"You decide as soon as possible. If you let it go, let it go and settle the matter. If you don't let it go, then I will prepare the funds for you. The interest is still the same low interest as before, but the collateral , you have to remember it again." Shen Bi paused and said.
"Okay, I understand." Niubijian also understood what Shen Bi meant. Obviously, he no longer fully supported his side.
At this point, Niubijian actually knew that he could not stand alone. He had looked to the Central Building as his hope before, but he did not expect that there would be no agreement at all. Now his side is at an absolute disadvantage.
After Newbijian and Bao Fuda left, Shen Bi looked at Dis and said, "What do you think about this matter now?"
"Jihe has no hope anymore. They have diluted their shares significantly in the past few years and have lost absolute control of Wharf. Judging from the current development speed of Chinese capital, even without Chen Zhiwen, they Sooner or later, people will take action against Wharf," Dis analyzed.
"In other words, many British-funded companies in Hong Kong are now in danger as long as they do not have controlling rights?" Shen Bi said with a smile.
"It also depends on whether it is valuable. If there is not a large amount of high-quality land, it may not be worth it." Diess said.
Shen Bi nodded and said, "That means that in the next few years, Hong Kong's financial market will be very lively?"
"It can be said that, especially for Chen Zhiwen, first Hutchison, and then Wharf, no one knows who his next target will be?" Diess said: "Based on the development of Chen Zhiwen's major industries, this Hong Kong, From now on, no one will be able to restrict him."
Diess spent a lot of time studying Chen Zhiwen's development process. Midea, Red Bull and Costco in the United States are all very high-quality assets. They have achieved great success in these fields. Anyone who obtains one of them , you can become a influential figure in the business world in Hong Kong, and Chen Zhiwen owns three. At the same time, around these three major industries, Chen Zhiwen is still working hard to expand the surrounding industry chain or supply chain, which not only stabilizes the three giant industries, but also strengthens the own strength.
For example, Galaxy Trading, which was derived from Costco, has become the largest trading and export company in Hong Kong. Orders of hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars are issued from here every month, supporting thousands of workers in related industries. This company alone Trading company is enough to give HSBC three points of face.
"Why do you think he can develop so fast? Can he reach this point in just a few years?" Shen Bi asked again.
After thinking for a moment, Dis said: "Because of the international market, Chen Zhiwen has many industries, but except for the real estate company, everything else relies on overseas markets."
"Yes, it is the overseas market. Our population in Hong Kong is less than 5 million, while Europe and the United States have a population of 7.8 billion. Anyone who buys a bottle of mineral water can become a billionaire. This is what makes Chen Zhiwen unique. From the beginning In the end, what he captured was the overseas market." Shen Bi sighed and said: "There are so many century-old companies in Hong Kong and so many self-made entrepreneurs, but they all revolve around the Hong Kong market. Even if a few people invest overseas, they all I chose relatively stable minerals, farms and pastures, so I worked hard for decades, but was surpassed by others in one-tenth of the time."
"But internationalization is not that easy. Beverages and electronic products, not to mention Hong Kong, are very few in the world that can succeed in these two fields." Diess said.
"That's right. The emergence of such a freak in Hong Kong is really not a good thing for us." Shen Bi shook his head and said. Although he didn't care who was more Chinese or British, the premise was that HSBC could control it. , after the two sides form a balance, HSBC, as the bank that provides funds, can obtain the maximum benefit from it.
Although Chen Zhiwen's real estate company is also large in scale, the scale of the non-real estate company is even greater. In addition, it has close relationships with overseas Citigroup and Morgan banks. There is no need to rely absolutely on HSBC. In this case, no matter whether Chen Zhiwen is British-owned or Chinese-owned, , which is not good for HSBC.
Dis added: "Mr. Shen Bi, with Chen Zhiwen's current situation, we can no longer suppress him, and confronting him will not do us any good, so instead of finding ways to suppress him, it is better to improve us quickly."
"You mean to make HSBC international as soon as possible?" Shen Bi immediately understood what his most capable subordinate meant.
