Hong Kong's new giants

Chapter 376 [Investing in Citibank]

On Wednesday, Lin Zuhui made an impromptu decision to go to New York, USA.

On the plane, Citibank Vice President John and Lin Zuhui sat together. Lin Zuhui and him have become good friends since they attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Citicorp Center in Hong Kong together.

This time John came to Hong Kong in person and wanted to persuade Lin Zuhui to invest in Citibank, Lin Zuhui readily agreed.

It turned out that this year there was a 'U.S. banking crisis'. One of the largest commercial banks in the United States, Citibank, was urged by the Federal Reserve to increase its capital reserves due to its huge losses in real estate loans. People were afraid of Citibank's bankruptcy, and they sold off its stocks one after another. , causing its stock price to plummet, causing a great crisis.

John thought of Lin Zuhui, the "stock god". Although this stock god is not on Wall Street, he is a real stock god.The rise of Lin Zuhui cannot be completely kept secret. Everyone knows where the huge wealth comes from, and it is obtained from the financial market.

Lin Zuhui agreed because he knew that the investment was quite promising. In his previous life, Citibank had an annual rate of return of 90% throughout the 40s; moreover, if Lin Zuhui became a major shareholder of Citibank (without management rights), Next, he planned to buy cheap American commercial buildings and other investment plans, so he had an extra helper.

Since 1989, the vacancy rate of office buildings in Europe and the United States has increased year by year, and the prices of office buildings have naturally plummeted; but Lin Zuhui knew that this situation would change in 1992.

In Lin Zuhui's view, it is a good time to start buying bottom next year.

Investing in European and American office buildings does not lie in the high rate of return, but in stable income. However, it is conservatively estimated that the annual rate of return is more than 10%, because it is a bargain, so the rate of return will be higher.

On the plane, John said: "Mr. Lin, if your financial consultant is satisfied with the audit, how much will you invest?" He placed great hopes on Lin Zuhui. According to the person in charge of Citigroup Xiangjiang, this man's wealth is unfathomable.

Lin Zuhui smiled and said: "My financial advisor will not be satisfied with your Citibank's finances. As far as I know, the commercial real estate in the United States is extremely bad this year. Your customers have gone bankrupt from time to time, resulting in so many bad debts. Citibank How can I be satisfied financially?"

The so-called bottom-hunting is nothing more than gambling. At this time, the target companies are basically a mess.

The current stock price of Citibank is around $12, but according to a news report seen by Lin Zuhui in his previous life, the stock price of Citibank will drop to around $8 next year due to news that commercial real estate in the United States will continue to deteriorate.

So, he is not just buying the bottom, but paying Citibank.

John didn't expect Lin Zuhui to make such a direct comment, but he still said: "After all, the difficulties are short-lived. Citigroup is one of the largest commercial banks in the United States. It has gone through several such crises in history and passed them smoothly."

Lin Zuhui said: "The bigger the scale, the more dangerous it is in this crisis. Citibank is entangled in many real estate problems and cannot get out. It's bleak. Of course, despite the problems with Citibank, I'm leaning toward investing, and I think it's a long-term investment.”

John breathed a sigh of relief. This investor was recommended by himself, so he naturally hoped to succeed.

new York.

Lin Zuhui listened to reports from Hengjin Investment and Home Office in the conference room of Hengjin Investment.

Bruce, the manager of the investment department of the family office, seriously reported the situation of Citibank. He participated in the financial investigation in the name of Hengjin Investment.

As expected, the overall situation of Citibank is not optimistic, even more so than other American banks.

Lin Zuhui asked: "If I plan to invest, what do you think?" Although he had decided to invest in his heart, he still asked for professional advice.

Bruce said: "There are risks, but if the investment is successful, the return is also great. In 1987, a similar situation happened to Bank of America, but it has improved now, and the impact in this crisis is not great. If the boss You decide to invest, and I suggest you keep it under $1 million."

Lin Zuhui shook his head and said, "No, I have a slightly longer-term view, so I plan to invest 2 million US dollars, and I will consider continuing to invest in the future. My reason is that the crisis of Citibank may not disappear in a year or two, but after two years The situation will definitely improve, because I am optimistic about the American economy and real estate throughout the 90s. Your Home Office and Hengjin Investment should pay attention to the situation of commercial real estate in Europe and America recently, and I may get involved in large-scale bottom-hunting activities next year."

Bruce was stunned for a moment. It seemed that what George from Hengjin Investment had said was true. His boss was a very thoughtful boss. His financial talent was far better than that of Wall Street elites and stock gods.

"Ok"

The next day, Lin Zuhui led a group of people to the headquarters of Citibank - 399 Park Avenue, New York City.This is the first time he stepped into Wall Street in a real sense, because the previous few visits to Wall Street were very low-key and no one knew about it.

This time is different. He is investigating Citibank in the name of Hengjin Investment, a family investment company.Once the investment deal is concluded, it will be reported by many media in the United States.

Chairman of Citibank John Reid warmly welcomed Lin Zuhui and his party. He was overwhelmed by the wave of criticism from the American media recently and felt a lot of pressure.Now Lin Zuhui's presence might alleviate the situation.

"Mr. Lin, welcome to Citibank!"

"Mr. Reed, I am also honored to be at Citibank, and even more honored to be at Wall Street!"

"Haha, Mr. Lin is being modest, you are very famous on Wall Street!"

