The Nasdaq technology sector saw company valuations soaring.

Profit growth clearly lagged behind the increase in stock prices, and the profit amounts were often small. Only a handful of companies, including Microsoft and Oracle, were genuinely making substantial money.

The bubble was growing larger.

Zheng Yongwen warned that chasing high prices would lead to a bad end. Su Yehao agreed with this, but he had innate advantages that others didn't, and felt he could gamble a little more. So he didn't take the deputy dean's reminder to heart, only saying that he knew what he was doing.

Seeing that Zheng Yongwen didn't have any intention of collaborating on leveraged trading, Su Yehao wouldn't force him.

If the person in charge of trading lacked confidence, why would he hand money over to them? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble? He might as well continue muddling through on his own, at least with some degree of certainty.

With the former chief financial advisor's temperament, Su Yehao admitted he didn't have the ability to completely control him.

For instance, what if Deputy Dean Zheng Yongwen suddenly had the urge to short the Nasdaq index, or short companies like America Online or Yahoo? At this crucial moment, wouldn't that be like hammering nails into his own coffin, tired of living?

Therefore, he stopped mentioning it.

Su Yehao ordered a yellow beef claypot rice, while the little girl ate grilled lamb chops.

Zheng Yongwen didn't hold back, ordering caviar, white truffles, Iberian ham, and everything else, probably because he was hungry and taking the opportunity to take advantage of a big spender.

Wagyu beef looked beautiful, but the meat was too tender. It wasn't as fragrant as yellow beef, which had a satisfying chewiness.

After taking a bite of rice and sipping some orange juice to moisten his mouth, Su Yehao said,

"Running an exchange business guarantees a steady income, regardless of whether the market is bullish or bearish. Moreover, the more volatile the market, the more money it makes. It's truly a good project. What if, and I mean hypothetically, another new exchange similar to the American Nasdaq was opened in Hong Kong, with low listing requirements and the ability to have different voting rights for different shares? Do you think it would be feasible?"

Without even thinking about it.

Deputy Dean Zheng Yongwen shook his head directly, chewing on caviar and speaking unclearly,

"Replicating a Nasdaq in Hong Kong?"

"Don't dream. Look at how many companies and how much capital the U.S. has. Hot money from all over the world flows there. How big is the Hong Kong market? Its daily trading volume isn't even a tenth of theirs. Unless the Hong Kong government strongly supports it and companies in high-tech, medical, telecom, and other industries from all over Asia come here to list, but since there's already a Nasdaq, why would they choose you?"

"And also, most directly, who would provide the capital for the IPOs? Hoping that Hong Kong's wealthy people will support small companies with uncertain futures is like hoping they'll continue to reclaim land and build buildings. What else do they know besides collecting rent? They're far worse than second-generation rich guys like you."

"..."

After listening, Su Yehao chuckled.

He didn't know whether to thank him or roll his eyes at him.

He was being praised, but his father was being insulted. Land reclamation, rent collection, building construction—Su's father was involved in them all.

Thinking about his own father's initial attitude toward his business, he immediately understood that it would be difficult to raise funds solely from Hong Kong. Unsuccessful IPO listings would naturally not be attractive to entrepreneurs.

As for the mainland... there were too many profitable projects, and probably no one would be willing to risk investing in startups with a bright future. The risk was a bit too high.

If they hadn't been so shortsighted, the internet companies of his previous life wouldn't have been taken advantage of by foreigners, with a large concentration of shares in the hands of outsiders.

They wouldn't have kept clamoring about how buying was better than building, ultimately ending up being strangled. In reality, there were opportunities to enter the market, but they failed to seize them in time, letting a bunch of compradors in disguise profit handsomely.

Thinking about it this way, he immediately realized that his idea of creating an exchange similar to the Nasdaq was unrealistic, at least for now. He didn't have that kind of power yet.

Su Yehao was definitely not the type to stubbornly persist even after hitting a wall. Since he felt it wouldn't work, he asked Zheng Yongwen, "Then, what if the merged Hong Kong Stock Exchange was reformed, with separate AB share structures and low-threshold financing and listing measures specifically targeting the medical and high-tech industries?"

