N-M Chapter 1304, 1313: This young man is something else!
Chapter 1304, 1313: This young man is something else!
Chapter 1304, 1313: This young man is something else!
The collapse of the Tokyo Stock Exchange naturally attracted the attention of Japan's financial regulators.
The violent stock market tsunami centered in Ginza quickly brought together the heads of various regulatory bodies, including the Securities Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, the Securities and Exchange Council, the Central Bank of Japan, and the Japan Securities Association, to a meeting room.
However, what's somewhat ironic is that Kiichi Miyazawa, the Minister of Finance of the Ministry of Finance, who is nominally in charge of the securities and finance department in Japan, is deeply involved in the Recruit bribery case and has had to resign and apologize.
Moreover, many officials from the Ministry of Finance have been implicated, and the ministry's functions are now practically nonexistent.
"Gentlemen, the situation has reached a point of no return!"
Ryotaro Takayama, Vice President of the Securities Bureau of the Ministry of Finance and Superintendent of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, said in a somber tone,
"The storm in New York is unstoppable. Even though the president, the treasury secretary, and various financial magnates are appealing for action, once the floodwaters form, no one can stop them!"
"I have already informed the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister."
At this point, Ryotaro Takayama paused, knowing that the two high-ranking officials, embroiled in scandals and political infighting, were unlikely to take immediate action.
"In the short term, we need to quickly come up with a solution to minimize the impact of this stock market crash."
Haruo Maekawa, Governor of the Central Bank of Japan, said:
"We really need to take action quickly. We've learned from various banks that they previously provided a lot of loans to leverage investors, but now that the stock market has crashed, there's no one to take over the forced liquidation. If this continues, a large amount of loans will become bad debts!"
"Furthermore, many listed companies have seen their stock prices collapse, and if these companies go bankrupt, they won't be able to recover their loans."
You have to understand that loans were very easy to obtain back then. If you wanted to, an ordinary person with a house could easily get a loan of hundreds of millions of yuan. Large companies took out even more loans!
Faced with this stock market crash, banks are considering suspending credit to some professional securities firms, fearing they might go bankrupt and be unable to repay loans.
"I've already spoken with bank presidents who want to stop providing credit loans to securities firms and listed companies!"
Ryotaro Takayama remained silent. He glanced helplessly at the president of the Central Bank of Japan, but dared not rebuke him. This was because Haruo Maekawa represented the largest capital interest group in Japan, and what he said reflected the thoughts of the various banks.
That's how banks work; they take back the umbrellas they've lent out when it rains!
At this point, someone suggested:
"How about we follow Hong Kong's example and temporarily suspend trading for a few days until the storm passes?!"
"."
Closing the market is out of the question; that would completely destroy market confidence and could even cause greater damage to Japan's economy!
Didn't you see that even though the New York Stock Exchange crashed like that, the US government still said in the media that the market would reopen the next day?
The president of the Japanese Securities Association broke the awkward silence:
"I think we must work together to overcome this difficult time. Under these circumstances, I believe it is necessary to convene major securities firms to discuss countermeasures!"
"They are the ones who face the market directly! They have a clearer understanding of the stock market crash!"
"That's right!" "The stock market crash came so suddenly, we were completely bewildered and didn't understand the situation!" "It's not far from Ginza."
Things developed too quickly. Although these bigwigs are all big names in the financial world, they actually had a lot of confidence in the Japanese stock market before this. They never expected it to collapse to this extent in just half a day!
"By the way, I heard that Tree Friends Capital warned about market risks early this morning?!"
Suddenly, the name of Tree Friends Capital popped into Takayama Ryotaro's mind. This investment company was actually quite famous in Tibet Province. In just a few years, it had made a name for itself in the financial circle and had a capital pool of tens of billions of yen.
Moreover, his president, Naoki Nagayama, is so famous.
"Yes, that's true!"
A colleague nodded in agreement.
"It seems he was even ridiculed within the industry because of this."
“Then let’s invite him over this time as well,” Ryotaro Takayama said. “Let’s see if he has any good suggestions.”
"Hi!"
At this moment, Naoki Nagayama, whom everyone was talking about, was in the conference room of Shuyou Capital, receiving a group of uninvited guests.
