allendalepharm Page 316
Page 316
'Beep beep beep~'
Hearing the busy tone from the other end of the phone, Li Bancheng put the receiver back on the phone, pondered for a moment, then picked up the receiver again and dialed another number.
At this moment, in Li Zhaoji's office in the Zhaoji Real Estate headquarters building.
Li Zhaoji is continuing to aggressively acquire Swire Pacific shares, following Li Jun's plan.
Li Zhaoji has just secured a HK$50 billion loan from Pangu Bank and OCBC Bank, making him incredibly wealthy. He'll immediately buy up any stock in the Swire Group that's listed on the stock market.
It is precisely because of the actions of Li Zhaoji, Hu Yingxing, Guo Desheng and others that Swire Group's stock price has risen significantly.
‘Ring ring ring~’
At that moment, a phone rang, diverting Li Zhaoji's attention from observing the stock market trends.
"Hello, who is it?"
After the call connected, Li Zhaoji asked.
"Old Li, it's me, Acheng."
This time, Li Bancheng's tone was very polite, lacking the 'unquestionable' air he had when he was giving orders on behalf of the foreigners a few days ago.
"Oh, it's Ah Cheng. What's up?"
Li Zhaoji had long been aware of the stock fluctuations of Changjiang Group, and it was all part of Li Jun's plan. Therefore, the moment he heard Li Bancheng's voice, Li Zhaoji roughly knew what Li Bancheng wanted to say; he was deliberately feigning ignorance...
"Old Li, actually, it's a bit difficult for me to say, but just now, the people from the landlord's association..."
Li Bancheng, though he said it was difficult to talk about, recounted in detail to Li Zhaoji how the landlords had shorted Changjiang Group without any change in expression.
"Ah Cheng, what do you mean by telling me all this?"
Li Zhaoji once again asked a question he already knew the answer to.
"Hey, Lao Li, to be honest, I did use all of Changjiang Group's cash flow to acquire Swire Group's shares a few days ago, and now I really don't have any cash flow left. What I mean is, could you lend me some..."
Before Li Bancheng could finish speaking, Li Zhaoji interrupted him: "Cheng, it's not that I don't want to help you, but all your money has been invested in Taikoo Group's stock, and so has mine. I don't have much cash to spare right now."
Rejecting Li Bancheng was also part of Li Jun's plan.
Li Bancheng wasn't stupid. Zhaoji Real Estate's size was what it was. After throwing so much money into the stock market these past few days, how could they possibly easily come up with billions of Hong Kong dollars? So, they had to refuse Li Bancheng first.
"Hey!"
Upon hearing Li Zhaoji's words, Li Bancheng also let out a deep sigh.
Although HSBC agreed to lend him money, the amount would not be unlimited, after all, HSBC is an Eagle Group headquartered in the foggy city of the United Kingdom.
Shen Bi could persuade the top officials in Hong Kong to contribute several billion Hong Kong dollars to support Li Bancheng, but he certainly couldn't persuade the directors of the headquarters in Chongqing, the United States, to contribute tens of billions to support Li Bancheng.
According to Li Bancheng's estimate, 50 billion yuan would be barely enough to counter the landlords' association, while 80 billion yuan or more would be more secure.
Therefore, Li Bancheng must handle the remaining HK$30 billion himself.
That's why he made the phone call to Li Zhaoji.
Unfortunately, Li Zhaoji's answer disappointed Li Bancheng.
However, at this moment, Li Zhaoji continued, "Acheng, it's not entirely without a solution."
"Hmm? Old Li, do you have any other ideas? If you can help me get through this difficult time, I'll definitely remember your favor!"
Upon hearing Li Zhaoji's words, Li Bancheng immediately asked.
"Hehe, it's very simple, Ah Cheng. Although I alone can't help you, if we add Hu Yingxing and Guo Desheng, it shouldn't be a problem for each of us to raise 7 to 8 million Hong Kong dollars."
Li Zhaoji said with a smile.
“Good, good, good idea, Lao Li, I’ll call Hu Yingxing and Guo Desheng right away.”
A smile appeared on Li Bancheng's face as he spoke.
"Don't rush, Acheng. Listen to what I'm about to say. Our companies are all joint-stock companies. If we want to lend you money directly, the board of directors must approve it. You'd better bring out some collateral of the same 4.0 value as collateral for us."
Li Zhaoji said with a smile.
"Old Li, what you said makes sense. What kind of collateral do you want?"
Upon hearing Li Zhaoji's words, Li Bancheng pondered for a moment before replying.
"Ah Cheng, you either need to pledge your Taikoo Group shares to us, or you need to pledge an equivalent amount of Changjiang Group shares to us."
Li Zhaoji replied with a smile.
"..."
After hearing Li Zhaoji's words, Li Bancheng pondered for more than half a minute before finally saying slowly, "Okay, Lao Li, I will pledge the shares of Taikoo Group to you."
"Haha, Ah Cheng, then there's no problem. You can use this offer to talk to Hu Yingxing and Guo Desheng, and they will definitely agree to lend you the money."
After hearing Li Bancheng's words, a hint of surprise flashed in Li Zhaoji's eyes, but he immediately burst into laughter to cover it up.
