Bao Fuda, who had been silent, continued: "Connor, becoming a member of the Jardine family does not mean that you will lose everything you have now. We at Jardine will not interfere in the management of Hong Kong Electric at will. Besides, if Hong Kong Electric is acquired by Chen Zhiwen, , there used to be so many British senior executives under Hutchison Group, but now there are very few left. The Chinese have basically controlled Hutchison Whampoa. This was Hutchison that Chen Zhiwen needed British senior executives to control back then. Now he has a lot of talents under his banner. If you take control of Hong Kong Electric, how long do you think you senior executives will be able to sit still?"
"Okay, then I will go back and convene a high-level meeting to discuss this matter, but keeping all of our positions is the basic condition for this cooperation." Connor thought for a while and said, what Bao Fuda said does make sense, and it has developed to At this step, it is no longer possible to return to the previous situation where there were no major shareholders and their management was dominant. The difference is who controls Hong Kong Electric.
"No problem, we can sign a paper agreement. You don't need to worry about this for at least three years." Niubijian said boldly, and glanced at HSBC next to him. Anyway, he was tricked by him and he also lost money. At least the right to vote in the past few years is not as good as being a good person for once.
Besides, even if he really gets a controlling stake in Hong Kong Electric, he won't touch these people casually, as long as he doesn't have any evil intentions.
Seeing that things were going in the direction he wanted, Shen Bi said with a smile: "Well, although there may be some opinions on the content of cooperation, our direction is the same, so let's go back and be prepared. Chen Zhiwen , no one knows what he will do? We still need to make a quick decision."
"Okay, after the emergency meeting is held tomorrow, I will inform you immediately." Connor is a man of action. After saying this, he left with a greeting.
Shen Bi and Dis did the same and left quickly.
"Shen Bi, this old fox, has tricked me again. He probably wants to use us to control Hong Kong Electric since we invited him out." Niubijian said angrily. HSBC cannot acquire shares of other companies unless the company goes bankrupt and owes HSBC a large amount of loans. In this case, HSBC can take over temporarily, but it will need to change hands when the company's operations improve. This is Hong Kong's view of the "quasi central bank" limit.
This has also resulted in HSBC being unable to intervene in any other industry except the banking industry. This has been stuck in Hong Kong. Now, taking advantage of Jardine Matheson's desire to acquire Hong Kong Electric, it has indirectly controlled Hong Kong Electric.
"Being able to climb from an ordinary employee to the position of a senior manager at HSBC must be something special." Bao Fuda shook his head and said: "We need HSBC's funds, and it is normal for us to be counterattacked, but as long as we repay this loan in the future , that Hong Kong Electric belongs to us as well."
"You think too simply. How can Shen Bi let the duck fly away so easily?" Niubijian sighed and said, "I'm afraid that after a long time of hard work, I just made a wedding dress for HSBC."
"What should we do? We can't give up now, right?" Bao Fuda said with a frown.
"It is impossible to give up. As long as we get the ownership of HK Electric, we will win. Let's talk about the future." Newbijian said that in the business society of Hong Kong, people are cheating each other, but there are always laws. As long as Legally, I control Hong Kong Electric, so the most that HSBC can do is to take away a piece of me. It is impossible to take away any more.
Downstairs at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, inside a Rolls-Royce.
Dis said: "Mr. Shen Bi, it seems that everything is going as you planned. Even if Newbijian knew there was a problem inside, he could only jump in, while Connor had no choice at all."
"Niubijian sent it to my door by himself, which saves me a lot of convenience. Otherwise, as he said, if I want to find someone to stand up to Chen Zhiwen, I'm afraid I won't be able to find him in Hong Kong." Shen Bi shook his head and said.
"But our biggest opponent is Chen Zhiwen. His growth is too fast." Diss frowned and said, "A friend of mine in Japan told me that a small game console called Game Boy launched by Midea Group has grown rapidly. The whole of Japan is sold out. I have a rough idea. The sales volume of this product in Japan is almost 500,000 a month. For Midea, I estimate the net profit is at least HK$100 per unit."
