Hong Kong's new giants

Chapter 567 [Get up wherever you fall]

After Lin Zuhui and his party came to London, they did not start to act in a hurry. After all, Barings Bank has not successfully closed its positions in futures and bonds. Who knows how much it will lose? How much capital will be injected to revitalize Barings Bank?
Until March 3, when the Nikkei index rebounded by more than 2 points, and with the assistance of the Bank of England and relevant parties, Barings finally put the global open interest futures contracts in Singapore, Tokyo, and Osaka respectively. All positions are closed.So far, Barings Bank has lost as much as 300 million pounds, or more than 9.16 billion U.S. dollars, due to the failure of investment in financial derivatives.

The news of the bankruptcy of the Barings Bank Group shocked the international financial market. Stock markets around the world were impacted to varying degrees. The exchange rate of the British pound fell sharply, and the exchange rate against the Mark fell to the lowest level in history. The hidden impact of the Barings Bank incident on the European and American financial industries is immeasurable.

Thursday, November 3.

The headquarters of Barings Bank welcomed the visit of Lin Zuhui and his party.

The Bank of England commissioner Max, who is in charge of handling the affairs of the Bank of Barings, welcomed the unexpected guests; after the major financial institutions in the UK had no intention of acquiring the Bank of Barings, everyone really pinned their hopes on foreign financial institutions, but they did not expect to attract people from all over the world. The attention of the richest man.

But it's normal to think about it. The world's richest man is like a tireless "upstart", buying and buying everywhere in the world; people don't know how much wealth he has, because he is a "stock god", and it is said that even Wall Street admires him. Endless stock god.

After some simple politeness.

"Mr. Lin, the financial information has been prepared for you!" Max said politely.

"Thank you"

Lin Zuhui signaled the audit team to start working, and he brought people, Max and others to the meeting room.

After everyone sat down, Max couldn't help asking: "Mr. Lin, as far as I know, among the big players participating in the Nikkei futures trading this time is your Octopus Bank."

Lin Zuhui said generously: "Not bad, but compared to Barings Bank, we can only be regarded as small customers. Moreover, most of our funds are traded on behalf of customers."

Max smiled wryly and said, "This time, Barings Bank was tricked by that idiot. It's really a pity that the 233-year-old bank went bankrupt like this."

Lin Zuhui said calmly: "The 233-year-old bank closed down with a loss of 9 million pounds. It can only be said that he is too vulnerable. Of course, the 233-year-old bank is worthy of respect. So, I think it just needs a new owner."

He Changhong, Yuan Tianfan, Liang Botao and others laughed, and everyone was very relaxed, because Lin Zuhui said that if it is only about money, then the acquisition is not a problem.If there are too many external factors, or London officials make things difficult, then the transaction will be cancelled, and it is not necessary to buy.

Seeing Lin Zuhui so relaxed and calm, Max and the others couldn't help sighing, this kind of demeanor is amazing.

"Mr. Lin, does Mr. Lin know that the ING Bank Group has also come to discuss the acquisition?" Max decided to sell for Barings Bank.

As for the final decision on who to trade to, it has to be approved by the Bank of England's top management and the court.

Lin Zuhui said with a smile: "I don't know, but I think it's a good thing. After all, if Barings Bank goes bankrupt, more than 4000 employees will lose their jobs, and a 233-year-old signboard will disappear."

Max's heart moved, and he immediately asked: "Assuming that Mr. Lin's acquisition is successful, will the name be changed?"

Lin Zuhui smiled and said: "No, it's just a name, and the signboard is also valuable."

Max and the others nodded!
Barings Bank was initially engaged in trading activities, and then entered the securities industry. In the early 19th century, it became the chief issuer of British government securities.For more than 100 years since then, it has made considerable progress in securities, funds, investment, commercial banking, etc., and has become a precedent group securities firm in London's financial center. It even entrusts its management of the assets of the Queen of London. Bank" name.In 1993, the bank had assets of 59 billion pounds, liabilities of 56 billion pounds, capital plus reserves of 4 million pounds, more than 5 employees at home and abroad, and a profit of 4000 million pounds. In 1, the pre-tax profit was as high as 05 million pounds.The bank then managed £1994 billion in fund assets, £1 billion in non-bank deposits and £5 billion in bank deposits.

The loss of more than 9 million pounds this time, but its asset value is less than 5 million pounds, which is obviously insolvent.

Therefore, after the auditor and others briefly read the financial statements, Lin Zuhui asked, "Mr. Max, what conditions do you have?"

