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Connecticut, in a manor in the northern suburbs of Greenwich.
The time is Thursday, October 23rd.
Simon and his wife stayed in Washington for three days and came to New York together today. Simon was busy with Daenerys' entertainment and other matters during the day, while Janet focused on Cersei Capital. In the evening, there was a small cocktail party held by the Westeros family, which mainly entertained some financial giants on Wall Street.
In the villa hall.
Cersei Capital is responsible for the three major businesses of hedging, investment and funds: Matthew Kaplan, Leon Black and Lawrence Fink, George Soros, the head of Quantum Fund, and Henry Paulson, CEO of Goldman Sachs , Bill Spurter, who has become the president of First Boston, a subsidiary of Credit Suisse, Thomas Renyi, CEO of the newly integrated Bank of New York Mellon, John Meriwether, the head of Long-term Capital Management, and so on.
Including Simon, the owner, and James Raybould, who is in charge of the Westeros Company, there are only more than twenty people in total, but if anyone familiar with the Wall Street financial circle sees this scene, they will only feel overwhelmed.
Also, something big is definitely going to happen in the financial circle.
Of course something big is about to happen.
Moreover, the truth is actually not that difficult to guess. It must still be Asia that is currently experiencing turmoil.
These days, after Simon's contact, everyone who should know about Hong Kong already knows about it. Today's cocktail party, after many people called to test it out, Simon simply invited everyone to get together, which can be regarded as a unified and tacit understanding.
Speaking of the "international financial speculators" who are targeting Asia at this time, Soros is the first to bear the brunt. Many people even think that the Asian financial crisis is caused by Soros alone.
Of course not.
Soros was just pushed out to the limelight, and the old man was willing to be in the limelight.
In addition, the entire Wall Street, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan, Lehman, First Boston, etc., and even a series of financial giants in Europe and Japan, in fact, none of them have left, even if they do not have a direct capital hedging department on the surface, privately they have They have invested in various hedge funds, so they all belong to the ranks of the 'international financial speculators' who are currently killing everyone in Asia.
Capitalists have no country.
During this period, whether in Asia, Europe, or even North America, there was a wide range of financial turmoil. All parties were waiting for opportunities to take advantage of the situation. Just like the circuit breaker level of Dow Jones, it was not just Cersei Capital, but many Financial institutions in the United States have made huge profits. Of course, there are also institutions that suffer huge losses because they bet in the wrong direction.
If you win, you won’t owe anyone, if you lose, you won’t blame anyone.
Everyone depends on their ability.
Now, Simon Westeros and even Soros, who is regarded as an enemy by various Asian countries, suddenly turned around and planned to support Hong Kong. After a series of connections, everyone saw an opportunity again.
Hong Kong is a piece of fat.
Everyone knows this. If you can chew it off, it will be a big deal.
The problem is, everyone also understands that this piece of meat is not easy to chew, because it is backed by mainland China, and if you are not careful, your big teeth will break.
If Simon hadn't taken the lead, even if it was more difficult, everyone would still have to work hard together.
What if it succeeds
However, once Westeros takes the lead, things suddenly start to get interesting, and at the same time, simpler.
Hong Kong is not easy to gnaw on, but if Hong Kong is used as a chessboard to give those European or Asian capitals that are far inferior to Wall Street, or even the many small funds or retail investors who don’t know the truth and only know how to follow the trend, all will be wiped out. It’s also full of pots!
Therefore, in fact, from the past few days, Wall Street bosses who gradually got the news began to quietly change direction, clearing short positions and establishing long positions.
Although the Hong Kong stock market has continued to fall in recent days due to the overall financial turmoil in Asia, in fact, many large capitals on Wall Street have unknowingly completed the turn.
Amid the turmoil in Asia, even though many people are optimistic that Hong Kong's financial market will not be breached, the mainstream view still believes that the Hang Seng Index will fall below 10,000 points, or even lower. Therefore, at the beginning of October, it was very difficult for bears to establish short positions. Not many people would be stupid enough to bet against short positions even though they knew it would fall.
In the hedging market of a zero-sum game, only some official capital will undertake a small number of short contracts in order to maintain the stability of the financial market.
After Simon and Soros reached a tacit understanding and quickly connected with all parties on Wall Street, everyone began to consciously establish various bullish positions in the Hong Kong financial market. Although it aroused the vigilance of a small number of financial capital, it was one-sided throughout Asia. Under the situation, these long sellers were swarmed and ravaged by numerous short sellers and took all their orders.
