Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 936 Advice on Investing in the UK

A week passed quickly, and Bao Yugang, Hu Yingxiang, and others responded, expressing their willingness to take over a portion of the shares of Hong Kong Telephone Company.
If each person gets a few percent, that's only a few tens of millions. Selling it to Yang Wendong to save face is worthwhile. At the same time, it's a pretty good quality asset.

Regarding the price, they are also negotiating with the British shareholders, but no agreement has been reached yet, and Yang Wendong doesn't seem to care much about it.

The Hong Kong government has granted permission for Hong Kong to begin constructing wireless telephone signals. However, the Governor's Office has raised another requirement.

"Max wants to treat me to a meal?" After receiving the news, Yang Wendong looked around at the people and asked, "What do you think it's for?"

Fang Xianming replied, "Could it be because our acquisition of Hongkong Land has affected Hong Kong's economic landscape that the Governor wants to talk to you? That's quite normal."

"Yes, I'll definitely go. We'll see when the time comes." Yang Wendong didn't think much of it.
Now that he has completed his major strategic layout in Hong Kong, he no longer needs to rely on the Hong Kong government.
Of course, it's important to maintain a good relationship. After all, no matter what, you're still on someone else's administrative territory, and as long as it's not excessive, they'll give you plenty of face.

Three days later, Yang Wendong visited Government House again and met with Governor Max, but he was accompanied by Sir Michael Sandberg of HSBC.

The two seemed to have a good relationship. Yang Wendong had seen them together several times, which was normal, since it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Shen Bi the "economic governor" of Hong Kong.
Although Yang Wendong's financial resources exceeded those of HSBC, his involvement in Hong Kong's economy was purely investment, without any official intervention.

“Governor, Mr. Sir Michael Sandberg,” Yang Wendong said politely.
“Sit down, Mr. Yang,” Max said in somewhat unfamiliar Cantonese.

He was transferred from the UK and naturally didn't speak Cantonese at first. However, as the Governor of Hong Kong, he had a translator, but speaking Cantonese would be much more convenient. So, after studying for more than a year, he was able to have some basic conversations, although he still didn't recognize the characters.

"Thank you." After sitting down, Yang Wendong exchanged pleasantries with the two men for a while before getting straight to the point, asking, "Governor, is there anything I can do for the Hong Kong government that you invited me here for?"

Max laughed and said, "Mr. Yang, what you've done in Hong Kong lately has truly broadened my horizons. Congratulations on becoming the new owner of Jardine Matheson. I think with your investment, Hong Kong's future economy will definitely be better."

"As a Hong Konger, I naturally wish for Hong Kong's economy to improve," Yang Wendong replied politely.

Max nodded and said, "The Hong Kong government has agreed to your request to operate a wireless signal business in Hong Kong, and the British side has no objection either. The reason I invited Mr. Yang here is actually on behalf of the British side. I hope Mr. Yang will consider investing in the UK."

"Invest in the UK?" Yang Wendong retorted. "Invest in what? Could I possibly invest in telecommunications?"

In the past, before or at the very beginning of Sino-British negotiations, Britain was still trying to win over Hong Kong. Therefore, it approached Yang Wendong many times, hoping that Yang Wendong would stand on Britain's side.
However, although the negotiations between China and Britain have not yet ended, the overall situation should have been settled, so these concerns have been eliminated.
The Hong Kong government's main task has shifted from winning over Hong Kong's wealthy to encouraging them to emigrate or invest abroad, especially in the UK.
In the past, even though Britain granted Hong Kong a certain degree of economic autonomy, both the government and large conglomerates were under British control. While there was no direct exploitation, a large amount of Hong Kong's interests were indirectly transferred to Britain. To put it simply, the Hong Kong government and conglomerates used Hong Kong funds to buy British government bonds, which greatly helped the British government.

However, Hong Kong's future return to China, including the decade or so before that, will be subject to agreements with the mainland, making it less convenient for Britain to exploit Hong Kong. This has led to an encouragement for Hong Kong's wealthy to invest in Britain.

