Chapter 411: One Billion!

In the office of the Chairman at HSBC Tower.

Xia Yu and Shen Bi sat across from each other. Shen Bi personally handled the tea set, making tea for Xia Yu with a very warm attitude.

People are indeed very pragmatic.

Although Shen Bi had previously shown optimism towards Xia Yu, it was more of a discerning admiration for a promising junior. After all, at that time, Xia Yu had potential but was still far from HSBC in terms of strength. Xia Yu's value was mostly seen in his potential.

But times have changed. Xia Yu's series of eye-popping actions and achievements had constantly refreshed Shen Bi's views and made him truly value Xia Yu.

With Xia Yu transforming the Yihe Consortium into its current state and seemingly still thriving, Shen Bi had to admit that the young man with great potential had rapidly evolved into one of Hong Kong's top tycoons and had firmly established himself.

In terms of strength, status, and influence, Xia Yu was now on par with him!

Having been around the block, Shen Bi naturally adjusted his mindset and treated Xia Yu as an equal. Just like now, he personally made tea for Xia Yu with no reservations.

Xia Yu, being perceptive, noticed Shen Bi's change in attitude and was not polite about it. He quietly watched Shen Bi make the tea and chatted with him occasionally.

"Mr. Xia, please have some tea!"

Shen Bi placed a cup of tea in front of Xia Yu with a kind demeanor.

"Thank you!"

Xia Yu smiled in thanks, picked up the cup, blew on it to cool it down, took a sip, smacked his lips, and said, "Good tea!"

Hearing Xia Yu's praise, Shen Bi's smile widened, and he took a sip of his own tea.

"Mr. Xia, congratulations on your tremendous progress!"

Setting the tea cup down gently, Shen Bi said with admiration.

"Thank you. It's just good luck. No matter how much progress I make, I still can't compare to your esteemed bank."

Xia Yu smiled and said modestly, giving HSBC a little praise.

"Not at all. With Mr. Xia's exceptional skills, surpassing HSBC is only a matter of time. I believe that under your leadership, the Jiuding Consortium will surely amaze the world!"

Compliments were unnecessary but were the best way to build rapport. Shen Bi naturally exaggerated to bring Xia Yu closer, leading Xia Yu to continually modestly wave off the praise.

After a few rounds of tea and enough pleasantries, it was time to get down to business.

Given the current situation in Hong Kong, Shen Bi had surely guessed part of Xia Yu's purpose for the visit, so he did not beat around the bush as he had before. He chose to get straight to the point.

Every minute was valuable now, and there was no need to waste time on meaningless chatter.

"Mr. Shen, I'm here to apply for a loan from your bank. The amount is quite large. I'm wondering what you think of that?"

When it came to business, Shen Bi straightened up, his expression becoming serious, and he replied without hesitation, "No problem. Lending money is our main business. No matter the amount, as long as Mr. Xia can provide sufficient collateral, more loans are not an issue."

Hearing this from Shen Bi, Xia Yu was not modest. He said directly, "Then I can rest assured. I plan to use the shares of the Kowloon Warehouse Group as collateral for a loan of one billion Hong Kong dollars!"

"Kowloon Warehouse Group!"

"One billion!"

Hearing these keywords, even Shen Bi's breath caught for a moment. His gaze became intense as he looked at Xia Yu and replied without hesitation, "No problem! HSBC will handle it!"

Then, Shen Bi added, "Mr. Xia, is one billion enough?"

With such a large transaction, Shen Bi naturally hoped to secure more.

The Kowloon Warehouse Group was now fully owned by Xia Yu and was worth far more than one billion Hong Kong dollars. Therefore, even though the shares of Kowloon Warehouse Group would be used as collateral, it would not be 100% of the shares. A substantial portion of the shares would be used according to asset valuation.

So, Kowloon Warehouse Group could certainly support a larger loan.

Moreover, Shen Bi was fully confident in this loan, knowing Xia Yu had the ability to repay it. Even if not, the Kowloon Warehouse Group, which was even more valuable, would cover it!

