Chapter 1394: Winning Is a Sure Thing

"What are the specific trading rules in France? Oh, you have almost forgotten it? Well, I will simply tell you again. The trading hours of the French stock market are Monday to Friday, starting at 9:00 am Paris time , the market ends at 5:30 p.m. There is a pre-opening period, which usually starts at 8:00 a.m., allowing investors to make adjustments to orders. After trading closes at 5:30 p.m., there is also an after-hours trading period on the French stock market, which usually lasts until 6:00 p.m. Liquidity in after-hours trading is lower, but for some For investors who need to respond quickly to market changes, it still has a certain appeal. The trading system here implements a T+0 system, and investors can conduct multiple buying and selling operations on the same day to achieve rapid funds. Turnover. As for stocks rising and falling, although the principle There is no limit on the price, but there is a circuit breaker mechanism. That is to say, if a stock rises by more than 21.25% of the previous day's closing price in a single day, trading will automatically stop if the stock falls by 18.75%, and the fluctuation exceeds 21.25%. Ten percent of the previous day's closing price will cause trading to be suspended for fifteen minutes..."

The time goes back five days to Wednesday, October 14, 1987.

At noon that day, Ning Weimin flew to Paris.

And he had just checked into the hotel when his boss, Master Pierre Cardon, came personally to introduce him to the situation in France.

In addition to the meaning of mutual handover, this move is also a necessary introduction to rearrange troops before the war.

"Ning, according to what you said, after you left, I continued your strategy. Through our account, I have been selling high and buying low LVMH stocks. I first bought a part of the stock as a bottom position, and then took advantage of it. As the price rises, short-sell at high prices and sell the same amount to do arbitrage. Trading. Waiting until the price is relatively low and then buying back the short-sold stocks. However, although this method can indeed affect the stock market and effectively increase the volatility, it is a pity. Yes, our strategy was quickly grasped by the other party.”

Having said this, the master sighed.

"Remember? Lazard Investment Bank is the financial backer of Bernard Arnault. As a professional investment bank, they are indeed very keen. They quickly discovered our actions and effectively attacked us. When the stock price was pulled down, When the market was high, they competed with us to raise funds, and then distributed profits before us. Their methods were sophisticated and their funds were abundant, and they were always one step ahead of us. . I have to say that we are no match at all. I even suspect that they relied on this kind of game to collect chips in the market in the first place. This is what they are good at, so compared with veterans like them, we are completely at a disadvantage. . In the past two months, we have never taken advantage of them. Instead, our losses have increased a lot because of our confrontation with them..."

It was indeed not good news, but Ning Weimin was unmoved. His eyes were not worried at all, he just asked.

"So? What is the strength gap between us and the opponent now? How many chips do we and the opponent have in hand?"

At this time, the master took out a copy of the accounting information he had brought and handed it to Ning Weimin. At the same time, he also gave a general explanation of the relevant situation.

"The starting capital of you and me, plus all the trolley suitcase patent licensing fees that I later received, totaled a total investment of 500 million U.S. dollars. The current situation is that we spent 320 million U.S. dollars to acquire 100% of the Four stock shares, less than 3% of the stock shares were short-sold at almost par price. Therefore, excluding the interest paid to the brokerage and handling fees, we have short-selling. There are still US$350 million in funds. But considering that the market value of LVMH has been raised from US$6.5 billion when you left France, and the market value of LVMH's stock is now US$7.2 billion. It is still rising slowly. If we have to smooth out the margin quota, we will only have about 85 million US dollars left, which is almost a floating loss of 100 million US dollars..."

Unexpectedly, the situation on his side alone made Picardon shake his head sadly.

He seemed to be distressed by the astronomical huge property losses, and also seemed to be ashamed that he was not good at this kind of speculation.

But no matter why, it clearly expresses the master's lack of confidence in the future financial war.

"Don't worry too much about temporary losses. It's not easy to determine the outcome of the capital market. You don't have to worry too much. Besides, I brought a lot of money this time, and we now have more capital to use. Five hundred million dollars, I wonder if it can boost your confidence?”

Ning Weimin did not look at the accounts carefully. He was more concerned about Pierre Cardon's confidence.

Although he understood the master's mood at this time, the loss of 100 million US dollars would have to be earned by selling many clothes.

But he also sincerely thinks that foreigners are just too realistic, which is not good.

