chsdbacks Chapter 1015 Earning HK$54 Billion While Lying Down, Heading to Beijing!
Chapter 1015 Earning HK$54 Billion While Lying Down, Heading to Beijing!
Far East Investment Corporation's financial reports are very detailed, with every investment and profit clearly documented.
Lin Haoran flipped through the pages one by one; not a single investment had resulted in a loss.
After all, with his guidance, even if it was just a casual remark, Liu Luanxiong could make a successful investment.
If he can still lose money, then it can only mean that Liu Luanxiong is not cut out for investing.
In Lin Haoran's previous life, Liu Luanxiong was one of the top tycoons in Hong Kong, so he was no ordinary person.
His keen sense and operational skills in the stock market are renowned in Hong Kong's business circles.
Lin Haoran's advice only provided direction; it was Liu Luanxiong's execution that truly translated that direction into profit.
Which projects he invested in was not Lin Haoran's focus, so he flipped through the pages very quickly.
In the blink of an eye, the financial report had turned to its last page.
When Lin Haoran saw the total capital figure of Far East Investment Corporation, he couldn't help but be amazed, even though he was already mentally prepared.
The total balance in the account is $25.31 billion!
It's US dollars, not Hong Kong dollars.
Based on the current exchange rate of 1 US dollar to 6.8 Hong Kong dollars, that's a whopping HK$172 billion!
At the beginning of last year, the amount was only HK$42.5 billion.
Now, another year has passed, and the funds have multiplied several times over!
"We were lucky, because of your advice last year, I decided to focus on investing in the Americas, so I exchanged all my Hong Kong dollars into US dollars. At that time, the exchange rate was only about 1 to 5."
As a result, last September, because the Iron Lady tripped and fell in Beijing, news came that negotiations had stalled. This year, the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate has plummeted, yet our US dollar assets have actually appreciated by a full 30%.
As Liu Luanxiong spoke, a hint of relief, as if he had survived a calamity, crept into his voice.
He was simply following Lin Haoran's advice to convert his funds into US dollars to invest in US stocks and Latin American markets. Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon a major trend of Hong Kong dollar depreciation.
If he hadn't exchanged his money for US dollars and instead invested in Hong Kong dollars, he wouldn't have earned the exchange rate difference; instead, his investment would have shrunk due to the depreciation of the Hong Kong dollar.
Lin Haoran felt a pang of emotion after hearing this.
That's the allure of the financial market; sometimes luck is more important than ability.
But luck only favors the prepared.
If he hadn't advised Liu Luanxiong to convert the funds into US dollars, and if Liu Luanxiong hadn't heeded that advice, the figures today would be completely different.
"Ah Xiong, the Iron Lady stumbled in Beijing, the Sino-British negotiations reached a stalemate, the future of Hong Kong is uncertain, and the Hong Kong dollar has plummeted. This series of events has indeed brought huge profits to the Far East Investment Company."
"But this also reminds us that risks are everywhere in the financial market; today's luck could be tomorrow's disaster," Lin Haoran cautioned.
Liu Luanxiong nodded, his smugness fading slightly.
"Haoran, you're right. I've been thinking the same thing. Far East Investment Company's assets are already quite large. It's too risky to keep betting everything on the stock market and exchange rates. That's why I'm here today to discuss with you about distributing a portion of the funds as dividends."
Only what you actually receive is real wealth; otherwise, it's just a number on the company's books. If that investment fails, you risk losing everything.
An investment company with assets of $25 billion, and holding cash, would be considered a giant even on Wall Street.
Far East Investment Corporation, however, was just an obscure private investment company, keeping a low profile so much that almost no one knew of its existence.
This was exactly the effect Lin Haoran wanted.
The tallest tree catches the most wind; in the financial market, the best way to make a fortune in the long run is to keep a low profile.
Lin Haoran nodded and asked, "How much money are you planning to contribute?"
"I'm thinking of taking out $20 billion to distribute, Haoran, what do you think? Because I've found that having too much capital actually makes it harder to manage, and it's easy to alarm the market and attract unnecessary attention."
