Chapter 239: Keiko Kitagawa

"How did it go? Did you get it done so quickly?" Charles took the agreement Lily Ying handed him and glanced at it.

He saw it was the stock transfer agreement for a % stake in NHN and a 40% stake in NHN Japan. NHN still held a 51% stake in NHN Japan.

"150 billion yen in cash is quite a large amount, and it's no secret that Dawn Investments is an investment fund under Capet Capital," Lily said with a smile. "There are rumors that YouTube will be sold to Google for over $1.6 billion. How long has YouTube existed? Dawn Investments has quite a reputation now!"

"I bought my shares mainly from one of the founders, Jin Bian Shu. After selling his NHN shares, he founded another company, iLab, and Dawn Investments participated as an angel investor, owning 25% of the shares," Lily explained.

Charles's eyebrows twitched.

Jin Bian Shu? After leaving NHN, he founded another company, which happened to be the predecessor of South Korea's biggest social software, Kakao?

Isn't he the future richest man in South Korea, surpassing Samsung's Lee Jae-Yong in assets?

"Keep an eye on him. If his new company needs financing in the future, support him fully. The more iLab shares, the better!" Charles said, immediately planning to back what could be considered Korea's future WeChat.

"By the way, the Fed's benchmark interest rate has now reached 5.25%, and within just two years, the Fed hiked the rate from 1% to 5.25%!" Lily said, frowning. "But Wall Street still seems very confident in the real estate market!"

"Don't worry. Those at the top are blinded by the mist; they can't see the increasing debts of the people at the bottom. Ordinary people have been misled by the newspapers. A group of gamblers won't care about the truth," Charles said, tapping the table and looking at Lily again. "By the end of the year or early next year, I will raise at least $1 billion in cash, and then use ten times leverage to short real estate companies, starting with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae!"

Charles's straightforward and ruthless approach wasn't like the Paulson Fund, which focused on CDOs. Charles directly placed bets against numerous big banks and large institutions.

"$1 billion, ten times leverage?" Lily's breath quickened.

Though it was a simple short, managing numerous accounts, both domestic and overseas, estimated at dozens or even hundreds, controlled by Capet Capital, was no easy task. It required a lot of manpower.

"In about a year, you'll become a top investor with billions in assets. Doesn't that sound interesting?" Charles smiled.

The subprime mortgage crisis was bound to affect the global economy. Capet Capital was making a bold move in the US stock market, mainly shorting Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, essentially betting against many foreign banks and investment institutions.

The money earned wouldn't all be US capital; making money quietly was the way to go.

"But, if house prices continue..."

Lily didn't finish her sentence, and Charles laughed, "If the stocks we shorted continue to rise by 10%, I'll be wiped out. Are you afraid I'll go bankrupt?

You can check when you get back to the US. If Capet Pictures is sold for $2.5 billion now, how many buyers will line up?"

Lily also laughed; a sale price of $2.5 billion would indeed attract buyers in droves. Even if there was $1 billion in debt, Charles Capet could still pocket $1.5 billion in cash.

"We have a team in Hong Kong, adding our people in San Francisco and New York, it should be enough," Lily said, a little sweaty from excitement.

Young people tend to get fired up easily, and both Lily and Charles were young and ambitious. Charles Capet was particularly wild, seemingly unfazed by $1 billion.

"Then I'll head back to the US and start preparing!" Lily needed to do some research, considering it was already August.

Charles nodded, "Alright. As for YouTube, my bottom price is $1.8 billion. I believe Google won't refuse. Our Dawn Investments holds nearly % of the shares. Once the funds are in, proceed directly with the stock purchase of these companies!"

Charles handed Lily a sheet of A4 paper with the names of many companies written on it.

"Amazon, Google, Apple, NetEase, Baidu, and Tencent..." Lily read, noting that all these companies were in the internet industry!

"Tencent went public in Hong Kong in June of the previous year. China Mobile will soon renegotiate the '161 Mobile Chat' revenue sharing agreement with Tencent. This project is Tencent's star business. Tencent spent more than 1 billion HKD buying back shares at the end of the year to stabilize the stock price."

"This June, China Mobile launched the Feixin test version, directly targeting Mobile QQ, threatening Tencent's Mobile QQ and Feixin merger!"

"Is Tencent worth investing in?" Lily asked.

Charles smiled, "Don't worry. Tencent's stock price hasn't been falling, has it? QQ remains the dominant social software in China; it won't fall so easily!"

Lily nodded. Since the boss had spoken, there was no choice but to proceed.

Charles knew the money might not be enough, but these were the fastest appreciating companies in the future. Otherwise, he would have included Microsoft, Oracle, Berkshire Hathaway, and UnitedHealth.

After finishing their conversation, Lily planned to leave the next day, but Charles suggested she take a two-day tour of Japan. She was a young woman, after all, and Charles had Phyllis Jones accompany her to enjoy shopping in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Charles took Keiko Kitagawa, who had attended the Japanese premiere of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, to a bar in Ginza.

Twenty-year-old Keiko Kitagawa indeed had both the figure and looks of a top choice, no wonder she was selected.

In the private room, Keiko sat in Charles's embrace, her face slightly flushed from drinking, "Onii-san!"

"Hmm," Charles looked at her and then leaned down to kiss her. As she awkwardly responded, he deepened the kiss.

"Be my woman," Charles whispered seductively into her ear, "You'll have a big villa to live in, and you won't have to worry about work."

"Onii-san, do you have many women?" Keiko asked, wrapping her arms around Charles's neck. Her manager had already educated her upon arriving in East Asia; this man was a big shot in Hollywood.

"Hmm, not too many, not too many!" Charles said as he pressed her down and started kissing her, his hands slipping under her clothes. Fueled by alcohol, Keiko responded passionately.

*****

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