"Game boy? I've heard that it was popular in Hong Kong for a while last year. This thing is only in Japan and can make a net profit of HK$50 million a month?" Shen Bi said in shock. HSBC monopolizes most of the banks in Hong Kong. You can't make so much money in a month, and this is only a Japanese market.
"Yes, maybe it's not just that. Many Japanese are willing to buy at high prices, and there are even specialized scalpers." Dis said: "But this thing can't always be popular. It also sold well in Hong Kong at the end of last year, but The popularity quickly faded away, and I probably bought everything I needed to buy. I can only say that making money is very profitable, but it’s all quick money. Sales may drop sharply after a few months.”
"That's scary enough." Shen Bi thought for a while and said: "This time we must not let Chen Zhiwen acquire HK Electric. In fact, this is what the Hong Kong Governor meant, but Hong Kong needs to maintain the image of a free market. The Hong Kong government previously modified the triggering acquisition The rules of the offer have already been criticized by many people. No matter what happens this time, the Hong Kong government cannot intervene, and we can only take the initiative."
"Yes, if even 35% of the triggering tender offer cannot prevent the fate of being acquired, then the situation is really over." Diess nodded and said.
"What's the recent progress of SITC Bank in the United States?" Shen Bi asked again.
"It's not good. I heard that there are banks in the United States that want to acquire SITC, but I can't find which one. SITC is probably trying to find a horse by riding a donkey," Dis said.
"Banks in the United States? The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates in recent times, and most American banks are in trouble. Are there still people who want to acquire SITC?" Shen Bi frowned and said, "Looking at this matter, SITC is interested in us. It is the most important step in the internationalization of HSBC. It must not be missed. Otherwise, it will take years and months to find the next suitable one. And you have also seen the reason why Chen Zhiwen has been able to change in a few years. Such strength is because he is the first Hong Kong to go international."
"Understood, I will go to the United States in a few days." Dis nodded and said.
HSBC's internationalization has been full of twists and turns. As early as the early 1970s, it was preparing to acquire a British bank, but it was looked down upon by local British banks and blocked them, because for many British bankers, being acquired by a small bank in Hong Kong would It's a shame, even though HSBC's profits were among the highest in the UK at that time.
Then, after several years of searching, I finally found SITC, the sixth largest bank in New York, in the United States. However, the same problem still existed. It was very difficult for a Hong Kong bank to acquire an American bank. The U.S. Department of Commerce alone It is difficult to pass the acquisition of the Federal Reserve. Over the years, HSBC has spent a lot of energy and resources on it in order to succeed in the acquisition. It can also be said that this is the most important thing after Shen Bi took over HSBC.
The next day, Chen Zhiwen was tinkering with the latest Apple 3 computer. This is Apple's latest product. Before the release, he specially sent a batch to Chen Zhiwen. After all, Chen Zhiwen was also one of the co-founders of the company. Even after passing After multiple equity dilutions, he still owns 22% of Apple shares and is currently Apple's largest shareholder.
What is different from the previous history is that Chen Zhiwen's investment in Apple has affected many places. The most basic one is the capital level. The first investment plus multiple capital injections from later generations, as well as the channel resources of Costco and Wal-Mart, make it possible now. Apple has developed better and is stronger at the research and development level. This has also led to the release of the Apple 3 computer earlier than in its original history.
This computer held a grand launch event in San Francisco some time ago. Thousands of people attended, including hundreds of reporters from various places. Woz even went on stage in person to demonstrate the powerful functions of Apple computers in front of the media. This conference made the Apple 3 one of the most popular personal computers in the United States.
"Dong dong dong" there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Chen Zhiwen saw that it was Zhou Jiayang and Xu Jinhong.
"Chen Sheng." The two of them walked in and greeted.
"There are several computers here sent from the United States. Each of you can use one. In two years, our group will also start to follow the example of the United States and use personal computers for work." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Although Jobs's promotional words were to bring personal computers into every home in the United States, which was a long-term slogan goal, at the implementation level, it is obviously impossible now. No matter what kind of computer, it is now mainly based on commercial needs.
