Chapter 783: One Family at a Time (Two in One)

IDG CEO Xiong Xiaoge's live broadcast post on Zhihu, in which he was deeply involved, is destined to be mentioned repeatedly in the future.

Whether it is Zhihu's internal or external media, whether the short-selling result is profitable or loss-making, when the final result is announced, the vision of Xiong Xiaoge, a well-known investor, and the judgment of the richest man in the mainland will be screened again.

However, some people also analyzed that just because Zhihu has grabbed a lot of attention and influx of traffic this time, CEO Xiong's operation will not lose money. The only thing that makes people complain is that he is the president of IDG, but he only invested 100,000 yuan and claimed that his entire fortune was all his. Even if it was a joke, it seemed too stingy.

Only Fang Zhuo hesitated after hearing about this, not sure whether Lao Xiong's words were a joke.

Finally, he asked Yiguo Electric Appliances in Beijing to pick a holiday to send shopping cards to Lao Xiong who stood up to support him, and also personally went to Zhihu to write a reply, which was considered to be a complete mutual understanding.

Yike press conference and Fang's actions spread through different channels. Zhihu and Xiong, who are enthusiastic about it, were the fastest to respond. The other person who had the biggest response was Huang from Gome.

When Lehman Brothers shorted Yike, in addition to a friend in China who was suspected of helping with the research, Huang always took the lead, spoke actively, and then shorted Yike.

When he saw Yike's information-intensive press conference through the media, people around him also analyzed the success or failure of the two shorts.

Huang was very confident about this.

"Fang Zhuo shorted Lehman, which is in line with his character."

"But even if Lehman had problems, does it prove that Yike has no problems?"

"Fang Zhuo brought in domestic operators to try to prove how promising his mobile phone project is, but the mobile phone market has long been a red ocean. Will Nokia be afraid of competitors? Will Samsung be afraid of competitors?"

"The mobile phone market is a mature market, a very market-oriented competition. If Fang Zhuo can recreate the myth of consumer electronics of the player, I, I..."

General Huang didn't organize his words for a while, and sneered before saying: "I will go in again."

The last time was unforgettable for him, and nothing could better express his determination to judge.

With such determination, General Huang expressed his willingness to continue shorting Yike when he met reporters again.

Gome and Yiguo had already torn their faces, and this shorting was just "returning the favor in the same way".

However, on August 20, Mr. Huang suddenly received news in his office that the Bear Stearns team, a potential partner that he had been contacting for a while, had arrived in China in advance and landed in Shanghai, and then went to visit Fang Zhuo.

"Visiting Fang Zhuo? Do they know each other? Do Kane and Fang Zhuo know each other?"

Mr. Huang was stunned, and he had no idea that James Kane, the CEO of Bear Stearns, would have any connection with Fang Zhuo.

The secretary knew what the boss had said through the media in the past two days, and knew that he attached great importance to the cooperation with Bear Stearns. He replied a little embarrassedly: "Bear Stearns said that they wanted to meet friends in China... I don't know if it's a courtesy..."

Mr. Huang frowned, and suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

Almost at the same time, Fang Zhuo received a call from James Kane unexpectedly.

Faced with a somewhat sudden visit, he did not refuse.

To say that the CEO of this giant investment bank, the first time they met was also at the charity dinner of the New York Institute of Economics, but the two did not communicate too much, just exchanged phone numbers and chatted for a few words.

Later, Fang Zhuo attended many celebrity banquets in New York and met Kane for the second time. The communication lasted a little longer, but the impression left was not deep.

In the two meetings, James Kane smiled and looked like a good guy, which was a sharp contrast to the head of Lehman Brothers, the "gorilla" Fuld.

As one of the five major investment banks on Wall Street, Bear Stearns ended up better than Lehman Brothers and was eventually acquired by Morgan.

Fang Zhuo personally had no idea about Bear Stearns. As for the future actions of the MIGA Fund, it depends on whether it conforms to business logic.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, at Hang Lung 23, Fang Zhuo met Kane who came from afar.

Soon, after the greetings, he knew the purpose of the other party.

Kane led the Bear Stearns team to Hua Xia with three main goals: one was to sell CDO securities, the second was to strengthen Hua Xia's business, and the third was to negotiate investment in Hua Xia's retail industry.

