Mediterranean hegemon

ps: There is 1 overdue update, and there is also 1 normal arrears, 2 reward arrears, 1 monthly ticket arrears, and a total of 4 arrears...

"How many banks are refusing to lend on the excuse that their money is tight? How many of them want to wait until I go back to negotiate the mortgage contract before refinancing? Can't Leo talk to them yet?" Contini, holding the telegraph newspaper, said "Tsk tsk" The voice said, "This drama seems to be getting more and more interesting. Who is the mastermind behind it? I am vaguely curious."

"Master, let's get the money back first... at least it will calm people's minds."

"No!" Contini shook his head, "The funds can't go to Italy yet. They need to go to Switzerland first."

"Switzerland? Why?"

"I want to see how many bastards will jump out and clean them up... How did I get my reputation? I didn't get it through patience, flattery, or flattery. I have to fight bravely!" Contini He smiled and said, "Besides, I was in a hurry to return to China. Wall Street is also confused. I can't let this situation become a laughing stock."

"What about the country?"

"Let's go back with 3 million US dollars first, let Leo settle down, and don't have big problems with normal capital operations." Contini asked Enzo, "How many days until the ship leaves?"

"3 days."

"Enough time!" Contini said, "Tomorrow is a holiday, let the brothers take turns to go shopping, and each will be given 1,000 US dollars... Only shopping is allowed, no other occasions are allowed, especially no window shopping... I mean You know what it is!”

Enzo suppressed his laughter: "I understand, President!"

"Leo will announce the news in 10 days. Since I am not feeling well and have contracted a cold, the doctor has ordered me to take a rest. My return to Italy will probably be postponed until around November 15th."

"Master? What are you doing?"

"Let's take a look at what the social trend is like. Then take a look at whether there are any people within us who can't keep calm and are trying to take advantage of others."

"This is a very dangerous move, and it can easily cause a misfire..."

"The brinkmanship tactic... this is not the first time I have used it." Contini smiled, "As long as these more than 60 million have arrived in Switzerland, wouldn't it be easy to return to the country? I think... with the size of the United Group, It would not be good if we were always controlled by the banking industry. We must have our own channels. I don’t want my lifeline and capital movements to be in the hands of others anymore! Otherwise, we will face great difficulties in the future.”

Late September has passed... early October has passed... The credit crisis surrounding the United Group has not subsided. Seven banks have already collected loans for various reasons, with a total amount of up to 340 million lire. During this period, Contini arranged a total transfer of 10 million U.S. dollars. In addition to the 6 million U.S. dollars from Germany, 4 million were used to fill the gap. However, this was only 8,000 lire. It became more difficult for Leo to deal with it. Originally, it was agreed that 10 million U.S. dollars would be transferred. -All the 15-day deferred payments were deferred to more than 15 working days, and some larger payments were even deferred for 18-20 days.

There is no doubt that this is a credit problem, but the difference of a few days is still within the tolerable range. Customers have expressed their understanding and have only slightly controlled the scale and batch of shipments. There has not been a clear interruption of supply. Leo He knew this, but he didn't stop it. On the contrary, he believes that this is a healthy inventory turnover method. In the past, group procurement was too ambitious. In the first half of the month, all materials were purchased for the entire month. From the perspective of refined management, is this a complete waste?

On October 21, 5 days before Contini returned to Italy, United Group issued the latest statement: Because the president contracted cold during the inspection, he needed to stay in bed for 10 days according to medical advice, and his return date will be postponed. However, Mr. Antonio He will return to China as scheduled to take charge of the overall situation.

This news immediately detonated the banking industry: Didn’t you agree to return to China at the end of October? Why was it postponed again? Is he really sick or is he pretending to be sick?

The last few banks that were still waiting on the sidelines were also shaken, and collectively approached Leo: saying that their loans that were due at the end of October could be refinanced, and the conditions remained unchanged, but they would have to wait until President Ciano showed up before they could arrange it. If the loan matures during this period, United Group must repay it first.

