allendalepharm Page 319
Page 319
At this moment, Shen Bi felt as if countless alpacas were galloping through his mind.
"Mr. Shen Bi, you graduated from a prestigious university, so your math skills should be quite good. You don't need me to help you calculate the current stock distribution of Swire Group, do you?"
Li Jun looked at Shen Bi, whose expression had changed drastically, and said with a smile.
"Mr. Li, what do you want to do?"
Shen Bi's face was ashen. He looked at Li Jun, noticing the half-smile on his face, and slowly spoke, word by word.
Shen Bi didn't need to calculate to know that Li Jun was now the largest shareholder of Swire Group. Although he didn't have absolute control, as the largest shareholder, he still had special privileges.
For example, nominating board members, proposing topics for board discussion, and most importantly, auditing accounts and reviewing all of Swire Group's documents.
What Shen Bi fears most is Li Jun checking the accounts and going through all the documents of the Swire Group.
Having more Chinese board members at Swire Group and having Li Jun propose some board discussion topics makes no difference to either Swire Group or the foreigners.
Because HSBC and the Swire family hold 50 percent of Swire Group's shares, they have enough power to veto all of Li Jun's proposals.
However, they could not stop Li Jun from checking the accounts.
As a foreigner, Shen Bi was very clear about how foreigners did business in Hong Kong.
The four major foreign trading companies, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, established countless clubs and charities under various names, with the aim of enriching the foreign high-ranking officials of the Hong Kong British government and bringing greater benefits to these companies.
Moreover, these top-tier hawkish companies also have close ties with hawkish institutions such as the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
If these things are exposed, it will cause a lot of trouble for foreigners.
This impact is no less than that of the exposure of information regarding the Hong Kong Island Special Branch's activities on Hong Kong Island over many years.
Moreover, the biggest problem is that if it were the political department, they could simply burn all the documents so that no one could find any evidence.
However, Swire Group is different. It is a listed company. If it dares to burn its accounting books, not only will the shareholders teach Swire Group a lesson, but even the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will punish Swire Group. In the end, Li Jun may very well take over the entire Swire Group by stealth.
The Hong Kong Island Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is the only institution on Hong Kong Island that is not fully managed by foreign entities; the foreign entities only have supervisory power over the SFC.
It's not that the British didn't want to manage this lucrative sector, but rather that the Americans demanded that if Hong Kong wanted to become the financial hub of the Far East, the Securities and Futures Commission's neutrality must be guaranteed.
The foreigners just couldn't bear to part with the money from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, which is why they created the Securities and Futures Commission, which they couldn't control.
And Li Jun also took this into account.
"Mr. Shen Bi, before I answer your question, please answer mine first: how much loan did HSBC approve for Li Bancheng this time?"
After hearing Shen Bi's question, Li Jun smiled slightly and asked.
HK$50 million.
Shen Bi said in a deep voice.
"Wow, HSBC truly lives up to its reputation as the number one bank in Hong Kong Island and even the Far East. It can approve HK$50 billion in one go. It's really rich and powerful."
Li Jun looked at Shen Bi and said with a smile.
However, to Shen Bi, Li Jun's words sounded particularly sarcastic, which made him unconsciously feel a surge of anger.
"Mr. Li, what do you want to do?"
Shen Bi forced down his anger, looked at Li Jun, and said slowly.
“Mr. Shen Bi, I hope that HSBC will immediately recall the HK$50 billion loan you gave to Li Bancheng.”
Li Jun spoke slowly, word by word.
"..."
At this moment, Shen Bi finally understood that Li Jun's actions against Taikoo Group in the stock market these past few days were all feints. What he really wanted to deal with was Li Bancheng and Changjiang Group.
After pondering for more than ten seconds, Shen Bi looked at Li Jun and slowly said, "Mr. Li, you should know the significance of Li Bancheng to our HSBC Bank, right?"
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. All I want to know right now is whether HSBC can immediately and publicly recall the HK$50 billion loan to Li Bancheng.”
Li Jun had no intention of chatting with Shen Bi and directly forced her to resign.
At this moment, Shen Bi's face was extremely pale, and his eyes were full of conflict.
If they choose to rescue Li Bancheng, the exposure of information from Swire Group will have an impact on the entire Hong Kong Island, including the Hong Kong British government, the four major foreign trading companies, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank.
But if we choose not to save Li Bancheng...
Supporting Li Bancheng can be said to be Shen Bi's greatest achievement over the past ten years. It was precisely because of Li Bancheng that he was able to climb step by step to the position of manager of HSBC's Hong Kong headquarters.