These people included investors, investment managers from private equity funds, small securities brokers, and former clients of Shuyou, but now they all looked utterly panicked.
They had all suffered heavy losses in the stock market and were at their wits' end; otherwise, they wouldn't have come to Shuyou Capital to find Naoki Nagayama based on a mere rumor.
"President Nagayama, please save us!" "We're desperate!" "Our warehouse is about to burst!"
They wailed and cried out to the very famous Naoki Nagayama, hoping to get a solution.
"."
Naoki Nagayama touched his forehead, somewhat helplessly.
Even if you say that, there's nothing I can do.
"Impossible! Didn't your Tree Friends Capital predict the stock market crash a long time ago?!"
"They must have already prepared!" "There must be a solution!"
Naoki Nagayama coughed twice:
"You all already know our solution from Tree Friends Capital: contraction! Extreme conservatism!"
"Only in this way can we ensure that we preserve our funds during a stock market crash."
"But before, many clients not only disagreed with our strategy, but some even closed their accounts and took their money to other securities firms."
Upon hearing this, some people showed remorse on their faces!
Why couldn't they control their greed? It's just a month without making money, why couldn't they hold on?!
If they had stayed with TreeFriend Capital back then, they would be incredibly grateful now! Just like those people in the TreeFriend Capital work area!
"Naoki-san, please, show us the way!"
"Please!"
Seeing that someone was about to immediately kneel down in reverence, Naoki Nagayama quickly helped them up.
"It's not that I don't want to help you all," Naoki Nagayama said with difficulty, looking around. "But you all currently have no capital left."
In reality, during a stock market crash, those who bought stocks simply needed to remain inactive and wait for the market to recover. Most of those who suffered losses were those who leveraged their investments based on expectations, a high-risk, high-reward strategy that led to their margin calls!
"Naoki-san!!!" "President Nagayama!" "Is there really no other way?!"
"If Yongshan-san saves my life, I am willing to spend the rest of my life supporting you!"
"."
"Cough cough!"
Startled by such outrageous words, Naoki Nagayama coughed and quickly waved his hand.
"No need, no need!"
Seeing that no one in the meeting room was going to leave, and realizing that there was no way to find a solution today, he could only come up with a terrible idea:
"If you ask me, you'd be better off contacting the media, crying about the sudden disaster to put pressure on the regulatory agencies. Even if you can't handle it, you might get some leeway."
"For example, banks might relax their approval authority to grant more temporary loans or extend repayment periods. Banks don't want many loans to become bad debts."
"You have to understand that Japan's economy is actually quite good. This is just a temporary disaster, and the stock market will recover quickly. Take this opportunity to borrow some money to buy at the bottom, or even more aggressively, go long. Maybe you can make up for the losses."
"."
At this point, many bankrupt individuals would grasp at any tiny opportunity as if it were a lifeline.
These were all speculators who dared to use leverage, and after listening to Naoki Nagayama's words, they actually found some truth in them!
Seeing a glimmer of hope in their eyes, Naoki Nagayama didn't say anything more. If he continued, they might even ask him for money!
Just then, Kanai Hiroka hurriedly entered the conference room:
"Naoki-san, an official from the Ministry of Finance has invited you to attend an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with the stock market crash! They say they want to consult on how to respond to the crash!"
"!!!"
All eyes were on Naoki Nagayama. Sure enough, Naoki Nagayama was truly capable; even regulatory agencies wanted to invite him!
It's important to know that, aside from matters of this magnitude, those involved in the discussions are all at the highest levels of the Japanese financial world, after Naoki Nagayama—they can all be considered financial tycoons!
Where are they?
"We're waiting in the reception room!" Kanai Hiroka said urgently, "but you two seem to be in a hurry."
"Alright, I'll get started right away."
After Naoki Nagayama and the others in the conference room took their leave, he followed the people from the Ministry of Finance to the Kasumigaseki office in Chiyoda.
When Naoki Nagayama arrived at the main conference room, it was already incredibly noisy.
Upon entering, one finds representatives from several large securities firms arguing with bank representatives!
"If you dare to withdraw the loan now, you're killing our brokerage firm!!!"
