Chapter 409: The Traditional Skill of the Anglo-Saxons
"You want money?"
Cunningham was somewhat reluctant; he wasn't sure if the money he had in HSBC could be withdrawn.
If HSBC really went bankrupt, he would truly be penniless.
As a nobleman, how could he manage without money?
Nobles had far more rules than ordinary people, and naturally, their expenses were also higher than those of commoners.
High expenses naturally created a separation among people; even if you didn't explicitly speak of "class," it effectively divided society into classes.
It was like a person who stayed in five-star hotels every day, naturally incomparable to someone who traveled and stayed in youth hostels.
To maintain his aristocratic lifestyle, Cunningham naturally tried every means to increase his income.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have supported Johnny Wang in arms smuggling; otherwise, he wouldn't have tampered with his Garrison's weapons just for a bit more money.
Ultimately, it was all to maintain the dignity of a nobleman.
"We are Anglo-Saxons, doing business in Hong Kong, and we have to pay money?"
"Wouldn't that mean we came to colonize for nothing?"
George pleaded earnestly:
"Times are different now, General."
"No one can say for sure whether HSBC will collapse."
"If it does, all our money will be gone."
"Spending a small amount to find Mr. Shen is the right path!"
"Spending a small amount is to recover a large amount."
"This business is worth doing."
After a pause, seeing that Cunningham was somewhat swayed, George added fuel to the fire.
"The Duke's willingness to transfer the money so readily shows how highly he values that intelligence merchant."
"We may very well have opportunities to cooperate again in the future."
"Do you want to tell the Duke that something went wrong with this matter and ask him to transfer another sum of money to Standard Chartered?"
"That's not a small amount."
"Does our family even have that much money?"
Cunningham was immediately convinced.
George was right; this was 510 million hong kong dollar, which would double to a billion!
How long would the family have to save to accumulate that much money?
If he caused the family such a huge loss, all his previous great contributions to the family would be negated.
Most importantly, this loss shouldn't have happened in the first place.
If he had listened to George, he would have been able to withdraw the money early, but because of his arrogance and prejudice, he had effectively thrown this large sum of money away... The Duke would surely be very disappointed in him.
Cunningham immediately said:
"You're right, but I don't have much money on me."
"All my money is in HSBC…"
Cunningham gritted his teeth once more.
He hated Mr. Shen to death.
HSBC Hong Kong used to be so impressive, but because of Mr. Shen's actions, it was on the verge of a run.
Who would believe it?!
He hoped he would catch Mr. Shen; he would definitely withdraw his money first, and then kill him.
What a lousy Taipan; at best, he was just a manager!
"However, if your Political Department is useless, how will you find Mr. Shen?"
"Who else in Hong Kong can do it?"
George smiled bitterly:
"Don't forget how the top-secret intelligence about Little Tycoon and Mr. Shen came about before."
Cunningham's eyes lit up:
"You want to find that intelligence merchant?"
However, he frowned again,
"But we haven't settled his intelligence fees yet; will he take another order?"
George retorted:
"Do you have any other options?"
Cunningham sighed:
"I don't!"
What else was there to say?
"Forget it, go ask quickly."
"If the other party raises the price, we might just have to accept it."
Cunningham was very disheartened.
He was heartbroken!
Twenty million was his own money, and 510 million was family funds.
There absolutely must be no mishaps!
If there were truly any mishaps, then let the loss be 510 million; his own money absolutely could not suffer any mishaps.
His own and the public's, that must be clearly distinguished.
George bid farewell to Cunningham and returned to his office, where he happened to see Elizabeth:
"Isa, did you get the money back?"
Elizabeth was still shaken:
"Thanks to your reminder, I had just withdrawn it when I saw Ms. Lok Wai-Jan's exclusive news."
"I was just a little bit away from not being able to withdraw it."
George immediately felt relieved:
"It's good that you got it out."
"HSBC is too unsafe; put the money somewhere else."
Elizabeth gritted her teeth:
"No, I'm putting it in a safe deposit box!"
George said speechlessly:
"If you put it in a safe deposit box, what if a thief steals it?"
"HSBC is in a special situation right now; it would still be better to put it in a bank."
"Now that HSBC is facing a run, Standard Chartered and other banks will definitely offer good terms to attract new customers."
"This opportunity must not be missed; it won't come again!"
Elizabeth hesitated for a moment, then nodded:
"I'll listen to you, Officer."
