Chapter 45 44. Shanghai Stock Exchange

The Shanghai Stock Exchange, which officially opened at the end of 1990, is a landmark symbolizing China's financial modernization.Like the Pudong New Area, it is the Chinese government's attempt to convey to the world that China's reform and opening-up line cannot be changed.Initially, the Shanghai Stock Exchange was located in the Pujiang Hotel, because the Pujiang Hotel has a large hall that can be used as a trading floor.Pujiang Hotel is located on the edge of the Bund in Shanghai, on the east side of the Waibaidu Bridge. It covers an area of ​​4,580 square meters. It was first built in 1846. Its architectural style is neoclassical Victorian Baroque. It is the first hotel built by a western businessman in Shanghai. In 1997, the Shanghai Stock Exchange moved to the Securities Building at No. 528 Pudong South Road. This was also a wonderful move for Shanghai to build Pudong into a financial center.The new building adopts a trading model in which invisible seats are the mainstay and tangible seats are supplemented. It has the largest trading hall in the Asia-Pacific region, with 1,608 trading seats and 5,700 trading terminals connected to the trading network.There is also a satellite communication network that covers the whole country and connects overseas to deliver real-time market conditions and relevant information to 3,000 satellite receiving stations every day.

On the morning of December 19, 1990, Wei Wenyuan limped into the Pujiang Hotel located on the North Bund of Shanghai.After four months of renovation, it was changed into the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is about to hold its opening ceremony. Wei Wenyuan is the person in charge of the preparatory group of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the first general manager of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.Wei Wenyuan, who was born in a military family, went to Yili, Xinjiang to serve as a soldier at the age of 15, joined the party at the age of 18, and was demobilized at the age of 20. After returning to Shanghai, he first worked as a waiter in a movie theater, and later worked in a district government in Shanghai.After the resumption of the college entrance examination, Wei Wenyuan was admitted to the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. After graduation, he joined the Audit Office and was later transferred to the Shanghai Branch of the People's Bank of China as the deputy director of the Financial Administration Department.

At the beginning of 1990, Deng Xiaoping, who was in Shanghai for the Spring Festival, told the leaders of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee who came to visit him that he hoped that Shanghai would make a big move to show the rest of the world who took a wait-and-see attitude towards China after 1989 that China would continue to adhere to reform and opening up. .This big move is to develop Pudong, which also includes the establishment of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.The Shanghai Branch of the People's Bank of China established a preparatory team. The person in charge of the preparatory team later became Wei Wenyuan, who was only 35 years old and the deputy director of the Financial Management Office.

However, what may surprise future generations is that, including the young Wei Wenyuan, no one in the stock exchange preparatory team has personally seen what the stock exchange should look like.Wei Wenyuan can only look at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from the photos to guess what a stock exchange should look like.It was with the photos of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as a reference that Wei Wenyuan found the Pujiang Hotel on the North Bund of Shanghai.This Western-style hotel built in 1846 is famous for its long history and the largest hall in the Far East.It was the first Western hotel built in Shanghai. It was the first electric light in China, the first telephone to ring, the first circus performance and the first ballroom dance.Today, because of its famous hall in the Far East in history, the first stock exchange of the Communist Party of China Securities is to be built here.

Later media reports said that when Wei Wenyuan designed the trading system for this nascent stock exchange, he bet all his treasures on electronic trading.As a result, when he finally got an opportunity to inspect the Hong Kong stock market in November 1990, he was shocked when he saw the trading system of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and shouted that it was terrible.It turned out that he found that the trading system he designed was too different from that of the stock exchange.Later, when Wei Wenyuan recalled, he was still a little proud, "It turned out that my idea of ​​computer trading was already ahead of the trading system of the Stock Exchange."

But this morning Wei Wenyuan wasn't in the mood to think about it.In order to arrange the venue for the opening ceremony, Wei Wenyuan did not go home the night before, but slept in the room of the Pujiang Hotel for about two or three hours.To make matters worse, my foot was crushed when I moved the table, and the wound became inflamed at night, and I woke up the next morning with my foot so swollen that I couldn't even wear shoes.Wei Wenyuan had no choice but to put a large leather shoe on his injured foot, and then when he welcomed the guests into the converted trading hall of the hotel, he had to lean against the wall so that no one could see his foot injury.

