Reborn as a tycoon in Hong Kong

When we got back to the hotel, it was already past one in the afternoon.

Despite this, Wei Li still contacted Lin Baicheng in Xiangjiang.

It was already around nine o'clock in the evening in Xiangjiang. Knowing that Wei Li would contact Lin Baicheng here after lunch in London, he did not go out after dinner and kept reading biomedical books in the study.

Starting from this year, Lin Baicheng will study and study at the same time.

"Hello, I'm Lin Baicheng."

"Mr. Lin, it's me, Wei Li."

Weili said: "The Prime Minister and I finished our conversation and just returned to the hotel."

"How did the conversation go?"

Lin Baicheng asked, if the talks collapse, it will still have a big impact on Hutchison Whampoa and himself. Although Britain is already in decline, it is still a big country. There is no comparison between him personally and a country.

Weili said: "I told the Prime Minister that we wanted to acquire Bentley, and the Prime Minister did not object. However, the defense company Vickers is currently preparing to acquire Rolls-Royce. It seems that it is interested in Rolls-Royce's engine technology."

"I expressed my hope to the Prime Minister to support our acquisition of Bentley. The Prime Minister neither agreed nor refused. Instead, he arranged for someone to take us to Rolls-Royce to visit and research Bentley, and we will conduct more detailed discussions after the investigation is completed."

"I didn't expect such a change."

After hearing this, Lin Baicheng doubted the authenticity of Vickers' acquisition of Rolls-Royce, but after thinking about it, he felt that this possibility was unlikely. Since Hutchison Whampoa's acquisition of Bentley was not resolutely rejected, it meant that there was hope. The prime minister of a country should not do such a thing by fabricating this lie at a high transaction price.

Therefore, Lin Baicheng still prefers that it is true that Vickers wants to acquire Rolls-Royce, but it just happened to be encountered by Hutchison Whampoa.

"Vickers is incomparable to Huang in terms of his own strength and connections. Therefore, unless the Prime Minister supports us, it is impossible for us to intercept Hu Bentley." Weili expressed his view.

"I know that."

Lin Baicheng certainly doesn't think that Hutchison Whampoa can compete with Vickers, a defense industry company. Not to mention its own strength, and its connections are incomparable. Any country's defense industry enterprises must have deep ties with the country's military.

"Since the Prime Minister asked you to do research first, then do the research first. It would be best if you can get the Prime Minister's support to acquire Bentley. If it doesn't work, forget it. Bentley is not irreplaceable."

"Yes, Mr. Lin."

Wei Li agreed, without guaranteeing anything, because the Prime Minister was not something he could influence.

Lin Baicheng reminded: "Don't forget what I told you. If you can't acquire Bentley, then switch to other car brand technologies, but the scale of investment must be controlled, and the company can develop slowly."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lin, I will always remember it." Wei Li responded.

Lin Baicheng ordered: "After the investigation is completed and before going to see the Prime Minister, remember to contact me first and report to me the specific situation of Bentley."

Wei Li naturally accepted the order.

After that, Lin Baicheng gave Wei Li a few more words before hanging up the phone.

…

Sunday afternoon, Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.

Henry Kaiser invited Shen Zhou to have afternoon tea here, and the two first chatted about politics, economy, etc.

After a while, Henry Kaesik got to the point: "Taipan, I would like to ask, is HSBC determined to acquire Jardine Matheson's shares in the telephone company?"

Shen Porridge put down his tea cup and shook his head with a smile: "We can't say that we are determined to win. HSBC is just accepting the employer's entrustment to make acquisitions. If Jardine's bid is far higher than the employer's bottom line, then it will definitely not acquire it."

Henry Kasik heard this and said: "In that case, why would HSBC block my proposal to acquire the telephone company at the board meeting?"

"No matter what, HSBC has no ability to influence Jardine."

Shen Porridge vetoed it. Although everyone knew it well, this kind of thing could not be admitted. After all, it was interfering in the internal affairs of other people's companies. To describe it in one sentence, interfering in the internal affairs of other countries is a taboo.

"HSBC is both Jardine's major shareholder and Jardine's major creditor. It has great capabilities."

Henry Kesak expressed his dissatisfaction aloud. Yihe belonged to the Kessak family, and he would never allow this to happen frequently. If this is the case, does Jardine belong to the Cesar family or HSBC?

"There is absolutely no such thing. I think it is a misunderstanding."