George smiled and nodded:
"There's a saying in my Mainland, 'Listen to advice, eat your fill.'"
"I wouldn't harm you."
Elizabeth showed a sweet smile,
"I'll go right away."
George nodded:
"Go, go!"
"You should go quickly."
Elizabeth carefully said:
"Officer, don't you have anything to do today?"
George sighed:
"All our colleagues are busy with their own money bags today."
"How can they be in the mood to work?"
"Just like Brigadier General Cunningham, he didn't listen to me and went late, so a huge sum of money he had in HSBC couldn't be withdrawn, and who knows what will happen to it."
Elizabeth gasped, covering her mouth:
"What?"
George, however, was very calm:
"That's unavoidable; tonight you can watch the news, the TV station will definitely do a special report on this matter."
"At that time, you'll realize how lucky you are!"
Elizabeth was startled:
"Officer, I'm going to Standard Chartered immediately."
George waved his hand:
"Go, go."
Elizabeth reported to George and quickly left.
So many people hadn't withdrawn their money and were very irritable.
If she left the money at home, it would indeed be easy for chaos to occur.
George returned to his office, his face grim.
His money!
Such a cool thing, making money as a middleman, and he was about to get the money, but who would have thought that something would go wrong during the delivery!
It was simply exasperating.
Cunningham, that idiot, was too clever for his own good.
Now look, there's a problem, isn't there?
George was furious.
Composing himself, he still dialed Lin Feng's number.
"Mr. Lin, I want to purchase intelligence about a person."
Lin Feng teased:
"You're wealthy now."
"Duke Cunningham transferred a huge sum of 510 million to you, so you're a rich man now too."
George was slightly startled.
Mr. Lin indeed knew everything.
This gave him a subtle feeling of being both unexpected and yet within reason.
Logically, what Duke Cunningham did was extremely confidential, and others shouldn't know about it.
But when that person was Lin Feng, it wasn't surprising.
George smiled bitterly:
"It's not certain if this money can even be withdrawn."
Mr. Lin was astonished:
"This money arrived yesterday; don't tell me you didn't withdraw it. I told you immediately."
George was speechless once more.
Good heavens, you called me to inform me to withdraw this money?
Does it have to be so subtle?
Oriental subtlety is truly too difficult to understand.
"This money was deposited into Brigadier General Cunningham's account; I wasn't aware of it."
"After you gave me the information, I immediately relayed it to Brigadier General Cunningham, but he dismissed it, believing that no one would run on a bank founded by old Anglo-Saxon capital."
"It wasn't until Ms. Lok Wai-Jan's exclusive news spread that Brigadier General Cunningham panicked."
"By the time he went to withdraw money, there was no cash left!"
Lin Feng swore loudly:
"Is Cunningham stupid?"
"With such a large sum of money, wouldn't he make an appointment first?"
"This money will definitely be withdrawn. With Cunningham's status, HSBC would rather not cash out for Hong Kong citizens than not cash out for Cunningham."
"It's just a matter of a day or two later."
George smiled bitterly:
"I'm not that optimistic... Brigadier General Cunningham isn't that optimistic either."
Lin Feng frowned:
"Why?"
George sighed:
"Mr. Shen is gone!"
"All sorts of people have been looking for him."
"I'm calling you this time because I want to use your influence to find out Mr. Shen's whereabouts."
"Only by finding him can we get the 500 million hong kong dollar, which is your intelligence fee."
Lin Feng corrected:
"My intelligence fee is only 100 million, the other 400 million is the profit you made from the difference."
George gave a dry laugh, "Nothing escapes your eyes."
Lin Feng asked, "Mr. Shen is currently the focus in Hong Kong; it's not easy to find him."
"Even I don't know where he is."
Lin Feng actually knew.
Mr. Shen had long been encased in cement and thrown into the seabed, never to be found again.
The deed was done by his own trusted subordinate.
Naturally, he couldn't sell out his own subordinate.
He would never do such a thing, no matter how much money was offered.
George exclaimed, "Even you don't know Mr. Shen's exact location?"
Lin Feng smiled, "I am not omniscient and omnipotent; what's strange about not knowing his whereabouts?"
"However, I know everything clearly about what happened before he left. Do you want to know?"
George gritted his teeth, "Yes!"
Lin Feng said, "This piece of information will cost 1 million hong kong dollar."
George was speechless. Mr. Lin's intelligence was reliable, but it cost him 1 million hong kong dollar. So expensive!
