The state implements foreign exchange control, there is no legal trading market, black market transactions are rampant, and a number of foreign exchange speculators are active near the Xiangjiang Railway Station and major hotels and guesthouses in Xiangjiang.

Han Rong, who was in a suit and leather shoes, just pushed the car door and met a group of men and women, who surrounded him and asked: "Sir, do you want to exchange Hong Kong dollars?" ”

"Do you want foreign exchange?"

"Sir, they want to exchange it for you, I want you to exchange it for me, Hong Kong dollars, US dollars, British pounds, what do you want!"

……

Han Rong is funny and angry, these people are speculating in foreign exchange in broad daylight, and they actually speculate on him, the president of the Xiangjiang branch of the People's Bank of China and the director of the Xiangjiang branch of the State Administration of Finance and Foreign Exchange.

"I don't have foreign exchange, and I don't need to exchange foreign exchange, please let me go." The law does not hold the public accountable, and even a large number of enterprises are involved in it, and Han Rong is really powerless to deal with these "speculators" who should be severely cracked down.

In 1979, Xiangjiang City was established, and the Xiangjiang Special Economic Zone was established the following year, people from all over the country flocked to Xiangjiang, and the flavor food from all over the country began to enter Xiangjiang one after another.

He doesn't like it here, not because he doesn't like to eat Northeast food, but because he has been out of the ocean here.

Three years ago, he asked for a plate of dumplings and a can of beer here, and poured it for himself. After the meal, ask the waiter to settle the bill, and the waiter will politely say with the bill: pay RMB for dumplings, and please pay Hong Kong dollars for beer.

Is there any mistake? Do you have to pay two currencies separately for a meal?

His first feeling at that time was ridiculous, and he asked if the beer could be paid in RMB? The waiter resolutely disagreed, saying that the beer is imported with foreign currency, and if you give me RMB, I can't use RMB to go to the bank to exchange it for Hong Kong dollars.

As a result, the joke that "the governor of the People's Bank of China pays two currencies for dinner" suddenly spread, and not only the banking system is well known, but even spread abroad, becoming the laughing stock of Western bankers.

Everyone knew he didn't like it, but the people who invited him to dinner always liked it, as if they wanted to confirm the rumors or see his jokes. And he can't help but come, and he can't afford to offend anyone who can invite him to dinner, or he can't offend easily.

"President Han, we've been waiting for a long time, let's go back to that hall?"

The expression of the president of the Xiangjiang Development Bank who seemed to be smiling but not smiling made Han Rong so angry that he couldn't wait to turn around and leave.

The gods fought, the little ghosts suffered, Director Zhou didn't dare to offend the president of the bank, and hurriedly introduced sideways: "President Han, this is Mr. Liu Siwei, chairman of Hong Kong NB Electric, Mr. Li Xiaoshan, general manager of NB Electric China, Mr. Li, I don't need to introduce District Mayor Kong, you two are old friends." ”

"Hello President Han, contemptible Liu Siwei, it's an honor to meet you, this is my business card, welcome President Han to visit our company when you have time."

NB Electric, a well-known foreign exchange earner in Luohu District, is a Hong Kong businessman. Han Rong didn't dare to slack off, took the business card with both hands, and said with a warm smile: "Fortunately, Mr. Liu, although we met for the first time, I have long heard your name." ”

"Where, where, let President Han smile."

"Mr. Liu, don't be presumptuous."

Deputy District Mayor Kong's face was straight, and he said with a sense of concern: "President Han may not know that when applying for investment and factory construction, Mr. Liu promised to earn 1 million Hong Kong dollars, and at that time, the district still thought that the task was a bit heavy, and I felt that I should not put so much pressure on him. But Mr. Liu, the factory broke ground that year, the equipment was put into production that year, and it began to earn foreign exchange that year. Not only did it not hit the discount at all, but it even exceeded 17 million Hong Kong dollars.

