Lower Albert Road, Central, Central Government Offices.

After the handover, the first chief executive, Tong Xinhua, did not choose the former Hong Kong Governor's Office as the office location. One was worried that the British would leave a bug when they retreated, and the other was also because Tong Xinhua was worried that the feng shui of the Hong Kong Governor's Mansion was not good.

Hearing the noise in the conference room, Tong Xinhua now felt that the feng shui of the Hong Kong Governor's Mansion might not be so bad.

Otherwise, how could he face so many difficulties and obstacles as soon as he took office.

In two days, the Hong Kong stock market has plummeted from 7,800 to 7,100 points. However, what worries Tong more than the stock market decline is the declining foreign exchange reserves and the increasingly tight liquidity of the Hong Kong dollar.

Because international speculators are aggressively searching for Hong Kong dollar chips in the market, in order to increase the cost of international speculators' positions, they can only increase the overnight interest rate, and the increase in the overnight interest rate will cause a decline in liquidity, which will directly affect Hong Kong stocks.

In the past two days, the overnight bank lending rate in Hong Kong dollars has been raised from 6.5 percent to 10 percent, and at the beginning of the year, this figure was only 2.8 percent! One can imagine what this means for Hong Kong stocks.

"I don't agree with the direct intervention of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region! This will hurt the foundation and future of Hong Kong as an international financial center!" The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Hao Guanwen, objected loudly, "The FSTB (Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau) has never had a similar precedent!"

"Ridiculous! If the linked exchange rate system collapses and the 100 billion foreign exchange reserves disappear, where will Xiangjiang still be an international financial center! What kind of future will there be?" Ren Zhigang retorted in a stern tone.

"Hong Kong's foreign exchange reserves are still US$80 billion, and the SAR government only needs to regulate interest rates, which can naturally increase the cost of international speculators, and only needs to be dealt with in accordance with the previous three short-selling crises! I seriously doubt the purpose behind the HKMA's strong advocacy of direct intervention!" Hao Guanwen said aggressively.

Ren Zhigang was furious: "What do you think we have in our external reserves of $60 billion? What will happen next? We have been passively beaten all along! How long can these 80 billion yuan be supported? Half a year? In just four months, foreign exchange reserves have dropped by 30 billion! This is the purpose behind what you said about handling the matter according to the rules? What purpose do you think the HKMA can have? I think your purpose is to let these bears use Xiangjiang as a free ATM, right?"

Hao Guanwen's eyes were dripping, and instead of looking at his direct leader, he secretly glanced at Chief Secretary for Administration Shen Yuan Ping'an: "The HKMA's direct entry into the market will hurt the freedom and fairness of Hong Kong! In the long run, it will undoubtedly be an irreparable damage to Hong Kong's competitiveness." I also don't understand why there is a Huaan Fund? In what capacity did they participate in the meeting? If they let them participate, should they also let people from the four major families participate in it? What is it that doesn't hurt fair competition?"

Everyone turned their attention to He Hui, the new head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office at the other end, and Wen Hangsheng on He Hui's right.

In addition to these two people, what attracted everyone's attention even more was a young man on He Hui's left hand who was always smiling.

Founder of Tinder Capital and Matrix Technology, Zack, Zhang Chen.

Everyone understands very well that this meeting is being held today because before the crisis, this young man had submitted a plan to Zeng Xinquan, but because it did not pass internal discussions, the plan was shelved. Now that international speculators are menacing, and Xiangjiang has reached the most dangerous juncture, Zeng Xinquan once again came up with this plan, hoping to be approved to save the precarious Xiangjiang foreign exchange market.

"Ahem. He Hui coughed twice and smiled: "I'm here to answer Director Hao's question, I'm not here today to observe, I'm expressing concern about the situation in Xiangjiang on behalf of Kyoto." Mr. Yang has repeatedly stated that as long as Xiangjiang is in need, the mainland will go all out to support Xiangjiang with all its might. As for Huaan, it is because Huaan has previously submitted to the HKMA and the Financial Secretary a specific strategy on how to resist the financial crisis, but it seems that you have not agreed. There is a saying in the mainland that there is great strength in numbers, and Mr. Tong also took the initiative to invite Hua'an to participate in the meeting and make suggestions together based on this consideration. ”

Tong Xinhua also had to express his stance at this time: "Yes, this time I convened all the people from the three divisions and eleven bureaus to hold a joint meeting to discuss how to deal with this crisis." Huaan, as a representative enterprise of mainland funds, first proposed to hold a discussion meeting, so it was naturally qualified to participate in this topic. ”

"Chief Tong's remarks are not right, Huaan's source of funds and background are very clear to us, Xiangjiang is an international financial center, has always adhered to the principles of free exchange and fair competition, Hua'an's proposal for the HKMA's direct bailout is tantamount to drinking water to quench thirst, there is no need to discuss at all. As soon as Tong Jianhua finished speaking, a woman in her fifties sitting in the middle immediately retorted, although her tone was gentle, but she was aggressive.

