Chapter 1110: Another major bank

After all, Cathay Pacific Airways is Xia Yu's company, and naturally they dare not leak the big boss's itinerary.

And Xia Yu is not the type of person to flaunt his personality. Apart from knowing that Li Qian and He Chaoqiong had returned, no one else came to pick him up.

However, as a symbol of Hong Kong, Xia Yu naturally attracted the attention of countless people. Within less than 24 hours of his appearance in Hong Kong, the news of his return had spread throughout the upper classes of Hong Kong.

The first to receive the news were undoubtedly those on the mainland, who were eager to know what results Xia Yu had achieved.

After Xia Yu rested at home with his family for two days, he received an invitation from the Xinhua News Agency, and he also saw an unexpected name on the invitation.

Knowing how anxious the mainland was, Xia Yu did not dawdle and secretly went to the Xinhua News Agency.

After entering, Xia Yu did indeed meet Liu Zhihe, who was surrounded by Wang Ping and Li Hua.

'Mr Xia, thank you for coming!'

Looking at the three people who welcomed him solemnly, Xia Yu smiled, shook hands with each of them, and said with a light smile, 'Director Liu, President Wang, President Li, I am flattered that you three have come to welcome me!'

'Mr Xia, you're too modest. You are our most important guest and friend, and this is only right!'

'Please come in!'

'The same to you! Please!'

After a while of small talk, Xia Yu was escorted into the living room by the three of them. The staff, who had been waiting inside, immediately made tea for everyone, and the table was also filled with all kinds of fresh fruit and pastries.

After a while of casual chit-chat, at Liu Zhihe's signal, Wang Ping and Li Hua found a lame excuse to leave, leaving Liu Zhihe and Xia Yu alone in the parlor.

Liu Zhihe looked anxious and expectant, and asked Xia Yu, 'Mr. Xia, I wonder what the attitude of the UK is towards Hong Kong at the moment?'

Liu Zhihe couldn't help being nervous, after all, he knew the mainland's attention on this matter.

In particular, the UK had just won the Falklands War and was riding high. Some people in the mainland were pessimistic about Xia Yu's actions and were eager to know if Xia Yu would succeed, so that they could make timely strategic adjustments. That was why Liu Zhihe was sent directly to Hong Kong to wait for Xia Yu.

Xia Yu smiled and said, 'Director Liu, after much effort, Margaret Thatcher has given me a clear answer regarding the stability of Hong Kong.'

'The details are as follows...'

Next, Xia Yu described the 'process of his efforts' and the 'price he paid', including how he forged connections with the extended family, how much effort it took, and in particular, the promise to Margaret Thatcher to invest 5 billion pounds within three years was highlighted. As for using intelligence from Argentina as leverage, Xia Yu did not mention it.

However, Xia Yu's description of the process also shocked Liu Zhihe, and there were two points that shocked him the most.

The first is that Xia Yu is going to invest 5 billion pounds in the UK within three years, which is equivalent to nearly 10 billion US dollars, more than the mainland's foreign exchange reserves last year. You have to know that last year the mainland's foreign exchange reserves were less than 7 billion US dollars, and in 1978 it was only more than 800 million US dollars. Xia Yu is actually that powerful!

And if all this money is invested in the mainland, then the mainland will be able to have nearly 10 billion US dollars more in precious foreign exchange, which can be used to buy all kinds of goods that the mainland urgently needs, and it will definitely be of great value to the country!

However, in order to maintain the stability and harmony of Hong Kong, Xia Yu had to give so much money to the UK. Liu Zhihe was moved by Xia Yu's patriotic heart, but he also felt a sense of suffocation. If the country was strong, why would it be like this...

The second thing that shocked Liu Zhihe was undoubtedly the result of Xia Yu's negotiations with Margaret Thatcher.

'Mr Xia, can you be sure that the British Prime Minister will keep his word?'

Liu Zhihe was so shocked by the result that he felt uneasy and asked again urgently.

Xia Yu gradually withdrew his smile and after pondering for a moment in Liu Zhihe's anxious mood, he said, 'Director Liu, from what I know of Margaret Thatcher, she is a person who keeps her promises, but the agreement between us is a private one that cannot be brought to the table and has no legal effect.'

'So I personally suggest that after you take the news back, the mainland immediately send someone to talk to the British government and put the issue of Hong Kong's stability in writing. By then, it will be impossible for the UK to go back on its word!'

'Another point is that, because of the victory in the Falklands War, British national morale is currently extremely high. When the mainland negotiates with the UK, there is no guarantee that the British government will not proclaim the generosity of the British government in order to reduce national resistance. If they want face, they will give it to them, as long as they get what they want.'

Liu Zhihe nodded solemnly and said, 'Mr. Xia, thank you for your reminder. I will definitely convey your opinions to the higher-ups when I go back.'

...

After Xia Yu left, Liu Zhihe immediately returned to the mainland with his security personnel. After returning to the capital, he described the process and outcome as Xia Yu had described it, and also repeated Xia Yu's advice, which really shocked many people. Many people re-recognized Xia Yu's strength and also gained a deeper understanding of Xia Yu's position.