But someone once said that expensive things, besides being expensive, have no other drawbacks.
George gritted his teeth, "I'll take it!"
Lin Feng nodded slightly, "I'll give you the information first, and you can send the money to me later."
"After Little Tycoon's incident, someone in London informed Mr. Shen."
"This person is Mr. Shen's opponent and old friend, he is the Anglo-Saxon HSBC head office's Mr. Shen."
"Duke Cunningham made a move. Through his operations, he issued an order to the Governor, asking him to teach Mr. Shen a lesson."
"If Mr. Shen knew how to advance and retreat, then everything would be fine."
"If Mr. Shen didn't know how to advance and retreat, then everything would be difficult."
"The Governor then ordered the Commissioner of the ICAC to prepare to open a file on Mr. Shen."
"Then, two people contacted Mr. Shen."
George's eyes widened.
Goodness, this was too detailed, wasn't it?
So detailed it was as if Lin Feng had watched Mr. Shen do everything with his own eyes.
A chill rose from George's body, and a voice inside him kept reminding him.
Never, ever offend the man in front of him.
Offending this man would not end well.
"The first person to call him was the Financial Secretary."
"The Financial Secretary and Mr. Shen were also good friends. The former had considerable ambitions; according to tradition, he originally had a chance to ascend to the position of Governor."
"But you know, Hong Kong has already been confirmed to return, so it's almost impossible for the Financial Secretary to become Governor."
"So he had other ideas, wanting to start from London."
George shook his head, "Impossible!"
"Anyone who comes to Hong Kong to be an official actually doesn't have much connections in London."
"If they could serve in their Mainland, who would travel thousands of miles to Hong Kong?"
Lin Feng didn't deny it either, "The Financial Secretary knew his connections in London were shallow, so he wanted to expand his network through Mr. Shen. He wanted to persuade Mr. Shen to leave gracefully."
"This was also a fallback plan for the Financial Secretary."
"Mr. Shen was moved by his words."
"But he was still hesitating."
"The second call came from Sir Li, a senior councilor."
"Sir Li established the Golden Club, and one of its core members is the Deputy Commissioner of the ICAC."
"Sir Li told Mr. Shen that ICAC had already opened a file to investigate him, and he promised to have the Deputy Commissioner try his best to delay for a few days."
"Mr. Shen then stopped hesitating."
"He had his secretary book a flight back to London, wanting to return immediately."
George was startled, "Mr. Shen conceded?"
Lin Feng shook his head, "No, a person like him won't give up until he hits a wall."
"As long as there's a glimmer of hope, he'll fight for it."
George quickly asked, "Then where is Mr. Shen now?"
Lin Feng sighed, "I don't know!"
"He disappeared after he got into the car."
"What I can tell you is that customs did not detect his identity registration information."
"So, I don't know where he went."
George was dumbfounded, "Disappeared?"
Lin Feng shrugged, "Disappeared!"
"No one knows where he went."
"Anyway, my intelligence source tells me that he inexplicably disappeared."
"Either he's hiding locally in Hong Kong, or he smuggled himself to other places, or he was even killed…"
"Anyway, he's gone."
George felt it was unbelievable, "How could this be?"
Lin Feng suddenly asked, "Do you want to get all your money back?"
George quickly said, "Naturally, I do."
Lin Feng laughed, "Then I'll teach you a trick that guarantees you'll get your money back, but this trick requires Brigadier General Cunningham to step forward."
George quickly asked, "What should I do?"
Lin Feng smiled, "You have Cunningham call HSBC's appointment line. Given his status, no matter how difficult HSBC is, they won't dare to make things difficult."
George shook his head, "This isn't foolproof!"
"HSBC can come up with a thousand reasons to refuse."
Lin Feng laughed, "Won't you threaten them?"
George was surprised, "Threaten?"
Lin Feng said naturally, "It's very simple."
"You just have Cunningham tell customer service that if they don't release the money, he'll go on a TV show."
George laughed wryly, "Is that kind of threat?"
Lin Feng was speechless, "What are you thinking?"
"I am a legitimate businessman. Do you think I would let you do bad things?"
"You are really overthinking it."
How could George believe that?
"On the contrary, it's very reasonable for you to make such threats. After all, you've been doing this for three or four hundred years."
George remained silent.
Actually, they hadn't done that in a long time.
But he couldn't help but miss those days when they could act with impunity.
That was when the empire was at its most glorious.
