Chapter 436: The Media War Without Gunfire

Chapter 436: The Media War Without Gunfire

Chapter 436: The Media War Without Gunfire

"That's all possible." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Business wars are like this, stabbing someone in the back and then taking the opportunity to acquire the other party."

If there is competition among peers, it is normal to kick someone when he is down; and for some large conglomerates, if I want to acquire you and you disagree, then prepare to be dealt with.

But this is not wrong. This is how business works. If the weak become strong one day, they will bully other weak ones. It is enough as long as the operation is not illegal.

When the right time comes in the future, he will also clean up some British capital. The reason is simple: he has taken a fancy to the high-quality assets in the hands of these British capital. If the timing was not right for the ZZ side, he would have found an opportunity to do it long ago.

But it will be soon. In a few years, the relationship between the mainland and the West will improve. Coupled with other factors, the status of the Chinese in Hong Kong will become higher and higher. The time has come. In history, Pao Yue-kong, Li Ka-shing and others started to target British capital in the 70s.

He Shanheng said, "Mr. Yang, how should we respond? If there are more rumors and a run on the bank, it will be troublesome. We are also on the balance line now."

"Don't worry, I have most of the media in Hong Kong under my control." Yang Wendong said confidently, "Leave this matter to me. What follows will be a media war."

Finance and media are both weapons. If you defend the media, you can defend finance, but not vice versa. Once the bank run intensifies and Hang Seng Bank cannot turn over its funds, it will be over. I am afraid it will still be unable to escape the same fate as it was in history, when it was acquired by HSBC.

However, Yang Wendong is in a safe position. Even if HSBC acquires Hang Seng, he will be the major shareholder of the new joint venture, with at least one board seat. But if possible, he still hopes to keep Hang Seng Bank.

However, at the moment, whether it is HSBC and other British banks, or Yang Wendong and even the Chinese banks involved, everyone is fighting secretly and operating within the rules. Everyone understands many things and cannot be disrupted. Even the Hong Kong government cannot openly swallow up Chinese assets, so there is still a lot of room for operation.

He Shanheng nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Yang. I will definitely reward you handsomely after this is over."

"You're welcome. I'm also a shareholder, so of course I should help." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

To deal with a bank run, the most important thing is to survive a week or so. Once it's over, that's about it. This is the experience of countless banks in the past.

After returning to Changxing Building, Yang Wendong immediately called TVB's Qi Ruifan and Changxing Media's Qin Zhiye and said, "Now use all your strength, including some of our friends in the newspaper industry, to prevent the depositors of Hang Seng Bank from withdrawing their money;

Also, spread the word that anyone in the Chinese media who speaks against this will be punished by me after this incident.”

Although the media has freedom, they are also free to deal with them themselves. After all, they are not breaking the law. There are many ways to kill some small newspapers or companies.
This banking war itself is a battlefield between Chinese and British capital. If you accept money from the British at this time, then in the future when you take action against other British capital, there is a high probability that they will also go against you.

"Okay, no problem." Qin Zhiye replied.

Yang Wendong added: "Then I'll have to trouble you brothers these days. It won't take long if you work overtime.

When this is over, I will give everyone a big red envelope."

He was willing to spend a small amount of money. Hang Seng Bank had unlimited potential in the future. If he bought shares in it, he could also help in other ways. Compared with these, red envelopes were nothing.

"Okay, thank you Mr. Yang, this is what we should do." Qin Zhiye agreed with a smile.

Inside the Peninsula Hotel in Central, Sanders sat on the balcony of the presidential suite, looking at the countless passers-by below, thinking about recent events in his mind.

"Sir." A blond young man came over and said, "At present, the Chinese media in Hong Kong have begun to promote the safety of Chinese banks at the request of Yang Wendong. It seems that Yang Wendong wants to save Hang Seng."

"That's normal. He has already invested in Hang Seng. How can we not save him?" Sanders frowned and said, "Is there anyone in the media sector who can listen to us?"

"There are a few, but most Chinese media companies are reluctant to go against Yang Wendong." The blond man said, "In the past few years, Changxing Media has participated in investing in other newspapers many times. Although it is not a controlling stake in them, it still has a strong influence;

In addition to TVB and Commercial Radio, most of the channels for Hong Kong Chinese to receive information are controlled by Yang Wendong, and Yang Wendong secretly announced that any newspaper that dared to go against him would bear the consequences in the future. "

"How overbearing." Sanders sighed.