Max and the others made eye contact, and then he said: "The acquirer needs to inject 7.8 million pounds to restore all of Bahrain's banking business and some securities and fund businesses immediately."

Lin Zuhui said: "No problem!"

Max and the others were taken aback for a moment, agreed so readily?
You know, the ING Bank Group is very dissatisfied with this price and said that it still needs to consider it.

But from Lin Zuhui's point of view, the money invested in is not his own!Taking a step back, it is so easy for him to make money, and he needs to consider so much.

"A commitment from the acquirer is also required - to protect the rights and interests of current employees and not to fire them at will," Max continued.

"Everyone involved in this incident will have to resign, including the CEO and others." Lin Zuhui said without hesitation.

"It should be!" Max nodded.

Then the two sides discussed some conditions, and Lin Zuhui almost agreed with great sincerity.

As long as no other factors are involved, reasonable conditions can be agreed.

In the end, Max said: "Since Mr. Lin is so sincere, I will definitely promote the conclusion of this transaction as soon as possible!"

Lin Zuhui nodded and said, "Okay, we'll wait for your news."

He is not in a hurry, because Barings Bank can't afford it. After all, if it resumes business as soon as possible, the loss of reputation can be minimized.

Bank of England headquarters.

A group of high-level executives were discussing the Octopus Bank's involvement in the acquisition of Barings Bank. They thought that Barings Bank was a hot potato, and local financial institutions were not interested. The only interested party, ING Bank, was not sincere enough and kept haggling.

Unexpectedly, Lin Zuhui, the richest man in the world, received an acquisition invitation, and he was very sincere.

The problem now is that Lin Zuhui is a Chinese, otherwise everyone would agree to the acquisition offer without any discussion.But if you directly deny the transaction, then it must be a very offensive thing.

Lin Zuhui is a representative of Chinese businessmen. If he is treated unfairly in London, the outside world will think that the business environment in London is not good, and there will be some negative public opinion. At the same time, Lin Zuhui himself is the richest man in the world, and the London government wants him to invest in the UK.

Bank of England Governor Webb Buster, who is in his sixties, said: "Let's discuss it, how should we decide?"

A director asked: "The question now is, does ING agree to these conditions?" The implication is that ING is given priority.

Another director said: "International Bank of the Netherlands is not sincere enough. The important Barings Bank is more suitable for Lin Zuhui, who has the title of 'stock god'. Although he is Chinese, his financial talent can be called a genius level. He will be in charge of Bahrain Bank, this company will have greater development. Moreover, this richest man is the target of our investment in the UK. If we deny the acquisition just because he is from Xiangjiang, it will have a series of bad effects. After all, we in the UK Capital also needs to enter the mainland and Hong Kong."

For a while, everyone held their own opinions.

Webb Buster eventually adopted a democratic vote, and Octopus narrowly passed.

Here the Bank of England is still discussing whether to agree or not, while Lin Zuhui is sitting in the office of the European branch of New Era Group with some heartache.

The capital injection of nearly 13 billion US dollars is about 103 billion Hong Kong dollars.Although it is estimated that Octopus Bank will make about US$10 billion in this speculation in the Nikkei index, it is still earned money, not picked up money.

In this way, the British do not know how to be grateful.

Lin Zuhui's heart ached for a few minutes, and then his eyes lit up. Since he had spent tens of billions in the UK, why didn't he double the money on them?
Stock trading is his forte!
Although he can’t remember the trend of British stocks, he speculates: Theoretically speaking, the trends of London and New York stock markets should be closely related, so the banks must have risen sharply from 1995 to 1998, and Davos will benefit from the Internet bubble, and it must also skyrocket .

Since 1993, Europe and the United States have come out of the economic downturn and ushered in a wave of golden development period, so the stock market must have risen during this stage.

Thinking of this, Lin Zuhui wrote down several stocks such as Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank, and Davos on paper, and decided to let New Times Group spend 100 billion Hong Kong dollars to buy these stocks.

He believes that the annual rate of return can be as high as 35%.

The New Era Group had a balance of HK$125 billion at the end of last year, and this year it also has a profit of about HK$250 billion (estimated). Excluding annual dividends, there are still more than 300 billion funds.

New Times Group’s large investments this year are mainly projects such as Amazon Shopping Center and Langham Hotel Group. However, Lin Zuhui intends to expand the group’s debt to 300 billion Hong Kong dollars, which means that it can also borrow nearly 80 billion Hong Kong dollars.

In general, it is necessary to allocate another 100 billion in cash flow to purchase stock investments.There are still more than 200 billion in the account, and they can attack again at any time, and bid for the development rights of the Hong Kong Airport Railway Terminus.

