Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 363

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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363. Tomorrow night will be the decisive moment that determines victory or defeat.

August 6, 1997, Central and Western District, Hong Kong.

“We’re barely maintaining the upper band of the exchange rate by releasing dollars, but the offensive is so fierce that I honestly cannot guarantee how much longer we can hold out.”

Those gathered on the sofa listened to Heo Jo-gang, the director of foreign exchange reserves whose face had visibly grown haggard over the past month from battling the currency speculators, and all wore dark expressions as they exhaled heavily.
Henry Wu, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, looked across at Director Heo Jo-gang seated on the sofa beside him, Cheng Tak-woo, the chief of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Paul Chang, the director of the Finance Bureau, before asking.

“I heard that the currency speculators poured out a total of 35 billion Hong Kong dollars in a single day today. Is that correct?”

Cheng Tak-woo, the chief of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) which effectively served as the central bank, responded with a visibly exhausted expression on his face.

“Additional selling pressure came afterward, pushing it well over 40 billion Hong Kong dollars.”
“Ugh.”

Watching Henry Wu grimace and let out a groan, Chief Cheng Tak-woo continued.

“The problem is that in the London Foreign Exchange Market which opened next, the currency speculators including the Quantum Fund show no signs of letting up on their Hong Kong dollar selling.”

Minister Henry Wu, reading the unusual atmosphere like the seasoned businessman he was, recited the words with his arms crossed.

“It seems these people intend to throw everything they have into a final decisive battle.”

Then Director Heo Jo-gang, seated on the left, spoke with a stern expression.

“I share that assessment.”

Director Paul Chang across from him also sighed.

“It seems that Beijing’s call to the White House may have backfired.”

Hearing this, Henry Wu narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

“No. It must have had an effect, which is why they’re coming at us like this.”

The three men turned their gazes toward Henry Wu with expressions of bewilderment.

“What do you mean by that?”
“It was effective?”

Henry Wu tapped lightly on the armrest of the sofa where he sat, speaking with the tip of his finger.

“The White House must have heard something, which is why they’re pressing us so aggressively, as if chasing us down.”

At that, Cheng Tak-woo nodded slightly after a moment of consideration.

“Indeed, it is strange that they’ve been gradually tightening the noose like a rabbit drive, and now suddenly they’re making reckless moves and hurrying.”

Paul Chang also nodded in agreement, stroking his chin with one hand.

“From what I can see, they certainly appear desperate.”

In the midst of this, Heo Jo-gang spoke in a heavy voice.

“But if we collapse first under the wave of attacks from currency speculators before Beijing’s pressure takes effect, then none of this matters, does it?”
“That’s probably what the other side is counting on.”

At Henry Wu’s words, the expressions of the three men gathered there grew grave.
Henry Wu then turned his head to look at Cheng Tak-woo and asked.

“How much foreign exchange reserves do we have left?”

Cheng Tak-woo, receiving the gaze, answered with a gloomy expression.

“Just under 47 billion dollars.”
“Huh.”
“Mm.”

Upon hearing the remaining foreign exchange reserves, the two directors and Henry Wu involuntarily crumpled their faces and let out sighs of despair.
It was understandable—the foreign exchange reserves, which had exceeded 92.8 billion dollars before the currency speculators’ attack, had evaporated by more than half in just one month.
Henry Wu gazed at them with a gravely serious expression and asked.

“How much further can we push the limit?”
“We’ve already exceeded the danger threshold long ago.”
“I know that. But we’ve held on this long—we can’t throw in the towel now, can we?”

Cheng Tak-woo, visibly troubled, fell silent for a moment before speaking.

“I believe we can manage to hold out up to 35 billion dollars.”
“So that leaves us with 12 billion dollars for currency defense going forward. That seems insufficient, so let’s set our final line at 30 billion dollars.”

Cheng Tak-woo immediately registered his objection.

“That’s impossible! If our foreign exchange reserves drop that low, maintaining the currency band won’t be the issue—we could face a default crisis!”
“I’m aware. But it’s clear as day that over the next few days, our opponents will launch a relentless assault to force our surrender. Considering that, even 17 billion dollars might not be enough.”

Henry Wu’s gaze hardened with resolve as he pressed Cheng Tak-woo, his decision already made.

“If we fail here, all those foreign reserves we’ve spent to hold on until now will have been meaningless—and Hong Kong’s economy will suffer irreversible damage.”

Faced with such unwavering determination, Cheng Tak-woo finally exhaled a resigned sigh.

“Very well. But this is absolutely the limit!”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of pushing us toward default, so rest assured.”

Henry Wu then shifted his gaze toward Heo Jo-gang.

“This will be our final critical moment. Do whatever it takes to defend against the currency speculators’ assault.”

It was a battle where everything hung in the balance.
Despite his exhaustion, Heo Jo-gang’s eyes still burned with determination as he nodded.

“I will do my utmost.”
“I’m counting on you.”

Henry Wu leaned back in his chair, speaking as if to himself.

“Just one more time. We only need to hold on this once more.”

***

“I’ll be heading out now.”

At Attendant Secretary Han Ji-sung’s words, I gave a small nod.

“Good work. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Han Ji-sung bowed and remained standing until the Elevator doors closed behind me and I came to a stop on the upper floor, only then turning to leave.
Meanwhile, as I entered my home, I pressed the light switch and turned on the living room lights.
The sudden brightness illuminated the interior, which was as neat and orderly as always.
I draped my jacket over the back of the sofa and retrieved a can of beer from the refrigerator.
As I drank the cold beer, the tightness I’d been feeling in my chest seemed to ease slightly.
Holding the beer in one hand, I walked into the living room, picked up the remote control on the table, and turned on the large television across from me.
Just then, the news came on, and a male anchor reported on the aircraft crash that had occurred in Guam today.