As you know, those people on Wall Street are very shrewd. Our large sums of money coming in and out are easily monitored by them. Once they've got their eye on us, they'll follow suit, disrupt our rhythm, and even turn around and take advantage of us.
Last April, our team suffered a loss. We had identified a stock and were preparing to build a large position, but less than three days after we bought it, the stock price started to fluctuate, and it was obvious that some people were following suit.
We quickly stopped, but it was too late. The cost had been increased by 15%. Upon investigation, we found out that a Wall Street hedge fund was copying our trade.
Even though we've spread the funds across dozens of accounts and operated in batches, there's still a risk of being targeted. The amount of money is too large to hide!" Liu Luanxiong said with some frustration.
After listening, Lin Haoran remained silent for a moment.
He understood Liu Luanxiong's concerns.
With $25 billion in funding, it's a force to be reckoned with in any market.
Putting aside other matters, his own Huanyu Investment Company sometimes encounters similar situations.
Therefore, every investment requires utmost care and caution!
Wall Street hedge funds, with their keen sense of smell, are like sharks, swimming wherever there's blood.
Although Far East Investment Corporation keeps a low profile, its frequent large-scale transactions will inevitably attract attention sooner or later.
After distributing $20 billion in dividends, the company still has a substantial $5.31 million left, which remains a very large sum of money.
“Alright, then let’s distribute $20 billion in dividends. I have no objection!” Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"In that case, I'll have the finance department transfer your portion of the funds to you tonight. You hold 40% of the shares, and your dividend will be $8 million. Any objections?" Liu Luanxiong asked.
"What opinions could I possibly have? I'm making money while lying down!" Lin Haoran laughed heartily.
Two years ago, Far East Investment Company had only invested HK$2 million.
In just two years, $8 million has returned, which is equivalent to HK$54.4 billion!
It increased more than twenty times; such a rate of return is astonishing anywhere.
This doesn't even take into account that the company shares are still there, and there's still principal in the company account that can continue to generate more dividends for him!
Most importantly, he did not contribute anything during this period; he only gave Liu Luanxiong some general directional advice. The specific investment targets and operations were handled by Liu Luanxiong and his team.
The feeling of making money while lying down is really great.
It has to be said that this money came too easily. He couldn't even spend all of the $418 he earned in Latin America, yet here he was making $8 million without lifting a finger.
With this $8 million, plus the tens of billions of dollars he earned in Latin America, plus Universal Investment Company's holdings in the US stock market, his cash and readily convertible assets have exceeded an astonishing figure, heading straight for hundreds of billions of dollars.
Sure enough, when you have a lot of money, it really just becomes a number.
"Haoran, I'm still a bit uncertain about this year's investments. What are your thoughts?" After the profit-sharing arrangements were finalized, Liu Luanxiong changed the subject and asked bluntly.
"Let me briefly share my views on investment this year. In my opinion, the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate will continue to fall, and eventually the Governor's Office will have to step in to maintain the exchange rate, ultimately pegging the Hong Kong dollar to the US dollar."
Before that, buying Hong Kong dollars at a low point using US dollars and then waiting for the exchange rate to rebound would be a good arbitrage opportunity. However, this operation requires patience and may take six months or even longer.
Regarding US stocks, in my judgment, whether it's the Dow Jones, S&P 500, or Nasdaq, they all experienced a surge in the first half of the year followed by a significant pullback in the second half. You need to be careful about this.
"Also, mergers and acquisitions of junk bonds in the US stock market is a good direction; you can look into it," Lin Haoran said simply.
This is already a hint; he won't go into more detailed directions.
How much money Liu Luanxiong made by managing the Far East Investment Company is his skill.
Far East Investment Company was just an investment he made casually. He had his own Huanyu Investment Company, and it was already more than enough that he could give Liu Luanxiong some general advice.
After listening, Liu Luanxiong nodded thoughtfully.
"Haoran, I will have the team study the directions you mentioned carefully. Especially the US junk bond M&A direction, I haven't paid much attention to it before, I need to go back and do some research."
"Ah Xiong, if word got out that you've made so much money through Far East Investment Company, you'd be third on the list of Hong Kong's top ten richest people, right?" Lin Haoran laughed.