Of course, in order to avoid angering the overbearing president and Leo, these bankers thoughtfully offered to help United Group introduce a bridge loan (the so-called bridge means that a third party provides short-term funding to lubricate the advance payment between two loans, and the term is indefinite). Long term, the interest rate is very high. If the loan cannot be renewed, the bridge loan will directly become a usurious loan that crushes the enterprise. There are countless private enterprises in China that have died from bridge loans. Readers who want to know more can go to Baidu. Of course, the interest rate must follow the market. 25% annualized!

Leo politely sent this group of people away, and couldn't help but sneer in his heart: 25% of crossing the bridge? It's really dark. But he turned around and felt lucky again. If Contini hadn't ambushed nearly 50 million or nearly 1 billion lire in funds in Switzerland, he would not have dared to play like this.

"Father, the United Group said that little Ciano will postpone his return to China..."

"What reason?"

"Get ill!"

"What a good excuse. September means October, and October means November. Can you find other reasons for November?" Old Agnelli laughed, "I might as well change my name to Ciano when I return home next month. You won’t come back anyway, you won’t be hiding in the United States to avoid debts, right?”

"This is quite creative!" Little Agnelli also laughed, "If you can hide for a while, can you hide for a lifetime?"

"Let them add some more fuel... Also, those who have paid the advance but haven't received the motorcycle yet can also complain and ask for a refund... Let's see if they can refund it."

With Fiat's intentional or unintentional instigation, there have been many waves around the credit level of the United Group. In order to meet daily payment needs, Contini allocated another 3 million US dollars to the group. In the eyes of the banking industry, this money is considered to be high-interest funds borrowed by the United Group from other places. Not only did it not dispel their doubts, but it made them more and more anxious. Everyone was waiting for their loans to expire and then preparing to collect the debts. They dared not urge them in advance. There was Mussolini above Contini!

On October 26, the Genoa officially docked, and the reporters who had heard the news suddenly discovered a shocking fact: Contini appeared in the crowd in good condition, how could he look sick?

"Mr. President, didn't you say you had caught a cold and needed to postpone your return home?"

"Yes... But considering the many domestic affairs, I still forced myself to get on the ship despite my illness. After recovering from the journey, I feel that I have fully recovered." Contini laughed confidently, "After all, I am only a 21-year-old young man. The doctors may be too worried, but in fact, my body is very good. I can run, jump, eat and sleep. You see, I am fully recovered now, right?"

"Congratulations on your recovery..." Another reporter stepped forward and said, "The market has a vague concern about your group's credit and payment, thinking..."

Contini waved his hand confidently: "There is nothing to worry about. We will hold a press conference tomorrow. Those payments will be paid in full, in full, and quickly!"

"This visit to the United States has yielded a lot. The United Group has established cooperation and strategic procurement agreements with a series of well-known large American corporate groups such as Westinghouse, General Electric, General Motors, Standard Oil, Citibank, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan Bank, US Steel, Wright Corporation, DuPont, and Alcoa. It is expected to deliver goods, equipment, products and services worth US$40 million within two years. At the same time, the group has obtained more than US$60 million in low-interest funding support, and the interest rate is much lower than the Italian average..."

As soon as this news was released, the whole audience was shocked, and the reporters whispered to each other.

"The president is very concerned about the order settlement of the suppliers of the United Group... Therefore, we will adopt a unique on-site signing and approval method to approve the payment of goods today..." Leo said with a smile, "Today is already the 27th. In order to let everyone get the payment before the end of the month, we will start approving the bills now!"

Suppliers came to the stage one after another to present the payment bills that had been preliminarily approved by the finance department. Contini did not even look at them on the stage, but just signed them in a flamboyant manner. However, the bank accounts given to them this time were all branches of the Second National Bank of Switzerland in Italy.

"Since all the money coming this time is in US dollars, it has been transferred through Switzerland. If you want to withdraw US dollars, you can directly withdraw US dollars. If you want lira, you can exchange it on the spot." Leo explained the whole story with a smile on his face, and then handed the microphone to Contini after the signing was over.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the domineering president to speak...