Chapter 952
Reunited with Old Subordinates, Cleansing Up Huanyu Investment Company!
Lin Haoran took the documents and flipped through them slowly, his face showing no change in expression.
The information in the document was basically consistent with his knowledge from his previous life. Arnault's real estate projects in New York were indeed not going well. Several apartment projects were experiencing sluggish sales, his cash flow was tight, and his relationship with local developers was not good.
On the surface, this is indeed a portrait of a loser.
But Lin Haoran knew that this "loser" possessed a quality that most successful people lacked: a keen sense of brands and a decisive grasp of opportunities.
In the original timeline, when Arnault was at his lowest point in New York, a taxi driver's words made him realize the value of a brand. He resolutely returned to the country to acquire Dior, thus beginning his journey to build a luxury empire.
The ability to remain clear-headed and make sound judgments during a downturn is far more valuable than success during a period of smooth sailing.
A person who can become the world's richest person multiple times in the future is certainly not a simple character.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of entrepreneurs in the world who make luxury goods, but he is the only one who has become the world's richest man.
This isn't luck, it's ability.
Lin Haoran closed the file, looked up at Walter Riston, and said with a smile, "Mr. Walter, the person I'm looking for is Mr. Arno. I've seen the information in the file, but what I want to see is precisely someone who hasn't fallen in adversity."
Upon hearing this, Walter Riston frowned slightly, clearly not understanding Lin Haoran's logic.
In his nearly forty-year career as a banker, he has seen too many people fail in the real estate market, most of whom eventually disappear without a trace, and very few of them manage to make a comeback.
He couldn't understand why Lin Haoran was so interested in a French real estate developer with overdue debts and unsold projects.
However, although he was filled with doubts, he did not pursue the matter further.
Everyone has their own ideas, and Walter Riston doesn't like to interfere with other people's ideas, especially someone like Lin Haoran.
He picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and said slowly, "Mr. Lin, since you insist, Citibank will fully cooperate. I'll have the customer relations department invite him to Citibank headquarters tomorrow. We'll tell him that Citibank wants to reassess his loan plan and introduce him to a friend from Hong Kong."
Lin Haoran picked up his coffee cup and raised it to Walter Riston: "Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Walter."
The two chatted for a while longer. Lin Haoran glanced at his watch, stood up, and said, "Mr. Walter Riston, it's getting late. I won't disturb your work any longer. I have some things to take care of, so I'll be leaving now."
He was planning to go to Huanyu Investment Company.
“Okay, you’re busy.” Walter Riston also stood up and escorted Lin Haoran to the office door. “Mr. Lin, John Reed has arranged a dinner tonight. See you then.”
Lin Haoran nodded, turned around and left the office.
In the corridor, Liu Xiaoli, Li Weidong, and Li Weiguo were waiting for him.
“Let’s go to Huanyu Investment Company,” Lin Haoran said to Li Weidong.
"Okay, boss, I've already had the driver take the car to the parking lot downstairs," Li Weidong replied.
He is always meticulous in his work. He won't serve you like Liu Xiaoli does, but he never forgets anything that needs to be thought of.
Along the way, he met many mid-to-senior level managers or ordinary employees of Citibank, and each of them greeted Lin Haoran warmly.
"Director Lin, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Mr. Lin, it's so good to meet you."
……
Lin Haoran responded with a smile to each of them, but his steps did not falter at all.
He is not only an executive director of Citibank, but also has a considerable reputation in the American financial world. Since his successful prediction of the US stock market decline, his reputation on Wall Street has spread.
Therefore, Lin Haoran is now an idol for many people.
And within Citigroup, there are naturally many young people who admire him.
Lin Haoran didn't know these people well, but he would smile and nod to them every time he saw them, neither appearing arrogant nor overly familiar, striking the perfect balance.
The three of them left the building, where the Mercedes-Benz armored car arranged by Li Guowei was already parked at the entrance.
The driver, who was standing next to the car, quickly opened the car door when he saw Lin Haoran get out.
Lin Haoran bent down and got into the car. Liu Xiaoli sat next to him, and Li Weidong sat in the passenger seat.
Li Weiguo got into the armored car behind and followed.
The car slowly pulled out and drove along the narrow street toward Wall Street.
The streets of Lower Manhattan are narrow and crowded, lined with towering skyscrapers, where sunlight is fragmented and dappled across the pavement.
Lin Haoran leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
Liu Xiaoli, on the other hand, was full of curiosity about the street scene next to her.
“Boss, I thought Hong Kong was already bustling enough, but I didn’t expect New York to be even more bustling.” Liu Xiaoli looked out the window and couldn’t help but exclaim, “These buildings are so tall, much taller than those in Central.”
Lin Haoran opened his eyes, followed her gaze to the window, and smiled, "New York is the world's largest city and the world's leading financial center. Although Hong Kong is known as New York, London and Hong Kong, it is still somewhat inferior."
Liu Xiaoli nodded thoughtfully and said nothing more.
Although she didn't understand these macro-level things very well, she always believed what Lin Haoran said.
The car stopped in the underground parking garage of a commercial building near Times Square.
