In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire
Chapter 457: Panic Simon Keswick
On the TV screen, Lin Haoran held the photo and continued speaking with an expressionless face.
“At first, when newspapers such as Sing Tao Daily, Huaqiao Daily and Gongshang Daily began to guide public opinion, I mistakenly thought they were just pursuing public attention and newspaper sales.
However, when I accidentally obtained these three crucial photos, I suddenly realized that there was a huge conspiracy behind all this.
How could there be so many coincidences in this world? The top executives of these newspapers happened to have met with the top executives of Jardine Matheson during this period of time, and they all received a box of cash.
I think that by now the audience in front of the TV should have understood the truth behind this sudden real estate crisis in Hong Kong.
I must admit that in the process of acquiring the Hong Kong Land Group and Jardine Matheson, I did touch upon the interests of the wealthy people behind Jardine Matheson, but this was entirely based on normal business competition and operations.
However, in order to retaliate against me, Jardine Matheson Bank was willing to drag down the entire Hong Kong real estate market, which I had never expected!
This reminds me of the incident half a year ago when Fortress Electrical Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Electric Group, was falsely accused by Jardine Matheson's Jardine House and the Hong Kong Times, and they even colluded with the police.
Today, such tactics are being used again, which makes me deeply worried about Hong Kong's business environment. What I long for is a fair, just and open business environment.
Even in a fiercely competitive market, I hope to see a head-on confrontation rather than petty moves and conspiracies behind the scenes. Therefore, I implore the Governor's Office to stand up and seek justice and fairness for me!
At the same time, I also hope that Hong Kong's media can have more truthful reports and less false news, and work together to spread positive energy and contribute to Hong Kong's development!
Today is New Year's Day, and TVB Jade Channel is about to present a wonderful New Year's Day Gala. This is the end of my speech today, Lin Haoran, as I don't want to delay everyone from enjoying the wonderful show that follows.
Here, I sincerely wish every friend in front of the TV to be better and better in the new year, with a prosperous career and a harmonious and happy family! "
After saying this, Lin Haoran bowed gently to the audience in front of the TV with sincerity, expressing his deepest blessings.
He then left the live studio and handed the scene back to the TV station.
I looked at the time and it took about ten minutes.
Next, Jade Channel naturally returned to the official program, and the Jade Channel’s New Year’s Eve Party officially began.
After finishing the live broadcast, Lin Haoran went straight back to the chairman's office.
Run Run Shaw had already been following his entire speech.
Seeing Lin Haoran pushing the door open, Shao Yifu personally stood up to greet him, his eyes full of admiration.
"Haoran, among all the Chinese entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, you are the most outspoken one. You even dare to challenge the British financial group directly. It's really admirable!" Run Run Shaw said with emotion.
This is indeed what Run Run Shaw sincerely admires.
In Hong Kong, due to the favoritism of the Governor-General's Office, the British seemed to be naturally superior, while the Chinese were often regarded as second-class citizens.
Even an entrepreneur in a high position like Run Run Shaw did not dare to easily make enemies with the British tycoons who were also from the top financial groups.
Therefore, Chinese entrepreneurs in Hong Kong often choose to maintain peace and avoid unnecessary conflicts.
However, the truth hidden behind this is nothing but the helplessness and compromise of Chinese entrepreneurs.
They had to choose to act cautiously because those British tycoons were backed by the Governor's Office, and if they were offended, the consequences would be disastrous.
The reason why Bao Yugang was able to successfully take over Wharf Holdings under the nose of Jardine Matheson was that he not only had the strong support of HSBC, but more importantly, Bao Yugang himself had already become a British citizen.
This gave him a certain advantage in his competition with Jardine Matheson, so he was not afraid of Jardine Matheson.
This is indeed a special case.
However, others do not have such conditions.
Apart from Bao Yugang, who else would dare to confront the British financial group head-on again and again like Lin Haoran did?
It can be said that there is hardly any other person like this in Hong Kong.
This is not the first time.
Last time, Lin Haoran forced the boss of Jardine Matheson, Niu Bijian, to make a public apology in front of the people of Hong Kong in front of TV.
This undoubtedly won a rare and historic victory for Chinese entrepreneurs.
Now, such a thing may happen again.
Moreover, the impact this time will definitely be greater.
Lin Haoran's live broadcast speech was like a bombshell, causing uproar in all walks of life in Hong Kong.
Those citizens who were originally worried about the real estate market regained their confidence in Hong Kong's real estate industry because of Lin Haoran's speech.
