Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 768 Must Intercept
The two talked for a long time, but still couldn't think of anyone suitable to take the helm here.

Zhou Yali sighed softly, "I have to keep an eye on things in the US. The managers of the Chinese character card business unit, the router business unit, the computer business unit, and the game business unit are all well-known experts in the industry. Apart from me, the boss, they don't respect anyone else."

Besides, in two months I'll be a junior in college. I didn't go to school for my entire sophomore year, and I've been working for half a year this year, so the school most likely won't approve my leave application; I'll have to stay at school.

Chen Fan's eyes lit up as he listened, and when he glanced at the two sisters, he saw that they were also secretly thrilled.

If it weren't for Zhou Yali being such a third wheel, they would have been living a very comfortable life behind closed doors.

As a result, every day after she arrived was a waste of time!
Even though I'm really excited, I can't let my guard down, especially in crucial moments.

Chen Fan immediately looked sad and sighed, saying, "This is truly unfortunate news."

Zhou Yali was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. Looking at her younger brother's sad expression, she couldn't help but feel touched. It turned out that her younger brother also couldn't bear to part with her. She hesitated for a moment and then said, "How about I take a few days off every month or two to come back and stay for a few days?"

Chen Fan quickly and seriously stopped him, "No, you should prioritize work and study. As the saying goes, no pain, no gain. Anyway, the factory and dormitories won't be completed until the end of the year, so you have another six months. You might as well make good use of this time to train a group of management talents in the United States. When you arrange them to come over, they will be of great use."

Zhou Yali thought for a moment, pursed her lips, and nodded gently, "That's one way too."

She sighed softly as she spoke, "Our family company has been around for decades. When we first arrived in the United States, we were unfamiliar with the place and the people. Apart from my grandfather's old friends helping us with the arrangements, only Aunt Lan, Grandpa Fang, and a few other families lent a hand. At that time, in order to survive and develop, we recruited a lot of Chinese people in Chinatown, New York."

Now, decades later, some of them have risen to become senior executives, capable of handling tasks independently. However, many more remain without hope of promotion. If the company hadn't experienced rapid growth in the past year, promoting a large number of people, they might have remained low-level managers for their entire lives.

He raised his head and clenched his fist tightly. "Since Dad can't provide them with a platform for advancement, why don't they come work for me!"

Chen Fan nodded vigorously, agreeing with her idea, "That's right, poaching people from your own company isn't poaching, and my uncle and your dad definitely won't have any objections."

Zhou Yali clenched her fist, "Then I'll make arrangements when I get back to the US. The first factory general manager will be chosen from among them!"

Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian were captivated by her beauty. They stood shoulder to shoulder and head to head, unsure of what to say.

In fact, from the moment they entered until now, all they have been left with is shock.

Xiao Fan and Xiao Li are such a great team at work, they just love to screw over their own people!
Once Zhou Yali had an idea, she immediately forgot about Chen Fan telling her not to come back. Then she picked up a pen and asked, "One last question, what should we do with our money? We can't just keep it in the bank, can we?"
"It would be better to lend the money to my dad or your uncle to start a business selling program-controlled telephone exchanges. They're buying equipment with loans from their own bank, but that bank has several other major shareholders. It's better for us to make the money than to let them profit from it."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, squinted his eyes, and began to think: what other good opportunities are there to make big money in the next few years?

Speaking of 79...

Without a doubt, the best opportunity to make money is the Wharf Holdings takeover bid.

In January 1978, Wharf Holdings' share price was HK$13 per share, but do you know how much net asset value per share was?

The answer is HK$18!
The reason the share price is so low is that Jardine Matheson, the holding company of Wharf Holdings, views Wharf as a "long-term asset." Wharf holds a large amount of real estate and land, but Jardine Matheson does not intend to sell or develop these properties; instead, it prefers to hold onto these fixed assets and collect rent.

Therefore, the short-term profit is particularly low, which is not in line with the Hong Kong people's financial management habits of "making a fortune".

As a result, stocks are naturally unpopular.

After a long period of research, Li discovered this flaw and, through calculation, determined that the value of Wharf Holdings' shares was no less than HK$50. He estimated that if he invested in Wharf Holdings' shares, the return on investment would be around 260%.

With proper planning, there's even a chance to achieve big gains with a small investment and acquire this gem among British stocks!
So he made a decisive move, and by July 1978, he had acquired about 18% of Wharf Holdings shares, totaling more than 20 million shares, at a price range of HK$10 to HK$30. At this time, the share price had reached HK$30.

