North originally worried about unexpected changes, so they took the opportunity to send someone to ask Su Yehao, wanting to clarify things face-to-face.

Learning that he simply believed the market value was too high and that assets were in a bubble, so he significantly reduced positions to hold cash and wait and see... there was nothing to discuss.

With an average price-to-earnings ratio of just over sixty, anyone with a discerning eye could see the risk.

Since the beginning of the year, some experts had even declared that the mainland stock market was unreasonable and wanted to completely abandon it, creating another perfect securities trading market instead.

Even a major overhaul, patching and mending, wasn't worth the effort, which showed just how many problems there truly were.

As an insider, Mr. Wang certainly knew whether there were problems in the market. After hearing Su Yehao's explanation, he immediately knew there was no way to change his mind. He couldn't very well let Su Yehao wash his wool clean, just to have it sheared off, knowing the market might fall. That wouldn't be fair, either morally or logically.

And so.

Mr. Wang simply sighed and said:

"I understand your meaning, President Su. The overheated market should indeed be taken seriously. We will formally send a letter according to the procedure, hoping your company can make an official response. However, let's not make too much noise. If there's a way to achieve a soft landing for the market, that would be best. The immediate priority is to prevent the market from overheating further."

"A soft landing... that's not easy. I admit that some companies have enormous investment potential. As long as they develop quickly enough, they can quickly smooth out the bubble, turning unreasonable inflated values into reasonable value."

Su Yehao clicked his tongue, then sighed and said:

"But, there are over a thousand listed companies in the mainland. It's impossible for them all to be good companies; there must be a lot of bubbles."

"With them causing trouble, even if I think the part of the companies I invested in have the potential to soar, they will still be dragged down, plummeting along with them."

"I myself don't care; I can patiently wait. The investors in 5s Asset Management Company won't think that way. This cash-out is mainly to prevent a large number of redemptions from open-ended fund investors after the market falls. As one of the pilot enterprises, relevant risks should also be notified to other fund companies..."

As the initiator of open-ended funds, Su Yehao needed to take some responsibility for investors. He worried that investors weren't rational enough and lacked in-depth understanding of the risks of the fund industry.

The so-called low risk of funds was only relative to other higher-risk investment methods. Under his influence, the total scale of the mainland fund industry had exceeded 130 billion RMB, involving countless families.

Even if fund companies diversified their investments to reduce some risk, a collective crash in the entire market was like the table holding the baskets collapsing. Who could truly escape unscathed?

5s Asset Management Company's large-scale reduction of holdings meant that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), as the management, needed to send a public letter of inquiry as part of the process. 5s Asset Management also needed to respond within the specified time, giving investors an answer.

Considering the recent severe market situation, if 5s Asset Management Company provided an explanation, it could also, to a certain extent, curb the further overheating of the stock market.

But in this way, the fact that 5s Asset Management Company was quietly cashing out would naturally be impossible to hide.

From receiving the CSRC's letter of inquiry to providing a response, there was a time difference in between. It was estimated that they could still cash out another one or two billion RMB. Anyway, with more than seventy billion RMB already cashed out, 5s Asset Management Company had sufficient funds and had basically reduced the risk to a controllable level. Su Yehao didn't think there was a big problem.

Speaking of the mainland stock market, the current situation was indeed dangerous.

At the beginning of the year, the market index was already as high as 2077 points, and now it had further risen to 2210 points. Even returning to last year's level meant a drop of at least 20% to 30%. The key was that there was no way to achieve a soft landing, and Su Yehao couldn't do anything about it.

...

After a brief conversation.

After seeing Mr. Wang off, Zheng Yongwen came to sit on the sofa and said:

"The mainland is likely to open new channels in the short term, clearing obstacles for foreign companies to buy shell companies for listing. Your Sihai International hasn't been listed yet; could it be that you're waiting for that?"

As the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), Zheng Yongwen certainly hoped that more outstanding companies would be listed on the HKEX.

Su Yehao heard his meaning and shook his head with a smile:

"No, what shell listing? I've never even heard of it. Does Sihai International not have the strength to list directly? Don't beat around the bush trying to find out. The only reason why Sihai International Group hasn't been listed is simply that there's no need to list yet. I gave my dad a sum of money to run a chain shopping center business. If we calculate an average investment of 250 million RMB per shopping center, we can quickly open thirty or forty of them. Once they reach scale, the company will also become more valuable."

"I almost forgot, you have the most cash on hand right now. Having deep pockets is indeed powerful; you don't even care about financing money."

After Zheng Yongwen finished speaking, he calculated and asked: "One shopping center only requires an average of 250 million RMB? That shouldn't be right; how could it be so cheap?"

"I'm just talking about the shopping center itself; a complex definitely costs more than that. Sihai International is like my family's small vault, storing some idle funds inside, turning them into real estate for long-term holding. In the future, even if we don't do anything, collecting rent every year will bring in tens or hundreds of billions of Hong Kong dollars. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Su Yehao didn't have many goals left in life. Exceeding Wharf Holdings in rental income was one of them.

Hong Kong's Wharf Holdings is the parent company of The Wharf (Holdings) Limited and Wharf Real Estate Investment Company Limited. The famous Harbour City is in its hands. Although the chairman's personal wealth isn't as high as Su Yehao's, he earns money more easily. Basically, it's all real estate invested in early years, and he can just focus on managing and collecting rent.

On the other hand, Su Yehao had entered several highly competitive fields. He used to spend a few minutes a day looking at his financial accounts, but now he spends an average of two or three hours a day on business, and he has to travel on business from time to time.

Of course.

The hard work is paying off. Semiconductor manufacturing, Black Diamond mobile phones, and many other investment projects are still just seeds being incubated. As long as they can gradually form a scale and develop smoothly, the total market value of five Wharf Holdings combined might not even be as valuable as the Apple shares that Su Yehao just acquired.

The 10.2% of Apple shares acquired from Kingdom Holdings was just the beginning. Goldman Sachs had found two more institutions willing to sell Apple shares, adding up to about 4.4% of the total share capital. As long as there was enough cash, taking control was only a matter of time.

Seeing the Su family's business growing bigger and bigger, Zheng Yongwen had long been unable to see through Su Yehao and said with a smile:

"I don't care whether you collect rent or sell, but your family's company can only choose the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for listing. As a shareholder, don't turn your elbows outward. The newspapers say you've been making big moves in Silicon Valley again, spending hundreds of millions of dollars in a row. It's a pity that after the launch of the Science and Technology Innovation Board, not even a core company to support the scene can be found. That Google of yours..."

"Don't even think about Google. Even if I'm willing, other investors probably won't agree. We'll see how it goes and give priority to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Science and Technology Innovation Board, okay?"

Su Yehao got up, stretched, and said in a lazy tone:

"You go ahead and get busy. I'm going to find my girlfriend. The mainland stock market is having a hard time, so don't be busy watching the excitement and quickly check for loopholes."

Zheng Yongwen nodded and joked, "Okay, boss. You're one of the major shareholders, so what you say goes..."