Chapter 545: Taking advantage of the situation

Chapter 545: Taking advantage of the situation

Chapter 545: Taking advantage of the situation
"Yes, 16% is enough for me." Yang Wendong said with a smile: "What I value more is that the Chinese can control the docks in Hong Kong. Bao Sheng is the most suitable candidate."

If we cannot get it legally, we cannot let the British take advantage of it. We are about to enter the 70s, and many Chinese companies in Hong Kong will rise. We will no longer be the only one to fight against the British model.
Moreover, as the first Chinese financial group, Changxing Group often needs to appropriately support latecomers. For example, if there are some industries that it cannot participate in or looks down upon, but are very valuable to others, it can allow other Chinese capital to participate and then buy individual shares. In any case, there is no loss.

Bao Yugang asked again: "Mr. Yang, I remember you invested in Hutchison Whampoa, right? Why didn't you let Hutchison Whampoa invest?"

"There are four docks. I will take one alone and give birth to one. I will naturally let Hutchison try for the remaining two." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "But Hutchison's financial resources are still not as good as those of Jardine Matheson and Swire. They may not have the ability to take it down. Such a project will require a lot of capital investment, and Qi Dezun may not be able to bear it."

Bao Yugang laughed and said, "Haha, Mr. Yang has a really good plan. You have a plan for the fourth pier, right?"

"That's not the case. Jardine Swire and HSBC are not pushovers either." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "My goal is to take one myself, then invest in one or two more, and leave the rest to British capital."

In the late 60s, British capital was still very strong. Perhaps I could have fought with them, but it was meaningless because I was still growing rapidly, and British capital was still protected by the government.

More importantly, there is no major conflict of interest between the two parties. Competition for ports, land kings, etc. is a normal business practice and is not a major contradiction.

"A dock like this would require an investment of at least several hundred million, right?" Bao Yugang asked.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, 3-5 million is the minimum. However, with Baosheng's relationship with HSBC, it is definitely not a problem to borrow a few hundred million. The rest is nothing to you. You can say that you are making money without doing anything during this period of shipping."

"It's the same for everyone." Bao Yugang smiled and said, "It's just that my funds were originally intended to continue purchasing new ships. Now that they are invested in the port, it has affected the original plan a bit."

"You have to think it through yourself. I won't interfere." Yang Wendong said, "But no matter what decision you make, please tell me."

"No problem." Bao Yugang nodded.

After the two separated, Yang Wendong came to the headquarters of Hutchison Group, which is a Central Building and was originally the location of the headquarters of Li Jiacheng's Changxing Industrial in the future;
"Mr. Yang." Qi Dezun knew that Yang Wendong was coming, and hurried to the elevator entrance to greet him.

"Qi Dezun, long time no see. The recent share price of Hutchison Group is approaching 8 million. That's amazing." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

As in the original history, Hutchison developed rapidly after 68, and with the intervention of Yang Wendong, Hutchison became larger and expanded faster, which also led to its stock price skyrocketing like a snowball;
Yang Wendong's investment in the early years has now more than quintupled; however, there is indeed a huge bubble here, but isn't that how the stock market works? As long as the bullshit isn't broken, it's fine. Compared to the big fraudster Chen Songqing, Hutchison at least has many actual industries, profitability, etc., and the financial data is just made to look good, but not fake.

Qi Dezun also laughed and said, "Haha, this is also due to Yang Sheng's contribution. After Yang Sheng became a shareholder, it became much easier for Hutchison to get bank loans."

The banks in Hong Kong knew that Yang Wendong was behind Hutchison, so they were basically willing to provide loans for many projects as long as they were not too outrageous. This brought great convenience to companies that relied on financial expansion.

"Win-win cooperation?" Yang Wendong nodded. In the later stages, many large companies rely on their resources to help the invested companies develop.
One party provides the capabilities and the other party provides the financial resources, a perfect combination.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Qi Dezun asked directly, "Mr. Yang, I wonder what brings you here this time?"