Last year, the Oriental Press Group released the 1982 Hong Kong Rich List. At that time, Liu Luanxiong's assets were valued at over HK$10 billion, rising five places compared to 1981 to rank fifth.
This shocked the entire Hong Kong at the time.
This year, it should be no problem for Liu Luanxiong's personal assets to exceed HK$150 billion.
It has to be said that for Liu Luanxiong, getting close to Lin Haoran was definitely a great opportunity.
In Lin Haoran's previous life, Liu Luanxiong was also on the list of Hong Kong's top ten richest people for a long time, but that was during Liu Luanxiong's middle and old age.
In another timeline, in 1983, Amex had just gone public. Although it had completed its early capital accumulation, its wealth was not among the largest in Hong Kong, and it could only be considered a rising Chinese businessman.
In this life, thanks to accepting Lin Haoran's investment early on, Liu Luanxiong's business career has flourished, with his assets far exceeding those of his previous life, propelling him into the ranks of Hong Kong's top tycoons more than a decade ahead of schedule. Such an opportunity is rare indeed.
After listening to Lin Haoran's words, Liu Luanxiong chuckled and scratched his head.
"Haoran, stop making fun of me. My assets are nothing compared to yours. You are the real richest man in Hong Kong, no, you should be the richest man in the world. My third place is just because of you. If it weren't for your guidance, how could I have made so much money?"
Lin Haoran waved his hand without replying.
World 's richest man?
He was not interested in this empty title.
When you have a lot of money, it really just becomes a number.
What he cares more about is how to turn the money into something more valuable while making money, such as investing in real industries, promoting technological development in mainland China, improving people's livelihoods, and giving back to society.
He felt that this was a social responsibility that a wealthy Chinese-American should have.
These things are far more meaningful than ranking on the rich list.
The two chatted for a while longer, then Liu Luanxiong glanced at his watch, got up, and took his leave.
"Haoran, you've just returned to Hong Kong, so I won't disturb your reunion with your family. I'll treat you to a meal whenever you're free!"
"it is good!"
Lin Haoran escorted Liu Luanxiong to the elevator, watched him enter, and then turned back to his office.
Liu Xiaoli was sitting at her desk, looking at a business book.
Seeing Lin Haoran enter, she immediately stood up and asked, "Boss, Mr. Liu has left?"
"Okay, I'm leaving. You just returned to Hong Kong from the mainland yesterday. If you don't have anything to do, go back and rest early. There's not much work to do here either. I'm going back to my parents' place first!" Lin Haoran picked up his suit jacket from the hanger and said to Liu Xiaoli as he walked out.
"I understand, boss," Liu Xiaoli said obediently.
I checked the time; it was already past 5 p.m.
Lin Haoran, accompanied by Li Weidong and Li Weiguo, rode in a Rolls-Royce.
The car drove out of the underground parking lot of the Connaught Building, drove west along Queen's Road Central, passed through the bustling streets of Central, turned onto Island Road, and headed towards Deep Water Bay.
The view outside the window changed from skyscrapers to a villa area with shady trees, and the air became fresher.
Lin Haoran leaned back in his seat, looking at the scenery outside the window. Time passed quickly.
About half an hour later, the car stopped in front of a villa.
Perhaps because they heard the engine, quite a few people had already come to the door.
Lin's father, Lin's mother, Guo Xiaohan, and Lin Yaoguang, whom she was holding in her arms.
"Daddy, you're back so early today? That's rare!" Lin Wan'an said to Lin Haoran with a smile.
“Your mom called me at noon and told me to come home for dinner tonight. Anyway, I wasn’t busy, so I came back early,” Lin Wan’an explained.
Lin Haoran suddenly realized.
Nowadays, although Lin Wan'an manages Media Asia Films, the largest film company in Hong Kong, the company has professional managers. Lin Wan'an no longer manages everything personally as he did in the Wan'an Group before. Instead, he focuses more on grasping the overall direction and attending some important social occasions.
Therefore, his time is relatively flexible, and it's not difficult for him to come back early after receiving a call from his mother.
"Come here, son, let Daddy hold you." Lin Haoran walked over, took Lin Yaoguang from Guo Xiaohan's arms, and bounced him around in his arms.