Unfortunately, the empire was no longer the empire it once was.
George sighed inwardly. He used to genuinely look down on those old people who lingered in the fading glory of the empire.
But now, he was gradually beginning to understand.
It was dissatisfaction with the current situation and the despair of being powerless to change it.
Lin Feng teased him for a while, then kindly said,
"If Cunningham wants to do this, he needs to be quick."
George was surprised, "This kind of thing isn't related to speed, is it?"
Lin Feng laughed, "You wouldn't think that only you deposit money in HSBC, would you?"
"You wouldn't think that only you would come up with ways to threaten others, would you?"
George's mouth was wide open, "Mr. Lin, can you tell me who else would do this?"
Lin Feng shrugged, "This one million is absolutely worth it."
"I just said that the Financial Secretary and Mr. Shen are good friends, and good friends naturally help each other."
"The Governors Office's annual income and expenditure are a huge sum. Is there a problem with the Financial Secretary depositing it at HSBC Bank?"
"I'll also give you another piece of information."
"Most people today did not get their money from HSBC Bank."
"Many people are sleeping on the ground outside HSBC Bank, much more intense than when new stocks were listed."
"Do you understand this point?"
"The Financial Secretary is not in a hurry to retrieve the money today, but when today's news is consolidated, he will definitely be anxious."
"So, if the Governors Office steps in, who do you think HSBC should prioritize handling their case?"
George was dumbfounded!
The Governors Office?
The Garrison Brigadier General?
Do they even need to choose?
Of course, it's the former.
Could the latter really bring the army to block the entrance?
On the contrary, the former could use various administrative means, tangible and intangible, to make HSBC suffer.
George broke into a sweat, "Thank you, Mr. Lin. I will report to Brigadier General Cunningham now."
Lin Feng smiled, "Be quick!"
"Otherwise, HSBC might only open for a few hours tomorrow."
George repeatedly said, "As soon as I get the money, I will send the intelligence fee immediately."
Lin Feng shrugged, "If you have the ability, feel free to default on the payment."
George gave a dry laugh, "Mr. Lin, you should know that I don't mean that."
Lin Feng was in a good mood and smiled, "I didn't say anything else, just stating a fact."
"If you think you can default, feel free to try."
George shook his head.
He wouldn't dare.
He hung up the phone and rushed to Cunningham's office, shouting, "General, something bad has happened!"
+++
Chapter 410: HSBC Must Save Itself!
It was night.
It was already the time when every household was lit up.
The HSBC building was still brightly lit.
The directors all looked serious and worried.
Someone asked:
"Is there still no news from Mr. Shen?"
Someone replied:
"No."
"After Mr. Shen received two calls yesterday, he instructed his Secretary to book him a flight back to London and then rushed to the airport."
"I contacted London and also Customs."
"There's simply no news of Mr. Shen."
"The last time Mr. Shen passed through Customs was three years ago."
Everyone fell silent.
"People from the ICAC came today; they had a search warrant issued by the Commissioner."
"Their attitude was initially very polite."
"But for some reason, after receiving a call, they showed no regard for anyone."
"They packed up everything in Mr. Shen's office and left; we couldn't stop them."
Someone sighed softly.
Someone else replied:
"I know about this; the Deputy Commissioner of ICAC's money is stored at our HSBC, and when his family came to withdraw money, they were turned away."
"That's why his attitude changed!"
Everyone found it unbelievable.
"How is that possible?" someone questioned loudly. "That's the family of the Deputy Commissioner of ICAC; don't the people at the counter know their identity?"
Someone said:
"What's impossible about that?"
"You are all prominent figures in Hong Kong; we often appear in the media, and our visibility is much higher than ordinary people. Ordinary citizens might recognize us."
"But I want to ask you all, do your family members have the same level of recognition as you?"
"Let alone ordinary people, even I can't recognize all of your family members."
"We are colleagues!"
"Family members are inherently personal privacy, and you all know the nature of an organization like the ICAC. If their family members were exposed, how terrible do you think that would be?"
The previous speaker fell silent. It was clear that the fault couldn't be placed on the staff.
"At that time, there were so many people withdrawing money, and before the Deputy Commissioner's family could even withdraw, the cash was already gone."
"Let alone a clerk, even an immortal would be helpless."
"We have no cash left!"
The office fell into a rare silence.
An old man at the head of the table spoke:
"Absolutely no cash at all?"
