Chapter 1008: The Bankers Association Raises Interest Rates

"Knock, knock!'

'You're both here?'

'Come in and sit down!'

Xia Yu, who was buried in paperwork, looked up when he heard the knock on the door. When he saw Wang Qi and Wei Lian arrive together, his eyebrows twitched slightly, and he said with a gentle expression.

'Thank you, Chairman!'

The two men politely thanked him and then walked into the office.

Wang Qi walked straight up to Xia Yu and placed a thick stack of document envelopes in front of Xia Yu's desk, saying, 'Chairman, these are the shareholding certificates and transaction contracts for Swire Pacific and its various subsidiaries. We bought them all, for a total of 970 million Hong Kong dollars.'

'Well, thank you for your hard work!'

Xia Yu smiled and said, then took the file bag and opened it to take out the contents and read them.

He knew the price of the contract, and although he had authorised Wang Qi to sign the contract directly, after the transfer, Liu Tianci had called to report the matter to him, so he had known that it had been successful beforehand.

Therefore, after briefly going through it, Xia Yu put the documents and certificates aside with satisfaction.

Seeing that Xia Yu had finished reading it, Wang Qi immediately asked, 'Chairman, there is still a portion of the shares of Heung Kong Aircraft Engineering Company in the hands of the public, and there are still 5% in the hands of Swire Finance. Do you need to privatise Heung Kong Aircraft Engineering Company?'

Xia Yu thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, 'Not yet. The current share price is still high, so it would be more appropriate to do so after a while.'

Hearing Xia Yu say this, Wang Qi understood the chairman's meaning in an instant, and he nodded without saying anything more.

After speaking to Wang Qi, Xia Yu looked at Wei Li, who was sitting upright, and recalled Wei Li's management talents. He pondered for a moment and said to him, 'Wei Li, there is something I need you to do.'

'Chairman, please command!'

Wei Li immediately replied.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Yu said, 'I don't like the word "Taikoo". Taikoo Airlines needs to be restructured, and the company will be renamed Cathay Pacific Group Co., Ltd., which will oversee Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, Heung Kong Airport Ground Services Company, Heung Kong Aircraft Engineering Company, and also hold an equity stake in Dongfeng Airlines.'

'The affiliation of the second-tier subsidiaries will remain unchanged for the time being.'

'Cathay Pacific Group Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jiuding Industrial Group. You will serve as chairman and CEO, and also concurrently as chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited.'

'Anyone related to the Shi Yahuai family must be removed, provided that the company remains stable. Also, sort out the company's assets as soon as possible, resolve all historical issues and burdens, and let me know if there are any unresolved problems.'

Wei Li responded loudly and energetically: 'Thank you, Chairman, for your trust. I promise to complete the task!'

He had been promoted from Chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited to Chairman of the Cathay Pacific Group, which was a direct upgrade in power and benefits. How could he not be happy?

If you calculate the total assets and not the net assets, after injecting HK$900 million into Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, the assets of the entire group definitely exceed HK$6 billion.

In addition, he is also the chairman of Hutchison Whampoa. Although Hutchison Whampoa has been greatly downsized, it still has more than 50 companies and is also a giant, not in the least inferior to the Cathay Pacific Airways Group.

In this way, he manages tens of billions of assets for Xia Yu.

As someone who came from Hutchison Whampoa, it was already good enough for him not to be fired during the purge, and now he is still valued by Xia Yu and has fewer constraints than he did at Hutchison Whampoa. How could he not be excited?

Although I believe in Wally's abilities and mentality, I still need to give him a reminder.

Xia Yu put on a serious face and said sternly, 'Wally, I have high hopes for your abilities, but the key is still up to you. Don't let me down.'

Wei Li immediately calmed down and nodded seriously: 'Understood!'

...

The news that Swire Pacific had completed the transaction spread that day, and many media reported on it the next day.

Many media and onlookers were not without regret. After all, with Swire Pacific completing the transaction, the head-on conflict between the Jiuding consortium and the Swire consortium had also disappeared, and there was no melon to eat.

Fortunately, the Swire consortium still had a breaking point, so many eyes were increasingly focused on the struggle between the Shi Yahuai family and the Song family.

