Chapter 488: Hong Kong's Richest Woman
Chapter 488: Hong Kong's Richest Woman
On October 27th, the market opened with another drop. Lu Jiaxin had already called Sun Wushuang and Wu Ziyu beforehand, instructing them to close their short-selling index positions as soon as the market opened on Tuesday. As for Nie Zhan's portion, she didn't need to worry about it.
Nie Zhan observed the market briefly after the opening bell before selling off his short-selling index positions. With an initial capital of 620 million Hong Kong dollars, a 10-fold leverage, and a 45% drop, he recouped over 3 billion after accounting for taxes and fees.
Since the transaction went through Wan Sheng Bank, Nie Jingwen inevitably found out. Unable to contain his curiosity, he called Nie Zhan and said, "Ah Zhan, you made over 2.4 billion on this trade."
Nie Zhan corrected him, "It's not that I made 2.4 billion. Lu Jiaxin made that money. It belongs to her. I only helped her buy a portion to avoid attracting too much attention."
Nie Jingwen had his suspicions, but he never expected her to be so forthright, "So, how much did Lu Jiaxin invest in total?"
Knowing that his grandfather already had an idea, Nie Zhan figured he would find out soon enough anyway. "Xin Xin Property and Green Forest have also been mortgaged. With a three-month short-term loan of 500 million, we should be able to recoup over 2.45 billion Hong Kong dollars."
With her short-selling of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong, Lu Jiaxin was set to recoup over 5.45 billion. The three-month mortgage of 1 billion could now be repaid, and there was no rush to redeem the antique and calligraphy artworks, which had a one-year mortgage. In other words, after settling the debts with Wan Sheng Bank and HSBC, and accounting for interest, she would still have over 4.43 billion Hong Kong dollars left. And this was all in cash—there wasn't another individual in Hong Kong with such massive liquidity.
Nie Jingwen couldn't help but express his regret, "Ah Zhan, why didn't you join her in this trade?"
Nie Zhan didn't regret his decision, "Big brother, even if given another chance, I still wouldn't have joined Jiaxin. This was a gamble with almost zero chance of winning, and I wouldn't take that risk."
Jiaxin had built her wealth from scratch, and her companies weren't publicly listed. Even if she went bankrupt, the impact would be limited. He, on the other hand, was in a different position. As the head of a publicly listed company, he needed to be cautious and progressive in his investments. A highly aggressive move like this would cause shareholders to question his judgment.
The sheer magnitude of this sum even tempted Nie Jingwen. He asked, "Ah Zhan, what investment does Miss Lu plan to make next?"
Nie Zhan replied, "I'll advise her to use 2 billion for land hoarding, invest 1.5 billion in quality properties, and leave the remaining 900 million for her to allocate as she sees fit."
Given his understanding of Lu Jiaxin, he expected her to allocate a portion of the funds for bargain hunting. Just like in America, she had already purchased five stocks, spending over 100 million greenbacks.
Noticing that Nie Zhan already had plans for Lu Jiaxin's money, Nie Jingwen kept his thoughts to himself, "Ah Zhan, try to keep the funds Miss Lu has in our bank for as long as possible."
Nie Zhan replied, "I'll discuss this with Jiaxin, but I can't guarantee her agreement."
The truth was that Jiaxin had a poor impression of her family, and even after dating for over two years, she had never visited the old mansion. Even with her aunt gone to Canada for accompanying studies, Jiaxin still hesitated to go.
That evening, Nie Zhan went to the apartment and informed Lu Jiaxin, "The short-selling index positions have all been sold. You now have over 5 billion in your account. Tomorrow, I'll accompany you to Wan Sheng Bank and HSBC to settle the loans."
Lu Jiaxin also intended to clear her debts. Although the loan term was three months, repaying it early would reduce the interest owed. Even with ample funds in her account now, every penny saved was a penny earned.
Nie Zhan looked at Lu Jiaxin and asked, "Jiaxin, you made over 4.4 billion in Hong Kong. As for the 400 million US dollars you transferred to me, with a 10-fold leverage, after taxes and fees, you profited 1.5 billion US dollars. Later, you borrowed another 50 million US dollars from me with a 25-fold leverage. After settling the loan and deducting taxes and fees, you still have 240 million US dollars left."
He did a quick calculation in his head. Lu Jiaxin had profited over 4.4 billion Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong and earned a total of 1.9 billion US dollars in the US, including the principal of 400 million US dollars.
After finishing the calculation, Nie Zhan looked at Lu Jiaxin and said with a smile, "Jiaxin, with this short-selling venture, you've made a total profit of 12.1 billion Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong and the US combined (using a fixed exchange rate of 1 US dollar to 7.8 Hong Kong dollars). Jiaxin, you are now undoubtedly the richest woman in Hong Kong."
Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, "I've made even more than that."
Mo Libin, who had helped with short-selling the Dow Jones and Singapore indexes, profited 500 million US dollars with a principal of 320 million US dollars. Deng Weihai, who short-sold the Nikkei 255 index, earned 500 million US dollars with a principal of 120 million US dollars. Including these three places, they made a total profit of 650 million US dollars.
In other words, with a principal of 840 million US dollars, they made a total profit of 4.4 billion Hong Kong dollars and 1.64 billion US dollars across several countries.
When Lu Jiaxin calculated the total sum, even she was astonished. She never expected to become the richest woman in Hong Kong at such a young age, barely twenty years old! It was truly unbelievable!
Nie Zhan, having handled hundreds of billions of US dollars as a trader, remained calm. He asked Lu Jiaxin, "Jiaxin, how much do you plan to use for land hoarding?"
Previously, they had mentioned 2 billion for land hoarding, but now it seemed like a small amount, and they could afford to hoard more land.
Lu Jiaxin said, "Out of the 4.4 billion in Hong Kong, let's use 2 billion for land hoarding, 1 billion for purchasing shops, high-end residences, and apartments, 500 million for bargain hunting, and the remaining 900 million for buying two or three more office buildings."
"What about the funds in America?" Nie Zhan asked.
Lu Jiaxin had also planned how to allocate the funds in America, Singapore, and Japan. She intended to transfer 300 million US dollars back to Hong Kong for backup and invest 500 million US dollars in the stocks of well-known large companies. The rest would be used for other investments.
As for the 300 million US dollars transferred back, she hadn't decided on its use yet. It could be used for more land hoarding, purchasing additional office buildings, or other purposes.
Lu Jiaxin shared her thoughts: "As for the 590 million US dollars, help me figure out what would be a good investment."
Transferring such a large amount of money would surely attract attention from the American authorities. Therefore, it was better to keep the bulk of the funds in Hong Kong to continue growing, only transferring out 300 million US dollars, which Nie Zhan could handle without worrying about attracting the FBI's attention.
"Of course, First Lady of Wealth," Nie Zhan replied.
Lu Jiaxin held back her smile, tilted her head back proudly, and said, "Now you know my prowess, right? From now on, if you ever think that I'm being crazy with my investments, I won't bother explaining myself to you."
Nie Zhan hugged her and laughed, "Yes, yes, yes, my girlfriend is the most amazing person in the world, and I humbly admit my inferiority."
"Hmph..." Lu Jiaxin had intended to tease Nie Zhan further, but she ended up laughing instead, unable to keep up the act.
(End of Chapter)
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