Max laughed and said, "It's not that it's impossible?"

"Really?" Yang Wendong was surprised; he had only been joking about it.

Max said, "Ms. Thatcher is carrying out state-owned enterprise reforms in Britain, which Mr. Yang should also know. Now, British Telecom is preparing to privatize and sell 50% of its shares."

"50% of the shares, that means the management is still in the hands of the British government?" Yang Wendong asked.

Max laughed and said, "Of course. It involves communications, which is different from other industries. How could we possibly hand it over to foreigners to manage?"

Yang Wendong then asked, "So it's just a simple investment?"

This is normal. No matter how much Thatcher privatized, she wouldn't sell a telecommunications company involved in defense and security. After all, even if Britain is in decline, it is still one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Max said, "Yes, it could be considered a standalone investment, but Mr. Yang is also optimistic about the future of the telecommunications market. It might be worth considering; this is a rare opportunity."

“There must be quite a few investors interested in British Telecom,” Yang Wendong asked.

Max said, "It's just a simple investment, and not many people are interested in it. British Telecom had been losing money before, otherwise Ms. Thatcher wouldn't have brought it up for financing."

This funding will be used to upgrade older equipment, allowing more British citizens to be served, and then the costs can be recouped in the future.

“I can do the math,” Yang Wendong nodded, then asked, “Besides telecommunications, what other industries are there?”

As his business expanded, Yang Wendong's ambitions naturally grew as well, including investing in and even controlling some core industries in Europe and the United States.
Historically, Li Ka-shing was able to control some of Britain's water, electricity, and gas, so theoretically he could do the same.

Of course, Li Ka-shing's timing for the investment was not good, which led to significant losses later on. However, Yang Wendong had a different view on this. Given the size of the Li family at that time, they were not really concerned about short-term gains, but rather about pursuing long-term stability, especially in infrastructure projects such as water, electricity, and gas.
Moreover, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. The fact that Li Ka-shing incurred losses after the acquisition doesn't mean he lost money. The logic is the same as with listed companies: it's entirely possible to legally transfer profits to one's own family and reap huge profits while the target company incurs losses.

Although Yang Wendong didn't particularly like Li Ka-shing in his previous life, there's no doubt that he achieved what he did in his previous life because his vision and abilities were top-notch globally.
Max laughed and said, "There are many more, including BP, BBVA, EDGE, aviation, railways, steel, automobiles, and so on."
However, the policies will be different. Those involving national defense and security might only involve financing, but some could still be sold. If Mr. Yang is interested, he can look into it.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for letting me know," Yang Wendong nodded and said.
He knew that Max's enthusiasm must stem from some benefit, which was normal; in the Western world, politics and business were heavily intertwined. For example, a certain American president in his previous life used his presidential privileges to engage in rampant stock speculation.
Max said, "You're welcome. I also hope that the cooperative relationship between Britain and Hong Kong can be deepened and strengthened, regardless of what the future holds for Hong Kong." Yang Wendong replied, "I hope so too. I will carefully consider your opinion."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Yang Wendong got up and left, leaving only Max and Shen Bi present.

“Sham Birmingham, do you think he will make the investment?” Max asked.

Shen Bi said: "Perhaps. Yang Wendong's current attitude seems to be on the side of the mainland, but that doesn't prevent him from investing in Britain. As long as there is profit, that's enough."
Based on my understanding of him, he probably won't publicly take sides; he'll only express his stance through investments.

“He has the ability, and his influence in the United States is enormous. The British government can only try its best to win him over,” Max sighed.

For an ordinary Hong Kong tycoon, it would be impossible to take sides, but Yang Wendong is too special. He has a huge influence in the United States, whether in Hollywood or Wall Street, and also has close ties with many political families in the United States.

Although Hong Kong was once the Pearl of the Orient of the British Empire, it is now destined to be lost, so there is no need to offend such a business tycoon for it.

At the same time, the British economy is not doing well and urgently needs such a powerful conglomerate to invest.

