Time flies so fast, it’s 1978 soon.
After New Year's Day, Shen Hongbing, the person in charge of Taohua Datong, brought good news.
"Sheng Chen, last month, we sent people to 16 major pepper-producing cities in the mainland. With the help of the local agricultural bureau, we found the corresponding peppers and brought them back. After many tests, we found that Guizhou, Sichuan , Fujian peppers are very good and taste very good. Not only people in our company think so, we also went to Baijia Supermarket to test some social groups, including some ghost guys." Shen Hongbing put three bottles of packaged chili sauce on the table said above.
"Sit down first." Chen Zhiwen said first, then picked up three bottles of hot sauce and observed them. They all seemed to be about the same color. He picked up another one and tried the flavors of each.
"They all seem to be good." Chen Zhiwen said. They all tasted good. He could tell a slight difference, but it was difficult to say which one was better and which one was worse.
"The feedback we have received so far is that the best ones are the peppers brought back from Guizhou. However, considering that the number of testers is too small now, and we are not sure about the taste in Europe and the United States, so I am going to send all three of them to American supermarkets conduct tests and then select the best ones as our products," Shen Hongbing said.
"Okay, then you go and try it. There are almost 40 supermarkets in Costco now. If that's not enough, go to Wal-Mart. But there will definitely be a fee at Wal-Mart. You can decide how to control it yourself. ." Chen Zhiwen continued.
In fact, in his memory, he had long known that the main raw materials of Laoganma in later generations came from Guizhou. Similarly, in later generations, Guizhou's peppers were also known as one of the best pepper producing areas in the world. Guizhou's peppers are not very spicy. But the taste is very good. Laoganma chili sauce never relies on spiciness to win, but a balance between spiciness and taste. Both are indispensable. In fact, if you make it too spicy, you will die in your grave, because not many people like.
But he basically won't interfere in such matters unless it involves major investment. Otherwise, he can just let his subordinates find a suitable path.
"Okay." Shen Hongbing nodded and said, Taohua Datong is now operated independently, and the Galaxy Group above basically does not interfere, so it naturally needs to be responsible for losses and profits.
"Taohua Datong will be responsible for the hot sauce, and the profits from the future will also belong to you." Chen Zhiwen added: "But now it will take some time to send the hot sauce to the United States for testing. I have another task to entrust you with. You know Instant noodles, right?”
"Instant noodles?" Shen Hongbing nodded and said, "I know, instant noodles are very popular in Japan, and there is also a certain market in Hong Kong, but there are already several manufacturers producing instant noodles. Are we going to make instant noodles?"
"It's not you, it's Red Bull. This is the next business I'm preparing for Red Bull. They have also begun to recruit talents in food seasoning, but they are not as professional as you now, so I entrusted you to research ingredients and seasonings. "Chen Zhiwen said.
Hot sauce, this industry was actually thought of accidentally, filling a market gap. However, due to its low-frequency demand, even the future domestic market will be far less than the normal food or snack market, or even less than a fraction.
Therefore, this business was given to Taohua Datong. After acquiring this company, it was always necessary to let it develop a little bit. If it continued to be decadent and remained the same, it might affect other acquisitions in the future.
After all, not every acquisition can obtain enough shares. This type of business merger and acquisition cases are actually not common. The most common acquisitions in global business history still obtain the consent of a large number of shareholders of the other party. Therefore, if you have acquired several companies before, If the company's performance skyrockets and its stock price doubles under its own control, it will have even more reasons to convince outsiders.
Even for the Jingzhou Yingni that he acquired before, he would not just throw it aside after getting the land. However, there is really nothing he can do about the cement business at the moment. He can only wait for the mainland to open up in a few years and then let it go. Jingzhou Yingni went in.
However, some industries with large-scale potential in the future are of course still held by one's own son's company. This is naturally the case with instant noodles. Although the instant noodle markets in Japan, Hong Kong, and Bay Area have been controlled by others, the mainland next door is a The super-large market that is most suitable for instant noodles began to explode in the 1990s. It was not until the impact of food delivery in the mobile Internet era that the upward trend stopped.
But this life naturally started in the 1980s. As for the overall economic situation, the 1980s were definitely worse than the 1990s, but the consumer market was still huge. You can see that the annual sales of Jianlibao in the 1980s were hundreds of millions, and In times of bad economic times, instant noodles are a more practical commodity than drinks.
"Okay, I understand. I'm going to set up a special team to cooperate with Red Bull." Shen Hongbing said. He also knew the status of his company. It would be good to get a hot sauce. After all, he knew that his company The group head office has strong terminal retail resources in the European and American markets, and can send a large number of Hong Kong products to the European and American markets. As long as it makes hot sauce that meets the tastes of European and American people, it will be enough to expand the scale of Taohua Datong by several degrees. Times. Although hot sauce is not consumed as frequently as ordinary snacks, it is much better than homemade soy sauce.
February has arrived soon, but for some investors, it feels like they have gone to heaven.
