In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

So, the best way is to...

As Suzuki Toshifumi expected, Lin Haoran raised his head and looked at him.

"Don't you know who Rosen's funds came from?" Lin Haoran asked.

He wanted to see who was behind this.

If it started now, Lin Haoran would definitely think that the force behind them was the Mitsui Group.

After all, Lin Haoran had just sold Toyota Motor shares to the Mitsubishi Group, making it possible for the Mitsui Group to lose control of Toyota Motor.

But Toshifumi Suzuki said that the funding started at the end of April, so the force behind the investment was definitely not the Mitsui Group.

After all, at that time, he had not offended any major Japanese forces.

"Boss, the source of funds for Lawson Japan branch is very mysterious. I have asked my peers but still haven't gotten any useful information. In addition, Lawson convenience stores seem to have given up on self-operation and are focusing on developing the franchise model." Suzuki Toshifumi shook his head and said.

Lin Haoran nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Wait for me first, I'll go and ask around."

After saying that, he left Suzuki Toshifumi's office and walked towards his own office.

Although, since he has only been in Japan for a short time and has almost no intelligence here, he has his own network of contacts!
For companies like Lawson Japan Branch, which are not considered top-notch, their transactions are basically no secrets in front of the powerful Japanese forces.

Lin Haoran’s method is very simple, just go and ask the big forces directly.

He called Yasuya Kawai, the general manager of Citibank's Japan branch, directly.

Upon learning the purpose of the visit, Kawai Yasuya replied: "Mr. Lin, I don't pay much attention to companies like Lawson Convenience Store, which are not very strong. If you want to inquire about the matter, I need to find someone to ask. Please wait!"

For Lin Haoran's sake, he had to help with such a small matter.

Besides, Chairman Walter Reston had told him to maintain a good relationship with Lin Haoran.

Especially recently, Lin Haoran made more than 200 billion yen from Toyota Motor stocks, which made Citibank pay more attention to Lin Haoran.

Time and time again, successful investments have impressed even powerful forces like Citibank.

In front of Lin Haoran, what is the stock god Buffett?
"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Mr. Kawai." Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"It's no trouble, it's a small matter, Mr. Lin, I'll hang up first." Kawai Yasuya said and hung up the phone.

Lin Haoran also sat in a chair, waiting for news.

For a big bank like Citibank, investigating such a small matter is a piece of cake.

You know, Citibank has been developing in Japan for nearly eighty years.

These eighty years were enough for them to infiltrate intelligence into all walks of life in Japan.

This is something Lin Haoran cannot compare to.

It was ultimately too late for Lin Haoran to enter the Japanese market.

Although the Swire Group has already made some arrangements in Japan, those small industries have not made any splash in Japan.

The real development of the Swire Properties Group in Japan only began after he came to Japan in February.

Sitting in the chair in the office, Lin Haoran was waiting for a call back while overlooking the busy street downstairs.

But his thoughts had already drifted away. He was thinking about the intricacies of Japan's business landscape and every move he made in this big game.

About ten minutes later, the phone rang. Lin Haoran quickly picked up the phone. Kawai Yasuya's voice came from the other end of the line: "Mr. Lin, I have already found out that the one who invested in Lawson Japan Branch was actually your old acquaintance, Jardine Matheson."

Hearing what Kawai Yasuya said, Lin Haoran was a little shocked.

Jardine Matheson?

Did he hear it correctly?

He originally thought that it should be a powerful local Japanese conglomerate that had set its sights on the convenience store market.

But what he didn't expect was that it was the defeated Jardine Matheson.

Now that Jardine Matheson has been driven out of the Hong Kong market by him, why are they still so stubborn?

"Mr. Kawai, are you sure? Is it really Jardine Matheson?" Lin Haoran asked with some disbelief.

"Yes, Mr. Lin, it is indeed Jardine Matheson. I got this news from a senior executive of Daye, the agent of Lawson Convenience Store Japan Branch, through the intelligence of our Citibank. Originally, both Daye and Consolidati Foods, the parent company of Lawson Convenience Store, were very average. In the past two months, 711 Convenience Store, the competitor of Lawson Convenience Store, has suddenly expanded. Naturally, Lawson Convenience Store also wants to keep up, because 711 Convenience Store has always been their model. However, Lawson Convenience Store itself does not have sufficient funds. With their own conditions, it is not enough to support Lawson Convenience Store to learn from 711 Convenience Store's crazy expansion, so they have the plan to attract investment. However, they have sought many major business forces in Japan, but these forces are either not interested in small tracks such as convenience stores, or the conditions are unacceptable to Daye, the agent of Lawson Japan Branch.

