In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 202: A big mistake?

"Mr. Lin, what happened today really makes me happy!" Li Ming laughed in the office.

Li Ming must have been feeling resentful as he was forced by Jardine Matheson to give up the China Gas Company.

After all, he never thought of giving up this high-quality company.

What happened in the morning was full of twists and turns. Jardine Matheson was repeatedly slapped in the face. For Li Mingze, he finally vented his anger and his depressed mood finally eased.

"Speaking of which, I also have to thank Jardine Matheson. If they hadn't tried to forcibly acquire China Gas Company, I might not have had the opportunity to take over this company." Lin Haoran also said with a smile.

In fact, it is the forced acquisition by Jardine Matheson that gave Lin Haoran a great opportunity to take over China Gas Company. Otherwise, it would be hard to say whether the acquisition could be successful.

"By the way, Mr. Lin, what did you talk about with Mr. Niu Bijian? I'm very curious." Li Mingze looked at Lin Haoran and asked directly.

Lin Haoran didn't need to hide this matter, and he also had to discuss it with Li Mingze.

So, he said directly: "Mr. Li wanted to threaten me by saying that I actually controlled more than 50% of the shares of China Gas Company and wanted to sell the shares to me at the price they bought from the stock market, but I refused. I can't be such a big victim.

The current price was forced up by Jardine Matheson, and our transaction just happened to be at the stage of signing the contract, so I am planning to discuss with you, Mr. Li, that you keep about 2.9% of the shares for the time being, so that the shares I actually control do not exceed 50%. How about that? I will also find an opportunity to buy these shares later, and I will not let you, Mr. Li, suffer any loss! "

Li Ming holds approximately 13.5% of the shares of China Gas Company and is the original major shareholder of China Gas Company.

If he kept these 2.9% shares, then the shares of China Gas Company controlled by the three companies under Lin Haoran would be exactly 49.9% in total, and Jardine Matheson would have no fault to find.

Moreover, Li Mingze could buy back the shares in his hands at any time. In this case, even if Jardine Matheson bought all the stocks on the stock market, it would not be able to launch a counterattack.

This depends on whether Li Mingze agrees or not.

2.9% of the shares is not much, but based on the total market value of HK$8 million, that is HK$2320 million in funds.

Lin Haoran's proposal of this condition is actually a unilateral breach of contract. It depends on whether Li Mingze minds.

"Okay, I agree to this. However, Mr. Niu Bijian wants you to buy out their shares. I think Mr. Lin needs to think carefully about this.

As a public utility enterprise and a public utility listed company with a monopoly nature, Towngas Company occupies an important position in the economy and people's livelihood. If you acquire up to 40.7% of their shares, you will actually hold more than 90% of the shares of Towngas Company.

At this point, the company must be privatized, and it makes no sense to continue staying on the stock market. The government may review and supervise its privatization based on factors such as public interest to ensure that the public interest is not harmed.

In Hong Kong, public utility listed companies can be privatized in principle, but they have different characteristics from ordinary listed companies.

The privatization of public utilities such as electricity, gas and water may affect the public's basic living services and expenses, so the government will treat related privatization activities with caution.

Therefore, if China Gas Company wants to privatize, it may be subject to supervision by the Hong Kong government and public attention. If you want to acquire their shares, it is best to negotiate with the Securities and Futures Commission to understand the government's opinion before deciding whether to privatize it. "

Li Ming readily agreed and also gave Lin Haoran some constructive advice.

As Li Mingze, who has served as the chairman of China Gas Company for many years, is naturally very clear about these situations.

In addition, for Li Mingze, agreeing to what Lin Haoran proposed is equivalent to making friends with Lin Haoran, and their Li family still holds 2.9% of the shares. Even if they continue to hold these shares in the future, it doesn’t matter, and there will be no loss to the Li family.

Moreover, he knew that he was old, and this young man, Lin Haoran, would definitely become a business tycoon in Hong Kong in the future. He could even be called a tycoon now. If he became friends with Lin Haoran now, it would be beneficial to the Li family in the future.

Li Mingze's frankness also made Lin Haoran feel relieved.

Otherwise, he can only find someone to hold these shares temporarily, which would be more troublesome.

"Thank you for your support, Mr. Li. Thank you very much for your reminder. I will seriously consider the privatization. In this case, let's sign a new share transfer contract and the original one will be invalidated." Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"Okay, let's get it done as soon as possible without further delay. I guess the news about what happened to China Gas Company has spread like wildfire. Mr. Lin will become famous again this time!" Li Ming laughed heartily.

"Excuse me, Mr. Li~"

Half an hour later, the two had signed a new share transfer contract.

After the new contract was signed, Li Mingze was still a shareholder of China Gas Company, but he had changed from a major shareholder to a common shareholder holding only 2.9% of the shares.

"Mr. Lin, since everything has been settled, I will leave first. As you know, I am still responsible for a lot of company affairs." Li Mingze looked at the time and stood up and said.

"Okay, Mr. Li, take care. I will arrange the funds for the four of you as soon as possible, and it will definitely arrive before this afternoon. In addition, I will also reserve a director position for you on the board of directors." Lin Haoran stood up and saw him off.

