Chapter 691 Taking Over

On the last day of September, ICBC submitted a new strategic cooperation plan.

According to the normal process, ICBC will sign a strategic investment and cooperation agreement with the two consortiums, and then see whether the agreement can be approved by the Securities Regulatory Commission.

Of course, the process is the process, and the internal research and decision are generally done long ago, and the signed agreement can be waited for execution - this is the case with Bank of China.

ICBC's intention is to wait until the opinions of the leaders are released, and several parties will attend the signing and press conference together to finalize this cooperation.

However, Fang Zhuo and President Jiang had a small communication and proposed to downplay the requirements of the "MIGA Fund" as much as possible, and then highlight Deutsche Bank's status and business level in Europe.

President Jiang was a little surprised by President Fang's low-key style at this time, but his purpose of checking and balancing Goldman Sachs has been achieved. Since there will be no problem with funds, there is no problem with the emphasis on publicity.

On October 1st, the National Day holiday began.

Fang Zhuo gave himself two days off.

He had to wait for ICBC's proposal, Goldman Sachs' move on Merrill Lynch, and Yiguo executives' latest report on their arrival in Beijing, as well as cashing out stocks in accordance with the US SEC regulations.

All of these require time and procedures.

So, taking advantage of this waiting opportunity, Fang Zhuo recorded the sports program that he had promised Yao Ming before.

The Rockets won the championship this season with the new trident, which made domestic sports media and fans cheer. The reports on Yao Ming were not limited to sports, and even the 7 o'clock news reported on him.

As the owner of the team and a well-known figure in the domestic business community, Fang Zhuo was also mentioned in the news.

However, what made him feel a little embarrassed was that the 7 o'clock news broadcast screen at 7 o'clock in the evening, whether intentionally or unintentionally, put the scene of him scolding the referee during the finals.

Although it was just a picture without sound, everyone could easily see the lip shape of this national quintessence.

Fang Zhuo felt that it had more or less affected his personal image.

When it came to the recording of CCTV 5 on the evening of the 2nd, Fang Zhuo and Yao Ming were interviewed together, mainly talking about the Rockets' performance this year and future prospects. In the meantime, they were inevitably asked about the situation of the last game of the finals.

"Boss Fang, your American media colleagues released your shouting to player Nazr Mohammed last month, saying that the Pistons had their championship stolen. What do you think of this?" The host mentioned the conflict on the court during the life-and-death battle.

At that time, Yao Ming was injured by a malicious foul. The team owner shouted at the substitute center who came on the court, and then Nazr responded to the Pistons player with a fierce foul.

Such a foul led to a conflict on the court. Nazr and the opponent's main player Ben were both ejected from the game, and the Rockets successfully won the game.

Last month, the US media reviewed and released the content of the Rockets owner's shouting-"Nazr, did you see how they treated Yao? Did you see it? Did you see it?"

This was regarded as an extremely obvious hint by the American media, and they criticized it and felt sorry for the Pistons.

Fang Zhuo only realized this after listening to the host's introduction. He was busy with work all day and didn't pay attention to sports after returning to China. Now he was quite surprised.

He responded nonchalantly: "The league didn't say anything, the referee didn't say anything, just like the Pistons' foul on Dayao in that game. Fouls and conflicts are all part of the game. The championship trophy has been taken back. It's boring to talk about stealing now."

"We often say 'winners are kings and losers are bandits', and competitive sports are like this."

"I hope Dayao can take more honors while the team's lineup is good."

"Speaking of which, Dayao should protect his body more during the offseason. His level is the highest in the world. He shouldn't waste it on some low-level competitions. More opportunities should be left for domestic players."

Fang Zhuo chatted with Yao Ming before recording the show. He knew that he didn't rest much after returning to China and was involved in the preparations for the Asian Men's Basketball Championship. There's nothing to say about such events, but other small events should be avoided as much as possible.

The host didn't expect that Boss Fang would turn the topic to the use of Yao Ming in domestic competitions, so he quickly turned a blind eye and talked about his expectations for the future.

Because the league's salary cap for the new season has been released, it is $6 million higher than the original forecast, which gives the defending champion Rockets more room for operation and can continue to maintain first-class competitiveness.

Fang Zhuo was much more relaxed when talking about sports in front of the camera. As the boss who knows the most about basketball, he said first-hand information. Some of the opinions based on the operation level are not known to Yao Ming. The whole talk made everyone listen with relish.

When the recording was finished, Fang Zhuo invited the host, guests, Yao Ming and others to have supper together and talked about the off-season issue that he mentioned in the middle of the show.

"We must participate in the Asian Championships to win glory for the country, but don't participate in the Stankovic Intercontinental Basketball Champions Cup."

Fang Zhuo pointed out more clearly.

Yang Yi, deputy editor-in-chief of Basketball Pioneer, was a guest on today's show. Upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "This tournament was just held this year, so the intensity is not high. Yao Ming was unable to participate this year because of the playoffs and the Asian Championships. Our team only finished fourth. I heard that some leaders felt that it was embarrassing, so they might not let Yao Ming play next year."

The Stankovic Intercontinental Basketball Championship Cup was founded in 2005. Only 6 teams were invited to participate. This year's champion is Lithuania.

Fang Zhuo shrugged, looked at Yao Ming, and asked, "Will you participate next year?"

Yao Ming hesitated for a second and heard his boss continue to talk.

"Okay, no matter what your answer is now, my meaning is very clear. You don't have to participate in such a competition. The team will communicate with the country about this matter. I will take any pressure from the leaders." Fang Zhuo immediately made the decision.

Several hosts and commentators in the sports circle looked at each other. According to the nature of sports leaders... I am afraid that Yao Ming will be named to play.

But in fact, they also think that small events do not need to consume Yao Ming. He has already played in the Doha Asian Championships this year. He will take a rest in 2006. In 2007, it will be the Tokushima Asian Championships. In 2008, it will be the Olympics. Looking at the Rockets' lineup in recent years, they may have to play a lot of playoffs. Yao Ming's health must be taken care of.

It depends on whether Mr. Fang can protect Yao Ming.

When they thought about it, they felt relieved. After the Rockets changed their ownership, gossip about the new owner would appear in the sports circle. There was no doubt that Mr. Fang had the power.

Since Mr. Fang had said so, he would definitely have a good rest next year and see if he could take advantage of the team's golden period to add more honors.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the supper ended.

Before Fang Zhuo got out of the car and entered the hotel, he received a call from Paulson.

"Fang, it's half done." Paulson said, "One hedge fund has basically reached an agreement with Merrill Lynch, and the other is still in preparation."

Fang Zhuo was surprised. So fast? This efficiency is too high, right?

Or, Merrill Lynch was too eager to change hands.

From this point of view, did Merrill Lynch intend to be a middleman from the beginning?

Fang Zhuo's mind flashed, and he said, "It was a hedge fund that was found. That's really... what it deserves."

Paulson was really good. He actually drove the hedge fund to take over Merrill Lynch.

Hedge funds are a type of private equity investment fund that eliminates systemic risks by hedging long and short positions, thereby obtaining absolute returns.

Domestic banks will never welcome highly speculative hedge funds, which will neither help IPOs nor improve banking business.

It can be said that once hedge funds become strategic investors of Bank of China, this will definitely be a major scandal for it and the domestic and even international banking industry.