Chapter 479: Black Monday (1)
Chapter 479: Black Monday (1)
October 19, Monday
Every day at 6:10 am, Lu Jiaxin would wake up, wash up, and then go for a half-hour run in the backyard before having breakfast and heading to school. This day was no exception, and she went for her usual run in the backyard after washing up.
Upon returning, Lu Jiaxin did not see Nie Zhan and asked, "Is Mr. Nie still asleep?"
Butler Meng replied, "Mr. Nie got up not long after you left, skipped breakfast, and rushed off. I wonder what the matter is."
There was a time difference between Europe and America and Hong Kong City, and Lu Jiaxin guessed that Nie Zhan must have received some news and rushed to the company. "It must be work-related. Please set out breakfast."
After breakfast, Lu Jiaxin went upstairs to change and then headed to school without calling Nie Zhan. If history remained unchanged, people in Europe and America would be in a panic, and those in Hong Kong City would be filled with anxiety. However, none of this concerned her; she only needed to wait to claim her victory.
At the school gate, Lu Jiaxin, as usual, carried her books inside without bringing her cell phone. Since she was here to study, she wanted to be like everyone else and not seek special treatment.
Nie Zhan did not return to the company but went to the Wansheng Bank. Nie Jingwen called him, saying that Wall Street stocks had crashed and asked him to come to the bank.
Upon arriving at Wansheng Bank, Nie Zhan took the president's elevator directly to the top floor.
As soon as Nie Jingwen saw him, he said, "Wall Street stocks have crashed, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 67 points at the opening. Ah Zhan, Wall Street has crashed before, but never as badly as this time."
Nie Zhan had sold off all the stocks under his name, and the debt-to-equity ratio of Wansheng Real Estate had already dropped from 68% to 45%. Even if the Hong Kong stock market crashed, the bank wouldn't come knocking for debt collection. Therefore, the big shake-up in the stock market wouldn't affect the company but would instead have a huge impact on Jiaxin.
He didn't know how much money Jiaxin had raised for short-selling, but he had given her 400 million green dollars and 1.12 billion Hong Kong dollars, all of which she had leveraged tenfold as per her request.
Seeing that Nie Zhan didn't say anything, Nie Jingwen patted him on the shoulder and asked, "Ah Zhan, what are you thinking about?"
Nie Zhan came back to his senses and said, "With such a big crash on Wall Street, the Hong Kong stock market will definitely crash too. Didn't I ask you to clear out all the stocks held by the company, tighten investment projects, and recover the funds? As long as we recover a batch of funds, the impact of the Hang Seng Index crash on the bank will be minimized."
Due to personal reasons, Wansheng Real Estate had been developing too aggressively in the past two years. Grandpa had criticized him several times for this, and even his friends like Hu Zhifang had advised him. A high debt ratio carried too much risk and made the company vulnerable to hostile takeovers, possibly resulting in a change of ownership. However, driven by his desire to stay ahead of Jiaxin and his optimism about the future of the real estate market, he had ignored all this advice.
Unlike Wansheng Real Estate, Wansheng Bank, under Nie Jingwen's management, had always been steadily progressive. Now, with his suggestions, the bank would definitely be impacted by the stock market crash but would be able to weather the storm.
Nie Jingwen's lips twitched, and he hesitated to say what was on his mind.
Noticing his hesitation, Nie Zhan's heart skipped a beat. "Big brother, don't tell me the bank didn't clear out its stock holdings and tighten investment to quickly recover funds?"
Nie Jingwen quickly explained, "We did tighten investment, but I didn't sell my personal stocks or the company's holdings. Also, there are still many companies' shares pledged as collateral."
Even Wansheng Real Estate still had 17% of its shares pledged to the bank, with a collateral amount of 500 million.
Nie Zhan's anger bubbled over as he exclaimed, "I explicitly told you to liquidate all the company's stocks and close out the futures contracts. Why didn't you listen to me?"
When he received the call about the biggest crash in Wall Street history, he felt only joy and no worry. The collapse of the Dow Jones index meant that Jiaxin would profit by several billion, allowing her to achieve all that she desired. As for his company, it would have the opportunity to further expand. As for the bank, the losses could be minimized to a level that they could withstand.
Nie Jingwen explained somewhat guiltily, "I was planning to sell them this week, but who would have thought that this would happen? However, I've already instructed the fund managers to dump them as soon as our stock market opens."
Nie Zhan was furious and questioned, "Everyone will want to sell when the market opens. But with Wall Street in such a dismal state, who do you think will be buying?"
When Nie Jingwen received the news of the Wall Street stock market crash, he regretted it to the core. If he had listened to Nie Zhan, even if the Hang Seng Index crashed today, the bank would have been able to weather the storm. But having missed the opportunity, they now faced a formidable challenge.
Nie Jingwen composed himself and said, "Most of the stocks held by our bank are quality stocks. Even if they drop, they will recover in the future."
Nie Zhan suppressed his anger and said, "If you're so confident, why did you call me here?"
Nie Jingwen had asked him to come not only to inform him about the Wall Street stock market crash but also to clarify something else: "Ah Zhan, Lu Jiaxin mortgaged her shares in Wansheng and her antique paintings to bet against the Hang Seng Index. Ah Zhan, she must have received insider information."
Nie Zhan retorted impatiently, "If she had insider information, don't you think I would have followed suit?"
"Then why did she liquidate so much money to short the Hang Seng Index?" Nie Jingwen asked. He had inquired about this before, but Nie Zhan had been evasive, so he hadn't pursued it further.
He thought Lu Jiaxin was crazy to use such high leverage to short the Hang Seng Index, but he also had his own agenda. If Lu Jiaxin blew up, they could take the opportunity to regain control of Wansheng Real Estate's shares.
Nie Zhan explained, "I mentioned that the stock market would crash in the future, and she insisted on shorting the Hang Seng Index, no matter how much I tried to dissuade her. I was just analyzing the situation, but she became convinced that this was the right move."
Nie Jingwen asked incredulously, "Is that all there is to it?"
Nie Zhan replied irritably, "With today's massive crash on Wall Street, so many billionaires have suffered huge losses. Do you think Jiaxin could have gotten this information anywhere? She's gambling, betting that the stock market will plummet during this period. I was prepared for her to lose it all."
Nie Zhan had no intention of telling Nie Jingwen about Lu Jiaxin's superstition regarding her left eye twitching signaling financial fortune. He believed it was a coincidence, but he wasn't sure if his older brother would see it the same way, and he didn't want to stir up any unnecessary trouble.
The fallout from the incident with Kang Huijuan hadn't completely blown over, and with Nie Manli and her sister dragging them down, if Nie Jingwen caused any more problems, it could push Lu Jiaxin, with her aversion to trouble, to break up with him. Such a consequence was unbearable to Nie Zhan, so they kept this matter between themselves.
Nie Jingwen asked, "You didn't buy any at all?"
Nie Zhan shook his head. "No. This is gambling, and it's a sure-lose proposition. Why would I get involved?" Nie Zhan clarified that he hadn't deceived Nie Jingwen on this matter; indeed, all the purchases he had made were on Lu Jiaxin's behalf.
"Jiaxin dares to gamble because even if she loses it all, she has me to fall back on. With me as her support, no one will dare to bully her even if she runs out of money."
Nie Jingwen was left speechless.
(End of Chapter)
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