Exchange, VIP Room No. 7!
At that moment, the vast VIP room was filled with fair-haired, blue-eyed foreigners. Aside from Gusta, Dolsen, and the Jazz, there were also quite a few traders brought over from Europe.
Dawson didn’t trust Gusta, and Gusta was equally wary of Dawson.
To avoid being played by his nephew, all the traders had been brought over from Europe by Gusta—almost all of them were his trusted confidants.
Upon learning that New Territories Warehouse’s stock price had suddenly doubled, Gusta and the others were all slightly taken aback.
Originally, they had planned to quietly buy up shares while New Territories Warehouse’s stock was being driven to rock-bottom prices, then seize control of the company in one fell swoop and drive Li Yi’s people out—all to humiliate him.
But they never could have imagined that, having acquired less than 5 million shares, the stock price would suddenly surge—it was completely unexpected.
“Younger cousin, what do you make of this?” Gusta asked, looking at Dolsen.
Dorson paused to think for a moment, then said, “There are two possibilities. First, Starry Sky Company may have sensed our intentions and is driving up the price to block our bid for controlling interest!”
“The second possibility is that there’s some major positive news from New World Warehouse, which has driven up the stock price…”
Before he could finish, the phone in the VIP lounge suddenly rang.
Jazz, who was standing nearby, immediately picked up the receiver and answered.
After a burst of gibberish, the Duke said in a grave tone, “I just received word that the management company behind New World Warehouse has just held a press conference, where they announced several investment projects totaling tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars.”
Hearing this, Dolsen immediately said, “So, does that mean New Territories Warehouse’s stock price rose because of this positive news?”
Jazz replied immediately, “On the surface, that does seem to be the case, but I don’t think it’s that simple. After all, even with positive news, the stock market doesn’t react this quickly.”
“Besides, I don’t believe they’d actually invest that much money. You all know the current economic situation on Hong Kong Island—investing in infrastructure and real estate is practically the same as throwing money into the ocean!”
Gusta narrowed his eyes and said, “If I’m not mistaken, it must be that Li who’s behind this. He’s trying to thwart us!”
Just then, a middle-aged man in his forties turned to Gusta and said, “Boss, what should we do now? A massive amount of stock is flowing into their hands. We need to decide early on whether to follow or not.”
Gusta replied immediately, “Follow. Raise the price per lot to 2,000 Hong Kong dollars immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
Then, Gusta turned to Jazz and said, “Have your people keep in touch with those small shareholders at the New Territories warehouse. Tell them we’re willing to buy their shares at 120% of the market price!”
Jazz glanced at Dolsen and, seeing him give a barely perceptible nod, picked up the phone beside him.
As Gusta’s team ramped up their efforts, the average traders on the exchange were astonished to discover that New Territories Warehouse—which had been hammered down to rock-bottom prices just last week—had made a stunning comeback.
No, it wasn’t just a comeback—it was like it had been injected with adrenaline.
In just a few short hours, New World Warehouse had skyrocketed from 8 yuan per share to 20 yuan per share—and it was still climbing.
Amid the shock, some quickly concluded that a major institutional investor had entered the market and was scrambling to snap up New World Warehouse shares.
The stock market is, after all, a place where investors chase gains and cut losses. Seeing New World Warehouse’s share price continue to soar, some retail investors and hot money soon couldn’t resist and began to get restless.
After the third round of bidding between the two sides, some daring speculative traders and retail investors finally couldn’t hold back any longer and began entering the market.
Compared to Star Banbanhaobang Chen Company and figures like Gusta, these hot money investors and retail traders bid even higher prices, as this was the only way they could compete with the two major market makers for the shares.
With the intervention of multiple forces, New Territories Warehouse’s stock price climbed steadily, and by the market close, it had reached 28 yuan per share.
However, since there were few shares available for trading in the market to begin with, the supply dwindled further as more players joined the fray.
Consequently, many turned their attention to sources outside the stock market…
……..
Urban District. Li Family Manor!
Li Futiao poured tea for Li Yi as he said, “I just received word that those foreigners are reaching out to other shareholders of New Territories Warehouse, trying to buy up their shares at a high price. Should we also contact those small shareholders?”
Li Yi understood what Li Futao meant: reach out to those small shareholders to prevent the non-tradable shares from falling into the hands of those foreigners.
He paused to think for a moment, then said, “We can reach out, but the goal isn’t to buy their shares—it’s to drive up the price!”
“You want those foreigners to buy up the shares held by those small shareholders?” Li Fuzhao asked, looking at Li Yi.
“Exactly!”
“Why?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “The reason is simple. I said I’d make them lose both their wife and their army, and the New Territories Warehouse is the grave I’ve dug for them!”
“???”
Seeing the puzzled look on Li Futao’s face, Li Yi explained, “I know exactly what those foreigners are up to. They’re playing both sides right now. If they can seize control of New Territories Warehouse, they’ll do everything in their power to do so.”
“After all, as a renowned port area on Hong Kong Island, the New Territories Warehouse has immense potential. Its future market value won’t be less than 100 billion Hong Kong dollars—buying it would definitely be a sound investment…”
“A hundred billion?”
“That’s a conservative estimate!”
Li Yi wasn’t just spouting off. After all, even after the New Territories Warehouse was broken up in later years, the three major companies holding its core assets each had a market value exceeding 100 billion.
Especially the company holding the port operations—its market value was approaching HK$280 billion.
The current New Territories Warehouse owns all the ports, warehouses, and hotels, among other assets. Setting aside everything else, the land alone—spanning nearly half of the New Territories—will be worth a fortune in the future; HK$100 billion is definitely an underestimate.
Li Yi continued, “If we can’t secure a controlling stake, then we’ll drive the stock price as high as possible and cash out at the peak to make a huge profit.”
“My goal is to prevent them from gaining controlling interest while also ensuring they don’t make a profit. The primary task is to get them to acquire as many non-tradable shares as possible. That way, they won’t be able to easily cut their losses and exit the market—after all, non-tradable shares are far less liquid than tradable ones!”
Li Futao looked at Li Yi and said, “I still don’t understand what you’re trying to do. After all, as long as the stock price is high enough, and as long as the other side is willing to take a smaller profit, non-tradable shares can be offloaded quite easily!”
“Heh, what if the stock price suddenly crashes?”
Li Futiao paused for a moment, then asked, “Are you trying to trap them?”
“No, I want them to lose their entire investment!”
“Well…”
“Alright, Old Li, just do as I say—have them drive up the price of the restricted shares as much as possible!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, I’ll make the arrangements right away!” Li Futiao replied.
“Alright…”
Just then, the Li family’s head steward suddenly knocked on the door and entered, saying, “Master, there’s a foreigner outside who wishes to see you. He says his name is Dolsen!”
Li Futiao was taken aback for a moment, then frowned and asked, “What’s he doing here?”
No sooner had he spoken than Li Yi chimed in with a laugh, “I invited him here!”
“Since he’s Brother Li Yi’s guest, please show him in!” Li Futiao said.
“Yes…”
……….