The next day, Shen Dong called Song Zihao over and said, "Ahao, the price of gold has been rising recently. Do you think it can break through the $1,000 mark per ounce?"
After a moment's thought, Song Zihao said, "Unless something particularly significant happens, with the support of various organizations, it is very likely that we will break through one thousand US dollars soon."
Shen Dong's eyes flashed, and he asked, "Does everyone think that way?"
Song Zihao nodded and said, "That's right. The investment institutions on Wall Street have gone crazy lately. They've made a lot of money from gold futures, with the most successful institutions even earning five billion US dollars. It's like they're robbing people. Brother Dong, are you also bullish on gold?"
Shen Dong said, "On the contrary, I am very pessimistic about gold. The United States is experiencing severe inflation and economic downturn, and the Federal Reserve is very likely to raise interest rates. Once interest rates are raised, the price of gold will inevitably plummet."
Song Zihao said, "Brother Dong, the risks of futures trading are far greater than those of the stock market. You must be very careful."
Shen Dong said confidently, "I bet the price of gold won't even reach $1,000 before it crashes. Ah Hao, once the price of gold exceeds $900, I'm planning to short it with $2.1 billion. What do you think?"
Song Zihao asked, "What about our previously agreed-upon investment plan?"
Shen Dong said, "Proceed as planned. You only need to take out 300 million US dollars and use five times leverage to buy shares of Kerr Technology. As for the 2.1 billion US dollars, you don't need to use your funds; I have already raised it all."
Song Zihao asked, "Brother Dong, how much leverage are you planning to use?"
Shen Dong said, "1.5 billion US dollars, leveraged tenfold, with 600 million US dollars as a reserve. As long as the price of gold doesn't rise to 950 US dollars, our funds are safe. If it does rise to 950 US dollars, then we'll have to use your funds. However, I believe that situation won't happen."
Song Zihao said with a wry smile, "Brother Dong, you're taking a huge gamble."
Shen Dong said, "This money was originally won by us. If we lose, we can just start over. But if we win, we can earn at least 10 billion US dollars. At that time, we will become the richest company in Hong Kong. What about Li Ka-shing and Li Zhaoshan? They will all be little brothers."
Song Zihao gave a thumbs up and said, "Brother Dong, you're the one."
Song Zihao had complete respect for Shen Dong, who was more than ten years younger than him.
Whether in terms of character or ability, he is simply impeccable.
If this succeeds, they will be a leading force not only in Hong Kong Island, but also globally.
At 10 a.m., Shen Dong and Song Zihao arrived at a coffee shop and met O'Neal.
The difference between O'Neal and the future basketball superstar O'Neal is huge. He is not tall, only about 1.7 meters, around 50 years old, with half of his hair already white, and his belly is so big that it looks like he is carrying a basketball.
"Mr. Shen, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Upon seeing Shen Dong, O'Neal narrowed his eyes to slits, greeted him, and warmly extended his hand to Shen Dong.
Shen Dong shook hands with him and said, "Mr. O'Neill, I have already heard from President Song. Thank you very much for your and Merrill Lynch Group's strong support."
O'Neill smiled and said, "Providing the best service to our clients is the mission of Merrill Lynch Group."
After exchanging a few polite words, the three of them took their seats.
O'Neill said, "Mr. Shen, regarding the handling fees, we have..."
Shen Dong waved his hand and said, "This is just a small matter. Mr. O'Neill, I want to do a big deal with your Merrill Lynch Group."
O'Neal raised an eyebrow and asked, "How big?"
Shen Dong held up one finger and said, "A margin of 2.1 billion US dollars, ten times leverage, shorting gold futures."
Upon hearing this, O'Neal was stunned into silence.
$21 billion shorting gold futures?
This is simply a joke.
Let alone Shen Dong, even those international big players wouldn't dare to play this big in the gold futures market.
Because this market is so huge, amounting to trillions of US dollars, no one can control its rise and fall.
O'Neill took a sip of coffee to calm himself down and said, "Mr. Shen, since the black swan event in the stock market, gold's price increase has been almost unprecedented and remarkably stable. Countless institutions are predicting that an ounce of gold could break through the thousand-dollar mark. Are you sure you want to gamble that much?"
If one were to short sell with ten times leverage, then if the price of gold were to rise by ten percent, Shen Dong's $2.1 billion would vanish completely.
This risk is much greater than the last time Shen Dong shorted stocks.
Shen Dong laughed and said, "Mr. O'Neill, I just want to know if you have that many gold futures contracts? If so, would you dare to lend them to me?"
O'Neill said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Shen, we need to hold a meeting to discuss this."
Shen Dong asked, "When can you give me an answer?"
O'Neal said, "At the latest tonight."
For the average person to obtain leverage of five times or more, they would definitely have to go through a rigorous review process by Merrill Lynch, which would be impossible in less than a week.
But Shen Dong is different; he has billions of US dollars lying in his account, which doesn't need to be investigated at all.
The matter was resolved as soon as Merrill Lynch's leadership held a meeting.
As for the $21 billion gold futures contract, not to mention Merrill Lynch, even other top ten bond companies could handle it.
Shen Dong said happily, "That's great. Mr. O'Neill, let's talk about the fees. If I want to borrow $21 billion in gold futures contracts, how much interest will you charge?"
O'Neill said, "The minimum annual interest rate cannot be lower than eight percent."
Shen Dong frowned and said, "That's too high. I can only offer five per thousand at most. If you don't agree, I'll have to switch to another securities firm."
O'Neill quickly replied, "The rate is 0.8% for regular customers, but for a big customer like Mr. Shen, it will definitely be cheaper; 0.5% is not impossible."
Shen Dong smiled and said, "Then I'll wait for your good news."
After having a cup of coffee, O'Neal hurriedly left.
That afternoon, Merrill Lynch held a meeting of all its management teams.
Using $2.1 billion to manipulate $21 billion in short gold futures, not only did Shen Dong bear the risk, but Merrill Lynch Group also faced enormous risks.
For example, if their forced liquidation level is set at $950, then if the price suddenly surges to $980, this liquidation level will be ineffective.
As a result, Shen Dong will naturally lose everything, and Merrill Lynch Group will also suffer a great loss.
Therefore, setting this closing position is crucial.
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