Someone replied:
"None!"
"All branches across Hong Kong have no cash left."
"What's terrifying is that many people have already canceled their business with us and moved their deposits elsewhere."
"If this continues, we won't have any business at all."
The old man shook his head and slowly said:
"Long-term matters can be discussed later."
"The most important thing now is to overcome the current difficulty."
"If we can't get through this hurdle, what's the point of talking about the future?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The old man frowned:
"Is there anything important tomorrow?"
"Something that absolutely requires cash withdrawals?"
Someone immediately said:
"There are a few large sums of money, and the parties involved are very influential. If we don't exchange it for them, we will be in a lot of trouble."
The old man's face showed anger:
"We are HSBC!"
"Who can control us?"
The other person was very helpless:
"I'll just pick two to mention."
"One is from the Financial Secretary of the Governors Office. The Governors Office's budget and tax revenue are basically handled by us."
"The other party said they wanted to reduce risk and withdraw the money."
"Otherwise, this will affect the lives of tens of thousands of civil servants."
"It will also affect the operation of the government."
The old man's expression stiffened:
"What's the total amount?"
He caved!
The other party said bitterly:
"I discussed it with the Financial Secretary, and we decided to pay a portion first, and then another portion next month."
"The Financial Secretary agreed."
"The first portion, thirty billion, is due tomorrow!"
The old man swayed slightly,
"Thirty billion?!"
The Governors Office had always been their major client, and a major client's demands naturally had to be met.
"Give it!"
The old man gritted his teeth and forced out the words.
The other party continued:
"There's another sum of money, not much, only six hundred million."
"We also have to give it."
The old man said angrily:
"Whose is this one?"
The other party was silent for a while before saying:
"The Garrison!"
The old man swayed again,
"Give it!"
He caved again!
The other party coughed lightly,
"There are still a few sums of money, quite large, around five billion."
The old man could no longer hold back,
"When did our HSBC become so easy to bully?"
The other party said expressionlessly:
"This money belongs to the Triad bosses in Hong Kong."
The old man was silent for a long time, then said viciously:
"Give it!"
He caved yet again!
There was no other way; at this moment, he couldn't afford to offend any of these forces.
He could only back down!
Someone asked:
"We simply don't have that much cash at the counter."
"How can we give it?"
The old man gritted his teeth and said:
"Go and borrow it temporarily from Standard Chartered and others."
Everyone quieted down, looking at each other, all very hesitant.
The old man said decisively:
"I know you're worried about the high interest rates of short-term borrowing and fear you won't be able to pay it back later."
"That's not the main problem."
"The most important problem now is..."
"Can we survive in Hong Kong?"
"Survival is our most important problem."
"If we can't survive, nothing we say now will matter."
Everyone had an epiphany, suddenly realizing.
That's right, if they couldn't handle this wave of bank runs, HSBC would cease to exist.
What's the point of talking about the future?
There would be no future at all!
The old man quickly unified their thinking:
"So, we need to engage in short-term borrowing with other banks."
"Let's set the amount at fifty billion for now."
Everyone gasped instantly:
"Fifty billion? That much?"
"Then this year will be a waste!"
The old man was very cold, and said faintly:
"Let alone this year being a waste, even if next year is a waste, I would still be willing!"
"As long as HSBC can survive, what does it matter if we lose money for three years?"
"Moreover, we have a large number of high-quality assets on hand; at that time, just a few transactions will make the financial statements look very good."
"Survival is paramount; everything else is unimportant."
"You are all important figures; how can you not understand even this?"
Everyone was silent.
The old man tapped the table:
"Besides short-term borrowing between banks, there's one more thing I must tell you."
"Many corporate families in Hong Kong have received our favors; now is the time for them to repay their gratitude."
"Our favors are not easy for them to repay."
"Tell them to bring all the cash from their families."
"As much as they have, we want it."
"We will absolutely not despise them for bringing too little."
Everyone nodded.
Banks are not philanthropists; the things they usually do are, of course, for use now.
This was very obvious.
If you took benefits from the bank, how could you take them for free?
Someone said softly:
"But even so, it won't be enough to get through this crisis."
"This wave of bank runs is too fierce."
"Today, probably millions of people visited our bank."
If it were during normal times, if a million people visited their HSBC, the board of directors would probably wake up laughing in their dreams.
But now, they were truly unable to laugh.
Not only could they not laugh, but they were also extremely fearful.
