Chapter 459: Reaping British-owned companies through backdoor listing

Chapter 459: Reaping British-owned companies through backdoor listing

Chapter 459: Reaping British-owned companies through backdoor listing
North Point, Hong Kong Island:

Li Jiacheng looked at the contents of the newspaper in his hand with a frown on his face. At this moment, Zhuang Yueming came over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Jiacheng handed over the newspaper and said, "A big event happened in the stock market. Yang Wendong bought shares in Hutchison International Group."

"Hutchison International?" Zhuang Yueming asked, "Is it the Hutchison that acquired Dehui Baoxiang and Taihe Foreign Trade?"

Li Jiacheng nodded: "Yes, that's the one."

Zhuang Yueming was puzzled and said, "Strange, isn't Hutchison International mainly engaged in foreign trade? Yang Wendong invested in this company. Does he want to expand Changxing Trading Company?"

"It's possible. The economic specialists in the market also analyzed it this way." Li Jiacheng said: "Hutchison International and Changxing Group are a good match in terms of trading companies."

There are many trading companies in Hong Kong, but there are mainly two types: one is import and the other is export. Changxing Trading is obviously export-oriented, while Hutchison International is the opposite, focusing on import.

Many demands within Hong Kong, such as industrial products, factory equipment, industrial materials, etc., and even goods in many supermarkets, rely on import traders to purchase from overseas. Hutchison International is good at this. The Dehui Baoxiang Company and Taihe Foreign Trade Company, which they acquired previously, also engaged in similar businesses.

Zhuang Yueming said: "It seems that Yang Wendong wants to further control the Hong Kong trade market, but the import market has long been controlled by British companies, so it is difficult for him to intervene, so he can only choose to invest in one."

Li Jiacheng said, "But I'm more curious. Qi Dezun is a smart man. How could he allow such a thing and bring in Yang Wendong? Isn't he afraid that one day the whole company will be swallowed up by him?"

Everyone knows that the Hong Kong government will still protect British capital in some infrastructure monopoly industries, so Chinese capital mainly operates in areas where British capital is not good at, such as real estate and industry.

Only a few of them will come into conflict with British capital, such as banks. However, the abnormal bank run at the beginning of this year caused heavy losses to Chinese banks including Hang Seng Bank. Although the Hong Kong government has not introduced policies to deal with Chinese banks, everyone knows that allowing bank runs to occur is the deliberate "evil" of the Hong Kong government.

However, if the Hong Kong government wants to do this, it has to be an important industry, and trade is not one of them. If a Chinese company really surpasses British capital in the trade field or even intends to swallow up a British trading company, the Hong Kong government will not be able to intervene. After all, the British Empire still needs to maintain the slogans of "fairness" and "equality between the mainland and colonies" around the world.

Zhuang Yueming said: "Maybe there is some special agreement."

"It's possible." Li Jiacheng nodded and said, "Yang Wendong's investment behavior is really strange. He invested heavily in Singapore and now has a lot of investment in Hong Kong. I heard that he is also planning to acquire the old site of the Navy Dormitory."

"They are diversifying, not just in industries, but also in countries." Zhuang Yueming said with a smile: "When you have enough financial resources one day, you can also make large investments overseas."

"Well, let's wait and see what the housing prices are like in Hong Kong right now." Li Jiacheng added, "Maybe it will be time to buy at the bottom soon."

Admiralty:

Huo Yingdong looked at the information in his hand, his face full of confusion: "Why did Yang Wendong suddenly invest in Heji? They are not related at all."

"Dad, I think it's for trade." Huo Zhengting, the second generation of the Huo family, said, "Didn't you tell him before that the mainland's exports rely a lot on Hong Kong, but his company doesn't involve the purchase of materials in Hong Kong, so he bought shares in Hutchison. Can you let Hutchison purchase materials from the mainland in the future?"

