Starlight Tower. Conference Room!
When Li Yi and Huang Lixing walked in, escorted by a group of bodyguards, the conference room was already packed with people.
Upon seeing the two of them, the previously chaotic conference room fell instantly silent.
Then, though no one knew who started it, enthusiastic applause soon erupted throughout the room.
For one thing, the news that Durson had personally come to the company that morning and, on behalf of the Sassoon family, had conceded defeat to Li Yi had already spread throughout Hong Kong Island.
Now everyone knew that Li Yi had won—not only had he defeated the British-owned conglomerate that had dominated Hong Kong’s business world for decades, but he had also defeated the Sassoon family, the conglomerate’s power brokers behind the scenes. This not only gave local Chinese businesspeople in Hong Kong a sense of vindication but also made them feel a sense of shared pride.
Secondly, before the meeting, everyone had been informed via phone call that the funds from London had already been settled, and today’s meeting was specifically to discuss the settlement of principal and interest.
After waiting so long, the funds were finally being settled, so everyone was naturally overjoyed and didn’t hold back their applause.
Seeing this, Li Yi and Huang Lixing both walked toward their seats with smiles on their faces.
Once seated, Li Yi first raised both hands in a gesture of silence.
Then, clearing his throat, he said, “I’ve called you all here today out of your busy schedules primarily to discuss two matters. The first concerns the relationship between our Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the British Capital Group—or rather, how we should interact with the British Capital Group.”
“For a very long time, our relationship with the British Capital Group has been highly strained, even hostile. The two sides have engaged in repeated capital wars, resulting in mutual losses…”
When the others heard the phrase “both sides have suffered losses,” some broke into smug grins, while others looked utterly bewildered, wondering when exactly they had ever suffered any losses!
Seeing this, Li Yi paused briefly before continuing, “This morning, Dolsen came to see me personally. In addition to offering an apology and conceding defeat on behalf of the Sassoon family, he also explained the situation to me: the British Capital Group was not involved in the Sassoon family’s recent actions against our Chinese Chamber of Commerce.”
“Furthermore, he expressed a willingness to coexist peacefully with us. After careful analysis and consideration, I’ve come to realize that the global economic situation is improving, and this is a prime opportunity to invest and make money. We shouldn’t waste our time and energy fighting them.”
“Therefore, I propose that we temporarily cease hostilities with the British-owned Group. What do you all think?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Futiao immediately replied, “Our informant embedded within the British-owned Group has also reported that, aside from a few individual families, the majority of the British-owned Group neither supported nor participated in this operation. Therefore, I also agree to temporarily cease hostilities with the British-owned Group!”
“Our He family also agrees with Mr. Li’s proposal, but on the condition that they do not act hostilely toward us. If they take any actions detrimental to our Chinese Merchants’ Association, we will still go to war if necessary!” said He Dongying.
Next, the Luo, Bao, and Huo families, among others, followed suit, and the matter was quickly approved unanimously.
Actually, this was easy to understand; after all, they were all merchants, gathered together for the sake of profit.
As long as those foreigners didn’t come looking for trouble, the others naturally had no interest in fighting them.
Once this matter was settled, Li Yi spoke again: “The second item on today’s agenda is the investment settlement that everyone is most concerned about. The final payment from London was settled yesterday, and the crisis on Hong Kong Island has also been resolved, so it’s time to settle the principal and interest for this round!”
“Now, please welcome Ms. Pang Feiyan, Head of the Investment Department at Star Investment Company, to announce the profits from this investment. Let’s give her a warm round of applause!”
“Clap, clap, clap!”
Amid the enthusiastic applause, Pang Feiyan first stood up and bowed to the crowd before taking out the prepared documents to read aloud.
“The profits from this investment and the investor dividends have been calculated. According to our statistics, the investment company raised a total of 3.53 billion pounds, equivalent to 60 billion Hong Kong dollars. Of this amount, 18 billion was raised by Dahai Private Equity, 25 billion came from shareholders’ own funds, 16.2 billion was raised by Chamber of Commerce members, and the remaining 1.8 billion came from other sources!”