HSBC has had the idea of internationalization since the early 1970s. During the era of the previous CEO, Sanders, it intended to acquire a local bank in the UK. However, it was suspended due to the outbreak of the oil crisis. After Shen Bi took over, he also found own goals.
"Yes, since we have chosen Ocean Mile Bank, we need to start as soon as possible. Only when we enter the North American market can we truly go international. Moreover, the size of the North American market is a hundred times larger than that of Hong Kong. As long as we achieve a little success there, HSBC will The scale can be expanded several times," Diess said.
"What you said makes sense. I just want to acquire a U.S. bank. The process is very cumbersome. No matter how anxious I am, I can only wait for notification from the Federal Reserve." Shen Bi nodded.
Ocean Millennium Bank is currently the 27th largest bank in the United States. Although it ranks a little lower, it is in the United States. If it were placed in Hong Kong, it would be ranked among the top three. The bank is also involved in the country's financial security, and foreign investors want to acquire it. , which naturally requires review by the central bank or relevant agencies.
"We have provided all the information, but the process in the United States is too slow. If we build relationships, it might be faster," Diess said.
"Do you want HL?" Shen Bi said with a frown. In fact, this kind of thing is also very common in Europe and the United States, but this is HSBC's first time to invest in the United States, so it doesn't dare to be radical.
“It’s not the people at the Federal Reserve, but some members of Congress. Although members cannot accept foreign capital, there are many ways to circumvent this rule and it is completely legal,” Diess said.
"Okay, then you go ahead and get approval from the Federal Reserve as soon as possible." Shen Bi nodded.
"Okay, I'll do it right away." Dis said: "In addition, I also thought of a way that might be able to delay Chen Zhiwen."
After returning to the headquarters of Galaxy Group, Chen Zhiwen immediately arranged for Xu Jinhong, in the name of Wharf's major shareholder, to publicly announce that a shareholders' meeting would be held in ten days. Regardless of whether Jardine sold its shares or not, the shareholders' meeting would still be held.
In the following days, Galaxy Group’s acquisition price of Wharf shares dropped from 40 Hong Kong dollars to 30 Hong Kong dollars on the acquisition table of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Jardine Matheson also invested in the repurchase of some shares on the stock market after a period of time. , keeping the stock at around HK$30.
The stockholders were furious again. The drop from 40 Hong Kong dollars to 30 Hong Kong dollars was not just a reduction in the purchase price, but also showed that Galaxy Group had a winning chance. However, the reaction from Yihe was also very strange, that is, they did not give up. , and didn’t take advantage of the stock price when it was lower.
This has also made many investors begin to feel that there is still some hope in the future, so they choose to continue to hold the stocks in their hands. Some people even invest heavily to buy the bottom. In any era, there is no shortage of people who dare to gamble their lives.
"How has your contact with some Wharf shareholders been during this time?" Standing on the top floor of Hutchison Building, Chen Zhiwen looked down at countless people coming in and out of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and couldn't help but feel a little lost.
He does not want to use forceful means to confront Yihe. First, he is worried that he is pushing too hard. If the Yihe Group really mobilizes a large amount of funds to go against him, it will be a big loss. Although Yihe is now heavily in debt, it is really The desperate efforts to sell two Central buildings would last for a while, and would also cause Chen Zhiwen to suffer heavy losses.
On the other hand, they are worried that once they forcefully increase their acquisitions, Jardine will sell their stocks to themselves at a high price, just like in the past. Bao Yugang was cheated in history, even though he appeared to be He says he doesn't care, but who knows? From a strategic point of view, the landing of the Ship King is indeed completed, but tactically, the loss can definitely be reduced.
It is most appropriate to boil the frog in warm water now, keep the price down, and then slowly acquire the stocks. However, the trading team is also keeping an eye on the stock price at all times. Once there is an upward trend, it is very likely that Jardine is ready to give it a try. , then I can't care about anything else and can only force myself.
At the same time, Zhou Jiayang is also sending people to contact other shareholders of Wharf, with the intention of gaining their support, or directly purchasing stocks from them. Acquisitions that are not on the stock market will not directly affect the stock price.