Although more than 10 million of them were paid to the second construction of the province and several material companies outside the province as project money and raw material money, the money was still all kept in China. Unlike other foreign-funded companies, they hide and fold some foreign exchange, neither convert it into RMB, nor pay it to business dealings to complete the task of earning foreign exchange, and even if they have money, they have to borrow RMB from the bank to pay workers' wages. ”

Han Rong held Liu Siwei's hand tightly and sighed: "Yes, Mr. Liu, if all foreign businessmen can take care of the overall situation like you, then my life as the president of the bank will be better." ”

Seventeen million is nothing, and more will stay in Hong Kong! If it weren't for the fact that there were people who asked for it, if it weren't for the agreement reached on the exchange rate with the provincial second construction and several domestic raw material suppliers, Liu Siwei would not have done such a stupid thing.

"President Han and District Mayor Kong have a good reputation, this is what we should do, after all, investing in the mainland must abide by the laws and regulations of the mainland."

Governor Gu's stomach was rumbling with hunger, how could he withstand their politeness, and said with a big grin: "Once born and twice cooked, we will all be friends in the future, President Han, please inside, let's go in and eat and talk." ”

The People's Bank of China (PBoC) is a bank that manages banks, does not carry out credit business, and rarely deals with ordinary enterprises. But once you deal with it, it's a big deal, because there is only one possibility - the company has violated the laws and regulations on foreign exchange control.

The executive deputy mayor of Luohu District and the president of the Xiangjiang Development Bank personally accompanied, not to ask clearly, this meal Han Rong really did not dare to eat, the waiter just walked out of the box, and asked with a meaningful smile: "Mr. Liu, Mr. Li, you two have moved out the two Buddhas of District Mayor Kong and President Gu, it must not be just to make friends with me, right?" ”

"You said yours, after a whole day meeting, I'm really hungry."

Governor Gu smiled at Han Rong, grabbed his chopsticks and began to feast. Deputy District Chief Kong smiled and said nothing, neither eating nor drinking, and made it clear that we would eat together after you finished talking.

"President Han," Liu Siwei saluted a cigarette and said straight to the point: "Our company has just submitted a loan application to the Xiangjiang Development Bank, and since this loan is relatively special, I can only ask you for help." ”

"What kind of special law?"

Without waiting for Liu Siwei to speak, Director Zhou blurted out: "President Han, NB Electric wants to borrow 60 million East Marks, not to mention that our bank does not carry out foreign exchange business, and even if it does, there are not so many East Marks. If you borrow RMB, with the strength of NB Electric and the credibility of Mr. Liu, this loan can be disbursed on the same day, but unfortunately Mr. Liu needs East Mark, so we have to alarm you. ”

Two Germanys have two **grams: the East Mark of East Germany and the West Mark of West Germany.

West Germans are proud of SMK, which symbolizes strength, wealth, Mercedes-Benz cars, and private villas. SMS is still an international hard currency, standing on a par with the US dollar and the British pound; The East Mark is not so popular, and the official exchange rate with the West Mark is 5:1, in fact, very few people do this, and it is generally exchanged at a black market price of 10:1.

Together with China, which is a socialist country, does not like the East Mark.

In the fifties, the relations between the two countries were friendly, and the trade between the two sides was frequent, the trade denominated currency was rubles, and the settlement method was mainly barter; In the sixties and seventies, diplomatic and trade relations were at a low point, and bartering was still carried out; From the 70s to the present, bilateral relations have gradually improved, and the volume of trade between the two countries has gradually rebounded, but the currency of trade has been changed from the ruble to the Swiss franc, and the transaction method is still barter.

In short, if the East Mark can not be collected, it will not be collected.

Diplomats from East Germany were extremely dissatisfied with China's trade pricing and settlement method, and even turned their anger to the "Canton Fair". With money, they can't purchase things, claiming that the "Canton Fair" is for the capitalist countries, and they are very faceless from top to bottom.

People with a little financial common sense know that East Mark is not only worthless, but also difficult to purchase the goods you want to purchase from East Mark, Han Rong was confused, and asked puzzledly: "Mr. Liu, what do you want East Mark to do?" ”

"President Han, you must have heard of my company's switch panel, although mass production for half a year, but including a part of the four-star foundry to South Korea, has occupied more than 15% of the market share of Western developed countries, our overseas marketing team is still expanding, and strive to reach more than 30% by the end of next year, that is to say, our foreign exchange earnings next year can double.

