#83 Even I Didn't Expect This. A building in New York, America. Five people had gathered and were talking.
“George, you'll be the face of the Thai baht attack this time too, right?”
The man called George nodded.
“Of course, I'm the face of it.”
“Hahaha. I'll be sure to follow your lead.”
The five people gathered here were the ones who would wage a currency war against Asia.
“I took a pretty big loss in Japan. Who the hell are those guys at Dreamhigh?”
“It's a new investment firm, but their performance is quite good. Lately, they've been quietly investing only in stocks.”
“They'll definitely follow. That hyena-like bastard.”
George Soros didn't hide his hostility toward Han Gyeong-yeong.
“Haha. Still, isn't he beneath you? He's not even a competitor.”
At the flattering words of Click Morgan, the CEO of JP Morgan, George's expression brightened a little.
“Who owns that company?”
“A man named Charlie Kim is said to hold 99% of the shares. Some guy named James only has 1%, and the detailed information is shrouded in mystery.”
“I'll handle the attack, so you guys keep an eye on Dreamhigh. If they take a different position, we'll need to hedge our bets. Something feels off.”
“Hoho, you've become quite timid. The great George, of all people.”
The CEOs of the giant investment banks were less wary of Dreamhigh, but George could feel it. The fact that their moves so far had always been faster than his. The Mexican peso, the Japanese yen.
They always went in before him and got out earlier than him. He knew this because he was the one who had suffered a great loss because of it. Of course, he had still made a profit from the continued attacks after they pulled out, but it was enough to give him a great sense of defeat.
And so, without his knowledge, Han Gyeong-yeong was receiving the full attention of Wall Street's titans.
Options were a simple game. A concept of buying and selling time. A derivative product where anything could be bought and sold.
A gamble where if one person makes money, another loses it. American-style options allowed the holder to exercise their rights at any time before expiration. The attack on the Thai baht began with the stock market.
The hyenas of Wall Street, led by George Soros, pounced on the stock market. Thailand's stock prices plummeted by more than 10%, and investors began to be gripped by fear.
“Brother, get ready. Have the Dreamhigh employees put 10 billion in the same position as Wall Street first. You take the opposite position with 15 billion. I'll also take 15 billion.” —Okay.
I'm waiting.
Before the attack on the baht began, many options were already being traded. The Wall Street investment banks were creating various options and looking for buyers. It was a game with over a 90% chance of winning anyway.
Options worth astronomical amounts were traded for pennies on the dollar. The main players leading the attack on the baht were famous hedge fund managers like George Soros, Stanley Druckenmiller, Julian Robertson, and Leon Cooperman, and the foreign exchange dealer organizations of Wall Street financial institutions like JP Morgan, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs were fully mobilized.
After betting on the decline of the baht, they induced its fall by selling off billions of baht at once. The value of the baht was 26 baht per dollar. Dreamhigh in New York rode Wall Street's coattails and bet 10 billion dollars on the decline, while Han Gyeong-yeong and I bought all the opposing positions. —Position purchase complete.
“I've completed my purchase too.”
No one expected Wall Street to lose. Even Han Gyeong-yeong, while following my instructions, seemed to be thinking, 'No way.' What was scary about the hedge funds' attack was the existence of the followers.
Speculative funds that had no communication with them were on high alert and followed suit. They tagged along with the intention of eating even the smallest crumbs. The amount was anywhere from several to tens of times larger than the hedge funds' capital.
In the international financial market where over a trillion dollars in foreign exchange is traded daily, the roughly 10 billion dollars poured in by the hedge funds was, in a way, no big deal. But as the followers came in, the amount skyrocketed.
The speculative funds that expected the price of the baht to fall soon were preparing to toast their victory early. However, Thailand's response was unexpected. In response to the Bank of Thailand's appeal, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong joined in to defend the exchange rate together.
The Southeast Asian allied forces bought up the baht that the hedge fund allied forces had put on the market in large quantities, stabilizing the price. —Wow... I didn't expect this.
“Just wait. Something more interesting will happen.”
My prediction was spot on. On May 22, the Thai government adopted a dual exchange rate system, landing an even stronger blow on the hedge fund allied forces. —Did you predict this?
“Of course. Now, tell the US corporation to buy up all the options coming out at bargain prices, and let's start liquidating all the options held by the six corporations.” —What?
You're telling me to keep betting on the decline?
“In the end, the Thai government will surrender.”
The Thai government even mobilized strong hardline measures, preventing foreign bank branches in Thailand from selling baht overseas. It was a defeat for the hedge fund allied forces. The price of the baht did not fall; it rose slightly.
It was Thailand's victory, and my victory. But these weren't the kind of hyenas to back down just like that. I was continuously buying up the options that the follower speculative funds were putting out at bargain prices, using the US corporation.
Fear paralyzed people's reason. The hedge fund allied forces prepared to attack again. But the followers were scared and were already dumping their options on the market for half price.
At that moment, Han Gyeong-yeong's appearance was like a ray of light for the hedge funds. With the help of Dreamhigh Investment, which began buying up all the options on the market at half price, the hedge funds regrouped. —I communicated with the hedge funds as you said. We've decided to join the attack.
“Good job. You've become a member of that cartel, brother. Congratulations. It's a glorious position that not just anyone can enter.” —Phew...
Do you think they know your true identity?
“There are no eternal secrets. Still, we have to let them know as late as possible. For now, wait and then attack with them. I'll stay on the sidelines from now on. I'll contact you separately if there are any unusual movements.”