Today's visit was aimed at the first goal.

Bear Stearns' CDO bonds could not be sold to Hua Xia individuals. This time they were going to sell them to domestic banks. Kane had just learned that Mr. Fang was also a director of ICBC and Bank of China, so he made an early trip and wanted him to mediate.

Fang Zhuo thought it was reasonable, but he couldn't be a victim, nor could he bring the bank to be a victim.

He pushed the issue and said ambiguously that his position as a director was not what Kane imagined, but was purely an additional factor.

As for more things, there was no need to say anything. Those who understood would understand, and those who didn't understand would forget it.

Kane really understood, but he didn't force it. He thought that the relationship was probably not in place, and there was still time to talk about cooperation during this trip to Hua Xia.

The main matter between the two came to an end, and they also talked about Bear Stearns's investment in Hua Xia.

Kane asked Mr. Fang about potential partners: "Mr. Fang, we are optimistic about China's retail industry. We plan to join hands with Gome, the number one home appliance retailer, to invest in other retail and integrate the industry. What do you think? Is Gome a good partner?"

Fang Zhuo just heard Kane talk about his third goal in China, but when he heard Gome's name, he couldn't help laughing: "Kane, you shouldn't ask me, you must not have understood Gome's situation well."

As the CEO of an investment bank, Kane couldn't be in charge of every detail. He was just browsing the report. After listening to the report, he asked in surprise: "Is there something wrong with Gome?"

"Although Gome has slipped from the first place to the second place in home appliance retail, there is no problem." Fang Zhuo disdained to lie about this and said, "There was a fierce competition between me and Gome. If you ask me, it is difficult for me to give an objective answer."

Kane was even more surprised, but still smiled and said: "Then I should ask the right person. Isn't it its competitors who know a company best?"

Fang Zhuo is actually not a polite person. Since you said so, it doesn't hurt to talk about it.

"Gome's market share has declined. There are many factors involved. It still has strong competitiveness."

"There is no problem with Bear Stearns choosing it as a partner."

"It's just..."

Fang Zhuo gave a twist: "Gome's liquidity is limited by competition and will not be so abundant. If you cooperate to invest in retail industries other than home appliances, I personally think that Bear Stearns should take the initiative."

"Gome's subsequent industry competition is worth paying attention to. Let Gome spend money first for the initial investment. If there is no problem with the previous investment and there is no problem with Mr. Huang, you Bear Stearns will continue to invest."

"Gome will not refuse. On the contrary, it will be slightly urgent. After all, Bear Stearns will not run away."

He guessed that Gome must be more eager to cooperate with Bear Stearns. Mr. Huang still has money to invest, so let him invest first. Bear Stearns will not run away. It will only be acquired in a mess.

Kane thought about it and Mr. Fang's suggestion was fine. The reminder was also well-intentioned.

He nodded and thanked the suggestion from Gome's competitor.

It was already late afternoon, so a welcoming banquet was naturally set up.

As the dinner was about to end, Fang Zhuo was a little curious about what the head of the investment bank thought of his shorting another investment bank.

Kane's reaction was very flat: "Eco's product sales are great, and the copyright cooperation with music companies such as Sony is also good. There is no reason for Lehman to short Eco, and similarly, there is no reason for you to short Lehman. The growth of the US real estate market may slow down, but the prosperity of CDO bonds will continue."

He added a few more words: "Debt that can be traded is not debt, but assets. CDO is certainly built on subprime debt of real estate, but its prosperity has to some extent exceeded the level of real estate and relies more on the financial system and credit. Everything is within the controllable range."

James Kane's attitude is very firm, and his perspective is also very interesting.

CDO relies on the financial system, and the financial system is backed by the United States. Even if there are risks, they are only risks within the controllable range. If the risks are controllable, are they still risks for the giants?

During the financial crisis, some investment banks went bankrupt, some were acquired, and some were still profitable. The judgment of different senior executives was an important factor.

Fang Zhuo thought of Goldman Sachs and felt that Goldman Sachs bought a large number of CDS to hedge its CDO holdings. Perhaps it was because Paulson saw more comprehensive and detailed data after becoming a financial steward, and thus made the judgment that risks were not necessarily controllable.

