- Xiang Guangda faces billions of dollars in losses after betting against the price of nickel, but he's not yet ready to throw in the towel.
- Guangda has told the banks his business holds its short position with that he intends to continue his bet against nickel, according to Bloomberg.
- Nickel prices briefly topped $100,000 per ton before the London Metals Exchange halted trading.
A Chinese tycoon that faces billions of dollars in losses after betting against the price of nickel is not yet ready to throw in the towel, according to a Bloomberg report.
Xiang Guangda, owner of metals company Tsingshan Holding Group, has held a significant short bet against nickel prices and helped spark a massive 250% short-squeeze in the commodity earlier this week. Nickel prices briefly soared to more than $100,000 per ton before the London Metals Exchange halted trading in the commodity on Tuesday.
Now, the London Metals Exchange is attempting to privately match buyers and sellers to help close out short positions before they reopen the market, in an attempt to prevent a repeated squeeze higher in nickel prices.
But Guangda wants to press his bet against the commodity and hold onto it, with the thought that the commodity's price will move lower and he won't have to realize all of the losses that he currently faces.
Guangda holds a short position to the tune of 150,000 tons of nickel, and has told the 10 banks and brokers he holds his nickel short position with that he is not yet interested in closing out his bet, Bloomberg reported citing three people with knowledge of the conversations.
That could create issues for the banks working with Guangda, which have to meet margin calls on the losing position with the London Metals Exchange. Guangda is considering pledging some of his company's Indonesian assets to satisfy the necessary collateral for the money it owes on its losing bet, according to the report.
If Guangda holds out on his short bet, it could lead to continued high volatility in the commodity, which initially spiked as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions sparked concerns of dwindling supplies.