Simon doesn't know the specific situation of other companies, but just for Cersei Capital, the total size of various long positions accumulated in Hong Kong during this period exceeds 6 billion US dollars.
Today's gathering is actually about reaching the final tacit understanding.
The date to be precise.
On October 29, that is, next Wednesday, the Westeros System and Soros will jointly announce investment benefits for Hong Kong.
Then, Thursday, October 30, and Friday, October 31, are not only the last two trading days of next week, but also the last two trading days of October. They are also the final settlement date of the October Hang Seng Index futures contract. , including China, all parties will work together to carry out a major reversal, boost the Hang Seng Index to the greatest extent, and wipe out all short sellers in one fell swoop.
A corner of the hall.
Henry Paulson, the head of Goldman Sachs who just took office last year, got the exact date from Simon. After asking a few questions, he turned to another topic: "Simon, in South Korea, can you tell us what you are planning to do specifically?"
If Hong Kong has reached a tacit understanding, in South Korea, even among the people at the reception, only a few people know about Simon's plan.
Goldman Sachs is an obvious exception.
The current Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin is the previous head of Goldman Sachs. Simon wants to complete the layout of South Korea and cannot bypass the IMF. Therefore, this matter is not a secret to Washington and the Treasury Department. Naturally, it is not a secret to Goldman Sachs. It's no longer a secret.
Therefore, Simon did not deny Paulson, but said: "Henry, regarding South Korea, this is a long-term industrial layout of the Westeros system. You shouldn't be too interested?"
Henry Paulson shook his head and said: "Simon, Goldman Sachs also has many long-term investments."
"In this case, Henry, as long as you are willing, you can join us together this time," Simon said, hesitated for a moment, and simply said: "I plan to eat the entire South Korea."
"Simon, this is not easy," Henry Paulson showed a surprised expression, thought for a moment, and then said, "There are many problems."
“As long as a problem can be solved, it’s not a problem.”
Henry Paulson said: "I have done a lot of research on South Korea. This is a country that has been surrounded by surrounding powers for thousands of years due to its geographical location. "You are very fond of independence and have national emotions that are easily triggered. How do you solve this problem?"
"To be honest, I just did an experiment recently."
"That time on the 18th."
"That's right," Simon said: "If you study further, you will find that the Korean people, the Korean government and the Korean chaebol actually form a very interesting triangle."
Henry Paulson thought for a moment, shook his head and said: "No, this is not a stable triangle."
"I didn't say this is a stable triangle," Simon said with a smile: "I mean, this is a very interesting triangle. The Korean people, the Korean government and the Korean chaebols are actually restraining each other. As long as I take advantage of the contradictions between them, I can eat this country. You know, the one who is behind it all."
"Oh, I can feel it, Simon," Henry Paulson also smiled: "You like to be the mastermind behind the scenes."
"Who doesn't like that?"
As a joke, Henry Paulson continued: "In this era, if you want to control a country, the core is to control the country's economic lifeline. In South Korea, what can be regarded as the economic lifeline is probably automobiles and electronics. Of course, , Finance is also essential. Simon, Goldman Sachs cooperates with Cersei Capital to get involved in South Korea’s finance. How about the remaining cars, electronics, or other things I haven’t seen, how about you do it yourself? "
Regarding South Korea, Simon had no intention of eating it all for himself. He said he wanted to eat it whole, with the intention of eating it together with the Westeros system and the community of interests. The reason why it is still kept low-key and secret until now is mainly to avoid being scrambled for some of the core targets that I like.
Goldman Sachs came forward in advance, and Simon did not refuse. He nodded and said, "No problem."
Henry Paulson was not satisfied, and tried with a smile: "Simon, I'm actually more curious, is there anything I haven't seen?"
Simon would not have any reservations about Henry Paulson, but he also did not intend to leave anything out, saying: "Henry, actually, I have no interest at all in Korean cars."
Henry Paulson raised his eyebrows slightly: "Why?"
Simon said: "Henry, don't you think that an industry that has lasted for a century should be regarded as a sunset industry?"