The media industry has fallen into an unprecedented crisis of trust. In a villa on the top of Victoria Peak, Simon Keswick, the current boss of Jardine Matheson, had just hung up the phone with Bob Fuda and his face was livid.
Just now on the phone, he scolded Bao Fuda. If he hadn't done a bad job, how could this matter have been leaked?
But what’s the point of scolding your subordinates?
They were disrupting the Hong Kong real estate market and trying to make Lin Haoran take the blame. This was indeed a revenge action carefully planned by their family.
Their goal was clear, which was to severely strike a blow to Lin Haoran, their Chinese opponent who had caused them heavy losses, making him a target of public criticism in the Hong Kong real estate industry and causing his influence to plummet.
They were thinking to themselves, since Jardine Matheson was about to leave Hong Kong and the Swire Group no longer had any relationship with them, then what did the rise and fall of Hong Kong's real estate industry have to do with them?
They had thought that the plan, which was being carried out so secretly, would be foolproof, as it involved contacting several media executives secretly through the Atlantic Café controlled by their Keswick family.
However, what they never expected was that although Bao Fuda acted cautiously, he neglected a key detail - the window of the cafe was not closed!
This negligence resulted in their conspiracy being secretly photographed by passers-by, which became the key evidence to reveal the truth later.
This unexpected omission completely disrupted their plans.
They originally thought that they could carry out revenge quietly, but the result was counterproductive. Not only did Lin Haoran notice the crisis in time, but their conspiracy was also made public through live TV, causing an uproar in all sectors of society.
Simon Keswick held the glass tightly in his hand, the wine swirling gently in the glass, but not even a drop of it touched his lips.
He looked through the floor-to-ceiling window at the night view of Hong Kong with dim lights in the distance, but his heart was filled with gloom.
He had realized that this action not only failed to strike the desired blow against Lin Haoran, but instead caused the reputation of Jardine Matheson to plummet and become the target of public criticism.
Jardine Matheson denies this? We are not fools.
"We underestimated him. We underestimated this young man." Simon Keswick's deep voice echoed in the empty villa.
At this moment, although he could not predict how this matter would eventually evolve, he knew in his heart that the consequences would be very serious.
Although Jardine Matheson's business in Hong Kong currently accounts for less than 10% and most of its business has been transferred overseas, it still owns a number of important commercial buildings in Hong Kong as well as the securities industry giant Jardine Matheson Securities.
Therefore, for Simon Keswick, even though his focus is no longer in Hong Kong, he dare not relax at all.
This incident not only touched the sensitive nerves of Hong Kong's business community, but also unexpectedly involved the Governor's Office, making the situation even more complicated and difficult.
Everyone knows that today's auction of government land has caused heavy losses to the Governor's Office.
When the news of the auction of government land came out, Simon Keswick knew about it.
But at that time he didn't know that the news that he was the mastermind had already been known by Lin Haoran, so he behaved very calmly at that time.
As long as no one knows about it, even if the Governor's Office suffers heavy losses, what does it have to do with their Jardine Matheson Company?
But now, the news that Jardine Matheson was the mastermind has spread.
Simon Keswick was well aware that if the matter was not handled properly, it would not only damage Jardine Matheson's remaining interests in Hong Kong, but could also trigger wider social and political turmoil.
Therefore, he had to deal with the current situation more cautiously. He had to protect Jardine Matheson's assets in Hong Kong from loss, and try his best to calm the anger of the outside world, especially to ease the relationship with the Governor-General's Office, so as not to bring unnecessary trouble to his overseas business.
As a British-owned enterprise, although Jardine Matheson is located in Hong Kong, its heart is in the UK.
The Governor's Office was also under British control.
It can be said that this incident involving Jardine Matheson was a slap in the face to Britain.
In this way, even if they want to move out of Hong Kong and move their headquarters to London, it will be an embarrassing thing.
Thinking of this, Simon Keswick felt panicky and quickly picked up the phone again and dialed the number of his elder brother Henry Keswick who was far away in England.
Fortunately, it was afternoon in England, and Henry Keswick quickly answered the phone.
Simon Keswick reported to Henry Keswick everything that had just happened, including Lin Haoran's speech on the live TV and the serious consequences he foresaw.
After finishing the report, he waited nervously, hoping to get a good solution to the current predicament from his eldest brother Henry Keswick.
Henry Keswick, a man who had experienced many ups and downs in the business world and brought Jardine Matheson to its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, his rich experience and keen judgment might really help Jardine Matheson break out.
On the other end of the line, Henry Keswick fell into a brief silence, as if he was carefully weighing every possible course of action. (End of this chapter)
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