Chapter 138: The Pride of the Shipping King! (Seeking monthly ticket)

The silver futures case from 1979 to 1980 was definitely the craziest one for American capitalists.

It was so crazy that it almost monopolized the world's spot silver and stored up to 200 million ounces of spot silver.

Even though the price of silver had increased eightfold, the Hunt brothers still refused to release the goods.

In order to prevent the US government from forcibly releasing the goods, the two brothers even rented a plane to transport a large amount of silver to Switzerland.

In a word, the two brothers want to overthrow the whole world this time and bring it down.

The two brothers wanted to completely bankrupt all silver investors in the United States, and finally forced the Chicago Board of Trade to intervene personally, directly cutting off the source of funds and increasing the margin for silver futures trading sixfold.

The margin for a silver futures contract increased from $1000 to $6000.

The Hunt brothers, who held a large number of contracts, had to make up hundreds of millions of dollars in margin, and this move ultimately drained the funds in the hands of the Hunt brothers.

Wall Street forced them to close their positions, and silver futures prices plummeted.

Then, in capitalist countries, money is everything!

These two brothers made such a big fuss, but they didn't suffer any loss except money.

In the end, even the US Treasury Department came out to clean up their mess.

After all, the two brothers still had tens of millions of ounces of silver in their hands at the time. If they released them and smashed the market, they could destroy the entire silver market.

Of course, these are none of Li Changhe’s business. What Li Changhe needs to consider is how to gain benefits from this speculative feast.

First of all, he needs funds. Even though the margin model of the futures market comes with leverage, Li Changhe still needs a considerable amount of funds to enter the market.

And the funds must be in US dollars, not other currencies.

Secondly, another important point that Li Changhe considered was the security of funds.

Li Changhe, who came from later generations, never believed in Western freedom and democracy. For capitalists, making them lose money is more painful than killing them.

I don’t know how many people were cheated by the Hunter brothers’ move.

Li Changhe didn't know whether there would be people who would chase after people like him who had made profits after losing money, but he had to build a moat for himself.

So he chose Mr. Bao Yugang.

Bao Yugang of this era is not just a billionaire. Because of the shipping industry, he has a deep friendship with many politicians in Europe and the United States.

He can enter and leave the British Prime Minister's Downing Street residence freely, and he would make appointments to play golf with the Iron Lady's husband when he had nothing to do. He is a very good friend of the Iron Lady's family.

The same is true in the United States. The president of the United States will send him an invitation letter to participate in the inauguration ceremony.

Not to mention the heads of state and government of many other countries, whose photos with him are hung all over his office in Hong Kong Island.

Therefore, if the profit was made by the unknown Li Changhe in the same silver futures case, some people might persistently investigate.

But if it was the well-known shipping tycoon Bao Yugang who made a profit, Li Changhe believed that even the American government would not say anything.

The face of capitalists is so realistic.

At the same time, after listening to Li Changhe's analysis, Bao Yugang and Director Lu were silent for a long time.

If things are really as Li Changhe said, then this group of people really have a big hand.

"So, you want to use me to do futures trading in the silver market this time?"

Bao Yugang's expression also became serious at this time, and he asked Li Changhe solemnly.

"Yes, my personal analysis is that this is a good opportunity. If there really is someone behind this, this will be a good case study."

"Of course, I have no money, no U.S. dollars, and no access to the Chicago trading market."

"So when I accidentally heard that Mr. Bao was here that day, I thought of using your energy."

"One way is that I borrow money from you, and then Mr. Bao will help me find an operation team. I can only give remote instructions, and then I will repay you if I make a profit."

"The other way is a bit presumptuous of me, but Mr. Bao can choose to cooperate with me. If there is any profit, we can agree on a share."

Li Changhe said in the same serious tone.

"Student Changhe, I have to remind you that you are going to borrow US dollars. If you fail and lose money, it may be a huge debt for you."

Director Lu said in a deep voice to Li Changhe at this time.

Li Changhe smiled and shook his head.

"Mr. Lu, I just don't have a way to exchange dollars, but I'm not short of money."

"Even if I'm in debt, it doesn't matter to me. Besides being a student, I'm also a writer."

"As far as I know, even in Hong Kong Island, writers can earn decent incomes. Besides that, there are scripts from film companies."

"One of my novels has been published by People's Literature Publishing House, and another is being proofread by Beijing Publishing House. One of my novels has also been selected by Beijing Film Studio and is now being adapted into a movie."

"Even if I lose money, I have enough ability to repay Mr. Bao's loan, whether it is US dollars or Hong Kong dollars."

Li Changhe said confidently at this moment.

If he really wants to make money, he has plenty of channels.