That is to say, computers that were only used by universities, big technology companies, banks, and industry leaders in the past are gradually being distributed to ordinary companies. Some industries that are commonly used to analyze and record data, such as warehouses, retail, etc., can start to use them. PC.
American companies, especially those in Silicon Valley, are also slowly beginning to introduce computers to work, because this can indeed increase efficiency.
"Shouldn't this be given to the beautiful ones?" Xu Jinhong said with a smile.
"They have theirs, you have yours, let's get familiar with it first." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: "This thing is quite expensive, the terminal price is 2,600 US dollars."
"2,600 US dollars? The technology industry is really huge profits." Zhou Jiayang was a little shocked. In fact, he probably knew the profits of several game products of Midea, but the computer in front of him now was just a box and a monitor, and it sold for 2,600 US dollars. .
"Without huge profits, we wouldn't be as big as we are today. Even though it's small, the cost of research and development is in the tens of millions of dollars." Chen Zhiwen smiled. It's true that he didn't start his career in the electronics industry, but he can grow bigger in the future. More than half of the credit is due to arcade machines.
"Yes." Zhou Jiayang nodded and said: "Sheng Chen, the two of us are here because we have something to report to you. Our people at Hong Kong Electric have received news that Hong Kong Electric held a high-level meeting this morning. We are discussing a private equity increase in Land and Land, and then letting Land and Land become the majority shareholder of HK Electric. If successful, our plan to acquire HK Electric will probably come to nothing."
"They responded very quickly. We acquired Hutchison and Wharf successively. It is estimated that these ghosts are no longer willing to sell Hong Kong Electric to us." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
The acquisition of Hong Kong Electric and the people of Hong Kong Electric have never been a problem. When the scale is large enough, it is great for the management to control the company. But once it is forcibly acquired by external capital, there will be no resistance. Not only Hong Kong , this is the case for many companies internationally.
"Currently in Hong Kong, the only ones with the ability to oppose us are Jardine Matheson and HSBC. Together with these two companies, and the Hong Kong government's revised takeover offer triggering rules, once Land really becomes a major shareholder of HK Electric through a private placement of shares, , we have no other option except triggering the acquisition offer at a high price." Xu Jinhong said with a frown.
"But the share of shares we currently hold is not enough to exert veto power." Zhou Jiayang said.
"Does such a large private placement of shares not require the consent of all shareholders?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"Theoretically, it is necessary, but over the years, many companies have basically made decisions by the board of directors. As long as there is no huge loss, the general shareholders' meeting will not pursue it, let alone a company like Hong Kong Electric. Just like Hutchison, they are all a bunch of small shareholders who can't get together at all. What to do is completely decided by the board of directors. Hutchison suffered losses that year and was almost bankrupt, and the shareholders' meeting still couldn't do anything about the management." Zhou Jiayang said.
"It doesn't matter, as long as there are laws to follow. We are now a major shareholder. As long as we publicly oppose Hong Kong Electric's private share increase plan, we can use this reason to organize a shareholders' meeting." Chen Zhiwen said.
"Yes, but we still need to find some shareholders of Hong Kong Electric and ask them to support us at the shareholders' meeting, or we can acquire their shares." Zhou Jiayang analyzed.
"Shareholders' meetings are generally announced ten days in advance. You have ten days. It shouldn't be a problem to find another 7% shareholder. But to be more prudent, we should focus on acquisitions. Even if the price is higher, it will be in our own hands. Don't worry." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
All conspiracies and tricks are meaningless in the face of absolute strength. As long as you acquire 33.4% of the shares, you can veto Hong Kong Electric's financing plan.
"It's not difficult to do it if you don't care about the cost. But in this way, once the share price of Hong Kong Electric is raised by us, we will lose the possibility of a full acquisition in the future." Zhou Jiayang reminded.
"If you lose it, lose it. Now that Jardine Matheson and HSBC have intervened, it is impossible for us to acquire it without paying a little price. We first get the share of veto power, and then I will let HSBC be responsible for the price." Chen Zhiwen said with a cold snort.
(End of chapter)