That night, Fang Zhuo, who had drunk a little, returned home and opened Zhihu, which he had been checking in recent days.

The questions and answers on Zhihu are very active.

Fang Zhuo simply replied to two posts, both of which received a lot of likes.

As he was drinking tea, he saw another dispute over "shorting" and answered a question with some disapproval: "Shorting, long, bearish, bullish, these reports are not so mysterious, but they are always driven by additional factors."

"Don't be obsessed with Lehman's name and think that the reports it issued are so high-end."

"If Lehman can issue a short report, Goldman Sachs can issue a bullish report tomorrow."

"That's it, just proceed from reality."

Fang Zhuo mainly felt that everyone was a little too obsessed with halo. In fact, some reports might be written by interns. How to judge still requires independent thinking and proceed from reality.

I thought such an answer was just a regular like.

Unexpectedly, one night later, Fang Zhuo saw a statement from Goldman Sachs Huaxia in his office the next day, which roughly meant that the company was not influenced by other parties, and its views on the company were neither referenced by peers nor driven by specific people.

This is Goldman Sachs Huaxia's implicit rebuttal to the remarks of Mr. Fang Zhuo, the richest man in mainland China - Mr. Fang is right, why do you mention us for no reason?

The statement was reposted on Zhihu, and many people x-on:Fang Zhuo for different purposes.

Fang Zhuo was a little helpless and had to add a sentence under the original answer: "I'm not talking about you."

Just when the crowd of spectators were wondering, just in the evening, several financial institutions in the United States successively released bullish reports on the listed company Yike.

Northern Trust, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs all have "buy" or "overweight" ratings on the stock.

For example, Northern Trust has just cooperated, and issuing a bullish report is not a problem at all. But Deutsche Bank does not mention it, such as Morgan and Goldman Sachs. After contacting them, they are more reluctant to deal with Lehman. Of course, Nor does he agree with Lehman’s short-selling logic.

One company is short, and several companies are bullish.

Who is right?

If Lehman has the aura of an investment bank, then Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are not inferior to it.

Similar to the record-breaking "short selling" of Chinese concept stocks, is there any mystery about this behavior?

This is what Fang Zhuo wanted to express internally, and externally he was just responding normally. He did not really intend to use these short-selling reports to push up the stock price.

As for Goldman Sachs China, it was purely a mistake.

——I’m not talking about you, Goldman Sachs China, I’m talking about your headquarters.

The sudden backstab from the U.S. headquarters put Goldman Sachs China into embarrassment. The vice president who proposed to hurry up and make a statement was reprimanded. This kind of thing should be dealt with coldly. Why do you jump out and attract attention when you are idle?

They didn't explain any more, and treated the situation coldly and gained wisdom after learning from the experience.

Fang Zhuo didn't pursue such little tidbits. Everyone was just messing around and understanding each other.

The next day, Fang Zhuo, who was gradually recovering from the short-selling incident, cheered up, summoned the Yike Investment team, took the stamped and signed equity documents, and went straight to the capital to find Qingzi, who he didn't quite understand this time. .

Ah Qing, you have your way of stealing love, and I have my way of collecting debts.

…

Yi Ke's press conference caused a big stir in China. In contrast, although Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal also participated and reported on it, it did not cause much impact in the United States.

First, Yike's own stock price remains stable, with little profit margin for short and long positions.

Second, Mr. Fang’s short selling of Lehman was similar.

Third, the financial market in the United States is very prosperous. Everyone is busy chasing profits, and the small splash quickly disappears.

But the person involved, Fuld, finally saw the report and knew that Fang Zhuo had conclusively held a press conference on shorting Lehman in a distant foreign country.

When he was interviewed by Bloomberg, he also laughed loudly and only replied: "Hahaha, why doesn't Mr. Fang come to New York to hold a press conference?"

Bloomberg provides VIP members with on-page communication or mutual hostility, and Fuld quickly received a response from Fang Zhuo - "Hahaha, there will be. See you in New York then."

This little boring page communication ended with Fuld's last words - "Hahaha, waiting for you."

Not many people paid attention to the two people's brief report and shout-out, and those who did noticed found it boring, but they were a little confused. Why were these two people "hahaha"?