The little guy is already seven months old, with a round face and bright black eyes. When he saw Lin Haoran, he immediately stretched out his two little hands and babbled excitedly.
Lin Haoran kissed his son on the cheek, and the little guy giggled, revealing his pink gums.
The family entered the villa and sat down in the living room.
"The food in the kitchen is ready. I'll go tell the servants to bring it up," said Lin's mother.
"Haoran, Xiaohan told me you're going to Beijing tomorrow? What's the purpose of your trip?" Lin Wan'an asked.
Lin Haoran shook his head and said, "I don't know either. I received the invitation in Pengcheng, but it doesn't matter to me. I haven't been to Beijing for a long time, so it's time to go and have a look around."
"That's good. It's a good thing that the central government invited you. It shows that your investment and contributions over there have been recognized."
"Although your father has been working in the Hong Kong business world for decades, I have never been formally invited by Beijing. The fact that you, at such a young age, can receive such treatment shows that they have taken notice of what you have done." Lin Wan'an's tone was full of pride.
Although he wasn't the one invited, it was his son who was invited, and he felt honored because of his son.
"Daddy and Mommy, would you like to go to Beijing for a visit?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.
"No, your mother and I actually went to Beijing last year. We went with Mr. Ma Shimin. We visited the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, and other places. They sent people to receive us. You must have important business to attend to in Beijing, so I won't go and join the crowd." Lin Wan'an waved his hand, his tone relaxed.
Lin Haoran nodded, without pressuring him.
His parents are getting old and don't like to make a fuss, which he understands.
Since I already went there last year, the novelty has worn off, so I naturally don't want to go through the trouble of going again.
The family sat around the dining table, eating and chatting.
The dishes were all Lin Haoran's favorites, clearly arranged by Lin's mother.
After dinner, Lin Haoran and his father went to the study to have tea and chat, while Guo Xiaohan and Lin's mother watched TV and chatted in the living room. The two had a very good relationship.
Lin Yaoguang was placed in a baby chair, holding a teething toy in his hand, drooling all over his mouth, looking quite pleased with himself.
In the evening, my neighbor Bao Yugang came over for a visit.
Although Bao Yugang underwent major surgery, he had follow-up examinations every now and then, and his health improved, with his complexion becoming noticeably rosy.
The two talked about things at Wheelock.
Wharf Holdings has acquired Wheelock Properties, and Wheelock Properties’ Lane Crawford Group has been spun off and sold to Lam Ho-yin.
However, Wheelock does have many problems. Its business is too diversified, involving real estate, shipping, retail, hotels, industry and many other fields. It does everything, but it can't make anything big.
Moreover, the management was chaotic, with numerous internal factions and subsidiaries constantly bickering with each other, resulting in shockingly low efficiency.
Therefore, Paul Y. is now focusing a lot of his energy on Wheelock and Depository, disposing of many non-performing assets.
The two chatted until after 10 p.m., when Lin Haoran finally asked Li Weidong and Li Weiguo to take him home.
The night passed quietly like that.
The next morning, Lin Haoran slept until 8:30, which was unusual for him.
After having breakfast with his parents, he didn't say goodbye until 10 a.m., and then left the Deep Water Bay villa in a car with Guo Xiaohan, Lin Yaoguang and others.
The car headed straight for Kai Tak International Airport.
An hour later, the car arrived at the private tarmac of Kai Tak Airport.
Lin Haoran's Hawker Beechcraft long-range luxury business jet was already waiting on the tarmac. The cabin door was open, the gangway was down, and the crew stood beside the gangway to greet him respectfully.
"Boss, the plane is ready. According to the control tower's schedule, we can take off in 15 minutes," the captain reported to Lin Haoran.
Lin Haoran nodded, picked up Lin Yaoguang, and climbed the gangway.
Guo Xiaohan followed closely behind.
Li Weidong and Li Weiguo followed behind with six bodyguards, while the nanny carried some baby supplies at the back.
A dozen minutes later, the plane taxied quickly on the runway and then soared into the sky.
Destination: The capital city! (End of Chapter)