In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

"Mr. Niu Bijian, I have thought about it. I can promise you that I will not continue to increase my stake in Jardine Matheson, nor will I compete for the position of headmaster. But I want you to promise me that I need the position of vice chairman of the board of directors. This is not a high request, right? After all, I am also the largest shareholder of Jardine Matheson!" Lin Haoran said with a smile.

The position of vice chairman of the board of directors is actually not very important to Lin Haoran.

His ultimate goal was to use the Jardine Matheson Group to control Jardine Matheson.

Today, making such a request is nothing more than a cover-up.

In fact, the boss of Jardine Matheson is commonly known as the chairman of the board of directors.

This "taiban" is just the traditional name for British-owned enterprises.

For example, Shen Bi, the boss of Huifeng Bank, is actually the chairman of the board of directors of Huifeng Bank.

Now, Lin Haoran asked to be the vice chairman of the board of directors, which is actually equivalent to the deputy boss of Jardine Matheson, or the second in command!

"Mr. Lin, your request is a bit too much. It makes it difficult for me to do it!" Niu Bijian frowned and said dissatisfiedly.

The vice chairman of the board of directors is actually equivalent to the second-in-command of Jardine Matheson.

Niu Bijian was really reluctant to give up such an important position.

The current vice chairman of the board of directors of Jardine Matheson is also the general manager of Jardine Matheson. This general manager is a close confidant of Niu Bijian and an important member of the leadership team led by him.

What does it mean once the position of vice chairman of the board of directors is given to Lin Haoran?
This means that his control over Jardine Matheson has been weakened.

This is something Niu Bijian doesn't want to see.

"Mr. Niu Bijian, don't you know me yet? What I pursue is just a false reputation. You also know that I own many listed companies, such as Hong Kong Electric Group, Kowloon Motor Bus, Ching Chau Cement and China Gas Company.

Although I hold important positions in these companies, people who know me understand that I rarely interfere in the specific affairs of these companies. Take the Hong Kong Electric Group for example. I am the chairman, but it is already very good for me to go there two or three times a week, and each time I go I just take a look.

I prefer to hand over the decision-making power to those professional managers, because I firmly believe that their management ability is far better than mine. The same is true for Jardine Matheson. Even if I am lucky enough to become the vice chairman of its board of directors, I will not be too involved in daily management. "Lin Haoran said with a smile.

At this moment, he has already shaped himself into an image where fame comes first.

In fact, he doesn't need to shape it himself. People who are familiar with him know that he really doesn't like to interfere in the company's affairs personally.

Therefore, what Lin Haoran said was very convincing.

"Mr. Lin, can you promise that you will not interfere in the management of the company?" Niu Bijian asked after a moment's silence.

"Of course, I know my own capabilities. I actually think I am not suitable for managing a company, so I have always been an investor rather than a manager!" Lin Haoran replied with a smile.

He can promise that he will not interfere in the company, but he cannot guarantee that he will find someone to replace Niu Bijian in the future!
To be honest, Niu Bijian must have had some outstanding qualities to be able to become the head of Jardine Matheson.

But in Lin Haoran's eyes, the ability to turn the wall around is still insufficient.

After all, it was during the period of Twisted Edge that Jardine Matheson was surpassed by Bank of Hong Kong.

In addition, the blind expansion and development of the Swire Properties Group in the next two years also received the support of Niu Bijian. Lin Haoran also felt that Niu Bijian should be responsible for this responsibility.

Therefore, if he succeeds in using the Hutchison Whampoa Group to indirectly control Jardine Matheson, he will kick out Niu Bijian in the future and find someone else to manage Jardine Matheson.

Moreover, this successor must listen to him.

Just like Burton, Chen Shoulin, Cui Zilong, Su Zhixue and others now, they are all people who know the times and listen to him very much.

As a boss, if his subordinates are disobedient, what is the point of having such subordinates?

Of course, although Lin Haoran requires his subordinates to be obedient, he also knows his management abilities, so he will not easily interfere in the management of the company.

Unless it involves something he knows, such as he knows that the Hong Kong real estate bubble will soon come, which his subordinates cannot possibly know, he will interfere.

"Mr. Lin, can you guarantee it at the board meeting?" Niu Bijian continued to ask.

What he was most worried about was that Lin Haoran would interfere too much.

Just like now, he was fed up with Henry Keswick's excessive interference in Jardine Matheson.

Although Henry Keswick usually stays in the UK, there are people from the Keswick family among the senior management. Basically, if there are some decisions that Henry Keswick is not satisfied with, his people will jump out to stop them.

The vice chairman of the board of directors is a very important position. Although bringing Lin Haoran into the senior management can indirectly reduce Henry Keswick's power in Jardine Matheson, he is not willing to see Lin Haoran often jump out to oppose him.

What he wanted was to make Henry Keswick and Lin Haoran hostile to each other and achieve a balance.