Then he was warned by HSBC's Sir Michael Sandberg that he had to stop, as the company did not belong to him.

If you can't control Wharf Holdings, what's the point of having so many stocks?

This time, Li's clever plan backfired, and he was in a real bind.

However, he did not give up and soon found a sucker, namely the world's number one shipping magnate at the time, Bao Shifeng.

Just then, as the global shipping business began to decline, Bao, the shipping magnate, was considering retiring from shipping. Li approached him, cleverly offered advice, and persuaded Bao to acquire Wharf Holdings.

At the time, Li was just a small business owner of a company with a market value of HK$7 million, and was not taken seriously by HSBC, while Bao, the shipping magnate, was a major client of HSBC and even one of its directors.

HSBC could not stand idly by while Li acquired Wharf Holdings, but it was happy to see the shipping magnate take over Wharf Holdings, which would also improve Wharf Holdings' share price and thus boost HSBC's profitability.

There's no other reason than that HSBC is also a major shareholder of Wharf Holdings, even holding a larger stake than Jardine Matheson.

So, after the shipping magnate was tempted, Li transferred all his shares to him, not only successfully extricating himself from the situation but also making a huge profit of HK$6000 million.

After acquiring the shares from Mr. Li, the shipping magnate began quietly acquiring Wharf Holdings, pushing its share price from over HK$30 to over HK$80.

Then came the takeover battle with Jardine Matheson.

In the end, Lao Bao won by offering a sky-high price of HK$105 per share and acquiring 49% of the share.

During this process, Wharf Holdings' share price soared from around HK$13 per share to over HK$80, and finally, Bao and Jardine Matheson engaged in a bidding war to acquire the shares, with the share price reaching as high as HK$100.

If you speculate on margin trading, it's enough to make someone with a modest fortune extremely rich.

The earliest protagonist, Li Moumou, also caught the eye of Sir Michael Sandberg because of this miraculous operation. He was forcibly fed with money and, with his personal wealth of HK$7 million, forcibly swallowed Hutchison Whampoa, which was worth more than HK$60 billion.

The shares he acquired were transferred from HSBC, and the funds for the acquisition were lent to him by HSBC, which even allowed for installment payments.

In addition, the HK$6000 million profit from selling shares to the shipping magnate earlier made them the biggest winner in the Wharf Holdings takeover battle.

Chen Fan rubbed his temples, thinking that he had almost no chance of getting involved in Hutchison Whampoa's acquisition, but what about Wharf Holdings?
At this point, the stock price had already reached a high level, and a takeover and anti-takeover battle between Bao Tong and Jardine Matheson would soon erupt, seemingly leaving him no chance to intervene.

He silently looked up at the ceiling, reflecting on his situation. If he had taken the skill board with him when he first transmigrated, made money by writing novels, acquired Wharf Holdings, and then swallowed Hutchison Whampoa, seizing Li's opportunity, he would be worth tens of billions by now, right?

Known in the underworld as Superman Chen?!

After a while, he clicked his tongue and said it was alright. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. He didn't have hundreds of billions, but he brought wealth to Lujiawan and saved hundreds of people on the southwestern battlefield. How wonderful!

Chen Fan smiled especially happily when he looked at the two sisters beside him.

These two darlings are even prettier than those celebrities, and so well-behaved. No amount of money could buy them, so we're not losing out. Seeing Chen Fan's gaze, the two sisters couldn't help but blush and lower their heads slightly, concealing the tenderness in their eyes, afraid that their cousin would see through their act.

Chen Fan turned his face away, thinking to himself that he would eventually snatch a few of someone's opportunities away from him.

86年32亿港元收购加拿大赫斯基能源52%股权、94年80亿港币收购英国Rabbit通讯，这两笔交易就不错。

It seems there are also Hong Kong Electric Lights, Hong Kong Milk...

Must intercept!

Chen Fan smacked his lips a few times, but why are they all from Hong Kong?
Is he planning to establish a presence in Hong Kong?

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Zhou Yali couldn't help but ask, "Hey, have you thought it through yet?"

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze, pondered for two seconds, and said, "Here's what you'll do: find a way to transfer this money to Hong Kong."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yali asked, puzzled, "Why are you moving to Hong Kong? Are you going to invest in Hong Kong?"

According to the original plan, Hong Kong was just a "transit point". The company's focus was still in the United States. It was just using Hong Kong's status as an international port and its geographical location at the gateway to the country as a springboard to enter the mainland.

