Chapter 478 - 219: Locking the Doors to Beat the Dog (Part 2)

Chapter 478: Chapter 219: Locking the Doors to Beat the Dog (Part 2)

There are no fixed standards for how long a stock’s trading can be halted in Xiangjiang.

If trading is halted to release price-sensitive information, it usually resumes after the announcement. This process can take a few days or even weeks.

For instance, if a company is undergoing a major acquisition, restructuring, or other complex events, the halt can be much longer—ranging from several weeks or months to over a year in extremely complicated cases.

If a halt is due to unusual volatility, it’s typically to maintain a fair and orderly market. Trading might be suspended for one or two days and will resume after the listed company issues a statement explaining the cause of the volatility.

Xinya Bank clearly fell into the latter category. Once the investigation into Lin Qi and the others regarding the Kafei Company acquisition case was complete, it would likely only take two or three days.

The day Xinya Bank’s stock resumed trading would be the day it completely crashed.

It would also be the moment Quantum Fund launched its final assault.

Driving past a Xinya Bank branch in Central, Zhong Liwen saw the long lines of people waiting to withdraw their money and knew the stock market’s chain reaction had begun.

For a commercial bank, a bank run would have devastating consequences.

What’s more, Xinya Bank was already plagued with problems. The Banking Regulatory Commission would likely step in soon.

He brought dinner back to the office as the sun was setting.

Zhong Liwen saw another message from his boss. He quickly read it, and after a moment, he knew what to do.

On the evening of the fourth day, an announcement was finally made regarding the unusual volatility in Xinya Bank’s stock.

The announcement meant the dust had finally settled.

But that same night, a special email suddenly appeared in the inbox of the head of the Xiangjiang Securities and Exchange Commission.

「The next morning.」

Xinya Bank resumed trading, and its price plummeted once more. Its market capitalization plunged from 10.6 billion Hong Kong Dollars to less than 2.8 billion in a single morning, bringing it to the brink of bankruptcy liquidation.

That same morning, New Century Fund’s various secret accounts had acquired even more shares than anticipated, securing 68.9% of the company.

Quantum Fund was also sharpening its knives, preparing to detonate a dozen other local Xiangjiang financial institutions that afternoon and trigger another financial crisis in Xiangjiang.

However, before Quantum Fund could make its move,

the Xiangjiang Securities and Exchange Commission acted swiftly. It halted trading for all seventeen related financial companies and issued a statement. The announcement declared that international speculative capital was attempting to disrupt the market and, to mitigate financial risk, all trading in those stocks would be suspended for a period of time.

Quantum Fund and its accomplices were caught completely off guard. They were left holding tens of billions in stocks that were now frozen by the trading halt.

Meanwhile, Xinya Bank, which had been fined 500 million Hong Kong Dollars by the SEC, was also facing a fight for its survival.

「That afternoon.」

Zhong Liwen arrived at the Xinya Bank headquarters with his team.

As soon as he sat down, Zhong Liwen got straight to the point. "General Manager Lin, I want to buy all the shares you hold. Name your price!"

"Mr. Zhong, are you not aware of Xinya Bank’s current situation?" Lin Qi’s brow furrowed.

"You just need to tell me if you’re willing to sell. Don’t ask irrelevant questions." Zhong Liwen’s gaze shifted to the other major shareholders.

"Mr. Zhong, I’m willing! I hold 5.6% of the shares."

"Mr. Zhong, I have 3.6% as well. As long as it’s three dollars a share..."

Zhong Liwen sneered. "Heh, three dollars a share? What’s the current market price? My offer is final: fifty cents a share. Either you all sell to me at that price, or you can keep them for yourselves!"

HUFF... HUFF... An older shareholder, so enraged his lips were turning purple, quickly took a few Heart Protection Pills to calm himself.

"Mr. Zhong, can’t you go a little higher?"

Zhong Liwen’s eyes were filled with scorn. "Heh, winner takes all. You made your bet, and you lost. You brought this on yourselves. I’m offering you a lifeline, so don’t be ungrateful. Otherwise, you can just wait for bankruptcy. After you pay that five-hundred-million-dollar fine, there are still the investment default penalties. That all adds up to nearly three billion. What’s Xinya Bank’s market cap worth now?"

