In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 678 Standard Chartered held back a trick; the British were despicable and shameless.

The convoy soon arrived at the headquarters building of Hengsheng Bank.

The Hang Seng Building, a 22-story building, stands in the bustling Des Voeux Road Central business district of Central.

The building's glass curtain wall gleamed with a cold light under the sunlight, as if telling a story of past glory and present changes.

Several cars slowly came to a stop in front of the main entrance of Hengsheng Building.

Lin Haoran glanced at the clock; it was already around three in the afternoon.

Before coming here, He Shanheng had obviously already called Hengsheng Bank.

Therefore, a large number of people have already gathered at the entrance.

Lin Haoran immediately spotted Brown from Standard Chartered Bank, John Bao from Huifeng Bank, and several other senior executives from Hengsheng Bank whom he recognized but couldn't recall by name.

"Mr. Lin, Mr. He, hello." The moment the car door opened, Brown's boss smiled and stepped forward to shake hands with Lin Haoran and He Shanheng.

Although Standard Chartered Bank regrets losing Hang Seng Bank, they have come to accept the fact after so much time has passed.

For them, Standard Chartered Bank is already quite satisfied with capturing such a large market share from Huifeng Bank.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Brown." Lin Haoran shook hands with him, then turned his gaze to John Bao, who was standing to the side.

John Bao's face looked rather grim at that moment.

After all, although he is now temporarily the chairman of the board of directors of Huifeng Bank, everyone knows that he will not stay in this position for long!

The fact that Huifeng Bank has reached this point is entirely due to Lin Haoran's actions.

Even without Lin Haoran, Huifeng Bank remains the dominant force in Hong Kong.

John Paul remains the second-in-command of this overlord.

Now, although he has become the top leader, Huifeng Bank has become a subsidiary, and the company's market share will continue to bleed Standard Chartered Bank dry. His nominal position as the top leader is meaningless.

John Bao forced a smile, extended his hand to Lin Haoran, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Mr. Lin, congratulations on your successful acquisition of Hengsheng Bank."

Lin Haoran smiled slightly, shook hands politely with John Bao, and said calmly, "Mr. Bao, you must be aware of the current situation of Huifeng Bank. The business world is like a battlefield, and things are constantly changing. I hope you can adjust your mindset."

John Bao's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded, saying, "Mr. Lin is absolutely right. The business world is indeed ruthless. However, I hope that Mr. Lin will give more consideration to the overall development of the industry when he manages Hengsheng Bank in the future."

Lin Haoran chuckled inwardly, knowing that John Bao's words were laced with barbs and implied something, but he remained outwardly calm and composed.

He chuckled and said loudly, "Of course, Mr. Bao, please rest assured. Hengsheng Bank will continue to be managed by Mr. He. With Mr. He's status as the founder of Hengsheng Bank, as well as his experience and ability, I believe that Hengsheng Bank will definitely do better than before, and will surely contribute to the prosperity of Hong Kong's financial industry."

If nothing unexpected happens, once Standard Chartered Bank gradually takes control of Huifeng Bank and all the bad assets and factors are cleared up, to put it nicely, John will be able to retire gracefully from Huifeng Bank.
To put it bluntly, that means being ruthlessly ousted from the stage.

Therefore, he didn't really care about Mr. John Bower.

He doesn't even care about Shen Bi anymore, let alone John Bao.

At that moment, not far from the crowd, more than a dozen senior executives of Hengsheng Bank stared intently at He Shanheng.

These high-ranking officials were all carefully cultivated by He Shanheng.

Even though He Shanheng left Hengsheng Bank a month ago, his position in their hearts remains as solid as a rock. It is a deep affection and high respect like that between a teacher and a father.

Even though He Shanheng briefly left Hengsheng Bank, his name has long been deeply imprinted in the history of Hengsheng Bank. It can be said that He Shanheng is the soul of Hengsheng Bank.

A middle-aged executive with a refined appearance and gold-rimmed glasses stepped forward first. His eyes were slightly red, and he said with some excitement, "Mr. He, you're finally back! For the past month or so, we've been hoping for your return to Hengsheng. With you here, we feel at ease."

