One week later, Hong Kong Galaxy Tower:
"Sheng Chen, the loan from Hisense Bank has been approved, and HK$500 million has arrived in our account." Li Haonan came to report early in the morning.
"The speed is quite fast. It seems that Huang Changzan has wasted a lot of effort." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. For a bank with only 12 billion Hong Kong dollars in deposits, it is still a bit difficult to issue 500 million loans in a short period of time. Yes, because under normal circumstances, a large amount of deposits must be lent out, and the bank itself only retains the minimum limit stipulated by the government. In Hong Kong, this limit is currently 20%. To be able to withdraw 500 million so quickly, either it has used this Guaranteed funds, or emergency borrowing from other places.
"Yes, it is said to be funds borrowed from several overseas banks." Li Haonan added: "We have arranged for someone to contact a deputy financial director of Hisense Bank. He is willing to cooperate with us, but he cannot get the funds from Hisense Bank." There was substantial evidence that the senior management had made false accounts, but he produced a lot of evidence of abnormal fund transfers by Hisense Group. These were actually the manifestations of Hisense Bank’s attempt to cover the bad debt. He wanted US$1 million, and then we arranged to send him abroad. Needing to ensure his own safety, he also offered to work for our group overseas.”
"It's impossible. You can give us money, but just work for us." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said, of course there must be rewards for whatever you do. The vice president of finance of SITC Bank is considered to be a high-end working class in Hong Kong. It's normal. There are hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars a year. Even if Hisense goes bankrupt one day, as long as he is not overly involved in falsifying accounts, there is no problem in changing jobs. Reporting his own company, even if there is no legal problem, But this also blocks his path to job hunting in Hong Kong and even other countries, because no company will want such a person.
To make others pay such a price, you have to give benefits. Compared to a bank that is the third largest in Hong Kong, a bank with a complete banking system, a large number of customers, or even a bank that has begun to expand overseas, this amount of money is nothing, and On top of that, there is a real risk that the person reporting the incident may have their life in danger.
Business wars in general are all kinds of high-IQ games within the scope of the law, but in reality, it is a different story. If you are desperate, anything can happen. For example, Jianing Group will be severely investigated by the Hong Kong government next year. It was the murder of an auditor from a major Malaysian bank that almost triggered a diplomatic dispute and severely damaged Hong Kong's economic image.
"This person has a very tough attitude. He must have a job. If so, I'm afraid it will delay our plan." Li Haonan said with some worry. Arranging a job for a person, given his position, is actually very difficult. It's easy. Those with an annual salary of one million Hong Kong dollars can be directly appointed by the top management of the group. The boss usually doesn't interfere much, but this person is a bit sensitive and must obtain the boss's consent.
"That's it, ask him which country he plans to go to. Let him invest in a store there and become a Midea distributor. In this case, it will just be an ordinary cooperative relationship with us." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, indeed There's no need to waste time on such a trivial matter, it's not worth it.
"Okay, then I'll make the arrangements." Li Haonan agreed, and then asked: "Then what should we do with the 500 million Hong Kong dollars we received?"
"Keep it for now. If we can acquire Hisense quickly, the money will belong to the bank, and there is nothing to invest in for the time being." Chen Zhiwen said, he is not short of HK$500 million, purely to increase Hisense. The bank's financial pressure, if you acquire it yourself, this pressure will become your own. At that time, the right hand will return the left hand and the account will be settled. Furthermore, there are indeed no good investment objects in Hong Kong at present.
After entering 1982, many major events happened in Hong Kong.
The biggest impact of this is naturally the plummeting price of land and stock prices. The transaction prices of houses and land in Hong Kong, except for those near the beautiful industrial city in Yuen Long, have entered a downward mode. Even Central cannot bear it. Well, the land king that Land bought for HK$7.3 billion last year is now worth at most HK$5 billion based on nearby land prices. This project alone has lost HK$2 billion in half a year. Suddenly, Land It has become a popular topic among Hong Kong people.
However, Land obviously does not think so. It continues to expand. In March this year, Land and Yida Group acquired the large-scale villa project in Bai Bishan for HK$1.38 billion, and acquired the Hong Kong Telephone Company 3.49 billion for HK$3.5 billion. % of the shares. Since then, Jardine Matheson Group has added another company with a market value of more than 10 billion Hong Kong dollars. It is so popular that it seems to be suppressing HSBC and Chen Zhiwen.
