Li Ka-shing adjusted his glasses and said, "Those who are not of our kind will surely have different intentions. Moreover, Shen Dong is a shareholder of our light bulb company. For both public and private reasons, we should help him."
Li Zeju's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Father, I'm afraid you have ulterior motives."
Li Ka-shing chuckled and said, "Shen Dong owns 96 percent of Hang Seng Bank's shares, so it's impossible for him to keep it forever."
Li Zekai suddenly realized and said, "Father, so you want to become a shareholder of Hang Seng Bank. But Shen Dong may not agree. After all, the last thing he lacks right now is money."
Li Ka-shing laughed and said, "Whether or not we sell the shares has nothing to do with whether Shen Dong needs money or not. Even if we can't buy them, it doesn't matter. With the interest subsidy that Shen Dong offers, we'll get at least 20% more money with him than with other banks. Why not?"
Li Zeju said, "Father is right."
That afternoon, as soon as the stock market opened, Hang Seng Bank's stock price soared like a rocket.
However, only four percent of the shares are in the market, and they are all in the hands of retail investors. The shareholders can only watch helplessly, unable to get even a drop of the soup.
By the close of trading, Hang Seng Bank's total market capitalization had reached US$5 billion.
The following morning, 123 American companies announced that they would withdraw nearly $30 billion from Hang Seng Bank and transfer it to Citibank and other banks.
As soon as the news broke, Hang Seng Bank's stock price, which had been soaring, stopped immediately and fell by 5%.
Before the market opened in the afternoon, another piece of news came out.
The Huo family, the three major families, and dozens of other large local companies all announced that they would transfer a portion of their funds to Hang Seng Bank.
Meanwhile, Hang Seng Bank has formally pledged to compensate other depositors for the interest lost due to the withdrawal of the US consortium, with specific measures to be announced a week later.
Once the two pieces of news were announced, it was clear to everyone that the Hang Seng Bank issue had evolved into a battle between local Hong Kong businessmen and American conglomerates.
Before the market closed, Hang Seng Bank's share price rose by 10 percent from yesterday, and its total market capitalization exceeded US$5.5 billion.
Hang Seng Bank CEO's Office
On Shen Dong's desk was a thick stack of resignation letters, all from employees of the United States.
They elected five or six representatives, who first expressed their dissatisfaction with Shen Dong in a fit of anger.
Before Shen Dong could react, they turned and left, leaving Shen Dong furious.
"Ah Hao, what's going on with Liu Dong?" Shen Dong threw all the resignation letters into the trash can and asked Song Zihao.
Song Zihao said, "Mr. Liu Dong is a great talent, far more capable than me. After taking over the auditing work of the two major banks, he quickly found loopholes. Brother Dong, I think there is no problem with him serving as the president of Hang Seng Bank."
Shen Dong laughed and said, "How much did you receive from Liu Dong? Why are you speaking up for him like this?"
Song Zihao shrugged and said, "A meal of honey-glazed char siu."
"You're quite easy to please."
Shen Dong rolled his eyes, then picked up the incriminating materials on the Hang Seng Bank and Standard Chartered Bank executives from the table and said, "Let Liu Dong temporarily serve as the president of Hang Seng Bank. I don't care what methods he uses, he must stabilize Hang Seng Bank completely within a month. As for these bank parasites, make any Hong Kong locals cough up their money and get out of here. As for any Americans, don't be polite, take them to court directly."
Song Zihao said, "Brother Dong, what you're doing might upset the Americans."
Shen Dong sneered, "They'll be satisfied if I don't do this? Don't be ridiculous. Ah Hao, we've killed too many people from the American conglomerate; there's no turning back now, so we don't need to hold back. Leave all this to Li Dong; I want to see his capabilities."
Song Zihao nodded and said, "Understood. Brother Dong, if there's nothing else, I'll go now."
"No rush."
Shen Dong waved his hand and said with a smile, "I heard you have a girlfriend?"
Song Zihao blushed and said, "You know?"
Seeing Song Zihao's expression, Shen Dong laughed and scolded, "Damn, you're over forty years old, why are you still so shy? Don't tell me you're still a virgin?"
Song Zihao immediately said, "Of course not."
Shen Dong asked, "Tell me, who's your girlfriend? What does she do?"
Song Zihao said, "She is the deputy director of the advertising and marketing department of Asia Television. Her name is Zhang Jiajia. She was introduced to me by my sister-in-law, Arou. We have been dating for about half a year and I feel that she is quite good."
Shen Dong asked, "How old is she?"
Song Zihao said, "She's thirty-six years old, a Harvard finance PhD, and was married once. But less than a week after the wedding, her husband died in a car accident. In the past few years, Jiajia hasn't dated anyone else."
Shen Dong nodded and said, "Ah Hao, you're not getting any younger, and it's not easy to meet the right person. When the time comes, don't hesitate to take action."
Song Zihao laughed and said, "I had already successfully proposed before I went to Japan, but the wedding date has not yet been set."
"Depend on."
Shen Dong slapped his forehead and said, "Looks like I've ruined your good time."
Song Zihao quickly said, "Brother Dong, please don't say that. You entrusted me with such an important matter in Dongying, which shows your absolute trust in me. I am only grateful."
Shen Dong laughed and said, "Stop flattering me. Xiao Ma and A Chan are also preparing for their wedding. They asked me to suggest that you two have your wedding together. The brothers have been incredibly busy these past two years, making a lot of money, but we've had very few opportunities to get together. It would be perfect to use your weddings as an opportunity for everyone to get together. What do you think?"
Song Zihao said, "I'll discuss it with Xiao Ma."
Shen Dong said, "What's the point of your discussion? The most important people are Achan and Miss Zhang. If they don't agree, then forget it. After all, marriage is the most important thing in a woman's life, and there can't be any unwillingness."
Song Zihao nodded and said, "Okay."
Just then, Shen Dong's phone rang.
"Brother Dong, I'm leaving now," Song Zihao said, standing up.
Shen Dong nodded and said, "Go."
After Song Zihao left, Shen Dong answered the phone.
"President Du, what are your instructions?"
"How could I dare to give instructions to you, the world's richest man? Tomorrow evening, our Xia Hua Society is preparing to host a banquet, inviting prominent business figures from Hong Kong Island. We would be honored if you, Mr. Shen, could attend."
"President Du, may I ask what the purpose of your company hosting this banquet?"
"Six words: attract investment to inland areas."
Shen Dong said helplessly, "I've already invested enough. You're not going to try and take advantage of me again, are you?"
"The main reason is that you have too much wealth to lose. With 20 billion US dollars in profits, if you could just invest a quarter of it in the mainland, it would be enough to change the economic landscape of an entire province. Tell me, how could we not invite a super-rich person like you?"
"Thank you for your high regard. Let me be frank with you: once the Hang Seng Bank crisis is over, I will be setting up branches in major first-tier cities. If you have no objections, I can serve as an example of investment."
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