The blond man said, "It is indeed very domineering. Yang Wendong has been known for his gentleness and elegance in the business world for so many years. This time, his words have made many people afraid to take a gamble."

"The problem now is that he can stand up, but we can't. We are really passive," Sanders said.

Although Hang Seng's development in recent years is still far behind that of HSBC, its development speed is so fast that HSBC feels threatened. But under normal circumstances, they have no choice. Hong Kong is not entirely dominated by British capital. In order to maintain balance, even the Hong Kong government can only treat Chinese capital "fairly" in many areas.

After waiting for a long time for the opportunity, he was thinking about the next ruthless move. Originally, he had a good chance, but now that Yang Wendong has come forward, it seems that there really is a chance to save Hengsheng.

The confrontation between British and Chinese capital is not a problem. In a free market, if you have the ability and win, no one can complain. But HSBC is a semi-official institution. If it steps out to interfere with the self-rescue of Hong Kong's Chinese banks, it will inevitably be severely attacked by public opinion, and the Hong Kong government will be in big trouble.

The blond man also said, "Yes, Yang Wendong controls half of the media. Although we can influence British newspapers, British newspapers themselves are not for Hang Seng Bank's customers to read. Most of the British money is in HSBC and Standard Chartered, so they don't have much effect in this matter."

"I never thought that the Chinese newspapers, which we have always looked down upon, would play such a big role in this matter," Sanders also said.

Hong Kong's upper class, even the Chinese, have to read English newspapers, because many major events are first sold in English newspapers. Therefore, although Chinese newspapers have higher sales, they have not received enough attention from British newspapers.

Now, many Chinese banks are being run on. This was originally a battle for British banks to control the Hong Kong financial industry, but unexpectedly, they suffered a setback because the main force of the run was the Chinese, who did not read English newspapers.

"Actually, I have an idea." The blond man said, "We can do the opposite and say that Yang Wendong promised to take over all the deposits in Hang Seng Bank. Then we can arrange for some people who have large deposits in Hang Seng Bank to withdraw the money.

Although 5000 million Hong Kong dollars is a lot, it won’t last long. If Yang Wendong comes out to clarify this matter, and we spread some other bad news, it will inevitably trigger a run on Sprite.”

"Your method is fine, but what if Yang Wendong doesn't come out to explain?" Sanders asked.

The blond man said, "Then arrange for reporters to ask him and force him to speak. From what I understand, Yang Wendong will never admit this. As long as he denies it or even refuses to answer, we can do whatever we want." "Okay, let's try it." Sanders nodded and said, "But if we do this, this media will die miserably in the future."

The blond man smiled and said, "That's not a problem. Just give them some money and let them leave Hong Kong."

"Well, that's it. I also want to see what happens next." Sanders replied.

Two days later, Qin Zhiye knocked on the door of Yang Wendong's office and said, "Mr. Yang, it is now rumored that you promised to provide a guarantee for the depositors of Hang Seng Bank."

"Guard? I never said that." Yang Wendong frowned slightly and said, "Can you find out where the news came from?"

Qin Zhiye shook his head and said, "We haven't found anything yet. Many people are spreading rumors. This is just a rumor. Should we clarify it?"

"No, clarifying it will cause confusion, and our opponents may take the opportunity to attack us." Yang Wendong said immediately: "As long as we don't publish this matter in our own newspaper, let the rumors spread. If more rumors are spread, it will be good for us."

As long as you don't sign an agreement or make a public commitment, you will not be responsible for any rumors that spread.

"Okay." Qin Zhiye agreed and said, "It's just that the news spread too quickly. I think someone is pushing it behind the scenes."

"That means someone wants to force me to express my opinion." Yang Wendong also understood: "It seems that it is the person who wants to bankrupt Hang Seng Bank;

If I make a statement to clarify the matter, and they spread more news, the run will escalate immediately; and if I promise to cover the bottom, the entire Changxing Group will be dragged into this incident, and someone may directly attack us from other directions. "

Qin Zhiye replied: "Yes, it is very likely. Many of the assets in Changxing Group are of very high quality. Under normal circumstances, we have very good risk control, and we can do nothing about it even if others covet them.
But if we take on Hang Seng Bank’s deposits, I’m worried that this business war may escalate, and many large financial groups and even overseas financial groups will try to kill Hang Seng Bank and drag us into it.”

