As evening approached, Lu Feng changed his clothes. The car sent by Maha was already waiting downstairs. Lu Feng got in the car and headed straight for his destination.
Inside a private room in a five-star hotel, two people were already waiting. When they saw Lu Feng arrive, they whispered a few words to each other. Lu Feng looked at them but did not take the initiative to speak. He simply sat down in his seat.
The two people next to him whispered, "Wasn't it him who told Maha about the asphyxiation therapy?"
"I've heard of this person before; he's a well-known private business owner in China. I wonder what he's up to this time."
"Why don't we go and talk to him, and have him persuade Maha to stop interfering in economic matters so he can just enjoy himself?"
The two whispered for a long time, and one of them stood up and walked towards Lu Feng. When Lu Feng saw the man in his forties walking over, he stood up and waited for him.
"Hello, are you Mr. Lu?" the man asked in Chinese with a Thai accent.
"Hello, hello, what's your name?" Lu Feng asked politely.
“I am the chief economist of the Ministry of Finance and also the deputy minister of finance. This afternoon, Prince Maha talked to us about asphyxiation therapy. I don’t know why, but I always subconsciously think of ‘shock therapy,’ and this method does indeed violate the laws of economics.” He organized his thoughts and continued, “Could you please advise Prince Maha that it would be better to focus on his own field? If you have any difficulties, you can tell us.”
“Yes, you can tell us if you have any problems. There’s no need to bother Maha. Economics is a highly specialized field.” Another person behind him also came over and said.
Lu Feng could tell that the two were terrified of the asphyxiation therapy, so he said, "I was just making a suggestion, just talking nonsense. You're a professional, you don't have to take it to heart, do you?"
“We’re not arguing with you, the problem is that Prince Maha is arguing with us. How about this, you can tell Prince Maha later not to get involved in this matter,” said the older man next to him.
Lu Feng smiled, unsure how to answer. He knew that the royal family held no real power here; the administration was elected, and the military was the real power behind the scenes. However, among these three parties, the administration was the most vulnerable. Should he speak to Maha? What if he offended him? Things would become complicated.
"No matter what, I still hope Thailand will get better, and we should work together towards that goal," Lu Feng said, offering a nonchalant remark.
A few minutes later, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Maha walked in with several people. After a brief greeting, everyone took their seats, and as the food was served, another song and dance performance ensued.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Maha brought up Lu Feng's suffocation therapy and asked the two people present, "What do you all think?"
"No country actively shorts its own currency. This would backfire, making large funds think we lack confidence and causing more capital to flee. Such a practice is absolutely unacceptable."
"I agree. The most urgent task right now is to stabilize confidence. Confidence is more precious than gold during an economic downturn. We should postpone various policies, raise interest rates, and have the government launch major projects to stabilize employment and solidify the monetary base. That's what we should be doing."
After they finished speaking, they stared at Lu Feng. This so-called suffocation therapy would probably have the same consequences as shock therapy.
Maha doesn't care much about so-called economics. If he takes the conventional route, the military will feel that he is on the same side as the administration. But he also wants to do something, to distinguish himself from both sides, and to highlight his own characteristics.
“We can also abandon the dollar-pegged exchange rate and let the currency depreciate slowly. If we insist on pegging the exchange rate, it will only cause more capital to flee and accelerate the squeeze on foreign exchange reserves.” Lu Feng gave him a serious piece of advice.
"No, anchoring the exchange rate will reassure international capital. Only the free flow of international capital can drive the development of domestic enterprises. Once capital cannot enter and exit with peace of mind, we will be very passive in the international arena. We will be a country that is not free and not democratic." The middle-aged man then hurled a tirade of freedom-related arguments.
Lu Feng wanted to laugh when he heard this. You two are not qualified to talk about freedom and democracy. Don't you even look at who is sitting here? It's a country where the monarchy still exists. How empty talk is this?
Lu Feng also knew their difficulties. Anchoring the exchange rate would be more conducive to the stability of international tourism and the import and export of goods, since that was how they developed.
Maha sat there with a rather unpleasant expression. The two of them chattered on and on about their reasons, not daring to contradict Maha, but they managed to give Lu Feng a good dressing down at the dinner table.
“Let’s discuss this matter again. This isn’t Mr. Lu’s idea, but rather my view on the current economic situation. This proposal is just an alternative.” Maha felt the pressure and had no choice but to postpone the matter for now.
Before they knew it, it was 11 p.m. The two finance officials took their leave one after the other. Only then did Maha speak his mind to Lu Feng, saying, "Mr. Lu, I have consulted several economic experts, and your proposal is very feasible. However, I also need to consider various aspects."
"I understand, after all, this isn't a private company. I just don't know how things are going with me?" Lu Feng didn't care about whether it was appropriate or not and asked directly.
“Your matter is fine, but there’s one thing you have to promise me. If the Thai currency really has problems, you have to help me. I know you’re a wealthy man and you know some big businessmen in Europe.” Maha stated his conditions.
"No problem. Not to mention me, even with my connections in Europe, as long as they offer a few percent interest, let alone hundreds of billions of US dollars, tens of billions are no problem. Don't worry, what kind of relationship do we have? It will definitely be lower than the World Bank's interest rate." Lu Feng kept calling him "brother" and boasted.
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