"Nope! What we are doing is not wrong, not exactly, exacerbating the gap between rich and poor in this country. On the contrary, we are helping this country to go down the right path, not further down the wrong path. Soros said categorically.

This is New York's financial district in Central Park, where the Quantum Fund's offices are on the top floor of a building. The people selling hot dogs, shining shoes, or getting haircuts on the streets of the area spend their days dealing with people in suits and leather shoes, and they may never know each other well, but they may never know that these well-dressed and funny people will soon be regarded as devils by those on the other side of the world.

When Fraga and his team returned to New York, they reported the results of their visit to the entire Quantum Fund executives. In addition to what they talked to BOT officials, they also focused on the construction they saw in Bangkok, where almost all the cranes they saw stopped working and there were few people on the construction site, which was a sign that the real estate market in Bangkok had collapsed. According to Asian investment banks, the country's total loans are 140% of GDP, of which more than 50% are bad debts, and more than 85 of Thailand's 90 financial companies are said to be in unsustainable situations.

These shocking figures may be exaggerated, but the top brass of the Quantum Fund present are aware that there is only one way forward for the country, which is to choose to depreciate as soon as possible, rather than continue to support the already dangerous baht.

While great benefits are at hand, Fraga and Rodney. Jones's point still touched some people. At a time when the top management of the Quantum Fund was arguing over whether to go all out to short the baht, Soros stepped forward in time to put an end to the debate over the code of ethics.

"There is no doubt that what we are doing is a speculative act. But the starting point of this behavior is not our malicious short selling, but the huge problems that have arisen in the Thai economy. And our speculation serves to remind governments of the need for urgent change. Take Thailand as an example, and they need to adjust the baht immediately. This kind of adjustment can avoid suffering for ordinary people, because it can still retain at least part of the capital. But if the Thai government delays the currency depreciation for a long time, the more serious the consequences of the eventual currency collapse will be, and it will be more than just a frenzied exodus of foreign capital. Even what little foreign exchange reserves have will be depleted. ”

"Therefore. My personal opinion is that we don't have to go all out in the process of attacking the baht, just make the Thai government aware of their problems and promote their depreciation as soon as possible. ”

"George. So how big of a position do we need to open? "I saw Soros speak. Everyone else was silent. Although most of them agree with Soros's views. But to distinguish whether it is a malicious attack or a "goodwill" reminder, it is still necessary to look at it from the scale of shorting.

When Soros finished speaking, everyone was silent for a long time. In the end, it was Druckenmiller who asked the question on everyone's mind. As one person below and above ten thousand, he naturally has an unshirkable responsibility to raise this sensitive topic.

"Stanley, how much money are we currently investing in Thai baht?" Soros pondered for a moment and then asked Druckenmiller. In the past few years, he has not done much about investment, and the specific things are all carried out through Druckenmiller.

"$2 billion, a very small share." Druckenmiller thought for a moment and came up with a number that surprised everyone.

In January '97, some hedge funds targeted the Thai baht, including the Quantum Fund. However, at that time, the Quantum Fund did not undergo a detailed investigation, so it invested a symbolic part of its position in Thai baht, which was 2 billion US dollars. Now Druckenmiller has revealed this position, which means that there has been no additional funding in recent months.

But there is no doubt that this part of the portfolio must be profitable.

"Then keep this position and don't change, what do you think?" Without even thinking about it, Soros gave an answer that was even more unexpected.

Senior employees who are sympathetic to ordinary Thai people are relieved that Soros has such an attitude, because they don't have to carry the moral baggage that has led to the loss of thousands of jobs. But there is nothing to say about the partners and fund managers who want to bet big, because even if they don't hit the baht, they can make a profit from other places, if done properly.

The most important thing is that Soros has supreme authority within the Quantum Fund, so when he speaks, almost everyone subconsciously complies.

"Sir, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for this kind of behavior to do so at this time." Just when everyone thought that the overall situation had been decided, suddenly a voice suddenly sounded, attracting the attention of almost everyone, including Soros. The person who spoke was none other than the economist Rodney Rodney, who was based in Hong Kong. Jones, it was he who raised the moral implications that led to the discussion.

Now that he has stood up against maintaining his current position, everyone, including Fraga, was shocked, and they did not expect that he would not be satisfied.