"This... to be honest, I hadn't thought about it."

After frowning and considering for a moment, Zheng Yongwen continued, "As long as the board of directors is controlled, it shouldn't be too difficult. After all, the Nasdaq is developing very well, and with that example in front of us, I don't think anyone would turn down money. It also aligns with the Hong Kong government's desire to develop the high-tech industry. But why are you so focused on this aspect?"

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Su Yehao wiped his mouth and said, "You have your ambitions, not wanting the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to be controlled by multinational capital, and I also have my ideals. To sum it up, it's probably to solve the financing difficulties for a group of high-quality startups, especially those from the mainland, and to prevent them from being harvested by Europe and the United States. My vision is relatively long-term, and I always feel that if I do this, it will be very beneficial in the future."

After a moment of silence.

Deputy Dean Zheng Yongwen laughed and said, "Unexpected, completely unexpected. You've made me look at you in a new light. Neither of us wants to be ridden on by white people. We have such great understanding, shouldn't we open a bottle of Romanée-Conti to celebrate?"

Su Yehao ignored his words and only said, "Romanée-Conti is also produced in Europe. If we're going to drink, let's drink Changyu, there's plenty of it."

"No need, no need to be so harsh, right? I have a cabinet full of French wine at home, can't possibly smash it all..."

Nangong Tian was sitting beside them, happily eating her lamb chops.

Listening carefully to what Hao-ge was saying, she always felt that Hao-ge was talking about something big with the old man across from him.

Although she didn't know the significance of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, since even Su Yehao was so interested and said it guaranteed a steady income regardless of the market conditions, it seemed like it was quite a profitable venture.

Pleased that Zheng Yongwen was praising Hao-ge, the little girl suddenly found the deputy dean much more agreeable.

That's just how it was.

——————————————

After the meal.

Su Yehao and Nangong Tian walked hand-in-hand along the streets of Central.

He no longer cared about the occasional rumors and gossip in public places. Anyway, whether it was Yin Liuli or Nong Qingying, they were pretty much aware of the situation, and had probably gotten used to it over time.

As for Jiang Yu, there was even less to say. Ever since leaving the Maldives, there had been a strange understanding between the three of them.

Of course.

Taking the relationship a step further, it was still too early to get them together for a game of mahjong. In Su Yehao's opinion, none of them were easy to deal with, so it was best not to bring them together unless necessary.

The little girl asked at that moment, "Hao-ge, are you planning to invest in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange?"

"Yes, whether it will succeed is another matter. Even if I get in, I won't necessarily have a say. It's likely that it will just be an investment in the end. The price isn't high, so it's worth a try."

Su Yehao had completely calmed down.

He realized that with his current strength, getting involved in this kind of deal was still a bit too weak.

Morgan, Citi, and HSBC—which one of them wasn't a giant managing hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars? Trying to snatch meat from their mouths was incredibly difficult.

Fortunately, the suggestion to create a Hong Kong version of Nasdaq seemed to align with their interests.

In this era, Europe and the United States generally didn't pay enough attention to Asia. If Japan wanted to step in, it might be suppressed, after all, it was the world's second-largest economy and was being watched closely by the Americans.

But Hong Kong should be fine. It was originally one of the "overseas bases" for foreign capital in Asia. As long as everyone could make money, it would be relatively easy to negotiate.

Considering that Hong Kong and the mainland were separated by a river, it was always easier to move capital than going to the United States. Although it was impossible to completely block foreign capital, there was at least a chance to guide a batch of mainland funds into the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The situation would definitely not be worse than in his previous life, and that was enough.

He was just thinking about it for now.

Getting involved in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was just Zheng Yongwen's side of the story. Nothing was set in stone yet, so there was no use in thinking too much about it.

Su Yehao changed the subject and said that he had received some tickets to Milan Fashion Week in the spring and had the opportunity to take her to Italy for a trip.

Of course, the little girl was happy to hear such good news, saying that she wanted to buy some new clothes and also visit the scenery in Rome, Venice, and other places.

Coincidentally, the plane that Su Yehao had ordered was about to arrive soon. After waiting for more than a year, it was almost ready for delivery...