章節 656: Chapter 656: Launching the Attack
Giuseppe Eskenazi was no fool. He had already determined that someone was after him, and there would definitely be follow-up measures.
Although it was unclear who had been offended, the best way to defend against an unknown danger was to disrupt the enemy's attack routine.
The hidden enemy obviously wants to let the 48 Chinese cultural relics go unsold, and the best way for him to deal with this is to prevent it from happening.
The second highest bidder is his own agent, and he doesn't want to buy back the lots he has offered. After all, buying them all back would result in a loss of more than half a million pounds.
You have to know that Eskenazi Ltd. had a net profit of just over 5 million pounds last year, which is equivalent to a one-time loss of one-tenth.
Aiskenazi Co., Ltd. is family-owned, and although he is the family head, his shareholding is only a little over 10%. He cannot possibly pay for this himself.
If the company pays, then this year's financial report will definitely be much worse, which will affect the company's stock price and is also not desirable.
Therefore, it is absolutely not advisable for himself or the company to buy it back!
In this case, the best way is to let the third highest bidder buy it all.
However, this will take some time and there is no guarantee that it will be successful.
There is no time to lose, we must act now!
Thinking about this, Giuseppe Eskenazi said to Sotheby's general manager Ron, 'Ron, I need you to contact the client as soon as possible!'
Ron, the general manager, was in the same boat as Giuseppe Eskenazi, so he immediately said, 'Since you agree to sell, I will make the arrangements right away.'
After saying this, Manager Ron hurriedly removed the customer information, hoping to intercept many customers before they left and complete the private transactions as soon as possible to reduce the rate of unsold items.
At the same time, he also asked someone to find out as soon as possible what the five British people who refused to pay were really like.
It turned out that that evening, Ron and Giuseppe Eskenazi managed to complete eight private transactions, reducing the number of unsold Chinese cultural relics from 48 to 40.
They planned to continue the operation the next day.
However, Xia Yu had long anticipated this move and did not intend to give them any more time to respond.
The following day, as the major newspapers were delivered, a blockbuster news story caused a stir.
The British newspaper The Sun: Shocking! A large number of items sold at Sotheby's summer auction have been rejected for payment by buyers!
The famous gossip newspaper The Daily Mirror: Sotheby's summer auction has encountered a situation not seen in a century, with all Chinese cultural relics unsold!
Financial Times: According to reliable sources, all the Chinese cultural relics offered by Eskenazi Ltd. at Sotheby's London auction were unsold, with a total transaction value of 1.7 million pounds. Similar situations also occurred at Sotheby's summer auctions in the United States, France and Hong Kong, and Sotheby's total auction turnover for the summer auctions will be reduced by 9.2 million pounds...
The Daily Telegraph...
It seems as if there was an agreement, as many mainstream newspapers reported the negative news about Sotheby's in great detail, making it seem true at first glance.
In fact, these newspapers reported the news arranged by Xia Yu.
City of London, Chinese Mercantile Bank.
Xia Yu and Wu Hongyi sat down to drink tea face to face.
Looking at the newspaper in his hands, Wu Hongyi smiled and said, 'Xia Yu, it seems that Sotheby's and Eskenazi Ltd. have their hands full. I thought you wanted to buy those antiques, but now I still can't figure out what you want.'
Although the news didn't report that Xia Yu did it, Wu Hongyi was 100% sure that it was Xia Yu who did it.
After all, Xia Yu had specifically told him not to participate in the auction of Chinese cultural relics, and everyone else had also promised.
Now that this situation has arisen, if it wasn't Xia Yu who did it, then who else could it be?
Xia Yu shook his head slightly to disperse the white mist rising from the teacup, took a sip, and gave a faint smile.
'I just don't want the foreigners to maliciously drive up the prices of Chinese cultural relics and bleed us Chinese dry.'
Wu Hongyi was taken aback, but after a moment his mind clicked and he understood the key point. He then looked at Xia Yu in admiration, 'I see, I'm impressed!'
'I read in the newspaper that this is the case in the United States, France and Hong Kong, and that Hong Kong is the worst?'
Wu Hongyi asked hesitantly.
Since Wu Hongyi knew that he was the one who made the move anyway, and he didn't worry that Wu Hongyi would leak it out, Xia Yu didn't hide it either, and nodded frankly, saying, 'Yes, I've spoken to some people in Hong Kong.'
In fact, the biggest market for Chinese cultural relics is now in Asia, with a focus on Southeast Asia and East Asia. After all, these are the places with the most Chinese people, and they know best how to collect and appreciate Chinese cultural relics.
Sotheby's summer auction was held in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong is Xia Yu's territory.
Before Xia Yu came, he had greeted a group of Chinese tycoons, and everyone was willing to give Xia Yu face. After all, it is not as if Sotheby's is the only channel for collecting antiques.
As a result, Sotheby's Hong Kong's summer auction had the worst unsold rate, with more than half of the Chinese cultural relics unsold or the buyers refusing to pay. The total transaction price reached more than 6 million pounds, equivalent to nearly 60 million Hong Kong dollars.
Not all of these auction items were provided by Ayskenazi Co., Ltd., but all of the Chinese cultural relics provided by them were rejected for payment, and none of them failed!
This situation was known to Sotheby's UK headquarters and Giuseppe Eskenazi last night.
Both parties wanted to keep the lid on it and worked through the night to find a solution.
They just didn't expect Xia Yu to make such a stunning and fierce move!
At this point, the two companies were already overwhelmed, and the heads of both companies simply did not dare to go out in the face of the large number of reporters gathered outside the doors of the two companies.
And that's not all, the adverse impact is far from reaching its limit.
Before that, Xia Yu had arranged for Sotheby's and Eskenazi Limited to be shorted.
At this time, major mainstream media reported negative news involving the two companies. In particular, the Financial Times, from an impartial and objective perspective, analysed the actual situation and future prospects of the two companies based on actual data, and immediately affected the majority of capital.
The stock prices of Sotheby's and Eskenazi Limited fell in response, and the adverse impact once again spread further, forming a vicious cycle.
As for Huashang Bank, when Wu Hongyi heard Xia Yu admit it, the shock in his eyes did not diminish, and a key question suddenly came to mind.
He immediately asked, 'Xia Yu, according to the current situation, Huaxia Cultural Relics is considered famous, and it will be difficult to auction a high price for Huaxia Cultural Relics in the years to come. Wouldn't it be even more difficult to realise value if you buy so much of it?'
Xia Yu smiled and said nonchalantly, 'I won't sell the antiques I've bought in the next 30 years. The reputation of Chinese cultural relics is ruined, and that's even better, so that the foreigners won't take advantage of our cultural pride and suck our blood.'
In Xia Yu's opinion, it is more beneficial for him if the reputation of Chinese cultural relics is ruined. It will be easier for him to buy Chinese cultural relics at lower prices. After all, when most people realise that the Chinese cultural relics market is not doing well, many people will be afraid to collect and invest, making it even more difficult to drive up the prices.
He also knows that once Chinese cultural relics have a bad reputation, it will be hard to change. A few decades will be enough to erase the current bad influence.
Even if things don't go well, after a few decades, with the rise of the Chinese economy, the price of Chinese cultural relics will still be driven up. At that time, people speculating in cultural relics and antiques will definitely no longer be limited to the British, and Chinese people with vested interests will also be behind the scenes.
'You're right. After this, the price of Chinese cultural relics will definitely fall, and not many people will dare to invest. It seems that I also have to seize the opportunity to buy more. I'll be taking advantage of you again.'
Wu Hongyi laughed heartily.
Xia Yu couldn't help but smile.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票