Within just three days, An Yuan had proven his experience in the investment world. He successfully recruited five new employees, and for the first time, Baisheng Securities began to look like a real company.
Of course, the people he hired weren't exactly top-tier talents — just ordinary professionals with two or three years of experience. But for Lin Baicheng's purposes, that was good enough. They didn't need to be geniuses; they just needed to follow orders.
Now that the company had enough staff to function, Lin transferred HK$6 million into the company's account.
That amount represented nearly all of Lin's liquid capital.
He had spent heavily lately — HK$3.6 million on the villa, a little over HK$3 million to buy land and build a new factory, over HK$1 million on IBM computer equipment, and now HK$6 million invested into Baisheng Securities.
Altogether, his spending had reached nearly HK$14 million.
The money had come fast — and was going just as fast.
Lin's main earnings came from Taito Corporation, which had paid him US$8.5 million, or about HK$37 million.However, roughly US$5 million of that represented the cost of the 10,000 arcade motherboards he delivered — meaning his actual profit was closer to HK$15 million.As for the remaining US$6 million still owed by Taito, he'd only receive it after completing the rest of the deliveries — that would be the true bulk of his profit.
He also wasn't paying his suppliers in full upfront anymore. Half now, half later — usually within one to three months. That flexibility meant he could reallocate some of that cash flow if needed, though for now, he preferred not to.
After transferring the funds, Lin went to Baisheng Securities to give An Yuan specific instructions on how to use his HK$5 million investment capital.
"An Yuan, you're familiar with Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings, right?"
Yes — those were Lin's targets.
He had his sights set on both companies, dreaming of acquiring them outright one day. But he knew that, at this stage, it was impossible — not even one of them was within reach yet.So, he planned to accumulate shares quietly, biding his time until he had enough capital to launch a major purchase later on.
"I know them," said An Yuan. "Hutchison Whampoa belongs to the Hutchison Group, and Wharf Holdings to the Jardine Matheson Group."
Both were listed companies, and though he didn't know every detail, he understood the basics.
"Hutchison Whampoa used to be two companies — Hutchison International and Whampoa Dock — but they merged in June this year. HSBC is the major shareholder."
"How many Hutchison Whampoa shares does HSBC hold?" Lin asked, suddenly intrigued. He knew HSBC had a large stake, but not the exact figure.
"I do know a bit," said An Yuan."Back in 1975, during the economic downturn, HSBC injected HK$150 million into Hutchison, taking about 35% of its shares. When the merger happened this June, HSBC's holdings were barely diluted, since Hutchison was already the controlling shareholder of Whampoa Dock.So now, HSBC still holds around 30% of Hutchison Whampoa's stock — maybe a little less, but roughly that amount."
"About thirty percent…"
Lin frowned slightly. That was close enough. Even if it were a bit lower, HSBC would still hold more than a quarter of the company. Combined with the Keswick family's (the Hutchison owners) roughly 20% stake, that meant any takeover attempt would have to go through HSBC.
He knew that in his previous life, Li Ka-shing had managed to swallow Hutchison Whampoa only because Sir John Douglas Clague ("Bao Chuan Wang") had brokered the deal and because Michael Sandberg at HSBC had believed in Li's potential.
But Lin? He didn't know either of them.He had no connections at HSBC — no reason for them to trust him.So trying to buy out Hutchison Whampoa himself would be nearly impossible.
"What about Wharf Holdings?" Lin asked.
"Wharf Holdings is under the control of the Jardine family, part of the Jardine Matheson group. Its current board chairman is David Newbigging.
The company's been struggling these past few years due to heavy construction spending. They've taken on huge debts, and their market value has plunged — now it's only about HK$1.1 billion."
"That's mainly because of the Harbour City project in West Kowloon," An continued. "They're pouring almost HK$1 billion into it, and it's only halfway done. It'll take another two or three years to complete. Investors are worried it won't perform well after opening, so the stock price has been sliding steadily.
Right now, the entire market is pretty quiet — small fluctuations up and down — so unless there's some major news, Wharf's stock will probably stay around the same level."
"But unlike Hutchison Whampoa, Jardine Matheson only owns about 20% of Wharf's shares. The majority are held by individual investors on the open market."
That caught Lin's attention.
Compared to Hutchison Whampoa, Wharf Holdings was far more accessible.
He couldn't afford to buy it yet, but he was confident that one day he would — before someone else did. He remembered that in the early 1980s, Sir John Clague eventually acquired Wharf.
Even if that outcome didn't change, Lin could still make a fortune by buying early and cashing out during the takeover battle.
"I'm optimistic about Wharf Holdings," Lin finally said. "I think it's currently undervalued, and its stock price will rise eventually. I want my HK$5 million to be used to accumulate shares quietly — but do it gradually. Don't drive the price up."
He didn't mention his acquisition plans.Whether or not An believed him wasn't the point — such ambitions couldn't be revealed before the time was right.Once word got out, others would rush in and drive up the price, making everything harder.
"Understood, President Lin," said An. "If you're not in a hurry, I'll buy the shares over several days. HK$5 million spread out like that won't affect the price too much."
"I'm not in a rush," Lin nodded, "but keep it discreet. I don't want anyone outside this company to know."
"Rest assured, I'll handle it carefully," said An. As long as there was no time pressure, it wouldn't be a problem.
After discussing the details further, Lin left the company.
As for the HK$1 million An managed independently, Lin decided not to interfere. As long as the losses didn't exceed 20%, An could operate freely.