There isn’t much money in domestic literary publishing right now, but abroad there is a royalty system.

Whether it is martial arts in Hong Kong or science fiction in Europe and the United States, it is not difficult for Li Changhe to make money with the memory in his mind.

What he is helpless about now is that it is difficult for him to gather enough US dollars and trading channels in the United States in a short period of time.

After all, those ways to make money are long-term ways, and it is too difficult to cash in in the short term.

"I was wondering how he could be so confident. It turns out he's a writer!"

Bao Yugang said at this time with understanding.

"Yes, it's still easy for writers to make money in Hong Kong Island."

"But Changhe-san has shown me your vision, so of course I believe you."

"You don't need to share the profits from the cooperation, and you don't need to borrow this money. Just consider it as the fee I pay you for using the business plan."

"Let alone other things, just this Ding Quan, Changhe classmate, has opened my eyes to the world. I am lucky."

"Well, just tell me how much money you need."

Bao Yugang said this with great pride at this time.

After listening to this, Li Changhe was a little surprised.

He originally wanted to borrow money or share profits from the cooperation, but he didn't expect that Bao Yugang didn't choose either of them and actually wanted to give him the money directly in the name of business plan fee.

Li Changhe didn't think there was anything wrong with this. After all, if Bao Yugang could really handle Ding Quan well, the future profits would be beyond imagination.

"To be honest, Mr. Bao, I have never conducted such a transaction, and I don't know the value of such a business plan."

"For me, this proposal is just a stepping stone to make Mr. Bao believe in my knowledge and judgment."

"So, if you ask me how much money I need, it's really hard for me to estimate."

"Let's put it this way. Whatever price Mr. Bao says, that's it. I have no objection."

Li Changhe pushed the ball to Bao Yugang with his backhand.

If you really want to talk about the value of his business plan, you can say it is priceless or priceless.

In the future, as long as a real estate company has accumulated a large amount of Ding rights, it will be easy to exceed 100 billion in market value, even in an emerging town like Sha Tin in the New Territories.

But it is impossible for Li Changhe to ask for a higher price. After all, you can't talk about future matters now.

"Hahahaha, Changhe-san, you're passing the ball to me again!"

"Okay, then I'll make an offer. Since you want to participate in the silver futures market, if you don't have enough money, you won't feel like participating. If you have too much money, I can't take it out."

"One price, how about one million?"

Bao Yugang held up a finger and said confidently, "Hong Kong dollars?"

Director Lu on the side asked in surprise.

Bao Yugang shook his head and said with a smile: "Of course it's US dollars!"

One million US dollars, this is Bao Yugang’s asking price!
"Qiran, this is too much!"

Director Lu said hesitantly.

One million dollars for a student is really generous.

How much foreign exchange does the country have now?

Bao Yugang sighed: "A lot? I think it's okay."

"To be honest, Changhe, who is sitting opposite me now, reminds me of myself back then."

"When I entered the shipping industry, I scraped together $200,000 to buy an old ship. But the shipping industry was booming at the time, and I wanted to expand. The best way was to take out a loan to buy a new ship."

"So I wanted to get a loan from HSBC. At that time, the credit officer of HSBC was still Sanders. I couldn't even meet him. He wouldn't meet me at all."

"Then I waited for seven days at HSBC and finally met Sanders. The first thing he said to me was: Give up, the bank will not lend money to shipping companies."

"Cousin, do you know how I convinced HSBC later?"

Bao Yugang told Director Lu about his past.

"How did you do it?"

Director Lu asked curiously.

Bao Yugang smiled and said: "I told him at the time, if I find a bank willing to lend money to the shipping company, will HSBC also lend money?"

"Sandash was not provoked by me and agreed."

"Then I went to Japan and found a Japanese bank. I showed them my charter contract and told them to apply for a line of credit to buy the ship. All the money I earned would be used to order a new ship in Japan."

"At that time, Japan was in the recovery period after World War II, and the bank supported their shipbuilding industry. After hearing what I said, they gave me a credit line of US$75."

"I used this $75 credit line to get a loan from HSBC, which opened up my business."

"Cousin, the Japanese dared to grant me a credit line of $75, which led to my current situation."

"Today, facing our own outstanding college students from Peking University, I give 100 million US dollars. Do you think it is too much?"

"If we can use this $100 million to create a new billionaire in the future, then the return we get will be many millions, right?"

Bao Yugang spoke seriously to Director Lu.

After listening to this, Director Lu sighed and said, "Well, you are a rich man now, you have the final say."

"Hahaha"

Bao Yugang laughed heartily when he saw this, then looked at Li Changhe and said, "Student Changhe, my offer of one million US dollars is quite reasonable, isn't it?"

