Looking out from the window, New York's Central Park has turned into a snow-covered fairy tale world. The lake under the curved stone arch bridge has frozen, and the Gothic castle in the park is also covered with a thick layer of snow. It is so beautiful.
Thrilling.
The heating in the room is set to 28 degrees, and the room is as warm as spring.
Wang Yaocheng, who had just gotten up, walked out in thin pajamas and stood in a daze in the spacious dome living room. He sighed silently, walked to the edge of the sofa and sat down.
Even though the scenery outside was picturesque, he was not in the mood to appreciate it now.
Yesterday I just flew back to New York from Munich, Germany. I slept in a dark sleep and suffered from jet lag. When I woke up the next day, the world had changed drastically, and the sky and the earth were completely white.
Wang Yaocheng picked up the cup, took a cup of hot water, held it in his hand, and slowly sipped it, gradually coming back to his senses from the trance of just getting up.
"Mr. Lord, you are up. Do you need me to prepare anything for you? Fruit, coffee or a refreshing breakfast." The housekeeper Cetelina walked into the room quietly like a cat, with a respectful manner.
ask.
"Oh, I don't want anything for now. I just want to sort out my thoughts quietly. Are there any invitations to any events recently?"
Cetelina smiled slightly and answered fluently;
"Yes, Mr. Lord, the invitation letter to the 2004 Davos Forum has been sent three days ago. The organizing committee needs a precise reply to facilitate the accommodation and schedule arrangements of important guests.
Sister Paris Hilton has sent party invitations three times, and I hope you can respond at your convenience.
Mr. West, the White House Chief of Staff, left a message. Please contact him at your convenience.
Mr. Merck of Goldman Sachs asks you to contact him when you come back. He is visiting his old friend Treasury Secretary Paulson in Washington these days. Mr. Paulson is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, and the two have a very close relationship.
Mr. Bill Gates of Microsoft Corporation invites you to the manor as a guest, saying that the apple pie made by Mrs. Melinda is very delicious, and that you can go fishing at the lake together.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently sent a letter of investigation, hoping to clarify the clear equity affiliation between Royal Family Fund and HSBC Bank, and provide the corresponding detailed shareholder list, operating conditions and flows for the past three years, as well as all required information related to transactions involving Standard Bank of South Africa."
After listening to the brief report
Wang Yaocheng frowned and said nothing, picked up the cup and took another sip of hot water, thought about it and said;
"You have to participate in the Davos Forum. This is a global platform where you can speak out. Please tell the Secretariat to issue a formal letter confirming your participation. As for Paris Hilton's clear rejection of them, I don't want to have anything to do with these two vixens.
involve.
I'll arrange the schedule later. I couldn't tell you clearly on the phone. We may have to go to Washington tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
Mr. Merck, Mr. West and Bill Gates are all in Washington. It just so happens that I also want to try Mrs. Melinda's apple pie. I plan to visit the Bill Gates estate in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.
Let the secretariat make arrangements and invite Mr. Merck and Mr. West to go fishing together on the weekend. I think Bill Gates won’t mind two more people. At worst, he will have to pay for two more people’s visit tickets.”
The last sentence of ridicule made Miss Cetelina laugh too.
Outsiders can visit the Bill Gates Manor, and the price per person is 30,000 US dollars. Visitors can spend a whole day here.
Unlike other private residences of rich people, the Bill Gates estate is open to visitors, as long as you pay the entrance fee.
Therefore, as long as the secretariat communicates well in advance, it will not be rude for Wang Yaocheng to invite two more guests without authorization.
"The Ministry of Justice gave them a phone number and asked them to contact the Legal Department of HSBC directly. As a publicly listed independent legal entity, all actions of HSBC are subject to public supervision and can cooperate with the Ministry of Justice's investigation within the legal framework." Wang Yaocheng added.
.
"Understood, Your Excellency."
After watching Miss Cetelina leave, Wang Yaocheng put down his water glass, put on a warm cashmere coat and walked out.
He followed the stairs to the roof garden, pushed open the glass door, and was greeted by a strong cold wind mixed with a bone-chilling chill, which lifted Wang Yaocheng's spirits.
Walking on the snowy ground on the roof of the building, the pure white snow crunches under your feet. The roof garden is covered in snow, giving it a beautiful scenery of ice and snow.
The cold wind penetrated through the gap in his neck, making Wang Yaocheng feel chilled all over. He couldn't help but wrapped himself tightly in his cashmere coat and walked forward, thinking about the problems he had to face recently.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s statements through antitrust officials represent the tendencies of some extreme white politicians and reveal dangerous signs of containment.
From the bottom of their hearts, they do not want HSBC, which is controlled by Hong Kong capital, to grow bigger. They are hostile to ethnic groups of color, including Chinese, and try their best to interfere with the normal operation and development of the company.
Such people can be found everywhere. Although they are a small group, they have great energy and are an integral part of the free commercial social ecology.
The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds.
The commander-in-chief has nothing to do with matters within the scope of the government department's authority. In the final analysis, the commander-in-chief is just the most senior civil servant who has served for four years, not the king of the country.
These extreme remarks and behaviors have been widely criticized. They are non-mainstream voices that have always existed in the United States, a country of immigrants. They are disgusting but helpless.