As for the stock market, the Hang Seng Index has been falling in waves since it hit a peak of 1,860 points last year. Today, it is less than 1,200 points.
Although it is not a sudden plunge like in 1973, the long-term and chronic one will also have a serious impact on society, especially banks. Under the sluggish real estate trend, there are very few new projects. In the past, many real estate companies’ mortgages, whether properties or Stocks have all started to fall, mortgage risks have increased, returns have decreased, and all banks are having a hard time.
On May 5, a breaking news came from Ming Pao: An unknown senior executive of Hong Kong Ocean Trust Bank, with evidence of abnormal transactions of Hisense Bank, walked into the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption and made a real-name report to the public and the government. Concealing bad debts, the suspected funds are as high as HK$300 million.
As soon as this news came out, Hisense Bank's stock price immediately plummeted by 30%, and the Hang Seng Index immediately hit 30 points. Everyone in the stock exchange immediately became busy. Either a bunch of Hisense shareholders were eager to sell their stocks, or there was a lot of work. The officer then called to sell the stock.
Hisense Bank reacted and immediately held a press conference, claiming that the incident was fabricated out of thin air and that it was deliberately framed by a friend. However, when faced with subsequent questions from reporters, the answers were somewhat inadequate. They all said that the situation was not clear at the moment and that they had some discernment. Anyone who has seen it knows that there must be problems within Hisense Bank, but whether it has 300 million Hong Kong dollars, I don’t know.
After the press conference, Huang Changzan sat down on the sofa in his office with a tired look. At the press conference just now, he was asked questions by a group of tricky reporters. He was left speechless several times. Although the press conference was only half an hour , but it felt like months had passed.
At this moment, he is accompanied by several vice presidents of Hisense Bank. These people can be said to be the core senior executives of Hisense Bank.
"Have you found out what evidence Shen Changqing brought to the Independent Commission Against Corruption?" Huang Changzan asked after resting for a while, breaking the silence.
"I don't know. He is one of the people in charge of finance. Even if he doesn't have access to our core data, he will definitely find anomalies in our transfers. This anomaly alone definitely means there is a problem." Hisense Bank's finance Xie Hongbing, the general person in charge, said.
"Are you sure he has no access to our core data? Then how did the outside world know that our bad debts are HK$300 million? This number is less than 5% different from our actual accounts. How do you explain it?" Huang Chang praised asked.
"This" Xie Hongbing was speechless when asked, involving the concealment of more than 60 million US dollars in bad debts. This operation certainly cannot be hidden from some middle and high-level people within the bank, but they will only know that there is a problem and the specific amount. It is impossible to know. Those who know this data are only a few people present in the entire bank. No one knows why Shen Changqing, who reported it, told this data.
"The problem now is not Shen Changqing, but how we will face the ICAC investigation and temporarily appease the public's confidence. Otherwise, once a run occurs, even if the ICAC finds nothing, we will all It's over." Another executive said that facing a large-scale run, a normal bank would definitely not be able to bear it. If the money is given, the bank's internal funds will definitely not be enough. If not, once the news gets out, it will only trigger a more serious run. , and even its other partners will be forced to pay for debts, and the entire building will completely collapse.
"According to the process, the Independent Commission Against Corruption will come to investigate soon. This matter cannot be hidden. Such a big bad debt cannot be filled in first unless the same funds are found from other places." Xie Hongbing said.
"If you can find so much money to fill it in, you have already found it a long time ago. Why wait until today." Huang Chang said with admiration.
"Before, we borrowed HK$500 million from several Japanese banks. Can we borrow some more? Let us first pass the current hurdle. As long as we can stabilize the Independent Commission Against Corruption, we will then find ways to stabilize those users who may run. We can get over that hurdle for the time being." Xie Hongbing said.
"Before, we were able to borrow 500 million yuan because of Chen Zhiwen's three words and the property mortgage he took out. What can our Hisense Bank mortgage now? Especially now that this matter has been exposed, if it were not Chen Zhiwen, if it were someone else For loans, it is estimated that the Bank of Japan will immediately ask us for borrowing funds." Huang Changzan said.
