After a while, the security manager trotted over and said, "Sorry, Chen Sheng, those reporters ran away and we couldn't catch up."
"Do you know which newspaper reporter you are from?" Diss next to Shen Bi asked with a frown. It's not a big deal that people from HSBC met with Chen Zhiwen, but now HSBC is being forced to give up supporting HK Electric. If this is announced, it will not be called a "traitor"!
"I don't know, our people don't know these people." The security manager was so frightened that his legs were shaking.
"Let's go, don't worry about it." Shen Bi said after a moment of silence.
"Then I won't give it away, Mr. Shen Bi." Chen Zhiwen said with a slight smile.
"You're welcome, Mr. Chen." Shen Bi's expression did not change at all, as if he and Chen Zhiwen had just negotiated a good deal.
After returning to his car, Diess opened the partition that separated the driver from the back seat. Shen Bi said slowly: "Is there a mole inside HSBC?"
"It's very possible, not to mention Chen Zhiwen, but also other people. As long as they are willing to spend money, there are a few people who will not be bribed." Dis thought for a while and said: "However, those who know that we intend to acquire SITC Bank are all It is unlikely that HSBC’s senior staff would take this risk just for money. I do think it may be other people. Although many people do not know our precise intentions, from our whereabouts and some information submitted to the Federal Reserve, it is somewhat clear Smart people can guess that we want to acquire a bank in the United States, and if Chen Zhiwen follows this line of investigation, he can also find SITC Bank."
"It makes sense for you to think so." Shen Bi nodded and said, "But if this is the case, it will be difficult for us to find out who this person is. There are too many people who know our whereabouts and hand in information."
"I know people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, how about asking them to help?" Dis thought for a while and said, they are good at investing, but not good at finding moles.
"Okay, this person must be caught. If that doesn't work, let's reveal some false news and see what the reaction will be." Shen Bi said.
"Okay, but now how should we explain to Hong Kong Electric and Jardine?" Dis asked.
"Let me talk to them personally." Shen Bi said after thinking for a moment.
After returning to HSBC, Shen Bi immediately contacted Jardine and Hong Kong Electric. The leaders of the two parties rushed to HSBC's headquarters in the afternoon. Seeing Shen Bi and Dis looking unhappy, Connor asked: "Shen Bi, what's wrong?"
"You two, the situation has changed now. HSBC can no longer support you two." Shen Bi said straightforwardly without beating around the bush.
"Why?" Niubijian's face changed drastically and he asked. Last time at Wharf, Shen Bi didn't give up until the vote at the shareholders' meeting showed that the situation was over. This time, although it was also difficult, he only relied on 35% of the acquisition to trigger the tender offer regulations. I have been able to deal with Chen Zhiwen for a long time. There is no reason why HSBC would give up at this time.
Shen Bi paused and said, "Chen Zhiwen has something in his hands that will affect the future destiny of HSBC. I have to give in."
"What is so important?" Newbijian asked curiously.
"Sorry, it's inconvenient to disclose." Shen Bi shook his head and said.
"Shen Bi, if you give up at this time, it will be equivalent to giving up Hong Kong Electric. You have to think clearly." Niubijian frowned and said. Without the financial support of HSBC, it would be impossible for Jardine to use its own funds to fight with Chen Zhiwen. Yes, even if we win in such an outcome, all other businesses of Jardine Land will be seriously affected. No matter how great the temptation is, Hong Kong Electric has to give up.
"Yes, Shen Bi, once we give up, Hong Kong Electric's stock price will immediately fall. Chen Zhiwen will definitely get 34.9% of the shares. In addition, the three of us will withdraw our previous commitments, which will make all shareholders lose confidence in me. Shareholders With the vote of the general assembly, we have no chance at all,” Connor also said.
"The withdrawal of HSBC is an ironclad fact and cannot be changed. Connor, as a friend, my suggestion is to give up. If Chen Zhiwen does not move the management of HK Electric, then you can do your job normally and don't have any problems." What a crooked idea. The reason why Hutchison Whampoa's senior management was purged on a large scale was because many British managers still wanted to prevent Chinese people from controlling the company. Chen Zhiwen is definitely not aiming for Hong Kong. His future will definitely go international. , the British can also use it. And if Chen Zhiwen is not willing to use your team anymore, I can promise you that HSBC will provide you with a very good position. If you don’t like banks, I will let Huo Duoli help you find one. With the right company, even if you want to return to the UK, I can help a little bit." Shen Bi looked at Connor and said.