[… Korean Air Flight KE-801, a Boeing 747-300 passenger aircraft that departed from Gimpo Airport at 8:20 PM on the 5th, was scheduled to arrive at A.B. Won Pat International Airport in Agana, the capital of Guam, early this morning, but lost contact with the control tower just before landing and crashed in a jungle area called Nimitz Hill, approximately 5 kilometers from the airport.]
Korean Air’s Accident Response Headquarters and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 33 injured passengers have been rescued and are currently receiving treatment at local hospitals.
Meanwhile, the Blue House released a presidential statement saying, “We extend our deepest condolences to those who suffered this unfortunate accident and their families, and the Blue House and government will do our utmost in rescue operations for survivors and treatment of the injured, as well as in handling the aftermath of this accident.”
[Meanwhile, a temporary flight carrying families of the passengers….]

Watching the footage of the crash site where the massive passenger aircraft was devastatingly destroyed, with only a portion of its tail remaining, I wore an expression tinged with self-reproach.

“I can’t believe I forgot such a major disaster was happening….”

So consumed with the massive crisis of the IMF situation, I had completely forgotten about the aviation disaster unfolding in Guam.
Only when I saw the emergency news break this morning did I remember, and my mood had been poor all day because of it.
Of course, even with my regression, it was impossible for me to prevent every disaster that would occur in the future.
But if I had only remembered and taken some action, couldn’t I have saved the 228 lives that were tragically lost this time? This thought kept circling in my mind, filling me with guilt.
Moreover, while the weather in Guam at the time of the accident was poor, it was fundamentally a human-made disaster caused by multiple overlapping problems—the pilot’s confusion and the ILS guidance system being installed far away from where it should have been right before the runway—which made the tragedy all the more heartbreaking.
As I watched the news with a heavy expression, my mobile phone vibrated.
I retrieved my phone from the jacket draped over the back of the sofa, checked the number on the display, and pressed the call button.

“It’s me.”

Sensing the darkness in my voice, Landon Shore asked cautiously.

[Is something troubling you?]
“No, nothing.”

Seok-won answered and switched off the television with the remote.
Though the atmosphere felt subtly different from usual, when Seok-won avoided answering, Landon Shore didn’t press further and moved on to his business.

[I’ve discovered what conversations took place between Zhang Zedong and the White House through Treasury Secretary Professor Frank.]

Seok-won’s gloomy expression vanished as he responded immediately.

“Explain in detail.”
[As rumored, Zhang Zedong reportedly told them that if the currency speculators continue their assault on Hong Kong, China will have no choice but to devalue the yuan by 20% to defend the exchange rate.]
“A 20% devaluation? China is playing a far stronger hand than anticipated.”
[To move the sluggish White House, one must play cards of that magnitude, wouldn’t you say?]
“That’s true enough.”

If the yuan truly devalued by 20%, it would create serious problems for the U.S. government’s plan to engineer a weak dollar and reduce chronic fiscal deficits.

“Hedge funds like the Quantum Fund can simply pocket their profits and walk away. But from the White House’s perspective, which must steer the broader economic policy, it’s difficult to simply stand by and watch Asian currencies collapse one after another.”
[Precisely. They’ve gone to great lengths to engineer a weak dollar for export competitiveness, but if the opposing nation’s currency falls even further, it becomes utterly pointless.]

Since this much was what Seok-won had already anticipated, he gripped his mobile phone tighter and asked.

“So what response did the White House take?”
[They told Zhang Zedong that devaluing the yuan constitutes artificial manipulation of the exchange rate, and strongly warned him that doing so could strain bilateral relations.]
“That’s all?”

Seok-won’s brow furrowed slightly.

[And they gave George Hamilton, who is leading the assault on Hong Kong, four days.]

In that instant, Seok-won’s eyes gleamed as he grasped the underlying scheme.

“They’re demanding his surrender within that timeframe.”
[Exactly.]
“Now I understand why George Hamilton suddenly began making reckless moves and committing all his forces.”
[If he unleashes a carpet bombing of selling pressure on the Hong Kong dollar like today, the Hong Kong Government won’t be able to hold out much longer before raising the white flag, wouldn’t you agree?]
“I’m not so sure about that….”

After a moment’s reflection, Seok-won’s lips curled into a slight smirk.

“We won’t know the outcome until we see it, but based on my initial assessment, I believe Hong Kong has the advantage.”
[Even as they’re dumping over 40 billion Hong Kong dollars in a single day and pressing the attack?]
“Three days—well, one day has already passed, so two days remain. Once the Hong Kong Government learns what we’ve discovered, they’ll understand this is a time-limited assault. With hope restored, they’ll exhaust every resource to hold out until the deadline. Meanwhile, George Hamilton and the hedge funds will grow increasingly desperate as time slips away.”

There was an immense difference between merely enduring blindly and knowing exactly how long one needed to survive.

[Now that you mention it, that makes perfect sense.]

Landon Shore nodded in agreement, finally understanding.

“Once the hedge funds determine that Hong Kong’s collapse is unlikely and begin withdrawing from the assault one by one to minimize losses, that’s when the attack on Hong Kong will fail.”
[You’re right—the closer the deadline approaches, the more funds will start hedging their bets, knowing they need to pull out early to limit their losses.]
“Considering all that, tomorrow night will be the decisive turning point.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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