In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

In a private room of a high-end private restaurant near Kangle Building, Lin Haoran and Niu Bijian were sitting opposite each other.

Each of them has his own thoughts, but they appear to be in harmony on the surface.

"Boss, do you have any opinions on Jardine Matheson's development plan?" Niu Bijian wiped his hands with a wet tissue and asked before the dishes were served.

In the afternoon, Lin Haoran not only looked at the project development plan of the Hong Kong Land Group for the next few months, but also looked at that of Jardine Matheson.

However, unlike the Jardine Matheson Group, Jardine Matheson's development is more inclined towards overseas investment!

In fact, by the 1970s, Jardine Matheson's overseas assets accounted for more than 60%.

In other words, Jardine Matheson's assets in Hong Kong now amount to less than 40%!

The reason, of course, was the same as that of other British companies. They were worried about the future and did not have full confidence. They gradually transferred the assets of Jardine Matheson at one time, and gradually developed from a local British company whose main business was almost all in Hong Kong into a truly multinational group.

In terms of internationalization, Jardine Matheson is indeed much ahead of Bank of Hong Kong.

For example, the Davis Company in Hawaii, the Leris Company in South Africa, the Henry Wolf Company in Singapore, the Madison Company in London, the Middle East Transport and Trading Company in Liberia, etc.

Years of overseas investment have made Jardine Matheson much more well-known overseas than Bank of Hong Kong.

However, although Jardine Matheson's investments and acquisitions from all over the world seem to be quite successful at present, Lin Haoran also knows that it will eventually pay a heavy price for it.

In the end, many overseas holding companies were basically sold off.

“For the development of Jardine Matheson, you can develop it according to your plan for the time being. I will not interfere too much. However, I have my own considerations for the Hong Kong Land Group. So, as the interim executive director of the Hong Kong Land Group, the purpose is not for you to spend too much energy here to develop the Hong Kong Land Group.

My purpose is very simple, you just need to maintain the current stable situation of the Landmark Group and make it operate normally. "Lin Haoran said with a smile.

Jardine Matheson, as a company mainly engaged in overseas investment, did not intend to intervene too much in the company's operations before Lin Haoran decided to replace Niu Bijian.

He naturally understood that a professional manager like Niu Bijian, who had a strong desire for power, would be dissatisfied if he interfered too much in his operations.

The current development trend of Jardine Matheson is stable, so there is really no need for excessive intervention.

However, Lin Haoran has a different view on the Jardine Matheson Group.

He believes that the development blueprint planned by Niu Bijian and Bao Fuda is essentially just an endless expansion plan.

If there is no real estate bubble in the Hong Kong market in the future, these plans may still be able to be maintained.

But Lin Haoran knew in his heart that it would be less than two years before the next real estate bubble burst.

Therefore, in this context, continuing to implement such an aggressive expansion plan would undoubtedly be digging one's own grave.

Naturally, Lin Haoran did not want to see Niu Bijian continue to implement this unrealistic development strategy.

"Boss, do you mean that all development plans of our Jardine Matheson Group for the next few months will be suspended?" Niu Bijian asked with a look of surprise.

You know, many of these projects have gone through long preliminary negotiations by the Swire Group, and even he and Bao Fuda have devoted a lot of effort and conducted in-depth discussions on each project.

If the cooperation process is suddenly interrupted now, all their previous efforts will be wasted, wasting time and energy.

Although these projects have not started yet and there would be no loss even if they were interrupted, Niu Bijian still feels it is a great pity.

"Yes, Mr. Niu Bijian, I think I have communicated with you before. You should still remember that I will keep you as the head of Jardine Matheson, but I have my own arrangements for the Hong Kong Land Group, so you don't need to worry too much.

You just need to continue to manage Jardine Matheson well, and I will be very satisfied. Jardine Matheson really cannot do without you, and I hope you will not let me down. If Jardine Matheson can develop better, you also know my character, I am not willing to interfere too much.

In addition, it is difficult for you to manage both Jardine Matheson and Hong Kong Land Group, so I will find a successor to the head of Hong Kong Land Group as soon as possible. Hong Kong Land Group will not trouble you for too long!" Lin Haoran responded with a smile.

After hearing Lin Haoran's words, Niu Bijian nodded, still feeling a little unwilling in his heart.

As the boss of Jardine Matheson, he used to be in charge of the Jardine Matheson Group.

But now, the Swire Group has nothing to do with him anymore. Even though he still serves as an executive director of Jardine Matheson, it is only temporary.

But no matter how unwilling you are, so what?

Compared with Bao Fuda who was directly forced to resign, his ending was considered good. At least he still retained his position as the head of Jardine Matheson, and he was still one of the top bosses in Hong Kong's business community.