I care a little too much about financial figures, and I really take them seriously even if they are floating losses.

Compared with the Chinese people, the psychological quality is much stronger, because we know how to endure hardships and kill with one strike.

So he quickly reported the good news to everyone with a smile.

He felt that what could effectively improve the master's confidence at present was the funds he brought this time.

Needless to say, this matter is indeed of some use. The master is indeed like a shot in the arm, and his eyes widen in an instant.

"What? You brought so much money! In this case, the shares we can buy..."

However, a stronger sense of doubt followed.

"But... this... how is this possible? Last time you brought 200 million US dollars... this time it's 500 million... you... you..."

The master was indeed confused, he himself also started from scratch.

How much money did he have when he was Ning Weimin's age?

He had never seen anyone as young as Ning Weimin who could have such a huge fortune in his life.

However, Ning Weimin had already prepared a reasonable explanation for this.

"Japan is a good place for financing. You will definitely not believe that the loan interest rate in Japan is now less than 3% per year, and banks are rushing to give me money. And I made a lot of money from my wife's speculation in stocks and real estate in Japan. Now the stocks have been sold and the property has been mortgaged. I have collected so much money these days since I went back. This is nothing. I don't know if you know that there is a singer named Sen Changfu in Japan. He only relied on the copyright of his song "Spring in the North" and the Bank of Japan was willing to lend him tens of billions of yen to build a hotel in Hawaii..."

Indeed, reality is more dreamy than people can imagine.

Although Ning Weimin did not tell the truth about the source of such a large amount of capital, it is true that the bank came to Qian Changfu and asked him to borrow money.

This matter has been widely spread in Japan.

Because Japanese banks believe that Qian Changfu will definitely sing a song more touching than "Spring in the North".

So now Qian Changfu is also known as the "king of land in the music world". His whereabouts in Hawaii have been closely watched by Japanese reporters recently. Not only has he selected a plot of land for building a hotel, but he has also found a blonde girlfriend.

So after hearing him speak so confidently, the master couldn't say anything more.

Who let the newspapers now have news about how the Japanese spend a lot of money and buy things all over the world every day?

Especially the fact that Japan's Yasuda Insurance bought Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at a sky-high price this year made the French, no, the whole of Europe, see how much money the Japanese have.

But it is a bit strange that even if he no longer doubted Ning Weimin's words, the master did not completely relax as Ning Weimin expected.

After a moment of silence, the master's expression became more serious.

"Ning, I didn't expect things to get to this point. It seems that you are really going to bet everything on it. I am really grateful for your help, and I especially admire your courage, but you have invested too much, far beyond my expectations. Now it seems that this plan is too risky. I still hope that you will think about it more before making the final decision. Especially since I haven't had time to tell you about the other party's situation..."

This doesn't sound good. The tone alone brings out a pessimistic taste, and it actually has a taste of "backing off".

Ning Weimin didn't say anything, but just spread his hands, which means "Please go ahead, I'm waiting for you to tell me."

"Well, the current situation may be a bit bad, and I don't know if you will be disappointed..."

Sure enough, Pierre Cardin frowned slightly and said an astonishing news.

"Ning, I just learned last week that Bernard Arnault now controls 43.5% of the shares, which means that he has basically won. Even so, do you still think we have a chance?"

This was beyond Ning Weimin's expectations.

If nothing else, a simple calculation will show that on their side, including the shares of LV head Henri Lacamier, they own a total of 34% of the shares.

In this case, the shares held by the two opposing parties have reached 77%.

Although there is still a part of the shares they shorted, they must be deducted from the shares they hold.

But if the shares of some small shareholders of the company directors are counted, then the inside and outside are almost the same. Now the stocks that are still available for trading on the stock market are at most 20%.

Even if they try their best to get it, how much can they get?

Even if there is an imminent stock market crash, because there are too few chips circulating in the market, as long as they buy some, the stock price will be easily raised.

If you look at it from the perspective of chips, it seems that it is indeed powerless to change Bernard Arnault's dominance over LVMH.

However, at this time, Ning Weimin also felt the same surprise that Pierre Cardin had just filled his heart, and he was also incredible about Bernard Arnault's source of funds.

"But... but where did Bernard Arnault get so much money? He increased his stake by another 6%. If he did it under the pretext of attacking us, the cost would definitely not be less, at least $500 million. Lazard Bank actually supports him so much? If you calculate it this way, Lazard Bank must have lent him more than a billion dollars, right?"