Shen Chou firmly denied that there are some things that can be done but cannot be said. If word spreads, other companies will definitely think too much, which will not be conducive to the future development of HSBC's business.

"Let's just treat it as a misunderstanding, but when I hold the next board meeting, I believe that the acquisition proposal for the phone company will definitely be passed."

Henry Kaiser didn't go into details. He didn't want to break up with HSBC, but whether it was for the sake of face or his acquisition plan, he would definitely push for the adoption of the acquisition bill. Caesar has controlled Jardine for generations, and his influence on Jardine will only be greater than that of HSBC.

This time it was just a surprise attack by HSBC. With the control of Jardine Matheson by the Kaiser family, Henry Kaiser could forcefully pass the acquisition proposal.

"I believe you can do this, Chairman Henry."

Shen Zong knew that Henry Kaesak was not talking big words, so he said: "But I still hope, Chairman Henry, that you can sell Jardine's telephone company shares to HSBC. In return, HSBC can grant an additional grant to Jardine." A loan, I know Jardine is short of funds right now.”

Henry Kaiser was a little confused: "HSBC can't do this just for the entrustment fee, right? I don't think the principal will ask for a sky-high entrustment fee."

"HSBC naturally has HSBC's considerations."

Shen Porridge didn't say much. The agreement with Li Jiacheng must not be made public. The more people know about it, the more dangerous it will be. Of course, it is not HSBC that is in danger, but Li Jiacheng. But once something happens to Li Jiacheng, HSBC's investment in Li Jiacheng will be ruined.

Henry Kaiser suddenly asked: "If I entrust the acquisition of the telephone company to HSBC, I wonder if HSBC is willing to support Jardine Matheson?"

Shen Cong did not answer, but said: "Chairman Henry, why do you insist on acquiring the telephone company? Jardine can choose other targets. Whether it is acquiring other companies or using funds to develop existing companies, it is a good choice. .”

"Listening to what you said, I'm even more curious now about why HSBC wants to help Cangjiang Industrial. Li Jiacheng is Chinese."

Henry Caesar was curious and reminded him loudly.

Shen Zong said: "I know he is Chinese, but this does not affect HSBC's cooperation with him. HSBC has HSBC's layout."

Henry Kaiser snorted: "Be careful, Li Jiacheng is Lin Baicheng's second. The rise of one Lin Baicheng in Hong Kong is enough for us. If there is one more, does this Hong Kong belong to us or to the Chinese?"

"Of course this Hong Kong belongs to us!"

Shen Porridge immediately stated, and then said: "However, Chinese capital has risen. This cannot be denied, and it is something we cannot suppress now. HSBC is a bank, and it is different from your business operations. It is impossible to give up Chinese customers, otherwise it will be in the It is a disguised support for the rise of those Chinese banks."

The reason is simple. If HSBC does not lend money to Chinese businessmen, the Chinese business owners will definitely find other banks to lend money. It is true that HSBC is the largest bank in Hong Kong, but there are many Chinese banks and overseas bank branches in Hong Kong, so HSBC is not the only choice.

Henry Kaesik nodded without refuting, but said: "It is not impossible for me to sell the shares of the telephone company. In addition to the normal premium acquisition, HSBC will also provide the Land Company with a loan of no less than 1 billion Hong Kong dollars. Just calculate the interest as normal.”

Land Corporation is known as the 'Central Landlord' because it holds many real estate properties in Central. Jardine Matheson controls this company through cross-shareholdings. However, Land Corporation has been expanding overseas before, which has led to the battle line being stretched too far. As soon as the economic crisis caused by the oil crisis occurred, the company immediately suffered huge losses.

In the past two years, due to the improvement of Xiangjiang's real estate industry, there has been some recovery, but funds are still short and more funds are needed for development. But the problem is that Land Company already owes a lot of debt to banks such as HSBC. Banks will evaluate the company. When they think that lending money to the company is very risky, it will not be so easy for the company to borrow money again.

As for Land Corporation, this is currently the case. Banks are less willing to lend money to Land Corporation unless the Land Corporation pays off part of its current debt.

"A loan of no less than HK$1 billion?"

Shen Porridge couldn't help but frown slightly after hearing this: "You know best what Land's situation is now. It owes too much debt. If the bank lends money to Land again, the risk will be very high."