On the day of the opening ceremony, guests gathered. Under the watchful eyes of Shanghai Mayor Zhu Rongji and others, Wei Wenyuan sounded the first hammer for the opening of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Half an hour later, before the market closed, 49 transactions were made, with a face value of 5,879,008 yuan.However, the world's youngest general manager of a stock exchange said he felt nothing at the time.Because he had a high fever of 40 degrees after returning home that day, and he had long forgotten how to trade and how to close the market at that time. However, from the opening of the Shanghai Stock Exchange to the end of 1990, there were only 8 listed companies in the entire Shanghai stock exchange market, which were later called "old stereotypes". It is below 100 points, 95.79 points.There are 45 traders in red vests sitting in the empty hall of the exchange, and a yellow vest inspector sitting in the middle is supervising the transactions on the floor.Traders need to call the red vest traders on the floor and entrust them to buy or sell.

One of the first old stereotypes listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange was Yuyuan Hotel. The share price of Yuyuan Hotel was more than 300 yuan when the market opened.Later, Li Peng, then Premier of the State Council, took his wife to visit the stock exchange, and the stock price of Yuyuan has risen to more than 3,700 yuan.After Li Peng knew the initial stock price of Yuyuan Hotel, he told his entourage that speculation is not allowed in the stock market!At that time, the accompanying economists did not agree with the statement of the Premier of the State Council, and told the Premier that the essence of the stock market is speculation.Prime Minister Li Peng also followed suit, and then said that big speculations should not be made.

Although the stock price has risen so high, and was taught by the Prime Minister not to speculate, the life of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, which was established the following year, was not easy in the place where it was established. Ling Zhijun later said, "Shanghai and Shenzhen are both stock exchanges. Where exchanges have been created, all are struggling, longing to be freed from their shackles."Until mid-May 1992, the government still controlled stock prices, and all stocks were prescribed a maximum gain.In this way, even if someone wants to engage in "big speculation", it is impossible.

But we still remember that in 1992, Deng Xiaoping couldn't bear to be refuted repeatedly for his remarks, so he went directly to the south to inspect.In the south, Deng Xiaoping met the big officials in Xinjiang who followed his own policy of reform and opening up. He looked at them one by one and affirmed them one by one. These big officials in Xinjiang who had been sweating all the time were relieved, thinking that they had obtained Shangfang’s sword .And Deng Xiaoping really broke out of the prison of public opinion and ideology, and revived the wind of reform and opening up.It was in 1992 that the phrase "market economy" became popular and was regarded by the People's Daily as the only way to revive a great country.Government officials from all walks of life made speeches to explain the necessity of implementing a market economy.The Party Congress also passed a resolution to implement a socialist market economy.That being the case, it is time to untie the stock market.On May 21 of that year, all stock trading prices in Shanghai were liberalized and guided by the market. As a result, from the day of the liberalization to the 23rd, the stock price skyrocketed, skyrocketing by 570% within 3 days.This day is also known as the day when the Chinese stock market was truly born.