In January, many institutions discovered that Wharf, a stock whose stock price had not fluctuated much for several years, suddenly experienced a sharp rise, and its daily trading volume began to increase. Some keen financial reporters quickly determined that this was something. Big conglomerates began to take in large amounts.
Financial reporters or experts, if they go to the battlefield on their own, they will lose eight out of ten times. However, relying on countless judgments on the stock market, as long as they guess correctly more times, they can gain a large group of followers. Faced with the situation of someone buying a large amount of Wharf stocks, it was natural to announce it immediately, either through interviews on TV programs or through newspapers.
As soon as the news came out, countless investors went crazy to buy Wharf stocks. Some professional investment institutions also saw the opportunities and joined in. For a time, Wharf's stock price skyrocketed, and soon rose from 10 Hong Kong dollars per share. By the 30s and 40s, and by the end of February, the stock price once exceeded 50, and the market value of Wharf also rose from HK$1 billion to nearly HK$5 billion, almost surpassing Land.
"Son, you are really amazing. I made 40 million Hong Kong dollars by selling the Wharf stocks I bought before. If I had known I should have bought more, I would have made 100 million." In the Chen family villa, Chen Tianfu looked at the analysis of the Hong Kong stock market on the TV station and said with some regret.
"It's good to be able to earn so much. I have to thank Li Jiacheng for this." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. After he stopped, he told his old man that he could take advantage of the Wharf stock price rising in December to make more money. When it comes to acquisitions, Chen Tianfu also believed his son's words and decisively purchased 20 million Hong Kong dollars. Now at its peak, he has made a fortune by selling his blood, which is much more than developing a few ordinary communities.
"Then you made a lot of money there, right?" Chen Tianfu asked with a smile.
"I've made some money, maybe 100 million. I can't sell too much, and I have to consider making acquisitions in the future. My base is too low and it's not safe." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
When Wharf's stock price reached 40 Hong Kong dollars per share, Chen Zhiwen ordered to sell some of the stocks he had previously acquired at low prices to recover a certain amount of funds, which could be recovered when Wharf's stock price fell in the future. You can also earn tens of millions or even more than 100 million.
But no matter what, he has to ensure that he still has at least 25% of Wharf stocks in his hands. Otherwise, if he sells too much and wants to buy back too much in the future, it will cause the stock price to rise sharply, so he sold it this time. 5% of the stock, based on the previous investment, has earned almost 150 million Hong Kong dollars. However, considering that Wharf’s stock price is unlikely to fall back to 10 Hong Kong dollars per share in the future, the exact amount of profit depends on when the price will be increased. At what price will these stocks be recovered?
"Li Jiacheng is a little too impatient. Now that the stock price has reached such a high level, with the scale of Cheung Kong Holdings, there is no way to continue." Chen Tianfu said with some emotion.
"HSBC has intervened, and Li Jiacheng can no longer play even if he has the capital." Chen Zhiwen said: "However, the first half is over, and the second half has just begun."
"Then what will you do if Shen Bi comes to you too?" Chen Tianfu said.
"I'm not Li Jiacheng. Shen Bi can threaten Li Jiacheng, but he can't threaten me. Moreover, the relationship between Jardine and HSBC is not very good. Jardine has already begged HSBC once. If I do it again, I'm afraid Newbill won't be able to do it again." It’s so embarrassing.” Chen Zhiwen said.
Chen Tianfu said: "However, from the perspective of HSBC, Shen Bi does not want any consortium in Hong Kong to be larger than HSBC. Jardine Matheson has been a major concern for HSBC before, but now you are one of them, and then acquire Kowloon." Cang, Shen Bi definitely doesn’t want this to happen.”
"That makes sense, but given the general trend, Shen Bi has no choice." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
Later, Pao Yugang borrowed 2.1 billion Hong Kong dollars from HSBC in one phone call in 1980. This kind of quick loan, which seriously violated the banking law, was obviously Shen Bi's behavior against the public opinion. This was not because he had a good relationship with Pao Yugang. Moreover, because the scale of Hong Kong Land increased significantly during the period of rising real estate in Hong Kong, and the Harbor City with Wharf was about to be completed, the scale of Jardine Matheson began to threaten HSBC's position, so he used Pao Yugang's hand to cut it off. One Wing of Jardine. In this process, HSBC can also earn a sum of interest from Bao Yugang's blood.
Pao Yugang relied heavily on HSBC at that time. Chen Zhiwen is not the same now. He is determined to acquire Wharf. Just a Harbor City that can collect tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in annual rent in the future is worth everything. Such a huge profit can be used to support himself in the future. With so many real industries, it will produce greater economic benefits.
"Then are you going to buy his shares from Li Jiacheng?" Chen Tianfu asked.
"Yes, but we have to wait for the market to be more rational. As long as Li Jiacheng announces that he will give up the acquisition of Wharf under the pressure of HSBC, the stock price will naturally fall. By then, I can make more purchases in the stock market, which is almost the same as that of Yi and the capital for a showdown." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
It was his deliberate behavior to let things develop as history did. The biggest advantage is that he does not have to be the first to come forward. If he were the first to come forward, then Wharf's stock would not only rise to 50 Hong Kong dollars. Large investment institutions obviously believe that Chen Zhiwen's financial resources can acquire Wharf.
