Reborn with Consumption System-Chapter 501 - 232 The Shocking Plan: A Snake Devours an Elephant_2

I’m tied to you for life now! Whatever you want, I’ll give it my all! Liu Minghao thought, feeling even warmer and more passionate toward Han Lie, as if pouring out his heart and soul.

"18% is just perfect; it’s an exquisite calculation. Any higher might push Gu Yong into a corner. If he gets desperate and turns to the teams in Shenzhen, it would just create unnecessary complications. Any lower, and we’d earn too little. It would be like using our own resources to subsidize him, which is utterly pointless. Gu Yong isn’t someone to be friendly with. This time, we don’t want any favors, just profit. Teacher Han, you shouldn’t show your face in the early stages. It’s best if you don’t even answer Gu Yong’s calls. Leave the dirty work of shaking him down to me. You should quickly check with President Pan and Old Dou regarding the cost of the funds."

This was not just flattery but also Liu Minghao actively taking on the most offensive work for Han Lie.

That 3% of 2.5 billion yuan was no small sum. It amounted to an extra 75 million yuan squeezed out of Gu Yong in one go. It would make anyone’s heart ache enough to curse their mother.

Han Lie wasn’t afraid, but there was no need for him to make enemies at such a young age. It could somewhat affect his reputation. Liu Minghao volunteering to take the blame was a huge relief.

"Alright."

Han Lie nodded gratefully, pondered for a moment, and then took out his cellphone.

"I’ll start with Old Dou. Money from a state-owned enterprise is more convenient."

Once connected, Old Dou briefly asked about the situation and eagerly insisted on coming over, "Wait for me at the school. We’ll talk face to face."

Old Zhang arranged a table in the small dining room on the third floor of the cafeteria. Old Dou hurried over with his office’s deputy director, a voluptuous young woman. They finished lunch quickly and continued their private talk.

When Zhou Ci and the others saw this downstairs, they shrank their necks and slipped away, afraid of being noticed by Brother Lie. The other students were all abuzz, gaining an even deeper understanding of Brother Lie’s influence.

Back in the office, Old Dou got straight to the point, "Are there any policy issues?"

"No."

Han Lie shook his head decisively, then used Old Zhang’s computer and printer to print out all current documents.

"The China Banking Regulatory Commission is currently discouraging banks from extending credit to the real estate sector. This has been the root cause of widespread loan suspensions in the industry since the beginning of the year. Essentially, the aim is to clean up irregularities and violations. There are no signs indicating a blanket ban on legitimate operations. And we’re doing a legitimate trust project with ample collateral, a reasonable repayment mechanism, and comprehensive safeguards. SAIC Motor can invest idle funds in trusts, right?"

"We can. We’ve bought a considerable amount of treasury bonds and AAA-rated local corporate bonds."

After Old Dou gave a precise answer, he frowned again.

"However, we probably can’t produce 2.5 billion yuan in cash right now. The funds on our books are all budgeted, so there isn’t much idle capital."

"Simple!"

Han Lie couldn’t help but chuckle, "Just ask the banks!"

"What?"

Old Dou, who wasn’t in charge of this area, was momentarily stunned. "Take out a loan for this?"

"Yes!"

Han Lie nodded firmly, his smile tinged with a hint of mockery.

"The banks’ so-called tightening of the money supply isn’t because they lack funds, but because they’re unwilling to lend to riskier small and medium-sized enterprises. But SAIC Motor is different. Banks are practically begging you to borrow money. I estimate that for a two-year loan, you could get an extremely low interest rate—around 3%, perhaps? It won’t exceed 4% at most. Then, you can seamlessly invest it into this project and get a return of 6% to 6.5%. Over two years, that’s an easy 150 million yuan in interest. It might not be much for SAIC Motor as a whole, but for the executive in charge of investments, it should count as a decent achievement, right?"

Old Dou’s spirits lifted instantly.

"So, if we cancel the original treasury bond investment plan and scrape together 2.5 billion yuan, can we directly get a 6.5% risk-free gross return?"

"Of course."

Old Dou’s excitement was fleeting, and he remained somewhat concerned. "But what if the completed houses don’t sell? We can’t just end up taking over a pile of properties, can we?"

At the mention of taking over properties, something suddenly clicked in Han Lie’s mind, and he quickly turned to Liu Minghao.

"Lawyer Liu, when can the Ming Capital project realistically begin presales?"

Liu Minghao mentally calculated the timeline and ventured, "Assuming our funds arrive by March next year, Gu Yong could start presales by the end of that year at the earliest. However, the New Year period is the off-season, so it would more likely launch after March 2015. Perhaps it would be best to delay until the May Day holiday?"

A 2015 launch?!

Han Lie’s pupils suddenly constricted, and his heart began to pound violently.

Is the Ming Capital project... meant for me?!

Han Lie had every reason to be excited.

The real estate market downturn in 2013 and 2014 was a normal adjustment due to policy changes and destocking pressures. However, the bleak stagnation of the real estate industry from January to August 2015 was an abnormal situation. Because of the nationwide stock market frenzy, many people sold their homes to invest, yet very few cashed out of stocks to buy property! Of course, essential housing demand remained unaffected, but investment-driven purchases were suppressed, and upgrade-driven purchases were postponed.

Therefore, the overall recovery of the real estate industry began with the stock market crash, reaching its first peak in 2016. After a period of slight consolidation and absorption, prices continued to rise until 2018.

Therein lay a tremendous opportunity—

The Ming Capital project’s launch was slated for the industry’s most challenging period, meaning there was a high probability it would receive a cold reception and sell poorly.

In that case, the funding party would have the contractual right to take over the entire Ming Capital project.

The funder was SAIC Motor. They might not want it, but Han Lie did!

The contract was based on current property values. The project, totaling 150,000 square meters with an average price of around 30,000 yuan per square meter, was valued at just over 4 billion yuan and could secure a 2.5 billion yuan mortgage.