This is not a good thing, for Lin Zuhui who likes to keep a low profile.However, it is impossible for him to completely hide his strength. After all, his money cannot be changed out of thin air, so it is easy to be found out that he has made more than tens of billions of financial profits.

With a profit of more than [-] billion in six years, it is naturally slightly more powerful than the elites of Chinatown.

After being polite, everyone came to the meeting room.

John Reid naturally introduced Citibank first, but it was all good news but not bad news.

At this time, the market value of Citibank is only less than 42 billion US dollars. If Lin Zuhui invests 2 million US dollars, he will account for about 5% of the shares.This kind of investment will not be made things difficult by the US government, and Lin Zuhui can't enter the management anyway.On the contrary, at a time when Americans are worried that Citibank will go bankrupt, Lin Zuhui's intervention in the investment is a timely help and will be well received by everyone, including American investors.

Therefore, Lin Zuhui said: "My financial advisor has informed me about the situation of Citibank. Although it is not optimistic, I still decided to invest."

When Reed heard this, he didn't expect Lin Zuhui to be so forthright. He was indeed a hidden predator in the financial world.

Next, everyone discussed the investment plan.

The so-called investment is naturally not buying stocks from the secondary market, so wouldn't it be of great benefit to Citibank itself.Naturally, by issuing common stock or preferred stock, Citibank's stock can be obtained, and Citibank can also raise funds.

In the end, he bought 12.46% of Citigroup's common stock at $2.07 per share, a total of $4.9 million.

He intends to let Hengjin Investment invest this fund. As for the fund, it is natural to use a loan from Xiangjiang Bank and use part of the assets of Hengjin Real Estate as collateral.

He has a cash flow of more than 50 billion (a small personal treasury), but he feels that since Citibank's annual return rate was as high as 90% throughout the 40s, even if the 8% interest is deducted, he can make a net profit on this investment every year. 32%.

Very good deal.

As for your own cash flow, it is natural to do more things.

After reaching an agreement, John Reid said: "Mr. Lin, we have prepared a dinner for you tonight, and I hope you can come!"

Now that he has become famous on Wall Street, Lin Zuhui naturally doesn't need to hide his head and show his tail.

"Of course!"

New York, The Peninsula Hotel.

Citibank actually held the banquet in its 'own' hotel, Lin Zuhui couldn't help but lament that others have their own way of doing things.

Lin Zuhui and Hengjin Investment President George attended the dinner hosted by Citibank.

When he arrived at the scene, Lin Zuhui couldn't help being taken aback. There were quite a few people invited.

John Reed greeted him immediately, and said, "Mr. Lin, let me introduce you!"

Lin Zuhui nodded and followed John Reed to make his debut on Wall Street.

"This is Mr. Buffett from Berkshire Industries. He wanted to know you very much and took the initiative to attend this banquet!"

Lin Zuhui thought to himself, it seems that he has exposed a lot of strength!However, he believes that Wall Street only knows that he has made a lot of money in foreign exchange and crude oil, but does not know the specific details.Roughly estimated, in the eyes of these people, he only earned 20 billion.

In fact, he has almost earned 40 billion!
Buffett said happily: "Mr. Lin, your Hengjin investment has made a name for itself on Wall Street, but Wall Street has not waited for your arrival. Now you have finally come, and it is an investment that shocked Wall Street!"

John Reid's face turned green, why is Citibank so unbearable!Citibank did find Buffett to invest, but others would never invest in such a risky company.On the contrary, a Chinese and a Middle Eastern are both ready to invest.

Lin Zuhui said politely: "Mr. Buffett, compared to your name as the American stock god, we are more famous there!"

Buffett said highly: "You are the god of stocks! In Xiangjiang, if I am called 'Lin Zuhui of Xiangjiang', I will feel very honored!"

The two complimented each other, which attracted people around to listen!
As for Lin Zuhui's name, almost everyone on Wall Street knows it, and he is more famous than Lee Shau Kee's "Asian Stock God" in his previous life.

However, what happened to Lin Zuhui this time also made him understand that there is no impenetrable wall in the world. If he wants to hide his wealth, it is not completely possible to hide it.

The family office will show some strength one day, which is obviously not good for him.

In his mind, he thought about entering the banking industry. It seemed that real families would control banks.When you go back to Hong Kong, think carefully about it.

Then John Reed introduced another person from the Middle East and said, "Mr. Lin, this is Prince Waleed of the Middle East. He also intends to invest in Citibank!"

Lin Zuhui knew that Citibank would issue a lot of common shares and preferred shares in the past two years, and it was absolutely impossible for him to be the only investor.But it doesn't matter, next year Citibank will issue preferred shares, and he will subscribe again to strengthen investment.

"Mr. Lin, you and I have similar experiences, I think we should be good friends!" Waleed said enthusiastically.

Lin Zuyao said with a smile: "I have also heard about you—Prince Walid. It is said that you bought a lot of real estate in Riyadh. I think your investment is very promising!"

Walid said happily: "I just said, you must be my friend and agree with me! And you have more vision than me. I don't have your reaction speed when it comes to Citibank, but I have already done it tonight. Decided to invest in Citibank with you!"

John Reid immediately became happy. With the investment of two rich men from Hong Kong and the Middle East, Citibank will get back to some extent.Those nasty Wall Street commentators who say that Citibank is going bankrupt are really blind.

(End of this chapter)