Hong Kong's new giants

Friday, April 4.

One week after the Bank of England obtained the review report, it took decisive action and joined forces with Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands and other relevant authorities to seize the China Commercial Bank on the same day and freeze its assets around the world.

The news spread to Xiangjiang, triggering a wave of bank runs in China Commercial Bank (Hong Kong), with deposits reduced by 3.2 million that day!
In the evening of the same day, CBRC officials held a news media conference and stated that the root cause of the "Guo Shang Incident" was not in Hong Kong but overseas. The "Guo Shang" in Hong Kong was "operating" independently, and the operation was "perfect and feasible" and there was no need to suspend business.

For a while, many media did not have any doubts, and planned to follow the words of the Banking Regulatory Commission officials for the next day's news layout.

The next day, Saturday.

When all the media reported positive news, Hong Kong's authoritative "Economic Daily" published 'negative news'.

Its professional economists and critics sharply pointed out three counterarguments:

First, the official statement that Xiangjiang Guoshang is "operating independently" and "not affected by the parent company" is completely irresponsible. If there is a problem, the company to which it belongs can take care of itself.

Second, if the Hong Kong government officials agree with the statement of the CBRC, why not issue a statement of "foreign exchange guarantee" to dispel the worries of depositors.

Third, Xiangjiang International Commercial Bank should be seized immediately to prevent assets from being transferred overseas.

For a while, it became all the media other than the "Economic Daily" Hard Steel Wanhui Media Group, which surprised many people.

Yesterday, the Hong Kong government held a press conference in the hope that through the media, it would appease the depositors of the country's businessmen, as well as the entire financial sector in Hong Kong.Logically speaking, the media only needs to pass on the words of the Hong Kong government.

Unexpectedly now, the "Economic Daily" directly questioned the Hong Kong government, which meant to incite a teacher to question the crime.

morning.

Li Bingqiang is a major customer of China Commercial Bank, and has deposited a full 200 ​​million in China Commercial Bank, because he is in the catering business.Originally, he did not consider the cooperation of China Commercial Bank, but the interest rate of China Commercial Bank is a little higher than others.

It's just that he didn't expect that last night he learned from the news that there was a run on China Commercial Bank, which made him turn pale with fright.His business is not big, and 200 million is almost a large part of his cash.He also counted on taking out the money to buy a property when it expired!
"Boss, bring me a copy of "Letter"?" Li Bingqiang said urgently.

"Letter" is the number one financial magazine in Xiangjiang, so Li Bingqiang wanted to know the situation from above.

"In front of you, take it yourself!" The newsstand owner pointed to Li Bingqiang.

Li Bingqiang saw that it was in front of him, but he was so nervous that he didn't see it!

After paying the money, Li Bingqiang started to read it on the side of the horse. When he saw the words of the Hong Kong government reported by the "Letter", Li Bingqiang suddenly became enlightened and made a false alarm.

"Let's go to the entrance of the China Commercial Bank to have a look!" Li Bingqiang thought carefully. After all, he was in business and didn't need to ask for leave.

When he came to a China Commercial Bank in Central, he was shocked, and there was already a long queue.

"Brother, the Hong Kong government says everything is normal in China Commercial Bank, why do you still want to withdraw money, you are not afraid of discounting interest!"

The queuing person said unhappily: "You also believe what the Hong Kong government says. You see, this is the opinion of the Economic Daily. They say that Xiangjiang Guoshang can't be alone! Besides, I just need to keep my capital, and the interest will be paid. What, don't care!"

"Ah, show me!"

The people in the queue thought that they would be in the front, and they were not afraid of multiple competitors, not to mention that this kind of thing requires everyone to work together, so they handed the newspaper to Li Bingqiang.

It didn't matter if it didn't matter, Li Bingqiang broke out in a cold sweat, and quickly joined the queue.

"The "Economic Daily" is not reliable or professional at all. It almost missed me. I should read the "Economic Daily" in the future!" Li Bingqiang said to himself.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Officials from the Financial Secretary and the Banking Regulatory Office also urgently started meetings. They originally planned to use the weekend to communicate and contact the UAE government urgently, so that the UAE government, which is the major shareholder of China Commercial Bank, will provide financial guarantees and capital injections. Once the Hong Kong China Commercial Bank comes, there will be no crisis.

And they didn't seal up the China Commercial Bank, but also hoped that there would be no wave of bank runs in the Xiangjiang Bank.

Of course, the misjudgment of these officials is also a large part of the reason.

The Director of the Finance Department, Zhai Kecheng, is a British guy who doesn't understand Chinese. He only heard from his assistant that a large number of depositors gathered at the door of China Commercial Bank, ready to withdraw money.

"What's going on? Haven't we already issued announcements and suggestions? Why are things still happening?"