It would be useless for Lin Haoran to promise him privately, but if Lin Haoran could make a promise at the board meeting, he wouldn't have to worry about Lin Haoran going back on his word. "Okay, I can promise at the board meeting that I will not directly participate in the management of Jardine Matheson, and I can also promise not to continue to increase my stake in Jardine Matheson!" Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"If Mr. Lin agrees, I can go back and discuss this matter with other senior executives of Jardine Matheson or even Mr. Shen Bi. I can't make a decision at the moment. The position of vice chairman of the board of directors is too important and I can't agree to it easily!" Niu Bijian continued.

"Of course, I can wait for Mr. Niu Bijian's reply. There is no rush!" Lin Haoran nodded.

"Then let's end our chat today. If you have nothing else, Mr. Lin, please go back first. I will deal with this matter as soon as possible and give you a reply as soon as possible!" Niu Bijian stood up and ordered him to leave.

This matter is too important, and Niu Bijian needs to discuss it with his staff before making a final decision.

Lin Haoran stood up indifferently and said to Niu Bijian with a smile: "Mr. Niu Bijian, I will go back first. I look forward to your reply!"

From the conversation with Niu Bijian, Lin Haoran already knew that at least the government would not intervene.

This way, he would have no worries.

By the time the future government steps in, it will be too late.

However, judging from Niu Bijian's reaction, it should come as no surprise that he was appointed as the vice chairman of Jardine Matheson.

As long as he serves as the vice chairman of Jardine Matheson, even if he does not directly participate in the company's management, he can still push the mutual control plan between Jardine Matheson and Hutchison Whampoa Group to proceed at a faster pace.

The most important thing is that after he becomes the vice chairman, nothing can be hidden from him about Jardine Matheson and the Hong Kong Land Group.

In that way, in his eyes, there would be no secrets about Jardine Matheson.

Niu Bijian didn't know at this moment that Lin Haoran had originally planned to give up control of Jardine Matheson.

However, because of his greed for power, Lin Haoran once again had the idea of ​​taking over Jardine Matheson.

After saying goodbye to Niu Bijian, Lin Haoran left the Jardine House and went to the headquarters of Hong Kong Electric Group.

At present, he does not need to take any action for Jardine Matheson or even the Hong Kong Land Group, but just needs to wait and see.

It would be best if we could acquire Jardine Matheson.

Although in Lin Haoran's opinion, the value of Jardine Matheson is far less than that of the Hutchison Whampoa Group.

But Jardine Matheson also has many advantages.

Even if it loses Wharf Holdings, or even potentially loses Hong Kong Land Development in the future, Jardine Matheson will still maintain its core competitiveness as a high-quality enterprise.

Its business areas are extensive, not only covering multiple industries such as retail, real estate, finance, shipping, and construction, but also constantly expanding into new areas.

This diversified business structure enables Jardine Matheson to respond flexibly to various market risks and ensure stable profitability in different economic environments.

It is particularly worth mentioning that over the past two decades, Jardine Matheson’s internationalization strategy has been implemented quite successfully.

Compared with those companies that are still confined to a certain region, Jardine Matheson has successfully transformed into a truly international company.

For example, although the Bank of Hong Kong has become the leader in Hong Kong's business community, its internationalization path is not very smooth. The vast majority of its profits still rely on Hong Kong. Therefore, the Bank of Hong Kong can only be regarded as a regional enterprise at most. In terms of internationalization, the gap between it and Jardine Matheson is very large.

Jardine Matheson has made in-depth layouts around the world, which not only enhanced its competitiveness in the global market, but also brought it many opportunities, such as the booming foreign trade business.

Through its global layout, Jardine Matheson can better utilize global resources, expand international markets and enhance its brand influence.

At the same time, this internationalization strategy also enables Jardine Matheson to better respond to changes in the global economic environment and maintain its long-term stable development momentum.

Therefore, it can be said that Jardine Matheson's internationalization path is one of the important guarantees for it to maintain its status as a high-quality enterprise.

This is also the reason why Lin Haoran values ​​Jardine Matheson.

Lin Haoran basically stayed in the Hong Kong Electric Group throughout the afternoon and chatted with Chen Shoulin about the current situation of the Hong Kong Electric Group and its development plans for the next few months.

At around five o'clock in the afternoon, when Lin Haoran was about to leave the Hong Kong Electric Group headquarters, his pager began to buzz.

After looking at the number, he remembered it very well. It was Niu Bijian's work phone number.

Could it be that the other party has made a decision so quickly?
Out of curiosity, Lin Haoran called Niu Bijian.

"Mr. Lin, I have discussed this with many senior executives and personally went to Huifeng Bank to discuss this matter with Mr. Shen Bi. We have agreed to your request to become the vice chairman of the board of directors of Jardine Matheson, and we will support you at the board meeting. Even if Mr. Henry Keswick objects, this matter should be passed!" Niu Bijian replied directly on the phone. (End of this chapter)