Chapter 987: Everyone’s Bearish!

Thursday, October 21!

Early in the morning, when the people of Hong Kong Island arrived at their familiar newsstands to buy a few copies of their usual newspapers,

they were surprised to find that nearly every newspaper’s front page was reporting the same story—Starry Sky Corporation was on the verge of collapse.

By now, the stock market battle between Starry Company, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and the foreign consortium was no secret. In the absence of any sudden developments, this clash between the two sides was the biggest news and the topic of greatest public interest.

After all, with one side being an alliance of overseas financial consortiums backed by multiple nations, and the other being Starry Company and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce with their “red” background, this battle was destined to be more than a mere commercial dispute; the traces of a great power struggle were unmistakable.

Precisely for this reason, the current financial battle has become a major event capturing the attention of virtually everyone on Hong Kong Island.

For the past month and a half, the two sides have traded blows back and forth, locked in a dead heat where neither could gain the upper hand.

But no one could have anticipated that today the tide would suddenly turn, shattering the delicate balance.

The reason was that yesterday, Star Company suddenly dumped shares in more than twenty companies, causing the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to lose controlling stakes in 24 companies overnight.

According to analysis by renowned financial experts, Starry Company’s move was likely driven by a shortage of follow-up funds. Unable to withstand the frenzied attacks from the coalition of overseas financial groups, it was forced to abandon some less critical companies—essentially sacrificing the pawns to save the king.

At the same time, experts believe that Star Company’s move is merely a short-term fix.

While this may recoup some funds, it will also trigger a series of adverse chain reactions for both Star Company and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

First, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce will face internal divisions due to being abandoned, undermining its unity.

Second, this move will send a signal to investors that Star Corporation is no longer capable of fighting back. This will not only hinder Star Corporation’s ability to raise funds but also undermine investor confidence in enterprises affiliated with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Finally, it will boost the confidence of their opponents. Seeing the dawn of victory, they will inevitably continue to intensify their attacks on the listed companies belonging to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, making it even more difficult for the already teetering Chinese Chamber of Commerce to cope.

With one side weakening and the other strengthening, Star Company’s defeat is almost inevitable.

Fueled by media reports, news of Star Company’s stock market setback spread like wildfire and quickly reached every corner of Hong Kong Island.

As the news continued to ferment, the stock market was inevitably affected.

As soon as the market opened on the 21st, the stock prices of companies affiliated with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce plummeted. Fearing a market crash, many retail investors and speculative capital rushed to cash out at the peak.

Meanwhile, those overseas consortium alliances continued to accept every offer that came their way; as long as the shares belonged to companies affiliated with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, they snapped them all up.

Although this frenzied buying spree drained their funds, the results were astonishing.

In just a single day, they once again secured controlling stakes in 28 companies.

At this point, fewer than 30 companies remained under the control of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Due to the bearish market sentiment, these remaining companies were also in a precarious position and could be taken over at any moment.

On October 22, after securing controlling stakes in 52 companies, Sangchai immediately ordered his team to contact the original major shareholders or actual controllers of these companies.

As long as these shareholders and actual controllers publicly announced their severance from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and distanced themselves from Star Company, no shareholders’ meetings would be convened, and everything would remain as it was for these companies.

Furthermore, if these shareholders who had lost control of their companies were able to raise funds to repurchase shares and regain control, that would also be acceptable.

In short, the prerequisite was to withdraw from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce!

Faced with this situation, various dissenting voices began to emerge within the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

For a time, aside from a few who knew the truth, nearly everyone on Hong Kong Island was bearish on Starry Company, bearish on Li Yi, and bearish on the Chinese Chamber of Commerce…

……….

Monday, October 25!

After a brief two-day break, the fierce competition of the new week began once again.

After several days of speculation, rumors that Starry Company was running out of funds and had no choice but to cut its losses to survive were already flying everywhere.

As if to confirm the public’s speculation, when the stock market opened on Monday, shares of companies affiliated with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce fell across the board.

Apart from public pessimism, the most significant reason for the decline was that stock prices had become excessively high.

After more than twenty days of frenzied trading, the stock prices of these companies had skyrocketed several times over.

It must be understood that these high prices were artificially inflated; they did not reflect any actual increase in the companies’ intrinsic value. The inflated stock prices were like a bubble—ready to burst at the slightest provocation.

Investors aren’t fools; seeing that these companies lack staying power, they are rushing to sell their shares.

With so many sellers, stock prices naturally fell—an inevitable law of the market economy.

Sangchai and his associates, however, seized this opportunity to aggressively acquire shares in these companies, steadily increasing their ownership stakes.

Consequently, aside from the seven companies that are still holding on thanks to Starry Sky’s support—whose situations remain relatively stable—all other companies have now reached the brink of collapse.

On the 25th alone, controlling stakes in 12 more companies were seized, and on the 26th, 9 more.

By the close of trading on the 27th, of the nearly 100 listed companies affiliated with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, only 7 remained under its own control; the rest had all fallen into the hands of Sangchai and his associates.

During this period, nine of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s original 32 members publicly announced their withdrawal one after another, while the remaining members were all wavering.

The situation was becoming increasingly dire for both the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Li Yi.

By this point, virtually everyone on Hong Kong Island believed that Star Company’s fate was sealed and that the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was on the verge of disintegration.

This was especially true for Sangchai and his associates, who believed victory was assured.

Although they had already poured over 400 billion Hong Kong dollars into the Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s enterprises during this period, their reserve funds were severely depleted.

But seeing that the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was on the verge of collapse, Sangchai immediately sent a telegram requesting assistance to his family and their contacts in London, while also instructing several other major conglomerates to continue raising funds.

Seeing the clear results of their efforts, the masters behind these men were naturally willing to increase their investments. After all, once the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was crushed, they would have free rein to reap whatever they wanted from the Hong Kong stock market.

Besides, even if they suffered losses, it didn’t matter. Compared to the immense threat posed by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, losing a little money was truly nothing.

Soon, another massive injection of $12 billion was sent over.

With his ammunition replenished, Sangchai decided to launch a final, all-out assault on the Chinese Chamber of Commerce immediately, aiming to finish the job in one fell swoop and take complete control of these companies.

He immediately revised his plan of action: while ordering his team to continue raising the buyout price for the seven core companies’ shares, he also instructed others to privately contact the small and medium-sized shareholders of each company to purchase their shares at a premium.

In Sangchai and his associates’ view, once they controlled these seven core enterprises, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce would no longer have a single listed company under its control—and thus would have no reason to exist.

In this way, their objective would be achieved.

As for how to liquidate the companies in their possession and recoup their funds, they already had follow-up plans in place.

If they carried out their plan as intended, not only would the Chinese Chamber of Commerce fall apart and Li Yi and Starry Sky be reduced to nothing, but the money they’d invested would also be recovered—at which point they would emerge victorious on all fronts!

However, what Sang Chai and his associates didn’t know was that Li Yi and his team were also waiting for this very moment. The time for a true showdown had arrived…

………