Zhuo Shengcai, commissioner of the Banking Regulatory Commission, relayed all the articles published in the Economic Daily to Cui Kecheng.

Cui Kecheng's face immediately changed, and he said dissatisfiedly: "What's the matter with them? I don't know if this will cause the entire Xiangjiang bank run?"

Although he was angry, he could do nothing about the "Economic Daily"'s move, because it belongs to the freedom of the press, especially in Xiangjiang, where it is impossible for the "Economic Daily" to be targeted, which would cause confrontation in the entire media, even overseas. The media will support it.

However, the remarks of the "Economic Daily" also reminded some financial and banking regulators.

The deputy director said: "I think we should still pay attention to it, and immediately send a team to the headquarters of China Commercial Bank again, and we cannot allow them to transfer funds overseas. At the same time, we should step up contact with the UAE government and ask them to give a clear answer. The statement. Whether they inject capital and guarantee or not is related to the fate of the China Commercial Bank!"

Cui Kecheng also reacted, nodded and said: "Okay! Everyone cheer up, we must not let this matter spread to other banks, and affect the entire Hong Kong banking industry and the exchange rate with the Hong Kong dollar!"

After some arrangements, the Financial Secretary and the Banking Regulatory Office worked overtime to deal with this matter.

In this way, the banking circles in Xiangjiang lived in panic for two days on weekends, for fear that the run would continue to their own heads.

However, there was always a long queue at the door of the China Commercial Bank, and the bank's cash was quickly run out.

Monday, October 4.

In the morning, all the major media in Xiangjiang published: The Xiangjiang government ordered China Commercial Bank to suspend operations and accept the seal.

The reason is that the major shareholder, the Abu Dhabi government, does not agree to financial support, and the International Credit Card Co., Ltd. has suspended all credit cards issued by China Commercial Bank Group.

For a while, Xiangjiang public opinion was in an uproar.

Because most people believed the words of the Hong Kong government and did not go to China Commercial Bank to withdraw their deposits.Moreover, the Hong Kong government stated that the foreign exchange fund is not prepared to guarantee China Commercial Bank.

Suddenly, they were angry!

A large number of China Commercial Bank depositors went to the Government House to petition collectively, sit-in and protest at the China Commercial Bank, and even marched on the street to block traffic.

Their actions have won sympathy and support from citizens and public opinion. They condemned the vacillating policies of the Hong Kong government, "misleading" citizens and damaging the credibility of the government.If the inspection is carried out at the beginning, the loss may be minimized.

At the same time, "Economic Daily" became the professional newspaper with the highest sales volume in Xiangjiang, because of the impartial nature of the report.

However, after the UAE government refused to ask Guoshang for capital injection and guarantee, there are only three ways to deal with the "Guoshang Incident":
80. Using foreign exchange funds to purchase or inject capital into Guoshang is the first requirement of depositors. Since the [-]s, any problems with Xiangjiang Bank have been taken over or guaranteed by the Exchange Fund.However, when the Hong Kong government seized Guoshang today, it has stated that it will not consider using the foreign exchange fund. The reason is that it is unfair to taxpayers to use public assets to save banks affected by incidents outside Hong Kong, and the "Guoshang incident" has not affected the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate. Stablize.

[-]. Find a suitable buyer for the bank, which depositors are more willing to accept.Because Guoshang sells its assets and liabilities are borne by the buyer, depositors can get back the full amount of their deposits.On the same day, Zhuo Shengcai, an official of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, also said that two consortiums expressed their intention to take over China Commercial Bank.

Three, liquidation.This is what depositors are most opposed to. Depositors have petitioned and demonstrated, but they do not want Guoshang to be liquidated.After liquidation, the distribution of bank assets has a certain order: first, priority debts, such as all expenses required for liquidation, employee salaries/benefits/severance pay, statutory debts owed to the government; second, secured debts; and finally Depositors' money, generally speaking, depositors can only get part of the money, and it will take several years to get it.

After failing to find a buyer for more than a week, the Financial Secretary announced at the Legislative Council meeting on April 4 that he would apply to the High Court for the liquidation of China Commercial Bank.The Hong Kong government is preparing to advance 17 billion Hong Kong dollars and distribute 20% of deposits to depositors (the maximum amount is 30 Hong Kong dollars).

When the news came out, the depositors waiting outside the Legislative Council were suddenly emotional. Some even rushed to Queen's Road Central and sat on the road to obstruct traffic to vent their dissatisfaction.In the end, Party J used force to clear the scene and arrested several people to resume traffic.

At the same time, the liquidation of China Commercial Bank had an impact on banks with a Middle Eastern background. Dao Heng Bank and Hong Kong Base Bank (formerly Sun Hung Kai Bank) all experienced runs; even Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank began to suffer runs.

