jdhmnovel Chapter 150 Celebration
Chapter 150 Celebration
7 p.m., rooftop restaurant at The Peninsula Hong Kong.
The window seats offer a complete view of Victoria Harbour at night, with lights reflected on the dark sea as cruise ships slowly pass by.
Ling Yun, Li Ziyu, and Zheng Bin sat at the table.
There was a bottle of red wine on the table, but no one touched it.
"Let's look at the numbers first." Li Ziyu took a report out of his briefcase and pushed it in front of Ling Yun.
"The Thai portion has been completely liquidated. NDF contracts with a notional amount of $500 million were closed at an average exchange rate of 52.8, resulting in a total profit of... $180 million."
Ling Yun nodded.
"SET index futures, average closing point 612 points, profit $6500 million."
"Total... $2.45 million, after deducting the principal of $3000 million, the net profit is $2.15 million."
Li Ziyu's voice trembled slightly. He had been in finance for over a decade and had never seen such a high rate of return—seven times.
The private room was silent for a few seconds.
Zheng Bin picked up his wine glass, his hand trembling slightly. He had invested $1000 million, and according to the profit split, he would receive $7000 million in profit. In less than four months, it had more than sevenfold.
"I..." He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Ling Yun picked up the report and looked at it carefully.
The numbers are correct.
"Has the money arrived?"
"The money has arrived," Li Ziyu said. "Some of the profits from Thailand have been transferred to the Singapore capital account. After the transfer of the Bangkok real estate company, the US$3.75 million in the account was left to Sun's Real Estate, and the remaining US$1.14 million was also transferred to the Singapore account."
He took out a calculator and quickly pressed a few buttons.
"The current balance of the Singapore capital account is: US$1.4 million in outstanding NDFs, US$5.74 million in cash, plus US$8000 million transferred from Hong Kong... totaling approximately US$6.54 million."
Lingyun put down the report.
Outside the window, the light show in Victoria Harbour had begun. Laser beams traced patterns across the night sky.
"Let's celebrate," Zheng Bin finally said. "This meal is on me."
The waiter began serving the dishes: caviar, lobster, steak, and truffles.
But none of the three of them touched their chopsticks much.
"Mr. Ling," Li Ziyu put down his knife and fork, "what do we do next? So much cash..."
"Some of the investment will continue in Southeast Asia," Ling Yun said. "The storm isn't over yet. Indonesia and South Korea may experience a second wave."
"Still doing NDF?"
"It's possible, but the position size should be small." Ling Yun cut a piece of steak. "The market is already on alert, and governments around the world will increase intervention. Profit margins are shrinking, and risks are increasing."
"So what should you mainly invest in?"
"Technology," Lingyun said, "Operating systems, the UHSB standard, game companies, and...chips."
"A chip?"
"After the Southeast Asian financial crisis, global capital will flow back to the United States, fueling a tech stock bubble," Ling Yun said. "Before that happens, we need to invest in a number of promising companies."
Zheng Bin asked, "Which companies?"
"Nvidia makes graphics chips. Qualcomm makes wireless communications. And... there's a company called Broadcom, which was founded not long ago, but its technology is very strong."
"Are these companies currently undervalued?"
"Not high," Ling Yun said. "The bubble hasn't burst yet. Next year, when the Nasdaq starts to surge, these stocks will increase tenfold or even dozens of times."
Li Ziyu wrote it down.
"Furthermore," Ling Yun added, "we're investing back in China. Xinghuo Electronics is expanding to make motherboards and power supplies. Xinghuo Internet Cafes are also expanding to major cities. In addition, I plan to build a research and development center in Shenzhen, specializing in hardware design."
"How much money do you need?"
"Let's invest one hundred million US dollars first," Ling Yun said. "Domestic costs are low, and one hundred million US dollars can accomplish a lot."
Zheng Bin raised his glass.
"President Ling, I salute you. Without you leading the way, I would never have earned so much money in my life."
Lingyun clinked glasses with him.
"Mutual success."
Li Ziyu also raised his glass.
"To be honest, I was skeptical when you first said the Thai baht would collapse," he said. "But now I'm convinced. From now on, I'll invest wherever you tell me to."
"Don't be superstitious." Ling Yun took a sip of his drink. "I also make mistakes sometimes. The key is to control the risks and have a backup plan."
Halfway through the meal, Li Ziyu asked about the digital city.
"Will it work out if the Sun family takes over?"
"It's hard to say," Ling Yun said frankly. "The Thai economy will take at least three years to recover. But they have experience in real estate and control costs well, so they might be able to weather the storm."
"Is that piece of land really worth thirty-eight million?"
"It's not worth it now," Ling Yun said, "but it might be worth 100 million in five years. Sun Guofu is making a long-term plan."
Zheng Bin interjected, "I heard from Pengzi that his dad is planning to turn the project into ordinary residential housing and sell it at a lower price. Anyway, the land price is cheap and the cost is low, so every little bit helps."
"That's one way," Ling Yun said. "As long as it brings in cash and keeps operations running, that's fine."
After finishing their meal, the three of them stood on the terrace outside the restaurant.
The night breeze carries the salty scent of the sea.
"Where are you going next?" Zheng Bin asked Ling Yun.
"I'm going back to Jinan to rest for a few days," Ling Yun said. "Then I'll go to the United States. The first plenary meeting of the UHSB standards organization is about to start, and I need to go and keep an eye on it."
"Can UHSB be done?" Li Ziyu asked.
"It will succeed." Ling Yun looked at the lights in the distance. "The technological advantage is too obvious. Unless Intel and Microsoft also open source and make it free, they can't beat us. But their business model dictates that they won't open source."
"So it's a case of 'dimensional reduction attack'."
"right."
Zheng Bin suddenly said, "President Ling, I have an idea."
"explain."
"Let's start a fund," Zheng Bin said seriously. "A formal one, with fundraising, investment, and professional operation. You'll be in charge, and Ziyu and I will handle the errands. Based on our performance in Southeast Asia this time, we're sure we can raise a lot of money."
Ling Yun thought for a moment.
"Sure. But the scale shouldn't be too large, two or three billion US dollars would be enough. The investment should mainly focus on technology and domestic industries, not foreign exchange speculation or other forms of investment."
"Great!" Zheng Bin exclaimed excitedly. "I've already thought of a name: 'Nebula Capital.' A single spark can start a prairie fire; may our journey be as boundless as the clouds, and may our wings soar to the heavens."
Li Ziyu smiled.
"You're quite eloquent."
"That's right."
The three chatted for a while longer before going downstairs.
Zheng Bin's driver was waiting at the hotel entrance.
"Mr. Ling, shall I give you a ride?" Zheng Bin asked.
"No need. I'll just take a walk."
"Alright. I'll give you the plan for the fund next week."
"it is good."
Zheng Bin and Li Ziyu got into the car and left.
Lingyun strolled slowly along the seaside promenade.
Zhao Hu followed a few steps behind.
Hong Kong remains vibrant at night, but Lingyun knows that the storm sweeping across Asia has already begun to affect the city.
The Hang Seng Index has been falling recently, and the property market is also starting to ease.
However, these things are irrelevant to him for the time being; Soros is destined to suffer a crushing defeat here.
He currently has over $500 million in cash, emerging operating systems and hardware standards, and investments in a developing gaming ecosystem and chip industry.
The road has been paved.