"Then there's only one way left, and it's a bit risky." Another person said.
"What method?" Hope ignited in everyone's hearts.
"Give the ICAC people a little benefit," said the proposer.
"Are you looking for death? And are the people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption so easily persuaded by you?" Huang Changzan almost vomited out his blood. He is really capable of coming up with such a bad idea. Originally, they were just concealing their crimes. It is not a serious economic crime. Even if the amount involved is relatively large, it will only take a few years to get out of the crime. But if bribery and ICAC are added, the potential for punishment will be doubled in the future.
"Even if someone from the ICAC is really bribed, and this matter is such a big deal, if nothing is found out, the Hong Kong government will definitely intervene, and everyone will die even worse." Xie Hongbing also said speechlessly.
The proposer nodded and said, "Of course I know this is a death-seeking act. However, what we need to do is not to prevent the ICAC from pursuing the investigation, but to do it later and slower. In fact, we all know that once the ICAC investigates, this will The matter cannot be hidden at all, but if we can discover it later, we will have time to stabilize the situation outside. As long as we suppress the run and find people who can help us tide over the difficulties, then bad debts will be exposed later, and things will It can also be controlled.
Besides, the main responsibility for this matter is still the deceased Zhang Mingtian. We can completely say that we have just taken over the bank and are not clear about this matter. As long as the bank does not collapse and does not trigger a financial run crisis, then spend some money to hire a lawyer. , maybe all of us here can avoid prison. "
After saying that, everyone became quiet. Being able to avoid jail is the biggest hope for everyone at the moment. In fact, these people already knew about this in the days of Zhang Mingtian (the founder of Hisense, who passed away in February). There must be some responsibility, but after all, the main responsibility is still Zhang Mingtian. As long as the bank run crisis is not triggered and the incident is over, it is indeed possible to take away all the responsibilities. They can even keep their current jobs even if they are exempted from jail.
But if it is not controlled well, resulting in a run and bank bankruptcy, then the Hong Kong government will definitely spend a lot of money to clean up the mess, and people like them will definitely not be able to live with it.
"But if we are still discovered, we..." Another person whispered.
"In this way, if we people don't come forward, we can find other people and let this person go to the ICAC and give a hint. However, we must find a big lawyer to negotiate how to say it. The words must be legally defensible and ensure that even if the integrity is If the department catches this person in turn, even if his conversation is recorded, we can still argue and let the lawyer shirk the responsibility. Once again, we can clear the responsibility from us." After Huang Changzan thought for a moment, he finally agreed. .
In order to conceal something, you may need to take greater risks to suppress it, but everyone is lucky, so you have to try it no matter what. Many barristers in Hong Kong actually specialize in serving wealthy and aristocratic families. , especially those who are proficient in business, are best at exonerating the rich and their families.
"Okay, I'll go discuss this matter with Zhang Dazhuang right away." The proposer agreed.
Xie Hongbing added: "The ICAC can only do this, but we must also find someone who can give us support. Otherwise, once the facts are found out, I'm afraid all our accounts will be frozen immediately. By then, I'm afraid, Even the lawyers won’t pay attention to us.”
"I'm afraid the only one who can help us is HSBC, but if we go to them, we will only end up being swallowed up like Hang Seng. Besides, HSBC has been aiming to internationalize over the years and may not be willing to spend so much money to help us. After having Hang Seng, they are probably not very interested in acquiring other Chinese banks." Huang Changzan said with a frown.
Xie Hongbing said: "What about Chen Zhiwen? Although he does not have a bank, it is easy for him to help us with his financial resources."
"We just cooperated with someone? Will he be willing to help us?" one person said.
Huang Changzan thought for a moment, nodded and said: "This seems to be the only way. I will find a chance to meet with Li Haonan again. He is a celebrity around Chen Zhiwen, so he should be able to bring a message."
"Dong dong dong" there was a knock on the door. Before the people inside could say anything, a young man in his 30s came in and said, "Huang Sheng, the ICAC people are already downstairs, and our News came from branches, and many people started queuing up to withdraw cash.”
(End of chapter)
