Chapter 572: The Outcome

The Hong Kong government has determined that Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank are bankrupt and has quickly entered the liquidation stage to provide an explanation to the public.

At this point, the two banks are effectively disconnected from the Zhuang brothers and the Liu brothers.

Before the Hong Kong government intervened, there was time for them to rescue themselves. Since they couldn't save themselves, it's no wonder the government took over.

After all, Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank are insolvent, and the interests of the shareholders of the two banks have been entirely lost. The remaining assets belong to the depositors and have nothing to do with the Zhuang and Liu brothers.

Fortunately, during the investigation by the Hong Kong government, no illegal activities were found involving the Zhuang and Liu brothers, so their personal freedom has been restored.

Seeing that the situation has become irreparable, Zhuang Qingquan decided to avoid the turmoil and flew to the Philippines to manage his Apollo Steel Company, leaving his reluctant brother Zhuang Rongkun behind in Hong Kong, wanting to witness the final fate of Henglong Bank.

Since Mike Leung is scheduled to travel north on March 24, he has urged Financial Secretary Xia Dingji to quickly resolve the issues with Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank and to calm the public opinion in Hong Kong to restore order to the financial market.

This is also a requirement from the UK, as the trip north represents the face of the British government. The fact that Hong Kong is so chaotic and unstable under British rule would be a blow to their reputation and provide ammunition to the mainland.

If the Hong Kong government can quickly quell the turmoil, it will highlight their governance ability. If the mainland tries to use this situation against Mike Leung, he will be able to counter it effectively.

Therefore, to complete this political task as quickly as possible, the Hong Kong government announced during the liquidation stage that they would allow conditional takeovers of the two banks.

The waiting giants—HSBC, Standard Chartered, Hang Seng Bank, and Bank of China Hong Kong—immediately moved forward to negotiate with the Hong Kong government.

Not to mention the behind-the-scenes instigator, Jiuding Bank, which also promptly applied to take over.

To quickly quell the bank run, and in the face of numerous giants wanting to take over Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank, Xia Dingji, after consulting with Mike Leung, decided to hold a meeting to clarify the Hong Kong government's conditions for all interested parties, allowing them to compete.

Soon, Liu Tianzi, representing Jiuding Bank, received the Hong Kong government's message and invitation.

Liu Tianzi immediately reported the situation to Xia Yu.

"Chairman, should I attend the meeting, or will you go? I heard that HSBC Chairman Shen Bi, Standard Chartered's Charles Liddell, and Bank of China Hong Kong's President Ma Jianming will be attending."

After the report, Liu Tianzi asked. His underlying concern was clear—whether he would be adequate or suitable for the meeting.

Xia Yu thought for a moment and said to Liu Tianzi, "I won't go. You should go. Just bring both banks back."

Liu Tianzi nodded heavily, "I will definitely bring them back!"

Although the opponents are all more powerful than Jiuding Bank, Liu Tianzi is confident and unworried about failing.

After months of preparation, the time has finally come to reap the rewards. If others snatch them away, he'd be in trouble.

This time, HSBC, Standard Chartered, and others are just supporting roles!

In the afternoon, Liu Tianzi took a car to the Hong Kong government office.

He was the first to arrive, followed by others. Before the meeting started, everyone was present.

The attendees included Shen Bi from HSBC, Charles Liddell from Standard Chartered, Ma Jianming from Bank of China Hong Kong, He Shanheng, Chairman of Hang Seng Bank, and Liu Tianzi himself.

Although American banks like Morgan and Citi have the strength, they did not participate.

Similarly, East Asia Bank, another large bank in Hong Kong, also did not participate.

Despite being a large bank, East Asia Bank is one of the least powerful among them, with strength not much better than Henglong Bank. Li Guobao was self-aware and did not plan to get involved.

Among the five, Liu Tianzi was well-acquainted with Shen Bi.

Seeing Liu Tianzi's confident demeanor, Shen Bi was momentarily dazed. The talent he once valued was now qualified to sit at the same table with him. The world is ever-changing!

"Good afternoon, Chairman Shen!"

Liu Tianzi greeted Shen Bi with a smile, maintaining a respectful yet unassuming attitude. Although he was facing a former superior, the current positions were different. He had to consider Jiuding Bank's and Xia Yu's reputation, so he was polite but not obsequious.

Moreover, this afternoon, he and Shen Bi are competitors.

Afterward, everyone exchanged greetings.

At this moment, Mike Leung, along with Xia Dingji and a few subordinates, walked in.

"Sorry for the delay. We had some matters to attend to."

Mike Leung shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with everyone.

After the pleasantries, everyone took their seats. Mike Leung looked at the group and said sincerely, "The purpose of today's meeting concerns everyone in Hong Kong's financial industry and the public. As you saw outside the government office, there are crowds of people."

Everyone nodded. It was indeed true. They had seen many people gathered outside the government office, holding signs and banners, demanding the government resolve the issues with Henglong Bank, Jiahua Bank, and Xie Li Yuan Gold Shop, and return their hard-earned money.

"Since you all understand, you know the current situation is severe. I hope we can have a clear resolution this afternoon."

"Before that, Financial Secretary Xia will explain the situation of Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank. Of course, you will also receive detailed documents."

With that, Mike Leung stopped speaking and indicated for Financial Secretary Xia Dingji to present.

Xia Dingji glanced at his staff, who immediately distributed two documents to Liu Tianzi, Shen Bi, and others.

"Please take a look. These documents contain the true situation of Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank as investigated by the government. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will answer as much as I can."

Xia Dingji said solemnly.

Everyone nodded and focused on reading the materials, knowing they needed to understand the details before making any offers.

For a while, the meeting room was filled with the sounds of people breathing and the rustling of paper.

Unlike the rough data HSBC received earlier, these documents detailed Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank's specific situations, including their businesses and asset values.

Henglong Bank has a net asset of 317 million HKD and total assets of 3.684 billion HKD. Including gold futures business, it has a total loss of 340 million HKD. Henglong Bank's current net assets are -23 million HKD.

Jiahua Bank has a net asset of 218 million HKD and total assets of 2.743 billion HKD. Including gold futures business, it has a total loss of 234 million HKD. Jiahua Bank's current net assets are -16 million HKD.

Due to the short time frame, the data is not very precise, but it's close enough. The attendees did not mind this minor detail and knew they could raise objections once the final numbers were clear.

Soon, all five reviewed the documents and observed each other silently, calculating their strategies for the competition.