My 1999

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor smiled after standing on the stairs and looking around.

"Welcome, gentlemen and ladies, to tonight's charity gala. The Grosvenor family will provide you with a wonderful evening." After saying that, he picked up a glass of wine from the hand of the waiter who came over and motioned to everyone.

"cheers."

"cheers."

After saying hello, Old Grosvenor walked straight towards Xu Liang and the others.

"Old guy, you are finally willing to give up."

Charles Cadogan said.

"Charles, your mouth still smells as bad as ever." Old Grosvenor said.

Although they were rude, it was obvious that the two of them had a good relationship and there were smiles in their eyes.

"Good evening, Duke."

John Humphrey and Peter Jackson greeted each other quickly.

Xu Liang also saluted.

Old Grosvenor smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Xu Liang.

Smiling and extending his right hand.

"Mr. Xu, it's an honor for you to attend tonight's banquet."

Old Grosvenor has a gentle and friendly attitude, and there is no trace of the old aristocratic rigidity and conservatism in him, making people subconsciously feel close to him.

"You're welcome. I'm lucky to be invited."

"I heard that Mr. Xu has been living in Loren Manor?"

Xu Liang nodded, "I like a cleaner place to live. There are too many people in the main city of London."

Old Grosvenor smiled and said: "If Mr. Xu likes Loren Manor, you can buy it and I can give Mr. Xu some discounts."

Xu Liang asked in surprise: "Loren Manor is a property of Grosvenor Group?"

Old Grosvenor nodded.

What a surprise.

But after thinking about it, Xu Liang refused.

He spends more time living in China and may not come to London once a year.

That's where the Loren Manor was bought. It would be a waste to leave such a big place empty.

It is better to buy a luxury apartment near Hyde Park. Although it is a bit small, it is enough to live in. More importantly, houses in urban core areas can appreciate in value.

"My time in London is limited and Loren Manor is too big."

"Loren Manor is really not necessary. There are many luxury apartments under the Cadogan Group. If Mr. Xu is interested, I will choose one for you and guarantee that it will meet your requirements."

"Charles, it's not your Cadogan's turn to make the final decision in London's high-end real estate sector," the elder Grosvenor said dissatisfied.

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Xu Liang said quickly.

"Gentlemen, don't be in a hurry about buying a house. We at Hanhua Capital are raising funds recently. If you two are interested, we can have a chat."

The two people who originally planned to quarrel immediately changed their attention after hearing this.

"But Qinglong Fund?" Old Grosvenor asked quickly.

"No. It's the Taotie Fund owned by Hanhua."

There was disappointment in Old Grosvenor's eyes. The ultra-high profits of Qinglong Fund were obvious to all, but Taotie was still zero.

Funds with no performance naturally make people distrustful.

Xu Liang quickly introduced the Taotie Fund.

But the elder Grosvenor showed little interest.

Instead, I have been asking about Qinglong Fund.

After chatting for a while, the old Grosvenor left. As the host, he had to greet the guests and could not spend all his time with Xu Liang.

Charles Cadogan and Peter Jackson also left.

They also have their own friends.

He called Humphrey to come to the corner and found a chair to sit down.

"John, my staff told me that Standard Chartered is not planning to accept Jianlibao's mortgage loan?"

"Xu. It's not that I don't accept it, but the interest rate you offered is too low and the share required is too high. Standard Chartered's Risk Control Department rejected your loan application."

“Jianlibao’s net revenue exceeded US$1.2 billion last year, and its net profit reached US$210 million. PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte valued it at US$4 billion.

Now we have a loan of 2 billion and require 5% interest. Why is it so risky? "Xu Liang said dissatisfied.

"Xu, although Jianlibao's revenue and net profit are as you said, according to our investigation, its net revenue was only about US$500 million a year ago. Now it has doubled its growth thanks to advertising and marketing, which is really surprising. Marvel.

However, the Risk Control Department of Standard Chartered believes that the surge in marketing brought about by advertising is only temporary. When the popularity of advertising subsides, net revenue and profits will drop to 60~70%.

Therefore, the loan amount of US$2 billion is on the high side and the interest rate of 5% is on the low side. "

"John, do you think so too?"

"Xu, I know you are very dissatisfied. But when we first met, I said that although I am the CEO of Standard Chartered, I cannot violate Standard Chartered's rules and regulations.

If the loans submitted by Hanhua and Hongyan cannot pass the review of Standard Chartered's risk control department, I will not use my authority to force them through. "

Xu Liang nodded. He had known John Humphrey for such a long time and gradually got to know this man. He was indeed a person who was accustomed to adhering to principles. He was not deliberately trying to embarrass him.

Of course, the most fundamental reason why he is restricted by the rules is that he only holds 16.8% of Standard Chartered's shares.

If he can hold 51% and completely control Standard Chartered.