Pang Feiyan continued, “After deducting all taxes, fees, and capital usage costs, this investment generated a total profit of 7.696 billion pounds, equivalent to 130.832 billion Hong Kong dollars…”
At this point, the conference room erupted once again in thunderous applause. The roar of cheers continued unabated, as if it might lift the roof off the building.
The applause lasted nearly a minute before finally subsiding at Pang Feiyan’s signal.
“According to the agreement signed between the company and all of you, upon the conclusion of the investment, the principal and 60% of the profits will be distributed to you. After calculation, the 32 members of the Chamber of Commerce will collectively receive 19.8 billion Hong Kong dollars plus 16.2 billion in principal, totaling 36 billion!”
An investment of 16.2 billion, yielding a profit of 19.8 billion in just over three months—a return on investment of 122%.
Instantly, the conference room erupted:
“Thank you, Mr. Li Yi, for giving us this opportunity. We are truly grateful!”
“That’s incredible! Making a massive profit of 130.8 billion from a single investment—I never even dared to dream of such a thing!”
“You’re absolutely right. Our Wang family has been in business for three generations—we’ve worked hard for a century just to build this modest fortune. Compared to Mr. Li, we’re truly ashamed!”
“Your Wang family is still doing well. At least you invested 10 billion Hong Kong dollars this time. Our Wu family only put in 200 million… sigh…”
Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Li Yi cleared his throat and said, “Everyone, please be quiet!”
At the sound of Li Yi’s voice, the conference room fell silent once more.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have one more thing to say regarding the principal and interest settlement. The first round of investment has concluded, but the company will soon be launching the second round!”
Li Yi continued, “I’ll briefly outline the details of this investment round. It remains the same as last time: the return on investment is over 50%, and the investment cycle is approximately three months. However, we’re making an adjustment to the commission structure—we’re reinstating the 50% commission rate!”
“Those willing to proceed with the second round of investment can go to the Investment Department to sign a contract after this settlement is completed. If you are unwilling to participate in the second round or need funds urgently, please go to Manager Zhao Xinlan for a cash settlement!”
No sooner had Li Yi finished speaking than Li Futiao asked loudly, “Brother Li Yi, are there any minimum investment requirements for this second round?”
“None, but I personally won’t accept anything under 10 million. You can just invest that directly into the company’s private equity fund,” Li Yi replied.
“Alright, the Li family won’t be claiming our principal and interest this time—we’ll put it all into this round of investment. On top of that, the Li family will invest an additional 5 billion!” Li Futiao declared with great confidence.
At these words, everyone in the conference room was stunned.
Wow, the Li family had already invested nearly 3 billion in the first round, with a total principal and interest of at least 6.5 billion.
If they added another 5 billion, that would bring the total to 11.5 billion. When did the Li family become this wealthy?
What the others didn’t know was that Li Yi’s investment trip to London had been fully supported by the Li family’s subsidiary and financial managers, and during this process, the Li family had also injected a substantial amount of additional capital to follow up on the investment.
From this round of investment alone, the Li family made 700 million pounds in London, totaling 12 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Combined with the dividends received from Li Yi, the Li family reaped total returns of over 15 billion Hong Kong dollars from this investment.
Although the others didn’t earn as much as the Li family, they still made a killing this time. Seeing Li Futao throwing money so recklessly at Li Yi’s investment projects, they immediately followed suit.
“Our He family is investing 2 billion Hong Kong dollars this time, for a total of 4.5 billion including principal and interest!”
“Our Luo family is contributing 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, for a total investment of 3.5 billion including principal and interest!”
“Our Bao family is contributing 2 billion…”
Soon, the meeting’s agenda shifted from investment settlements to new investment subscriptions.
Li Yi welcomed every offer without hesitation. He even instructed Pang Feiyan to immediately summon the investment department staff to the conference room to sign contracts directly with these chamber of commerce members.
While everyone was busy signing the contract, Li Yi returned to his office with Huang Lixing and Li Futiao!
………