HSBC was responsible for this matter. The alliance they had agreed to suddenly changed hands and stopped. Not to mention other promises, some jobs could still be provided, not only because he and Connor had been friends for more than ten years. More importantly, this incident will have a serious blow to HSBC's prestige in Hong Kong. It would be better to compensate a little.
"What should I do if I land? I have invested tens of millions to acquire shares of Hong Kong Electric, and I have even boasted about it in Haikou. The Keswick family will definitely use this matter to cause trouble for me." Newbijian said in black. Face said.
"These losses are nothing to Real Estate. If there are any other real estate projects in the future, I can give you a loan at a discount. As for the Keswick family, I will stand up for you. Besides, this is my responsibility at HSBC." ." Shen Bi also said very responsibly.
"Since you said so, it can only be like this. But in this way, Chen Zhiwen defeated us again. From now on, I think it's better not to humiliate ourselves again." After finishing speaking, Niubijian nodded. He left without looking back.
Shen Bi didn't care about Niubijian and said to Connor: "Before the HSBC announcement, I think it's better for you to meet with Chen Zhiwen. Although he is relatively strong in the business, he is still a good person. Yes, let’s talk about it, as long as it reflects your value, I don’t think he will do anything to you?”
"Okay, I'll give it a try." Connor nodded. Although he was very unhappy, HSBC had given up, and Hong Kong Electric itself was definitely unable to recover.
The next day, Connor came to the Galaxy Tower headquarters in Admiralty:
"Hello, Mr. Chen." When he met Chen Zhiwen, who was younger than he thought, Connor was very polite. Although Hong Kong Electric has a market value of several billion Hong Kong dollars, that is still a market value, and its own funds are generally only a few hundred million. , faced with the acquisition of billions of Hong Kong dollars by Chinese-funded giants, without the help of other capital, there is no hope. No matter how the Hong Kong government changes the law to protect British capital, it is useless if it has no strength.
"Sit down, Mr. Connor." Chen Zhiwen greeted with a smile.
"Thank you!" Connor replied politely and said directly: "Sheng Chen, HK Electric has been operating independently over the years, and its profits have been increasing every year. If Mr. Chen just wants to invest, I very much welcome it, but if If Mr. Chen wants to run it himself, I am worried that because he is not familiar with the business, he may damage the interests of the company's shareholders."
Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: "The main business of Hong Kong Electric is power generation. I am not familiar with this area in my current company, so even if I take over Hong Kong Electric, I will not replace people at will. You can rest assured about this, but Hong Kong Electric There are so many high-quality lands under our ownership that have remained empty and undeveloped over the years. This is a very serious waste. Therefore, I will arrange for Galaxy Real Estate to cooperate with Hong Kong Electric to develop these lands together, just like the cooperation model you prepared with Li Jiacheng. .”
"Of course there is no problem. Developing the land owned by Hong Kong Electric will be beneficial to everyone." Connor nodded and said. Hong Kong Electric was originally planning to develop these lands with Chinese real estate companies, although Li Jiacheng seems to be more capable. A little, but now that we are cooperating with our own company, it may be more convenient in many aspects.
"In that case, after HSBC and Jardine Matheson announce that they will give up their intervention in the acquisition of HK Electric, I will also stop the acquisition. Just as the shareholders' meeting is about to be held, I can directly make an investment in HK Electric and provide targeted growth." The shares will increase the shares held by Galaxy Group to 34.9%. In this case, the funds can also enter HK Electric's account." Chen Zhiwen went on to say that the advantage of private placement of shares is that funds can be used for the company's development, which is better than in External acquisitions will only benefit other investors and even some speculators.
"Okay, no problem, I'll arrange this." Connor nodded. Private placement of shares is unacceptable to many shareholders because it will reduce their equity ratio. However, HK Electric does not have a major shareholder. They, the management, don't care about ratio issues. They only need to be able to maintain their current position.
"In addition, for me, it is a pity that Hong Kong Electric can only develop in Hong Kong. No matter how good the future of Hong Kong's economy is, it is just a city, so what I hope is to expand the power generation business, such as the northern mainland." Chen Zhiwen Said again.
"Sheng Chen, the demand for electricity in the mainland is indeed huge, but there is a strict foreign exchange control system there. If we earn RMB there, it may be difficult to convert it into Hong Kong dollars, right?" Connor said with some worry.
