"In recent years, Hong Kong's real estate market has risen sharply, but the Kadoorie family has been investing all their funds in CLP Power's new power plants, missing the golden period of real estate. In addition, the funds have been transferred to CLP Power, so the hotel has been The stock is seriously undervalued just like the original Wharf. HK$70 per share is indeed a bit expensive, but it is still cost-effective to acquire the entire company by acquiring only 10%. The hotel also has several pieces of land on Hong Kong Island. In the future, You won’t lose money.” Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.
Although there will be a real estate crisis in 1982 and land prices will be cut in half, this comparison is with the peak house price in mid-82. Even if it is cut in half, it will not be much worse than now. And as long as this time is passed, the subsequent increase in land prices will be higher than the current level. The bull market is still going strong, and many of the properties owned by big hotels are in hard-to-find locations. If we don’t seize the opportunity now, we may not be able to buy these properties even in 1983.
"I think so too." Kuok Henian said: "Sheng Bao, I have inquired about the news. HSBC did not lend a lot of funds to the Kadoorie family. If I do it, the Kadoorie family may sell some CLP shares to increase Cash, you have to seize the opportunity when the time comes.”
"Don't worry, it's no problem. I also owe Guo Sheng a favor this time, and I will definitely repay him generously in the future." Bao Yugang said with a smile.
"That's not necessary. We can just hold each other's shares in these stocks, so that we can develop together in Hong Kong." Robert Kuok said with a smile.
Although he is a powerful player in Southeast Asia, the rules in Hong Kong are different. To develop here, he still needs to cooperate more with large local companies, which will increase security a lot.
"This is not a problem. When my company is listed in the future, you two can also participate." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
With so many industries under his control, it is impossible for him to continue to be a sole proprietor in the future. The entire global capital market will not allow such companies to exist in a big market without being listed. If they cannot share the profits of this industry, then the capital market It is natural to invest in competitors to capture the market.
Since we want to share some of the results, in addition to giving it to some consortiums with useful resources and backgrounds, people around us can also share some, but not a lot, unless they are companies that mainly develop in Hong Kong and Asia, or a few companies with Europe and the United States as the market. We will still give priority to European and American local forces.
"Okay, after I acquire the big hotel, if I have more funds, I will invest in Hong Kong Electric and CLP." Robert Kuok said with a smile.
"Then let's get Hong Kong Electric first. I also have some funds here. If the acquisitions from the two of you are not enough, I can make an emergency loan." Chen Zhiwen said.
"Thank you very much." Kuok Henian said.
The next day, explosive news once again appeared in the Hong Kong stock market. The world's sugar king Robert Kuok officially purchased the shares of Grand Hotel in the form of cash check on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at HK$70 per share until the acquisition reached 34.9%.
When the news came out, the share price of Grand Hotel once again reached HK$73, but soon fell back to HK$71.
Although the price on the stock market is higher, many people still come to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for cash transactions, because smart people know that if everyone sells on the stock market, the price will soon be suppressed. It is better to come to the site to trade and pay with one hand and deliver the goods at the same time.
By noon, at the southeast corner of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, there was already a long queue for the purchase of hotel stocks. The people behind were very impatient because no one knew how many people came here to buy stocks. Once the acquirer acquired the If there are enough shares, unless you still want to trigger a takeover offer, otherwise the takeover will inevitably be stopped. At that time, no matter who continues to manage the hotel, the stock price will definitely plummet.
After the showdown, there will be a decisive battle. At this moment, unless the Kadoorie family also follows the challenge and purchases at a higher price, otherwise, they will have no choice but to take action now.
While everyone was queuing up, in a VIP room of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Kadoorie looked through the glass at the queue below to sell his own stocks, and the veins on his hands were anxiously exposed again.
"70 Hong Kong dollars per share, Robert Kuok is really willing to give up." Michael Kadoorie looked at the price on the sign outside and said with gritted teeth.
"Brother, if we continue like this, we will lose. Even Liang Zhonghao sold half of his shares to them." Henry Kadoorie, the second-in-command of the Kadoorie family, said with some worry.
"I also know, but in terms of funds, we don't have enough. Half of the HKD 500 million we borrowed from HSBC has been spent. You don't know the current stock market price. If you want to stabilize, you need at least another HKD 500 million." Okay." Michael Kadoorie frowned and said.
"In the past few years, we have indeed invested too much money in CLP, and we have encountered the oil crisis. Robert Kuok is extremely powerful in Southeast Asia, with a large number of banks behind him. If we don't take any action, I am afraid that the hotel will not be able to save it. Brother, Peninsula The hotel is a symbol of our family’s heritage and cannot be lost,” Henry said with a frown.
"Then what do you think?" Michael Kadoorie asked.
"We need to sell part of CLP's stocks to alleviate this crisis." Henry said.
Michael didn't even think about it. He shook his head quickly and said: "This is absolutely not possible. Have you ever thought about it? Now it's just the hotel being acquired, which makes it difficult for us to resist. But if we sell the shares of China Electronics, what if others attack China Electronics?" manage?"
"The scale of CLP is larger than that of big hotels. Among the Chinese people in Hong Kong and even around the world, who else except Chen Zhiwen has the ability to do it? But Chen Zhiwen has already acquired Hong Kong Electric. The Hong Kong government will never allow him to continue to acquire CLP. In fact, we don't have to Too worried," Henry Kadoorie said.