"Land prices in Xiangjiang have been rising in the past few years, and Land's main business in Xiangjiang is the real estate industry, so it has benefited greatly. Land's current debt is not low, but it cannot crush Land. The risks are controllable of."

"Besides, this loan from Land is to acquire land. I am going to let Land build a luxury building. With the current real estate market in Xiangjiang, this investment will definitely make Land a huge profit."

Henry Kaiser said of his plan. Compared with the telephone company, Land was the real son of Jardine. If the situation of Land Land can be improved, the mere shares of the telephone company that have not yet been acquired will be nothing at all.

Which one is more important, Henry Kasik still knows.

Shen Porridge will not judge whether the investment can make a lot of money. After all, this is a matter of the future. It is too early to say this now.

"Loans are OK, but one billion Hong Kong dollars is too much."

After thinking for a while, Shen Cong said that there was a risk in continuing to lend money to the Land Company, but it was still within the controllable range. In order to help Li Jiacheng, such a risk could be taken.

"HSBC can only provide a loan of HK$500 million."

"500 million is too little."

Henry Caesar was delighted, but he retorted. With a loan of 500 million Hong Kong dollars and the company's cash, the land can be obtained in the early stage of building the building. The subsequent construction can wait until the land is acquired before taking the land for bank loans.

One wanted more loans, and the other didn't want to give too much. After some bargaining, HSBC's loan to Land Corporation was set at HK$700 million.

"Taipan, let's talk about HSBC's purchase price."

After negotiating the loan amount, Henry Caesar was very happy. The next step was to sell the shares of the telephone company at a high price. The more, the better.

"Chairman Henry, HSBC based its acquisition on a market value of HK$1.132 billion, which is already a premium in itself, not to mention a 15% premium on this basis. Such a high premium will never happen again."

Although the acquisition cost Li Jiacheng's money, Shen Zhou wanted to assist Li Jiacheng in acquiring the telephone company, so he spent as little as possible.

"I admit that this is a high premium, but Li Jiacheng is not the only one who is interested in the phone company."

Henry Kaesik said aloud: "To be honest with Taipan, just yesterday, an Italian company contacted me and said that it wanted to acquire the shares of the telephone company held by Jardine Matheson, but at that time I still wanted to Jardine bought the telephone company, so they turned it down.”

"Now I am willing to sell the shares of the telephone company, but Taipan, you can't let Jardine suffer a loss, right? If this company bids higher, there is no reason for me to sell the shares to Cangjiang Industrial instead, right?"

"Is there such a thing?"

Shen Porridge was a little suspicious after hearing this. This was too coincidental. It felt like Yihe was raising the price.

"It's a coincidence, but it's the truth."

Henry Kaiserk did not deceive Shen Chou, so he did not feel guilty at all. “Although I still don’t know how much they are willing to pay to acquire Jardine Matheson’s shares, the premium offered by HSBC cannot satisfy me, so I will definitely listen to the Italian company’s offer before making a decision. "

Shen Porridge made a sound to test: "Chairman Henry, I wonder if HSBC can listen when Yihe meets with this company?"

Henry Kaesik immediately shook his head after hearing this: "Taipan, this is a business negotiation, related to Jardine's interests."

Hearing this, Shen Cong reminded aloud: "Chairman Henry, if you don't sell your shares to HSBC, there is no reason for HSBC to take risks and continue to provide loans to Land, don't you think?"

"I will make a decision based on the quotes from both companies."

Henry Caesar nodded slightly. As long as the Italian company's offer did not exceed that of HSBC, he would eventually sell the shares to HSBC. After all, the loan obtained by the Land Company was also a disguised benefit.

Of course, if the Italian company's quotation is much higher than HSBC's, then it must choose a much higher quotation to get the profit first. As for loans, we can only think of ways slowly.

After all, Henry Kaiser was actually dissatisfied with HSBC's offer and wanted to make more, so he didn't sell his shares to HSBC immediately.

Shen Cong stopped trying to persuade him. Without knowing whether the third party existed or not, and without knowing what price the third party offered, HSBC would only be taking advantage of the situation if it raised its quotation.

"Taipan, you can go back and discuss with Li Jiacheng from Cangjiang Industrial to see if you want to quote a higher price. Or, I can contact you Taipan after I discuss it with the Italian company."

"Then HSBC will wait for Chairman Henry's contact."

The conversation ended here. Henry Caesar and Shen Porridge drank tea for a while and then left.