It's not surprising that Ning Weimin is so confused.

Don't forget that he, a time traveler, has been busy in Japan for the past six months, taking advantage of the right time, right place, and right people, and even adding up some of his wife's capital.

In the end, he only raised $500 million and returned to France to "make a comeback".

On the other hand, with such a difficult and severe economic situation in France and the falling franc exchange rate, why can Bernard Arnault easily obtain such a large amount of financing to help him wear the crown of LVMH and help him become the king of the French luxury industry.

The CEO of Lazard Bank is his biological father! Isn't this unreasonable?

Even Sumitomo Bank, which has so much money that it doesn't know where to spend it, is not so generous to itself.

If this issue is not clarified, let alone whether he can win the final victory, Ning Weimin will not be able to correctly assess the situation between the enemy and ourselves, and even his confidence in continuing the confrontation will be shaken.

Fortunately, Picardon was well prepared in collecting information and paid enough attention to this opponent.

As soon as Ning Weimin asked the question, the master clearly told Ning Weimin the secret.

"Ah, Ning, you don't know yet. Dior clothing under Bernard Arnault's name was listed two months ago, so most of the LVMH shares this guy increased his holdings should have been purchased with the funds raised from the listing. of."

"What?" Ning Weimin couldn't help but repeat, "Dior clothing is on the market?"

"Yes, that's right. As I just said, Lazard is Dior's underwriter and sponsor..."

"You also said that he used the funds raised from the listing to purchase LVMH shares..."

Facing Ning Weimin's need for confirmation, the master continued to nod.

"Well, it should be like this. Bernard Arnault started to increase his holdings heavily after Dior clothing went public. Otherwise, how would he use the money? Although Lazard is an investment bank, its funds are also limited, not to mention France. It’s just a branch. They can’t really spend a billion dollars to support a customer. The risk taken is too great. They can’t afford to spend less and do big things. That’s their preference..."

"What's the current market value of Dior? How many shares has Bernard Arnault issued?"

"This...if you want to know, I'm afraid I have to ask..."

After saying that, the master asked Ning Weimin with some confusion, "Is this matter important?"

Ning Weimin nodded without hesitation, "very important", and even repeated, "very important" with a solemn expression.

So the master no longer hesitated and picked up the phone in the hotel room. Five minutes later, the paper on which he recorded the information was pushed in front of Ning Weimin.

"Look, the current total market value of Dior clothing is about 1.37 billion US dollars, and the circulating market value is 890 million US dollars. It has increased by 16% since it was listed. Now it is right. Arnault Bernard should have issued 65% of the shares and raised about 650 million U.S. dollars. He and Lazard have become more and more cooperative. Originally, Dior's net assets were only 400 million U.S. dollars. , but by purchasing LVMH shares, they not only consolidated their control over LVMH, but also increased their net assets, further supporting the market value of Dior Clothing. They really played a good hand in this deal. I made a lot of money in the business..."

The master refuses to say anything against his will. Even if he looks gloomy, he can only admit that his opponent is shrewd. This kills two birds with one stone.

However, Ning Weimin's reaction was completely different from what he imagined.

Not only was he not discouraged at all, but he suddenly burst out laughing when he looked at the note.

And not only that, besides laughing, he also shouted excitedly.

"Master, my master! Great! This is not a bad thing, this is a good thing. Originally, I was worried that this guy was a tough hedgehog and would not be easy to talk to. I didn't expect that this guy actually used the funds from the stock issuance to buy shares, and also used Dior Clothing comes to hold shares! There is nothing to fear now, we will definitely win this time!”

"What? You think we can win?" The master couldn't believe it.

"Just because he used the funds from the stock issuance to purchase shares and also used Dior clothing to hold shares?"

"Yes, that's right! That's what I mean! This guy is simply asking for his own death, and his Dior clothing is his weakness! If we catch his Dior, we have caught his tail."

The master blinked, still unable to understand.

After all, the old man was born in the 1920s. He only knows how to make and sell clothes, reduce costs reasonably, and make money through OEM licensing, but his understanding of the capital market game model is relatively limited.

But even so, Ning Weimin was so happy that he almost stood on the table and danced.

Picardon finally felt relaxed.

Inexplicably, he had an inexplicable sense of trust in Ning Weimin.

I just feel that since he said he could win, he should be able to win.