"I have contacted many people, but they all seem to want us to buy their stocks at a high price. Many people even offered shares for HK$60 per share. They probably still regret not selling when the stock price was the highest before." Zhou Jiayang said.
"That kind of opportunity didn't last long, how could they take advantage of it?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. When the stock price reached its highest before, he quickly started selling his stocks. First, he could quickly cash out a large amount of funds. The second is to suppress the stock price and kill two birds with one stone. The selling by major shareholders will naturally cause the stock price of HK$60 to be short-lived.
"These people are very smart, and they are not willing to stand on our side at the shareholders' meeting unless we acquire their shares at a high price." Zhou Jiayang continued: "Later, I persuaded one person, and he told me that it would be profitable. People came to them and asked them not to support us at the shareholders' meeting, because once we obtained the controlling stake of Wharf, the stock price would inevitably plummet. With the previous highest stock price of Wharf, we would not be able to privatize Wharf. So if you support us, you just have to deal with money."
"This really makes sense. Diess and Shen Bi are indeed causing trouble behind the scenes and will not let us acquire Wharf so easily." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.
What the person who makes huge profits is basically right is correct. If he is a small shareholder, he may be tempted. After all, if I support you, the stock price in my hands will plummet, and it will be me who loses.
"On this point, the interests of HSBC and these small shareholders are the same. If we continue to fight against Jardine Matheson, we will inevitably be at a loss, and HSBC will definitely benefit from it." Zhou Jiayang said.
"This is really a conspiracy for me." Chen Zhiwen said with a frown. Unless it was the last emergency moment, it would be impossible for him to buy it at a price of HK$60 per share. The price was too high. If he wanted to buy 10%, then It will cost HK$600 million, or even more, because once the news is released, the stock price may rise.
In the process of Land drinking milk, the stock prices of Land and Milk also increased nearly five or six times. If it were not for the stock-for-share exchange, it would have been impossible for Land to acquire Milk International, whose stock price soared.
"I have taken advantage of this period, when Wharf's stock price fluctuates around 30 Hong Kong dollars, to use other accounts to slowly acquire, but not too aggressively. I estimate that I will not be able to acquire too much in a short period of time." Zhou Jiayang added.
"Buy as much as you can." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. In addition to public acquisitions of HK$30 per share, Zhou Jiayang also specializes in acquisitions on the stock market, but he cannot invest too much money because the current market is too sensitive.
"Okay, then I will continue to contact those small shareholders and people from HSBC. It is unlikely that I can contact everyone. There may be some opportunities." Zhou Jiayang said.
"Okay, let's put some news on the market." Chen Zhiwen said: "Just say that if we obtain the controlling stake of Wharf, we will immediately develop many of the Wharf's lands and contact overseas banks for low-interest loans. To complete the business of Harbor City, plus I have deep relationships overseas, I can attract international brands to settle in Harbor City. In short, I can just promote it as much as I want."
"Chen Sheng's purpose is to attract those small shareholders with very small shares?" Zhou Jiayang asked.
"Yes, for a listed company with decades of history like Wharf, there are actually not many larger shareholders. The main ones are countless small shareholders and shareholders. As long as we exaggerate and make them believe that Wharf will be better after we take over. , that’s enough.” Chen Zhiwen said.
"I understand." Zhou Jiayang nodded and left.
In the next few days, various forces were still surging undercurrents. According to rumors, Henry Keswick, the previous CEO of Jardine Matheson, came to Hong Kong. There was also news that the vice president of Citibank in Singapore also came to Hong Kong to meet with Chen Zhiwen. The meeting lasted for an hour, and both parties returned satisfied.
Various gossips have caused Wharf's stock price to fall as low as 30 or so, and then to a high level, close to 60. However, there are more cases of low water levels, because the convening of the shareholders' meeting actually means that the acquirer has given up on the stock market. Instead of forcing the company to acquire the company, it is preparing to use the shareholders' meeting to obtain management rights. In this case, the market is generally not optimistic about the stock price.
(End of chapter)
