Chapter 488 Back-up preparation
Yang Wendong naturally guessed Shen Bi's purpose, so he smiled and said: "What other purpose could there be? I am optimistic about the future of Hong Kong, but some British people are not optimistic about it, so I bought some real estate or some company stocks that they didn't want. I also cooperate with HSBC, you should also know.”
Shen Bi said: "That's true. Yang Sheng is indeed optimistic about the future development of Hong Kong. It's not good to forcefully annex other people's companies or become shareholders of other companies. If you are interested in other companies' properties, directly proposing an acquisition may be a good idea. Better.”
HSBC has participated in Changxing Real Estate's large-scale acquisitions in Hong Kong in the past six months. From Central to Kowloon, it has involved over a hundred large properties and countless medium-sized properties. However, it has not participated in any investment in the stock market. Obviously, Yang Wendong is guarding against HSBC in this area. Beware of British capital.
Yang Wendong said: "That's not what you say. After acquiring stocks and meeting the legal requirements for a director's seat, I should naturally obtain the rights I should have. This is also the meaning of the financial market, right? It can allow every capital investor who is optimistic about the future of the company to Get involved and build a big company together”
Shen Bi nodded and said: "Yang Sheng, let me tell you directly. The company you acquired and invested in this time is a British-funded enterprise. Forget about Kinmen Construction, but Huangpu Group controls one of the three major terminals in Hong Kong. , this is the core industry of Hong Kong and Britain, and many people do not want Chinese to control these assets.”
"Really? The Hong Kong government has always been fair to Chinese and British capital. Is this written in the law?" Yang Wendong asked again: "I wonder who is openly going against the Hong Kong government and the law?"< br>
"Yang Sheng, I know what you mean, but sometimes it's hard to say something directly. You should be more direct." Shen Bi said: "We want to know what Yang Sheng will do next? Does he want to annex? The whole Huangpu? ”
Yang Wendong took a sip of coffee calmly and said, "What would happen if I said I wanted to?"
Shen Bidao: "That will inevitably lead to a comprehensive counterattack by the management and shareholders of Huangpu Group, although the scale of Huangpu Group is small compared with Yang Sheng;
However, the Whampoa Group has been operating in Hong Kong for a century and has very strong connections. It is not difficult to find people who are willing to fund it. If there is a fight, Yang Sheng may not be sure, and may suffer heavy losses. ”
The tiger's butt was touched. It doesn't matter whether it was injured or not. What's important is that it was touched. If Yang Wendong really launches a takeover war, even if it fails in the end, it will be a big blow to the reputation of British Hong Kong and British capital. It will let everyone know that British capital is not so out of reach. This will also be a big temptation for Chinese capital, which is developing rapidly today.
In particular, Yang Wendong has a heavy reputation in Hong Kong and even the country. Even if he really does not give the Hong Kong government face, the Hong Kong government is not good at the end of the game, otherwise it is likely to be a crisis of international public opinion.
So I still hope that I can be persuaded.
Yang Wendong said: "This is not necessarily true. With the current situation in Hong Kong, I doubt how many British investors are willing to help a Whampoa Group that has been losing money for many years? Or is it illegal for HSBC to get involved?"
The problem of Whampoa Group is not today, but a few years ago when it was competing with Tai Koo Pier and Wharf Wharf, it was unable to compete. Although it benefited from Hong Kong's rapid development of export and trade demand, it did not suffer losses, but it still failed to do so. It's just that there is no loss, and it seems to anyone with a discerning eye that it doesn't work.
And the world is beginning to become container terminals. The cost of investment in such terminals is very high. With the current situation of Huangpu Group, it is hard to say whether it will have the opportunity to participate. If it misses it, it will be an avalanche of decline. Coupled with this year's economic crisis, at this time Who dares to invest heavy capital in it?
That is to say, Yang Wendong, a time traveler, knew the changes in the future, the huge profits that the real estate market would bring to the old Huangpu Wharf, and his own need for terminal technicians, so he dared to rush forward. Of course, he also came with the worst wharf. Let’s test the intentions of British capital and the Hong Kong government.
Shen Bi said: "HSBC cannot participate, but Yang Sheng should understand the stakes in this matter. The big British consortium will not give up. I know that Yang Sheng's financial resources are not inferior to them, but just For the Huangpu Group, it is not worthwhile to hurt both sides,
And your own shares are only 16%, which is not an advantage at all. As long as Huangpu finds a few helpers, your shares can be easily diluted, and you may not even have a director seat by then. ”
HSBC is a quasi-central bank. While enjoying this benefit, it is also restricted from directly participating in non-financial investments in Hong Kong, participating in real estate, purchasing stocks of other companies, etc., so this kind of thing cannot be done by HSBC.
But if we find a few people who are willing to support Huangpu and provide loans, then Yang Wendong, who currently holds a small stake, will definitely have no chance of winning. A private placement of shares by Huangpu Group will dilute everyone's shares.
"Then what is your proposal?" Yang Wendong asked again.
Unlike Kinmen Construction, Huangpu Group's shares are too concentrated, which prevents it from acquiring enough shares in the early stage. If this stock really comes to power and launches a takeover war, the possibility of losing is very high;
Although they are not afraid of British capital, they are sure to fight if they want to fight. Just like the acquisition of Kinmen, it is considered a victory without fighting.
Shen Bidao: "Yang Sheng can retain the shares of Huangpu Group, become a major shareholder, and enjoy stock dividends; but if he gives up his voting rights as a director, he will not be able to purchase Huangpu shares in the future. As for the Kinmen Group, it will be based on the agreement between you and the Kinmen management. Yes.”
