but I want to try, he is also a businessman , In the end, it’s just for profit.”
“Okay, then you can talk to him in the name of HSBC.” Sanders added, “But all words can only be tested. Never express your opinion directly.”
“Understood,” Shen Bi agreed.
"Shen Bi?" Yang Wendong was quite surprised when he heard the name. He didn't expect that the future executive of HSBC Bank would actually come to see him.
Fang Xianming said: "Yes, Shen Bi is the person in charge of credit business at HSBC Bank. Do you want to meet?"
Although he is the person in charge of credit at HSBC Bank, Yang Wendong's identity is also among the top in Hong Kong. For a businessman, the HSBC boss will definitely meet him when he comes, but for a business leader, it depends on whether the boss is willing.
"Then let him come in." Yang Wendong said, he also wanted to give three points of face to the future HSBC executive.
Although it is possible that due to its own influence, it may miss the position of HSBC's top class, but capable people will basically not be eliminated. In the previous life, HSBC was able to become one of the top ten banks in the world in the 21st century. , mainly due to a series of operations during Shen Bi's reign.
Soon, a white ghost guy came in and said: "Hello, Yang Sheng, I am Shen Bi, the deputy general manager of HSBC."
"Mr. Shen Bi, please sit down." Yang Wendong waved his hand and said, "I wonder why Mr. Shen Bi came to see me?"
Shen Bi said with a smile: "I heard that Yang Sheng has become a major shareholder of Hang Seng. There is a cooperation proposal here that can ensure that all three of us will benefit. Please consider it."
"Tell me about it," Yang Wendong asked with an unchanging expression.
Shen Bidao: "Hang Seng Bank has developed rapidly in recent years, but Yang Sheng should also know that its development has basically reached its limit. After all, Hong Kong is so big, and it is very difficult to open up overseas markets. High.
So my proposal is for HSBC to acquire Hang Seng and then use the strength of our two companies to expand overseas. ”
"I don't think all three parties will benefit from this proposal." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
The purpose of HSBC is actually to eliminate a threat, so that it can expand the international market with peace of mind by having a stable Hong Kong rear.
Although Hong Kong is not big, its development speed in the next few decades is rare in the world. As the largest bank in Hong Kong, it also made huge profits from it, and combined with Shen Bi's ability, it finally succeeded.
Shen Bi smiled lightly and said: "Yang Sheng, if you think this is not good, then HSBC can buy your shares in Hang Seng at a premium."
"Mr. Shen Bi, what do you think? Do I invest in a stock just to cash out and make some money?" Yang Wendong added: "You should approach He Shanheng for this matter. He is the largest shareholder and operator. If he is willing, I will naturally agree."
Although there was a little conflict with HSBC this time, no one made it public. Naturally, Yang Wendong would not go too far and just kick the ball out.
"Okay, I also hope that Yang Sheng can seriously consider it. The price is definitely not a problem." Shen Bi followed.
After the meeting, Shen Bi left, and Yang Wendong also made an appointment with He Shanheng and told him what happened.
“My guess is indeed correct, HSBC is behind this run.” He Shanheng said with emotion.
"Normally, Hang Seng's performance in recent years has been so good, and HSBC cannot compete, so naturally it has to use some means." Yang Wendong said.
Shopping malls are like battlefields, and different industries are better off. Once there is a threat in the same industry, it will inevitably be a battle of life and death. In this regard, the Internet giants in previous generations competed for traffic and user time, even giant companies with different types of businesses. Fighting to the death
Of course, many real-life business wars involve unplugging network cables, turning on power switches, pouring water on money trees, having big bosses personally arrange fights, etc., or they may not talk about their own technology and quality at press conferences. , specializes in dissing friends.
He Shanheng said with a smile: "I really have to thank Yang Sheng for his help this time, otherwise, I, Hengsheng, really wouldn't be able to handle it."
"You're welcome, I am too Hang Seng's shareholders should naturally do something." Yang Wendong paused and said: "But this time it can be regarded as a lesson. Hang Seng Bank's risk management has always been without problems, but it was affected by other banks and almost went bankrupt. There's a way to deal with it."
"What's Yang Sheng's idea?" He Shanheng thought for a while and asked, "This kind of thing seems difficult to handle. The bank can't always maintain high cash flow, right? ”
"I can't help it." Yang Wendong shook his head and said: "I feel that the only way is to develop overseas markets. As long as the business is enough, if that place is squeezed out, other places can also mobilize funds."
"Develop overseas markets." He Shanheng said: "I have also considered it, but I don't know how to start. Doing a bank overseas? It’s also very difficult.”
“Indeed, I can’t help you much in this regard,” Yang Wendong said again: “But you can try it in Singapore first, where the majority of people are Chinese and the government is. Overseas banks are also allowed to invest.”
“Singapore? Okay, I’ll go look into it.” He Shanheng nodded.
Yang Wendong said again: "He Sheng, there is one more thing, I think I need to remind you."
"What's the matter?" He Shanheng asked.
Yang Wendong said: "We all know that there are people behind the Hang Seng Bank matter. The fundamental reason is that the Chinese banks headed by Hang Seng have influenced the interests of the British bank consortium and political groups. ;
Now that the British Hong Kong government controls Hong Kong, they will never let some of Hong Kong’s core economic and financial rights be controlled by Chinese capital. He Sheng should understand what I mean, right?”
“Understand? "He Shanheng nodded and said: "The prerequisite for any enterprise to become big is to have ZZ support behind it."
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "So the development in Hong Kong cannot be too popular for the time being."< br>
In the following days, fewer and fewer people came to Hang Seng Bank to withdraw money, and the bank's fund allocation became more and more relaxed. The run crisis was finally over.
In this financial war, Hang Seng and Yang Wendong have achieved a complete victory.
PS: Asking for monthly tickets
Explain, many people think that once Hang Seng is run, it can only be rescued by HSBC. But in reality, when Hang Seng was run, there were two options, one was to acquire it by HSBC , one was the acquisition by Chase Bank of the United States. Although the major American banks had little business in Hong Kong at that time, many people in the middle class and above still knew the strength of the Bank of America.
The main force of the run is these people. As long as they ease up, the bank funds can support for about 7 to 14 days (this is the summary data of runs in the history of commercial banks), and the scale of the run will decrease (determine to take Those who have taken the money have taken it away, and those who are hesitant are waiting and watching). With some policies, many people will even save it again (this depends on the bank's ability and courage).
Including Far East Bank (Qiu Degen's, future chairman of ATV) was subsequently run, and it was also bought by foreign banks and quelled the run crisis. At that time, all Chinese banks were run, but Hang Seng was the most famous, and was annexed by HSBC.
There will be a separate chapter explaining the recent debate on whether to acquire Hang Seng.
(End of this chapter)