Ling Zhijun later described the grand occasion before and after the liberalization of stock trading prices on May 21 quite vividly. "The news came out sixteen hours in advance, as if a gust of wind blew through the city, blowing away the dull atmosphere that had lasted for several months. The citizens were excited, pouring out from every angle, and converging on the securities companies. The stock market has already Close, but that still can't stop the crowd from swelling. There is no doubt that tomorrow will be a good day, regardless of the weather or popularity. At midnight, the crowd shows no sign of dispersing, just waiting for the sun to rise when the stock rises A reporter ran around, came back and lay down under the lamp, and wrote a sentence: "There are tens of thousands of people in Shanghai. You have spent a long night on the street." At the gate of Haitong Securities Company on Sichuan Middle Road, an old man in sixty years made a speech to the crowd : "This time, it's time to make a serious bet. Brothers, if you miss the opportunity, you won't come again! When I was young, I often didn't eat for three days." At the entrances of 30 stock exchanges in the city At this time, there were already huge crowds of people, and some people simply brought reclining chairs. Those who gave speeches, those who read newspapers aloud, and those who got together to exchange experiences, it was boiling. An old man walked by here with a three-foot girl and said to himself: "It's really like the Cultural Revolution. ’. The girls looked up at their grandpa and asked curiously: ‘What is the Cultural Revolution?’” Even Hangzhou, a two-hour drive from Shanghai, was not spared.Someone drove overnight from Shanghai to catch up with Hangzhou, but the Shanghai-Hangzhou highway was full of traffic late at night. But the most thrilling thing is yet to come, which is Shenzhen three months later.After the Shenzhen turmoil of buying stocks, armed police were dispatched and gas bombs were fired to appease the anger of those who had not purchased warrants and worked so hard to line up day and night.These people dare not even go to the toilet when queuing, let alone eat and drink.Moreover, the people who line up are often shouldering the mission of making a fortune for the whole family and the whole hometown. At that time, the post office in Shenzhen was full of ID cards that were mailed in packs. The certificate weighs one kilogram, so a full package will cost 17.5 kilograms.Later financial writers relished that Tang Wanxin, Tang Wanli brothers, the founder of Xinjiang Delong, who was once so famous and made the entire Chinese stock market change, hired many people to line up to buy warrants, and Really paid off with this.Another famous banker, Lu Liang, who later became famous and the only one whose identity was disclosed, was jumping up and down to interview stock speculators, earning royalties everywhere. The dealers Lu Liang and Delong Tang Wanxin and Tang Wanli brothers were legends in the stock market later. In the heyday of their control, they could even determine the daily closing price of their stocks. This stunt was once performed on Lu Liang’s wedding day. The closing price of Zhongke Venture's stock that day was fixed at 72.88 by Luliang's trader Xiaoding as a wedding gift.Later, when Delong was very popular, Tang Wanxin and Tang Wanli always told people that Delong was building a "Changzhuang" and "a banker that will not fail". The ups and downs are very lively, attracting countless financial reporters to circle around.For a period of time, it was even rumored that "no stock, no stock market", so some bookmakers also confidently declared that their stock market would not fail, or even "good stock market". Of course, there are also ordinary people who become rich or penniless because of stock speculation, or even jump off the building in despair.The securities market is always irregular, but money is always poured into it.Wu Jinglian, an old economist who couldn't stand it, began to angrily say that the stock market is like a casino, and the government uses the money of the people of the whole country to save those investors who are trapped.Some other economists who defend the capital market began to complain, saying that Wu Jinglian was wrong about this and that.That was 2001 and 2002.Later, the market went up all the way, and no one mentioned it again. Occasionally, one or two people who remembered what Wu Jinglian said would continue to ridicule Mr. Wu's "casino theory" that could be thrown into the trash can. But at this time, some stubborn and unyielding bears appeared.Many of them are cutting-edge investment bank economists with a background in Western investment banks, such as Xie Guozhong, the former chief Asia economist of Morgan Stanley, and Zuo Xiaolei, the chief economist of China Galaxy Securities. The great bull market in 2007 made many people laugh at the judgment of these linguists. One media even selected the so-called economists with the most inaccurate predictions and ridiculed them as crows.The stock index has been rising all the way, breaking through 6000 within the year.Optimists began to say that before the Olympics, it would break through 8,000 points. The name of a best-selling book was "10,000 Points in the Bull Market", and they even began to imagine that the Chinese stock market would break through 10,000 points. As a result, in 2008, the Chinese stock market was really right by those bears.From 5000 to 4000 to 3000.When it fell to 3000 points, all the media began to exclaim.But within a few months, the Shanghai stock index fell below 2,000 points.Various rumors of bailouts began to spread in the market, and debates about whether the government should bail out the market also continued one after another.The government is the most calm, watching the stock index fall below 2000, without clearly showing the slightest intention to rescue the market. When the Shanghai Stock Exchange moved from the Bund to its new location in Pudong in 1997, Zhao Qizheng, the then deputy mayor of Shanghai and director of the Pudong New Area Management Committee, sent a bunch of glass-steel sculpted bulls and bears.Everyone loves the cow, which represents prosperity.But everyone has ignored the meaning of the bear.In "New Yorker" writer John Brooks said in a book describing Wall Street from 1920 to 1938, "bear market investors must know that we must suffer sometimes and must recycle the wealth obtained from the bull market. From In a sense, the bear is a healer who asks us to rein in our endless desires and instead pursue and acquire wisdom. Thus, like a bear, we can withdraw, be patient, and meditate silently while remaining vigilant until rebirth season is coming." It's just that those anxious investors may not be in the mood to think like this. At this time, they should listen to Galbraith's short, powerful, and easier to understand: "There is far more money flowing into the stock market than the wisdom of manipulating the stock market." .