Reborn in Hong Kong: The Tycoon Grows Up

Chapter 2014 Short Franc

As early as the 135 War, the then French King Jean II lost the battle of Poitiers in western France; he was captured by the British army and became a prisoner. The British put forward harsh conditions for his release: he would only be released after paying 3 million gold louis. After Jean II was imprisoned in London for four years, he finally paid the huge ransom in full and was able to return to France.

After his release, King Jean II signed an edict and decided to mint coins containing 3.87 grams of pure gold to commemorate this historical event. The obverse side of the coin shows the heroic image of King II wearing armor on a war horse and holding a sword; it means that the king is free and returns to France.

According to the king's decree, this new coin was named after Liberty. The French word for freedom is FRANC, and its transliteration into Chinese is Franc. Counting from the 13th century, the franc is one of the oldest currencies in the world.

Currently, with the exception of France, Switzerland and Belgium in the original Latin Monetary Union use the franc as their currency unit. Liechtenstein uses the Swiss franc; Luxembourg also uses the franc after independence.

In addition, countries that were once colonial countries of France and Belgium have their official currency also called the franc: Guinea, Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, and Comoros.

Even eight countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo use the West African CFA franc uniformly, while Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabonese franc, etc. Value but not in circulation with each other, they are often collectively called the CFA franc! Of course, the French franc is in the above countries; but it has the same status as the domestic franc and can be used normally! Even if national francs are issued, printing is still left to France; it can be said that everything is under French control!

Lowering the credit limit and paying the purchase price in full is only the first step; the next step is the highlight. The status of the franc in international trade is definitely much worse than that of the US dollar and the pound; but because it is used by many African countries, the circulation volume is indeed not small.

After the Second World War, the franc depreciated five times, with a depreciation rate of 50%. After President de Gaulle came to power, he decided to introduce a new franc to replace the old franc that continued to depreciate.

And at the beginning of 1st, currency reform was implemented; new francs were issued, 1 new franc was equal to 100 old francs; the gold content was 0.1802 grams. Continuously under attack; 11.11%. 1. Establish a dual foreign exchange market and divide the franc exchange rate into a trade franc and a financial franc; however, the exchange rate distinction was canceled soon after. Perhaps France also believed that it was inconsistent with economic and market laws!

1 participated in the Western European Serpentine Float and in March of the following year participated in the Western European Joint Float. After the 1980s, the franc depreciated three times, and the ratio of the U.S. dollar to the franc once fell to 1:10.

And because France was defeated in the war, the franc further depreciated; making the current exchange rate stable at 12.6 francs per US dollar!

As the oldest currency in the world and used by so many countries in Europe and Africa, the franc has been depreciating. I really don’t know what the French are doing!

Of course, we cannot miss such a good opportunity now; we are also prepared to contact Wall Street investment banks and funds to work together.

Bao Zixuan didn't want to be resented by the French for being the first to take action; at least he couldn't be the first to take action. To make money by following behind, with the size of Blackstone Fund’s capital, the bulk still belongs to him.

After completing harvests in Japan and Germany, Blackstone Fund has been active in the Soviet Union; as the most important project in the next few years, Clay Clark, as the president of the company, will definitely be involved in it. The amount of funds allocated is too huge, and it cannot be completely reassuring if it is handed over to others.

I suddenly received a call from my boss, and I instantly became energetic; the Soviet Union was a long-term investment that would not bear fruit in a short period of time. When it comes to France at this moment, it has just been defeated on the battlefield; if the Soviet Union and the Middle East countries reduce France's credit limit, then currency devaluation is inevitable. Even irreversible and powerless!

Before preparing to lower France's credit limit, Bao Shaofu had already informed Clay Clark of his subsequent plans. In the financial field, there is an information gap; if everyone knows something, there is still an advantage!

According to Bao Zixuan's plan, Clay Clark returned to the United States as soon as possible; to find the already famous hedge fund leader Soros!

Other institutions must take the lead, and Soros is undoubtedly the most suitable choice.

The content of the conversation between the two was confidential, but it was only for outsiders; as Bao Zixuan was the driving force behind the scenes, everything was under his control.

Soros was responsible for taking the lead, on the condition that Blackstone Fund injects US$10 billion; the US$10 billion will eventually generate half of the income for the company. It can be said that Bao Zixuan directly gave up half of his income, which was far more courageous than anyone else.

The Blackstone Fund and the Black Cloud Group stood behind him, which made Soros's back a lot harder. In addition, he knew the plans of the Soviet Union and Middle Eastern countries, and the French would definitely not feel comfortable in the coming days!

Soros came directly to France, which is a very obvious signal; after all, the old boy does not have a very good reputation and will cause serious damage wherever he goes.

Coming to France at such a sensitive time, no one would believe me if I said everything was fine here.

Previously, I had obtained huge amounts of francs from major banks through many companies and account numbers; some were exchanges, and more were lending.

Now the Soviet Union and Middle Eastern countries have announced that they will reduce France's credit limit, even if the United States and European countries have not expressed their stance, but that is no longer important; the depreciation of the franc is inevitable!

So Soros did not hesitate to start selling francs to the market. The amount was so large that it simply subverted past perceptions.

When the old boy became so rich, he must have received support from other forces; but at the same time, it also sent another signal. You must not keep too many francs in your hands, as they may depreciate to some extent.

In one day, the exchange rate of francs to US dollars increased from 122:1, making history invisibly!

Even when Germany occupied Paris during World War II, it did not fall so badly; of course, it may also be that the international currency exchange system was not very complete at that time. But no matter what, if this continues; the franc is likely to become useless paper.

Currency is an important tool for a country to exert its power; in a country, currency is not only a medium of transaction; it is also the cornerstone of the country's economic and social development. Whether official or personal, we rely on currency in our daily lives!

In the modern economy, currency has always played a vital role; it plays a great role in achieving domestic economic development and international trade. A country's monetary policy and currency reserves play a key role in the country's political stability, social stability and economic development. The correct implementation of currency management and decision-making is of extremely important significance for achieving national prosperity.

The collapse of a country's monetary system will inevitably cause people to lose confidence in the national currency, which in turn will cause the currency to continue to depreciate. A substantial devaluation of a currency will bring about many chain reactions. The final result is that the world loses confidence in a country's currency.

The franc is facing this problem now. If it is not properly solved, the final result will definitely not be very good.

After de Gaulle came to power, he finally stabilized the French monetary system; now he is faced with this problem again, is it necessary to issue new currency?

Once or twice is understandable, but France will not have any credibility after a long time. Besides, even if new currencies are issued, there will be no losses for these Wall Street funds.

The only way for them to suffer a loss is to let the franc appreciate. In this situation, the world is not optimistic about the future development of France at all; they are avoiding it, so how can they spend money to support France.

But no matter what, the officials must do something; they cannot let the people down again. Facing the invasion of foreign enemies, there is no way to fight back; how can we gain the trust of the people by surrendering directly?

Having already lost a war, we must not lose this smokeless financial war.

Know that it is difficult or even impossible; but you must face it bravely. France can fail, but it must not give in. We must show our tough side. As long as those Wall Street capitalists still want to live a good life, they will not dare to go too far.

If the French are pushed into a hurry, they will not have a good life; at worst, the fish will die and the net will be broken. I guess no one wants to see this result!

On the one hand, France is actively repurchasing francs, and on the other hand, it is negotiating with CEOs of major fund companies. The intention is very clear, enough is enough; don't play with fire.