Chapter 267 It's Not Likely Jardines Matheson
HSBC was not only listed in Hong Kong but also in New York and London, meaning its shareholders were scattered worldwide, with even the largest shareholder owning less than 10%.
Thus, holding 1% of its shares was actually quite significant.
After signing the investment agreement, Shen Bi, HSBC's Taipan, officially announced on the spot that Lin Haoran and Li Jiacheng would both become directors of HSBC, a decision already approved by the board.
By nearly noon, Lin Haoran finally left HSBC.
Unlike Jardines Matheson and other Western firms, HSBC had no tradition of blending business talks with meals.
In Western culture, personal life and work life were clearly separated: lunchtime was personal time, and business matters were settled during working hours.
Thus, there was no "talk business over lunch" habit in these environments.
As a result, despite the major news of becoming a shareholder, Lin Haoran didn't get a celebratory meal out of it.
Not that he minded—he wasn't particularly fond of Western cuisine anyway.
After leaving HSBC, Lin Haoran had a quick Cantonese lunch nearby with his bodyguards.
Conveniently, Wanqing Building was less than 500 meters away.
When he returned to Wanqing Building's CEO office, Burton was on the phone.
Nowadays, Burton wasn't just managing Yingzhou Cement—he also managed Wan On Properties and Kowloon Bus.
He had become a top-tier professional manager on par with the likes of Wheeler.
"Good afternoon, Boss!" Burton greeted warmly as he finished his call and stood up.
"Good afternoon.
Any big challenges lately?" Lin Haoran asked casually as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Nothing major.
Each of our three companies under Wanqing Group is developing steadily.
My main focus now is internationalizing Wanqing Group.
Yingzhou Cement's expansion into Southeast Asia, especially Singapore and Malaysia, is going very well—thanks largely to the Guo family's help.
Our market share is rising steadily, and everything is progressing in a positive direction.
Also, Boss, I'm considering pushing Kowloon Bus into overseas markets.
Its development in Hong Kong is reaching a bottleneck.
Recently, I've been eyeing Penang, Malaysia—the second-largest city there, with a large Chinese population but relatively poor transportation infrastructure compared to Kuala Lumpur.
The government is tendering for a new bus operator.
If we win the bid, it would be a breakthrough for Kowloon Bus," Burton reported enthusiastically.
Lin Haoran wasn't surprised.
He remembered how, when they first met, Burton had been focused on overseas market expansion even as deputy general manager of Yingzhou Cement.
Clearly, Burton had a passion for international growth.
Thanks to him, Yingzhou Cement's monthly revenues and profits were climbing steadily.
So now, wanting to expand Kowloon Bus internationally made perfect sense.
"Penang?" Lin Haoran was intrigued.
He knew the city—a place where most of the local Chinese population spoke fluent Mandarin.
"Yes, Boss.
Our bidding team is already in Penang.
We're cautiously optimistic.
There are five bidders: three local Malaysian companies with weak services and aging fleets, and two foreign firms—Singapore's newly merged SBS Transit and us.
Realistically, our main competitor is SBS Transit," Burton explained.
Lin Haoran nodded.
It wasn't something he could influence.
If they won, great; if not, no big deal.
Frankly, he wasn't particularly excited about the modest profits from bus operations anyway.
He had only acquired Kowloon Bus for its valuable land reserves.
The bus company's earnings were almost irrelevant to him.
Still, he supported Burton's expansion efforts.
At the very least, successful overseas ventures would boost the company's stock price.
They chatted for a long while.
Reviewing Wanqing Group's mid-1980 financial reports, Lin Haoran was very satisfied.
Back when Burton was merely Yingzhou Cement's deputy GM, it had indeed been a waste of his talents.
Lin Haoran considered Burton's management skills fully on par with the best professional managers in Hong Kong.
Had Lin Haoran not bought Yingzhou Cement, Burton's abilities might never have been properly showcased.
In another world, Yingzhou Cement was eventually acquired by Cheung Kong Holdings, and all original executives were replaced by Li Jiacheng's own people.
Just like Hutchison Whampoa, where Wheeler and the "three musketeers" were ultimately pushed out.
No wonder Burton's talents went unnoticed in that timeline.
While they were still chatting, Lin Haoran's pager beeped.
It was a message from Su Zhixue.
Since his office was just one floor up, Lin Haoran didn't bother calling back.
"You keep busy—I'll handle something upstairs," he said to Burton.
"Take care, Boss."
Lin Haoran then walked up the stairs from the 30th to the 31st floor.
"Boss, I didn't know you were here at Wanqing!" Su Zhixue said, standing to greet him.
"I was downstairs talking with Mr. Burton.
What's up?" Lin Haoran asked, sitting in a chair.
"There's something I need to report.
This morning, we noticed a sudden spike in trading volume for Hongkong Land shares.
It's been much harder to acquire them compared to usual.
Initially, I thought it was a one-off event.
But even after the afternoon market opened, trading volumes remained high.
Given the circumstances, it's clear that another major player has entered the market.
I'm concerned that it might be Jardines Matheson increasing their holdings, so I thought I should report it immediately," Su Zhixue explained.
"It's not Jardines," Lin Haoran said confidently, shaking his head.
He knew that while Jardines planned to create a cross-holding structure between itself and Hongkong Land to prevent hostile takeovers, they wouldn't be buying heavily on the open market.
Typically, Jardines financed such maneuvers with asset swaps rather than market purchases.
They didn't need to fight for shares on the open market.
"If it's not Jardines, then who?" Su wondered aloud.
"It doesn't really matter, does it?
Our influence is already overwhelming.
Just maintain steady accumulation.
Our funds are more than sufficient now," Lin Haoran said, smiling.
With a fresh HK$2 billion loan in hand, cash flow was no longer a problem.
Including the 6% Hongkong Land shares held by Hongkong Electric, Lin Haoran's real control exceeded 32%.
Whoever was entering the market now was too late to threaten him.
Moreover, Huanyu Investment was still steadily acquiring shares—albeit at a slower pace.
While Lin Haoran didn't know exactly who was behind it, he had a rough idea—it must be one of the other major Chinese business families.
Their desire to own Hongkong Land had never faded, even into the 1990s.
Ironically, it was because of these ambitions that Jardines implemented cross-holding strategies in the first place.
If it was indeed another Chinese tycoon moving in, Lin Haoran had no reason to worry.
If necessary, he might even ally with them to completely crush Jardines Matheson.
But preferably, he would control Hongkong Land by himself without outside help.
"Understood, Boss.
We'll continue focusing on acquiring Hongkong Land shares.
Even with another force in the market, we can still buy over half of our usual daily volume.
At this rate, in two months, Huanyu's holdings will hit 30%!" Su Zhixue said confidently.
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