Hong Kong Island. Far East Stock Exchange!
Just as Li Futiao and the others were silently speculating about Li Yi’s background, Li Yi and his team had already completed the fund settlement.
Thanks to Li Futao’s personal intervention, the brokerage was more than willing to cooperate. A total of over 4.02 billion yuan was smoothly transferred from Huang Lixing’s stock account into Li Yi’s personal account.
However, no sooner had Li Yi and his group completed the settlement than they saw General Manager Xie of the exchange approaching them with a middle-aged man.
Upon reaching them, Xie Huatian said respectfully, “Hello, Mr. Li. Would you mind if I spoke with you for a moment?”
“Of course. What’s on your mind?” Li Yi replied.
Li Yi actually had a favorable impression of General Manager Xie; after all, it was he who had authorized the loan of 1.68 billion yuan, enabling Li Yi to complete this epic investment.
Xie Huatian immediately pointed to the middle-aged man beside him and said, “This is Xie Yukun, Deputy General Manager of Hang Seng Bank and my cousin. He’d like to discuss a potential partnership with you. I wonder if you’d be interested?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the middle-aged man beside him extended his hand. “Mr. Li, I’m Xie Yukun. It’s a pleasure to meet an investment genius like you!”
This was the first bank executive Li Yi had met on Hong Kong Island. The fact that the man had sought him out so quickly clearly indicated he was no ordinary figure.
Li Yi immediately extended his hand as well and said, “Manager Xie, you’re very well-connected!”
Xie Yukun hurriedly explained, “Mr. Li, please don’t misunderstand. I actually called Chairman Li before coming here—it wasn’t Tianhua who tipped me off!”
Li Yi didn’t dwell on the matter. Whether it was Xie Huatian who tipped him off or Li Futiao who sent him, it made no difference to Li Yi.
“I wonder what kind of cooperation Manager Xie has in mind?”
In truth, Li Yi knew full well what this meant.
Bankers approaching him had only two possible motives: first, to attract deposits; second, to extend loans.
Currently, with tens of billions in funds at his disposal, he naturally had no need for a loan, so Manager Xie’s visit was undoubtedly to solicit deposits.
“Mr. Li, this isn’t the place for a conversation. If you have time, we can find a quiet spot to talk in detail,” said Xie Yukun.
Li Yi glanced at his watch; it was still early, so he nodded and said, “Let’s find a VIP lounge to talk.”
“Great!” Xie Yukun said excitedly.
Having risen to the position of Deputy General Manager at Hang Seng Bank, his emotional intelligence was naturally quite high.
Since Li Yi had agreed to talk with him, it meant there was a willingness to cooperate—proof that his risky decision to call Li Futiao today had paid off.
Shortly after, led by Xie Huatian, the group arrived at a high-end VIP lounge.
………
In the VIP lounge, Li Yi, Huang Lixing, and Xie Yukun took their seats across a round table.
Since the upcoming discussion involved trade secrets, no one else was allowed in besides the three of them.
Once everyone was seated, Li Yi cut straight to the chase: “Manager Xie, let’s be upfront about this—just tell me what you’re after!”
“I’ll be straightforward then. I’d like to invite Mr. Li to become a premium client of Hang Seng Bank!”
“You want me to deposit my money with your bank?” Li Yi asked immediately.
“Yes. Hang Seng Bank is one of the top five banks on Hong Kong Island, with substantial financial strength…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi replied calmly, “Manager Xie, we’re well aware of Hang Seng Bank’s standing. Let’s get down to business.”
Although Li Yi had thrown him off balance, Xie Yukun quickly regained his composure and replied, “Mr. Li, if you’re willing to deposit your funds with us, we’ll offer you an interest rate 20% higher than the benchmark rate.”
“Additionally, if you become a client of Hang Seng Bank, we will assign a dedicated representative to handle your business with priority. Furthermore…”
“What if I want a loan? Are there any special offers?” Li Yi asked, surprising everyone.
“A loan? Why would you need a loan?”
Li Yi replied calmly, “Manager Xie, in business, there are bound to be times when funds are tight. And I’m not saying I need a loan right now!”
Xie Yukun immediately realized his question had been a bit amateurish and hurriedly said, “Mr. Li, if you need working capital, I can lower the loan interest rate to 4.5% within the scope of my authority!”
Hearing this, Li Yi couldn’t help but nod to himself; it was clear that Manager Xie was being quite sincere.
He had already done his research recently; currently, loan interest rates at major banks in Hong Kong were generally between 5% and 5.25%, so 4.5% was already quite low by comparison.
“What about the loan amount? How much authority do you have over that?” Li Yi asked again.
“If there’s collateral, the loan amount isn’t an issue. But without collateral, my decision-making authority is limited—Mr. Li might not find the offer acceptable!”
Although Xie Yukun was implying that their bank required collateral—and that without it, they couldn’t approve much of a loan—Li Yi didn’t seem to mind at all.
He simply smiled and said to Xie Yukun, “Manager Xie, given that you are the first bank executive to proactively approach me for a partnership, and given your attitude and sincerity, I have decided to open our company’s account at your Hang Seng Bank!”
“Additionally, I’ll be opening my personal account with your bank as well. I look forward to your continued support, Manager Xie, and that of your bank!”
Xie Yukun’s eyes lit up, and he exclaimed excitedly, “Thank you, Mr. Li, thank you…”
“All right, Manager Xie, I have other matters to attend to today. I’ll have someone from the company come over tomorrow to handle the account opening. Let’s call it a day for today!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, let me see you out!”
“Please don’t trouble yourself—I wouldn’t dare accept such an honor!”
After that, Li Yi and Huang Lixing left the stock exchange with Lan Xinyi and the others.
As soon as they got back in the car, Huang Lixing looked at Li Yi and said, “Bro, are you really planning to open the company account at Hang Seng Bank?”
“What’s the matter? Is there a problem?”
“It’s not that there’s a problem, but Hang Seng Bank’s strength can’t compare to HSBC, Citibank, or Standard Chartered. Plus, Hang Lung Bank and Hong Kong Bank are on par with Hang Seng—their ranking as one of the top five in Hong Kong is a bit inflated!” Huang Lixing said.
“Haha, so what if it’s inflated? I never planned on depositing much money with them anyway!”
Suddenly, Li Yi remembered something and immediately said to Huang Lixing, “Old Huang, I noticed earlier that your money seems to be deposited at Hang Lung Bank, right?”
“Yes, why?”
“Transfer it out later!”
“Withdraw… withdraw it to where?”
“Citibank!”
Huang Lixing looked at Li Yi. Seeing how serious he was, he didn’t ask any further questions. He simply nodded and said, “I’ll take care of it tomorrow!”
“Alright!”
“By the way, Li Yi, are you really planning to transfer all this money into the company account?” Huang Lixing asked again for confirmation.
“Yeah, I’m going to need it soon!”
Hearing this, Huang Lixing’s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, “Brother Li Yi, are you planning to make another move?”
“That’s the plan!”
Li Yi had already mapped out his next investment project, but he still needed to carefully study the specifics of how to execute it.
After all, with this investment, he wasn’t just aiming to make money—he also wanted to secure the friendship of Hong Kong’s elite.
Huang Lixing hurriedly said, “Don’t forget about your old buddy!”
Investing in the stock market alongside Li Yi this time had been an unforgettable experience for Huang Lixing—it was simply too thrilling.
“Let’s head to the office first and see how the renovations are coming along. We’ll talk about the investment later!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
………