Li Zhaoji was surprised and suspicious for only one reason: Li Bancheng's reactions were exactly the same as Li Jun's plan.
This includes borrowing money from oneself and using Swire Group shares as collateral.
At this moment, inside the Mengzhi Club.
"On one hand, there's the overvalued Swire Group stock, and on the other hand, there's the Changjiang Group stock, which has been heavily shorted and its price has plummeted. Given Li Bancheng's stingy nature, it's easy to guess which stock he would use as collateral without even thinking."
Li Jun smiled slightly and spoke slowly.
Li Bancheng never dreamed that after taking out shares of Swire Group, he would be taken to the slaughterhouse, ready to be killed and slaughtered.
He thought he was getting life-saving money from Li Zhaoji, Hu Yingxing, and Guo Desheng, but in reality, that money was his "settlement allowance"!
[197] The world's shipping magnate's astonishment: Li Jun, it's a good thing you're Chinese, otherwise we would have been in trouble.
Changjiang Group Headquarters Building.
Li Bancheng sat in his office chair, his face calm, but if you looked closely at his eyes, you could see a hint of anxiety in them.
Clearly, Li Bancheng's mood was not as calm as his expression suggested.
No wonder, Li Bancheng is now waiting for his 'life-saving money'.
If he could secure a HK$50 billion loan from HSBC and obtain approximately HK$30 billion in loans from Li Zhaoji, Hu Yingxing, and Guo Desheng, he could calmly deal with the short selling from the Landlord Association.
However, Li Zhaoji, Hu Yingxing, and Guo Desheng did not directly agree to Li Bancheng's request, but instead ignored him for a while.
This was actually part of Li Jun's plan.
For someone as 'extremely clever' as Li Bancheng, the fact that he agreed to lend so much money so readily would only arouse suspicion in Li Bancheng's heart. If he were made to be anxious, Li Bancheng would find it perfectly normal.
‘Ring ring ring~’
Just as Li Bancheng was waiting anxiously, a phone rang.
"Which one?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Li Bancheng picked up the phone and spoke.
“Ah Cheng, it’s me. Lao Hu and Lao Guo just spoke with me and asked me to tell you on their behalf that as long as you are willing to pledge your Swire Group shares to us, the three of us can join forces to lend you HK$25 billion.”
Li Zhaoji's voice came through the receiver.
In fact, based on the current share price of Swire Group, the value of the Swire Group shares held by Li Bancheng is higher than HK$25 billion. However, the problem is that Li Bancheng is now asking others for money, so it is only right that he should provide collateral exceeding the loan amount.
Will there be any problems with Swire Group's stock being pledged to Li Zhaoji, Hu Yingxing, and Guo Desheng?
In Li Bancheng's view, Li Zhaoji, Hu Yingxing, and Guo Desheng are just like him, all loyal dogs of the foreigners. Whether the shares of Swire Group are in his hands or theirs, it doesn't really matter.
Therefore, Li Bancheng had no doubts and readily agreed, "Okay, Lao Li, I really have to thank you, Lao Hu, and Lao Guo this time."
"Haha, Ah Cheng, we're business partners. We'll help you with this if we can. You can bring your lawyer to sign the contract."
On the other end of the phone, Li Zhaoji's smile was exceptionally bright, but his eyes were filled with indifference.
At a time like this, they've come begging to him, yet he still calls himself Old Li. This Li Bancheng clearly doesn't respect him. Right now, Li Zhaoji would love for Li Bancheng to die any second.
Of course, Li Zhaoji was eager for Li Bancheng to die, not mainly because Li Bancheng disrespected him, but because Li Jun promised that after Li Bancheng 'died,' he would 'eat meat' from Li Bancheng's 'corpse.'
Li Jun understood the meaning of the phrase "a combination of kindness and severity".
Fear alone can only suppress people temporarily. Only by making them both fear you and benefit from you, and finally adding a little respect, can you keep these people under control for a lifetime.
"Okay, thank you, Lao Li."
After hearing Li Zhaoji's words, Li Bancheng's smile was truly radiant.
At noon, Li Bancheng didn't even bother to eat lunch. He went straight to the headquarters of Zhaoji Real Estate with his lawyer and signed a contract with Li Zhaoji, Hu Yingxing, and Guo Desheng, transferring ownership of his Taikoo Group shares to the three of them.
After Li Bancheng left, Li Zhaoji immediately picked up the mobile phone next to him and dialed Li Jun's number.
"Mr. Li, it's me."
“We have just signed a contract with Li Bancheng, and now the shares of Swire Group in his hands belong to me, Hu Yingxing, Guo Desheng and me.”
After the call was connected, Li Zhaoji immediately spoke.
“Alright, Mr. Zhaoji, then please go find my lawyer, Ma Xueren, to proceed with the next step of the plan.”
Upon hearing Li Zhaoji's words, Li Jun smiled slightly and slowly replied.
Li Jun's next plan is to get Li Zhaoji, Hu Yingxing, and Guo Desheng to transfer their shares in Swire Group to him. This would make Li Jun the largest shareholder of Swire Group, along with the shares held by He Dong and Bao Yugang.