Chapter 978: Preparing to Strike Back!

“Sanchez, are you certain it’s Li Yi’s people who’ve stepped in to prop up the market?” Sang Chai asked, his voice tinged with excitement.

Just moments ago, his most trusted younger brother, Sanchez, had come in to report that Starry Sky’s traders had already stepped in and were buying up Wharf Holdings shares, seemingly intent on propping up the price.

“I’m certain. Thanks to their intervention, the price of Wharf Holdings shares has stopped falling and is slowly recovering!” Sanchez said firmly.

“Hahaha, they really couldn’t hold out after all. How is the market reacting now?” Sang Chai asked again.

Sanchez replied immediately, “It’s going even smoother than we expected. We’ve only sold 5 million of the 42 million shares we borrowed, and Wharf Holdings’ stock price has already dropped by a quarter.”

“If the other side doesn’t step in to prop up the stock, at this rate, we’ll have the price of Wharf Holdings slashed by half in two hours at most!”

“That effective?” Sangchai asked, sounding somewhat excited.

“Yes. It’s mainly because the other short-selling group targeting Wharf Holdings is attacking so fiercely. Within less than half an hour of the market opening, they’ve already dumped at least 500,000 lots of stock. It’s precisely because of their intervention that the people at Star Company were forced to step in and prop up the stock price!”

Sanchez continued, “What’s more, it seems they’re not just shorting Wharf Holdings—they’re also dumping shares of Hang Seng Bank, Longheng Bank, and other companies in massive volumes. Right now, the folks at Star Company are scrambling to keep up!”

“Hahaha, it seems there are plenty of people on Hong Kong Island who can’t stand that Li Yi. I just wonder who they really are—to have such immense influence and be able to borrow so many shares!” Sang Chai said with a loud laugh.

“Mr. Sangcai, should we investigate the identity of this unknown force?” suggested Dolsen.

“No need. First, we don’t have the time, and second, they’re clearly helping us. We just need to maintain a tacit understanding with them and avoid any extreme actions, so as not to provoke them!” Sang Chai said.

“Mr. Sangchai, what should we do now?” Monroe asked, sounding somewhat agitated.

Without hesitation, Sangchai immediately shouted, “They want to drive up the stock price—how can we let them have their way?”

“Sanchez, have our people speed up the sell-off of Wharf Holdings shares. Also, sell off the borrowed shares of Hang Seng Bank, Longheng Bank, and other companies—let’s give our friends a hand!”

“Yes!”

Watching Sanchez hurry out, the others in the room were also extremely excited.

When formulating their attack plan, they had specifically analyzed the possible actions Li Yi and the members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce might take.

According to their analysis, Li Yi and his group might react in three ways to their frenzied selling.

The first would be to quickly raise funds to prop up the market. As long as they could buy back shares fast enough and had sufficient capital, they could stabilize the stock prices of the targeted companies.

The second possibility was that Li Yi and the people from Star Company would back down in the face of difficulty, choosing to sit on the sidelines while each company organized its own personnel and funds to resist, ultimately being defeated one by one.

The third response would be for Li Yi and everyone in the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to remain inactive, biding their time. Once the short sellers have driven the stock price below a certain threshold, they would then pool their funds to compete with the short sellers for the floating shares and vie for control of the companies.

Of these three possible scenarios, Sangchai, Monroe, Michiko, and the others would most prefer the first.

Because if Li Yi chooses to prop up the stock price, he will burn through a massive amount of capital.

In that case, the outcome of this battle would no longer depend on tactics or skill, but purely on who has more money.

Once one side’s funds are completely depleted, they would become like fish on a cutting board, at the mercy of the other.

When it comes to financial resources, they certainly hold the advantage.

Not only are these major conglomerates financially powerful and well-prepared, but they also have ample funds.

More importantly, they have the backing of London, and those banks on Hong Kong Island with Western ties can provide them with massive financial support at any time.

This alone puts the advantage squarely on their side; one could even say they are already in an unbeatable position.

So, in the eyes of Sangchai and his group, it would be foolish for Li Yi and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to try to match them in a battle of financial resources.

And the situation unfolded exactly as Sang Chai and his group had predicted. As the trading team went all out, massive amounts of Wharf Holdings stock were dumped onto the market, causing the stock price to plummet once again. It quickly fell to HK$35 per share—a drop of a full 11.6% from the opening price.

Based on the current share price, Wharf Holdings’ market capitalization had already evaporated by a quarter.

But even so, the stock price continued to fall.

At the same time, in addition to the shorted Wharf Holdings, a large volume of Hang Seng Bank shares appeared on the market, with their listing prices significantly lower than yesterday’s closing price.

And this was just the beginning. Soon after, shares of the Li family’s Hongniao Real Estate, Ho Group, Cheung Kong Holdings, Shengshi Group, and Longheng Bank were also targeted by short sellers, with massive volumes of shares dumped onto the market.

Faced with so many stocks, investors who had been sitting on the sidelines were immediately spooked.

Driven by the psychology of chasing rallies and cutting losses, no one dared to jump in recklessly.

After all, no one could guarantee that an even larger batch of shares wouldn’t be dumped the next moment—and if that happened, they’d suffer massive losses.

In the blink of an eye, the stock prices of several flagship companies in the Chinese Chamber of Commerce were plummeting at breakneck speed—a freefall that left onlookers trembling with fear…

………

However, just as everyone was holding their breath for Starry Sky and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Li Yi, the company’s head, was listening to Pang Feiyan’s report with a smile on his face.

“Boss, we’ve sold off all the floating shares we managed to acquire. Although the selling price was significantly lower than the borrowing rate, based on current stock prices, we’ve still made a huge profit…”

Before she could finish, Li Yi immediately asked, “How much profit do you estimate?”

“Based on the current stock prices of each company, we’ve made at least 20 billion Hong Kong dollars in the past two hours. However…”

“But what?” Li Yi asked with interest.

“But now that the stock prices of several companies have plummeted, their market capitalization has evaporated by at least 50 billion. You promised to cover their losses…”

Pang Feiyan didn’t finish her sentence, but Li Yi understood exactly what she meant.

She was telling him that after deducting those profits, he’d actually have to cover a loss of 30 billion Hong Kong dollars!

“What about the people in VIP Room 3? Are they still dumping their shares?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“Yes, but the investors are all scared. Aside from us, no one dares to enter the market. The shares they’re dumping—no one wants them except us!”

Pang Feiyan continued, “On the other hand, some who bought shares at high prices earlier couldn’t withstand the pressure of the plummeting stock prices and are now cutting their losses along with them. The entire market is now flooded with shares from companies like Wharf Holdings, Hang Seng Bank, Longheng Bank, and Ho Group—they’re practically everywhere.”

“What about the stock prices?”

“As a result, stock prices are still falling, though the pace has slowed down!” Pang Feiyan said.

“Which company’s stock has fallen the most?”

“The Bao family’s Wharf Holdings has already fallen below HK$30, with nearly HK$7 billion in market capitalization evaporated!”

Li Yi first glanced at his watch. With less than twenty minutes left before the midday temporary market close, it was time to prepare for a counterattack.

He then turned to Liang He beside him and said, “Kowloon Wharf’s stock price is nearing its limit. You guys get ready. Once the price drops below HK$25, end the ‘fishing strategy’ and start buying back Kowloon Wharf shares on a large scale to drive the price back up!”

“Yes…”

Just as he spoke, the door to the VIP lounge suddenly swung open. Li Yi immediately saw Li Fuzhao, He Dongying, and Bao Chuanwang, among others, walk in with grave expressions…

……….