Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 935 The Layout of Wireless Communications in Hong Kong
The next day, the data from Hong Kong Telephone Company was delivered. After reading it, Yang Wendong said, "A monopoly business with a net profit of over 100 million a year seems to be stable."

Specialized industries such as water, electricity, gas, communications, and healthcare are not significantly affected by economic crises unless a political crisis breaks out; otherwise, there will be almost no fluctuations.
Fang Xianming said: "Yes, it is stable, but there is basically no room for progress. In the Hong Kong market, the telephone company has monopolized the internal business, and the external business is controlled by the Da Dong News Bureau. There is not much room for development."

Even if it came into our hands, it would be difficult to expand internationally. Countries around the world generally wouldn't allow foreign capital to control a telephone company, and telephone companies are essentially pure monopolistic resource-based enterprises with little to no technology.

"There really isn't much of a chance." Yang Wendong had to agree with this view.

Communications are one of the important foundations of national defense. Even if other countries want to participate in communications, it is the giants like those in Europe and the United States. Hong Kong has neither political resources nor technology. Even if others give it a fair chance, it cannot compete with European and American companies.

Fang Xianming asked, "Mr. Yang, what are your thoughts on the telephone company?"

Although he thought it was unlikely, his boss might have a different opinion.

"In the wired telephone sector, there's definitely no chance. The Hong Kong government has already allocated the business, and even for international business, we have the capability but can't secure it," Yang Wendong said. "But what about the wireless business? You must have used wireless phones from Europe and America, right?"

In the early days, the Hong Kong British government still had some control over monopoly capital. For example, the early water company was forcibly brought under government control because of its monopoly.
Infrastructure projects such as electricity, gas, public transportation, and communications have all been issued at least two licenses, such as the most famous power companies Hong Kong Electric and CLP Power.

Although both still maintain a monopoly in their respective regions, they will compete for some factories, large facilities and other essential goods, which makes it easier for the Hong Kong government to control the prices of these essential goods.

In terms of communications, there are two licenses: one for Hong Kong Telephone Corporation, which is responsible for internal calls within Hong Kong, and the other for Eastern Telegraph Corporation, which is responsible for external telephone communications. At the same time, the Hong Kong government will strictly control prices to prevent strong monopolies.

However, cordless phones are a new invention and are not yet widespread in Hong Kong; they are a novelty.

"I've used it." Fang Xianming immediately understood: "Yang Sheng wants to do wireless communication?"

Yang Wendong said, "Yes, I have that idea. You've used cordless phones before, so you know how convenient it is for people to have one these days."

"Wireless phones are quite expensive. Although some people in Hong Kong can afford them, the cost of setting up wireless signals is not low," Fang Xianming cautioned.

Yang Wendong laughed and said, "Of course, we will definitely lose money in the early stages, but I believe that Hong Kong's economy will become stronger and stronger, and at the same time, the price of electronic products will inevitably become lower and lower. In a few years, many people will be able to afford wireless phones."

Besides, don't forget about pagers. They're not expensive, and although they're not very convenient, they're a decent option for most people.

Many people born in the 90s and 00s may not know what a pager is, but people born in the 70s and 80s should know.

This thing is just a simple receiving device. It's not big, much smaller than a mobile phone. You can put it in your pocket. It can be bound to a phone number. When that phone number is dialed, the pager can receive the message and the caller's call. More advanced models can even record the owner of the phone number.

In this way, the owner of the pager can find a nearby phone to reply after receiving the message;

Although it cannot achieve real-time communication, it is still much better than the traditional method of searching manually.

However, whether it's a mobile phone like the "Big Brother" or a pager, the prerequisite for its use is that a city has laid out wireless signals, which is extremely expensive in this era, even for the simplest 1G technology.

"In terms of trends, that's certainly true. Many cities in Europe and America have already installed wireless signals. As a financial city in Asia, it would be inconvenient for Hong Kong not to have this," Fang Xianming agreed.

They also need to contact overseas clients frequently. Nowadays, many overseas people have their phone numbers printed on their business cards, making them easy to find.
On their side, it was the other way around.

