Chapter 736 Taking advantage of others’ danger
Chapter 736 Taking advantage of others’ danger
"Qi Dezun, you want to meet me?" Yang Wendong was surprised when he heard the news, "Could it be that he found out about our recent shopping spree?"
Fang Xianming replied confidently: "Mr. Yang, it's impossible. There are many Hutchison shares in the market now. My actions have just started, and the acquisition speed is not very fast.
The people who handled it were all veterans who had participated in Wharf Holdings and Dairy Farm International, and they used hundreds of small accounts. It is impossible for them to be discovered in such a short time.”
"Well, your team is indeed quite capable." Yang Wendong nodded, and then said, "It seems that Qi Dezun wants to ask me for help. Hutchison's current debt situation is probably unbearable."
Hutchison Whampoa is a listed company and has to release a lot of financial information every quarter. Even if some aspects can be modified appropriately, the premise of modification is that the body itself must be similar to that of the company. It is like women putting on makeup. If you are born with amazing bones, it is impossible to become a beauty, unless the beauty filter removes some bones.
The same is true for company data. At least the debts and profits on the surface cannot be faked. At most, they can be transferred through some means.
Ordinary people may not be able to understand these data, but for large professional companies, they can see the loopholes at a glance.
Fang Xianming smiled and said, "I guess so. Hutchison's total debt is almost 20 billion, and its short-term debt is close to 8 million. It also suffered losses in the first quarter of this year. Under this situation, no matter how capable Qi Dezun is, he can't bear the pressure."
"Yes, even I have to be cautious before taking over this kind of debt." Yang Wendong smiled faintly and shook his head.
The debt of HK$2 billion is not collateralized by real properties like the one of Hong Kong Land. Although there are some, the proportion is still not good enough.
If it were not for knowing the future and the huge profits in the Hong Kong property and real estate market, then even if it was Changxing Group, under normal circumstances, it would not take the initiative to participate in such a thing. After all, it would require a large amount of capital to be invested. Even if it was optimistic about the real estate market, normal investment or investment in other companies would be much more stable and safe.
Only because Hutchison still has a large amount of undeveloped properties and land, as well as some special businesses, will it become a hot commodity in the future.
In history, when Li Jiacheng took over Hutchison Whampoa, its value was still different from when it was on the verge of bankruptcy in 75.
Fang Xianming continued: "Then he probably wants to borrow money from us."
"Let's meet first and see what Qi Dezun is planning." Yang Wendong was not sure what to do, so he decided to take it one step at a time.
The next morning, Yang Wendong rushed to the Four Seasons Hotel and met Qi Dezun, who was once powerful but now in a state of decline.
"Qi Dezun, long time no see." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
"Yes, it's been a long time." Qi Dezun nodded and said with a smile, "I've been embarrassed to see all the shareholders of Hutchison Whampoa again in the past two years."
"There is a saying among us Chinese that victory and defeat are common in the military." Yang Wendong said, "When running a company, there will always be success and failure. If you fail, you can just start over again. Moreover, Hutchison Whampoa cannot be considered a failure at the moment."
In the mainland of the previous life, there were several people who made a comeback after failing in business. Yang Wendong admired the ability of these people.
Qi Dezun laughed and said, "Haha, thank you Mr. Yang for your comfort, but at my age, if I fail this time, I will never have another chance.
The most important thing for someone to succeed again is not ability, but age. Only a young person like Yang Sheng can succeed;
But with Yang Sheng's current achievements, he naturally doesn't need to consider such things."
"Well, what is the matter that you asked me to come here this time?" Yang Wendong did not say anything more and went straight to the point;
Qi Dezun is indeed not young anymore. After all, he participated in World War II when he was young and had fought against the Japanese. It is because of this that Yang Wendong has treated him with courtesy over the years. Not for any other reason, but as long as someone has fought against the Japanese, he will instinctively respect him.
Qi Dezun said: "Mr. Yang, I hope that Changxing Group can lend me and Huang 5 million Hong Kong dollars, or Mr. Yang, you can arrange for a bank to lend it to me;
Whether it is agency fees or other fees that should be paid, I will definitely pay the highest amount. "
"5 million Hong Kong dollars?" Yang Wendong did not answer directly, but asked: "Since everything has to go through me, that means there is no collateral?"
Qi Dezun shook his head and said, "Mr. Yang, I won't say anything nonsense. You know Hutchison's financial situation. They really can't come up with collateral worth 5 million.
But now that Hong Kong's economy has begun to recover, although real estate prices have not risen, according to past experience, they will surely recover in a few years. As long as real estate prices recover, the value of the properties I own will surely increase, so the risk will naturally be low.
