Chapter 795: Counterattack layout

After Xia Yu proposed a countermeasure, Duke Carter Howard's judgment of Xia Yu in his heart became more important.

Since Xia Yu wanted to take revenge on the Rothschild family, he would never have suggested it to him if he wasn't sure.

Otherwise, if the Latin American sovereign debt crisis had not occurred, Lloyds Bank would have completely funded the enemy if it had transferred its loan business to Barclays Bank.

'It seems that I really need to investigate thoroughly. I'll be busy for the next while...'

Duke Carter Howard thought to himself.

Seeing that Duke Carter Howard had listened, Xia Yu also stopped talking about it and changed the subject.

For example, Dao Heng Bank in Xiangjiang, which was in the hands of Lloyds Bank.

'Sir Carter, I would like to ask you for a favour.'

Duke Carter Howard raised an eyebrow and asked, 'What do you need me to do? If I can help, I'd be happy to.'

Xia Yu smiled and said, 'It's not a big deal. I don't know if you're aware of this, but Lloyds Bank holds 61.5% of the shares of Hong Kong Dao Heng Bank. I want those shares.'

Xia Yu had known this information a long time ago, but at that time, because he was not familiar with Lloyds Bank and his relationship with Duke Carter Howard was not yet in place, Xia Yu did not mention it.

However, once the Rothschild family had stirred him, Xia Yu took this opportunity to plan to acquire Dao Heng Bank, lest he overlook it again later.

The Rothschild family was now coveting him, and had seized the opportunity to enter his financial system with Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered Bank.

According to the original plan, after acquiring these two banks, they would merge with Jiuding Bank, Chiba Bank, etc., to form an international banking group.

However, now that the Rothschild family has entered the picture, Xia Yu's plan has been forced to a halt.

If the Rothschild family knew Xia Yu's original plan, they might have kept encouraging Xia Yu to do so, in order to infiltrate Xia Yu's entire banking foundation.

Of course, some people may ask, what does this have to do with Xia Yu's acquisition of Dao Heng Bank?

The relationship is naturally there.

Now that Xia Yu has been targeted by the Rothschild family, naturally other major European consortia will also take notice of Xia Yu as a result, not to mention major American consortia.

It can be said that Xia Yu has suddenly entered the sights of the top people in the world who control it.

Unfortunately, Xia Yu is just a yellow man, and in today's world of white supremacy, it is easy to be targeted by major European and American consortia and families.

If he were to go up against just one or two medium-sized consortia or families, Xia Yu would not be afraid, but he is afraid of becoming the target of a joint hunt by others.

Therefore, Xia Yu's sense of crisis has greatly increased.

The best way to deal with this is to make his own lair impenetrable, so that no one can 'sneak attack Pearl Harbor'.

While fortifying his lair, finance is the most important thing. Xia Yu wants to make Hong Kong his own financial kingdom.

Currently, the banking sector in Hong Kong is dominated by three groups: HSBC, Standard Chartered and Jiuding. As for Bank of China (Hong Kong), its strong presence at the moment is due to its reputation rather than its strength. It does not own any other banks and therefore cannot be considered a group in its own right, and is one level below.

Among the three groups, HSBC is the strongest, controlling or owning stakes in six banks, including the number one bank, Hang Seng Bank.

Next is Standard Chartered Bank, which has five banks looking up to it and is also very powerful.

Finally, there is Xia Yu's Jiuding Bank. It has previously acquired two Xiangjiang banks. Although it has few banks under its command, Xia Yu's Jiuding consortium is terrifying, and it has forcibly promoted Jiuding Bank.

Now that Standard Chartered Bank is under Xia Yu's control, and with the addition of Jiuding Bank, the throne of financial overlord in Xiangjiang has actually shifted. It is no longer Shen Bi, but Xia Yu.

If he can acquire HSBC, Xia Yu's financial kingdom will instantly take shape, and everyone will have to bow to him. Even the Swire Group will be at Xia Yu's mercy.

But the problem is that HSBC cannot be acquired, and all Xia Yu can do is invest in a small stake.

Under these circumstances, the only option is to strengthen the power of Standard Chartered Bank and Jiuding Bank. Of the two, Xia Yu will of course choose his own son, Jiuding Bank.

