Chapter 221: Black Market Stock Exchange

On 15 December 2014, the National Securities Dealers Conference was still being held at the Yanjing International Financial Centre. After the morning session ended, a team of CCTV reporters came to the lounge.

'Hello everyone, I'm a CCTV finance reporter. I'm currently at the National Securities Dealers Conference. As you all know, as the conference progresses, more and more people are attending, and it is becoming more and more important. Many senior figures with a lot of experience in the financial world are also in attendance. The person we are going to interview now is one of these senior figures, his name is Luo Han. I know everyone has heard of this name, yes, it was him who established the first stock exchange in the country, the Nanjiang Stock Exchange was founded by him alone. It can be said that he single-handedly started the drama of our national securities market!'

The reporter talked confidently in front of the camera, and then the camera followed her into a room. In the room, there was a white-haired old man lying on the sofa. The reporter walked up to him and said, 'Hello, Mr. Luo Han. We are CCTV reporters here to interview you. Today, the Jianghai stock index broke through the 7,000 mark to reach a new record high. As the founder of the Nanjiang stock market, do you have anything you want to say about this?'

Since the reporter had been told when she entered the door that Luo Han's health was not very good, she did not beat around the bush and asked directly.

Hearing the reporter's question, Luo Han, who is approaching 80 years old, nodded with relief: 'It's good that the Jianghai stock market has been able to rise all the way, and we haven't done this job in vain! I just want to say that it has not been easy for our country's stock market to go from scratch to where it is today. I hope everyone can cherish such a good environment, and I also hope that our own stock market can get better and better.'

'Mr. Luo Han, as the first person to eat a crab back then, I think you must have been under a lot of pressure, right? So is there anything from that time that you remember most?' the reporter asked again.

'How could there not be?' Luo Han said, 'It was a very special era back then. At that time, unlike now, all conditions were ripe. As long as it was not illegal and as long as it was done in the interests of the people, you could do whatever you wanted without encountering too much resistance. At that time, these conditions were not in place. Don't look at the Nanjiang Stock Exchange now, which is doing very well, with billions of transactions every month, but you don't know that at the beginning, the Nanjiang Stock Exchange was actually an illegal entity that didn't even have a birth certificate.'

The reporter hurriedly asked, 'Mr. Luo Han, what do you mean by saying that there was no birth certificate? Are you saying that the establishment of the stock exchange was not approved by the higher authorities?'

Luo Han first nodded and then shook his head: 'Yes and no. Those were very troubled times. Everyone knew that it was a good idea to set up a stock exchange, and the higher authorities all wanted to do it, but everyone was afraid to do it because no one had ever done it before. Everyone was afraid of the political burden and of making a mistake, so no one in the higher authorities dared to give a clear answer. It wasn't until 1991 that an official document was issued. Until then, the stock exchange was a black market and was not publicly recognised by the higher authorities.'

'I see. But Mr. Luo Han, if I remember correctly, the Nanjiang Stock Exchange opened in 1990. So you guys opened the stock exchange before asking the government for documents, right? In that case, you were very courageous. If you hadn't done it first, I'm afraid that our domestic stock market would have been delayed for many more years. You are truly a hero of the domestic stock market!'

The reporter said this and gave Luo Han a thumbs-up, but Luo Han shook his head with a wry smile: 'Great hero? I don't deserve that title.'

The reporter thought that Luo Han was just being modest when he said that, but then he continued, 'If we're talking about heroes, there was only one person who deserved that title back then, because if it wasn't for him, the Nanjiang Stock Exchange would never have been established so early. Even we would have been afraid to set up a stock exchange for trivial matters, let alone the black market, which none of us had the courage to do.'

The CCTV reporter froze for a moment. Looking at Luo Han's sentimental and reminiscing expression, she knew that Luo Han wasn't acting when he said that. In fact, someone in Luo Han's position and status simply didn't need to do that. So that meant that there really was such a great hero back then, someone who helped Luo Han get the stock exchange started. If it weren't for him, the emergence of the stock exchange might have been delayed for a long time.

This idea made her feel strange, because she suddenly remembered that she had heard similar things in many places. It seemed that in those days, there was such a person, who used his own strength to almost run through the whole country, and there was always the presence of such a person in anything important.

Could there really be such a person behind history, driving the development of all major events? It's just that he doesn't want to appear in public.

The CCTV reporter was full of questions and excitement.

...

Time went back to the end of 1989. Zhou Ming arrived at the Nanjiang Municipal Party Committee in his Audi, accompanied by Luo Han, the first deputy general manager of the securities company. Peng Shengyou, the first secretary of the municipal party committee, greeted Zhou Ming at the door. When he saw Zhou Ming and the others get out of the car, Peng Shengyou took the initiative to come up and shake hands with Zhou Ming to say hello, and then took them into the municipal party committee building and directly to Chen Yunfei's office.

