Chapter 643 [Home Ownership Plan]

Qi Dezun did not answer directly, but asked: "Mr. Yang, I wonder why you ask this question?"

"I am also a shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa. For such a major event, I naturally want to know some progress." Yang Wendong explained with a smile: "I don't need to know the details, just a general idea will be enough."

The default rule in Hong Kong society is that even shareholders or even directors generally do not interfere too much in the business activities of the chairman of the board, unless they are particularly opposed. Otherwise, as long as they agree, they will generally authorize it; or they may interfere if something causes controversy.

Qi Dezun thought for a moment and said, "At present, I have acquired about 13% of HK Electric's shares through various means. My goal is about 20%. It will probably take a few months to announce this matter. It may be faster because I am now discussing with several overseas shareholders. If they are willing to sell their shares, it will be very quick."

"You are indeed progressing very fast." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "But something big will happen in the Hong Kong business community soon. I suggest that you don't initiate the acquisition for the time being even if you have acquired 20%."

The difficulty of British capital attacking British capital is completely different from that of Chinese capital attacking British capital. It is much easier not only on the political level but also on the commercial level.

Qi Dezun could openly contact some of Hong Kong Electric's British shareholders and directly state that he wanted to acquire some of the shares. Generally, there would not be any big problems. They were all British and it would be easy to negotiate. British capital was not very sensitive to this.

But if Yang Wendong did this, people might become suspicious. This is why Yang Wendong supported Qi Dezun's acquisition of HK Electric. If he took over Hutchison Whampoa after Hutchison Whampoa succeeded, things would be much simpler, and he would not have to launch a takeover war in Hong Kong, which would be time-consuming and laborious.

"What kind of thing?" Qi Dezun suddenly became curious.

Yang Wendong said: "I can't tell you about this for the time being. I can only say that it involves Jardine Matheson. Jardine Matheson Group will soon make a big investment in the Hong Kong market, which will cause fluctuations in the entire Hong Kong market. If you initiate the acquisition of HK Electric at the same time or even earlier, I am afraid it will have a counter-effect.

So you just need to wait a little longer, and then slowly acquire HK Electric shares. When the Jardine Matheson matter is over, it will be a good thing for you, at least you can save some money. "

Today's mergers and acquisitions in the Hong Kong stock market will inevitably be completely different from the original history because of the existence of Yang Wendong, so now he no longer considers "trying his best to preserve history."

Everything should be done according to normal business principles. He doesn't even care when the stock market crash will happen. He knows it will happen, but he is not sure when it will happen.

As for its own acquisition war, it will just do what it has to do and act when the time is right. The stock market crash will at most affect the amount of investment. For the Changxing Group, acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and even the opportunity to acquire Swire Properties in the future are the most important strategic things to focus on.

"Yarde?" Qi Dezun frowned and said, "Mr. Yang, my actions have taken too long. The management of HK Electric may find out. Although they don't have a major shareholder, if it is really exposed, it will also cause losses to me."

"Don't worry, it won't take long." Yang Wendong said, "Of course, I'm just giving you suggestions. If you don't want to listen, it's up to you. I won't force you. After all, you have the final say in Hutchison."

He generally does not interfere forcefully with the companies he invests in, even if it is Hutchison Whampoa;

Because if he does one thing like this, it may affect many other companies he has invested in, and even some of his own investments in the future will be affected;

He needs to ensure that he is a "non-power-grabbing" entity in any investment. Even if he wants to acquire Hutchison Whampoa in the future, he needs to do so when Hutchison Whampoa is close to bankruptcy. This will prevent other investors from worrying about their companies being acquired by the giant Changxing Group.

Qi Dezun thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll think about it. Anyway, I won't make any moves in the next two or three months."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded. Even his plan against Hutchison Whampoa was suspended because of Jardine Matheson's attack on the dairy country. Everything was done to ensure that Jardine Matheson could act with confidence.

There should be no problem with Qi Dezun in the short term, but Yang Wendong doesn't know when Jardine Matheson will take action, but it should be soon, because Yang Wendong was prepared for this matter in his early years. So while acquiring Wharf Holdings shares, he also acquired more than ten points of Dairy Farm International shares. This will inevitably lead to Jardine Matheson wanting to acquire enough shares first, which will be very difficult. In this case, it can only take action in advance.

Next, all we have to do is wait. In mid-March, everything was going smoothly. At noon on the 3th, Yang Wendong had just finished lunch and was about to take a break when he saw his assistant, Aying, coming over and saying, "Mr. Yang, the Governor's Office just called. Governor MacLehose wants to invite you to have tea with him soon."

"McLehose asked me out?" Yang Wendong was a little surprised. After thinking for a while, he couldn't figure out what it was about. He said, "Okay, just reply. I'm available any day, depending on the Governor's availability."