"It seems that I have to hide for a while and not give other media the opportunity to interview me." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

Qin Zhiye reminded: "Mr. Yang, that being said, if rumors are not controlled and the parties involved do not come out to clarify, many people will believe that it is true, which will be very troublesome;
And if I were their man, I would find a way to force you to come out and explain, and then no matter what you say, they will seize the opportunity."

"Well, we should be careful." Yang Wendong asked again: "What do you suggest?"

Qin Zhiye said: "We also need to spread rumors. The more true the better. As long as there are too many rumors and they contradict each other, ordinary people will not know who to believe.

It doesn’t matter whether they believe in us or not, as long as we don’t all believe in our opponents.”

"Then what remarks did you make?" Yang Wendong asked.

Qin Zhiye said: "The core of all the problems now is whether Hang Seng Bank can hold on, so we need to spread some news that is good for Hang Seng, such as investing in Hang Seng with capital as strong as ours or even stronger than ours."

"More powerful capital? Overseas capital?" Yang Wendong asked.

In the whole of Hong Kong, the only companies that are stronger than him are those British companies. This is the perception of ordinary people. In fact, even Jardine Matheson and Cheung Hing Group are not afraid at all.

But now what is being competed is the cognition of ordinary people.

Qin Zhiye said: "Mr. Yang, we have a good relationship with Citibank. With their reputation, as long as they publicize that they are going to invest in Hang Seng, then this matter will be safe.

The key is to not let Citigroup come out to explain, and just let them accept it like us."

"That's a good idea." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "If Citibank invests and injects more funds, or even lends money, Hang Seng's problems will be solved. At least many people in the upper class will think so when they hear the news."

"Yes, we don't need Citibank to invest. We just need them to cooperate with us and keep quiet." Qin Zhiye said, "Leave it to me. I will do the publicity and make Hang Seng's depositors stop withdrawing money. Then the matter will be over."

"Even if we cooperate, the price won't be low." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Okay, leave it to me. I'll make an appointment with Ross from Citi and discuss it with him."

Qin Zhiye said with a smile: "Okay, but Mr. Yang, now is a war of public opinion, you should not show up casually. As long as you don't say anything, I will do my best to build momentum and help Hang Seng Bank."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded.

What we are facing now is a media war. Although there is no smoke of gunpowder and no large amount of financial funds flowing, whichever side wins will get rich rewards.

In the afternoon, Yang Wendong met with Ross, the head of Citibank in Hong Kong, in the presidential suite of the Four Seasons Hotel. In his own territory, everything can be kept confidential. It is difficult for those reporters to even see him, let alone interview him.
After listening to Yang Wendong's request, Ross nodded and said, "Mr. Yang, I understand what you mean, but can we change our thinking? How about letting Citibank really acquire Hang Seng Bank?"

"Mr. Ross, Hang Seng is out of the question. If you want to acquire a bank in Hong Kong, you might want to choose something else." Yang Wendong shook his head and said.

In fact, many American banks have long coveted Hong Kong's business, but British capital developed too early and they simply could not compete with it. In terms of operations, they could not compare with the Chinese banking kings that emerged from the local market.

Therefore, acquisition became the best method. For example, in history, the bank that originally competed with HSBC for Hang Seng Bank was Chase Manhattan Bank of the United States. Another Far Eastern Bank was also forced to sell most of its shares to Marlboro Bank of the United States because of the bank run crisis in 65.

"If that's the case, why should I help Hang Seng Bank?" Ross said with a smile.

Yang Wendong said, "It's very simple. If your bank can help me this time, then in the future, some of our Changxing Group's external businesses can cooperate with Citibank. How about that?"

Now he wanted to foil HSBC's plan to acquire Hang Seng. Although HSBC could not bring this matter to the fore, he also needed to find a backup bank. Standard Chartered was one of them, but Standard Chartered's strength was still too weak, while Citibank was much stronger.

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(End of this chapter)