Yang Wendong said, "Isn't Hong Kong Telephone Company still controlled by foreigners?"

Fang Xianming said, "Yes, Niu Bijian has already arranged for people to hand over the work to our people at the land company. The process is going relatively smoothly, and the business itself is quite simple. I estimate that the handover can be completed in one or two months."
However, we don't have any experts in this field at Hong Kong Telephone Company. Even Niu Bijian, who previously acquired Hong Kong Telephone Company, didn't participate in its operation. So for now, we can only let them operate independently.

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Alright then, let's keep it as it is for now. Go and negotiate with them about introducing wireless signals. Even if we don't do it, other conglomerates will get involved, and we need it ourselves."

In fact, Yang Wendong had been thinking about introducing wireless communication two years ago, but he didn't have a team in this field, nor did he have the necessary communication license. In addition, the market wasn't very large, so the idea was abandoned.

But now that they've acquired Hongkong Land and also made money from a Hong Kong telephone company, they're naturally preparing to enter the wireless signal field.

This market is indeed not large now, but it will be worth trillions of dollars in the future;
Of course, if it's just in Hong Kong, it's estimated to be in the billions of US dollars. It would be quite difficult to enter overseas markets.

“Okay, I’ll get on it right away.” Fang Xianming continued, “Mr. Yang, preparations for the privatization of Jardine Matheson have begun. I have already submitted the report to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Based on Jardine Matheson’s current market value, we estimate that it will require HK$80-100 billion.”

“Okay, I’ll take care of the funding.” Yang Wendong nodded and agreed. “I can handle the funding, but after privatization, the debts of the company itself will still have to be absorbed internally. In the near future, our funds will mainly be invested in Japan and mainland China.”

The Plaza Accord is just over a year away. As a time traveler, it's impossible to enter the market after the Plaza Accord. At that time, a flood of funds will pour in, and I might still make a lot of money, but it can't compare to the early investment.

While I have a lot of funds overseas, investing in the huge Japanese market is just a small ripple.

Therefore, after Hong Kong completes the privatization of Jardine Matheson, it can simply let the company digest its previous debts internally. It is impossible for Hong Kong to provide additional billions of dollars to help the company repay its debts.

In fact, he already owns far too many properties in Hong Kong, and in the future, he doesn't plan to invest in any more than a very few high-quality properties. Fang Xianming agreed, "Understood. The company itself is currently somewhat insolvent, and its income can't even cover the principal and interest on the loans. However, our previous capital injection can still be delayed for another year."

If the Sino-British negotiations had concluded and the Hong Kong property market had returned to normal before then, even if property prices didn't immediately rise, as long as an upward trend emerged, the land issue would have been easily resolved.

Like the stock market, the real estate market is all about the future. If there is hope for the future, even if we haven't reached that point yet, we can use financial means to profit in advance, which at least gives creditor banks some confidence.

Yang Wendong said, "It shouldn't be long. The main issues of the Sino-British negotiations have been settled, and both sides are gradually making concessions on the remaining details. I estimate it will be almost over in about six months."

Even if he wasn't a time traveler, as one of Hong Kong's top tycoons, Yang Wendong was aware of some aspects of the Sino-British negotiations.

The two sides have been negotiating for a year and a half, which is quite a long time. The minor details they are still arguing about are just about saving face and will be resolved sooner or later.

Many other wealthy people in Hong Kong also understood this, and were therefore waiting for this day. Some bolder wealthy people, after seeing what Yang Wendong did, became more confident and began to buy Hong Kong stocks and real estate at rock-bottom prices.

"I hope so. Once Hong Kong's economy returns to normal, the returns on our investments in Hong Kong over the years will surely be very substantial," Fang Xianming said with a smile.

The early bosses were very confident about Hong Kong's future, but they themselves were still a little apprehensive.

Now we can say that the light has finally come.

Yang Wendong said, "Well, tell the others that if they have spare cash, they can buy real estate at rock-bottom prices, or they can buy property in Shenzhen."
In addition, we have notified Hang Seng Bank that the previously closed preferential loan policy for internal employees has been reinstated to encourage all our employees to purchase property.