Other senior executives also gathered around, expressing their longing and expectations for He Shanheng.

“Mr. He, during your absence, many decisions in the bank have lacked a leader, and everyone is acting somewhat hesitantly.”

"Yes, Mr. He, it's great that you're back. We can work with you again and make great strides."

Looking at these familiar faces, He Shanheng was filled with emotion. He smiled and patted the middle-aged executive on the shoulder, saying, "Don't say that, everyone. Although I have been away for a while, I have always been concerned about Hengsheng. Now, Mr. Lin and I have come back together to lead Hengsheng to new glory."

At this moment, everyone's eyes turned to Lin Haoran, and they said in unison, "Hello, boss."

Lin Haoran nodded slightly, a polite smile on his face, and greeted everyone.

Although he has now acquired Huifeng Bank, he is a complete stranger to these people in front of him, and he doesn't even know their names.

Therefore, he didn't care that He Shanheng's status was higher than his own in the eyes of these people.

After all, they were originally He Shanheng's old subordinates, while Lin Haoran was just an acquirer who was about to take control of Hengsheng Bank with capital power.

Of course, this is only for now. In the future, relying on his loyalty-based cheat ability, he will be able to see those who are disloyal, and then he can slowly train the higher-ups.

Meanwhile, well-informed Hong Kong media outlets had already dispatched many reporters to the Hengsheng Bank building.

Reporters who arrived early, or those who were lying in wait nearby looking for news, even witnessed Lin Haoran and He Shanheng getting out of the car.

Therefore, the scene of Lin Haoran, He Shanheng, Brown, John Bao, and others talking outside the gate of Hengsheng Bank was captured by some reporters.

The reporters were as excited as treasure hunters who had discovered a treasure, their shutters clicking incessantly and their flashes going off frequently, as if they wanted to freeze this historic moment forever.

They rushed over here while frantically taking photos and carrying their interview equipment.

After all, everyone knows that some major news is about to break.

The news of Standard Chartered Bank's takeover of HSBC has been going on for several days now, and the hype is gradually fading.

Although the current level of attention remains high, many Hong Kong media outlets know that this buzz won't last long.

Therefore, at this moment, they are eager to find a new hot topic to fill the blank news pages that are about to appear.

The fact that Lin Haoran, Brown, John Bao, and He Shanheng are all in the same frame makes it clear to anyone with eyes that there must be countless juicy stories worth digging into and hyping up. This is undoubtedly the perfect material that the media dreams of.

Everyone naturally noticed the scene of the reporters rushing over with their interview equipment.

Seeing this, Mr. Brown smiled and said, "We've had enough of the pleasantries. Let's go inside the building and get all the necessary procedures and matters discussed settled. I'm sure Mr. Lin and Mr. He are also looking forward to completing the handover as soon as possible."

Clearly, this Standard Chartered Bank executive in Hong Kong didn't want to be surrounded by these enthusiastic, somewhat "out-of-control" reporters and get caught in an endless vortex of interviews.

In his view, it was already certain that Hengsheng Bank could not be retained. Since that was the case, it was better to complete the handover as soon as possible, so he no longer cared about the affairs of Hengsheng Bank.

After all, once Huifeng Bank receives the HK$13.5 billion, Hengsheng Bank will no longer belong to Huifeng Bank.

Lin Haoran and He Shanheng exchanged a glance and nodded in tacit agreement.

Nowadays, it's always better to handle things as quickly as possible.

After all, as long as Hengsheng Bank remains under the umbrella of Huifeng Bank, all sorts of unpredictable changes may occur. It's better to finalize everything as soon as possible and let things settle down.

Both sides were eager to complete the handover as quickly as possible, so they quickened their pace and walked straight into the Hengsheng Building without lingering at the entrance.

As the group entered the building, security guards naturally stopped the reporters outside.

Along the way, many employees were overjoyed to see Lin Haoran and He Shanheng appear here.

Especially He Shanheng, their former boss, and the old employees who had worked with him were filled with excitement.

The news of Lin Haoran's acquisition of Hengsheng Bank had not yet spread, and even the middle and lower-level employees of Hengsheng Bank were unaware of it.

