Chapter 488: The Stock Market Is About to Crash!
Li Pengfei, the young business leader, returned empty-handed, while the other side had made a strong statement, vowing to do whatever it takes.
This news left Huang Lixing and the others completely stunned!
No one present was a novice, especially Lan Xinyi and the others. As top-tier traders, they all understood just how significant the implications of this were.
Recently, negotiations between the two sides had reached an impasse; neither was willing to back down, and the tense standoff had everyone on edge.
It was at this critical moment that Li Pengfei, a young business leader, led a delegation of elite figures from the business and industrial sectors—the “Young Talents Group”—to the other side. They presented relevant proposals on the issues at hand, hoping to ease the tense atmosphere between the two parties.
Of course, everyone’s primary concern was that war might break out between the two sides.
When Li Pengfei and his delegation traveled there, they were met with high expectations from all sectors of Hong Kong society, and he himself was brimming with confidence. However, to everyone’s surprise, the proposal was rejected.
The impact on all sectors of the economy was immense and unprecedented.
One can imagine that when this news spread here, the investment confidence of both ordinary residents and wealthy conglomerates would inevitably suffer a severe blow, and all of this would ultimately be reflected in the stock market.
In other words, the stock market is bound to crash!
After a long silence, Huang Lixing suddenly burst out laughing: “Hahaha, my good brother, you really outdid yourself!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “You’re not worried anymore?”
“Hahaha, what’s there to worry about now!”
“If you’re not worried, then let’s head back. I need to get some rest too!” Li Yi said.
“Hey, Brother Li Yi, aren’t you going to the exchange?”
“Why go? The market isn’t going to hit rock bottom in a single day anyway!”
Huang Lixing quickly understood: it was one thing for such news to be reported, but it was another matter entirely for it to actually affect the stock market—it would take at least a few days for the news to take hold.
“Alright, I’ll head out then. I’ll come find you at the Mid-Levels Villa tonight!”
“Alright!”
After Huang Lixing left, Li Yi took Lan Xinyi and the others back to the Mid-Levels Villa!
……..
Li Family Estate. Study!
At the very same time Huang Lixing and Li Yi were dining at Yuan’s Restaurant, over at the Li Family Estate, Li Futao was listening to a report from his assistant, Zhou Xinghua.
“Chairman, this morning we sold off 80% of the shares we held. However, the market rose slightly this morning, causing the stock price to go up a bit. Our losses…”
“Just tell me the exact amount!”
“As of now, the loss is at least 90 million Hong Kong dollars!”
Li Futiao frowned. Despite their massive sell-off, the stock price hadn’t fallen—it had actually risen slightly. Clearly, the upward momentum was truly fierce.
If they hadn’t sold, the share price might have been significantly higher than it is now.
In other words, their actual loss was far greater than just those 90 million.
After a brief silence, Li Futao asked in a low voice, “What about that young man? How is he doing?”
“He’s in even worse shape. The Hang Seng Index jumped 6 points this morning, and he took another massive loss of over 54 million Hong Kong dollars. Counting yesterday’s losses, he’s lost over 130 million in less than 24 hours…”
“I’m not asking how much he lost, but where he is now. Did he cut his losses and exit the market?” Li Futiao said.
“No, he hasn’t. Although he was present at the exchange this morning, he just sat there watching quietly without making a single move. He probably isn’t willing to walk away just like that!” Assistant Zhou replied.
“Any activity at the other exchanges?”
“Everything’s normal. However, our massive sell-off has raised their suspicions. We’ve received calls from quite a few companies this morning asking for an explanation—even they called us!”
“How did you respond?”
“I told them it was just a routine business adjustment, not a panic sell-off!”
“Hmm, you did the right thing!”
“Chairman, what should we do now? Should we keep selling the remaining shares?”
Li Futiao frowned, just as he was about to speak, when the phone on the desk suddenly rang, cutting off their conversation.
Without hesitation, Li Futao grabbed the phone and answered it!
However, after just a few words, he jumped straight up from his seat, his expression one of utter shock.
The call lasted no more than three minutes, but Li Fuzhao remained standing for a long time.
Since the voice on the other end wasn’t very loud, Assistant Zhou couldn’t make out what was said. Seeing that the market was about to open in the afternoon, he couldn’t help but ask, “Chairman, should we still sell off the remaining shares?”
Li Futao seemed to snap out of his daze, shook his head, and said, “It’s too late!”
“Ah… What do you mean, there’s no time?”
“Xinghua, do you know? Li Pengfei and his team have failed!”
“Li Pengfei—didn’t he go over there…? Are you saying they rejected his proposal?” Zhou Xinghua asked, looking stunned.
“Right, and they told him outright that he must buy back every single share, no matter the cost!”
“War?”
“We can’t rule out that possibility!”
Zhou Xinghua quickly caught on and looked at Li Futiao, saying, “Chairman, the stock market… the stock market is about to crash!”
“Hmm, if things go as expected, it’s going to crash!”
As a key player in the market rescue effort, Li Futiao was well aware of the limited resources available here. Even without such dire news, the funds they could muster were extremely limited; the main support still came from the major stock exchanges and the powerful families behind the listed companies.
Now that this news had been released, those powerful families would inevitably flee quickly; no one would be foolish enough to wait around to be buried with a stock market on the verge of collapse.
Without the support of these powerful families, they alone were clearly unable to hold the fort; a stock market crash was simply inevitable.
Zhou Xinghua said with a shudder, “Thank goodness we got out this morning. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!”
“That’s right. Once you’re trapped in a losing position, at best it’s a major setback; at worst…”
“It’s a pity we still have 20% of our shares left that we didn’t manage to sell. I wonder if it’s too late to sell them now?”
“The major players have already bailed out; that remaining portion doesn’t matter anymore. What I’m wondering now is, how could that Mr. Li be so certain the market was going to crash?” Li Futiao said with interest.
“Chairman, do you think he might have known about this in advance?”
“It’s possible!”
Li Futiao then added, “Xinghua, immediately pull all our strings to investigate this young man’s background. Just tell me straight—this young man is no ordinary person!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Has the villa at Genting been cleared out yet?”
“Not yet, but it should be ready by tomorrow!”
“Hmm, don’t prepare No. 9. Switch it to Cloud Peak No. 1!” Li Futiao said.
“Chairman, that’s Cloud Peak No. 1! Are you willing to give that away?” Assistant Zhou said, looking utterly shocked.
He knew full well that Cloud Peak No. 1 was the Chairman’s largest and most luxurious villa aside from the Li Family Estate, worth no less than 100 million Hong Kong dollars.
It was originally intended as a dowry for the young miss; he wouldn’t even let himself stay there normally. Assistant Zhou couldn’t believe they were now giving it away for free—the very thought made his heart ache.
“Hehe, Xinghua, think bigger. Do the math—how much did we make on this deal?”
“A conservative estimate of 500 million!”
“Exactly. Without Mr. Li, we would’ve lost at least 800 million. That’s 1.3 billion in total—and I’m giving them a villa worth over 100 million. It’s a fair trade!” Li Fu said with a smile.
“I understand!”
“Go make the arrangements. Get everything ready over there and wait for my call!”
“Yes…”
………