Li Ming waved his hand and quickly disappeared into the corridor of the office building.

For him, it doesn’t matter whether he is a director or not. If the company does not distribute dividends, the China Gas Company will have little to do with the Li family in the future.

Moreover, since Lin Haoran said that he would buy back his shares later, he didn't think he was lying.

In other words, the 2.9% stake held by the Li family was only temporary. After Li Mingze left the headquarters of China Gas Company, Lin Haoran also came to the place where Chen Shoulin, He Zhenxing and others were meeting.

The meeting is held on the fifth floor, which is the same floor as the chairman’s office, so that senior executives can hold meetings conveniently.

As soon as I walked into the conference room, all the middle and senior management in the room stood up.

"Let's applaud our new chairman, Mr. Lin Haoran, and welcome him to join us!" As the general manager, He Zhenxing took the lead in applauding.

Suddenly, warm applause broke out in the conference room.

There were more than fifty people in the entire conference room, all of whom were middle and senior management from the company headquarters.

In fact, the changes in the senior management of China Gas Company have little impact on the management of the entire company. After all, the management is still the same, only the boss has changed.

Lin Haoran glanced at the loyalty levels of these people. Except for the audit supervisor, the others were okay. The lowest loyalty level was over 70, and the highest was over 80.

This loyalty range is sufficient, so he has no intention of interfering with the management's personnel structure.

As for the audit supervisor, Lin Haoran has already reminded General Manager He Zhenxing, and he will surely give a satisfactory answer.

The cashier is not part of the middle or senior management, so the cashier with very low loyalty was not in the meeting room.

For the general manager, secretly investigating two people is just a simple matter.

Moreover, Lin Haoran has just become the chairman of the company, and He Zhenxing must want to show himself in front of the new boss.

"Thank you everyone. I hope that you will continue to work together to manage the company. This is my greatest expectation for you. As for the rest, I won't say much." Lin Haoran stood in front of everyone and said with a smile.

"Boss, this is the external advertisement we discussed. Please take a look and see if there are any problems." Chen Shoulin handed an A4 paper to Lin Haoran.

The content of the announcement is nothing more than that four original important shareholders of the company, including Li Mingze, have sold all their shares to three companies, namely, Hong Kong Electric Group, Vieux Entrepreneurship Group and Universal Investment Company. From now on, Mr. Lin Haoran will serve as the chairman of China Gas Company, and Mr. Chen Shoulin will serve as the vice chairman of the company.

“Let me change it. I have renegotiated and signed a new contract with Mr. Li Mingze. Mr. Li Mingze will sell 13.5% of the 10.6% shares he holds to Wan’an Group, and will keep the remaining 2.9% shares for himself. At the same time, Mr. Li Mingze will retain his status as a member of the board of directors of China Gas Company.

In other words, the Hong Kong Electric Group, Wan'an Group and Universal Investment Company together hold 49.9% of the shares of China Gas Company!" Lin Haoran told the details of the contract that he had just signed with Li Mingze.

"Okay, boss. I'll change it right away!" Chen Shoulin nodded, took the A4 paper back, and made some modifications.

After Lin Haoran confirmed that the revised announcement was correct, he sent it to newspapers and media such as Oriental Daily, Hong Kong Business Daily, and Hong Kong Economic Daily.

At the same time, TVB and Asia Television also received this announcement information.

Three hours had passed since the farce at nine o'clock in the morning, and in the blink of an eye it was already noon.

When the farce was happening, the press conference held by Jardine Matheson yesterday had already spread throughout Hong Kong through the media.

So, throughout the morning, many citizens were discussing this matter.

More importantly, I feel sorry that this company is about to be transformed from a Chinese-owned enterprise to a British-owned enterprise.

However, everyone knows that this is normal business competition and there is nothing we can do about it.

However, at noon, many people were surprised to see shocking news while watching the midday news on TVB.

"Urgent interrupt to broadcast a piece of news that our station has just received. China Gas Company sent a letter to our station ten minutes ago, announcing that Mr. Li Mingze, the former chairman of China Gas Company, has officially resigned from the position of chairman, and Mr. Lam Ho Yin, chairman of Hong Kong Electric Group, has officially assumed the position of chairman of China Gas Company. The following is a detailed report..."

This news was immediately transmitted to the audience through the numerous television sets in Hong Kong.

"What? Wasn't the China Gas Company acquired by Jardine Matheson?"

"A polar reversal? Did Jardine Matheson make a big mistake?"

"It is great that the China Gas Company has not been acquired by a British company."

"Jardine Matheson has now become a clown. I thought that the China Gas Company was really acquired by him, but it turned out to be a clown."

"Mr. Lin Haoran did a great job this time. I was depressed all morning and now I can finally laugh out loud."

"Who says it's not true? I have always supported the rise of Chinese-funded enterprises. I hate those foreigners who like to look down on others. After reading the news, I was planning to replace the gas water heater at home with an electric water heater. Now, I won't change it. They are all Chinese-funded enterprises anyway."

……

For a moment, the whole of Hong Kong was shocked by this sudden news, and people were talking about this dramatic change.

(End of this chapter)