Therefore, although these people found it strange to see Lin Haoran and his group here, they did not immediately think of the acquisition.

Their main reason for respecting He Shanheng was...

This shows that He Shanheng held a very high position in Hengsheng Bank.

No wonder He Shanheng told Lin Haoran that taking over Hengsheng Bank wouldn't be too difficult.

At Hengsheng Bank, He Shanheng's name is synonymous with legend.

He co-founded Hengsheng Bank and led it to great success. Stories about his business acumen and personal charisma have been passed down among employees and have become deeply ingrained in their hearts.

Mr. Brown noticed the employees' reactions and thought to himself that the strong cohesion among the employees of Hengsheng Bank, under the influence of He Shanheng, was perhaps one of the important reasons why Hengsheng Bank was able to stand firm in the highly competitive financial world.

Therefore, Mr. Brown wasn't too heartbroken about Standard Chartered Bank missing out on Hengsheng Bank. After all, even if Huifeng Bank still controlled Hengsheng Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank indirectly exerted influence and attempted to control it, Mr. Brown knew very well that Hengsheng Bank had a deep foundation and extremely strong employee cohesion. Truly integrating into and firmly controlling this team would be no easy task.
It might consume a lot of energy and resources, only to end up with nothing and not achieve the desired result.

Since He Shanheng left Heng Sheng Bank, Pu Weishi, executive director of Huifeng Bank, has been in charge of Heng Sheng Bank for a month.

In reality, within just one month, the internal management of Hengsheng Bank was in utter chaos.

Although Pu Weishi had accumulated some experience at Huifeng Bank and had the strong backing of Huifeng Bank, he still seemed powerless and inadequate when faced with the unique and deeply rooted corporate culture of Hengsheng Bank, as well as its complex and intricate business system.

Now that Lin Haoran has taken over Hengsheng Bank, in a sense, it seems like he has relieved Standard Chartered Bank of a potential burden that was lurking in the shadows and could cause trouble at any time.

Lin Haoran naturally witnessed this scene.

He couldn't help but think back to those companies from his previous life, business giants like JD.com and Alibaba. When the founders of these companies stepped down from their positions, they fell into internal strife, strategic confusion, and other predicaments, and their performance plummeted.

After certain conglomerates forced Liu Qiangdong out of JD.com, they thought they could implement sweeping reforms according to their own ideas and take JD.com to new heights.

However, the result was that JD.com was plagued by fierce internal factional struggles and its strategic direction was uncertain.

The once efficient operating model was disrupted, and many problems arose in the supply chain. Market share was gradually eroded by competitors, and performance declined all the way down. The former e-commerce giant fell into an unprecedented predicament.

Suddenly, JD.com seemed to be injected with a new soul. With his years of accumulated prestige and experience, Mr. Liu quickly stabilized the internal situation.

He drastically reorganized internal factions, redefined the strategic direction, focused on core businesses, and optimized supply chain management.

Under Mr. Liu's leadership, JD.com gradually emerged from its predicament, its performance began to recover, and it regained its foothold in the e-commerce market.

Looking at Alibaba, after Jack Ma gradually stepped back from the forefront, the new management team, although possessing rich theoretical knowledge, became slow to make decisions in the face of the rapidly changing market environment.

Some innovative businesses encountered numerous obstacles in their development, and the once vibrant corporate culture seemed to have lost some of its former passion, weakening the company's core competitiveness to some extent.

Therefore, allowing Ho Sin-hang to continue leading Hang Seng Bank is undoubtedly the wisest and most appropriate choice at present.

As for the future, how Hengsheng Bank and even the entire Hengsheng Group will develop after Mr. He retires is something that will need to be addressed more than a decade from now. Lin Haoran has no intention of worrying about this distant future now.

He believes that over such a long period of time, Hengsheng Group is full of talented people with unlimited potential, and will surely be able to cultivate an outstanding successor who can take over from He Shanheng and lead the group forward.

As for him, the boss in the true sense, he had absolutely no interest in management.

Having the ability to see the loyalty of his subordinates is enough for him!