To achieve such good results in such a short period of time seems to be very satisfying. However, people have no long-term worries, we can't relax on this, and we still want to do business in Warsaw Pact countries, so for now, investing in Dongde is undoubtedly the best choice. ”

"Dongde has also reformed and opened up?"

"Not for the time being, but according to the feedback of our overseas colleagues, the call for reform among the people of East Germany is very high, and even some people of insight in the government believe that we should learn from China in order to get out of the current predicament."

Borrowing money from China to invest in Dongde was something he could think of.

Han Rong didn't want to help with this, but it was not good to refuse categorically, so he said slowly: "Mr. Liu, the political situation in Dongde is not very stable, the economy has almost collapsed, it is said that it takes nearly half a year for a TV to pay the money to get the goods, and it is very risky to invest at this time!" Why don't you think about other options, such as contacting the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, to see if you can participate in this year's Leipzig International Fair with the delegation. ”

Liu Siwei shook his head and said with a serious face: "President Han, doing business is inherently risky, not to mention that what we want to open is the entire Warsaw Pact country market, not just Dongde. Participating in an international trade fair in Leipzig does not play much in promoting our products. ”

Just because China doesn't like the East Mark doesn't mean that there is no East Mark at all.

First, it is necessary to give others more or less some face, and second, it is also necessary to have a little East Mark reserve, otherwise diplomats stationed in East Germany and students going to East Germany will have to spend strong US dollars or West Marks.

It is not impossible to help the head office digest tens of millions, but the key is that a company with such good benefits and prospects actually wants to run out, instead of expanding the scale of production and generating more foreign exchange for the country.

It's all the fault of the "price break", Han Rong sighed secretly, and asked thoughtfully: "Mr. Liu, your company went to Dongde to invest, what about the domestic side, will it be affected, and how much will it be affected?" ”

Deputy District Chief Kong decided to help Liu Siwei answer this question, took out a freshly printed product sample from his briefcase, and said with a smile: "President Han, the switch business is just one of the many businesses of NB Electric. If you look at this sample, more than 60 kinds of industrial electrical appliances will be fully launched in the next year, and the second phase of the project is launched for the mass production of these products. What's more, Mr. Liu just said very clearly that he only operates a switch business in Dongde, and only sells to Warsaw Pact countries such as the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania. ”

The majority of the money is still in the country, and the loan risk is not borne by the People's Bank of China, just to help exchange it. Han Rong pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Old Gu, Director Zhou, what exchange rate do you two plan to use to adjust this East Mark?" ”

Gu Xingchang put down his chopsticks and asked with a smile: "How about one to five?" ”

He obviously refers to the RMB, not the US dollar or the SMS as the middle price, and even dares to touch the cheapness of the People's Bank, Han Rong scolded with a smile: "You dream about it, how can you let me open my mouth to the leader at this exchange rate?" ”

"One to four to five, you know the East Mark market better than any of us, it really can't be more."

"Old Gu, you think too highly of me! I'm the head of the branch, not the head office, and I know what it does. No matter how you say it, the East Mark is also foreign exchange, and the above will definitely take into account the control issue, and if you want to transfer it abroad, you have to make some concessions. ”

When it comes to the bank's income, President Gu began to bargain like a citizen buying vegetables: "One to four is okay, right?" This is the biggest concession that we can make for the development of incense, otherwise we can only let Mr. Liu find another way. ”

Help the country digest a bunch of worthless East Marks, what a good thing, he is still hesitating, Deputy District Chief Kong was anxious, and said sideways: "President Han, Mr. Liu was invited to Hanoi some time ago, and was personally received by the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam and the Mayor of Hanoi, just to let NB Electric invest in Vietnam." If Mr. Liu brings it up, I think they will definitely be willing to help Mr. Liu solve this problem, and this is not a violation of principles, President Han, you should consider it! ”

The fact that East Mark cannot be obtained in Hong Kong or China does not mean that it cannot be obtained in other countries.

Han Rong weighed it for a while, and finally relented: "I'll help you report to the head office, as for the leader to disagree, I don't dare to pack the ticket." ”