Chapter 808: We’ll Take Down Hang Seng Tomorrow!

Downtown. Li Family Estate!

By the time Li Yi arrived, it was already past six in the afternoon, and the Li Family Estate was ablaze with lights.

Led by the butler, Li Yi made his way to the study, where he met Li Futiao.

Seeing Li Yi enter, Li Futao, who had been deep in thought, immediately said, “You’re here! Come, sit down!”

Li Yi didn’t hesitate to sit down and asked, “What’s going on in London?”

“I just received an urgent message from Yunbao. As soon as the market opened today, it went wild. Prices for various metals, including steel, copper, and aluminum, have all seen significant increases—and the margins are substantial!” Li Futiao said.

Li Yi, however, did not panic; this was exactly what he had expected.

After all, it was almost April, and there were only about twenty days left before the full-scale outbreak of the Falklands War. Although the war had been launched rather hastily—neither the British nor their opponents had prepared thoroughly—they hadn’t even decided before the war began when it would start or how far it would go.

In short, although both sides had clear objectives, the conflict was chaotic.

Precisely because of this, even the bigwigs of the financial conglomerates back in Britain hadn’t made preparations in advance; otherwise, Li Yi wouldn’t have had the chance to snap up metal contracts at rock-bottom prices.

But with the outbreak of war now so imminent, it’s likely that a decision has already been reached at 10 Downing Street.

At this point, major capitalists would certainly anticipate price hikes for strategic materials, so it makes perfect sense for them to move now to snap up bulk supplies.

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately asked, “What’s the current price of steel?”

“It’s already reached 179 pounds per ton—a 10% increase since we entered the market last week!” Li Fu reported.

“How much steel has Yunbao’s team acquired so far?”

“According to Yunbao, over the past week, they’ve acquired 660,000 steel futures contracts, totaling 16.5 million tons. Additionally, they’ve purchased 8.7 million tons of high-quality spot steel at an average purchase price of 171 pounds per ton.”

Li Futiao continued, “Furthermore, they’ve also acquired 70,000 lots of copper and 130,000 lots of aluminum, totaling 9.8 billion pounds in capital expenditure!”

Li Yi nodded and asked, “What do you mean by ‘Yunbao’?”

“Almost all metal prices are rising now, and at a very rapid pace. Since we’ve already secured so many orders, he’s a bit undecided about whether to continue increasing our positions!” Li Futao said.

“Tell him not to hesitate. As long as the price increase doesn’t exceed double the current level, he should go all out and increase his positions!” Li Yi said firmly.

“Alright, I’ll let him know right away!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “If my estimate is correct, Yunbao and his team should still have 300 million pounds in cash on hand, plus about 8.5 billion in financial capital!”

“Tell them they can spend half of that 300 million in cash, and invest all 8.5 billion in financial capital—until there are no more steel futures contracts left on that market!”

“Got it!”

Li Futao then asked, “I heard you just slapped those Westerners in the face again on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, wiping out 5 to 6 billion from Dolsons in one go. Is that true?”

“It’s true. I made 5.6 billion off them this time!” Li Yi replied honestly.

“Hahaha, that’s just like you, Brother Li Yi! Now those foreigners are going to be kicking up a fuss again!”

Li Futao continued, “From what I understand, the British-owned group isn’t in great shape right now. Their internal situation had just stabilized, and before they could catch their breath, they’ve lost this much money all at once. They might just collapse because of this!”

“They might be kicking up a fuss, but it’s unlikely they’ll collapse over this!” Li Yi replied.

Then Li Yi spoke again: “On the surface, it looks like I really screwed those foreigners over this time, but in the long run, it’s actually a good thing for them!”

“A good thing?”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Right. Before, Huifeng Bank’s shares were relatively scattered, making it very vulnerable to risks—a huge loophole they’d never even noticed!”

“If I’d really had 60 billion in my hands this time… no, even if I’d only had 15 billion, I would’ve taken controlling interest in Huifeng, rather than just cashing in on their misfortune like I did now!”

“But after this battle, while we’ve taken a big chunk from them, we’ve also alerted them to the existence of this fatal flaw. Now those foreigners have successfully secured controlling interest in Huifeng, and it’ll be incredibly difficult for us to reclaim financial control and take action against Huifeng in the future.”

At this point, Li Yi couldn’t help but sigh, his voice tinged with regret. “If it weren’t for the fact that things in London simply couldn’t tolerate the slightest disturbance, I truly wouldn’t have wanted to tip our hand!”

Li Fu Tiao paused briefly before saying, “Brother Li Yi, it seems you’re truly determined to seize control of Huifeng!”

“Yeah, but unfortunately, the opportunity is gone!” Li Yi sighed.

“Not necessarily!”

“???”

At that moment, Li Futiao spoke again: “I’ve heard those foreigners are playing dirty—they’ve reneged on a lot of contracts to acquire Huifeng shares. Just now, several brokerage firm bosses contacted me privately, asking if I still wanted the shares they’re holding!”

Li Yi’s eyes lit up instantly, and he asked immediately, “Is that information reliable?”

“Absolutely reliable. It’s causing quite a stir in the industry—you’ve just been too busy with meetings to notice!” Li Futiao said.

“Hahaha, if that’s the case, then there really is a chance!” Li Yi said happily.

As long as the British-funded group hadn’t secured a 51% stake in Huifeng Bank, he still had a chance.

“Should I reach out to those interested in selling their shares and buy them out?” Li Futao asked.

“Not for now. Although Huifeng’s stock price has plummeted, it’s still overvalued. If we drive the price down too aggressively, it might look like we’re kicking them while they’re down. Let’s hold off on contacting them for now,” Li Yi said.

Aside from it being inappropriate, the most important reason was that Li Yi also wanted to use this opportunity to teach those brokers a lesson.

The main reason these people had been toyed with by the British-funded group of foreigners was that they had previously sided with those foreigners rather than the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Star Investment.

Since that was the case, they would have to pay the price for their choice!

He intended to acquire Huifeng’s shares and gain controlling interest in the company, but he had no intention of bailing out those two-faced scoundrels at this juncture.

Li Futiao immediately asked, “So, Brother Li Yi, when do you think would be the right time to contact those people?”

“Wait until Huifeng’s stock price drops below 20 Hong Kong dollars before contacting them!”

“HK$20? How long will that take?”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I estimate a week or two at most. If I fan the flames a bit, it’ll happen even faster!”

“How do you plan to fan the flames?” Li Futiao asked.

“I plan to launch a takeover bid for Hang Seng starting tomorrow!” Li Yi said, making a startling announcement.

“Tomorrow? Hang Seng?”

Hearing this, Li Futao was completely dumbfounded…

…………