Chapter 663: Picking Ready-made Peaches
We played mahjong after dinner.
A few days passed in a blink of an eye, and Fan Wumian suddenly received a call from President Wei of Bank of China (Hong Kong), asking him to go to the headquarters on Fuxingmennei Street in Yanjing to pick up the gift, or alternatively, someone could be sent to deliver it to his door.
A rather special gift.
As a super big customer, last year Fan Wumian received a set of "Millennium Commemorative" gold and silver commemorative coins from Bank of China (Hong Kong) for free. The largest gold coin weighed 10 kilograms and is still collected in his family's vault.
Starting this year, it has become the norm to issue eighteen 10-kilogram zodiac commemorative coins every year. Fan Wumian had already informed President Wei and asked him to keep them for him.
Seeing that Fan Wumian was very interested in collecting this super-large limited edition commemorative gold coin, President Wei naturally catered to his wishes and informed the head office in advance. In total, Fan Wumian had borrowed more than 10 billion Hong Kong dollars from Bank of China (Hong Kong), so this small request was certainly met.
A rare giant gold coin set like this one is meant to attract big customers. Even if ordinary people are willing to spend money to buy it, they cannot apply for a spot to purchase it.
As soon as the first year's "Ding Hai Year of the Pig" 10-kilogram commemorative gold coins were produced, he called Fan Wumian.
He happened to have nothing to do, so he went to collect them in person and found that there were a total of 13 commemorative coins in the set. In addition to the extra-large gold coin weighing 10 kilograms, there were also gold and silver coins weighing 1 kilogram each, 5 ounces of gold and silver coins, and so on.
In the office of President Wei's immediate superior, the president of the headquarters, Fan Wumian drank tea and admired the complete set of commemorative coins, saying with satisfaction:
"They are issued in limited quantities each year and are extremely scarce. If you spend some time collecting twelve sets of 10-kilogram zodiac commemorative coins, you should be able to send them to an auction house and sell them for a lot of money."
In order to entertain his distinguished guest, the president temporarily postponed a more important meeting. At this moment, he said with a smile:
"It's very valuable, isn't it? Many big clients want it. Our bank only got two subscription quotas, and one of them is for you, Mr. Fan."
"Even if we calculate based on the market price of gold, more than 11 kilograms of gold is worth more than 180 million yuan. If you collect all 12 pieces, and the price of gold goes up, they may be worth or million yuan, not to mention that they are also very valuable as a collection."
"I had someone look in the warehouse and found a 2002 Grotto Art-Longmen Grottoes commemorative gold coin, weighing only 5 ounces. I also gave it to Mr. Fan. If other valuable commemorative coins are issued in the future, I will keep an eye out for you."
Fan Wumian accurately grasped the key point, pointed at the gold coin set in front of him and said:
"Just give it to me for free? I brought my bank card with me, so I can pay for it. I don't want to embarrass you."
The president laughed and waved his hand quickly, saying:
"It's not a big deal. I'm so happy to be able to maintain a long-term cooperative relationship with a big customer like Mr. Fan. The bank already has some funds, so of course we have to use them where they are needed most."
"I have worked in the banking system for 20 to 30 years, and I have never seen a business genius like Mr. Fan. His future is limitless. I hope we can cooperate more in the future."
"I heard that the Shanghai Bandit King Fund has billions of cash in its company account, and it only bought short-term financial products from our bank. I happen to have a few suitable investment projects here. How about we go to have lunch later and chat about it?"
Fan Wumian believed that with the strength of Bank of China, it would indeed have the opportunity to access many profitable business opportunities, but the rate of return would probably not be as good as the investment targets he had personally selected.
So, Fan Wumian politely declined and said:
"The Bandit King Fund has just been established, and we have very little self-owned funds on the books. All of them are entrusted to us by clients to help manage. The recent performance of A-shares is not bad, and this money will soon be invested in the stock market. I can't use it. The Bank of China Fund and Bank of China Securities, which we cooperated with before, have performed very well recently. The management scale of Bank of China Fund has reached 60 to 70 billion."
As a state-owned enterprise, it often needs to be responsible for low-profit projects, sometimes to serve the society and people's livelihood, and sometimes to stimulate local economic development. The purpose is not necessarily purely to make money.
For example, the subways and other infrastructure projects in many cities are "sinkholes" that are bound to result in losses from the perspective of investment and direct returns, but the government is still willing to pay for them.