The call with Han Gyeong-yeong ended. A big smile spread across my face.
‘First, the total bet on Thailand's victory was 30 billion dollars. The return is over 700%, so does that come out to around 210 billion dollars?’
It was a gamble that started with 500 million dollars. The past days, running without a single defeat, had brought me great profits.
‘It's still not enough. Let's not get complacent.’
210 billion dollars was not a small amount, but there were people who had more money than me. They never step into the forefront, controlling everything from behind the scenes. No, it was the same even without considering them.
Even with 210 billion dollars, I couldn't guarantee I could win a fight against Japan right now. When the attack on the Thai baht entered a lull, Thailand's finance minister was replaced. The new finance minister, Thanong Bidaya, was a young 49-year-old economist.
Having learned economics from books rather than in the field, he prescribed the drastic measure of bankrupting and ousting insolvent banks to revive the Thai economy. But the reality was brutal. The Thai government, having exhausted all its foreign reserves in defending the baht, ordered 16 financial institutions to suspend their operations, but it was already too late.
On July 1, Hong Kong's sovereignty was transferred to China. Congratulatory fireworks exploded in Hong Kong's night sky, and Chinese President Jiang Zemin declared the end of Western imperialism. But the very next day, Thailand finally surrendered to the hedge fund allied forces.
Not military power, but finance. It was the victory of a new imperialism. —Hey! This is seriously unbelievable.
“What's the situation now?” —Currently at 30 baht, a 600% return.
“We're holding for as long as possible. Stand by.” —What?
You're not closing the position?
“Just wait for now.”
It was a fight between the hedge fund allied forces and other speculative funds. The Thai government had already surrendered, and the speculative funds that came in as followers had bet on the opposite position of the hedge funds. Their resistance had no effect whatsoever.
Three hours before the market closed.
“Sell everything.” —Okay.
Hey!
Sell it all! I could hear Han Gyeong-yeong giving orders to the employees in English over the phone. I let out a smirk and waited for Han Gyeong-yeong to speak. —The liquidation order has been placed.
“Finish liquidating everything today.” —Huh?
I think we could hold about half of it until expiration.
“We've already made enough profit. You have to know when to take a reasonable amount and get out. Greed only creates enemies.” —Got it.
“Call me when you're done.”
The futures and options market was a zero-sum game. If there's a winner, there's a loser. It was inevitable to make enemies, but there was no reason to drive them to ruin.
This Thai currency war ended in a victory for the hedge funds. But the true victors were me and Dreamhigh Investment. Han Gyeong-yeong became a recognized figure on Wall Street and entered their cartel.
Wall Street is a more closed-off neighborhood than one might think. They don't easily let new members into their cartel. Apart from the profit, I was also pleased that we had created a connection with them. —Mu-hyeok...
Han Gyeong-yeong's voice was trembling greatly. It's an amount you can't leverage. A game where if you lose, you only lose your principal.
“Why?” —The liquidation amount is 420 billion dollars.
Thanks to buying the options that were put up for sale at a bargain, the return is much higher than expected. This is unbelievable.
“What? 420 billion dollars?”
It was a 2000% return. Before I regressed, based on the year 2020, the highest options return was 4879%. But the amount invested was on a completely different level.
“Explain.” —The baht's fall was much steeper than expected.
The bigger the drop, the higher our returns kept climbing. In the end, after liquidating everything, that's the return we got. My intervention caused a larger drop than in the original history.
I gained more than twice the expected profit.
“Wow... Even I didn't expect this. It's thanks to your good work, brother. You worked hard. Give the employees a lot in bonuses, too. This is the time to throw a money party.” —Ke-ke-ke.
Okay.
After talking with Han Gyeong-yeong for a while, I hung up. Thanks to the profit being larger than I'd thought, I was thinking of changing the plan a little. For Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines, I planned to take a step back for now and give the hedge funds a chance to make a profit.
Too much profit was the problem. We took half the profits that should have been shared with the hedge funds.
‘It's about time to take a break.’
Now that the business in Thailand was finished, I decided to focus on matters in Korea. In the end, the Asin Group signed a bankruptcy moratorium agreement. It was effectively bankrupt.
The government and the people were all shocked by the fact that not even the top 10 conglomerates were safe. Despite that, the government's measures were still complacent. All the politicians and businessmen were complacent.
They only aimed for victory in the presidential election, and obsessed with the justification of their achievement—a per capita income of 10,000 dollars—they poured all their foreign currency reserves into defending the exchange rate. In the end, they made the foolish choice that brought about the foreign exchange crisis.
It was time for Eva, who was in Hong Kong, to come to Korea. Eva, whom I met at the airport, gave me a bright smile.
“Hey! Boss.”
“Welcome. You handled it well, right?”
“Thanks to you. You should have seen the faces of those old geezers at HSBC. Hahaha.”
As Eva laughed out loud, perhaps because of her exotic looks, passersby stared at us.
“Get in first. There's somewhere we need to go.”
“Oh? The hotel?”
I ignored the signal Eva was sending and got in the car. It was Eva who followed me into the car, grumbling as if she was disappointed.
“Where are we going?”
“There's a place. You'll know when we get there.”
The car carrying Eva and me entered Seoul at high speed. The place we arrived at was a building in the Daechi District where construction had finished and interior decoration was in full swing.
“This is where we're going to devour everything in the Republic of Korea.”
Mirae Building.
It was the building where Mirae Investment would be located. Eva looked up at the building without a word.
< Even I Didn't Expect This. > End