Chapter 1022: Restoring order to the Hong Kong capital market

Liu Tianci told the general situation: 'According to Chen Qingsong's personal statement, he wanted to obtain our bank's support to take out a loan to purchase a piece of land to the right of the Miramar Hotel for the development of commercial real estate.'

'As soon as he opened his mouth, he wanted a loan of 500 million Hong Kong dollars, and he used a combination of stock and property mortgages from the Carrian Group...'

'I didn't agree to it.'

Xia Yu gave an inexplicable smile and nodded slightly: 'It was the right decision not to agree to it.'

Thinking about the situation of the Carrian Group, Xia Yu's heart stirred, and he asked again, 'Has our bank had any previous loan business dealings with the Carrian Group?'

Lau Tin Chi decisively shook his head: 'Never. Chen Qingsong came to our bank many times before, but I always felt that there was something wrong with the Carrian Group and that the risk was too high. I could never lend him money.'

'Chen Qingsong seemed to have noticed my attitude before, so he didn't come to our bank for almost a year. This time, he came to visit again, which actually surprised me.'

'But when he was talking to me just now, he even took out the contract for the HK$200 million loan between Carrian Group and HSBC. And the loan conditions were very lenient, with a stock pledge rate of 50%. He seemed to be using this contract to prove the credibility of Carrian Group, to allay my concerns, and persuade me to lend him the money.'

Xia Yu shook his head with a light smile and said, 'It's good that we didn't lend him the money. Chen Qingsong is a master of playing with capital, but he's using underhand methods. Now that he's come to us, it proves that he can't withstand the pressure anymore, and those small banks can't give him enough support...'

'If we give him a loan, he will turn around and borrow from other banks just like he did with the HSBC loan contract earlier, using it as a bargaining chip. The Carrian Group is a time bomb that will last for another year or two, but if we kick him, the Carrian Group will explode immediately.'

Liu Tianci was shocked. He heard the deep meaning in Chairman Xia Yu's words. He secretly thought that the Carrian Group really had major problems, and he also became curious about the Carrian Group.

He asked curiously, 'Chairman, do you know Chen Qingsong and the Carrian Group very well? What is the big problem here?'

He also deliberately learned about the Carrian Group when Chen Qingsong came to apply for a loan before, but things are different now, especially as the Carrian Group has grown extremely fast. It is normal that he doesn't know much about it.

What he did know was that the Carrian Group was now one of the large listed groups in Xiangjiang, with what seemed to be 50 or 60 companies under its umbrella, and Chen Qingsong had thus become one of the top people in Xiangjiang.

Xia Yu gave a faint smile and said softly, 'Problem? The question here is a big one. Chen Qingsong has deceived the entire class of Xiangjiang from top to bottom.'

Hearing the word 'cheat', Liu Tianci's expression became solemn. He quietly watched the director turn to Xia Yu and waited for the rest of the story.

Xia Yu took a sip of tea and began to tell the story: 'Chen Qingsong is a native of Xingcheng. He relied on the support of the Zhong family to get his first pot of gold. At the end of 1977, he established the Carrian Group, which was two months ahead of me. At that time, the registered capital was only 5 million Hong Kong dollars...'

'But Chen Qingsong understood human greed very well and was also very proficient in capital operations. Through a series of actions, he managed to create the image of the Carrian Group as extremely powerful and having unlimited funds in the minds of the people of Hong Kong. This, combined with the fact that the Hong Kong government had just liberalised the banking industry and issued dozens of bank licences a year, led to the birth of dozens of banks, which scrambled to give money to the Carrian Group, allowing it to go on a crazy merger and acquisition spree...'

'The Carrian Group went public only last March, but as you saw last month, it acquired the publicly listed company, Yick Cheong Insurance, increasing the number of publicly listed companies under its umbrella to three...'

'As of now, the entire Carrian Group has at least 70 companies, and the combined value of its listed and unlisted companies has reached nearly 10 billion. Although it is not as big as the Swire Group, it has surpassed the core pillar of the Swire Group, Swire Pacific...'

'Just think, it's only been a little over three years since the company was founded, and on average, more than 20 companies have been acquired and merged each year, creating such a large and diverse conglomerate.'

'If I hadn't been overshadowing him, he would have been mythical by now.'

'The original four major British consortia were all backed by Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC, as well as the Hong Kong government. It was only after the 1973 stock market crash that they grew to their full strength. I, on the other hand, have my own bank and securities company, and can make money from the capital market.'

