In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

After Ma Shimin ended his conversation with Dai Shi, he dialed another phone number without hesitation.

This call was made directly to Lin Haoran's private line at his hotel residence in Chicago.

Taking into account the time zone difference, Hong Kong time is a full 15 hours ahead of Los Angeles time.

Therefore, when Hong Kong was in the sunny noon at around 12 o'clock, Los Angeles was still immersed in the tranquility of around 9 o'clock the previous night.

During this period of time, although it is not yet late at night, most people should have finished their busy day and returned to the hotel or home to rest.

Ma Shimin guessed that his boss Lin Haoran had probably finished his schedule and returned to the hotel.

Sure enough, when Ma Shimin just pressed the dial button, Lin Haoran's voice came from the other end of the phone almost immediately.

Lin Haoran was obviously a little surprised when he received Ma Shimin's call.

According to the established schedule, he originally planned to return to Hong Kong the day after tomorrow.

This morning, he made a special call to Ma Shimin. It was night in Hong Kong at that time. Lin Haoran told Ma Shimin that he wanted to acquire the Hong Kong Telephone Company and cooperate with Motorola.

At this moment, Ma Shimin's phone rang again, making Lin Haoran speculate.

Judging from the time in Los Angeles, only one day had passed, while in Hong Kong only one night and noon had passed.

The time interval is only about 12 hours.

He wondered to himself, could it be that the Hong Kong telephone company had made some progress or had good news?

"Boss, you are really a prophet and your guess is right! Yes, there is indeed news from the Hong Kong Telephone Company, and it is great news!" Ma Shimin said excitedly, and then he told Lin Haoran in detail everything that happened this morning.

After listening to Ma Shimin's report, Lin Haoran was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone, obviously digesting the information.

Then, his voice sounded again, with a hint of smile in his tone: "Mr. Ma, you did a good job on this matter. It was faster and smoother than I thought. Dai Shi is indeed a talent, and his ability is not inferior to Su Zhixue!"

Originally, he was worried that without Su Zhixue to manage the Huanyu Company in Hong Kong, Dai Shi would not be able to handle it alone. But now it seems that he doesn't have to worry about this problem, as Dai Shi is still very reliable.

"Yes, Boss. Mr. Dai and his team have indeed demonstrated extremely high professionalism and excellent operational capabilities in their acquisition of Xiangjiang Telephone. According to the current trend, we are confident that we can achieve our goal of holding 34.9% of the shares within today, and the cost control is also quite good.

Even after achieving this goal, it is expected that there will still be a lot of low-priced stocks available for purchase in the stock market.

Unfortunately, the Securities and Futures Commission has implemented a new policy since the previous month, lowering the threshold for triggering the "Code on Takeovers and Mergers" from 50% to 35%, otherwise we would be happy to take more shares." Ma Shimin said with a hint of regret.

Since Lin Haoran successfully acquired the Hong Kong Land Group and thus indirectly controlled Jardine Matheson, the Securities and Futures Commission responded quickly and announced the amendment of relevant treaties to reduce the merger and acquisition trigger point from the original 50% to 35%.

The intention of this change is obvious, which is to prevent Chinese consortiums from making large-scale forced acquisitions of British companies.

Obviously, the Governor-General's Office has gone to great lengths to safeguard the interests of the British financial consortium.

After listening to Ma Shimin's words, Lin Haoran fell into a brief silence, and then asked: "Is Xiangjiang Telephone Company a listed public utility company?"

"Boss, Hong Kong Telephone Company is not a listed public utility company." Ma Shimin answered without hesitation.

"Then, can we make a full acquisition of it?" Lin Haoran confirmed again.

"Boss, generally speaking, that's true." Ma Shimin responded affirmatively.

Then, Ma Shimin asked back: "Boss, do you want to acquire the Hong Kong Telephone Company?"

Lin Haoran chuckled on the other end of the phone and replied, "I did have this idea temporarily. At first, I thought the situation of Hong Kong Telephone Company was similar to that of Hong Kong Electric Group, and privatization would be more troublesome.

But since it is not a public utility listed company, there are naturally no such restrictions. I am very optimistic about this company. The communications industry is crucial both now and in the future. Although its growth rate may not be as rapid as those industries driven by policies and markets, its stability is unmatched by other industries.

Moreover, communication enterprises often have huge cash flows, just like China Gas Company. Most importantly, Hong Kong Telephone Company currently has a monopoly in Hong Kong, and even if competitors emerge in the future, it will be difficult to easily seize its market share.

Once the full acquisition is successful, Heung Kong Telephone Company will become an important pillar of the Hong Kong Land Group, bringing sustainable and stable income and cash flow to the group."

I have the impression that the Hong Kong Telephone Company once encountered the "Dawn Assault" operation launched by Jardine Matheson Land Development Group in another time and space.

