In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 393: "Deep Financial Crisis" Spreads Throughout Hong Kong

Moreover, Lin Haoran also believed that with the gradual expansion and improvement of the bodyguard business, it would be no problem to achieve self-sufficiency.

Lin Haoran is very satisfied with the current business conditions.

He originally thought he might need to invest money in the company for a long time, but now it seems that this is not necessary at all.

After a brief exchange with Cui Zilong in the office, Lin Haoran said goodbye to him and left.

Cui Zilong immediately began to prepare to spread the rumors through the black market channels.

It is still early now. Once he spreads these rumors now, the media will be the first to receive the news. In this way, if nothing unexpected happens, all kinds of messages will be seen in tomorrow's newspapers.

Hong Kong is such a small place, it is not difficult to spread this rumor throughout Hong Kong in a short time.

Once these rumors spread in the market, even if the Swire Properties Group sells off dozens of real estate projects, it will not cause too much impact on the Hong Kong real estate market.

More importantly, this will help the Swire Properties Group successfully sell those real estate projects that Lin Haoran is not optimistic about, thereby quickly recovering funds and completely eliminating the burden of debt.

He didn't want the affairs of the Hong Kong Swire Group to lead to a premature real estate crisis in the Hong Kong real estate industry.

In the blink of an eye, a day passed.

The next morning, Lin Haoran woke up from bed.

In the past few days, the cold wave from Siberia has moved south again, so even in Hong Kong, the minimum temperature has dropped to six or seven degrees Celsius.

The heater was on in the bedroom, so Lin Haoran didn't feel cold.

After washing up and changing into some thick clothes, Lin Haoran went downstairs and prepared to eat breakfast while reading the newspaper.

Lin Haoran sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the restaurant, holding a copy of Hong Kong Business Daily in his hand. The headline news was the rumor that he asked Cui Zilong to spread yesterday.

The newspapers used eye-catching headlines and detailed reports to describe the huge debts he had incurred in order to acquire the Hong Kong Land Group. They even listed the specific amounts he had borrowed from Bank of China and Citibank, as well as information learned from relevant bank staff.

Then, Lin Haoran flipped through the Oriental Daily, which objectively and impartially analyzed the rumor, listed in detail various speculations in the market, and reminded readers to maintain rational thinking before official news was confirmed.

At the end of the article, the issue of privatization of the Hong Kong Land Group was cleverly mentioned, vaguely revealing that this rumor may have some impact on the future direction of the group.

This was obviously something Cui Zilong did deliberately. After all, everyone knew that Oriental Daily was wholly owned by Lin Haoran. In everyone's opinion, such reporting method was undoubtedly intended to cover up the truth, but everyone felt that it was making things more obvious.

In contrast, Ming Pao appeared to be more radical, directly quoting "informed sources" as saying that Lin Haoran took risks and borrowed heavily in order to acquire the Hong Kong Land Group, and is now in financial difficulties.

The article also reviews Lin Haoran's past business decisions, arguing that Lin Haoran's acquisition of so many large companies in just over two years was definitely possible because of leverage, and trying to find clues to his radical strategy from history.

The Hong Kong Economic Journal adopted a different strategy, focusing on analyzing the possible impact of the rumors on the Hong Kong real estate market, pointing out whether the large-scale sale of assets by the Hong Kong Land Group would have too much impact on the market if the rumors were true.

At the same time, the newspaper also interviewed several economists and provided a multi-angle interpretation of the privatization of the Hong Kong Land Group and Lin Haoran's personal financial situation.

Putting down the newspaper, Lin Haoran was still very satisfied with Cui Zilong's rumor.

Unexpectedly, just one day later, these newspapers began to report the incident on such a large scale, just as he had imagined.

Under the circumstances, it goes without saying that everyone in Hong Kong will know about this matter today.

At the same time, in the streets and high-rise buildings of Hong Kong, just as Lin Haoran had imagined, citizens were discussing the matter.

In addition to these mainstream newspaper reports, there are even more diverse gossips on the streets.

Some say Lin Haoran has secretly met with executives of several banks to seek emergency loans;
Some people also said that Huifeng Bank and Citibank have begun risk assessments on Lin Haoran's loans and are preparing to take corresponding measures.

What's worse, they fabricated "first-hand information" that Lin Haoran admitted at a private dinner that his cash flow was tight and he had to consider selling his personal assets.

For a time, rumors that Lin Haoran’s capital chain was in danger of breaking spread like wildfire in Hong Kong, and the news that Lin Haoran was “in deep financial crisis” quickly became a hot topic in the city.

In the Lin family villa on Shi Xundao Road, Lin Haoran was flipping through the newspaper with a faint smile on his face.

He knew that although it was difficult to tell whether these reports and rumors were true or false, they were enough to cause an uproar in all walks of life in Hong Kong society.