The two had an in-depth conversation in the box for a long time, and the dinner slowly came to an end around nine o'clock in the evening. Through this exchange, Lin Haoran had a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Jardine Matheson.

Although he had read a lot of information in the afternoon, most of it focused on the Jardine Matheson Group.

In his opinion, the potential value of the Hong Kong Land Group is much higher than that of Jardine Matheson, at least more than twice as much.

In the future, as Hong Kong's real estate market continues to heat up, the skyrocketing housing prices will further highlight the value of the Hong Kong Land Group, making the gap between it and Jardine Matheson more obvious.

After watching Niu Bijian drive away, Lin Haoran said to Li Weidong, "Drive back."

"Good boss!"

In the blink of an eye, a night passed.

Throughout the whole day, the news that Lin Haoran had taken over the Hong Kong Land Group and Jardine Matheson had already caused a sensation throughout Hong Kong, and even many countries in Southeast Asia had received the news.

Jardine Matheson is definitely very well-known in Southeast Asia. Now such a powerful British company has been acquired by Lin Haoran, which is indeed beyond the expectations of many people.

In the evening, Jade Channel and Rediffusion TV both reported the incident in more detail.

By the next morning, more details were reported by major newspapers and media.

That morning, the chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission, Mai Si, accepted a joint interview from more than a dozen mainstream media outlets.

Mainly, everyone wants to know what the government’s attitude towards this matter is.

And Max’s answer is also very interesting.

"Mr. Lin Haoran's acquisition behavior is completely legal and compliant, but this process also exposes the deficiencies in Hong Kong's securities legal system. Therefore, I decided to take action and make an important suggestion to the Legislative Council," Mai Si solemnly announced in the interview. "At present, Hong Kong's listed companies do not need to make a general acquisition offer to shareholders before absorbing 50% of the shares. This ratio is obviously too high. I think it is more reasonable to lower this trigger point to 35%."

If the trigger point is set at 35%, Mr. Lin Haoran will not be able to quietly acquire more than 40% of the shares, and it will be less likely that the Hong Kong Land Group and Jardine Matheson will fall into his control so easily.

This is because, if after the shareholding is changed to 35%, Lin Haoran still secretly acquires shares to reach 35% and does not announce a full acquisition, then the CSRC can completely rule that Lin Haoran's acquisition is illegal.

Max's decision was naturally intended to safeguard the interests of the British financial consortium.

However, even if the rules are changed in the future, it will not matter much to Lin Haoran.

After all, he now successfully controls a number of British companies and knows the importance of being content.

More importantly, after acquiring a series of companies in Hong Kong, Lin Haoran has deeply realized that it is time to turn his attention to the broader world stage.

Although Hong Kong has great development potential, it is ultimately just a small pond and cannot accommodate his greater ambitions.

He will never be satisfied with the limitations of this small pond, but will break out of it, step into a broader world, and pursue a more glorious future.

Jardine Matheson has already become internationalized. With Lin Haoran's current controlling stake in Jardine Matheson, it is equivalent to him also owning an international enterprise.

However, deep down, he actually did not think highly of the companies that Jardine Matheson had acquired in various countries around the world.

The reason is very simple, because none of these companies is a well-known company. Lin Haoran knows without thinking too much that these foreign companies have very limited future prospects.

Therefore, this is why he is more interested in the Hutchison Whampoa Group and less interested in Jardine Matheson.

At this moment, there were more than a dozen newspapers in front of Lin Haoran.

He had already read seven or eight copies, all of which were mainstream newspapers in Hong Kong. All of the newspapers reported the news of his acquisition of the Hong Kong Land Group and his counter-control of Jardine Matheson & Co. in different ways. Even Lin Haoran felt that each article was well written.

However, the newspaper in his hand at this moment made Lin Haoran very interested.

This is the Hong Kong Business Daily, one of the mainstream newspapers in Hong Kong, and its sales volume has consistently ranked among the top five.

Today's "Hong Kong Business Daily" not only published the breaking news that Lin Haoran took over the Hong Kong Land Group and took back control of Jardine Matheson, but also conducted a unique and in-depth report on Lin Haoran personally.

The report covers Lin Haoran's rise, his feud with Jardine Matheson, and his legendary experience as the first British acquisitionist.

What is particularly eye-catching is that an article titled "Hong Kong's richest man changes, the business landscape is reshaped, and Lin Haoran is recognized as the richest man!" in the center of the front page is particularly eye-catching.

The article lists in detail the estimated market value of all the companies currently controlled by Lin Haoran. The calculation result is jaw-dropping, and one can't help but sigh at the huge wealth. (End of this chapter)