"Of course it is suitable, and it is beyond my imagination, Mr. Bao."

Li Changhe said with emotion at this moment.

In this era, Bao Yugang offering him one million US dollars was definitely a big deal.

Because the current US dollar is not yet as abundant as it will be in the future.

Before the collapse of Bretton Woods, the issuance of US dollars was strictly based on the gold reserves of the Federal Reserve.

In other words, the Federal Reserve will issue U.S. dollars equal to the value of its gold reserves.

Therefore, during this period, the total amount of US dollars circulating around the world was not as abundant as in later generations, and a billionaire with assets over one billion US dollars was already one of the richest people in the world.

The reason why the Hunt brothers, the masterminds behind the silver futures case, were so bold was that their family's assets had exceeded one billion US dollars.

Together with the Saudi royal family, it can be said that the two richest families in the world have joined forces to stage this shocking drama.

Therefore, the value of one million US dollars in this era is completely different from that of one million US dollars in later generations.

"The main reason is that I recently bought shares in Wharf Holdings, so I don't have much money. Otherwise, I would really be willing to support you more in the futures market."

Bao Yugang then sighed and said.

Li Changhe hesitated for a moment, thought about it, and finally spoke.

"Mr. Bao, I have a suggestion. You may want to listen to it."

"you say!"

Bao Yugang said with a smile.

"According to my judgment, Jardine Matheson will not break up with you in the short term, because I estimate that Jardine Matheson's financial situation is not particularly good, otherwise it would not have fallen to the point where HSBC had to step in to stop Li Ka-shing."

"But for Mr. Bao, although you have a close relationship with HSBC, unless you have the capital to swallow up Wharf, you will have to pretend to be friendly with Jardine Matheson. After all, Wharf represents the reputation of the British Jardine Matheson, and swallowing up Wharf is not just a simple economic act."

"The best way is to drag it out while forcing Jardine Matheson to take the initiative and start a takeover war with you."

"By then, Mr. Bao, you will be passive in taking action, but you will be able to minimize the impact even if you swallow up Wharf."

"You're the last to arrive, well said!"

"To be honest, this is my current thinking. I have to wait for Jardine Matheson to take the initiative to start a war before I can find an opportunity to swallow up Wharf."

Bao Yugang said with a smile.

"I know that Mr. Bao has definitely considered everything. My real suggestion is that during this period, you can prepare some money and observe the silver futures I mentioned."

"The biggest advantage of the futures market is that you can make a small investment for a big return, and at the same time, funds can flow in and out quickly, and the turnover speed is very fast."

"My one million dollars can be a pathfinder, and Mr. Bao's funds are waiting behind."

"If the silver market is really as I analyzed, and someone has long-term plans, then I believe that even if Mr. Bao enters the market later, with the leverage of the futures market, he can still reap a lot of wealth."

"This money is hidden in the dark, and it can be used as a backup for Wharf Holdings, waiting for the outbreak of the Wharf Holdings equity dispute at any time."

"But what if the silver futures you mentioned never go up?"

Director Lu on the side asked suspiciously at this moment.

Li Changhe shook his head and said seriously: "They won't drag it out for much longer."

"I've seen the data. In recent years, the total global demand for silver has been around 2000 million ounces per year."

"If they started absorbing silver in 74, they have accumulated nearly 6 million ounces in five years. The current price of silver is $ an ounce. Even if their early costs were low, it is estimated that they have invested at least $ million to $ million."

"This is just physical silver. If they want to control the futures market, they must leave enough cash to deal with futures contracts, especially the skyrocketing futures contract prices. They must eat them all."

"What is needed here is cash flow, not assets. No one in the world can eat up unlimited amounts of money."

“So I guess if there really is someone behind this, they will hold out until next year at the latest, and then they will take action.”

"And there is no way that Jardine Matheson and Mr. Bao will go to war next year unless Jardine Matheson can obtain a large amount of funds."

"That's difficult. Although these British companies have made money in Hong Kong Island over the years, they have lost almost all of their investments in Europe, America and Southeast Asia. This is why they have no money now."

“It is impossible for Jardine to raise funds in a short period of time.”

Bao Yugang said confidently at this time that he didn't know anything else, but he was very clear about Jardine Matheson's situation since he set his sights on Hutchison Whampoa.

After hearing Bao Yugang's words, Li Changhe nodded, then turned to look at Director Lu.

Even though Bao Yugang agreed to take action on this matter, it is not over yet.

Now, he faces one final hurdle, which is the country's attitude.

(First chapter, the second chapter will come later!)

(End of this chapter)