Chapter 687 Reactions from all parties
Chapter 687 Reactions from all parties
He thought that he had shown great sincerity by offering three Central buildings as a trade, but he did not expect that Yang Wendong was still eyeing Wharf;
You know, there were people in the family who opposed his exchange. He managed to convince others by overcoming all the opposition. Now Yang Wendong still disagrees, so he can't add any more chips. After all, even if it's Jardine Matheson, the number of buildings in Central is clear.
The reason why Jardine Matheson Group became the first British financial group in Hong Kong, surpassing Swire Group, which owns Cathay Pacific, beverage, real estate and shipping businesses, or other British financial groups that have their own advantages, is because of the buildings in Central. These buildings do not need to do anything, but just collect rent to surpass other companies that monopolize Hong Kong.
If Swire Properties loses a few more buildings, even with the land from Dairy Farm, it will not be enough. The land in Central is the scarcest and it is difficult to replenish it.
After leaving the Wharf headquarters, Yang Wendong glanced at the Harbour City under construction nearby. Now, due to the economic crisis, it has been suspended;
Yang Wendong said: "If I could acquire and control Wharf Holdings, then this project would definitely start construction immediately. It is in the hands of those idiots at Jardine Matheson that such a high-quality property has been ruined like this."
It is no exaggeration to say that Jardine Matheson is a waste. A project that could make a lot of money in the future took ten years to build. Not to mention Yang Wendong, even if it was given to several other Chinese real estate companies, it would not be so slow, not to mention that Hutchison Whampoa also has many plots of land. If these plots of land had been developed around the 70s, Harbour City would not have been without money to build.
Fang Xianming smiled and said, “British capital in Hong Kong is generally more conservative. When they have funds, they basically transfer them out of Hong Kong and invest overseas.
Hutchison Whampoa is special in that Qi Dezun is really optimistic about the future of Hong Kong, and most of his capital is in Hong Kong. "
"I know." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "These British investors have made too much profit in Hong Kong over the past few decades. It's time to take it back."
Although everyone is a capitalist and Chinese capital will not share the money earned with Hong Kong, as long as the funds remain in Hong Kong, many people will benefit more or less; even in the real estate industry, during the economic development period, stocks can be expanded, thereby increasing everyone's "paper wealth" and stimulating consumption.
If the British capital made money and transferred it away, it would be completely gone. This was basically the case with companies such as Jardine Matheson, Swire, Wheelock and Hong Kong Electric;
The only exception is Hutchison Whampoa, but if Hutchison Whampoa eventually succeeds in a soft landing and overcomes the crisis, Qi Dezun may do the same.
Fang Xianming then asked: "Mr. Yang, what should we do next?"
Yang Wendong said: "We should not use our funds to acquire the company yet. We can directly contact other shareholders and buy their shares at the current price, or establish good relationships with them.
In addition, just like when Hutchison Whampoa drank milk, they put pressure on Jardine Matheson in the media, criticizing Wharf Holdings for its poor management over the years, saying that the current management team is still running the company with the methods used 20 years ago and is no longer worthy of their position.
"Mr. Yang wants to seize power through the shareholders' meeting?" Fang Xianming immediately understood what his boss meant.
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, through the shareholders' meeting, as long as we have 51% of the supporters, we will win, get the management rights, and we can directly kick out Jardine Matheson."
If you intend to acquire a company, you don't necessarily need to actually purchase 51% of the shares yourself. You need to obtain the support of these shareholders, and then dissolve the existing board of directors and remove the previous chairman of the board or management through a shareholders' meeting. In that case, you will get the company and manage it yourself. It will be much easier to increase your shares through a targeted share increase.
Fang Xianming said, "Okay, I know what to do. But Mr. Yang, most of the shareholders of Wharf Holdings are British. It may be difficult to get them to stand on our side."
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "I know. So if we can acquire it, we will acquire it. If we can't acquire it, we will try our best to handle the relationship. We actually only need 20% of the stock supporters now. If that doesn't work, then we can consider taking action in the stock market."
In the original history, Pao Yugang actually owned 1980% of the shares in 30, while Jardine Matheson only owned 20%;
But having too many shares was of no use, as most shareholders still supported Jardine Matheson. Pao Yu-kong was eventually forced into a corner and had to buy up stocks on the market at an incredibly high price, completing his 50% share.
However, in this life, his group's influence in Hong Kong over the years is no less than that of Jardine Matheson, and it has also cooperated with many British groups. It is completely different from Pao Yue-kong. Perhaps it can be successful. If it is a little worse, even if it cannot reach 50%, then one more ally is better than no ally, and he can also acquire fewer stocks accordingly.
Fang Xianming agreed: "Understood, I will contact them right away."
HSBC Group Headquarters, Hong Kong:
"Mr. Shen Bi, Jardine Matheson called again and wanted to make an appointment with you." A Zongfa assistant walked in and said to Shen Bi.
Shen Bi shook his head and said, "Oh, it's really troublesome. Tell him to come over."
When Yang Wendong told him that he was going to take action against a British company, he never thought that the target would be Jardine Matheson;
The two top financial groups are in conflict, and both are major customers of HSBC. Even as a "quasi-central bank", he has to be cautious. Offending either side may lead to a large amount of business loss in the future.