Mr. Yang, you spent so much money to acquire Wharf Holdings and privatized it. Now you are also investing heavily in building Harbour City. Obviously, you are also optimistic about the future of Hong Kong real estate, right? "
"I am optimistic about Hong Kong's future, but Hong Kong's future and Hutchison Whampoa's are two different things." Yang Wendong shook his head and said: "No matter how well an economy develops, there will be companies that will go bankrupt. Conversely, no matter how bad the economy is, there may be strong companies. The two are not equal."
After listening to this, Qi Dezun frowned and asked, "Mr. Yang, are you not optimistic about Hutchison's future?" Yang Wendong asked indifferently, "Shouldn't you tell me what Hutchison's future will be like? Hutchison's debts are over 20 billion, but its market value is only billion. How can I be optimistic about it?"
Knowing the future is one thing, but he obviously can't show it now. Qi Dezun's previous abilities were indeed very strong, but the more capable a person is, the greater the hidden dangers and damage he can cause when he ignores risks.
After hearing this, Qi Dezun said, "Mr. Yang, Hutchison's debt is indeed heavy, but we also have a lot of high-quality assets. Whampoa, Junyi Warehouse, and Hong Kong Electric also have a lot of high-quality land. Adding these together, it is not less than that of Wharf Holdings or even Hong Kong Land."
"I know, but can you control them?" Yang Wendong asked with a smile.
"Hmm" Qi Dezun was silent after listening;
He cannot control these companies. Although he controls them in the form of shares, it is only in name only. These companies still have independent management rights.
This was also a last resort during Hutchison's early expansion period. At that time, he wanted to expand the scale of the company, even if it was only nominal, so that he could increase the market value of his own company, and then use it as collateral for borrowing and development;
It was precisely because of the fact that Hutchison Whampoa did not seize too much power that it was able to expand smoothly. The management of those companies whose shares were mostly acquired did not object, as they were still independent anyway and at most were just under the name of a large conglomerate.
But now that Hutchison Whampoa, the parent company, is in trouble, how could those independent subsidiaries possibly help?
Qi Dezun once thought about borrowing money from HK Electric to ease his financial pressure, but was directly rejected by HK Electric's management. Qi Dezun had no way to deal with this, unless he really launched a battle for management rights. However, he did not have the energy to do so at the moment. Moreover, Hutchison's current structure is precisely because of the decentralization of power. Once he started to fight for one of the companies, it would inevitably cause the entire business empire to fall apart.
Yang Wendong also did not continue to speak, but drank the tea in his hand elegantly;
After a while, Qi Dezun broke the silence and asked, "Mr. Yang, you and I are both very clear about Hutchison's situation. Although there are certain risks, if we can get through it, as long as the land price returns to the level of 72, then everything will not be a problem, right?"
"Yes, in theory, but when can we recover to 72?" Yang Wendong continued, "Hutchison's current debt, plus the funds you need now, is almost 25 billion. With the current interest on the debt, it is almost 3 million a year. If this continues for a long time, even if the land price recovers, I am afraid that even if all of Hutchison's assets are sold, it may not be enough, right?"
After the oil crisis, the world fell into inflation. In order to suppress inflation, European and American countries began to raise interest rates, which also led to an increase in global debt costs;
The currency in Hong Kong is closely related to that in Europe and the United States and is theoretically free to circulate. If Europe and the United States raise interest rates, then Hong Kong can only raise interest rates as well, otherwise the exchange rate will definitely not be able to hold up.
Qi Dezun was stumped by the question again. This was indeed the biggest problem. He then said, "Mr. Yang, since this is the case, then what do you think it will take for you to help Hutchison?"
"You should also know that interest returns and the like don't mean much to me, I don't care about that." Yang Wendong said slowly: "You want me to help Hutchison, I value investment returns more;
Even if there is a huge risk, if there is a high return in the end, then for me it is worth the gamble.”
When it comes to the level of super-rich, unless they work in a bank, few people will care about the "interest". Even banks borrow other people's money and lend it out at interest, rather than using their own money.
"Do you want to get more shares in Hutchison?" Qi Dezun naturally understood what Yang Wendong meant, so he asked directly: "How many shares do you want?"
Yang Wendong held up four fingers and said, "I can invest 5 million in Hutchison, but I want to get another 40% of Hutchison's shares."
“40%?” Qi Dezun’s face changed drastically, and he said angrily, “Mr. Yang, are you taking advantage of someone’s misfortune and want to swallow up the entire Hutchison Whampoa?”
Yang Wendong smiled faintly and said, "If I don't take so many shares, what else can attract me to take such a big risk to help Hutchison?"
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(End of this chapter)