Xia Yu's side kept a low profile for the time being, so that when there were fewer eyes on them, they could speed up their secret preparations.

The Shi Yahuai family, without the restraint of the Jiuding consortium, was able to focus their energy more fully on dealing with the Song family, which put Song Bo under increasing pressure. Song Bo kept complaining to Xia Yu, who could only give Song Bo advice while urging his own side to speed up their preparations.

On Friday, July 17, at 4:00 p.m., the four major Hong Kong stock exchanges closed simultaneously. The Hang Seng Index rose to 1,861.25 points, and the total turnover of the four exchanges that day reached a high of 1.067 billion Hong Kong dollars.

But at 4:48 pm, the Hong Kong Association of Banks held a press conference to formally announce its decision to raise all interest rates by 1%. After the hike, the prime rate rose from 17% to 18%, the interest rate on savings deposits was 12%, and the interest rate on mortgages was raised to 19%!

Before the press conference was over, the news had already spread all over the place.

Fortunately, the stock market had already closed, otherwise there was a high possibility that it would fall.

The general direction of the stock market next Monday will depend on whether capital is calm or panicked after the news has been fermenting over the next two days.

However, the vast majority of investors are pessimistic.

...

That evening, Xia Yu met with Bao Yugang and Huo Yingdong as arranged.

The location was chosen to be Huo Yingdong's home, and when Xia Yu arrived, Bao Yugang had already had two cups of tea.

As soon as he saw Xia Yu, Bao Yugang smiled and congratulated him, saying, 'Ah Yu, congratulations, you have successfully acquired the aviation sector of the Swire Group, and you have another title of aviation tycoon on your head.'

Huo Yingdong also joked, 'Ah Yu, let me ask you, can you count all these titles? Haha...'

Xia Yu shook his head and laughed helplessly, 'What tycoon or not, it's just a title. It's just a gimmick created by the media in Hong Kong, all for the sake of newspaper sales. If I go out with the title of Hong Kong aviation tycoon, I'll be laughed at by the world's top aviation giants.'

Bao Yugang teased again, 'Yu, with you at the helm of Cathay Pacific, how can it compare to those aviation giants in the future?'

'Let's not talk about what is destined to happen in the future. Let me go over it with you. You previously dominated the shipping and bus markets in Hong Kong, and now the aviation market as well. You have everything that flies, runs and swims in the sky, on the ground and in the water. I think you deserve all three titles!'

'Haha...'

After laughing, Huo Yingdong arranged for the servants to serve the food and called his family to join him at the table.

At the table, they only talked about interesting things and did not discuss serious matters or heavy topics.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, the three of them went to the pavilion in the back garden to drink tea. The dim lighting and the chirping of insects added a special flavour to the experience.

After taking a sip of tea, Huo Yingdong asked, "Ah Yu, a group of elite intellectuals from Hong Kong are planning to go to the mainland next month. The person organising it is Fu Chaoshu, the founder of the China News Agency. Has he approached you?'

Xia Yu frowned, shook his head and said, "No, he hasn't approached me.'

Then he asked in return, 'What did he want to discuss? Did he approach you?'

Huo Yingdong nodded slightly and said, 'He did approach me, but I already went there this year, and I couldn't get away this time. But I did build a bridge for him.'

'He has collected the opinions of many intellectuals, and the China News Agency has also conducted a public opinion survey. This time, his trip to the mainland is for a good cause. If he can make a big achievement this time, then we will have an important additional force.'

Xia Yu smiled lightly and said, 'I believe the mainland will not let him down.'

'That's right...'

After a brief chat about this matter, Huo Yingdong ended the conversation. He and Bao Yugang exchanged glances and finally spoke about the real purpose of the evening.

'A Yu, the Hong Kong pond is now stirred by the undercurrents caused by the press conference of the Hong Kong Association of Banks this afternoon. Your Jiuding Bank is a member of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, so you should know better than us. You have to give me some pointers,'

Bao Yugang followed up, 'Yes, Ah Yu, you know the capital market much better than we do. Now that the banks have raised interest rates, the impact will be felt throughout Hong Kong, especially as the mortgage rate has been raised to 19%, and the loan interest rate has also increased by 1%. This will have a significant impact on the property market. What should we do to get ahead?'