Although Zhou Ming and the others were notified by Chen Yunfei, the rules still had to be followed. Peng Shengyou announced their arrival first, and only after receiving permission did he lead Zhou Ming and the others in.

Zhou Ming and Luo Han entered the office, and Chen Yunfei waved at them from the sofa in the reception area. Zhou Ming and Luo Han went over and sat in front of him. Chen Yunfei looked at Zhou Ming and then at Luo Han, and suddenly sighed.

'I asked you to come over this time because I have something very important to tell you.'

Chen Yunfei said as he took out a document and placed it on the table: 'This is the report you submitted, which I have read. The report is very well done. From the current development of the domestic securities market, it clearly explains the necessity of the stock exchange. I personally also strongly support the establishment of the stock exchange, and I have already stamped the municipal party committee seal on it.'

Chen Yunfei said as he turned the document over, and sure enough, at the top and bottom of the document, he saw the seal of the Nanjiang Municipal Party Committee.

If this were under normal circumstances, Chen Yunfei's words would have been very pleasing to hear, but at this time, when Zhou Ming heard Chen Yunfei say this, he felt that something was wrong instead.

As expected, Chen Yunfei continued, 'However, due to some political considerations, the document will not be given to you for the time being, and it will not be issued.'

'Secretary Chen, what do you mean by that? Do you mean that a decision will be made after a while?' Luo Han asked with some confusion.

'You could say that, but it's not quite like that,' Chen Yunfei said. "But what I can tell you is that I won't submit this document to the central government for the time being, and you shouldn't even think about reporting it directly to the central government, because no one will approve it.'

Luo Han finally understood: "Secretary Chen, are you saying that there will be no official document recognising the stock exchange? How can this be? Our stock exchange is a formal department and the centre of the securities market. It is still in a critical stage of development, so won't this dampen the enthusiasm of the otherwise booming securities market?'

Chen Yunfei did not say anything, but turned his head and looked at Zhou Ming. It was not that Chen Yunfei looked down on Luo Han, in fact, Chen Yunfei was well aware of Luo Han's abilities. When Chen Yunfei first came to Nanjiang, when he was still the executive vice mayor, it was Luo Han who was appointed the first vice president of the Nan Development Bank, and Chen Yunfei personally designated the position. However, now that Zhou Ming was here, Chen Yunfei was still more willing to listen to Zhou Ming's ideas.

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and asked, 'Secretary, we are a special economic zone here, and we have certain political privileges, right?'

Chen Yunfei nodded and said, 'Of course, but this privilege is also within a certain scope.'

'So there shouldn't be a problem registering and establishing a new securities settlement company in Nanjiang, right?' asked Zhou Ming.

'Zhou Ming, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to say that you want to turn the stock exchange into a company?' Chen Yunfei asked with a frown. Zhou Ming nodded and said yes. Chen Yunfei thought for a moment and then said, 'I feel that I need to remind you that the problem now lies not in the form of the stock exchange, but in the words "stock exchange". As long as it is a stock exchange, it is impossible to get a clear approval.'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'I know, and I didn't say that I wanted to use the form of a stock exchange company in order to get around the corner and get the approval document. I just simply feel that at this stage, the company system will be more suitable for the development of the stock exchange. After all, the domestic securities market is just getting started, and it is indeed difficult to find enough member companies.'

Chen Yunfei and Luo Han were both stunned. It wasn't that they didn't understand Zhou Ming's words, but Zhou Ming's answer was a bit irrelevant.

'What about the approval? Does the stock exchange not need a birth certificate?' Luo Han asked blankly.

'Of course it does. The stock exchange is a very important and crucial place, and it cannot do without the approval of the government departments. However, it is precisely for this reason that some flexibility is possible at times. Of course, here, I just want to ask the secretary for an assurance,' said Zhou Ming.

Chen Yunfei made a gesture of invitation: 'What assurance? You name it.'

'It is the assurance that the stock exchange will not be shut down,' Zhou Ming said, 'Right now we need to get the stock exchange company up and running first. Without official approval, the secretary should not seize the stock exchange on the grounds that our company is illegal.'

Chen Yunfei laughed: "So that's the guarantee. My answer is that I'm sorry, I can't give you any guarantees, because without the approval of the relevant government departments, this company is illegal. If something goes wrong, it will definitely be seized. However, due to the particularity of the industry and the relevant departments" lack of understanding of the industry, the investigation and evidence collection process will take a little longer.'

Zhou Ming also smiled. He knew that this was already the best guarantee Chen Yunfei could offer. After all, he was the executive vice-governor and secretary of the municipal party committee, and it was impossible for him to openly support something that was playing on the edge of the line. He could only use a very tactful approach, turning a blind eye to new things. There were precedents for this during the reform and opening up, not to mention that this was still a special economic zone.

'Thank you, Secretary. I think I understand. I will definitely consider this carefully,' Zhou Ming said.

!!