Koji Nagai of Nomura Securities is yelling at the president of Mitsui Bank.
"At such a critical moment, you dare to undermine the very foundation of the Japanese stock market; you are the culprits behind its complete collapse!"
"You brokerage firms are the real culprits!" Haruo Maekawa shouted. "It's because you recklessly increased leverage without regard for risk that the stock market is so fragile! You are the sinners!"
"I have to consider the interests of the bank's shareholders now! Their money can't be left unrecovered!"
"you dare!"
"See if I dare!"
"."
These two were just one of many in the noisy crowd; Naoki Nagayama also saw others arguing with each other.
"I think we should close the market! Let the market sentiment calm down!"
"Impossible! A market closure would cause a complete collapse of the market!!! It would affect every aspect of society!!"
"But hundreds of billions of yen have already evaporated!!"
"But there are still trillions of yuan in funds in the market!!!"
The group of people who appeared to be officials quieted down considerably, mostly exchanging ideas.
"What was the Prime Minister's reaction?" "Has he consulted with other countries?"
"Isn't the Minister of Finance going to take charge?!"
Seeing that he was among the last group to arrive, Naoki Nagayama wanted to sneak into the conference room and find a seat near the door. However, the heavy wooden door of the conference room was inconveniently closed at that moment.
"Bang!!!"
In an instant, everyone's eyes turned to the person who had just entered through the door!
His young and handsome appearance made him instantly recognizable! The gazes of many financial tycoons instinctively turned scrutinizing.
"."
Naoki Nagayama was incredibly embarrassed. It felt like a late student sneaking into the classroom and being caught by the homeroom teacher!
Fortunately, most people working in institutions with strong internal systems have high emotional intelligence. Ryotaro Takayama, Vice President of the Securities Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, smiled and said:
"Ah, President Nagayama has arrived!"
He stood up, shook hands warmly with Naoki Nagayama, and introduced himself.
"I am Ryotaro Takayama, Vice President of the Securities Bureau of the Ministry of Finance. I will be hosting this impromptu meeting today. Please feel free to give me your guidance."
Please give me your guidance.
Naoki Nagayama nodded in respect.
Then Ryotaro Takayama introduced the following to the assembled dignitaries in the conference room:
"Gentlemen, this is Naoki Nagayama, the president of Tree Friends Capital. You should all recognize him!"
"Haha~ A big celebrity!" "A great writer!" "A famous director!" "The one who married Akina Nakamori!"
The group of financial tycoons nodded in agreement. Naoki Nagayama was indeed very famous. Although most of them had never met him in private, they could always see him on television and in newspapers.
Naoki Nagayama also recognized several familiar faces in the meeting room. He'd seen them at some gathering or the Tokyo International Film Festival—after all, the entertainment industry is backed by capital.
However, at this moment, Ryotaro Takayama had no intention of introducing everything in detail, as the situation was now an emergency!
After allowing Naoki Nagayama to sit in the empty seat, he continued to chair the meeting:
"We've discussed quite a few things, and I have a general idea of what you all are thinking. But one thing is clear: a market closure is not an option!"
"The New York Stock Exchange truly slumped after the news of the market closure broke! We cannot repeat the same mistake!"
"."
Then Ryotaro Takayama asked the participants to continue to offer their opinions and measures.
Naoki Nagayama listened for a while and realized that, putting aside the extreme measures, the bigwigs in the financial world were actually very sharp-minded and their proposed measures were very targeted.
For example, the government issued statements to control public opinion, banks remained calm and suspended loan withdrawals, securities firms increased investment, the police force deployed additional personnel to maintain social stability, and circuit breaker measures were subsequently established, etc.
However, these measures mainly focus on delaying and appeasement, and there are no effective solutions to the current stock market crash!
After listening for a while without coming up with any new ideas, Ryotaro Takayama noticed the newcomer, Naoki Nagayama, and asked directly:
"President Naoki Nagayama, you foresaw this stock market crash in advance, making you the only one among the investment banks present to escape unscathed!"
"What are your thoughts on dealing with the stock market crash?!"
"I?"
Naoki Nagayama looked up. He had thought he was just there to make up the numbers. In Japanese society, young people's opinions are not valued in this kind of situation.