In fact, after Wharf was forcibly acquired by Chen Zhiwen, and the Hong Kong media gradually exposed Chen Zhiwen's overseas assets, all the British capital in Hong Kong were worried that one day they would be targeted. However, throughout 1979, Chen Zhiwen's capital was maintained Keep a low profile. Over time, everyone may become lax. After all, it is impossible not to develop your own business just because of a potential risk.
And at the beginning of this year, Chen Zhiwen indeed took action again, targeting HK Electric. This time he even slapped the entire British capital in the face, because the last backer of British capital, HSBC, indirectly admitted defeat.
But for the Kadoorie family, it was a great blessing, because the Hong Kong government would not allow one person to monopolize the entire Hong Kong electricity market. However, they did not expect that their hotel would be targeted by wealthy people from Southeast Asia.
"Maybe it's impossible for Chen Zhiwen, and it's true that any other Chinese company can't do it alone, but what if there are multiple companies? Or is Chen Zhiwen manipulating it behind the scenes?" Michael Kadoorie said with a frown.
"But we can't really give up on the hotel, right?" Henry said, "There is another way. We mortgage some of China Power's stocks."
"I have already pledged part of it to HSBC. Generally, you can only get half of the funds for a stock mortgage. If you mortgage it again, HSBC will not agree." Michael Kadoorie said.
Central Electric Power has been heavily in debt due to various problems in recent years, and the stock price has always been low. The 500 million Shen Bi promised to lend him was not without mortgage conditions. There are various lending relationships. Shen Bi This old fox will not agree to take this risk.
"Then you can only find other banks." Henry said.
"Which bank should we look for? Apart from HSBC, which bank in Hong Kong is capable of helping us?" Michael Kadoorie asked.
It's not that many small banks in Hong Kong can't lend out hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars, but they won't take risks, because for small and medium-sized banks, if they lend such a large sum of money, they must be very sure that they can get it back, otherwise they will die. , in such a large-scale acquisition war, indeed only top banks are qualified to participate.
"HSBC is indeed the largest bank in Hong Kong, but it is not the only one. There is another large British bank in Hong Kong." Henry said.
"You mean, Standard Chartered?" Michael Kadoorie immediately thought of this name. Although Standard Chartered has the right to print money in Hong Kong, the difference is that it can only print small amounts of currency and its scale is small. Its business in Hong Kong is only one-third of HSBC's. Therefore, most of the large British-funded consortiums in Hong Kong seek cooperation with HSBC. Standard Chartered basically cooperates with small and medium-sized enterprises in Hong Kong.
"Yes, it's Standard Chartered. Standard Chartered's business in Hong Kong is indeed a bit weak, but the parent company behind it is still very strong." Henry said.
Michael asked: "Do you know anyone from Standard Chartered? Bill Winter?"
"We know each other. We have cooperated with some small businesses before. In the past few days, he took the initiative to find me and hinted that he could help us, but the interest rate required is relatively high, 3 percentage points more than HSBC." Henry said.
"Three points? That's really dark." Mi Gao thought for a while and said, "I can agree to him, but can they accept our second mortgage?"
"No, if we do this, the loan process will be very slow. What Standard Chartered means is that as long as we don't mention it, they won't ask and will turn a blind eye." Henry Kadoorie said.
"But if we do this, we will be responsible for the loss. According to the banking law, we need to inform the bank in advance of the second mortgage of stocks or properties." Michael Kadoorie frowned. There are many banks in Hong Kong, and outsiders do not know the internal information. If a property is mortgaged in this bank and then goes to another bank, there may be a second mortgage. This is a financial risk. The Hong Kong government also We have been trying to avoid it and introduced corresponding registration policies, but there are too many details involved and too many omissions, which can be easily bypassed. Therefore, the Hong Kong government directly legislated to restrict borrowers.
"The law does stipulate this, but if we consider so many legal issues at every step of doing business, what else can we do? As long as it is not a criminal law, even if we are caught, it will only be a fine. As long as it does not cause financial risks, If we unblock it again, there will be no problem. As far as I know, in recent years, Chinese real estate companies have been able to rise so fast because of this skill." Henry Kadoorie said.
"I always feel that this is not good." Michael Kadoorie said.
"It's not good, but if we think about it again, we will lose the hotel. Let's save the family assets first and then talk about other things. At worst, we can only keep the Peninsula Hotel and sell other properties to pay back the money. Housing prices are also high now." Henry Jia Reason said.
"What you say makes sense. We only need to keep the Peninsula Hotel. The rest doesn't matter." Michael Kadoorie said.
"Okay, I will contact Standard Chartered Bank now. Time is urgent. Brother, please prepare all the information first. As long as Bill Winter agrees, we will sign the contract immediately." Henry said.
"Don't worry, it's no problem." Michael Kadoorie said.
"However, I'm worried that it's still too late." Henry Kadoorie looked at the queue outside and said with a frown. If someone completed the acquisition in advance, it would be useless for him to get the money.
"I will immediately announce the acquisition for HK$62, and I still have some cash in hand." Michael said sternly. If he failed, he would become a devil. Now he has no choice.
(End of chapter)
