Chapter 1360: The position is guaranteed to be at least 100 billion US dollars

"I can't believe he would give this, is this the way Easterners give betrothal gifts?'

Duke Carter Howard thought with a troubled heart.

It was really because Xia Yu's betrothal gift was too heavy!

It was an equity transfer agreement and a certificate of equity.

2.5% of the Rolls-Royce Motor Group!

The Howard family holds 20% of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, and this asset has become one of the family's core assets!

The current Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is the dominant player in the British automotive sector and has long since secured its place as one of the world's top ten automakers.

In Europe, the only automaker that can compete directly with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is West Germany's Volkswagen Group, and French and Italian cars must take a back seat.

Although Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is not listed,

However, in terms of valuation, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is worth at least 20 billion US dollars!

Therefore, the 2.5% stake he now holds is worth at least 500 million US dollars!

And the transfer price in the contract is one pound.

This price is just for show.

Xia Yu's gesture greatly pleased Duke Carter Howard.

He was not looking at the value of this stake, but the meaning behind Xia Yu's betrothal gift.

At least it can prove from the side that Xia Yu's affection for Elena is very deep, that his precious daughter will not marry the wrong person, and that he has not misjudged.

'But I don't lack this stake...'

With a smile, Duke Carter Howard put it away, put it back in the gift box, and put it in his safe.

'It seems that I need to learn more about the customs of Eastern people getting married in order to make a better decision.'

'I can't be underestimated...'

...

That night, Xia Yu clearly sensed that Duke Carter Howard's attitude towards him had become much more intimate than in the afternoon, as if he was already treating him like family, and his words and actions were more casual.

He didn't know if it was because Duke Carter Howard had figured it out in the afternoon, or because of the betrothal gift, or both.

But he didn't bother to figure it out.

To him, Elena's increasingly frequent and happy smiles were the result he needed most.

After spending another day at Howards Castle, Xia Yu spent two more days in the UK, sending invitations to some extremely important friends.

For example, Prince Philip, and Wu Hongyi.

Anyway, the people who received his invitation were relatively few.

As for how many people Duke Carter Howard would invite, that was something he would consider on his own.

Afterwards, Elena stayed in the UK, and Xia Yu returned to Hong Kong on Elena's private jet, Tulip, before flying back to London.

During this time, Xia Yu was destined to be busy with his wedding.

Li Qian was lucky, as she only had one brother as a relative, and it wasn't as troublesome. Xia Yu's betrothal gift was 18% of the equity in Jinding Book Group, worth 500 million US dollars.

However, Xia Yu still had to go in person to the He, Sumitomo Kumiko and Cindy families to show his sincerity.

The dowry for the He family was the equity of two companies that Xia Yu had previously had someone acquire, namely the American Harrah's Entertainment company and the British William Hill company.

They were 10% and 7% respectively.

These two companies are both giants in the world's spinach industry, the former was established in 1937, and the latter was established in 1934.

A total of 500 million US dollars was spent on acquiring these two stakes.

The dowry for the Sumitomo family was a copper mine worth 500 million US dollars. He had too many of these mineral things, so a mere 500 million US dollar copper mine was the simplest thing to give.

The dowry for the Mellon family was a stake consolidated from various investment companies under Polaris Capital, 4.85% of Gulf Oil, worth 500 million US dollars.

In this regard, Xia Yu is fair.

Although in terms of his rise to power, the Howard family has been the biggest help, without their help, he would not have been able to lay such a large foundation in the UK so smoothly.

Compared to the Howard family, the Ho family, the Sumitomo family and the Mellon family are all much inferior.

But life, including the past, present and future, is still young, and the future is full of uncertainties.

These families are separate from the individuals within them. Xia Yu had a scale in his heart.

How much help these families could give him in the future was something for the future.

At least after Sumitomo Kumiko and Cindy married him, their first identity was as his family members, and their second identity was as members of their respective families.

In this way, he had expressed his attitude of treating everyone equally.

After successfully hiring each one and sending invitations to his close friends, he returned to Hong Kong again, which was already May 15th.

There was just over a month left until his wedding.

Wedding preparations were very complicated, but fortunately, at Xia Yu's current level, there was no shortage of resources and manpower, so he didn't feel overworked, but rather enjoyed himself.

In fact, he even had time to attend to important matters.

For example, he urged Guangming Fund to strongly compete for the privatisation stakes of British Aerospace and British Gas.

For example, he instructed Polaris Capital to compete with General Motors for Hughes Aircraft Company in the United States, and set foot in the American defence and military industry.

Of course, there was one more important thing.

That was oil!

...

'Chairman, here are the details we have collected on the international oil market.'

That afternoon, Xia Yu was relaxing at home when Fok Kin-ning came to report on his work.

'Kin-ning, sit down and talk.'

'Yes, thank you, Chairman.'

'What is the latest international oil price?'

'Chairman, today's highest international crude oil price was 27.85 US dollars a barrel.'

'In the past month, the international crude oil price has fluctuated between 27 and 28 US dollars a barrel, which is relatively stable.'

After Xia Yu's inquiry, Huo Jianning immediately replied.

'What about the overall market analysis?'

Xia Yu smiled slightly and asked again, then peeled a lychee and threw it into his mouth.

'Last month's global average oil consumption was 57.82 million barrels per day, and the oil economy is still relatively weak.'

'Of this consumption, developed countries and regions accounted for 75.25%, reaching 43.51 million barrels per day, while developing countries accounted for 24.75%.'

'Research and analysis show that high oil prices have led to a decline in oil consumption in developed countries and regions, and the market is still sluggish...'

'However, high oil prices have weakened OPEC's pricing power in the oil market. Countries in Europe and the United States have already been expanding the output of oil fields in their own countries and Latin America. There are strong opinions within OPEC, especially in Saudi Arabia...'

As Huo Jianning spoke eloquently, Xia Yu's smile grew wider and wider.

It seems that although his influence is great, it has not affected the overall situation of the global economy.

This is just right!

"By the way, Jianning, what is the current number of gas stations for Pacific Oil?'

Fok Kin-ning continued to report: 'Chairman, over the past six months, in accordance with your wishes, Pacific Oil has been continuously acquiring petrol stations. The total number of petrol stations directly under the company has now reached 3,420, with the highest density in Europe, where there are 2,270, 1,026 in North America, and 124 in Asia.'

'In Asia, there are 36 in Hong Kong, after acquiring the petrol stations of Chevron, Texaco and Mobil, and then building four new ones. Currently, there are four petrol station brands in Hong Kong, including Pacific Oil, which accounts for half of the retail market.'

'In Macau, we have 12 petrol stations, and we are the only brand there.'

'The remaining 76 petrol stations are distributed in various Southeast Asian countries.'

'Not bad!'

Xia Yu said with satisfaction.

'Jianing, take note.'

'In the next year, strive to expand the number of gas stations to 10,000, which is the goal of the retail market.'

'Secondly, instruct all investment companies to close all long positions in oil futures and short all aspects of international crude oil futures.'

'With leverage, the position size must reach at least 100 billion U.S. dollars. The specific guaranteed share will be allocated by you based on the strength of each company. Each investment company can freely play on their own basis. It must be fully completed by July.'

'Do you have any questions about these requirements?'

After finishing writing, Fok Jianing read over what he had written and shook his head, saying, 'No, I've written it down clearly.'

'Okay, you go arrange it right away and give me a detailed result when it's done.'

'Yes!'