When it was almost nine o'clock the next morning, Li Guangyu came to a small conference room in the Governor's Mansion. Shen Bi, McBurney Deshawn and Mac Lehose were already waiting here. After Li Guangyu arrived, there were Standard Chartered bank chief executive Powell Wilson did not arrive.
As the host, MacLehose saw Li Guangyu come in and immediately said to Li Guangyu: Mr. Li, please sit down and please wait a moment. I think Mr. Wilson will arrive soon, and I can formally apply for the Li Group by then. Negotiations on banking license issues.
After Li Guangyu sat down, he did not speak. While waiting for Powell Wilson to arrive, he was thinking about the issues for the next meeting and how to deal with possible situations.
Only two minutes before nine o'clock, Powell Wilson was led to the conference room by the staff.
After all parties sat down, MacLehose said: Everyone, everyone must be very aware of the focus of public opinion in Hong Kong these days. The target is directed at the Monetary Authority, which has had a great negative impact on our government. Now it is no longer If we can allow this incident to continue to happen, we must resolve this matter as soon as possible so that the Hong Kong news media and citizens can calm down.
Among them, McBurney Deshawn is under the greatest pressure. As the director of the Hong Kong Financial Management Bureau, he has been pushed to the forefront of the media in Hong Kong. Countless people are watching his actions, and he receives countless calls from people every day. There were calls, questions, and requests for him to persist. Facing the confrontation between the Chinese-funded consortium and the British-funded consortium, and this time the focus happened to be within his own jurisdiction, it made him particularly uncomfortable. He even had a lot of choices to quit. idea.
Li Guangyu said with a smile: Mr. MacLehose and Mr. Deshawn, this time our Tianyu Investment Company's application for a banking license can be handled in accordance with the current regulations of the Monetary Authority. In fact, there is no need to consult some people. Some people are in high positions. After sitting for a long time, they think that they are the emperor of Xiangjiang. When thinking about dominating the financial market in Xiangjiang, they try their best to attack those opponents who threaten them. This is very detrimental to the development of Xiangjiang's financial industry.
Shen Bi and Powell Wilson were very angry after hearing what Li Guangyu said. Isn't this just talking about themselves? He said it as if the Li Group didn't want it. Who in all walks of life in Hong Kong doesn't know the ambitions of your Li Group? He wants to build a world-class consortium, and he also said that we should be the emperor of Xiangjiang, and you should be the emperor of Xiangjiang.
Shen Bi retorted: The financial stability of Xiangjiang requires everyone to work together to stabilize it. We have the right to put forward our own opinions on the damage that some groups may cause to the current order. We do not want some ambitious people to enter and disrupt our current stability in Xiangjiang. A good development situation.
Powell Wilson said: The Xiangjiang Financial Authority was established to maintain the stability of the financial community in Xiangjiang. When facing some important matters, it has the right to consult everyone's opinions. Only in this way can the stability of the financial market in Xiangjiang be better maintained. As a member of the financial community in Hong Kong, we naturally have the obligation and right to put forward our opinions.
Seeing the confrontational situation between the two sides, MacLehose could feel that it would be very difficult to achieve a satisfactory result for both parties today.
MacLehose said: Mr. Li, Mr. Shen Bi, Mr. Wilson, please calm down first. Such a dispute is meaningless for resolving the matter. I will not let the matter drag on. I hope that everyone can discuss a solution today that both parties can solve. Accept the results and jointly maintain the stable development of the situation in Hong Kong.
Faced with the ultimatum given by MacLehose, Shen Bi and Powell Wilson understood that it seemed impossible to drag it out today. At the same time, they also felt the threat of the Li Group and the influence of its media groups. The force is simply too great.
This time, I and others thought that they could influence the government's decision with the leaders of the British-funded consortium and let them delay the Li Group's establishment of a bank indefinitely. Even if the Li Group sued the court, they had many ways. It is necessary to prevent the Li Group from forming its own core financial group and curb the excessive development of the Li Group.
However, this idea was directly shattered by public opinion in Hong Kong, and this pioneer was the media group owned by the Li family, which also made Shen Bi and Powell Wilson interested in it.
In the past, no media in Hong Kong would compete with the British-funded consortium, let alone criticize government departments on such a large scale today. The root cause lies with the Lee Group. With the media under the Lee Group taking the lead, other news media are not Worrying about what problems might arise, the Li Group was at the front to support them, and they followed behind with great confidence to report boldly.
This negotiation was quite difficult. If MacLehose hadn't been holding the line and given a time limit, I'm afraid Li Guangyu, Shen Bi, Powell Wilson and others would have broken up.
When Li Guangyu established a bank, he naturally hoped to obtain all business licenses. Seeing that they could not prevent Li Guangyu from establishing a bank, Shen Bi and Powell Wilson set up difficult problems for the Li Group.
There are many restrictions on the bank established by the Li Group. Even the foreign currency settlement business is not intended to be owned by the Li Group. At the same time, the Li Group Bank is not allowed to open savings business, which basically restricts the outward development of the Li Group Bank.
Li Guangyu would naturally not agree to this. He established a bank just because the business of Yongheng Bank was not comprehensive enough. If according to the opinions of Shen Bi and others, his bank was not as good as Yongheng in terms of business, then he Why go through so much trouble to build this bank?
Li Guangyu said: Mr. Shen Bi, Mr. Wilson, I think your control is too lenient. Our Li Group will not agree to such a request, and the specific business of our bank does not require the intervention of HSBC and Standard Chartered. This matter It should be discussed separately between our Li Group and the Monetary Authority. Since you no longer have any objections to our Li Group’s establishment of a bank, I don’t think you should worry too much about other matters.
Shen Bi said: Mr. Li, I'm afraid you have misunderstood. We will only allow you to set up your own bank after Li agrees to these conditions, so as to maintain the financial stability of Xiangjiang. Mr. Li is the idol of countless people in Xiangjiang. , and should contribute more to the stability of Xiangjiang.
Li Guangyu doesn't follow Shen Bi's example. He is not that great. Moreover, establishing his own bank has not affected the financial stability of Xiangjiang. It may only have an impact on HSBC.
Li Guangyu said: Mr. Shen Bi, I discussed with Mr. MacLehose yesterday that the right to issue banknotes in Hong Kong is in the hands of two British banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered, which is not conducive to the financial stability of Hong Kong. I think it is time to join a Chinese-owned bank. Please consider the overall situation of Hong Kong's stability and understanding of the bank's entry.
After hearing this, Shen Bi and Powell Wilson immediately objected strongly. Li Guangyu had such a big appetite that he wanted to get the right to issue Hong Kong dollars even before the bank was established. This was a dream and he could never agree to it. .
McBurney Deshawn saw the quarrel between these people and remained silent. It was better to let the Governor handle this matter with them. When the time comes, he would follow the Governor's instructions to avoid being angry in the middle.