Even though HSBC has a unique status in Hong Kong, it is still a company that needs to make profits. Once it suffers a huge loss, he, as the boss, will have to explain to the shareholders' meeting, the board of directors and even the Hong Kong government, and it may even affect his reputation.
The assistant said: "Okay, Mr. Shen Bi."
After a while, Henry Keswick came to the office of the HSBC boss with his trusted subordinate Newbyken;
Shen Bi smiled and said, "You guys are really fast."
"Now that this has happened, how can the speed not be fast?" Henry Keswick shook his head helplessly and said, "The talks between Yang Wendong and I broke down, and they refused to make an exchange. Next, we have to fight a real battle." "You don't even like the three Central buildings? The value of these three buildings is much higher than that of Hutchison Whampoa, right?" Shen Bi asked curiously.
Henry Keswick said: "I also find it strange, but Yang Wendong refused. Maybe he has other ideas."
Shen Bi nodded and said, "What a pity. I also want to avoid a major conflict, but it seems impossible. What does the Governor of Hong Kong mean?"
Henry Keswick shook his head and said, "McLehose said he doesn't care about this matter, at least he won't intervene directly. If anyone wants to intervene, it should be you, HSBC.
Shen Bi, although Jardine Matheson and HSBC have had conflicts for many years, you and I are both British-owned. I hope that this time, you can give me enough financial support. "
The current international environment also prevents the Hong Kong government from intervening in some matters. In particular, the Hong Kong government has been promoting Hong Kong as a "free market" economy for many years, and has also received praise from many countries. If the Hong Kong government intervenes to stop domestic companies, especially Chinese capital, it will not only lose the trust of overseas companies, but also have a significant impact on the Chinese people. Maybe, 67 may happen again;
But there is a solution. HSBC is a huge loophole. It is correct to say that it is an official institution, and it is also correct to say that it is a private company. Therefore, HSBC can completely replace the official and do something on its own.
Shen Bi frowned and said, "Henry, I can give you some funds, but it must be based on the market, and you need to have enough collateral."
"You don't believe in Jardine Matheson's ability to repay the loan?" Henry Keswick asked with some displeasure, "Don't forget that Jardine Matheson also has a lot of assets overseas."
Shen Bi shook his head and said, "Those assets are overseas. Even if they can make money, I can't be sure, so I won't accept them as collateral."
"Then the two oil tankers I just bought are now making millions of dollars a month. Is that enough?" Henry Keswick said again.
Shen Bi smiled and said, "Henry, don't you know the new policy of HSBC? I will not accept ship mortgages anymore."
"Don't accept?" Henry Keswick was stunned for a moment, then said: "Shen Bi, for emergency loans, there is often no time to provide collateral. With my achievements in Hong Kong, can't I do it once?"
"I'm sorry, we have to follow the rules this time." Shen Bi shook his head slightly and refused.
Henry Keswick immediately understood what Shen Bi meant and asked, "Shen Bi, do you not want to get involved in this matter?"
Shen Bi smiled and said, "This matter itself has nothing to do with me. Whether it's you or Yang Wendong, I won't help. But as long as there is collateral, then I can naturally lend money. This is a normal business transaction."
"Okay, I understand." Henry Keswick stood up and said, "As for the mortgage, I will arrange for someone to come and discuss it."
Looking at Henry Keswick going away, Shen Bi was quite helpless. He could indeed help Yihe, but that would really offend Yang Wendong. Although he was not afraid of the other party, it was not cost-effective and unnecessary to do so for Yihe, with whom he often conflicted.
Hutchison Whampoa Group Headquarters;
Qi Dezun looked at the latest newspaper, shook his head and smiled, "I didn't expect Yang Wendong to have such ambitions and directly attack Wharf."
An assistant reminded: "Sir, should we be more careful?"
"Don't worry. I tried my best to buy up Hutchison's share price before. Even if the share price is cut in half now, Yang Wendong will not spend so much to acquire Hutchison." Qi Dezun was not worried at all: "Maybe, taking this opportunity, the Hong Kong stock market will be able to rebound, and then our business can return to normal."
The assistant thought for a moment and said, "Yes, if Yang Wendong really had this idea, he would have done it long ago. Hutchison's strongest asset is not its assets, but you, sir."
"Hahaha, don't say this outside." Qi Dezun was obviously very happy to hear this.
The assistant smiled and said nothing more. He knew that Qi Dezun liked to hear such words.
At the Governor's House, MacLehose was reading an English newspaper. Governor Keda approached and said, "Governor, Mr. Stephen Simpson has refused to help Jardine Matheson."
"Well, as expected, Shen Bi doesn't want to get involved in this kind of thing." Murray MacLehose said with a smile.
Ji Da asked: "What if Wharf Holdings is really acquired by Yang Wendong?"
"We have to do what we have to do." MacLehose shook his head and said, "We can't offend all Chinese investors for the sake of Jardine Matheson's assets. Besides, if Jardine Matheson can't even protect its own assets, it's their incompetence."
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(End of this chapter)