If you push it to the front, you can't fish in troubled waters. When Li Jiacheng announced that he would give up the acquisition, although Wharf's stock price did not fall to the previous low price, it was almost 20 or 30 Hong Kong dollars. This price was also acceptable to Chen Zhiwen. After all, he had been acquiring Wharf. The cost of acquiring stocks will definitely increase in the later stages of acquisition, and it is impossible to maintain the initial price.
"Okay, if you need funds, I can come up with a sum recently." Chen Tianfu paused and said: "In May, the Central Subway Station will be pre-sold. According to the current rising trend of housing prices, it is estimated that I can make more than HK$100 million. The pre-sale in Admiralty will be in August, so the profit is expected to be a little less than in Central. In addition, many projects are also beginning to be completed. If I can scrape together HK$500 million here, it should be no problem."
"It shouldn't be needed, but let's keep it for now. Even if it's not needed for the Wharf acquisition, it will be needed elsewhere in the future." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
"Okay." Chen Tianfu said.
A few days later, the Yangtze River Industries headquarters:
"The day after Mr. Li Ka-shing announced that he would give up the acquisition of Wharf, Wharf's stock price has dropped to HK$28, a drop of more than 40%, and a large number of shareholders have suffered heavy losses." On the TV, TVB was playing Hong Kong's financial news. The focus is naturally the follow-up to the Wharf acquisition.
"The stock price fell so fast. My share of the sale was less than 1%, so it was too late." Li Jiacheng shook his head and said.
"The stock price you purchased before was very low, and it was only recently that you purchased it at a high price. The overall purchase price should be less than 20 Hong Kong dollars." A woman about the same age as Li Jiacheng consoled him from the side. She was Li Jiacheng's wife. Zhuang Yueming.
"Actually, it's not a matter of money. It's just a pity that I missed the opportunity to acquire Wharf. If Wharf was in my hands, the development efficiency would definitely be much higher." Li Jiacheng shook his head and said, Wharf is not just Harbor City, It also owns a large amount of high-quality land. Unfortunately, the current Yihe Group is conservative in management and invests a lot of money in the construction of Harbor City. As a result, there is no investment in other places and a large area of high-quality land is wasted.
"There's nothing you can do about it. Although I heard that Jardine has had problems due to overseas investment in the past two years, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and you can't pry it now. Besides, Jardine also invited HSBC to come forward. , We are doing real estate in Hong Kong, even if there is the Canadian Imperial Bank behind us, it is impossible not to cooperate with HSBC, especially if you want to continue to grow, you must rely on HSBC." Zhuang Yueming said.
"That's all it can do now, but what's strange to me is that according to my estimate, I should be able to receive 20% in these three months, but now it's only 12%, and the stock price has gone up." Li Jiacheng was a little bit He said in confusion.
"You mean the number of circulating stocks in the market is relatively small?" Zhuang Yueming is also a graduate of a prestigious university. He has been assisting Li Jiacheng's industry in his early years. Only in recent years has he begun to focus on the education of his two sons, but he still Someone who understands the stock market.
"It is possible, but it is difficult to predict accurately. Maybe I think too much, or many people want to wait for Jardine Matheson's counterattack, and then hold shares and wait and see." Li Jiacheng said.
"But looking at the stock price trend, after 40 Hong Kong dollars, the trading volume increased significantly, but the stock price fluctuated very little, which shows that some people are selling in large quantities. In addition, there are many people in the market who are speculating that you will join several Chinese giants to acquire Wharf. It is also in line with this strategy." Zhuang Yueming analyzed.
"You mean there are other players operating stocks? But the only ones who can do this are those who hold a large amount of Wharf stocks. Is it Jardine's own directing?" Li Jiacheng asked.
"It's really possible that if HSBC is willing to come forward, the top management of Jardine Matheson will also think that we will definitely withdraw from the acquisition. Then they will cash out the part at a high price, and after we give up the acquisition, the stock price will fall and then take it back. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?" Zhuang Yueming said.
"It's really possible. It's pretty much what everyone thought." Li Jiacheng said with a smile.
After he decided to abandon Wharf, he also planned to take advantage of the high price to cash out part of it. However, now Cheung Kong Holdings has become the focus of attention. Selling a large amount of Wharf stocks cannot be concealed, so after appropriate selling, he officially announced it. The cessation of acquisitions.
"We are all smart people." Zhuang Yueming said with a smile. He was an entrepreneurial riser, and Niubijian and others of Yihe were also elites who were selected from tens of thousands of Yihe employees.
"Dong dong dong" there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Li Jiacheng saw that it was his assistant and said.
"Li Sheng, Mrs. Zhuang." The assistant came in and said, "Hutchison Whampoa's secretary to the board of directors just called. Their chairman Chen Zhiwen would like to make an appointment with you in the presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel in three days."
(End of chapter)