After all, they are not presidents or senators, but a group of fund managers who are dedicated to their clients' funds, and the pursuit of profit is their job, not pretending to be saviors and giving charity everywhere!

At the thought of this, most people looked at Rodney. Jones's eyes were a little dissatisfied, and he couldn't help but think that he had to make inches. However, thinking that he was the only one here who knew anything about the East Asian market, he had to reluctantly suppress the resentment in his heart, and pricked up his ears to hear about Rodney. What the hell is Jones trying to say?

"Ronnie, do you have any more suggestions?" Soros's face remained unchanged, and he still looked unfazed. Druckenmiller, who sat at the bottom of him, had a thoughtful expression, and he would not superficially dismiss Jones as mere opposition. In fact, on the economic issues of East Asia. Whether it's him or Soros, to Rodney. Jones's opinion is taken very seriously.

"George, things have changed." Jones stood up, turned on the television in the conference room, and after a moment of tinkering, an East Asian face appeared on the screen, babbling a long speech in a language they didn't understand.

Seeing that there were doubts on the faces of the people present, Jones lost no time in explaining: "This is the Prime Minister of Thailand. Yongchai Yu, his televised speech on the night of the 11th. The content of the speech was to the effect that the Thai government will fully support the Thai baht and will absolutely not allow its depreciation. But. He didn't say anything to death. Zuihou he still said a word, and could not promise to do it. ”

"How so?" Hearing that this "stupid" guy actually made such an ambiguous statement, almost everyone was stunned, they never expected it. The leader of a country would say something that is akin to child's play. Whether this is supported or not. And not only for those present. I'm afraid anyone who hears him is confused.

"The problem is with us!" Jones glanced at Fraga, and seeing that there was not much change in the expression on his face, he continued. "Our visit to Thailand was exposed by the Thai media. This is undoubtedly telling the market that hedge funds are all around them. According to the latest news from Thailand, local investors are extremely uneasy to react to the news of the emergence of US hedge funds in their domestic market, and there has been a wave of selling Thai baht to buy US dollars. The BOT has already begun to intervene in small amounts, which is why Mr. Weishenme, the Prime Minister, said this. ”

Obviously, Fraga had anticipated this reaction, after all, he also had the status of former governor of Brazil's central bank there. Therefore, when the situation took a turn for the worse as a result of his visit, he had already taken a chance.

"So according to your opinion, will the Thai government take the initiative to choose depreciation?" After listening to Soros, his expression still did not change much, but he shifted the topic from the Thai economy to the government.

Jones was stunned, then lowered his head and thought about it, and said with some uncertainty after a long time: "According to my information, the Thai government is unlikely to take the initiative to choose to depreciate, and the market rumors that they have also borrowed a large amount of money from several nearby countries and regions to deal with this crisis." If it weren't for that, Mr. Prime Minister wouldn't have said that. ”

The atmosphere in the conference room was stagnant for a while, and everyone in the room was simply thinking about the economic aspect, ignoring the complex political ecology of Southeast Asia. After being silent for a long time, Soros slammed the dark conference table and said resolutely: "Since this is the case, then let's help him make this decision!" ”

Despite the lack of political awareness, there is a feeling among those present that if the Quantum Fund increases its position, the Thai government will soon realize its troubles in the foreign exchange market, which is likely to prompt them to rethink the feasibility of maintaining a fixed exchange rate system.

"Still, Stanley, if you're going to increase your position, you have to be careful. You know, Thailand's political system is not like the political system we know, and they have more influence on the banking system than we think. Jones wasted no time in reminding.

“haode！” Druckenmiller nodded, "I'm going to increase the size of the funds by 50% in the next three days, and I think this is enough money for the Thai government to understand what they are doing." ”

An increase of 50 per cent, or $1 billion. By then, the entire Quantum Fund's position would be as high as $3 billion, and Druckenmiller was confident. But even when his entire position increased to $3.5 billion, the Thai government did not consider abandoning the fixed exchange rate system, and even launched a counterattack against what they saw as greedy hedge funds.

The level of political awareness of Southeast Asia by these self-righteous Wall Street bigwigs is still at an extremely superficial and naïve level. It's no wonder that when Zhong Shi knew all this, he couldn't help but sigh: "too youngsometimesnaive" (too young, sometimes naïve). (To be continued......)

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