Chapter 1 When Opportunity Arises

When Su Yebiao and Zheng Yongwen were having breakfast, the Tokyo Stock Exchange had already opened due to the time difference. Countless shareholders scrambled, willing to cut their losses, causing the Nikkei index to plummet. After Kong Tiancai, who was stationed at the company, briefly reported the situation in Tokyo via mobile phone, Su Yebiao, while eating his steaming wonton noodles and sipping the broth, shook his head and said,

'That won't do. I think I should say something to avoid the hard-earned stability from deteriorating again, and at least minimize panic selling.' Zheng Yongwen chuckled and spoke frankly,

'With today's situation, even if you speak, it won't help much. I advise you to observe for a few days and wait for the storm to pass before intervening to support the market.' 'Brother Yong, how many days do you think it will take for the market to stabilize?' 'Observation, analysis, wrangling, compromise... By the time the whole process is complete and the old guys across the Pacific reach a conclusion, it will probably be November. Since the problem has already emerged and coincided with the critical moment of the donkey and elephant fighting, both sides have their own plans and won't easily end this crisis.'

After listening to Zheng Yongwen, Su Yebiao replied, 'That's what I think too. Now that we've chosen a hard landing, how can we compromise or drag things out?' 'Exactly. Hesitation only breeds chaos. Thinking about it, the A-share market has been falling since the end of last year. Once the subprime mortgage crisis passes, the probability of a rebound seems high.' 'Yes, it's already fallen to the bottom. The good opportunity to bottom-fish is coming.'

Where there is risk, there is often opportunity. Every financial crisis is a prime time for the big fish to eat the small fish. In the past two or three years, Su Yebiao's business map, while expanding in size, hasn't changed much. Considering his weakening grasp of the situation, Su Yebiao planned to deploy some stable traditional businesses, rather than blindly pursuing ultra-high profits. The financial industry, about to suffer a devastating blow, caught his eye.

The main targets for the planned acquisitions were concentrated in the banking industry, as well as investment banking and asset management. Some core assets that were once heavily guarded are now hot potatoes, offering an opportunity to bargain hunt at low prices.

It was quite interesting. In Hong Kong from 1997 to 1998, cross-border hot money was just as ambitious, eyeing the fragrant meat in the bowl. Ten years had passed, the wheel of fortune had turned, and American stocks were now being besieged by short sellers. Su Yebiao, who had just turned thirty, was no longer the nobody who could only pick up scraps.

He took another sip of the noodle soup. Su Yebiao continued, 'I need to portray myself as a victim. When the time comes, I'll have people write articles in advance, detailing how miserable I am and how much money I've lost. To avoid being seen as the mastermind behind the scenes, I also need to...'