Lin Haoran got out of the car, looked up at the gray-white building, and stepped inside.
Huanyu Investment Company's office is on the 28th floor of this building; the entire floor belongs to them.
The moment the elevator doors opened, several familiar employees appeared before Lin Haoran.
"Boss," Han Zixing spoke first, his voice tinged with excitement, "it's been a long time."
Lin Haoran nodded, his gaze sweeping across the faces of these people.
Han Zixing, Shi Zhensheng, Qi Fen, Zhao Lin...
These are all veteran employees of Universal Investment Company. They have followed Su Zhixue since the company was founded, all the way from Hong Kong to New York, growing from a few hundred or tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars to a company worth hundreds of billions of US dollars.
Although Lin Haoran doesn't come often, he remembers everyone's name and face.
"Long time no see!" Lin Haoran greeted him with a smile.
These individuals returned to New York after completing their operations in Brazil.
As for Su Zhixue, he is currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He will return to New York after Argentina and Venezuela have completely closed their positions.
Led by several people, Lin Haoran inspected the entire headquarters of Huanyu Investment Company.
The office has at least two or three hundred employees, about 60% of whom are of Chinese descent, and the remaining 40% are white, who are probably all elites poached from Wall Street.
Some were on the phone, some were discussing, and some were negotiating with clients.
Today, Universal Investment Company not only executes its investment plans, but also makes some relatively stable investments independently, such as US stocks, US bonds, foreign exchange, etc.
They even established a fund product to raise funds from the public and manage a lot of money from external investors.
This was Su Zhixue's idea. Although Huanyu Investment Company is very large with Lin Haoran's funds alone, if it can raise funds from the outside and collect management fees and performance-based commissions, it can create a self-sustaining and continuously expanding platform.
Lin Haoran was aware of this matter and tacitly approved of it. Although Huanyu Investment Company was his private investment company, it would be a good thing if it could expand.
But he had never looked into it closely before; today is a good day to take a look.
"Zixing, what is the total asset value of the funds managed by the company now?" Lin Haoran asked as they walked.
They certainly didn't know the total assets of Huanyu Investment Company; that was a secret, known only to Su Zhixue and a trusted CFO. However, the fund's assets, which were raised from outside, didn't need to be kept secret; those were things that needed to be made public.
Han Zixing followed half a step behind Lin Haoran and respectfully replied, "Boss, the total assets of the funds managed by the company are currently about 2.8 million US dollars. This is because our fund returns have increased well over the past year, by a full 2.6 times, which has attracted the attention of many investors."
When we first started the fund, we weren't well-known and couldn't raise any funds. It was only with the help of Mr. Su and some employees who invested more than 30 million US dollars that we had the initial capital.
Later, as our performance improved and our reputation spread, we gradually attracted external investors. Now, the fund size has reached $2.8 million, which is quite an achievement.
In terms of returns alone, our fund ranks among the top three in its category, but in terms of size, it is far behind those established fund companies.
Lin Haoran nodded. $2.8 million was just a drop in the ocean for him, but for a fund that had been established for less than a year, it was already a pretty good result.
It is indeed small in scale now, but sooner or later it will grow into a giant like those fund giants.
Although Lin Haoran has a lot of funds at his disposal, he doesn't mind having more money. It would be a good thing to attract more funds and give Huanyu Investment Company more funds to operate.
Su Zhixue's approach is correct: first, use high returns to build a reputation and attract more funds, then reduce operating costs through economies of scale, forming a virtuous cycle.
He smiled and said to the group, "You guys must have cast quite a few bets too, right?"
Han Zixing smiled sheepishly and scratched his head: "Boss, the rest of us followed President Su and invested quite a bit. President Su invested ten million US dollars, and I invested three million US dollars. President Su said, if you don't even invest in your own fund, why should outsiders believe you? So we all invested real money, not just for show."
These earliest veterans who followed him are all millionaires, just from the bonuses given by the company. Su Zhixue, for example, already has assets of over 100 million US dollars, not Hong Kong dollars!
Having earned so much, he naturally wouldn't mistreat the brothers who risked their lives for him; otherwise, even if their loyalty was high, it wouldn't last long.
Lin Haoran patted Han Zixing on the shoulder, said nothing more, and continued walking forward.
After passing through the trading hall, I arrived at the general manager's office, pushed open the door, and sat down on the sofa.
Su Zhixue was not in New York, so there was no one in the office.
However, the office was very clean, indicating that someone cleaned it regularly.
Important documents are locked in a safe, so there's no fear of leaks.
Lin Haoran looked around the office and his gaze fell on a world map hanging on the wall.
Several places were marked in red on the map—New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico City, and several Latin American cities.
This is a microcosm of Huanyu Investment Company's global layout, and also the empire that Su Zhixue and his team have built over the years.
Han Zixing poured him a cup of tea and was about to leave when Lin Haoran called him back.
"Zixing, sit down. I have something to talk to you about," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Han Zixing was slightly taken aback, and then sat down in the chair opposite Lin Haoran.
He joined Huanyu Investment Company in 1978. At that time, the boss, Lin Haoran, was just an ordinary rich second-generation, far from the famous business tycoon he is today.