However, Xia Yu was not aware of these things, after all, the radiation range of Luo Wang excluded the mainland.

In the following days, Xia Yu did not idle. In the evenings, he successively visited his master Li Chunqiu and his good friends Huo Yingdong and Bao Yugang, while during the day he devoted himself to work.

On May 19th, Xia Yu was at the headquarters of Jiuding Bank, where he received Qiu Deba, the head of the Qiu family from Star City. Accompanying him was none other than Liu Tianci, the head of Jiuding Bank.

'Mr. Chiu, last year I promised you that I would set up a bank as the hub of our cooperation. Here it is, just look!'

Xia Yu said with a smile, and handed the information about the new Guangli Yongheng Bank Group that Liu Tianci had just given him to Chiu Tak-pat.

After waiting for ten months, he was finally going to meet the long-awaited bank.

Chiu Tak-pat couldn't wait to take the information and browse through it carefully.

Xia Yu leisurely sipped his tea, waiting for De Beers to finish reading it.

The new Kwong Li Wing Hang Bank Group was actually formed by the merger of the three wholly-owned banks Wing Hang Bank, Chong Hing Bank and Malaysia Kwong Li Bank, which were acquired last year.

During the stock market crash, all three banks suffered a plunge in value due to a run on their deposits, and Xia Yu spent 1.375 billion Hong Kong dollars to acquire all three banks.

Afterwards, Liu Tianci, following Xia Yu's instructions, used the endorsements of Jiuding Bank and Standard Chartered Bank to restore the credibility of the three banks.

With the endorsements of the two giants, Jiuding Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, the three banks quickly emerged from the run on the banks, and Liu Tianci also proved to depositors the strength of the three banks through vigorous expansion, so the strength of the three banks improved rapidly.

Before the run on the banks, none of the three banks were worth less than HK$1 billion.

Now the three banks have merged and adopted the name Kwong Li Wing Hang Bank.

The new Kwong Li Wing Hang Bank has branches all over Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia, including 68 branches and representative offices in Hong Kong and Macau and 47 branches and representative offices in Southeast Asian countries, for a total of 115 branches and representative offices.

After the merger, the total assets of Guangli Yongheng Bank reached 25.9 billion Hong Kong dollars, the core tier-one capital of the bank was 1.813 billion Hong Kong dollars, and the tier-one capital adequacy ratio reached 7%. According to this ratio, it is considered a high-quality bank in Hong Kong and even Southeast Asia.

Moreover, the total assets of 25.9 billion Hong Kong dollars have made Guangli Yongheng Bank a large bank spanning Hong Kong and Southeast Asia!

The information in Chiu's hands also clearly stated the appraised value of Guangli Yongheng Bank.

Thirty-seven billion Hong Kong dollars!

Although this figure was not as high as the combined value of the three banks before the stock market crash, it was not far off.

After the crash, the merger of the three banks had achieved the effect of 1+1+1>3, so the appraised value of 37 billion Hong Kong dollars was real!

Chiu Tak-bok also recognised this value when he saw it, but after his initial surprise, he was depressed.

Because last year, he had only asked Xia Yu to put up the shares of a bank worth more than HK$1 billion, covering Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, and had expected to obtain more than 33.3% of the shares or even more than 50% of the shares.

However, he never expected that Xia Yu would now throw out a bank worth HK$3.7 billion!

When the shares in Swire Pacific were transferred last year, the price was only 630 million Hong Kong dollars. Even if interest for the past ten months is added, it is only 708.75 million Hong Kong dollars!

He can only replace no more than 20% of the shares!

How can he not be depressed when his plan fails?

But he can't blame Xia Yu either. After all, the shares of a large bank with total assets of 25.9 billion Hong Kong dollars are very rare, and there are only a very small number of large banks after all!

'Mr. Chiu, my sincerity is here. Are you satisfied with this bank?'

Xia Yu asked with a smile after seeing Chiu De-bai put down the information.

Chiu De-bai felt a little bitter, but a smile appeared on his face. He nodded and said, 'I think no one would say they are not satisfied with a high-quality large bank!'

Xia Yu smiled and said, 'In that case, I will not add a premium and will evaluate and exchange the corresponding equity for you at the appraised price.'

Qiu Deba's face became solemn, and he solemnly thanked him, 'Mr. Xia, thank you for your generosity!'

Xia Yu laughed heartily, waved his hand, and said casually, 'Mr. Qiu, I sincerely hope to continue to cooperate with you for a long time, so naturally I have to show my sincerity!'

Xia Yu had said this, and Qiu Deba sighed inwardly, and could only suppress the idea of wanting to spend more money to buy some more shares. He still had to save face!

Deeb Yau laughed loudly and said, 'Mr Xia, please rest assured that the sincerity of the Yau family will continue to be demonstrated in the future.'

'I wish us a happy collaboration!'

'Happy collaboration!'

After shaking hands, Liu Tien-tzu called his lawyer and transferred the shares of Guangli Yongheng Bank.

After the transfer, Jiuding Bank held 80.85% of the shares of Guangli Yongheng Bank, while the Yau family held 19.15%.

At this point, the Qiu family of Star City was also pulled into the boat by Xia Yu.