But Dayong Company was unwilling to watch the gap between Lawson convenience stores grow wider and wider, so they finally turned their attention to overseas financial groups.

No one knows how it happened, but they got in touch with Jardine Matheson.

Jardine Matheson has been looking for investment opportunities in the international market recently. Seeing the development potential of Lawson convenience stores in the Japanese market, it decided to invest 40 billion yen to acquire a 30% stake in Lawson Japan. "Yasuya Kawai explained in detail.

Lin Haoran sneered and thought secretly in his heart.

Jardine Matheson is really lingering around. It was defeated by me in Hong Kong and now it has come to Japan to disrupt the situation.

However, he was not afraid.

After listening to what Kawai Yasuya said, even though the information was not complete, Lin Haoran could probably guess the cause and effect.

Lin Haoran defeated Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong so badly that it had no chance to fight back. It was forced to give up the entire Hong Kong market and ran back to his hometown in England.

However, Jardine Matheson has their own pride after all. They are certainly unwilling to accept the heavy losses in Hong Kong and definitely want to return to the Asian market and regain their position.

Japan, as an important economy in Asia, naturally became one of their targets.

In addition to the old grudge between Jardine Matheson and Lin Haoran, their decision to invest in Lawson convenience stores was undoubtedly intended to create trouble for Lin Haoran and disrupt his business layout.

Moreover, if there is anyone who knows Lin Haoran best, then Jardine Matheson must be one of them. They understand very well that although Lin Haoran is their mortal enemy, he does have an extraordinary keen eye when it comes to investment.

Since even Lin Haoran is interested in the convenience store industry, Jardine Matheson naturally believes that convenience stores have a promising future.

But 40 billion yen is only equivalent to 1 million Hong Kong dollars, which is not too much, but not too little either.

After receiving an investment of 40 billion yen, Lawson convenience store wanted to keep up with 711-Eleven convenience stores, but it was short of funds. What should it do?
The only way is to transfer all the funds originally used to develop self-operated stores to franchise stores. This will not only reduce the cost of adding each store, but also reduce costs to the greatest extent!

Therefore, now Lawson can only act as a troublemaker in the convenience store market, constantly disrupting the market order, trying to expand rapidly through the franchise model to compete with 711- convenience stores, which not only brings endless troubles to Lin Haoran's industries, but also enhances the strength of Lawson convenience stores.

At this moment, Lin Haoran figured everything out.

"Mr. Lin, Mr. Lin, are you still there?" Yasuya Kawai asked when he saw that there was no sound on the other end of the phone for a long time.

Lin Haoran came back to his senses and said with a smile: "I'm so sorry, Mr. Kawai, I was just thinking about something. Thank you very much for the information you provided. I won't bother you anymore. I'll treat you to a meal when I'm free!"

"These are what I should do. Since Mr. Lin is fine now, I'll hang up first." Yasuya Kawai responded.

"OK Bye Bye!"

"Bye-Bye."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Haoran walked towards the office of Southern Company while thinking.

Now that we know who the investor behind Lawson convenience store is, the next step is to plan carefully how to deal with Jardine Matheson's move.

It seems that his acquisition of Southern Company not only completely changed the fate of 711-711 convenience stores, but also indirectly changed the fate of - convenience stores' competitor, Lawson convenience stores.

This fate is truly miraculous.

He never imagined that Jardine Matheson would appear before him in Japan.

If the investment forces behind Lawson convenience stores are several major Japanese conglomerates, such as Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, etc., then this is indeed a troublesome matter for him. After all, these conglomerates are deeply rooted in Japan and have great power. If you want to deal with them, it will undoubtedly require huge energy and resources.

In fact, this is the territory of these Japanese conglomerates, and if he, an outsider, really confronts them face to face, he may not necessarily win.

However, the force behind this is now Jardine Matheson, which is completely different.

Although Jardine Matheson once had a glorious history in Asia, in Lin Haoran's eyes, it is now nothing more than a defeated enemy.

They were defeated by Lin Haoran in Hong Kong, and now they have come to Japan to disrupt the situation. This is simply courting death.

Lawson convenience store?
At this moment, Lin Haoran already had a rough plan in his mind.

Not long after, he returned to Suzuki Toshifumi's office again.

"Boss, have you found out who the source of the funds is? How much was invested in total?" Seeing Lin Haoran appear again, Suzuki Toshifumi couldn't wait to ask.

The news was kept secret by Daiei Company, and Toshifumi Suzuki was completely confused about the current situation of Lawson convenience stores.

"The financial backer behind this is Jardine Matheson, which invested a total of 40 billion yen!" Lin Haoran responded straightforwardly. (End of this chapter)