Chapter 93: Creating Trading Opportunities
Afterward, Lin Haoran already had a rough plan in mind for how to capitalize on the upcoming Second World Oil Crisis to earn massive profits.
Based on memories from his past life, he knew that before December, the oil market would remain relatively stable, but with the outbreak of the Iranian civil war, global oil production would plummet, triggering a sharp spike in oil prices.
And now, it was already late October — just a few days away from November.
Time was running out, and the window for preparation was rapidly closing.
After a long day of work, Lin Haoran decided it was time to rest and leave the remaining issues for tomorrow.
Thus, he returned to Hengfeng Building with Li Weidong and Li Weiguo.
After a good night's sleep, the next morning he did not go directly to Qingzhou Cement but stayed at Huanyu Investment Company instead.
At 9:00 a.m., Su Zhixue, Dai Shi, Zhao Lin, and others arrived at the office one after another.
Naturally, they were already aware that Lin Haoran had become Chairman of Qingzhou Cement.
Upon seeing him, they gathered around to offer their congratulations.
Once everyone was present, Lin Haoran summoned his trading team to the conference room.
"You all know by now that I've become the Chairman of Qingzhou Cement.
This achievement would not have been possible without your efforts and dedication.
Therefore, I have decided to award special bonuses this month to express my gratitude.
Dai Shi, Han Zixing, Shi Zhensheng, and Qi Fen — each of you will receive HK$50,000.
As for Su Zhixue, our team leader, he will receive HK$100,000.
These bonuses will be included with your salary this month," Lin Haoran announced with a warm smile.
Although these excellent traders were simply executing orders, their professionalism and diligence were critical to Lin Haoran's successful takeover of Qingzhou Cement.
Thus, this reward was well-deserved.
Upon hearing the announcement, the conference room burst into cheers.
Their faces lit up with uncontrollable joy and excitement.
For them, such an unexpected bonus was an enormous surprise, far beyond what any normal company would offer.
In other investment companies, such generous bonuses were exceedingly rare.
Here, just one successful project brought them life-changing rewards.
HK$50,000 — for many of them, that was equivalent to an entire year's salary.
Now, it was just an extra bonus for one deal.
This stark contrast made them deeply appreciate how good they had it at Huanyu Investment.
Lin Haoran noticed that their loyalty scores had all increased.
Previously, Dai Shi's loyalty was at 75, and the others ranged between 70 and 72.
Now, all their loyalty scores had broken past 80.
Dai Shi: [Loyalty: 84/100]
Han Zixing: [Loyalty: 82/100]
Shi Zhensheng: [Loyalty: 81/100]
Qi Fen: [Loyalty: 82/100]
Reasonable rewards truly helped boost loyalty!
As for Su Zhixue, his loyalty had already maxed out at 100, so it couldn't increase any further.
"Thank you, Mr. Lin!" the five of them said almost in unison, gratitude brimming in their voices.
Lin Haoran smiled and replied, "These are the rewards for your hard work.
Stick with me, and I guarantee your wallets will keep getting fatter.
The future will bring countless more opportunities."
"Mr. Lin, we will definitely live up to your expectations and work even harder!"
The team members pledged enthusiastically, morale soaring.
"Very good. I have full confidence in you," Lin Haoran nodded with satisfaction.
He then turned to Su Zhixue and said, "Zhixue, come to my office — there's something we need to discuss privately."
"Yes, Mr. Lin," Su Zhixue replied, following him out of the conference room.
After they sat down in Lin Haoran's office, Lin Haoran fixed him with a sharp gaze and asked, "Zhixue, you've worked in finance for many years.
You should be familiar with global financial market trends, right?"
Su Zhixue nodded thoughtfully before answering, "Yes, Mr. Lin.
Although I primarily worked in Hong Kong, I've always kept a close eye on global markets.
It's basic professionalism for financial practitioners — without staying current, you'd quickly fall behind."
Lin Haoran nodded, then shifted the topic.
"Then how much do you know about crude oil futures?"
Upon hearing this, Su Zhixue frowned slightly, thinking hard.
"Crude oil futures…
As far as I know, there is currently no formal crude oil futures market anywhere in the world.
After the 1973 oil crisis, many exchanges started considering energy-related futures, but so far, top exchanges like the London Commodity Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange haven't launched any oil futures yet.
As for smaller exchanges, they're even further behind."
"No crude oil futures yet, huh?" Lin Haoran muttered, frowning.
Indeed, at this time, there were no crude oil futures.
Not even futures contracts related to petroleum products existed yet.
According to historical data, it wasn't until 1983 that NYMEX officially launched crude oil futures.
In November 1978 — next month — the New York Mercantile Exchange would issue its first energy-related futures contract, for heating oil.
But given the limitations of that product and the fledgling market, it wouldn't see large-scale trading.
There was no way to make serious money from it yet.
Lin Haoran drummed his fingers rhythmically on the desk, deep in thought.
No oil futures yet — so stockpiling crude oil itself?
Buying and storing crude oil and then selling after the price spike could work.
But realistically, it wasn't a good option.
First, time was too tight to set up the logistics.
Second, he lacked storage facilities and industry connections — huge obstacles.
"Seems we'll have to find another path," Lin Haoran thought to himself, temporarily shelving the idea of hoarding oil.
He sat there, brow furrowed, lost in endless contemplation.
The financial environment of this era was filled with limitations and challenges, forcing him to search repeatedly for innovative breakthroughs.
Earlier, he had considered using stock market leverage to avoid the hassle of repeated loans.
Unfortunately, the stock exchanges of this era hadn't yet introduced margin trading.
He had been forced to use complex, cumbersome loan strategies to raise massive funds —
but it had worked, allowing him to make big gains in Qingzhou Cement and Wharf Holdings.
"Since there's no crude oil futures yet,
could I create a transaction opportunity similar to oil futures?" Lin Haoran thought, sitting in his office chair, deep in thought.
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