"This, if it's true, it would be great." Huo Yingdong immediately resolved the doubts in his mind, but then he said: "But Yang Sheng only invested in Hutchison, and Qi Dezun is also a person who is very obsessed with power. I guess he won't let Yang Wendong interfere with Hutchison so easily."

Huo Zhengting said, "Yes, I have also heard about Qi Dezun's character. I am curious why a man like him would allow Mr. Yang to invest and become a director."

"I don't know about that." Huo Yingdong smiled and said, "Mr. Yang is very capable. Maybe he used some other method."

"Well, Mr. Yang is indeed admired by many people." Huo Zhengting nodded and said.

Although he is a rich second-generation, he also admires Yang Wendong who started from scratch.

Huo Yingdong smiled and said, "You don't have to think too much. Study hard. After you finish college, I will find an opportunity for you to work at Changxing Group for a while. It will be good for you."

"Okay, Daddy." Huo Zhengting agreed.

The news of Changxing Group's investment in Hutchison International naturally made it to the newspapers of the British media in Hong Kong. Now, Yang Wendong's every move has also attracted the attention of many British people and British companies in Hong Kong. Although Hutchison International is not as big as Jardine Swire, it can also be regarded as one of the top 30 British companies in Hong Kong. The economic activities of these two companies have also surprised and puzzled many British people.

Prince's Building in Hong Kong is one of the core industries of the Hong Kong Land Group in Central and the headquarters of the Jardine Matheson Group is located here.

Luther Keswick said in surprise, "Why did Yang Wendong suddenly invest in Hutchison International? Hong Kong's import trade is already saturated and is controlled by British capital. Does he want to get a piece of the pie?"

A white man nearby said, “Maybe he just likes this market and wants to participate by betting on Hutchison.”

"We can't be careless. We are aware of Yang Wendong's strength." Luther Keswick said, "If he continues to develop like this, he may be able to challenge the position of Jardine Matheson Hong Kong's number one financial group in a few years."

"But we have no way to stop him. The Changxing Group does not have many industries that conflict with ours, namely real estate and supermarkets." A person next to him said, "The rise of Hong Kong through manufacturing is a possibility we never thought of. By the time we realized it, it was too late."

Luther Keswick nodded and said, "This is the only way we can do now. We must keep an eye on Changxing Trade. If they also want to participate in the procurement of materials within Hong Kong, then we must be ready at any time."

Hong Kong's import trade is also a big business. Although basic supplies such as water and some food are controlled by China Resources in the mainland, many other needs are imported from overseas; especially the various high-value commodities in high-end shopping malls are controlled by several major British trading companies, Jardine Matheson being one of them.

"Yes." The white man next to him agreed.

Many business people in Hong Kong were also aware of this matter, but after all, they only invested in a British trading company of a certain scale, so it did not cause huge public opinion.

For ordinary people, this kind of thing is of no concern. However, some stock investors are very happy because since Changxing Group invested in Hutchison Group, Hutchison's stock has risen a lot, and the stocks of some trading companies have also taken the opportunity to rise a little.

However, for the entire market, the impact is not significant. The real estate market continues to fall and the economy is sluggish, so the overall stock market will naturally not be very good.

On December 12, Yang Wendong arrived at the headquarters of Hutchison International Group. Qi Dezun personally came out to greet him and introduced a number of Hutchison senior executives to Yang Wendong and others. Similarly, Yang Wendong also officially announced that Fang Xianming would become the board representative of Changxing Group in Hutchison International.

Subsequently, the board meeting was held, and Qi Dezun gave a more detailed introduction to Hutchison International. Yang Wendong also had a better understanding of this. His information was previously public, but even for a listed company, the outside world does not know many details. Of course, what Qi Dezun told him now may not be all. We are all smart people and may be on guard against each other.

After the meeting, Qi Dezun took Yang Wendong to an office and said, "Mr. Yang, this is an office I specially reserved for you. Your people can also work here." "Okay, thank you." Yang Wendong said with a smile as he looked at the office in front of him which was about six or seven hundred feet in size.