"Don't worry about it. The mainland is now willing to allow foreign investment in the power generation field. There are only a few newly opened port cities. These cities are relatively better. Moreover, they want to attract foreign investment to generate electricity, mainly for export. The industrial park provides power, which can also earn foreign exchange, and we can share part of it," said Chen Zhiwen.
As time came to 1980, many Hong Kong capital had begun to move factories to the mainland, especially Shenhai City, and even real estate development had learned from it. The presence of a large number of factories would naturally lead to an increase in demand for infrastructure, water and The road is easy to navigate, and we can handle it even if we are close to it, but this electricity is not good, and industrial electricity cannot be like civilian electricity, which has power and then goes out, and the demand for electricity is relatively high.
The current domestic economic situation has made it impossible to build large-scale power plants in several special economic zone cities. Therefore, various cities also plan to introduce a large number of power generation companies from overseas for cooperation. The generated electricity is ultimately used by factories and then earns foreign exchange, and the price of this generated electricity can also be traded in foreign exchange.
"Okay, if that's the case, there should be no problem." Connor nodded and said, "After the shareholders' meeting, I will send people to visit some cities in the country."
"OK, let's wait until after the shareholders' meeting to discuss the specific situation." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
On March 1, 1980, Land Group suddenly announced that it would give up its cooperation plan with Hong Kong Electric. However, HSBC was a little smarter and stated that Hong Kong Electric was still an important partner of HSBC and would maintain a long-term cooperative relationship no matter what the future holds.
As soon as the news came out, the market was shocked. It was clear that HSBC and Jardine Matheson had given up before the war started. As a result, Hong Kong Electric's stock price plummeted 28%, and the stock price also fell by HK$5 per share.
On March 5, the HK Electric Shareholders' Meeting was officially held. The original purpose of the meeting was to discuss whether to allow HK Electric to conduct a private equity increase in Land. However, now Land has given up. At the same time, everyone knows the final outcome of HK Electric. Belonged.
As a result, at the voting meeting that afternoon, Galaxy Group received more than 70% of the votes and became the holder of the management rights of Hong Kong Electric Group. Galaxy Group will once again inject HK$160 million into Hong Kong Electric and transfer its holdings to Hong Kong Electric Group. shares were raised to 34.99%.
However, at the conference, Xu Jinhong, the head of Galaxy Group, also made it clear that Galaxy Group will not interfere with HK Electric Group's business in Hong Kong. At the same time, it will also cooperate together to develop a large number of land under HK Electric Group, and will continue to do so. Inject capital to prepare for Hong Kong Electric to expand overseas business.
The smooth progress of the shareholders' meeting marked that another top ten British-funded company in Hong Kong fell into the hands of Chinese capital. Hong Kong's Chinese-language media once again described this business merger as a "big victory", not only because of the acquisition Hong Kong Electric was also responsible for repelling Land and HSBC Bank, which wanted to intervene midway.
On March 7, Chen Zhiwen and President Liang of Xinhua News Agency went to the headquarters of HK Electric Group in North Point. The next day, HK Electric Group announced that it would discuss with the Eastern Guangdong Province of China a project plan to invest in large-scale thermal power stations in the mainland. As a result, Hong Kong Electric's share price rose again by 10%.
On March 10, when Bao Yugang arrived at the presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel, he couldn't wait to ask: "Sheng Chen, how did you ask HSBC to withdraw?"
"Actually, it's nothing. HSBC wanted to acquire a bank in the United States, and I arranged for someone to get in first." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. In fact, he couldn't hide the matter soon, so it was nothing to tell Bao Yugang.
"Bank of America?" Pao Yugang asked: "Does HSBC value this Bank of America so much?"
"Yes, China now has good relations with Europe and the United States, and with the rental issue, the entire management of HSBC is no longer worried about staying in Hong Kong, so they want to move the company. During the Sandus era, they wanted to move to the UK. However, the aristocratic banks in the UK look down on HSBC, so now they are setting their sights on the United States. I found out about this matter by chance, so I cut it off first. This matter is related to HSBC’s centenary plan. Ten Hong Kong Electrics are not as important as this, of course Shen Bi will give up." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"I admire it, Mr. Chen. It seems that you were ready to acquire Hong Kong Electric back then." Pao Yugang couldn't help but sigh. As for whether he discovered HSBC's plan by accident, only a ghost can believe it. HSBC has been in Hong Kong for so many years. So many business giants in Hong Kong have not discovered it.
(End of chapter)