'And him? What makes him think he can catch up to the Swire Group in just over three years?'

Liu Tianci nodded in deep agreement. It was precisely because he did not know where the funds for the Carrian Group came from that he had not approved Chen Qingsong's loan application a year or two ago.

He had personally witnessed the abilities of Chairman Xia Yu, and Jiuding Securities was also a one-stop shop in the capital market. However, he had not seen Chen Qingsong do anything, and all he did was parrot what others said, passing on vague information about his background.

'Chairman, so Chen Qingsong's funds were actually borrowed from various banks in a revolving manner?'

Xia Yu shook his head slightly. While Liu Tianci was wondering, he continued, 'Not entirely. More than half was borrowed from various banks at high interest rates, and the rest was fraudulently obtained from Yumin Finance.'

Liu Tianci was stunned, and then blurted out, 'Is it Yumin Finance, a subsidiary of Malaysia's Yumin Bank? Or was it also obtained by fraud?'

'This is an economic crime!'

'Could it be that the entire senior management of Yumin Finance has been bribed by him?'

Xia Yu nodded slightly: 'If there is no accident, all the senior management of Yumin Finance have been bought off by him and have joined forces to deceive Yumin Bank.'

'This...'

Liu Tianci was suddenly at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. After a long silence, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

When the chairman Xia Yu said this, many doubts in his mind were completely dispelled.

There was overseas funding behind the Carrian Group, but it was not as outrageous as the rumours, with big European and American consortia and royal families from various countries.

And Yumin Finance also has the strength to support the development of the Carrian Group into a large company. Coupled with the fact that Chen Qingsong himself has been ripping off other banks, it is understandable that the Carrian Group has been able to develop to this extent.

As for Yumin Bank, Liu Tianci knows about it.

This bank established by the Malaysian government actually belongs to the Malaysian government and was established specifically for the Malay ethnic group to counter foreign-funded and Chinese-funded banks in the country. It has the backing of the government's finances, so it naturally does not lack funds.

Yue Min Finance is a Hong Kong-based institution established by Yue Min Bank specifically to serve Hong Kong customers and spread the influence of Yue Min Bank.

The reason why it is Yue Min Finance and not Yue Min Bank Hong Kong is because the Hong Kong government did not give it a banking license, even though the year before the Hong Kong government issued dozens of banking licenses at once, it just did not give it to him. Out of necessity, Yue Min Finance could only exist as a finance company that can attract deposits.

After calming down a little, many thoughts popped into Liu Tianci's mind.

'Chairman, based on what you've said and combined with the actual situation of the Carrian Group, then with this stock market crash, the risk of the Carrian Group's capital chain breaking is extremely high. Should this bubble be burst?'

When he asked this question, Liu Tianci's expression was very solemn.

Because he knew the possible consequences of the collapse of the Carrian Group's myth, which would further amplify the impact of the stock market crash.

Not to mention that previously, Carrian Group could not borrow from major banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, and Jiuding Bank, and the borrowing targets were all small and medium-sized banks.

According to the current value of nearly 10 billion of Carrian Group, even if more than half of it depends on Yumin Finance, Carrian Group still owes other banks in Xiangjiang 40 to 50 billion Hong Kong dollars in debt. Many small banks have assets estimated at just a few hundred million Hong Kong dollars. If all these debts go bad, it could blow up a large number of small banks.

Although these banks are small and have little influence, they are numerous, and when there are a lot of them, a quantitative change leads to a qualitative change, and their influence naturally goes up.

Once a chain reaction occurs, no bank in Hong Kong will be spared, and they will all be caught in a run on the banks, which will have a huge impact.

If a bad contact is made, a scene of widespread devastation will occur.

If the chairman's plan is followed and a hard push is given, the impact will be no less than the stock market crash of 1973...

Seeing the hesitation on Liu Tianci's face, Xia Yu knew his worries and concerns.

Although a lot of bad things would happen in the future, he still decided to go ahead.

The bubble was already there, and the risk of a stock market crash was about to explode. The only difference was that someone was pushing for an early start and an escalation.

As the saying goes, nothing can be built without destruction.

Any revolutionary change will cost someone.

Since there is already a plan for the future of Hong Kong, then it might as well be a drastic change. The established framework will be completely torn down and rebuilt. As long as the foundation is still there, he will have the confidence to build the 'house' of his dreams.

Therefore, Xia Yu said with a determined expression, 'Of course we have to expose him, the greater the impact the better!'

'Sweep away all the dirt and return the Hong Kong capital market to a bright and clear world!'