"The British side is only encouraging us to persuade Hong Kong capital to invest in Britain. That's all we can do," said Sir Michael Sandberg.

“Yes,” Max nodded.

After returning to the Kang Le Building, Yang Wendong immediately summoned several trusted confidants and told them what Max had said.

"Invest in the UK?" Zheng Zhijie said, "If you can't control some of the companies in the UK, the return on investment will definitely not be as good as that in Southeast Asia. The economic development of developed countries has basically reached its limit, and the future growth rate will be very limited."
Furthermore, there are property taxes. Our Four Seasons hotels in the UK pay millions of pounds in property taxes annually, which takes up a significant portion of our profits.

"I won't invest in real estate in Europe and America. Don't worry, at most I'll buy some for our own use." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "I agree with your idea. Either we acquire companies that we can control, or we don't participate at all, except for telecommunications companies. I want to buy some shares first."

Other traditional industries, such as steel and railways, offer limited returns on investment; while industries related to people's livelihoods, such as water, electricity, and gas, are more likely to offer opportunities, but it is estimated that it will be difficult to gain control of them.
Although the telecommunications industry cannot gain control, it is not a traditional industry. The future development of wireless communication and the mobile phone industry will bring a great spring to the telecommunications industry.

Historically, Li Ka-shing's "selling oranges for hundreds of billions" was due to his early investment in the European telecommunications industry;

You could try getting involved yourself. If you can get some operating rights in the future, then you can run it yourself. If not, and you only have shares, then you can learn from Li Ka-shing and resell them at a high price, which is also a good investment.

Fang Xianming asked, "Does Mr. Yang have a positive outlook on the future of the wireless communication industry?"

“Yes, including Honor, we can also start preparing to establish this business from now on, including research on telecommunications technology and terminal products.” Yang Wendong looked at Wang Zhiqun and said, “I believe that the market for future wireless communication products will not be lower than that for computers.”

Even excluding the smartphone era, the mobile phone market is no smaller than the computer market;
With the advent of smartphones, the computer market, except for office work and special games, has almost been destroyed by smartphones.

With a long-term perspective, Honor Electronics naturally needs to make early plans.

Wang Zhiqun said, "Okay, I'll start preparing right away, but it's a bit difficult to do research in Hong Kong."

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Let's set up technical departments in Europe and America, and then set up branch technical companies in Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai. Let's make the best use of domestic talent and train them along the way. Let's give it a try."

This is very difficult, especially in terms of communication technology, and it involves national security.

In a few years, if the opportunity arises, one can also invest in Huawei and Qualcomm. Even if one does not gain control or management rights, one can at least obtain some returns.

Of course, because of his existence, history has changed too much, and he can't guarantee whether history can be reproduced. But no matter what, investing in these companies or research and development will not result in much loss.

"Yes, Mr. Yang," Wang Zhiqun replied.
Yang Wendong said, "Alright, Lao Fang, Lao Wang, get ready. We'll go to England in a few days to communicate with them."

Fang Xianming asked, "Okay, but wouldn't this seem too hasty?"

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "No, we just went to ask. It was the Governor of Hong Kong who spoke first, and we just followed suit."

Besides, we have a good relationship with Thatcher, but last year, because of the Sino-British negotiations, I've been avoiding her. Now that she's trying to privatize state-owned enterprises in China, our initiative to go there can be seen as a way to ease tensions.

He was unwilling to get involved in what happened last year, as it involved two of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Now that things are basically settled, he needs to ease tensions with Britain again.
After all, the British government would still control Hong Kong for the next decade or so, and Britain would still have some influence in the world for decades to come. And Thatcher would likely continue to be re-elected until 1992, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
At the same time, some of the UK's state-owned enterprises are not inherently problematic; it's just that government management is too bloated. If they could obtain direct management control, they would be considered decent industries.

Perhaps the return on investment is not as good as building houses in the mainland, but he cannot only invest in real estate. Controlling an industry that affects the livelihood of the British people will often be more valuable to his career than the numbers in his bank account.
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)