These guys weren't here to deposit money, nor were they here to apply for loans; they were here to withdraw money!
Even for those requesting loans, HSBC didn't dare to process them at this time.
Lending carried the possibility of bad debts, and at such a sensitive moment, every penny of cash was precious.
How could they dare to let cash slip from their hands?
The old man gritted his teeth and said:
"Call a few major clients; if they can repay their loans early, waive their fees!"
Everyone exclaimed:
"No!"
Banks rely on the interest rate difference between deposits and loans to make money. If the interest on loans is waived, how can they make money?
The old man's expression was a bit weary:
"Why haven't you understood yet?"
"Our most important goal now is to survive, not anything else."
"If we don't prepare well, we won't even be able to last this month."
"Wanting to make money is a pipe dream."
"You are all successful businessmen, and naturally understand the importance of reputation."
"HSBC's brand cannot fall."
"Once it falls, it's unknown how long it will take to recover."
"We must prepare for the worst!"
"Do everything we can to protect HSBC's brand."
"Does anyone else have an opinion?"
Everyone shook their heads in unison.
With things said to this extent, who could still have an opinion?
This was actually a very simple arithmetic problem.
Should HSBC's reputation be preserved?
The board of directors will naturally do the math.
HSBC is a golden brand, and also a large platform.
As long as one enters the board of directors of HSBC, one will naturally be superior.
What are the officials of the Three Secretaries and Thirteen Bureaus?
What are the major families of Hong Kong?
In front of an HSBC director, they all have to be respectful.
Even if you were an ordinary person before, becoming a director of HSBC Bank means being superior is inevitable.
This is the blessing of a large platform identity.
Like Mr. Shen, who has disappeared, before he became the chief manager of HSBC, he was at most a celebrity. But with the blessing of a large platform, even the Governor would not put on airs in front of Mr. Shen.
Even Thatcher, the Iron Lady of the Anglo-Saxon, would humbly ask for advice on Hong Kong's issues.
What if they were to abandon this brand?
All the glory seemed to be withdrawn, and the standing dropped by at least five levels!
It's that realistic.
The old man pointed out the key, and everyone finally unified their thoughts.
So, in the absence of Mr. Shen, the old man became the head of the board.
The old man glanced at everyone and waved his hand, saying,
"Those who have nothing to do can go back. I hope that when we gather again tomorrow, all I hear will be good news."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Only the Secretary of the board of directors remained.
The old man frowned slightly:
"Is there anything you need?"
The Secretary said with a bitter smile,
"Sir, there's something that wasn't appropriate to discuss earlier. I was afraid it would dampen their confidence."
The old man was slightly startled:
"Very serious?"
The Secretary nodded heavily:
"Extremely serious."
The old man sighed:
"Things are already serious enough. How much more serious can they get?"
"Just tell me, I can handle it."
The Secretary sighed and finally spoke of the current dilemma:
"HSBC has been targeted."
The old man frowned and said,
"Isn't that obvious?"
"The current run on the bank is rare even in the financial history of China and abroad."
"Naturally, someone is targeting us."
The Secretary quickly said,
"I'm not talking about that. I mean someone is targeting us in the stock market."
The old man's eyes widened:
"What did you say?"
The Secretary said with a bitter smile,
"As soon as the market opened today, more than a billion boldly shorted our HSBC, with the shorting amplitude reaching half."
"Originally, I didn't pay attention."
"Our HSBC has always been a quality stock, and the dividends paid out each year are already incomparable to other shares."
"All the shareholders are mainly long-term holders."
"Even if this mysterious fellow shorts us, as long as the shareholders' confidence is firm, there will naturally be no problem."
"As long as the stock price rises by one or two points, they will lose their shirts!"
"Who would have thought…"
"At noon, a run on the bank suddenly erupted."
"HSBC's stock price plummeted in response, a cliff-like fall that couldn't be stopped!"
The old man's face turned dark, and he quickly asked,
"How much did HSBC's stock price fall?"
The Secretary said with a bitter smile,
"It fell by half!"
"Exactly within the short-seller's target."
The old man exclaimed,
"Who did it?"
The Secretary immediately said,
"The fellow who targeted us is a celebrity, actually."
"He is Chen Taotao."
The old man was stunned:
"Chan Man-yin's illegitimate son, Chen Taotao?"
"The one who just sent his father, Chan Man-yin, to Stanley?"
"Why would he target us?"
The Secretary shook his head:
"That I don't know."