As things unfolded, Lin Zuhui knew it was time for him to appear!
He has set up a consultant team for the first time, which is composed of financial professionals from Family Office and Hengjin Investment.However, he has been standing still, although as early as April 4, Zhuo Shengcai, the commissioner of the Banking Regulatory Commission, revealed to the media that two consortiums are very interested in acquiring China Commercial Bank and are expected to reach an acquisition.

However, Lin Zuhui knew that without the foreign exchange fund guaranteeing the bad debts of 'China Commercial Bank', it is impossible for someone to dare to buy it.

He is different, he is a novice, he should pay the tuition.

But he didn't intervene immediately, because he still planned to be a "white knight" to "fight for favor" in front of the citizens of Xiangjiang, and keep the money in his own bank in the future.

The Financial Secretary is only applying for liquidation, and the High Court will give a period of 'provisional liquidation', so Lin Zuhui is fully in time.

Heroes always come at the most critical time!
Lin Zuhui marched into the Financial Secretary with a number of advisers.

The director, Zhai Kecheng, was an Englishman, and he greeted everyone with officials from the Financial Secretary and the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

They never imagined that Lin Zuhui, the richest Chinese man, would be interested in the 'China Commercial Bank'.Moreover, Lin Zuhui's main business is real estate, so he doesn't worry about being left out by the bank!
After everyone sat in the conference room, Zhai Kecheng said, "Mr. Lin, to be honest, I'm very surprised. I didn't expect you to be interested in China Commercial Bank!"

Lin Zuhui said hypocritically: "I also couldn't bear to save the money of the depositors. It took several years to get it back at a loss, so I suddenly came up with this idea."

The people in the conference room immediately looked at each other in blank dismay. Is there such a kind capitalist in this world?

Zhai Kecheng said with a smile: "Mr. Lin is indeed a philanthropist!"

His term of office is about to expire, and such an incident will inevitably affect his reputation.If someone takes over, why not do it!

Lin Zuhui said: "Then, we need to know the specific situation of China Commercial Bank. Are the materials ready?"

Zhai Kecheng signaled, and then Zhuo Sheng, the commissioner of the Banking Regulatory Commission, took out a document and gave it to Lin Zuhui's advisers.

Lin Zuhui took the time to say: "According to the investigation of a reporter under my banner, China Commercial Bank still has billions of unrecorded debts overseas. I wonder if you have checked them out?"

Immediately, people from the Financial Secretary and the Banking Regulatory Office all showed incredulous expressions.

Zhai Kecheng said honestly: "Since it's an unrecorded debt, how did the reporters under Lin Sheng know about it? We didn't find out at all!"

Lin Zuhui said: "This has to be kept secret! Because the reporter learned that two overseas journalists may have died suddenly because of the investigation, and he didn't dare to show up. Besides, China Commercial Bank must have this kind of illegal debt overseas. , I believe you can also guess it, but the creditor has not jumped out yet!"

Zhai Kecheng nodded and said, "We did have speculations, but we still won't make an exception to guarantee you!"

Lin Zuhui frowned, and then said: "I believe the Hong Kong government is not willing to see this matter as it is now. It is still in the stage of temporary liquidation. The Hong Kong government would also like to see someone buy the China Commercial Bank?"

Zhai Kecheng reduced his holdings and said: "Having said that, the exchange fund really cannot be used as a guarantee. This is the opinion of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong government. Moreover, if the exchange fund is willing to guarantee, the previous consortiums may have reached an agreement with us! "

Lin Zuhui smiled bitterly, and then did not speak.

Soon, several consultants told Lin Zuhui about the review, and Lin Zuhui hesitated immediately.

The amount owed to external depositors is 66.66 billion, and the 20 billion that the Hong Kong government took out was loans. That is to say, if all depositors were withdrawn, he would need to be in debt of 66.66 billion.

In fact, what Lin Zuhui didn't know was that in his previous life, he had 80 billion deposits, and the Hong Kong government took out 25 billion, which only accounted for 25%.In other words, the mine was detonated in advance, reducing the loss by more than one billion.

Of course, China Commercial Bank also has a lot of assets, such as loans, properties, banking network, etc. These are worth about 50 billion, including some bad debts (Lao Lai).

It seems that the loss is only 16.66 billion, but the bad debts may reach more than 10 billion. In addition, there may be 20 billion unrecorded loans from overseas, and it really needs nearly 50 billion.

Lin Zuhui remembered that it seemed that the Chinese Bank in his previous life was in the period of temporary liquidation and intended to acquire it; but he was frightened by the unrecorded loan of up to 20 billion, and retreated at the last minute.

However, Lin Zuhui did not intend to retreat.

Of course, he would not immediately agree to the acquisition, but bid farewell to Zhai Kecheng and others.

It is normal for this kind of acquisition to be negotiated for several months. Zhai Kecheng and others still have great hopes. After all, if Lin Zuhui intends to enter the bank, he might really do such a 'stupid thing'.