"Shen Bi, there must be a bottom line when a lion opens his mouth. If you open your mouth too much, it will only make people lose interest in negotiating." Yang Wendong said calmly.
Shen Bi asked: "What is Yang Sheng's request?"
"If you want me to give up my continued investment in Huangpu, you have to give me a certain amount of compensation." Yang Wendong said, "Otherwise, why should I give up."
Even if it's just a test, if you bite off a piece of meat, there's no reason to just shut up and go home.
Shen Bi said tit-for-tat: "Yang Sheng, once the Huangpu Group decides to increase capital and expand its shares, your 16% shares will inevitably be diluted. This is also the right granted by the law to the controlling shareholder. If you do this, you still have no director rights. .”
"That's right. We all follow the law." Yang Wendong said with a smile: "Then I would like to ask you to tell me something. Those who are willing to invest in Huangpu Group should preferably not have their companies listed on the market, or they should absolutely If you can keep the controlling stake, otherwise, if you don’t save others, you will be trapped again, but no one may be able to save you.”
"Is Yang Sheng targeting all British capital?" Shen Bi asked uncertainly. Yang Wendong smiled and said: "It's just one of them, or I'm just talking about it, it depends on whether you dare to play or not?"
HSBC will definitely not be eliminated. The other companies, unless they are giants such as Jardine Matheson, Swire, and Wheelock, Yang Wendong will indeed be unable to deal with them in a short period of time. But even if they cannot acquire them, they can still play in some core industries. To play.
At the end of 1967, he had already acquired a large amount of land and some stocks of some British-funded companies; in addition, the electronic era was coming, and opportunities for higher profits were about to emerge, so he would no longer take British capital in his eyes. After taking care of them in a few years, he will need to go overseas to develop a Red Sea market with international technology giants.
Shen Bi was silent for a while, and finally said: "Yang Sheng, you are right. If this is really the case, we will not be able to get it right. Maybe you don't care about British capital, but don't you also care about the attitude of the British Hong Kong government? Or do you still say , there are other reasons.”
"You can guess for yourself if there are any other reasons." Yang Wendong paused and said, "But I also want to give the Hong Kong government a face. This matter ends here. I have obtained the board seat of Huangpu Group and will not seek the next step.
But in the future, if I become a director of another company, you are not allowed to interfere. If you really don’t want to, then delist yourself. Don’t think about going public to make money without taking any risks. Another thing, if you run it well, the market value will be very high. , then I may not buy stocks. I don’t need to say more about the reasoning behind this. ”
This wave of testing is to use Huangpu, a declining infrastructure company, to see the Hong Kong British attitude towards key infrastructure projects. Once it succeeds, other companies will do the same in the future;
"Okay, if that's the case, don't mention this matter again." Shen Bi added: "Please also ask Yang Sheng to control the media and not over-publicize this matter."
"Okay." Yang Wendong agreed.
The British Hong Kong government still needs to be given face. After all, they will still be in charge of Hong Kong for nearly 30 years after 1967. Even if the overall situation has been decided after 1985, they still have the right to manage it. If they really don't give face, even if they don't completely make trouble Yes, but it will be awkward to stay in Hong Kong from now on.
Shen Bi said again: "Then I will leave first."
After Shen Bi left, Yang Wendong immediately called Fang Xianming and Zheng Zhijie and informed them of the outcome of the matter.
After hearing this, Fang Xianming said: "As expected, the Hong Kong government can let Kinmen Group be acquired, but Huangpu has port business and they are unwilling to give up;
A Huangpu is nothing, but if we abandon Huangpu today, we may focus on other large British companies in the future. ”
"Yes, but our goal has been achieved and we have obtained a board seat at Whampoa Group. This is also the first time in Hong Kong's business history that a Chinese has forcibly become a director of a large British-owned company." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
British-funded companies in Hong Kong have invited Chinese as directors for a long time. This is also one of the important means for British-funded or Hong Kong-British companies to win over local Chinese. However, such directors are basically mascots and have no rights. Even if they have, they have not done so before. Negotiate to cooperate with British capital.
Fang Xianming agreed: "Yes, Huangpu succeeded this time. If we acquire other companies later, they will have to get used to it."
Zheng Zhijie said: "Yang Sheng, then we will let Qi Dezun appear as planned, so that we can truly control the Huangpu Group."
"Let Qi Dezun come over and let's talk to him about this matter in person." Yang Wendong agreed.
When I originally invested in Hutchison, in addition to the fact that Qi Dezun himself was very capable and the stock market of the company he ran would rise much faster than normal investment in the next few years, it was also a backup method for him to deal with British capital, which he could now use.
Fang Xianming agreed: "Okay, I'll make arrangements."
One day later, Yang Wendong met Qi Dezun at Changxing Building.
"Qi Dezun, I heard that you have gained a lot recently." Yang Wendong first asked with a smile.
During this period, in addition to Changxing Group, there are many other consortiums that are optimistic about the future of Hong Kong and are participating in bargain hunting. However, among the British capital, Qi Dezun is the only one with a large scale;
It has to be said that Hutchison was able to almost overtake Yihe 6 years later. Although there were reasons for blowing bubbles, Qi Dezun's ability and vision were also very strong.
Qi Dezun said with a smile: "It's still far behind Yang Sheng. The incident between Kinmen Group and Huangpu Group shocked the whole Hong Kong."
"It's a pity that it still hasn't been completely successful." Yang Wendong added: "Qi Dezun, you also said before that you wanted to acquire Huangpu. I wonder how many shares you have acquired now?"
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(End of chapter)