Chapter 109: The Madness of British Capital in Wharf

Shen Bi certainly did not want Liu Zhicheng to become too powerful, and he also wanted to dismember Jardine Matheson so that he could become the absolute boss among British capital.

But they cannot completely defeat Jardine Matheson, as that would mean the British capital would lose a powerful general.

Shen Bi thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Newbijian, we understand what you mean. This time we are facing something different. Liu Zhicheng does not have much cooperation with HSBC, and this time Citibank is definitely standing behind him."

"I know that. Even if HSBC does not come forward to mediate, I hope you can provide Jardine Matheson with a certain amount of low-interest loans. In short, I need at least 5 million Hong Kong dollars in funds to deal with Liu Zhicheng's hostile takeover." Newby nodded.

As one of the leading capital forces in Hong Kong, Newby must know some things. Even if Liu Zhicheng is the most powerful, he cannot rob openly and can only stop him through commercial means.

"The capital behind Liu Zhicheng is very strong. In addition, he now holds enough shares in Hong Kong Land. At this time, the only way to solve this problem is through negotiation."

"But we don't have any advantage at the moment. If we continue to negotiate like this, Liu Zhicheng will definitely have the upper hand. As the Chinese have a saying, 'strike the snake at its seven-inch point.'"

"This?" Niubijian was a little confused, so he asked, "Then Mr. Shen Bi, what do you think?"

"Since you say this concerns the interests of the entire British capital, why don't you go to see Mr. Kadoorie?"

Shen Bi smiled mysteriously and continued, "Then sit down and talk, and try to solve this problem through peaceful means."

"I can come forward and ask Liu Zhicheng to come out, and then you two can talk. I suggest that you still have to give up something, and both sides have to make concessions. Liu Zhicheng has already laid out such a large plan, it is impossible for him to give up everything."

"As long as the price is high enough, by giving up Wharf Holdings, maybe we can save Hong Kong Holdings."

The more Newbijian listened, the more frightened he became, but he had to consider the gains and losses.

After a moment, he made a decision, stood up and said, "I hope Mr. Shen Bi can keep his promise and give us financial support. I will do the rest."

Newbigin suddenly felt that he was too incompetent as the leader of Jardine Matheson. In the past, Jardine Matheson Group always looked down on the heroes of Hong Kong, and the Keswick family had dominated Hong Kong for almost half a century.

Although he was born at the wrong time, when he just took over Jardine Matheson, it encountered the real estate crisis, the global oil crisis and huge losses in the company's overseas business.

But Jardine Matheson is Jardine Matheson, it is the face of British capital, and every means must be exhausted to maintain Jardine Matheson's base.

Once Hutchison Whampoa is blocked, it will also lose Wharf Holdings and Jardine Matheson will be completely ruined.

The next day, Jardine Matheson Group publicly announced in Ta Kung Pao: Swire Properties is the core asset of the Jardine Matheson Group and the Jardine Matheson Group will not give up its management rights over it.

It also stated that Jardine Matheson Group has received full support from HSBC.

Newbijian is trying to drag Jardine Matheson into the water.

At this time, it was already afternoon and it was too late to put the advertisement in the newspaper. It had to wait until the next day. However, so many investment funds or shareholders with some connections could receive all kinds of information quickly.

Influenced by this news, Hong Kong Land's share price began to soar, and has risen by 60%. Hong Kong Land's market value has reached billion Hong Kong dollars.

Upon learning the news, Liu Zhicheng immediately instructed Citibank York to raise the offer price. By the closing time, he already held 19% of the shares of Hutchison Whampoa.

The entire Landmark's blocking operation has cost HK$15 billion. The arrow has been shot, and there is no turning back.

…………

Michael Kadoorie was looking at the Victoria Harbour outside the window with a frown on his face. He had too many worries during this period.

Today, Jardine Matheson and Newby came to us and said that British capital should unite and jointly resist the attack of Chinese capital.

These are all small matters. Now that global oil prices are rising, China Light and Power Company is already suffering and is on the verge of losses.

Today I sent an assistant to apply to the Governor's Office for an increase in electricity prices, and the assistant is reporting now.

"Mr. Kadoorie, the Governor has once again rejected our suggestion to raise electricity prices and asked us to hold on for a while. I believe that oil prices will fall soon." The assistant whispered.

"Didn't you explain that the oil price has increased, but the electricity price is not allowed to increase, so we had no choice but to shut down the fuel-fired generators, which caused power outages in some areas. You can't blame us for that," said Michael Kadoorie with a frown.

Although the current Governor MacLehose looks like a gentleman, he is very ruthless in his work. The achievements of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in the past few years have made no one dare to underestimate him.

It is better to send an assistant to handle some sensitive matters, so that there will be room for maneuver if something goes wrong.

In fact, Jardine is not willing to do such a thing, but the oil price has risen too sharply in recent years, and now there is basically no profit. If the oil price rises again, it will only face the possibility of losses.

"The Hong Kong government has made it clear that as a public welfare enterprise in Hong Kong, we should assume certain social responsibilities," the assistant said after a pause.