The best way to strengthen one's power is to acquire a bank, thereby increasing one's market share and voice in the financial sector.

Under the control of Lloyds Bank, Dao Heng Bank, a medium-sized bank in Hong Kong, is an excellent acquisition target.

If Xia Yu doesn't do anything, then in a couple of years, Dao Heng Bank will be acquired by Hong Leong Group, owned by the Malaysian Kuok family, and eventually acquire other banks one after the other, creating Guoco Group, another banking giant.

Of course, by 2001, Dao Heng Bank, with a market value of HK$22 billion, would be acquired by Singapore Development Bank from Hong Leong Group for HK$45 billion.

It is better to buy it at a low price sooner rather than later than to let someone else do it, so as to consolidate one's own banking foundation and enhance the supply capacity of the Jiuding Consortium.

Duke Carter Howard thought about it for a while, and it seemed that Lloyds Bank did have an equity stake in Dao Heng Bank, although he didn't know how much it was. After all, he was only a major shareholder and was not responsible for the operations of Lloyds Bank.

Moreover, over the years, Lloyds Bank had acquired or invested in many banks, and he could not possibly remember them all.

However, since Xia Yu wants it and it is only a local Hong Kong bank, the problem is naturally not big.

He nodded slightly and said, 'I'll go check for you. If it's not difficult, I'll just buy it for you.'

Xia Yu smiled broadly and said gratefully, 'Then thank you, Sir.'

Now that the future of Hong Kong is uncertain, the British are also unsure, and with the face of the Duke of Carter Howard, the management of Lloyds Bank will surely do a favour.

...

After Xia Yu left, Duke Carter Howard immediately contacted several major shareholders of Lloyds Bank and the bank's management to hold a secret meeting.

After the meeting, Lloyds Bank appeared to be business as usual, but internally it began to reorganise. In particular, each major shareholder secretly used their own resources to gather information on Latin America.

As for the stake in Dao Heng Bank that Xia Yu wanted, it was indeed not difficult as he expected.

Just four days later, Duke Carter Howard had Elena bring over the proof of ownership of Dao Heng Bank and an unfinished contract for the transfer of equity, asking Xia Yu to sign it.

Needless to say, Xia Yu signed it directly and then transferred the affordable price of 9 million pounds reported by Duke Carter Howard to the account of Howard Investment Company.

Nine million pounds, according to the latest exchange rate today, is about 92 million Hong Kong dollars, but it bought 61.5% of the equity, which is really affordable.

Based on this price, Dao Heng Bank was only worth 150 million Hong Kong dollars. The reason for this conversion is that Dao Heng Bank is not listed.

If we wait two years according to the original plan, Hong Leong Group will be slaughtered by Lloyds Bank, and Dao Heng Bank will be sold for 600 million Hong Kong dollars.

After obtaining the shares, Xia Yu can say that he has finished his business in the UK.

As for whether Lloyds Bank would try to take over Barclays Bank, Xia Yu felt sure that they would, after all, the old British aristocratic alliance and the Rothschild family were rivals.

Before leaving, Xia Yu went to the Chinese Mercantile Bank and had a secret meeting with Wu Hongyi, telling him to pay attention to the shareholders of the Chinese Mercantile Bank and not let it be infiltrated.

Then Xia Yu went to see George Berkeley again and asked him to send someone to Canada to set up a branch and lay a foundation there.

The Rothschild family is very powerful in Canada, and it can be said that Canada is the Rothschild family's territory and stronghold, echoing with the branches in the United States.

Xia Yu had to fight against the Rothschild family, so naturally he had to infiltrate the enemy's ranks and increase his own bargaining power.

If he did it well, he could even overturn the Rothschild family's position in Canada.

With Canada in place, Xia Yu naturally did not neglect France, where the Rothschild family's most important stronghold was located.

According to his original plan, he wanted to go to France directly.

But now he was definitely being watched by the Rothschild family, and a sudden trip to France would definitely arouse their suspicion. For this reason, he had to give up his original plan.

He asked George Berkeley to send someone to France after he left to investigate the situation in various industries and collect intelligence on François Mitterrand.

After everything was arranged, Xia Yu boarded the plane with Irene's reluctant gaze, not for the United States, but for Xiangjiang.