The risk control department is not an obstacle at all.

So in the final analysis it's still not strong enough.

"If Standard Chartered fails, we will switch to other financial institutions." Xu Liang said.

"Xu. If you can reduce the loan amount to US$1.5 billion, or let Hongmeng guarantee the loan, I can promote this loan."

Although John Humphrey was accustomed to being principled, he was also flexible.

He didn't want to give up the business either.

Xu Liang thought for a moment and realized that the loan amount could not be reduced, but it would be possible if Hongmeng guaranteed it.

"Shall I think about it?"

Xu Liangdao.

He planned to go back and discuss with Xia Changsheng to see how far he had discussed it with UOB. If it was just an intention and not in-depth, then he would choose Standard Chartered.

If specific terms have been discussed and a preliminary agreement has been reached, then give it to Dahua.

In short, whoever is quick will use it.

John Humphrey nodded and did not continue the topic.

The two chatted for a while, and the charity reception got down to business.

When the music stopped, old Grosvenor stepped forward.

"I have always stressed that the Grosvenor family are the gatekeepers of wealth, we do not own it but we manage it and invest it in charity.

From the 1950s to the present, the Grosvenor family has held nearly a hundred charity auctions and donated a total of 950 million pounds to help thousands of children and poor people.

Today, the Grosvenor family will once again offer 27 works of art for everyone to bid on, and all proceeds from the auction will be donated to the London Children's Charity Foundation. "

Xu Liang thought to himself as he looked at the guests chatting on the stage and applauding continuously from the audience.

"When this time is over, I should also spend some money for charity."

If you want to live well in this world, money is not enough, you also need to be famous.

And charity is the best way to invite names.

After Old Grosvenor finished speaking, he waved and a white butler in a tuxedo came over carrying a pen on a tray.

"Please take a look, this is a fountain pen with a silver barrel of the "Schwistika" brand produced by Parker in 1910. There are currently less than 500 in existence in the world.

There have been two international auctions of this pen.

In February 1990, it was sold at Christie's in New York for $8,000. In August of the following year, the owner of the pen successfully sold it at an auction price of US$28,000.

It has been 12 years since the last auction.

The current market price of similar pens is between 50,000 and 80,000 pounds.

Therefore, the base price of this 1910 Parker "Schwistika" fountain pen with a silver barrel is 50,000 pounds, and each increase in price must not be less than 1,000 pounds.

Who is willing to give a helping hand to the children of London now? "

"£55,000."

“£58,000.”…

Bids quickly came in.

Xu Liang was not interested in the pen auction, but what made him curious was.

"The Duke is actually the auctioneer himself?"

John Humphrey laughed: "Although the Grosvenor family is the largest real estate family in the UK, with assets of nearly 8 billion pounds, the Duke has always maintained a low-key and frugal life..."

"Low-key and frugal? Don't put money on that old guy's face. He's so picky that he can't even afford to hire an auctioneer."

Charles Cadogan came over muttering.

"count."

The two greeted.

Charles Cadogan waved his hand, "You're welcome. Xu, can I call you that?"

"certainly."

"I thought about it and decided to invest 10 million pounds in Taotie Fund."

A smile appeared on Xu Liang's face, "Mr. Earl, thank you very much for your trust. I believe the Taotie Fund will not let you down."

"Don't thank me in a hurry. When Qinglong Fund raises funds again, you must leave me at least 50 million pounds."

Xu Liangliang realized that this was the main purpose.

Then he happily agreed, and there was no reason to extrapolate money to someone else's doorstep.

Moreover, old aristocrats like Cadogan, who have been in the House of Lords for hundreds of years, have deep-rooted influence in the UK and indeed have a certain influence in Europe.

Being friendly with them will help Hanhua and Hongmeng achieve twice the result with half the effort in their development in Europe.

Several people were chatting, and the auction was going on.

Xu Liang also took action twice.

I spent £80,000 on a blue and white gourd vase from the Qianlong official kiln.

Then £50,000 was spent on the Ming Dynasty gilt bronze seated Buddha Sakyamuni.

Nowadays, Chinese artworks are generally not expensive abroad, and most of them are high-quality.

In the two years since its establishment, Hanhua Saturn Fund has been repurchasing Chinese art from foreign auctions of all sizes.

Six hundred million Huaxia coins have been used to repurchase thousands of works of art of various types.

The results are impressive.

"Xu, do you also like art collecting?" Charles Cadogan asked.

"Mr. Count, I am an art college student who has not yet graduated. I am very interested in all kinds of artworks."

Earl Cadogan suddenly said, "I forgot about this."

Xu Liang's achievements make it easy for people to forget the fact that he is only a sophomore.

"I still have a lot of Chinese art at home. If you are interested, I can sell you some."

"Then I'll say thank you in advance."