"So, what price are you two willing to pay to acquire how much crude oil from my hands?" Huang He asked with a smile.
"The closing price last night was $45.32 per barrel. We are willing to offer $45.5 per barrel to acquire 300 million barrels of crude oil!" Xu Wen asked immediately.
"We are the same. We are willing to acquire 500 million barrels of crude oil at a price of $45.5 per barrel," Liu Zhenfeng followed closely. It was no wonder that Petrochemical, with half the market value of Oil, was demanding twice the quantity.
"You want that much!" Huang He looked at the two men before him in surprise. "The combined amount is equivalent to 80 days of our country's consumption. Why do you want to buy so much at once?"
China currently consumes approximately 10 million barrels of crude oil per day. 800 million barrels would last for 80 days. This was indeed a massive quantity, and the capital involved was enormous, exceeding $36 billion. The combined liquid capital of the two companies might only be around that amount. Boss Huang genuinely couldn't understand why these two companies wanted to purchase so much in one go.
"Cough, cough, I can't say!" Xu Wen coughed and then pointed to the sky, and then towards the direction of the distant sea. Huang He seemed to understand and then smiled, "If that's the case, then there's no need to buy it all at once."
"Alas, isn't it because oil prices have been rising so wildly?" Liu Zhenfeng sighed helplessly, then glanced at Huang He. "We originally planned to acquire it gradually at the $20 price point. Unfortunately, we were a few days late compared to your fund. The result is a world of difference these past few days, and it has already risen to $45."
"Furthermore, it looks like it will continue to rise. Once our order for a combined 800 million barrels of crude oil enters the market, it will likely immediately push the market price above $50, and the acquisition cost will be even higher then."
"Rather than that, it's better to buy directly from institutions that hold large orders. And after calculating, the only person willing to sell us such a large quantity of crude oil at the current market price is you, Boss Huang. After all, we are all descendants of Yan and Huang from the same lineage. You should give us this face, right!" Liu Zhenfeng said pleadingly, looking at Huang He. It was hard to believe, but this old fellow was almost 50 years old.
However, Liu Zhenfeng couldn't help but show such an expression, as there was simply no other institution in the world that would sell such a large amount of crude oil in hand in this manner.
After all, even a fool could see the upward trend in the crude oil market now. As long as the large quantity of crude oil futures orders in hand was slowly released into the market, and without considering the current trend, selling them gradually over one or two months would allow them to profit at an average price of at least $48, which was definitely more profitable than selling them all at once for $45.5.
Therefore, normal institutions would absolutely not do such a thing. It was only Boss Huang, a renowned nationalist at home and abroad, who might violate basic commercial ethics and morality to make such a decision!
"Alright, don't talk to me like that, I can't handle it!" Huang He waved his hands repeatedly. "Fine, $45.5 it is. I can sell 300 million barrels of crude oil to Petrochemical at this price!"
"Thank you, Mr. Huang!" Xu Wen was overjoyed upon hearing this. He had originally expected a tough negotiation and various exchanges of benefits. His company headquarters had instructed him that if it really didn't work out, he could raise the price to $47 per barrel as a bottom line.
To his surprise, the deal was struck in just a few sentences, and Xu Wen was naturally overjoyed.
"Mr. Huang, what about us, Oil?" Liu Zhenfeng, standing nearby, was dumbfounded. He was the one who had been playing pitiful just now. Xu Wen had remained silent, so why had Petrochemical concluded the deal first?
"Naturally, Oil won't be left out!" Huang He laughed heartily. "I can sell 500 million barrels of crude oil futures to Oil at yesterday afternoon's closing price, which is $45.32 per barrel!"
"Really!" Liu Zhenfeng, this old man nearing 50, actually jumped up in surprise, looking at Huang He in disbelief. Xu Wen, standing beside him, was also stunned. The joy he felt moments ago instantly vanished without a trace.
"Naturally, I have no reason to lie about such a matter!" Huang He smiled, which made Liu Zhenfeng ecstatic.
"Mr. Huang, this is unfair. We clearly came together!" Xu Wen's face turned red, looking at Huang He with great discomfort. They had come to negotiate together, so why could the other party actively lower the price by $0.18 per barrel?
Even though it was only $0.18, considering the volume of 300 million barrels, that was a full $54 million! This amount was enough for him to be severely reprimanded by his headquarters and never be able to hold his head up again in his life.
After all, you two went to negotiate together, so why did you have to pay an extra $0.18? This either meant there was something wrong with your person or your character.
"Alas, there's no other meaning behind this. It's just that seeing Mr. Liu and I sharing a similar sentiment, I couldn't help but feel a bit happy!" Huang He's words were rather ambiguous, but Xu Wen obviously couldn't think in that direction.