MacLehose had been in power in Hong Kong for several months, but he had basically no contact with Yang Wendong. The few times he met with Yang Wendong were only in public. This was the first time they had met alone.
Facing MacLehose, who was known as the first governor of Hong Kong in history, Yang Wendong naturally had to give him enough face. After all, he was still under his jurisdiction. Even if MacLehose's purpose was for Britain, some of his actions did benefit Hong Kong society.
For example, the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Although the purpose of its existence is for the UK to suppress the rights of Chinese people in some aspects and to truly build Hong Kong well, in the long run, the Independent Commission Against Corruption still has positive significance for Hong Kong.

Ah Ying agreed: "Okay, I'll go right away."

On the third day, Yang Wendong wore a formal suit and entered the Governor's House in a Volvo car team.

This is a convoy specially prepared for entering the political arena of Hong Kong. After all, it is not good to enter the Hong Kong government departments with too luxurious cars, and it is more likely to attract the attention of many media reporters, so they deliberately changed the brand;
Among the second-tier luxury brands, Volvo was the one Yang Wendong specifically chose. After all, this car company focuses on safety. Even the three-point seat belt was invented by them and announced to the world for free, which has saved countless lives. So he still has a good impression of it, and the most important thing is safety.

Under the arrangement of the assistant of the Governor's Office, Yang Wendong soon met Murray MacLehose, who was only in his early 50s. For a Governor who held great power, this age was not considered old.

"Hello, Mr. Governor of Hong Kong." Yang Wendong said while shaking hands very politely.

MacLehose also smiled and extended his hand to shake hands, saying, "Hello, Mr. Yang. Actually, I should have met you a long time ago. It's just that I just came to Hong Kong and don't understand many things. I also thought that I could discuss some things after I understand them more clearly, which might avoid some unnecessary problems."

"You are too polite, Governor. I am ready to cooperate with your requests at any time." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

Many of the previous governors of Hong Kong basically came from Hong Kong's political circles. For example, Trench Trench was the Governor when Robert Black was the Governor. He was very familiar with Hong Kong and had a clear understanding of the political and business situation there.

MacLehose was transferred from other places. Not only did he not know much about Hong Kong, he was not even familiar with the language. He often had to work through an interpreter.
Under such circumstances, it was very risky for anyone to issue some administrative orders, because without understanding, mistakes were very likely to be made. Therefore, in the first six months, many of Hong Kong's governing policies continued to use the policies of the former Governor Trench. Many officials did not even make changes, just because of MacLehose's unfamiliarity.

But it is probably about the same now. With MacLehose's ability, he should have gained some understanding of Hong Kong in these few months.

MacLehose smiled and said, "Okay, I also very much hope that my policies can gain support from both the political and business circles in Hong Kong."

"I also hope to cooperate with your policies, as long as it is good for Hong Kong society." Yang Wendong smiled and deliberately left a loophole in this sentence. After all, even if it was an official statement, he couldn't be final.

MacLehose went on to say: “Mr. Yang, your company now has a large number of factories in Hong Kong, providing a large number of jobs. I hope this can continue in the future to ensure the basic living standards of ordinary people.
However, I have recently observed that the housing prices in Hong Kong have increased too fast. Too many ordinary people simply cannot afford to buy a house, or even rent one. The media has also reported a lot on this.
Mr. Yang, as the most successful businessman in Hong Kong, what do you think about this matter? "

"Mr. Governor, this kind of social problem has many factors, and I can't solve it." Yang Wendong also roughly understood MacLehose's purpose: "The development of housing prices is essentially the direction of the flow of funds in the whole society. Even I can't do anything about it."

As the mainland began to establish diplomatic relations with the West, a large amount of international funds flowed into Hong Kong, and these funds either went into the stock market or the real estate market, and could not go into industry. This would never happen in any country at any time.
Everyone is happy when the stock market goes up, and those who don't have stocks don't suffer any losses. However, housing prices go up too sharply. Those who own houses are happy, but those who don't have houses or are planning to buy houses are miserable. This is also one of the huge contradictions in society, and this situation also existed in the mainland in the past life.

MacLehose nodded and said, “I know that from a businessman’s perspective, I really can’t influence this matter, but as a government official, I also hope that my people can have a place to live.
So I am going to launch a large-scale public infrastructure program called [Home Ownership Program], which aims to build enough houses for millions of poor people in Hong Kong in the next ten years. Mr. Yang, what do you think of this plan? "

"Home ownership for all? Ten-year housing construction plan?" Yang Wendong immediately thought of these two words;
This is a plan that has been proposed by many governors and even future chief executives in Hong Kong's history. It can be said to be ambitious, but the final result is not so ideal.

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

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