Henry Paulson shook his head and said: "Simon, the problem is that at this stage, automobile consumption in many emerging countries is still in the initial stage of development, such as China, Eastern Europe, and even Africa in the future. I think automobiles are the same as electricity and communications. , it is a rigid necessity and it is impossible to eliminate it.”
"You are right, Henry, but when it comes to communication, a century ago, long-distance communication relied on telegraphs. Then, in the 20th century, telephones became popular, and then, in the last ten years, mobile communications and the Internet began to rise. This is enough To illustrate the problem. Cars are a necessity, but in my opinion, it’s time for traditional internal combustion vehicles to be transformed and replaced.”
Henry Paulson thought for a moment this time, but could only shake his head: "Simon, I don't see any opportunity for change in the automobile industry. You don't mean electric cars or something like that, do you?"
"Why not?"
"The problems of electric vehicles are much more troublesome than those of internal combustion vehicles, except for the battery part..." Henry Paulson said this, and suddenly looked at the young man in front of him: "If I remember correctly, in the past two years, you seemed to have won IBM’s battery division, Rectery, right?”
"That's right," Simon admitted with a smile, and praised: "Henry, I have to say, your memory is very good."
Henry Paulson smiled slightly and said: "Actually, I happen to know that Simon, your team in China has recently invested in a battery manufacturer called BYD."
Simon nodded again and saw Thomas Renyi and George Soros of the Bank of New York walking towards this side. Finally, he raised his glass to Henry Paulson: "Henry, if you are also optimistic, Goldman Sachs can join us next." Play."
Henry Paulson looked at the backs of the young men who turned to face Soros, and suddenly felt an inexplicable shudder.
Because he understood some of this young man's thoughts.
Cars are a necessity, and Henry Paulson is very confident in his judgment. Although it has been going on for a hundred years, he does not think that humans can get rid of this means of transportation even in another hundred years.
However, this does not mean that diesel locomotives cannot be eliminated.
Think again about what this young man has done.
In less than ten years, the Westeros system can be said to have single-handedly promoted the development of the Internet industry, and Simon has become the world's number one by single-handedly cutting off a large chunk of the Internet industry's interests. A trillion dollar super rich man.
It is not difficult to see that creating an industry involves far more interests than competing for an already developed and mature industry.
As an automobile industry that may still be in urgent need of mankind in the next hundred years, if the Westeros system can single-handedly realize the replacement of internal combustion locomotives by electric vehicles, it will be almost the same as creating an industry. , and the scale of interests involved in the automobile industry, at least in Henry Paulson's view at this time, far exceeds that of the Internet industry.
If this initiative is completed and most of the benefits are reaped again, it may not be impossible for the world's first super-rich man worth US$10 trillion to be born.
How can such ambition not shock people? !
Looking again at a young man who started chatting and laughing with Soros, Henry Paulson temporarily forgot about paying attention to South Korea, and subconsciously began to sort out some possible layouts of the Westeros system involving the future electric vehicle industry.
Henry Paulson is also clear about the three goals of Simon's recent lobbying in Washington. Among them, controllable nuclear fusion that breaks through energy limits. If you think about it for a moment, isn't it just for electric cars
As long as controllable nuclear fusion is realized, the cost of electric energy will be far lower than the mainstream fossil energy used in the current automobile industry, which directly provides the basis for the substantial promotion of electric vehicles.
However, Henry Paulson is not so optimistic about short-term breakthroughs in controllable nuclear fusion technology. He said that the ITER project that the Westeros family plans to fund that he has also heard about recently is just a super-large tokamak experimental device. It will take ten years to build. If you want to realize the mature application of controllable nuclear fusion, even if everything goes well, it will be at least thirty years later.
Thinking of this, Henry Paulson could not help but doubt himself. Could it be that he was too pessimistic
In any case, since Simon Westeros intends to do this, coupled with the successful precedent of the Internet industry, Goldman Sachs has no reason not to follow the bet.
Henry Paulson quickly grasped another key.
Battery.
That's right!
For diesel locomotives, oil is key. For electric vehicles, electricity is not the key, because there are too many sources, and the engine is not the key. With a century of technology accumulation, this is not a problem. Therefore, rechargeable batteries for storing large amounts of power are key.
It is completely conceivable that if all the billions of internal combustion vehicles in the world are replaced by electric vehicles, the demand for batteries will be huge.
Therefore, Henry Paulson had a vague feeling that in the future electric vehicle industry, whoever gets the battery will win the world!