After all, even if there were such inclinations, it would be himself, who was somewhat handsome and well-proportioned, not the old, water buffalo-like figure next to him.
Therefore, the only possible explanation for their shared sentiment was... Xu Wen noticed that Liu Zhenfeng and Huang He were wearing the same style of clothing. He suddenly understood.
He had also read reports that when the Jiangnan Group spearheaded the establishment of the technology alliance, there was a situation where people were treated differently based on whether they wore traditional Han attire. Now it seemed that this Boss Huang was indeed a staunch nationalist.
Xu Wen was also a decisive person. After figuring this out, without a word, he took off his suit jacket and threw it aside, saying, "Mr. Huang, how about this?"
"..." Huang He and Liu Zhenfeng were also stunned by Xu Wen's action. This was a negotiation involving tens of billions of dollars in assets. Was it really necessary to be so intense?
Seeing Huang He remain silent, Xu Wen began to unbutton his shirt. Just as things were about to develop in an unpredictable direction, Huang He quickly said, "No! No, I have seen Mr. Xu's sincerity, but this price of $4.32 is not given for free. I have one condition! Both of you must agree to this condition!"
"Please state it, Mr. Huang!" Xu Wen said quickly.
"I know that both Petrochemical and Oil will definitely procure a large number of employee uniforms. The frontline oil workers will naturally wear their work clothes, but I hope that in the future, all clerical staff and business representatives will be required to procure traditional Han attire as their formal wear from our Jiangnan Group.
If it is inconvenient for international business meetings, staff can still choose to wear suits. However, within China, all business activities must be conducted in traditional Han attire. As for the procurement price, it will be settled at the normal price of Western suits, and your companies will not have to spend an extra penny. The contract will last for a total of 20 years," Huang He said.
"This... I need to seek instructions!" Xu Wen really wanted to agree directly, as this condition did not require spending any extra money, only changing the supplier and the style of clothing.
However, this involved the entire company's image and unified dress code, which was not something Xu Wen could agree to alone. Therefore, he immediately called headquarters.
Liu Zhenfeng also had to seek instructions for this.
However, the outcome was not problematic. After all, it involved tens of millions of dollars in huge profits, and the cost did not require spending an extra cent. Besides, international business negotiations were not affected.
Therefore, the senior management of both sides quickly agreed.
The next day, Western Mustang Company released a transaction announcement stating that the company had observed that the current crude oil futures price increase had reached a bottleneck and was likely to enter a stage of repeated fluctuations in the near future. Therefore, after careful consideration, the company decided to reach a procurement agreement with Oil and Petrochemical companies to sell all 900 million barrels of crude oil in its possession at the closing price of $45.32 per barrel on the night before the transaction.
That's right, after finding out about such favorable pricing, both companies increased their procurement volume by 50 million barrels each, purchasing all the crude oil held by the Western Mustang Fund.
In the end, Western Mustang Company reaped a massive amount of funds totaling $42.23824 billion.
As soon as this news broke, the entire market was in an uproar.
In fact, many people in the market were unconvinced. Many of them stated in financial magazines that the Western Mustang Fund held too much crude oil in its heavy positions, and it would be impossible for them to sell it all in a short period unless they intended to drive the crude oil price back down to $30, which would greatly reduce the profit.
But if they were to sell it gradually over two or three months, who knew how the market would change in the future? What if several large oil fields were discovered overnight, and production started immediately, causing the crude oil price to plummet back to $20 per barrel?
As a result, Little Swift finding a buyer so quietly and selling all of his substantial crude oil futures at once was indeed a decisive and ruthless move.
Of course, the vast majority of people were very dismissive of Little Swift's decision. This was because even a fool could see that the price of crude oil futures was bound to remain on an upward trend for a considerable period in the future. Fundamentally, the supply and demand imbalance, where crude oil production could not keep up with global market consumption, had not changed, and thus the price of crude oil would continue to rise.
Unless a global financial crisis suddenly erupted one day, it was not impossible for the price to rise to two or three hundred dollars per barrel in the future.
Therefore, if they were holding 900 million barrels of crude oil, they would definitely seek greater profits instead of selling it all at once. However, some shrewd individuals expressed that this Little Swift was indeed a person of great wisdom.
Firstly, although the price of crude oil would continue to rise, it had indeed reached its current peak. In the future, there might only be fluctuations of a few tenths of a dollar per day. Selling it gradually would waste a lot of time.
It would be better to sell all the crude oil at once, convert it into a large amount of cash, and then find another product that could experience huge fluctuations in a short period to make another substantial profit. This way, they could earn much more income than by selling oil slowly.
However, what would this Little Swift plan to invest in next?