Using the advantages of the Hong Kong market to reward his employees is an excellent way for him to do so, as he doesn't need to spend his own money, but only need to come up with a policy.
When the Hong Kong property market is sluggish, employees are encouraged to buy homes; when the Hong Kong property market is at its peak, the policy is discontinued.

It can be said that if employees from the 60s to the present had listened to his advice, they would have at least a few properties in the future. With Hong Kong's property prices, a net worth of tens of millions would be easy.
In the future, when Hong Kong's industries relocate, these people should be able to keep from starving by owning even just one house, and might even become landlords.

Of course, there's nothing he can do about those who don't listen or who think they're clever enough to invest on their own. He can only offer advice, and it's none of his business whether others listen or not.

Fang Xianming agreed, "Okay, I'll take care of it right away."

Following the boss's investment strategy is also the secret to their wealth. This is not about profiting from company policies or from the company itself, but rather about following the company's investment policies in the market.
These top professional managers already have high salaries, and with their repeated buying and selling at rock-bottom prices, almost everyone of them is worth hundreds of millions.

A few days later, Fang Xianming brought a foreigner to Yang Wendong.

“Mr. Yang, this is Mr. Joseph, the manager of Hong Kong Telephone Company,” Fang Xianming introduced.

Joseph quickly interjected, "Mr. Yang, I've heard so much about you."

"Haha, you flatter me, please have a seat." Yang Wendong gestured, and Joseph and Fang Xianming sat down as well.

Joseph said, “Mr. Yang, I heard from Mr. Fang that you want to introduce overseas wireless signal equipment to lay wireless signals in Hong Kong. We have actually considered this before.”
However, due to funding issues, it has not yet been implemented, and there is considerable opposition within the company.

“The development of wireless telephony is an inevitable trend. Major cities in various Western countries have already started doing so. If it's just a matter of funding, that's easily solved.” Yang Wendong glanced at Joseph and asked, “Is there any other trouble?”

Joseph replied, "Yes, many shareholders within the company feel that the future of Hong Kong is uncertain, so they do not support the investment. Their equity already exceeds one-third, and I can't do anything about it, so I can only come to you."

"One-third of them are British foreigners, right?" Yang Wendong asked rhetorically.

Although the majority shareholder controls the board of directors of a listed company, even with 51% of the shares, absolute control is often not achieved. True absolute control requires 66.7%.

Because if even one-third of the people oppose it, many large investments will not be approved.

In listed companies, it is impossible for any single party to achieve this. However, in most cases, other shareholders will not unite, so a 30% stake is generally sufficient for the major shareholder.

Joseph said, "Yes."

"Since that's the case, and they're not optimistic about Hong Kong's future, let them sell their stocks to avoid the worry of losing everything overnight," Yang Wendong said calmly.

Joseph paused for a moment, then said, “Mr. Yang, Hongkong Land already holds a 33% stake in Hong Kong Telephone Company. If we acquire another stake, it will trigger a takeover offer, and Hong Kong Telephone Company cannot be privatized.”

“I know, so I won’t get involved.” Yang Wendong looked at Fang Xianming and said, “Contact Huo Yingdong, Li Jiacheng, Bao Yugang, Hu Yingxiang and other Chinese businessmen to see if they are willing to take on some of the shares of Hong Kong Telephone Company. This is a relatively stable income, and there will definitely be someone willing to take it over.”

He hadn't originally planned to target the other shares of Hong Kong Telephone Company, but now that these British devils were in the way, he decided to arrange for Chinese capital to take over.
In the future, I will be the major shareholder, and other Chinese-owned enterprises will be minor shareholders. They will not object to my orders. At the same time, since I cannot be the sole owner due to legal restrictions, I can distribute the profits to some Chinese-owned enterprises after making them. This is much better than the British foreigners.

Fang Xianming smiled and agreed, "Okay, I'll take care of it right away."

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(End of this chapter)