His secretary chimed in at the perfect moment. "General Manager Zhong, Xinya Bank’s market cap has already dropped below two billion."

Lin Qi was in agony. Faced with this situation, he was truly powerless to turn things around. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I’ll sell."

"A wise man knows when to yield. Tell the other shareholders to come over." Zhong Liwen knew they would give in. ’They’re smart enough to know the difference between walking away safely with tens of millions and being wiped out in a bankruptcy liquidation.’

In the space of one afternoon, New Century Fund acquired 24.7% of the shares from Xinya Bank’s chairman, Lin Qi, and the others.

Combined with the 68.9% they had secretly amassed earlier,

New Century Fund now held 93.6% of Xinya Bank’s shares, both openly and covertly.

This included the headquarters building and thirteen bank branches, all of which now belonged to New Century Fund.

Early the morning after the transaction was complete, Zhong Liwen, now the acting CEO of Xinya Bank, dispatched people to pay the SEC fine. At the same time, he compensated the various investors for their default penalties and terminated the previous partnership agreements.

He also announced plans to take Xinya Bank private, offering to buy all outstanding shares at three times the current market price.

Furthermore, he declared an injection of capital from New Century Fund to increase the bank’s risk resilience. Naturally, this capital would be raised by issuing new shares.

In other words, if the retail investors holding the remaining 6.4% of shares didn’t sell now, their already devalued stock would simply be diluted by the new issue.

With this series of moves, they snapped up another 3.9% of the shares from the market that morning. The rest were likely held by stubborn holdouts or people who had simply forgotten they ever bought Xinya Bank stock.

Over these two days, the Xiangjiang financial system had no time to concern itself with New Century Fund’s takeover of Xinya Bank. A deeper investigation had left them breaking out in a cold sweat.

If someone hadn’t tipped them off, the Xiangjiang financial system would likely have been crippled.

They had now frozen many secret accounts belonging to Quantum Fund and its associated speculative capitalists. They were preparing to "defuse the bombs" one by one, dealing with the seventeen parasitized financial firms.

As for Quantum Fund and the other speculators, now trapped with no way out, they were as frantic as ants on a hot pan.

But with the plot exposed, the various pawns they had bought off obviously didn’t dare to publicly speak up in support of Quantum Fund.

「Meanwhile.」

New Century Fund’s multifaceted attacks against Quantum Fund and its partners across the world’s financial markets were unleashed all at once.

「Quantum Fund Headquarters.」

The old man, his face covered in age spots, listened as one urgent report after another came in. His expression grew darker and darker.

"FUCK! Who the hell is it?" HUFF... HUFF...

"Boss, our investment subsidiary in Europe is under investigation! Our funds there have been frozen."

Then came another piece of bad news.

In less than three hours, one of Quantum Fund’s most crucial backing investment banks was exposed for financial fraud. It was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

Overcome with rage, the old man suffered a massive heart attack. He had already undergone several heart transplants, and his body was showing signs of rejecting the latest one. The continuous shocks were too much for it to handle.

Although his secretary found him in time and had a private hospital rush over to treat him,

having the man at the helm suddenly collapse and be rushed to the hospital at such a critical moment was a fatal blow.

Internally, the semi-paralyzed Quantum Fund was unable to respond in time, causing their losses to mount.

As for their international speculative capital partners, they had already fled. They didn’t care in the slightest whether Quantum Fund lived or died. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.

Quantum Fund fell apart.

Inside the private hospital, Dr. Smith, who was leading the emergency treatment, took a call from the insurance company. A look of regret crossed his face.

"Doctor, the patient is awake."

"Oh?" Dr. Smith glanced at the old man, who had opened his eyes with a dazed look.

He waved his hand. "Notify the family to come and pay the bill, or arrange for his discharge."

A moment later, a nurse came in. "His wife said she has no money. She told us to send him directly to a nearby shelter."

"SHIT..." The old man’s eyes widened. Then, he stopped breathing and died.