Yang Wendong also said directly: "You should know that the Hong Kong government has launched several terminals. I remember you said before that if the Hong Kong government launches a container terminal, you hope that Huangpu can get one. Now the time has come, and I hope that Hutchison can come forward and get one."

Qi Dezun was a little hesitant at this time, and said: "Mr. Yang, I do have this idea, but I didn't expect that this day would come so soon. To be honest, with Hutchison's current financial resources and credit line, it is difficult to win this project;
Because I recently acquired Anderson and became a major shareholder of Junyi Warehouse, the debt-to-equity ratio is already very high. I am just waiting for the stock price and land price to rise again to ease the cash flow.

If we take over this port terminal, all the subsequent funds will have to be invested in it. Although I think this project will not lose money, I will not be able to invest in other projects if this happens. "

"I understand your situation." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "But this is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Five docks will probably be enough for the next ten years. Think it over carefully."

Hutchison has grown rapidly over the years, but it has not yet reached the peak of its previous life in 72, and is still inferior to Swire Jardine Matheson;
Even if small and medium-sized companies know that a large project is very profitable, it is not suitable for them to invest all their efforts in it, because this will cause the company's capital chain to dry up, the risk is too great, and even if it succeeds, it will not be able to do other things for several years, which may not be a good thing for a growing company.

Qi Dezun said again: "Mr. Yang, of course I want to get it, so I would like you to come forward as a guarantor. I will give you a 3% guarantee amount, which is much higher than the 2% on the market."

"It's a lot higher, but do you think I'm short of that 1%?" Yang Wendong asked with a smile.

Qi Dezun asked, "What does Yang Sheng need? Just tell me."

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "I can guarantee it for you at Citibank, and the interest rate won't be very high, but you'll need the wharf, Hutchison House, Huangpu's existing wharf, and Junyi Warehouse shares as collateral."

Today, Hutchison has undergone major changes. No one can say whether the collapse in 73 will happen again. It is even uncertain whether the stock market crash in 1973 will move forward or backward.
However, Qi Dezun's disorderly expansion will certainly lead to catastrophic problems. But when nothing is certain, he naturally has to keep an eye on Hutchison's most core assets first to prevent Hutchison from mortgaging them to other companies in advance one day, which would leave him empty-handed.

"Mr. Yang, isn't this too much collateral?" Qi Dezun said with some embarrassment.

"Not much. Although I also think the dock will make money, there was no return in the early years." Yang Wendong said, "Besides, the business of the next five docks may not be as good as my current dock. I naturally need to consider the reality.

However, if the data is impressive after the terminal is open for business, I will increase the mortgage amount of this container terminal, and we can negotiate to reduce the mortgage of other collaterals in the future."

It takes several years to build a dock. We will talk about what will happen after a few years. Hutchison may go bankrupt, or it may develop better. Anyway, we just need to ensure that we do not lose money now and can still make a profit.

Qi Dezun thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll negotiate internally first. If there's no problem, I'll send someone to negotiate with Yang Sheng's people."

"OK." Yang Wendong nodded, and then said: "That's it, but since I'm here, I also want to have a comprehensive understanding of the current Hutchison." Qi Dezun smiled and said: "No problem, please come this way, I'll take you to the information room to have a look."

Global Shipping, Bao Yugang called his right-hand man A Long and informed him of the matter.

After listening to this, Aaron said, "Mr. Bao, didn't you say before that you were not going to invest in Hong Kong real estate?"

Bao Yugang shook his head and said, "I am not going to invest in property, but a wharf is not just property, it is also the foundation of ships. Once we have our own wharf, we can save a lot of money by mooring our ships ourselves, and more importantly, save time."

With the current financial strength of Global Shipping, a little berthing fee is not a big deal; but many times, when the port is busy, you need to queue up, which wastes a lot of time, and time is often more valuable than money.

Aaron also agreed: "That's true, but it will cost a lot of money."

"I have to find Sanders." Bao Yugang said again, "I just don't know if Sanders is willing to help me with this dock matter."

The next day, Bao Yugang found Sanders of HSBC and told him his needs.