However, he wasn't too panicked when he saw that everyone's attention was on him. He had already thought of some measures on his way here:
"The best way to quickly resolve this crash is for major securities firms and banks to join forces and buy up all the stocks that have been sold off!"
Upon hearing this, the financial tycoons immediately burst into laughter.
"So young indeed!" "President Nagayama probably has no idea how many people are dumping their shares on the market right now?!" "How could we possibly buy them back?!" "Even if we put all our money together, it wouldn't be enough!"
The crowd dismissed the young man's words, their contempt rising again, believing that Tree Friends Capital's success this time was just a fluke!
Naoki Nagayama was not discouraged by these people's words. He came here for two reasons: first, to get rid of the group of people from Tree Friends Capital; and second, to make a name for himself in the upper echelons of the financial world.
"Of course I know the money is far from enough!"
Naoki Nagayama continued speaking, his voice growing louder.
"However, we don't actually need to buy all the stocks; we just need to make a gesture. Perhaps a few dozen representative large companies' stocks will suffice."
"Then, with the added pronouncements from government officials and numerous financial experts and professors, the panic in the market will be quelled first."
Seeing that his words had prompted everyone to think, Naoki Nagayama continued to guide them, relying on his memory of the subsequent bailout measures taken by the United States!
"The Central Bank of Japan should use its reserve funds to inject into the banking system to ensure market liquidity. It should also support banks in providing loans to securities firms, ensuring that securities firms have funds on hand!"
"Banks and trust institutions need to commit to guaranteeing the funds of listed companies in order to restore their confidence."
"Then, if possible, we can join forces with a group of large companies to buy back shares and stabilize the stock price."
"If retail investors see hope, they won't go to extremes!"
"In that case, the Japanese stock market should have a chance to recover!"
Everyone in the conference room looked at Naoki Nagayama in surprise, not expecting that he could actually come up with a series of measures, and they even seemed to make some sense!
This young man is something else!
However, at this point, the bank representative questioned:
"President Nagayama, how can you be so sure the stock market won't continue to decline?! What if we can't get our bank's loans back?! Will the bank go bankrupt?!"
Naoki Nagayama shook his head:
"Actually, we all know that Japan's economic situation is actually very good. This stock market crash is inconsistent with the country's economic performance."
"The sudden stock market crash was caused by computer-based algorithmic trading. At a certain time and in a certain scenario, a large number of transactions happened to coincide, causing a run on the bank. This is a systemic risk and does not represent the economic situation itself!"
"In the long run, the Japanese stock market will definitely recover! The banks won't lose money!"
"Japan is in its golden age!"
"."
Naoki Nagayama's words made the bank representative pause, for the bank knew the Japanese economic situation better than anyone!
This is arguably the best era for Japan!
At this moment, Ryotaro Takayama's eyes were filled with surprise!
I never expected Naoki Nagayama to actually come up with new measures!!
"As expected of Naoki Nagayama, who foresaw the stock market crash! His insights into the stock market and the economy are indeed accurate!!"
He raised his hand and led the applause for Nagayama Naoki, then the second person, then the third person.
Finally, the entire conference room erupted in applause.
Many financial leaders have endorsed Naoki Nagayama's statement!
"Alright, let's follow President Nagayama's plan!"
Ryotaro Takayama is also a decisive person.
"Governor Haruo Maekawa, let's go together to communicate with the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister to discuss the possibility of the Central Bank of Japan injecting funds into various banks."
"Afterwards, we contacted major conglomerates and listed companies, asking them to buy back the shares."
"There's much more to come. You're all well-known figures in the financial world, so you can also leak information through the media!"
"."
Hearing this, Naoki Nagayama breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that his words had worked!
The rest, naturally, didn't require him, this young man, to continue running around; he could just wait to raise the market price!
To be honest, he hadn't slept for two days and one night. Now that he was relaxed, exhaustion immediately washed over him. All he wanted to do was go back to the Sakura-in and sleep soundly, ignoring all the storms and troubles outside!
Oh right, I promised Hana-chan I'd see Dad when I opened my eyes in the morning, but he broke his promise.
(End of this chapter)