Although Shen Bi had not been optimistic about Kowloon Warehouse Group before, that was when it was under the Yihe Consortium.

Now that Kowloon Warehouse Group was under Xia Yu's control, Shen Bi was much more confident. Not for any other reason, but because Xia Yu had never done a losing deal. This flawless record gave Shen Bi ample confidence.

Seeing Shen Bi agree without hesitation and even wanting to offer more, Xia Yu smiled and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Shen, one billion Hong Kong dollars is enough for now. If I need more, I will come back."

The loan was sufficient for the time being, so there was no need to borrow more and incur extra interest. If more funds were needed later, he could return. Shen Bi couldn't refuse this, could he?

Seeing Xia Yu's refusal, Shen Bi felt a bit regretful but quickly brushed it aside. After all, a loan of one billion Hong Kong dollars was already a massive deal. He should be content.

Adding this one billion Hong Kong dollar loan to the transactions, Xia Yu had already done over ten billion Hong Kong dollars worth of business with HSBC this year. His contribution to HSBC could rank in the top ten in Hong Kong.

Sometimes, surprises kept coming one after another.

Just as Shen Bi thought it was time to discuss the loan details with Xia Yu, Xia Yu threw out another big deal, causing Shen Bi, who had just calmed down, to experience a new surge of excitement.

"Mr. Shen, besides the loan, I have a few more deals to discuss with your bank."

Xia Yu's seemingly casual words made Shen Bi attentive, and he made a formal gesture, saying, "Please, go ahead!"

He began to anticipate the upcoming deals, which, following the one billion loan, would undoubtedly be significant.

"Let me speak frankly!"

"I heard that HSBC holds many shares in Yihe Consortium's companies, including the controlling shares of Yihe Holdings, Yihe Group, and Yihe Pacific."

After Xia Yu finished speaking, Shen Bi's expression changed. His gaze became deep as he stared at Xia Yu.

Xia Yu smiled and calmly met Shen Bi's gaze.

After a few seconds, Shen Bi regained his composure, took a sip of tea, and said with a faint smile, "Yes, we do hold some."

Xia Yu smiled and said with pointed remarks, "Mr. Shen can see it too. The Keswick family is continuously selling off companies, and internal strife within the family is severe. According to the current trend, if the companies remain under the Keswick family, asset shrinkage is inevitable."

Shen Bi remained silent, not refuting. It was an obvious fact.

It's not that the companies under the Yihe Consortium were not good. They certainly had development prospects and were in good shape previously.

But now, who in Hong Kong doesn't know that the Yihe Consortium is in turmoil? This upheaval from top to bottom has severely damaged the foundation of the Yihe Consortium and is unstoppable. Even if old John, the iron-fisted patriarch, were to return, it wouldn't help.

No matter how good the companies are, they need a stable management team and a good development environment. But now, neither of these is present.

So even the previously thriving companies have their future overshadowed.

Unless these companies are bought by other big players, the issues with management and development environment will persist.

However, these issues are irrelevant to HSBC.

The nature of a bank's function means it can only invest, not manage and operate other industry enterprises.

So, HSBC's stocks must either be left to devalue or be sold.

Other big players are not foolish and will not simply watch HSBC hold onto the stocks without taking action. They need as much control as possible over the companies. HSBC cannot avoid this.

Moreover, banks need to open their coffers to welcome clients from all directions. Many big players in Hong Kong have close ties with HSBC, and it's not easy to refuse them.

For example, if Bao Yugang wanted to buy some of the stocks held by HSBC, Shen Bi would have a hard time stopping him.

Understanding this, many big players had come to HSBC to find Shen Bi in recent days. Shen Bi had been selling whenever possible, aiming to recover funds first.

After all, the bank's development should focus on stability, not rapid wealth.

Even if the stocks are sold to those big players, there will be no investment returns. However, these big players still need the bank to develop their companies and will come back to HSBC for loans. In that case, HSBC would benefit in another way.

The benefit would shift from enjoying dividends to earning interest on loans.