Chapter 990: Cutting Off the Supply, Another Market Crash!

“What? You’ve acquired another 12% of Wharf Holdings?”

“Yes, boss. According to our preliminary investigation, Mr. Yang was supposed to hold only 3% of the shares, but we never expected his stake to be as high as 12%. Moreover, he’s willing to transfer all his shares to us—it’s truly a pleasant surprise…”

Just as the subordinate was proudly reporting his achievements to Sangchai, he failed to notice that Sangchai’s expression was growing increasingly grim.

This team had been dispatched earlier that morning with the objective of contacting Kowloon Wharf’s minority shareholders to acquire all the small stakes they held.

After all, before the market opened, they hadn’t anticipated that Li Yi and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce would unexpectedly cease their resistance. To ensure they could successfully secure controlling stakes in those key companies, they had dispatched a total of 12 such acquisition teams.

If this had happened a few days ago, Sangchai and his team would undoubtedly have been overjoyed to acquire such a large stake in Wharf Holdings in one fell swoop.

But Sangchai couldn’t muster a single ounce of joy at this moment. The reason was that today, through the stock market alone, they had acquired 18% of Wharf Holdings in a single transaction. Combined with their previous acquisitions, their total stake had already exceeded the threshold for a controlling interest.

If this 12% stake were added, their total ownership would reach 72%, far exceeding the 51% required for a controlling stake.

Conversely, after accounting for the shares held by retail investors, speculative capital, and brokerage firms, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s stake was pitifully small—perhaps not even 10%.

This gave Sang Chai a vague sense of foreboding…

Suddenly, Sangchai thought of the other dozen or so groups. If they all managed to secure large stakes as smoothly as this group had just done, things would get complicated.

With that thought, Sangchai hurriedly shouted, “Sanchez, contact Basang, Udan, and the others immediately. Stop acquiring any shares in Chinese-owned companies—now!”

Although Sanchez didn’t understand why his older brother—and immediate superior—had suddenly issued such an order, he hurried out to contact the teams.

Watching Sanchez’s retreating figure, Sangchai silently prayed that there would still be time…

The others in the room, who had been celebrating their “victory,” fell silent upon seeing Sang Chai’s grave expression, and all eyes turned to him.

“Mr. Sangchai, has something happened? Why do you look so grim?” Monroe asked, looking puzzled.

After a brief silence, Sangchai said in a low voice, “Something’s not right. We might have been tricked!”

Fooled?

Hearing this, Monroe, Michiko, and the others were stunned. Everything had been fine just a moment ago—how could they have suddenly been tricked?

“Mr. Sangchai, what do you mean? What kind of trap have we fallen into?” Michiko asked urgently.

“Our current shareholding percentage is too high—that’s not normal!” Sangchai said.

“Isn’t a high shareholding ratio a good thing? Doesn’t that make it easier for us to control those companies?” Michiko asked.

“No. Our primary purpose in acquiring these companies’ shares isn’t the companies themselves, but to use them to pressure the Chinese business elites behind them—to force them to withdraw from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and sever ties with Li Yi!”

Sangchai continued, “But if those people dump all their shares, we’ll lose the leverage we have over them. In that case, these companies won’t just be meaningless to us—they’ll actually become a burden and a weakness!”

Monroe and the others weren’t fools; anyone sent to carry out such a mission was bound to be a shrewd operator.

Upon careful reflection, they realized the truth.

Indeed, they had invested a colossal sum of over 460 billion Hong Kong dollars with the sole purpose of gaining control over these Chinese-owned companies to achieve the political objective of dismantling the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

However, now that these Chinese businessmen have sold all their shares to them, their vulnerability has vanished.

On the contrary, now that they had become the major shareholders of these companies, the rise and fall of their stock prices was directly tied to their own interests. The very capital they had originally used to control the Chinese businessmen had instantly become their own Achilles’ heel.

At the same time, there is an even more serious problem: if, at this point, those Chinese businessmen—in their capacity as company founders or chairmen—were to expose some unsavory matters, the stock prices would inevitably plummet.

Given that current stock prices are already as fragile as a bubble, the consequences of such a scenario would be catastrophic.

“Mr. Sangchai, are you worried that those Chinese businessmen might dump their shares?” Monroe asked, his voice trembling slightly.

“It’s not a matter of worry. If this is a trap set by someone like Li Yi, they will certainly do this—and it’s the only way they can regain control of the company!” Sangchai said in a low voice.

“This… this is trouble. If they dump their shares, our losses could be beyond imagination…”

Before Monroe could finish, Sangchai hurriedly interrupted, “Tell the traders to dump some of our shares immediately. We need to offload them as quickly as possible before the stock price plummets…”

But before he could finish, the door to the VIP room swung open, and everyone watched as Sanchez rushed in, his face ashen.

“It’s over… it’s over! The stock price has plummeted!”

Seeing this, Sangchai immediately shouted angrily, “BB Xi TR Sanchez, what on earth happened? Why did the stock price suddenly drop?”

Sanchez shuddered at Sang Chai’s shout.

He stood there for a moment to compose himself, then replied immediately: “Just a moment ago, Li Yi led Chinese business tycoons from the He, Bao, and Li families into the trading floor. They publicly bowed to all investors to apologize, announcing that due to our hostile takeover, their families had liquidated all their shares in the companies and would be completely withdrawing from Wharf Holdings, Hongniao Real Estate,Longheng Bank, Hang Seng Bank, and other companies. At the same time, the executives from these major families serving in management roles at these companies are also being withdrawn. As soon as the news broke, the stock prices of these companies plummeted suddenly—and the decline couldn’t be stopped…”

Upon hearing Sanchez’s response, the crowd—which had been cheering just moments before—turned deathly pale, whiter than corpses that had lain in a morgue for three years.

Although they might not have known that one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems of China is called “Removing the Firewood from Under the Pot,” they understood the purpose behind Li Yi and his associates’ actions: to crash the market.

Moreover, they were well aware of the severity of the consequences—a stock market crash can sometimes be more terrifying than an avalanche…

“Mr. Sang, what should we do now? Think of a solution, quick!” Monroe said in a panicked tone.

To take down Li Yi and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, their company had not only committed all its available cash but also borrowed 3 billion US dollars from banks. If this investment failed, their company would inevitably face an unprecedented financial crisis.

Michiko was also pacing anxiously like a cat on a hot tin roof. Although her company was slightly stronger than Monroe’s, the investment amount was even larger—a full 8 billion US dollars.

If this investment resulted in massive losses, the blow to their company would be fatal.

Sangchai was also at a loss at this moment. He had realized that he had walked right into the trap Li Yi had carefully laid, and he was filled with regret.

He hated himself for being so arrogant, and he hated that Li fellow for being so cunning.

He had assumed that even if Li Yi were acting out of political considerations, he wouldn’t easily give up controlling stakes in those companies. Yet he never imagined that not only would Li Yi relinquish control, but he would even sell the companies outright to them.

Now that the other side was aggressively dumping shares, and they lacked sufficient funds to prop up the stock price, losses were inevitable.

Once the stock price plummeted, the other party would seize the opportunity to buy at rock-bottom prices, and control of the company might well return to their hands.

Through this entire maneuver, the other side wouldn’t suffer any losses—on the contrary, they’d make a huge profit.

Conversely, not only have they failed to fulfill the political mission assigned by London, but they’ve also lost everything they had.

Sangchai felt as if thunder had struck him—he was finished… no, all these major conglomerates were finished…

……….