Now my brother says he wants to transfer all the funds to Hong Kong... If her estimate is correct, that's over two hundred million US dollars!

What projects in Hong Kong can accommodate such a large investment?
estate?

Don't be ridiculous, that was British territory, and even the "Tsar" could only make minor moves. It wouldn't be broken until the Wharf takeover battle ended.

We can't exactly copy China Merchants Group and create a "Wanmuchun Industrial Park," can we?

Chen Fan looked at her and said with a smile, "Do you know anything about foreign exchange?"

Zhou Yali chuckled, "Look at what you're saying. I studied international trade, how could I not understand foreign exchange?"

International trade is inseparable from exchange rate conversion. Although my research in this area is far less than that of top finance students, I still need to have a basic understanding of exchange rates.

Chen Fan looked at her and smiled, "So what do you think of the current Hong Kong dollar exchange rate?"

Zhou Yali frowned slightly and said, "The Hong Kong dollar exchange rate has been falling for two years. On the surface, it means that we have entered an economic recession cycle. But in reality, we are currently undergoing a second industrial transfer. Hong Kong has taken over a large part of these industries, which have helped Hong Kong get out of the economic quagmire of the past."

While a lower exchange rate can help industrial exports, a moderate decline in the exchange rate is unlikely to be this drastic, and the current exchange rate is still too low.

The Hong Kong dollar had been hovering around 6 against the US dollar, but has now fallen to nearly 8, which is quite abnormal. We need to determine exactly where the low point is.

She shrugged and said, "Only God knows."

Don't even mention experts. All the data that experts cite is data they want the retail investors to know. If they were really that accurate, they wouldn't just be experts; they would be people with the power to control experts.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Your analysis is spot on, but you overlooked the British mainland."

Zhou Yali frowned slightly, looking at him with confusion, "What's wrong with them being locals?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "The female prime minister who took office this year is no ordinary person. Her methods are quite tough. You should know how the market reacts when a strong leader comes to power."

Zhou Yali's brows relaxed, and she said thoughtfully, "As long as her decision doesn't violate economic laws, under normal circumstances, both the stock market and the foreign exchange market will improve."

She looked up at Chen Fan and said, "So you want to transfer your funds to Hong Kong and take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune?"

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and said, "It's not just that."

He drew a broken line, first upwards and then downwards, and said, "I've read recent British news and Hong Kong newspapers, and I have a basic judgment: the British economy will turn from decline to growth and improve within the next two years."

This trend will undoubtedly drive a simultaneous rise in Hong Kong's stock and foreign exchange markets, forming an upward curve.

but,"

As he spoke, he made a forceful downward stroke and said seriously, "There is a problem in Hong Kong that we will have to discuss sooner or later, and there is absolutely no room for negotiation on this point. Currently, Hong Kong's economy is basically controlled by British capital. Once the results are in, they will definitely react, and there is even a high possibility that a stock market crash will break out."

Almost everyone knows this.

At this point, Chen Fan sighed softly, "Do you know what the stock market will do before a stock market crash?"

Zhou Yali's eyes widened, and after a few seconds, she whispered, "A surge!"

Chen Fan smiled and shrugged. "Without a doubt, a sharp rise will be preceded by a sharp fall, and vice versa. This is an economic law and also a trace of capital manipulation."

The turning point was when the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate reached a historical high!

The Hong Kong dollar once maintained an exchange rate of around 5 against the US dollar and around 6 against the British pound.

In the past two years, affected by multiple international and internal factors, the Hong Kong dollar is now at a historical low.

However, since the Iron Lady came to power, she has used ruthless methods to stop the decline of the British economy, which has led to the improvement of many Commonwealth countries and related regions. The Hong Kong dollar has also soared, reaching 5.13 Hong Kong dollars to 1 US dollar in 1981.

After a period of stability, the well-known event occurred: the exchange rate and the stock market both plummeted... Oh, and then the Jia Ning case came out, which was truly adding insult to injury.

The stock market fell below 800 points, which was widely considered an unbreakable level, and the exchange rate dropped directly to below 9.6. It was not until the Hong Kong British authorities announced the adoption of a linked exchange rate that the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate was stabilized at 7.8.

Chen Fan didn't really know the details, but that didn't stop him from working backward from the answer to deduce the reason.

At least for now, Zhou Yali and her two sisters are completely taken aback by him.

After listening to Master Chen's analysis, Zhou Yali gritted her teeth, clapped her hands, and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you and transfer the money to Hong Kong!"

(End of this chapter)