"You're welcome. It's my duty." Qi Dezun added, "Mr. Yang, now you are also a major shareholder of Hutchison International, so shouldn't we discuss the next steps?"

He was still very tempted by Yang Wendong's proposal. There were so many top British companies in Hong Kong. If he could become a director of one of them, his status would be completely different. If he could become a director of three to five, he would definitely be the most distinguished person in Hong Kong.

Although the price is to rely on Yang Wendong, he is Chinese and it is impossible for him to become a director of a British-owned trading company openly. So he can only rely on himself. Under the condition of mutual dependence, this is also the basis of cooperation.

Yang Wendong asked, "Qi Dezun, there are only about a dozen or so famous British companies in Hong Kong. Which ones do you think are suitable?"

Qi Dezun replied: "First, we must rule out the giant companies such as Jardine Matheson, Standard Chartered, Swire, Wheelock, Hong Kong Electric, and China Light and Power. They are too big and it will be difficult for us to succeed.
As for companies of similar size to my Hutchison, we can indeed consider investing first, and then look for opportunities to acquire them. In this way, Hutchison will be even bigger. As long as it develops smoothly and becomes even bigger in a few years, we can then look for opportunities to invest in those large companies.”

He has already received Yang Wendong's written promise, which makes him feel very relieved. A person like Yang Wendong would never breach the contract, and this promise is also legally effective, so he can go to court to sue if he breaches the contract.

"That's a good idea." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Whether you only look at the economic benefits after the investment or you want to merge in the future, I agree, but I hope you will consult with me before making a large investment."

"Okay, that's no problem." Qi Dezun said with a smile: "For such a large investment, we also need to obtain financing from the bank. This kind of thing must also be approved by the board of directors. Moreover, according to our previous agreement, Mr. Yang can also participate in part of the investment in a joint venture with Hutchison."

"Okay, then you have a few companies that you are interested in, right?" Yang Wendong asked again.

Yang Wendong's plan was to let them develop with peace of mind, and financial sponsorship was naturally one of the parts. As long as Qi Dezun made the bubble of Hutchison big enough, he would have to take over himself after the avalanche. Even if it seemed like a loss during the next real estate crisis, it was also because the real estate was worthless and led to insolvency. Once the real estate crisis was over and land prices rose, bad debts would naturally become good debts.

Qi Dezun said: "At present, I am more interested in Junyi Warehouse, Anderson and Bao Industrial Haiya Engineering Huangpu Group."

Listening to Qi Dezun mentioning more than a dozen companies in one breath, Yang Wendong couldn't help but be shocked, and then said: "These are too many, and we don't have enough funds."

When he heard that Huangpu Group was what he wanted, he was very satisfied, but there were actually many other companies that were of very high quality.

Qi Dezun smiled and said, "I know, so I am also prepared to take it step by step."

"Okay, when you have a detailed plan, tell me through Fang Xianming." Yang Wendong didn't ask too many questions.

So many British companies are actually very high-quality enterprises, and many of them have a history of more than 50 years. Even if these companies were not doing well in the early years, as long as they have survived to the present, they must have a large number of properties that were once worthless but are now extremely valuable.

If the Changxing Group wants to acquire these companies, it may not be difficult to acquire one or two, but it is not possible to acquire many. Such acquisition behavior will inevitably attract the attention of the Hong Kong government and British capital. Even though they may not be able to intervene personally, it is still easy for them to pick out some problems. Therefore, for the Changxing Group, doing so is not very meaningful. It is better to wait until 67 and acquire the land with peace of mind.

But if Hutchison International does this, no one will care. In the past, Hutchison International also expanded crazily in this way. It acquired one or two hundred different companies in a few years. With so many businesses, it eventually overwhelmed itself. Now I have to give it a push. The fatter Qi Dezun has grown in recent years, the easier it will be for me to swallow up Hutchison Whampoa in the future after I acquire it, and then get rid of some useless businesses.

Qi Dezun nodded and said, "Of course, Mr. Yang can wait for my good news."