In fact, MacLehose's starting point was good. Hong Kong was at a critical juncture of economic recovery, and he did not want electricity prices to cool down the economy.

"Humph, it seems that Murray MacLehose has forgotten that he is a man on whom the sun never sets. He daydreams every day about becoming the first governor in Hong Kong's history." Michael Kadoorie snorted

“But it is not easy for us to go against the Hong Kong government directly,” said the assistant.

"The main electricity users now are the industrial areas. We may have more power outages. Then they will take the initiative to communicate with us." Michael Kadoorie said with a smile.

This kind of power rationing is not only happening in Hong Kong, but also in Europe and the United States.

If the regional power outages become a regular occurrence, the Hong Kong government will have no problem saying anything as long as they insist that they were not intentional. Moreover, it can just solve Newby's request today, which is a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

"Then where should we cut off production? The largest industry in Hong Kong should be the Orange Technology Yuen Long Industrial Park. If it is cut off for just a few days, Liu Zhicheng will probably get anxious," said the assistant.

"Take action against Orange Technology?"

Michael Jiadao was stunned for a moment, his heart beating fast and his brows showed a hint of hesitation.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Liu Zhicheng is not someone you can easily mess with. Give him a power restriction notice and push all the responsibility off of us."

"Okay, I'll draft the notice immediately and send someone to deliver it," said the assistant.

After Kadoorie gave this instruction, he suddenly had a bad feeling, but he couldn't put it into words, so he could only shake his head and smile.

...............

In the conference room of Federal Building, Liu Zhicheng was convening an acquisition meeting targeting Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings.

"How many shares of Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings have we acquired now?" Liu Zhicheng asked.

"In the past two days, almost 2% of Hong Kong Land's shares have been acquired. Most shareholders are still waiting and holding on to their shares, probably waiting for Jardine Matheson to make a move."

"Do we already own 19% of the shares of Swire Properties now?" Liu Zhicheng asked.

"It should be 19.3% of the shares." Han Chunxi replied.

"Okay, arrange for personnel to join the Land Development Board immediately and distract their attention from the board meetings," Liu Zhicheng instructed.

According to Hong Kong law, once an individual or group holds 16% of the company's shares, they will automatically obtain a board seat with 20% of the voting rights.

Although one voting right cannot threaten Jardine Matheson's control over Hutchison Whampoa, it can cause them headaches on the board of directors.

Liu Zhicheng had already met the requirements for joining the board of directors, but had not taken any action because he wanted to defeat Jardine Matheson in a fair and open manner.

"Mr. Liu, now that Jardine Matheson has made the announcement, I'm afraid more people will be on the sidelines, making it even more difficult for us to acquire the company," said Han Chunxi.

"Well, let's not worry about it for now. Let's act according to the plan. How many shares of Hutchison Whampoa do we have now?" Liu Zhicheng asked again.

"Since Superman Lee announced that he would no longer block Wharf Holdings and Jardine Matheson relaxed its vigilance, we have acquired another 12% of the shares and now own 35% of Wharf Holdings."

"In other words, we are now the largest shareholder?" Liu Zhicheng asked.

"Yes." Han Chunxi replied.

“Since we already have so many shares, there is no need to raise the placard. Prepare to call shareholders to hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. Send out a public relations team immediately to win over some shareholders, then we can also gain control of Hutchison Whampoa.” Liu Zhicheng said calmly.

Liu Zhicheng did not expect to be able to easily acquire 49.9% of the shares. As long as he gained control, he could still increase his shareholding ratio at a lower cost.

But if you want to gain control, you only need the support of more than half of the shareholders, and you don't necessarily have to hold the shares yourself.

This operation is much better than taking on Jardine Matheson like the charter king in the previous life, because it is more cost-effective.

"Okay, I already have a list of shareholders here. I will immediately arrange someone to persuade them to support us at the shareholders' meeting," said Han Chunxi.

This list of shareholders was originally prepared for the purpose of secretly purchasing shares, but there was no time to contact them.

"Those who need to acquire shares should still be acquired. Don't lose the big picture for the small one." Liu Zhicheng said.

At this moment, one of Han Chunxi's assistants came in and said, "Hello, Mr. Liu, we just received a call from HSBC. Shen Bi invited you and Newbijian to have coffee at the Peninsula Hotel."

"This old man really likes to be a peacemaker." Liu Zhicheng said with a smile.

These days, he has been waiting for HSBC to make a move. He didn't expect it to be peace talks, but Liu Zhicheng also expected it.

After all, Jardine Matheson is now terminally ill and has no power to do anything, so he has to ask for help from the foreigners.

"It looks like a Hongmen Banquet." Han Chunxi said with a smile.

Liu Zhicheng nodded and was about to tell his assistant to find a reason to reject Shen Bi's invitation when someone else came in to report.

"Mr. Liu, I just received a call from Mr. Huo. China Power has issued a power restriction notice for the industrial park."

The expression on Liu Zhicheng's face froze instantly, and his hands involuntarily tapped on the desk with his fingers.

Seeing this, Han Chunxi immediately sent the assistants away.

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(End of this chapter)