It was the Chief Secretary for Administration, Shen Yuan Ping'an, who had just met Hao Guanwen.

Zhang Chen was smiling, but his heart was like water, a few months ago, he had already submitted a response plan to the Financial Secretary Tsang Xinquan, if this plan was implemented, there would be no today's situation.

If Zeng Xinquan adopts it, there will be no chance for Zhang Chen to profit from it.

Of course, he had long known that even if he put the answer in front of Zeng Xinquan, he would not be able to push it forward.

Consumed.

Just by looking at the words of these people, you can know how great the difficulties faced by Tong Xinhua and Zeng Xinquan are.

Outside, there are Soros Druken, Miller, Julian Robertson, Steve Cohen, and inside, there are real power figures such as Shen Fang Ansheng who do not listen to orders and disobey the yang under the instigation of the former suzerain.

The plan submitted by Zhang Chen to Zeng Xinquan has already detailed the strategy that the SAR government should adopt, and when it was submitted to the joint office for discussion, it was unsurprisingly met with strong opposition, of which the most vocal opposition was that of Chief Secretary Shen Yuen Ping, one of the three giants.

Even though Tong Xinhua and Shen Yuan'an do not have the same views on many issues, after serving as chief executive, they can only nominate Shen Yuan'an to continue to hold the high position of chief secretary.

"Mrs. Shen, if the SAR government does not directly enter the market, is there any good way for you to defeat international speculators?" Tong Xinhua gently kicked the ball to Shen Yuan Ping'an.

Shen Yuan Ping'an smiled slightly: "Chief Tong, you just said the word defeat, but I have a question, why do we have to be defeated? I think we all got a wrong question -- what exactly do we do? The SAR government is not antagonistic to any party, even if it is a so-called international speculator, as long as the investment is in Xiangjiang and complies with the laws of Xiangjiang, the SAR government should provide services without discrimination. Hong Kong was shorted this time because we stubbornly adhered to the linked exchange rate system, which led to the growth of bubbles, and the stock market fell sharply these times, but it was just to remove these false bubbles and let the market return to rationality. I believe that as long as we stick to the original economic management mechanism, Hong Kong will be revitalized and more prosperous than ever after the crisis recedes. ”

What Shen Yuan Ping'an advocated was actually Hayek's set, which was very popular in the 90s, advocating the self-regulation of the market.

Shen Yuan Ping'an's words won the approval of many people in the audience, Ren Zhigang and Zeng Xinquan glanced at each other and shook their heads secretly.

"Mrs. Shen, I don't agree with you, as the head of the Financial Department of Hong Kong, I have the obligation to maintain the financial order of Hong Kong. At present, we have lost $30 billion in foreign exchange reserves because of the stirring up of international speculators. According to the HKMA's calculations, our tipping point is US$22.4 billion, which means that once our external reserves fall below this level, our public debt will not be able to be repaid, and the SAR government will face a bankruptcy crisis. The prosperity of the entire Hong Kong economy is based on the stability of its financial order, and if the Hong Kong dollar falls sharply and the linked exchange rate system collapses, the foundation of Hong Kong as an international financial center will be lost, which is completely unacceptable to us. ”

"Also, I have to warn you. Zeng Xinquan looked directly at Shen Yuan Ping'an, "Mrs. Shen, as the chief secretary for administration of Hong Kong, should take the well-being of the seven million people of Hong Kong as the supreme criterion. If Xiangjiang declines, it will not only be Xiangjiang and the Chinese mainland that will suffer, but also the seven million ordinary people in Xiangjiang!"

Shen Yuan'an's eyelids jumped twice, his heart was annoyed, and he smiled without saying a smile: "Thank you Director Zeng for reminding me, and I must also remind you that it is for the sake of the well-being of the seven million people in Xiangjiang that I, as the Chief Secretary for Administration, resolutely oppose the direct entry of the HKMA into the market! Not a penny of the HKMA is its own! The money of the HKMA is for the people of Xiangjiang! It is the medical expenses of the people of Xiangjiang, their pensions, and the education subsidies for their children... Now you only rely on this so-called plan, you have to use a huge amount of money to directly start a war with international speculators, after entering the market, who will be responsible for the losses caused!? Who can be responsible!?"