In that operation, Jardine Matheson and Hong Kong Land Group quickly acquired a large number of Hong Kong Telephone shares in the stock market, and eventually successfully held approximately 34.9% of the company's issued shares, becoming the major shareholder and holding company.

However, the good times did not last long. With the bursting of the Hong Kong real estate bubble, the Hong Kong Land Group fell into a debt-ridden predicament due to blind investment, and Jardine Matheson was also implicated.

In order to ease financial pressure and reduce debt, they had to make the difficult decision to sell their shares in Hong Kong Telephone Company.

In the end, this valuable asset fell into the hands of the British Cable & Wireless, which had long been eyeing the Hong Kong Telephone Company.

By 1987, Cable & Wireless merged Hong Kong Telephone Company with Cable & Wireless's other businesses in Hong Kong (such as international telephone and telegraph services) to form Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited, abbreviated as HKT.

At this time, Hong Kong Telephone Company became the fixed-line business department of HKT.

Throughout the 90s, HKT became almost the only integrated telecommunications operator in Hong Kong, covering fixed-line, mobile communications (CSL), international communications and data services, and has always monopolized Hong Kong's communications market.

It was not until the millennium that Li Ka-shing's son's PCCW Holdings acquired Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) for a high price of HK$780 billion. After the merger, the company was renamed PCCW Limited.

These are what Lin Haoran knew about Hong Kong telephone numbers from his previous life.

Now, the market value of Hong Kong Telephone Company is only more than 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, so acquiring it is naturally a very cost-effective thing.

Moreover, as Lin Haoran traveled to this era in Hong Kong, the business world in Hong Kong has undergone tremendous changes.

He single-handedly changed the business landscape of Hong Kong completely.

In this world, when Lin Haoran set his sights on the Hong Kong Telephone Company, it was already destined that the Eastern Telegraph Company had completely lost hope of acquiring the Hong Kong Telephone Company.

As for whether Li Jiacheng's son will have the opportunity to acquire Hong Kong Telephone Company in the future, no one knows. After all, that is a long-term thing. If Lin Haoran feels that Hong Kong Telephone Company is no longer worth holding in the future, it is not impossible to sell it.

However, after acquiring the Hong Kong Telephone Company, Lin Haoran had no plans to sell it within more than ten years.

"The Hong Kong Land Group currently has sufficient funds and the market value of Hong Kong Telephone Company is relatively moderate, so a full acquisition is not impossible. This company is indeed very high-quality, and I very much hope that the Hong Kong Land Group can bring it under its control.

However, if we decide to make a full acquisition, we need to submit detailed full acquisition materials to the Securities Regulatory Commission and fully disclose information to all shareholders, including the specific terms of the offer, the intention of the offeror, and the professional opinions of the financial advisor. This series of procedures is quite cumbersome, and we are not ready yet. " Ma Shimin replied after some thought.

"Actually, I don't care whether or not to carry out a full acquisition, as long as we can increase our shares in Hong Kong Telephone Company as much as possible. The current 34.9% of shares is indeed a little insufficient for me. In my opinion, it would be better to hold more than 50% of the shares. If it can be privatized like the Hong Kong Land Development Group, it would be even more perfect." After a little thought, Lin Haoran expressed his opinion.

"Boss, that's actually easier to do. Triggering the merger agreement is only one step in the acquisition process. Whether the acquisition is successful is also affected by many other factors.

That is to say, even if a takeover offer is triggered, we do not necessarily have to completely privatize the other company. For example, if some major shareholders refuse to sell their shares, this may actually lead to the failure of the takeover.

In this case, our responsibility is relatively reduced. According to the merger agreement, we have the right to launch a compulsory acquisition only when we hold more than 90% of the shares.

The reason why companies like Hongkong Land Group, Ching Chau Cement, and Wan'an Real Estate Company were successfully privatized by you, the boss, is that the proportion of shares you held ultimately exceeded 90%, thereby exercising the right of compulsory acquisition and ultimately achieving complete control over these companies.

Although the Hong Kong Telephone Company is not a public utility, it is still quite special. It is the most important window for Hong Kong to connect with the outside world. So I suggest that even if you initiate a merger and acquisition, you should not think of completely privatizing it. After all, this will involve political factors.

It is best to keep its listing status, so that even if the Governor's Office has opinions, they will not interfere too much! "Ma Shimin gave his opinion.

After listening to Ma Shimin's words, Lin Haoran nodded and said, "Okay, then we will keep Hong Kong Telephone Company listed. As for our shareholding ratio, whether it is 50% or 70%, you can flexibly adjust it according to market conditions and strategic needs. The Hong Kong Land Group now has sufficient funds, so you can go ahead and do it boldly!" (End of this chapter)