You cannot destroy them just because you have different opinions. Even the commander-in-chief of the United States does not have this right. He also has to endure the questioning of dissidents and the media. This is the norm in European and American societies.
In Congress, there are members of the Donkey Party who have publicly questioned the relationship between the commander-in-chief and Wang Yaocheng, suspecting that there is a shady story or private dealings, and other bizarre remarks.
Wang Yaocheng once responded excitedly and publicly;
Yes, George is a very good friend of mine. I am also a loyal supporter and die-hard fan of the Elephant Party. I am also a campaign fundraiser for the leadership of the Asian Elephant Party in California. Our personal relationship is quite good, but that’s all.
.
I can guarantee that I have no relationship beyond personal friendship with George. I am definitely not gay, and I will never pay for it.
As for the congressman who was involved in the attack on his personal reputation, I will not pursue the case this time out of mercy. If there are similar cases, we will see him in court.
really
The effect of counterattacking with effective legal weapons within the scope of the game is remarkable. Even if there are comments attacking Wang Yaocheng and the Royal Family Fund again, they have restrained themselves a lot and will not smear them with nothing.
Wang Yaocheng doesn't care about the investigation by the Ministry of Justice. As long as he plays the right role, there is nothing to fear. HSBC's acquisition of Standard Bank of South Africa is a purely commercial cooperation. The entire process is open, fair and transparent, and can fully withstand investigation.
This is not the first time that the Royal Family Fund has faced an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. As early as 1999, Atlantic Jinko Group and Hynix were involved in a case of jointly driving up the price of DRAM memory chips, and were fined US$300 million and more than US$100 million respectively.
Micron, the company in this case, was eventually fined a mild penalty of US$20 million because it actively cooperated with the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In the same case, Samsung, Sony, Infineon, Elpida, IBM, Toshiba and other memory manufacturers were heavily fined, with fines ranging from US$110 million to US$380 million.
In essence, in this case of jointly driving up the price of DRAM memory chips, all manufacturers were unjustly accused, and there is no clear evidence to prove that the major manufacturers conspired in advance.
In view of the fact that after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the price of DRAM memory chips fell to the bottom, and the entire world market was in chaos. More than 20 manufacturers exited the market due to serious losses, or went bankrupt or changed production, or went bankrupt and liquidated.
After finally surviving the financial crisis, as a strong cyclical industry, the strong demand in the international market triggered a rapid rebound in the price of DRAM memory chips, quickly surpassing the historical high. This is a tacit view shared by all major manufacturers in the market.
Say a thousand, say ten thousand, the Americans have been domineering for a long time, and it is not just a matter of a day or two.
In the absence of sufficient evidence, the U.S. Department of Justice determined that a monopoly price alliance had been established and wielded sanctions to punish it. Chip manufacturers could only admit it with a pinched nose and obediently pay the fine.
So say;
Being targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice is not a bad thing. The first condition for being caught in an antitrust investigation is that you must have the ability to monopolize the market. There is no way to start with this ability.
Standing on the rooftop garden, you can have an unobstructed view of the snow-capped Central Park in New York, and feel particularly sober under the strong cold wind.
Wang Yaocheng considered the response plan in his mind and quickly figured out the matter.
There are only three solutions.
First, it has a powerful Washington lobbying team and upper-level communication channels to argue for the antitrust investigation, strive to protect the legitimate rights and interests of HSBC, and strive to reduce major issues to minor ones.
Private communication and upper-level lobbying are certainly indispensable, and all efforts are made off-screen to strive for the antitrust investigation of the Ministry of Justice to release the Standard Bank of South Africa merger and acquisition case as soon as possible.
According to the expediency of the American service, there is a process of competing interests of all parties, and it would be good to see results within half a year.
If time delays any longer, this merger and acquisition project, which affects the distribution of commercial bank outlets across the African continent, will definitely go awry.
Secondly, if you have a background in the European Union or other governments, communicating with the Americans through the government level may not be very effective, because no one will give face to the Americans if they initiate an attack.
Thirdly, companies that do not meet the above two conditions can only prepare lawyers and detailed materials to respond to investigations. In all likelihood, they will not be able to escape sanctions. This is the most tragic thing.
In view of its own strength, the Royal Family Fund will definitely choose the first option, strive for communication, and use various means to exert pressure to achieve good results.
Compared with five years ago, the Royal Family Fund has built a strong interest alliance within the United States, and has smooth upper-level communication channels, which can influence almost half of the members of both houses of Congress.
This gave Wang Yaocheng strong self-confidence, and his hard work over the years was not in vain.
Among other things, Mr. Chambers, who once served as an important member of the U.S. Presidential Trade Policy Committee, is familiar with at least nearly ten senators and can speak well.
Coupled with other famous lawyers, managers and Wang Yaocheng's own personal relationship, it is not a problem to make an appointment with any senator or congressman.
This incident reminded Wang Yaocheng;
HSBC, the core of the financial conglomerate, has become a big success and attracts attention. In the future, large-scale mergers and acquisitions should be avoided as much as possible to avoid irritating the sensitive nerves of some people and diverting attention to suppress it.
The focus of HSBC's work should shift to focusing on tempering its own capabilities, improving its global banking network layout, and improving its revenue capabilities and administrative efficiency, rather than further expanding and conquering cities and territories.