Fan Wumian specifically mentioned BOC Fund and BOC Securities, and what he meant was that "the two parties have already started cooperation, so don't ask me for help with some troublesome matters." The president of the bank sitting opposite him explained directly:
"Mr. Fan has such a big business. If it were a small and uninteresting project, I would definitely not mention it to you."
"Last year, Xinhua Insurance had a problem. You should have heard about it, right? The company is now busy with restructuring and looking for external funds. If no one is willing to take over, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission will have to take over. I think the insurance business is as worthwhile as funds and securities trading."
"Part of the premiums raised by insurance companies are invested in the stock market and bond market in accordance with regulations, and part is used to invest in infrastructure projects such as water conservancy, water transportation, roads, logistics, etc. to support major strategies and the development of the real economy. Things like real estate, high technology, and company equity can also be invested. It is almost the same as a private equity fund. I think with your investment vision, Mr. Fan, you should have a chance to try to revitalize it."
After hearing these words, Fan Wumian instantly became very interested.
He originally thought, like everyone else, that insurance companies mainly made money from the difference between premium income and claims expenses. But after listening to what the president in front of him said, he realized that he seemed to have fallen into a misconception in his previous thinking, and the profit model seemed to be far more than that.
In addition to the difference between premium income and claims expenses, investment income is also one of the important ways for insurance companies to make profits. Insurance companies will invest the premiums collected to obtain more returns. Almost all investment channels such as stocks, bonds, and real estate can be involved, and this happens to be the area where he is best at.
Fan Wumian had heard of Xinhua Insurance and asked tentatively:
"I've read the news. Last year, the media reported that the boss of this insurance company had embezzled 130 billion yuan. It's such a big deal that it's hard not to know about it. This insurance company has embezzled so much money, the hole left behind must be very big. If I jump in, wouldn't I be asking for trouble?"
The president of the bank opposite laughed and shook his head, and asked:
"Mr. Fan probably hasn't paid attention to the latest developments, has he? I just attended a meeting yesterday, and one of the topics was how to help New China Life get out of its predicament and dispel the public's concerns about buying insurance as soon as possible. The actual controller of this company will definitely go to jail, but the hole left behind is not that big."
"Nominally, 130 billion yuan was misappropriated, but in reality, most of it was borrowed and exchanged for shares of Xinhua Insurance, as well as other land, company shares, etc. The total amount of funds actually misappropriated as accepted by the court seems to be only a few hundred million yuan, which was invested in the relatives of the former chairman."
"If I invest in it now, I think it's like picking a ready-made peach. The company's total assets are close to 1000 billion yuan. I only need to spend to billion yuan to become the new actual controller of the company."
He didn't know much about the situation, but when he learned that the size of Xinhua Insurance was close to 100 billion yuan, Fan Wumian became even more restless.
When he thought about how much difference he could make in the future by using these premiums to invest overseas through formal and legal channels, he felt his blood pressure soar and he felt dizzy.
Almost instantly, Fan Wumian had the idea that he should try to take over this company. He answered decisively:
"Okay, I'll have someone check the information later. Do you want to form a joint venture with me, or just introduce me to someone else?"
The president pointed upwards and replied:
"It is not legal for banks to get involved in the insurance industry. I am just helping to solve the problem. As long as you control the costs of Xinhua Insurance, even if you only buy some financial products from the bank, you can still make some profit from the huge premiums. If Mr. Fan is interested, I will introduce some people to you. Remember to change your bank account to me. I will definitely recommend the most reliable financial products to you within my ability."
It sounds quite magical.
Originally, Fan Wumian thought that something had happened to New China Life last year and that its financial report must have been terrible. But after going home and checking the information, he discovered that the company's assets had been impaired by more than 36 billion yuan last year, yet it actually made a net profit of 3.4 million yuan on the books. This shows that the insurance business is truly extremely profitable.
However, since the former chairman left a hole of about RMB 27 billion due to borrowing funds, no one in the market dared to take over, and the market valuation of Xinhua Insurance Company shrank, leaving only about RMB 70 billion.
Others were afraid to take over, but Fan Wumian felt that as long as he reallocated his assets and took advantage of a bull market in the next few months, he could make up for the loss of 27 billion yuan and allow the company to take off again.
The unexpected discovery of a new prey made him very excited, and he could not wait to form a temporary team to study how to acquire Xinhua Insurance at the lowest cost. (End of this chapter)