"Based on my guess, he must have learned the news from London early on, judged the upcoming situation, and decisively made his move."
The old man frowned and said,
"News from London?"
The Secretary whispered,
"You know how ridiculous the Anglo-Saxon paparazzi are."
"Because of Mr. Shen, Little Tycoon has always been a celebrity in London."
"Especially his lavish spending of seven billion hong kong dollar in a short period…"
"It's truly infuriating!"
Envy of the rich is natural; some people always resent others doing well.
And Little Tycoon happened to be a yellow-skinned person.
He was throwing money around among a bunch of white-skinned people, and anyone would feel uncomfortable.
The old man thought about that scene and just shook his head.
Too ostentatious!
But you can't really criticize Little Tycoon for this; he was saving his father, which is inherently a good deed.
Furthermore, the recipients of his lavish spending were the great nobles of London.
If it weren't for the tacit approval of the great nobles, how would such a thing become known to ordinary people?
The old man didn't think there was anything wrong with Little Tycoon's strategy to win over the great nobles of London.
The only mistake was probably using the wrong approach, not finding the right direction.
As for the noble who publicly reported Little Tycoon, the old man could tell with his toes that the other party was definitely being instigated.
Who knew the virtues of the London nobles better than him?
The old man sighed deeply:
"Can we fight back?"
The Secretary said with a bitter smile,
"Of course, we can fight back."
"However, even if we want to fight back, we must first stabilize the run on the bank."
"Otherwise, no matter how much more money we invest, it won't be enough."
The current situation is delicate. HSBC, as Hong Kong's super financial hegemon, is not without money.
They have money on their books!
And a lot of it.
But they don't have cash!
This is critical.
What ordinary citizens want is cash, not cold numbers on a passbook.
But HSBC cannot produce that much money.
The old man had a headache:
"Do you have any good ideas?"
The Secretary looked around, then gritted his teeth and said,
"How about we print more banknotes?"
The old man glared at him:
"Our banknote printing is all planned. How can we just print them whenever we want?"
The Secretary said with a bitter smile,
"Sir, we have money!"
"As long as we overcome this difficulty and re-accept depositors, once we collect enough, we can just destroy them."
"No problem."
In fact, currency issuance is often like this: recalling and destroying old currency, and issuing an equal amount of new currency, so as not to cause currency fluctuations.
Of course, there are also cases of additional issuance, mostly when the economy is growing rapidly.
HSBC just happens to have the right to issue currency.
The old man shook his head:
"No!"
The Secretary became anxious:
"Why not?"
The old man was very calm.
"We are not the only ones in Hong Kong with currency issuing rights."
"Once new currency is put into the market, it will be easily detected."
"At that time, you and I will both go to prison."
"HSBC's golden brand is indeed very precious, but my reputation is even more precious."
"Do you want to sacrifice the happiness of your latter half of life to save HSBC?"
The Secretary stopped talking.
HSBC wasn't his HSBC alone, so why should he sacrifice the freedom and happiness of his latter half of life for it?
He was definitely not that great.
The old man said faintly,
"No need to say anything else."
"This method won't work."
The Secretary said with a bitter smile,
"Then besides this method, what other way is there to save HSBC?"
The old man rubbed his temples:
"There's always a way, heaven never closes all doors."
The Secretary secretly pouted. What way? He had thought of every possible solution, and at least for now, there was no way.
At least, in Hong Kong, there was no way to save HSBC.
The old man suddenly said,
"You just said that London reported news of Little Tycoon and Mr. Shen yesterday?"
The Secretary replied with a straight face:
"Yes!"
"I suspect there's a push from the headquarters behind it; they've been coveting us for more than a day or two."
The old man was stunned for a long time, then suddenly sighed:
"If it truly comes to a point where there's no other way, what's wrong with us bowing our heads?"
The Secretary didn't immediately understand the old man's meaning. He pondered for a moment, then suddenly reacted and exclaimed in shock,
"Sir, do you mean we should ask the headquarters for help?"
The old man seemed to have aged many years in an instant,
"This is the last resort."
"Let's see. If the run on the bank still cannot be stopped tomorrow, if people still cannot be persuaded to deposit tomorrow…"
"Then, perhaps, the London headquarters will be our last hope."
The Secretary said with a bitter smile,
"Mr. Shen would never do that."
The old man suddenly became angry:
"Don't mention that damned fellow to me. Aren't all these problems caused by him?!"