I didn't feel much pressure when facing my boss before.
But now, Lin Haoran is already a world-class business tycoon, and every time they meet, he feels an invisible pressure.
This pressure didn't come from Lin Haoran's authority, but from his all-knowing calmness and composure.
In front of Lin Haoran, Han Zixing always felt that his every thought and every action was being seen through.
Han Zixing is now considered a senior executive at Huanyu Investment Company, in charge of an important department.
Lin Haoran picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and looked at Han Zixing. He asked, "Zixing, the company has been in New York for three years now. With your understanding of the company, have you noticed any problems?"
After thinking for a moment, Han Zixing said, "Boss, there really is. As the company grows, our staff size is getting bigger and bigger. Although the office occupies an entire floor, all departments are crammed into this floor, which inevitably causes some unnecessary friction and interference."
Moreover, with the trading floor and the fund management team's offices mixed together, the emotional fluctuations of traders can easily affect the judgment of the fund management team, and vice versa.
In addition, our original team is responsible for investing in projects on your behalf. For security reasons, only our original team members are allowed to access these investment projects. Other employees are not allowed to access them. However, due to our limited office space, although we have separated many meeting rooms and work war rooms, there are still risks involved.
Our team is still expanding, and we'll have more and more employees in the future, so our office space is indeed becoming insufficient.
Lin Haoran nodded. He had also noticed the issue Han Zixing mentioned during his inspection earlier.
The entire floor is about 1300 square meters, which is indeed a bit saturated with the company's current workforce of about 300 employees.
The traders in the trading hall who engage in short-term trading are prone to emotional fluctuations and loud voices, while fund management teams need to think calmly and make independent judgments. Mixing the two together is certainly not a long-term solution.
More importantly, the core operations of Huanyu Investment Company, such as secretly acquiring US stocks with very good prospects, are sensitive transactions. Only Su Zhixue and a few veteran employees know the full details. These operations are carried out in a special operations room, isolated from the outside world.
However, as the company expands and the number of employees increases, the pressure to maintain confidentiality becomes increasingly greater.
"Actually, before going to Mexico, Mr. Su said he was going to report this matter to you, the boss, and planned to rent or buy the office upstairs or downstairs. However, the strategy of increasing holdings of US stocks was suspended due to the investment in Latin American debt, so this matter is not in a hurry."
"However, once everything in Latin America is settled, given the tasks you've assigned us, boss, we'll still have to face this issue," Han Zixing added.
Lin Haoran smiled and said, "Okay, I understand. I will discuss this with Zhixue. Are there any other questions?"
This was a trivial matter to him.
Now, he has three or four hundred billion dollars at his disposal, so buying a building in New York would be a piece of cake.
Su Zhixue plans to rent or buy the office upstairs or downstairs, but Lin Haoran thinks the space is still a bit too small.
If you're going to expand, you need to do it properly.
Renting someone else's office means you'll always be at their mercy.
Buying another floor will eventually lead to market saturation, so it's better to just buy a building of your own.
New York's commercial real estate market is currently in a downturn, making it a good time to buy.
Since his purpose in coming to the United States was to spend money, he might as well use a small portion of it to buy a building. This would solve the problem of insufficient office space and allow him to enjoy the benefits of asset appreciation, killing two birds with one stone.
Han Zixing hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Boss, as our company expands, our staff is becoming more and more diverse. Those white elites we poached from Wall Street are indeed very capable, but their loyalty is hard to say."
They came to Huanyu Investment Company mainly for the high salaries and bonuses; they have no emotional attachment to the company. If a competitor offers a higher price someday, they might jump ship, and might even take the company's core information with them. Although this hasn't happened yet, it doesn't mean it won't in the future.
Lin Haoran nodded; he had noticed this issue long ago.
The core assets of Huanyu Investment Company are not its trading models and investment strategies, but the experience and judgment of Su Zhixue and his veteran employees.
Those poached from Wall Street may be capable, but they are unreliable.
The people you can truly entrust with important matters are these elderly people who have followed us all the way from Hong Kong.
These employees who came from Hong Kong are all loyal; they are all long-time subordinates who have followed him for many years, whom he knows well and can trust.
But the new recruits from Wall Street are different. They came to Huanyu Investment Company mainly for the high salaries and bonuses. They have no feelings for the company and even less loyalty to Lin Haoran.
If a competitor offers a higher price someday, they might jump ship and even take the company's core information with them.
This problem must be prevented in advance.
However, this matter was not a big problem for Lin Haoran, because he had a cheat code that allowed him to see the loyalty of his subordinates!
He glanced at his watch; it was 10:30 a.m. New York time.
"Here's what we'll do: in an hour, gather all the new employees in the conference room, and leave the existing employees to continue working. I'll meet with them then," Lin Haoran said.
The long-term employees who came from Hong Kong have no issues with loyalty. When he inspected the office just now, he specifically checked the loyalty of each person.
However, a small number of the new faces do have loyalty issues. Although the number is not large, one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.
Since we've gone to all this trouble to come to New York, let's get rid of these little rats! (End of Chapter)