"What, you want to invest in the port?" Sanders was shocked after hearing this.

Bao Yugang nodded and said, "Yes, this will be of great help to global shipping. Mr. Sanders should understand this."

"Are you a family?" Sanders asked again.

Bao Yugang shook his head: "No, Yang Wendong will be involved. He will hold about 15.9% of the shares. In addition, I will look for some other Chinese investors to participate. I only need to control 51%, which is enough."

A large project like a port terminal is equivalent to several large oil tankers. For such a large investment in an industry that he is not good at, he will naturally invite multiple consortiums to come in, so as to avoid risks and ensure cooperation.

Sanders frowned and said, "Bao Sheng, 51% is not a small amount. Isn't it too risky? You are good at shipping, but not docks."

"Container terminals are not something that many people are good at," Bao Yugang said. "And Yang Wendong will become a shareholder. When my terminal is operational in the future, their terminal will have been operational for several years. Whether they participate in helping or I directly poach people, it is feasible. I don't think the risk is very high."

"That's fine, in that case." Sanders couldn't find any reason for a moment.

Bao Yugang also saw it and asked, "Mr. Sanders, HSBC is also an antique in global shipping. Could it be that they don't want us to participate? Or is there another reason?"

"Sir, you know what the dock means to British capital, so I won't say much about it." Sanders added, "If you decide to participate, I will support you, but you still have to make sure you control the risks."

Nowadays, let alone HSBC, even the Hong Kong government cannot directly require a large Chinese company to do or not do something. The powerful British Empire decades ago no longer exists;
Bao Yugang laughed again and said, "Mr. Sanders, I understand, but now Hong Kong basically does not distinguish between Chinese and British capital. We have a saying in Chinese that it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.

In Hong Kong's business world, whoever can make money is the king. Although British capital is large in scale, it seems that they don't have much cooperation with HSBC, right? "

"Yes, Mr. Bao is right. Don't worry, I will still support you." Sanders nodded and said.

Jardine Matheson and HSBC have repeatedly competed for the title of the No. 1 financial group in Hong Kong. Therefore, Jardine Matheson would deliberately not cooperate with HSBC in many cases. Swire did not have any disputes in this regard, but Swire had close relations with local British banks and did not cooperate much with HSBC.

This is also the reason why HSBC began to gradually support Chinese capital. It was not to do charity, but because it found that although the amount of Chinese capital was large, it was developing rapidly and could bring extremely rich returns to HSBC.

Bao Yugang smiled and said, "Okay, I'll seek other people's opinions."

Half a month later, the Hong Kong government received bidding applications from many companies, including Japanese, American and even European consortiums.

Within Hong Kong, the same is true for Cheung Hing Group, Jardine Matheson, Swire Group, Wheelock Group, as well as the new generation of conglomerates such as Global Shipping and Hutchison Whampoa Group.

Yang Wendong also got the detailed information. After reading it, he smiled and said, "Bao Yugang and Qi Dezun have formed a joint consortium. They control 51% each. Others just need to participate and pay money."

Zheng Zhijie said: "This is also a normal operation to avoid excessive risks. At the same time, we give profits to other consortiums. In this way, other consortiums will also make a contribution and pull us into other projects."

"Yeah, I know." Yang Wendong nodded;
This is actually the normal operation in business. It is not good to eat alone. Since I am a time traveler who knows the future, I will not exchange shares with other risky projects.
If he encounters a normal project and is not sure about the risks, he may also drag other consortiums to bear the risks.

Zheng Zhijie added: "Now we just have to wait a few months. With so many financial groups participating, the competition must be fierce."

"We don't care about Bao Yugang and Qi Dezun. We just need to help them get the deal. If they think the price is too high, it's up to them to give up." Yang Wendong said, "But Pier 2 is a must for us. We must get it."

At the moment, no one knows how powerful Hong Kong’s industry will be in the future. Even after the reform and opening up, we will need to rely on Hong Kong ports for a long time. In theory, other consortiums will not dare to compete with us on price.

Zheng Zhijie agreed: "Understood, I will be prepared."

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)