Chapter 619: The Broker!

Green Brothers, Inc. – President’s Office!

After putting the contract away, Li Yi said, “Mr. Green, I’m delighted to be working with your firm. Now, I’d like to ask you to recommend a suitable futures broker for us!”

A futures broker is an essential channel for conducting futures trading, and choosing the right broker is crucial. It is imperative to select a legitimate, reputable futures broker for trading.

Otherwise, there’s a high risk of being swindled out of everything by unscrupulous brokers.

Before arriving, Li Yi had asked around to learn about the basics of the local gold futures market and had gained some understanding of these brokers.

However, since the information he’d gathered had passed through so many hands, its accuracy was questionable. Therefore, he wanted to hear Reggie Green’s opinion—after all, Green was the local expert and a professional in the field.

After listening to Li Yunbao’s translation, Reggie Green immediately said, “No problem. There are currently over a hundred futures brokers in the New York gold market. In terms of overall strength, the strongest are Aaron Gold, Mokta Metals, Sharp-Pixley, and the Philip Brothers.”

“Among these four firms, Sharp-Pixley has the best reputation. I suggest you partner with them, though they tend to be quite cautious when working with investors!”

“No problem. As long as they have a good reputation and strong capabilities, that’s all that matters. Could you help us set up a meeting with their company representative?” Li Yi asked.

“It’s not easy to arrange a meeting with the head of the company. I don’t have the authority to contact their CEO directly, but I can help you set up a meeting with their investment manager!” said Reggie Green.

“Alright, then we’d appreciate your help, Mr. Green!” Li Yi said.

“No problem. Just give me a moment; I’ll call them right away!”

“Great!”

Reggie Green finished his call quickly and turned to Li Yi. “Li, I’ve already set up a meeting with their investment manager, Billy. You can go to Sharp-Pixley right now to meet him. I’ll have George accompany you there!”

“Thank you very much!”

After that, Li Yi and the others, accompanied by George, headed to the nearby Sharp-Pixley Company…

..banbanhaobang……..

Sharp-Pixley was also located on Wall Street, but as a renowned futures brokerage, their company was much larger than Green Brothers.

When Li Yi and the others arrived, Billy, the investment manager at Sharp-Pixley, was already waiting for them in his office.

Although he had already learned from Reggie Green that the clients were from Hong Kong, he was still somewhat surprised when he saw Li Yi and his group.

Mainly because the people in front of him were simply too young; Billy glanced over and saw that not a single person in this group of seven or eight was over forty.

And the team leader was absurdly young—he didn’t even look twenty!

“Mr. Li, we are delighted that you have chosen Sharp-Pixley. As New York’s most reputable brokerage firm, we can meet all your investment needs. Please trust us…”

Before Billy could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “Mr. Billy, we certainly recognize your company’s strength. Now, let’s discuss the specifics of our partnership. We’re planning to invest in the gold market—I’d like to know how much financial leverage your company can offer us?”

“That depends on your qualifications. May I ask how much margin your company has available?” Billy replied.

“2 billion!”

“Hong Kong dollars or US dollars?”

“US dollars!”

That’s right. For this trip to New York to short gold, Li Yi had prepared 2 billion US dollars—350 million from Li Futiao, 100 million from Old Huang, and the remaining 1.57 billion from Starry Sky Company.

To maximize profits, Li Yi had committed the entire profit from the company’s gold investment, plus all the funds previously borrowed from the bank—a total of 12 billion Hong Kong dollars.

He left the company with just over 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, 1.68 billion of which was earmarked for taxes owed to the British Hong Kong government.

Unfortunately, due to exchange rates, such a massive sum in Hong Kong dollars converted to only 1.57 billion US dollars.

Even so, when Billy heard Li Yi’s words, his face immediately betrayed utter astonishment.

2 billion US dollars converted to Hong Kong dollars amounts to a whopping 15.2 billion.

Who on earth were these people before him, capable of handling such a massive sum of money with a single gesture?

In light of this, Billy immediately said, “May I see your background information?”

Financing always requires documentation, especially regarding the investor’s background.

Brokerage firms may not concern themselves with the specific projects you’re investing in, but they must thoroughly investigate the investors’ backgrounds, as their decision to approve a financing application—and the amount they’re willing to provide—is based entirely on their assessment of the investors.

“Of course!”

Li Yi had already had the documents prepared while he was on Hong Kong Island—including company profiles, sources of funds, proof of assets, and so on—specifically for the brokers here.

Billy took the documents from Li Yunbao’s hands and immediately bent over the table to review them.

The more he read, the more shocked he became!

He had just received a call from his good friend Reggie Green, who said he was introducing a client to him. Although he had agreed and expressed his thanks, he hadn’t really paid it much mind.

The reason was that Green had mentioned the client was from Hong Kong, and in Billy’s view, the only part of Asia with a decent economy was that “chicken-foot” place.

As for other places, they were merely mediocre at best, so from the very beginning, he’d assumed the client was just an ordinary small-time customer.

Especially when he saw that the visitors were all young men who hadn’t even grown a full beard yet, it only reinforced his opinion.

But he never could have imagined that these people before him would be so well-funded—they were ready to put 2 billion US dollars on the table right off the bat.

After the initial shock, Billy’s composure vanished instantly, and the look in his eyes as he gazed at Li Yi and the others grew intense.

This was 2 billion US dollars, after all. If this deal went through, not only would he personally receive a hefty commission, but he might even be promoted to a true executive position within the company.

With that in mind, he cut straight to the point: “Sir, according to our company’s regulations, we can provide ordinary clients with financing up to 1 to 3 times their investment. The annual interest rate for margin trading ranges from 8.5% to 10.6%. Interest is not charged on the day of purchase or on holidays, but it is calculated on the day of sale…”

“Mr. Billy, we’ve come here with the sincere intention of partnering with your company, and we hope to see that same sincerity in return. After all, clients with 2 billion in capital are a rare find!” Li Yi said calmly.

Billy clenched his teeth and said, “Within my authority, I can extend the leverage to a maximum of 5 times. You can trade 10 billion yuan with a 2 billion yuan margin. But as you know, this carries significant risk, so we must strictly enforce margin calls…”

Before Billy could finish, Li Yi spoke up again: “No need to explain any further. I’m satisfied with the five-to-one leverage. What’s the interest rate on the margin loan?”

“I can get it down to 6% at most. Anything lower is beyond my authority!” Billy said.

Li Yi thought for a moment; a 6% annual interest rate wasn’t particularly high.

Based on 5x leverage, their financing amount would be $8 billion. At that annual interest rate, their daily cost of capital would be $1.33 million.

Since they would need to use the funds for about a month, the total cost of capital would be roughly $40 million—which was slightly less than what Li Yi had anticipated in Hong Kong.

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately said, “Alright, if there are no issues, we can sign the contract right now!”

“That fast?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Not really, but since this is a rather large investment, I need to report it to management…”

“How long will that take?”

“Two days!”

Li Yi glanced at his watch and said, “I can only give you two hours. If we don’t have a decision within two hours, we’ll have to look for another company!”

“Well… well… I’ll do my best!”

Billy then asked Li Yi and the others to wait in his office for a moment while he hurried upstairs!