Most importantly, Li Bancheng is the best example of HSBC's "dog-raising plan". Once Li Bancheng falls, the "dog-raising plan" that has been implemented for more than ten years will be severely damaged.
Moreover, what Li Jun did most ruthlessly was to have HSBC publicly recall the loan to Li Bancheng at this critical juncture. This was to let HSBC tell all the pro-Western dogs in Hong Kong that if something really happens, we foreigners can throw you dogs away whenever we want, and don't expect us to protect you.
The consequences of this were something Shen Bi absolutely did not want to see.
At this moment, Shen Bi was extremely conflicted, and for a moment, he couldn't come up with a solution.
Thinking of this, Shen Bi looked at Li Jun and slowly said, "Mr. Li, could you give me 20 minutes? I will get back to you in 20 minutes."
"No problem, Mr. Shen Bi."
Although Li Jun looked at Shen Bi at eye level, his gaze towards Shen Bi carried a subtle air of superiority and dominance.
"Thank you, Mr. Li."
Shen Bi thanked Li Jun, then picked up the microphone and said, "...Fred, take Mr. Li to the lounge to rest."
A few minutes later.
After Li Jun was led out of his office by his secretary, Shen Bi immediately picked up the phone and dialed a number.
“I am Shen Bi from HSBC. I am telling the Governor that I have something very important to discuss and need to speak with him immediately.”
After the call connected, Shen Bi immediately spoke.
Shen Bi ultimately decided to hand over the selection to Governor Peng Jiakang, the first person in Hong Kong to make the choice.
“Yes, Mr. Shen Bi, I will inform the Governor of Hong Kong immediately.”
A woman's voice came through the receiver.
A few minutes later.
"Manager Shen, what can I do for you?"
The voice of Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten came through the receiver.
At this moment, Peng Jiakang was also very curious as to why Shen Bi was in such a hurry to find him.
“Governor, Li Jun just came to see me, and he told me…”
Shen Bi recounted his conversation with Li Jun in detail to Peng Jiakang.
"..."
After hearing Shen Bi's words, Peng Jiakang's expression changed instantly. He had been paying attention to the Swire Group's situation on the Hong Kong stock market, but he never expected that the situation would deteriorate to this extent in just a few days.
'Fuck! We gave you policies, funding, everything, and you still couldn't beat a Chinese person? You're all useless!'
While cursing Swire Group, HSBC, and other foreign companies in his mind, Peng Jiakang asked, "Manager Shen, is there no other way?"
"That's all, Mr. Governor. Now we either save Li Bancheng or we don't. These are the only two options."
Shen Bi's tone was full of bitterness.
"Manager Shen, could you sell your Swire Group shares in HSBC to the Swire family, so they can become the largest shareholder again?"
After pondering for a moment, Peng Jiakang asked.
“Mr. Governor, this matter needs to be decided by HSBC’s headquarters in Chongqing. You should know the probability of us Americans doing things. Moreover, Swire Group’s share price has been rising. Based on my understanding of the people on HSBC’s board of directors, it is impossible for them to agree to sell Swire Group’s shares at this time.”
Shen Bi said quietly.
Everything was within Li Jun's plan. Once the plan was fully completed, it would be a completely open and transparent scheme, so that the opponent would know the correct way to solve the problem, but would be unable to do so.
"..."
Peng Jiakang remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "Manager Shen, Li Bancheng is someone supported by your HSBC. Whether or not to save him is up to your HSBC, but I hope your HSBC will prioritize the overall situation."
Upon hearing Peng Jiakang's words, Shen Bi immediately understood what the Governor meant. "Governor, I understand what you mean. I will do my best to resolve this matter and will not cause you, the British Hong Kong government, or the Zu family any trouble."
"Good, Manager Shen, it's great that you think that way. Let's resolve this matter quickly to avoid any unforeseen complications."
After saying this, Peng Jiakang hung up the phone.
'Beep beep beep~'
Hearing the busy tone from the receiver, Shen Bi stood there stunned for a long time before slowly putting the telephone receiver back on the phone, looking as if he had aged 10 years.
Then, Shen Bi took a deep breath and slowly walked out of his office.
A few minutes later.
"Mr. Li, HSBC will soon publicly demand that Mr. Li repay the HK$50 billion loan. But how can you guarantee that you won't affect the Swire Group's operations?"
Shen Bi looked at Li Jun and slowly asked, "Welcome."
“I can sell all of Swire Group’s shares to you foreigners at the current share price.”
Li Jun's face was full of a 'bright' smile.
"Swire Group's stock price is currently 30% higher than usual. Will you sell us Swire Group shares at the current price?"
Although she had prepared herself mentally, Shen Bi was still stunned by Li Jun's 'shamelessness'.