While I was eating a bowl of seafood and egg rice rolls with plenty of filling, the phone rang from the study on the first floor.

The telephone numbers on the first and third floors are the same, so he can answer the call in time no matter whether he is on the first or third floor.

At this time, it was only about eight o'clock in the morning, so anyone who wanted to find him would know that he should still be at home at this time, so it was not surprising to call him at home. Lin Haoran put down the rice noodle roll that he had eaten most of, wiped the corner of his mouth with a tissue, then stood up from the table and strode into the study.

"Hello, I'm Lin Haoran."

"Hao'er, are you really having financial problems? How about I sell all the properties I own? The value of these properties has increased a lot in the past two years, at least doubled or tripled, which should help you raise tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars.

I should have known that I shouldn't have let you take such an aggressive approach to doing business, so maybe we could have avoided the current predicament..." Lin Wanan's anxious voice was on the other end of the line, and he talked nonstop as soon as the call was connected.

Lin Haoran could even hear Lin Wanan's mother's worried voice on the phone next to him.

Like Lin Haoran, Lin Wanan has a habit of reading the newspaper first thing after getting up every morning.

Therefore, Lin Wanan saw various reports about Lin Haoran early in the morning. As a father, he was naturally extremely anxious.

Lin Haoran's continuous acquisitions in the past two years have far exceeded Lin Wanan's imagination, which has forced Lin Wanan, as a father, to begin to believe the reports in the newspapers.

Lin Haoran didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he was also quite touched. His father Lin Wanan was indeed very kind to him.

Two years ago, after dividing the family property between brothers Lin Haoran and Lin Haoning, Lin Wanan kept a small portion of the property for himself, including a villa in Deep Water Bay, as well as several shops and properties.

At that time, these were worth only about 7 or 8 million Hong Kong dollars at most.

Now, nearly two years have passed, and the value of these properties has nearly tripled.

So Lin Wanan was really able to raise 20 to 30 million Hong Kong dollars.

"Don't worry, Daddy, don't believe those rumors. Don't you think about it, even if I really encounter financial difficulties, how much money can I owe? Five billion? Ten billion? The shares of the Hong Kong Land Development that I hold alone are worth this money, not to mention that I also own Hong Kong Electric Group, Man Tsing Group, China Gas, Kowloon Motor Bus, etc. I want to sell all these companies. Let alone 10 billion, I can even get 20 billion. Don't worry, you and mom just have a good night, and you don't have to worry about me!" Lin Haoran said with a wry smile.

"Are you really okay? Your Hong Kong Electric Group and China Gas Company were not all acquired with loans, right?" Lin Wanan said with some disbelief.

"Don't worry, Daddy, you think too much. I don't have any financial problems at all. Daddy, I understand your concerns, but please believe that I always do things in moderation!" Lin Haoran said again.

After much persuasion, Lin Wanan finally put his worries aside.

Not long after I hung up, the phone rang again.

This time, it was Shen Bi who called.

"Mr. Lin, the news about your 20 billion loan from Huifeng Bank was definitely not spread from our side. Don't worry, I have great confidence in your financial strength!" Shen Bi said as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Don't worry, Mr. Shen Bi. Although I don't know how this news spread, I won't hold you responsible. They can say what they want, and it doesn't cause any loss to me." Lin Haoran replied in a nonchalant tone.

"Mr. Lin, did you really borrow 3 billion or even more funds from Citibank?" Shen Bi changed the subject and asked curiously.

The HK$20 billion that Lin Haoran borrowed from Huifeng Bank was mortgaged with shares of Hong Kong Electric Group, so Shen Bi had no worries about the loan.

But even Shen Bi couldn't avoid being curious about Lin Haoran's situation.

"Mr. Shen Bi, I'm sorry, I can't answer you about business secrets!" Lin Haoran refused.

Although Shen Bi controls a very powerful intelligence agency, his intelligence agency will not be able to investigate matters like how much money was loaned from the bank unless it is revealed voluntarily.

If the truth could really be found out through investigation, the bottom line of the Jianing Group would have been exposed long ago.

Lin Haoran's answer made Shen Bi feel that some of the reports were true.

"Mr. Lin, since you don't want to say it, forget it. I hope you can safely get through this crisis. If you want to sell a company, I can help you find a suitable buyer." Shen Bi replied with a smile.

After hanging up the call with Shen Bi, Lin Haoran thought that was the end and prepared to leave the study.

Unexpectedly, the phone rang again as soon as I put down the receiver.

This time, it was Li Jiacheng who called.

Li Jiacheng asked Lin Haoran if he really encountered financial difficulties. If necessary, he could provide some help. However, as they chatted, Lin Haoran knew Li Jiacheng's purpose. It was clear that he was eyeing the high-quality companies under Lin Haoran.

After hanging up the phone with Li Jiacheng, Lin Haoran received several calls in succession.

(End of this chapter)