"OK." Yang Wendong replied.

After returning from Hutchison International, Yang Wendong said, "Lao Fang, when you join the board of directors of Hutchison Group in the future, you should appropriately promote Hutchison to acquire or invest in companies such as Anderson and Jun Yicang."

"Mr. Yang also values ​​Anderson and Junyi Warehouse?" Fang Xianming asked.

"These two companies are excellent in themselves, so it's not a problem for Hutchison to join hands with us to acquire them." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Another purpose is that you can't just focus on Huangpu, otherwise it will be easy to be found to have problems."

Anderson and Kwan Yik Warehouse are both famous British real estate companies in Hong Kong. Although they are far inferior to Chinese companies in terms of business operations, they have a long history and once had large warehouse businesses, so they have a large amount of high-quality land.

Although the prices of these plots of land have not fallen to the lowest level this year, historically, even during the worst period of the real estate crisis in 67, these two companies did not sell their properties. So there is no need to wait now and just let Hutchison find an opportunity to acquire them.

Of course, the best time would still be 67, but Hutchison hasn't brought up the matter yet, so he can't interfere too much. He can only let his people keep an eye on it in the future.

"Okay." Fang Xianming continued, "Anderson, Junyi Warehouse and Huangpu are not much smaller than Hutchison. When Hutchison is ready to take action, we can also participate in the joint venture, as long as Hutchison takes the lead in name.
When we succeed, we can also obtain a higher proportion of shares and hide safely behind the scenes."

"Yes, that's my plan as well." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "As long as Hutchison becomes a shareholder of Whampoa Group, I can also arrange for some people to study in Whampoa Group through Hutchison and learn about the internal situation. This will be of great help if we successfully acquire Whampoa Group in the future."

He would not do undercover spying, which is illegal in itself, but he would send his people to understand the conflicts among Huangpu personnel or the key positions. Even if they did not learn the technology, as long as they knew which hundreds of employees in the Huangpu Group with thousands of employees he needed to win over and which ones he did not, he could do this more easily after taking over the company and thus control the company.

"Yes, this is indeed a good idea." Fang Xianming nodded and said, "And these companies themselves are also very high-quality. As long as the real estate crisis is over, we can also earn very generous stock returns."

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Yes, then we don't need to think too much about Hutchison International, which has acquired shares now. We can just let Hutchison acquire high-quality British assets for us. Everything else will be normal, unless one day they are ready to take action against Huangpu."

"I understand." Fang Xianming said, "But Mr. Yang, how can we guarantee that Qi Dezun will listen to us in the future? After all, in order to successfully acquire shares in Hutchison, we promised not to compete for the right to speak in Hutchison?"

"Things will work out when the time comes." Yang Wendong said, "I'm not going to fight for it for now. Let's wait and see. Even if there's no chance, we just need to get Huangpu in the future. Other aspects will also be very high-quality investments."

The time traveler's understanding is that he can choose the strongest investment target. Historically, before the 73 stock market crash, Hutchison's stock price rose to HK$70 billion, second only to Jardine Matheson.

Now that we have our own help, the market value may be higher. Of course, our own stocks will also be diluted during the expansion process, and we can gradually increase our investment in the future.

As for whether Hutchison would collapse in this life, Yang Wendong was very sure. The core reason was that Qi Dezun was too arrogant. Even when Hutchison was about to go bankrupt in 73, he still did not give face to HSBC.

Of course, Qi Dezun is not so arrogant now. It may be because Hutchison is not very large at present. It may also be because Hutchison's market value of tens of billions in the future will give him the capital to be so arrogant.

"Okay, I understand." Fang Xianming said with a smile: "With Mr. Yang's vision and Qi Dezun's ability, our cooperation can also enable us to obtain the benefits of so many British financial groups in Hong Kong."

"So many British financial groups have been sucking blood from Hong Kong for so many years, it's time for them to spit out the money long ago." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

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(End of this chapter)