In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Just as Ma Shimin had received the news, Jardine Matheson held a farewell ceremony in front of all the media in Hong Kong that day.

The farewell ceremony was attended by many foreign tycoons, including Mr. Stephen Simpson, the boss of Bank of England, Mr. Joseph Swire, Mr. John Madden of Wheelock & Co., and Mr. Lawrence Kadoorie of China Light and Power Company.

What was surprising was that no Chinese business leader attended, not even Governor General Murray MacLehose.

Obviously, Jardine Matheson did not invite these people, or some people would not attend even if they were invited, such as Governor MacLehose.

As for Lin Haoran, the mortal enemy of Jardine Matheson & Co., it was even less likely that he would be invited.

Of course, Lin Haoran also disdained to attend their farewell ceremony.

Ever since they wanted to take revenge on Lin Haoran, Lin Haoran had lost all feelings towards Jardine Matheson & Co. Even a clay Buddha would have some temper, let alone a human being.

To him, the withdrawal of Jardine Matheson was nothing more than the disappearance of a business rival.

It is said that at the farewell party, Henry Keswick touted the many contributions of Jardine Matheson to Hong Kong, as if their withdrawal had become an irreparable loss to Hong Kong.

Lin Haoran, who is seen as a key figure who indirectly pushed Jardine Matheson to leave, has been unreasonably accused of being a "sinner" by some voices.

Lin Haoran had long been accustomed to Jardine Matheson's usual style and ignored them completely.

Since the company was about to move out of Hong Kong, he didn't bother to pay too much attention to it.

No matter how much they throw dirty water on him, it cannot change Lin Haoran's current status in Hong Kong's business community.

The complete withdrawal of Jardine Matheson from Hong Kong has once again plunged the entire Hong Kong into heated discussion.

Jardine Matheson was founded in 1832 and has a history of 149 years.

Although it was first founded in Guangzhou, it truly became a business leader in Hong Kong.

Jardine Matheson played a vital role in the early development of Hong Kong, and there is a saying that "Jardine Matheson existed before Hong Kong".

It can be said that Jardine Matheson is the founder of Hong Kong's economy and trade, and the promoter of infrastructure and urban construction!
As a microcosm of the development of capitalism in Hong Kong, Jardine Matheson is both an engine of globalization and modernization and a complex symbol of colonial heritage.

Its changing role reflects Hong Kong's transformation from a colonial port to an international city.

Over the years, Jardine Matheson has played an extremely important role in promoting Hong Kong to become an international trade center, participating in modernization construction, and integrating into the global economic system.

Of course, where there is a positive side, there is naturally a negative side.

As a representative of colonial capital, Jardine Matheson has long monopolized resources and exacerbated social inequality. Its historical original sins, such as the opium trade, are difficult to avoid.

The decline of Jardine Matheson was like a sudden storm that swept across the entire Hong Kong business community and touched the hearts of countless people.

Those who had grown up under its shadow or had close ties with it all sighed.

The older generation recalls the former glory of Jardine Matheson and the stories about how it led Hong Kong to prosperity, but in the blink of an eye, everything has become a thing of the past.

For the younger generation, the departure of Jardine Matheson means more of the end of an era.

The escape of Jardine Matheson represents the complete decline of British financial groups in Hong Kong and the complete rise of Chinese enterprises!

Some people lament the ruthlessness of business competition, while others see hope in the rise of emerging forces.

Therefore, the older generation of Hong Kong people have very complicated feelings towards Jardine Matheson.

During its heyday, Jardine Matheson was almost an integral part of our lives.

Now, in less than three years, this giant that was once at its peak has collapsed and fallen from the top of the mountain to halfway down the mountain.

First, they lost Wharf, which dealt them a serious blow.

Before and after that, it lost the Hong Kong Land Group and most of its major subsidiaries in Hong Kong one after another.

Now, even Jardine Matheson Securities has been brought down.

How can this not make people feel deeply moved!

Moreover, apart from Hutchison Whampoa, all of Jardine Matheson's subsequent failures were related to Lin Haoran.

Even Wharf Holdings was a business that Lin Haoran had participated in. If he had not secretly bought up a large number of Wharf Holdings shares and then suddenly sold them to Bao Yugang, making Bao Yugang's advantage more obvious, even if Wharf Holdings was eventually acquired, it would not have been taken over by Bao Yugang so quickly in early 1979.

In the world before Lin Haoran traveled here, Bao Yugang finally succeeded in acquiring Hutchison Whampoa after June 1980.

As a result, a saying spread among the people of Hong Kong: It is better to provoke seven points of anger from the King of Hell than to add three points of obstruction to Haoran.

In a blink of an eye, the time came to May 1rd.

In the morning, as soon as Lin Haoran got up, he clearly felt that the temperature today was much colder than yesterday morning.