There was silence at the scene, and Shen Yuan Ping'an's words went straight to the core of the problem, yes, nominally speaking, all the money is entrusted to the HKMA, and not a penny of money belongs to the government, who will bear this responsibility?

————————————————————————————————

Tong Xinhua walked into the personal lounge with an angry face, it was tea break, there was no progress in the first half of the meeting, and when everyone was meeting, Hong Kong stocks fell by more than 80 points, and the 7,000-point mark was about to fall.

"I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed. Tong Xinhua looked sorry, "Kyoto is so concerned about Xiangjiang and is willing to lend a hand, but we are still fighting in the nest, Director He, Zhang Sheng, and Mr. Wen, let you laugh." ”

He Hui waved his hand solemnly: "Mr. Tong, there is no need to say kind words, let's think about what to do." ”

Tong Xinhua rubbed his face and sighed: "If the review cannot be passed, the possibility of the HKMA directly entering the market is very low, which is not in line with the procedure, and none of us can bear this responsibility for the consequences." ”

He Hui pursed his lips: "Is there no other way? You have also spoken to Mr. Yang on the phone before, he should have reaffirmed his support for the SAR government, you don't have any worries." ”

Tong Xinhua gritted his teeth: "Okay! If you really can't do it, you will give the chief executive's order!

After the chief executive's order, Tong Xinhua took all the responsibility on his shoulders, and he was naturally unwilling to do this kind of thing unless it was absolutely necessary, but the matter has come to this point, and there is no good way.

Zhang Chen, who had not spoken, suddenly smiled: "Mr. Tong, in fact, there is no need to be so embarrassed, the focus of the contradiction now is whether the HKMA directly enters the stock market, right? As long as the HKMA does not enter the stock market, the other parts of the plan I submitted can be approved, right?"

The plan presented by Zhang Chen is a very complete plan, including the new changes that the HKMA needs to make to its financial transaction policy, including seven technical measures to improve the linked exchange rate system and 30 measures to protect the stability of the securities market.

These measures include shortening the delivery period for stocks and stock index futures from 14 days to 2 days, making short positions have to be covered within 2 days, reducing leverage on stock index futures, imposing a special margin of 150% on investors holding 10,000 long-term or short-term stock index futures contracts, improving the transaction reporting system, reducing the minimum number of large stock index futures contracts that need to be reported from 500 units to 250 units, so that regulators can fully understand the situation of speculators, etc.

Tong Xinhua was stunned for a moment and thought for a while: "As an exchange condition for the HKMA not to directly enter the market, it should be approved, but it will take at least a month to implement the transition period, which is far from quenching the thirst." ”

Zhang Chen smiled: "It's okay, in this case, the HKMA can not enter the market, as long as it announces that these new trading measures will be implemented from January 1 next year." ”

Zeng Xinquan on the side was shocked: "These are all auxiliary measures, if you don't intervene in the stock market, hold up the stock index, and prevent international speculators from making profits from shorting the stock index, there is no way to stop international speculators from continuing to cash out from Xiangjiang!"

Zhang Chen smiled: "It doesn't matter, Hua'an will do the things of entering the market, you just need to stabilize the interbank lending rate." ”

Huaan?

Tong Xinhua was originally a business tycoon, his net worth was a few points stronger than Zhang Chen, and his family business OOCL has been entrenched in Xiangjiang for decades, and he has a lot of business experience, so it is impossible not to know how much money it will cost to support the market.

At least 100 billion Hong Kong dollars!

They also know that the establishment of Hua'an was originally intended to use mainland funds to stabilize the economy of Xiangjiang, but after the stock market crash a few months ago, Hua'an was silent for a long time, thinking that the mainland was scared.

Mr. Yang has indeed said many times that he will do whatever it takes to maintain the stability of Xiangjiang's economic order, but who knows what the price is at all costs?

Tong Xinhua couldn't help but cast his eyes on Wen Hangsheng and He Hui.

Wen Hangsheng nodded, "Mr. Zhang Chen can represent Hua'an with full powers. ”

He Hui also took out a letter from his jacket pocket and handed it to Tong Xinhua: "This is from Mr. Yang." ”

Tong Xinhua took out the letter and glanced at it, "Zhang Chen is hereby authorized to handle Huaan Company's response to the financial turmoil in Xiangjiang." ”

Signed, Yang Zhuping.

The three divisions and eleven bureaus are the basic structure of the Heung Kong government, namely the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary and the Department of Justice, and these three departments report directly to the Chief Executive, that is, the Chief Executive.

These bureaus have been increased or decreased several times, and now they should be three divisions and thirteen bureaus.

(End of chapter)