Thinking of this, he called Liang Zhenxun in Hong Kong and asked him to arrange it quickly.

On March 3, Octopus Bank and Barings Bank reached an agreement, willing to contribute 6 million pounds in cash, take over all its assets and liabilities, and resume operations;

On March 3, the plan was approved by the Bank of England and the court. The legal procedures for the acquisition of Barings Bank by Octopus Bank were completed, and all banking businesses and some securities and fund businesses in Bahrain resumed operation.So far, the collapse of Bahrain has temporarily come to an end, and the bank that has made the British proud for two centuries has changed hands. It can be said that a century-old foundation has been destroyed.

In this case, Nick Leeson, who caused the disaster of Barings Bank, was forced to flee Singapore hastily on February 1995, 2, and was arrested at Frankfurt Airport in Germany in the early morning of March 23.

Barings Bank headquarters.

Lin Zuhui sat in the office as the new owner.I thought there was a legendary "sixth power" in Europe, the Bahrain family, who came to challenge him, but I didn't expect that the Bahrain family, which had won five titles, was no longer engaged in the banking industry, and even the family had declined.

He was immediately disappointed, why didn't he meet any old NB family who came out to compete with him!

In fact, at Lin Zuhui's level of wealth, he has already become a guest of honor from various countries; if he is really attacked locally, he can simply transfer the funds.If the UK treats him unfairly this time, he will sell his business in the UK and replace it with investment from other countries.For him, there is money to be made there.

"BOSS"

A middle-aged British man walked into Lin Zuhui's office. He was Andre, the new president of Barings Bank. He was originally a senior employee of Hong Kong Octopus Financial Group and an elite talent with a legal background.

The president does not necessarily need a financial background, and a legal background is also a good choice.Of course, Andre himself has ten years of experience in investment banking.

Lin Zuhui nodded and said: "My job requirements for you are very simple, that is to learn the lessons from this accident and improve the company's system. As for the investment, there is no rush. I will have a task to convey later."

Andre said: "No problem, I know what to do!"

To take control of Barings Bank this time, Lin Zuhui transferred a total of five elite talents to quickly take control of the company.And these people are all his old retainers, including Octopus Financial Group, and Hengjin Investment, in short, they are all people he trusts.

Lin Zuhui has come to this position today, surrounded by countless foreign consultants, so he is not worried about not being able to control Barings Bank.

"If someone jumps out and doesn't cooperate with your work, just fire them directly. I don't like employees who are not loyal to the company and the boss."

Andre's spirit froze. He had been with the boss for a long time, and he knew Lin Zuhui's temper. That is, if he could not control Barings Bank, the boss would rather lose the $13 billion and dissolve Barings Bank.

"Okay, I will definitely operate Barings Bank as a member of the Octopus Financial Group."

Lin Zuhui nodded, and then said: "I will arrange the investment later. Barings has to get up from where it fell. Therefore, our goal is still the Nikkei Futures Index, but I have to give instructions."

After the Kobe earthquake, after the Nikkei dropped 5000 points, the Japanese stock market ushered in a big rebound.About May and June, it will almost drop to around 15000 points, and then you can buy Nikkei at this place.

Of course, speculation in Nikkei futures is a very dangerous project, and 25 times leverage is too easy to blow up.

But Lin Zuhui has a way, that is, if he invests 10 billion in funds, he will reserve at least 50 billion in funds to cover his positions, or even more.As long as the position is not liquidated and the general trend is right, then it is a stable win situation.

Because of this, even if there are big Wall Street capitalists eyeing him, they cannot defeat Lin Zuhui.After all, with his amount of funds, it is enough to cover his position ten times without wavering.However, artificial reversal of the general trend has a limited range.

Andre immediately said confidently: "Speaking of which, those colleagues welcome you, the boss, to acquire Barings Bank. Many people admire you very much."

Lin Zuhui immediately waved his hand and said, "I only communicate with you about the investment, and you have to keep it a secret. There is an old saying in Huaxia, which is to shoot the first bird with a gun. I don't want to be too ostentatious."

The reason he became famous was because he couldn't hide some of his operations, not because he wanted to get the limelight.

In fact, just Lin Zuhui's domineering side leakage part has already been rated as a "stock god" figure.If all his financial operations are exposed, I believe he is already lying in the laboratory.

"No problem, I will definitely keep it secret."

"Well, in fact, I also synthesized some conclusions drawn by many financial consultants."

(End of this chapter)