He stretched himself, put on a coat, and walked to the wall to check the calendar. It turned out that today was the Great Cold. He turned on the radio and the host was reporting the news that the Siberian cold wave had reached Hong Kong today.

The temperature was close to 20 degrees Celsius yesterday morning, but it dropped sharply to about 10 degrees this morning. Such a temperature difference is naturally very obvious to the human body.

Walking out onto the terrace, Lin Haoran could feel the howling of the north wind and the gloomy sky.

Most of the villas in the Mid-Levels and Peak areas face north, and the villas on Severn Road are no exception. After all, the design of these villas is mainly to show the magnificent scenery on both sides of Victoria Harbour, which is their main selling point.

It has been several days since Jardine Matheson withdrew from Hong Kong, leaving behind only a relatively small subsidiary to manage the remaining local assets.

As for the senior management of Jardine Matheson, they have all evacuated to London, England.

As time goes by, the few remaining industries of Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong will gradually fade out of people's sight, its glorious history in the past may only be mentioned occasionally, and its influence in Hong Kong will inevitably gradually disappear.

Of course, as the saying goes, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Although Jardine Matheson has lost most of its industries in Hong Kong, they already own more than 70% of their industries overseas. Therefore, the strength of Jardine Matheson cannot be underestimated today.

Otherwise, the Rothschild family would not have set their sights on Jardine Matheson.

Even without its Hong Kong businesses, Jardine Matheson would still be a company with international influence.

There are fewer and fewer reports about Jardine Matheson in newspapers.

All the businesses have moved away, so even if citizens are discussing this, it won’t last long.

During this period, major news media reported almost everything that happened at Jardine Matheson from its founding to the present day.

Next, we won’t be able to dig out much news that can attract everyone’s attention even if we continue reporting.

Putting down the newspaper in his hand and glancing at the almost finished breakfast on the table, Lin Haoran wiped the remaining sandwich crumbs at the corner of his mouth with a tissue. Then he stood up, walked to the window and looked at the gloomy sky outside, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

At this moment, a phone rang from the study on the first floor not far away.

Lin Haoran collected his thoughts, walked quickly into the study, picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hello, I'm Lin Haoran."

"Boss, I want to tell you that I have already formed the Japanese team you wanted. It includes 68 key talents in the real estate and securities industries. They are all very enthusiastic to go to Japan with you to expand the territory for the Swire Group. I have asked them to prepare and they can leave for Japan at any time!" Ma Shimin's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's very quick. They didn't just gather people randomly, did they?" Lin Haoran said jokingly.

"Boss, please rest assured that the people I selected are the elites among the elites. After all, this investment in Japan will bring huge benefits to the Swire Group in the future. I will naturally not fool around!" Ma Shimin immediately assured.

Although Lin Haoran does not usually participate in the management of his companies, his popularity in Hong Kong has reached a terrifying level.

In Hong Kong, from the elderly over 80 to children as young as three, almost everyone knows Lin Haoran, the young entrepreneur who suddenly emerged two years ago.

Therefore, he naturally became an idol for many young people in Hong Kong.

Therefore, it is easy to understand why Ma Shimin was able to build this team for him so easily.

Lin Haoran had considered the layout in Japan long before he took over the Jardine Matheson Group.

After all, businessmen are in business to make money, and Japan has a lot of opportunities in the next decade, which he certainly won't miss.

After taking over the Jardine Matheson Group, Lin Haoran wanted to start this plan as soon as possible.

At first, he had planned to continue to be a hands-off boss and let Ma Shimin directly plan the investment in Japan.

However, considering the current situation of the Hong Kong Land Group, it is obviously not appropriate to let Ma Shimin leave Hong Kong for a long time.

Today, the development of the Hong Kong Land Group is at a critical moment. Having taken over so many industries from Jardine Matheson, the strength of the Hong Kong Land Group is much stronger than the previous Hong Kong Land Group. Naturally, Ma Shimin does not have much time to leave Hong Kong.

Therefore, from the beginning to the end, Lin Haoran never thought of letting Ma Shimin go to Japan. This talented person needed to be in charge of the overall situation at the Hong Kong headquarters.

In addition to the personal invitation from the Japanese Foreign Minister, he finally decided to go there in person.

He led the team over there, and his main men were just working for him anyway.

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute!"

"However, I haven't decided which senior executive should accompany you to Japan to assist you in your investment. I think it's better for you to decide it yourself, boss." Ma Shimin raised another question.

"Okay, I got it. I'll discuss it with you when I get over there. Thank you for your hard work!" Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"This is what I should do!" Ma Shimin replied.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Haoran went upstairs to change his clothes, and then walked out the door at a leisurely pace. (End of this chapter)