He could analyze whether his subordinates were loyal to him or harbored disloyal intentions through their loyalty.

In that case, why would he bother to personally handle every single management task?

He only needs to sit behind the scenes and, with his unique "loyalty insight" ability, he can have a clear view of the situation of all companies under Hongkong Land Group, Hong Kong Electric Group, Wan Tsing Group, and Hang Seng Group.

Lin Haoran's mind raced, but his face remained impassive.

He was well aware that the most urgent task at hand was to stabilize the current situation and ensure a smooth transition of Hengsheng Bank into his control, while also leveraging He Shanheng's influence and experience to streamline the bank's internal operations.

"Mr. He, I will conduct a comprehensive and detailed handover of the various specific tasks for Hengsheng Bank with you later. If you encounter any problems during or after the handover, you can ask me at any time."

"I will continue to hold a position at Huifeng Bank for the foreseeable future, Mr. He can rest assured about that," Pu Weishi said slowly, his tone carrying a hint of relief.

The Englishman, who had only served as chairman of Hengsheng Bank for a month, seemed to have been relieved of a heavy burden, and his expression was visibly much more relaxed.

After all, only he himself knew best that being the chairman of Hengsheng Bank was far less comfortable and pleasant than being the executive director of Huifeng Bank.

Take the time when Huifeng Bank was in a cash flow crisis as an example. As the chairman of Hengsheng Bank, he wanted to use his authority to mobilize funds to help Huifeng Bank overcome the difficulties.

Unexpectedly, this move encountered tremendous resistance within Hengsheng Bank, with constant obstruction from various parties.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to secretly bribe relevant personnel behind the backs of the senior management and personally stamp and approve the loan, thus mobilizing a full HK$5 billion from Heng Sheng Bank to aid Hui Feng Bank.

Although this money did not bring any real benefit to Huifeng Bank, it has been enough to keep the bank afloat until now.

With senior management ignoring orders, Pu Weishi often found himself struggling to make progress in the daily decision-making process.

Normally, Huifeng Bank would have fired all these senior executives and replaced them with their own people.

However, during this period, Huifeng Bank was preoccupied with its own problems and naturally wouldn't dare to make such a big move against Hengsheng Bank.

Therefore, Pu Weishi has not had a good time at Hengsheng Bank for the past month.

"Yes, thank you for your help, Mr. Pu Weishi," He Shanheng said with a smile.

Next, He Shanheng led Lin Haoran and a group of senior executives from Hengsheng Bank to inspect the various departments of Hengsheng Bank, which also served as an introduction to their boss, Lin Haoran.

In addition, the finance team brought by Lin Haoran also entered the finance department of Hengsheng Bank for review.

This is the most important point.

An hour later, when He Shanheng, Pu Weishi, Lin Haoran, Brown and others arrived at the chairman's office, a finance manager hurriedly came into the office, looked at the people present, and hesitated to speak.

"Just say what you have to say!" Lin Haoran said directly.

The finance manager nodded and then reported the matter.

Upon hearing this, Lin Haoran frowned and looked at Brown, saying, "Mr. Brown, Mr. Pu Weishi, don't you plan to deal with this matter first?"

It turns out that when Huifeng Bank was in crisis, Pewter ultimately mobilized HK$50 billion from Hengsheng Bank to help Huifeng Bank. This money was ultimately lent to Huifeng Bank as a zero-interest loan with a term of three years!

They had never revealed this matter before.

Upon hearing this, Pu Weishi's face turned somewhat pale.

Ultimately, this matter cannot be completely ignored.

“Mr. Lin, all the funds have been spent by Huifeng Bank. I am truly at a loss and I am extremely sorry,” Pu Weishi said with a helpless expression.

"Mr. Lin, as you know, this happened before Standard Chartered Bank acquired Huifeng Bank. From the perspective of timeline and responsibility, it cannot be entirely attributed to our current management structure."

"Therefore, in my opinion, we can only proceed according to the terms of this loan for now. However, we will spare no effort to assist Hengsheng Bank in monitoring the flow of funds and ensure that the money is repaid to Hengsheng Bank when it is due," Mr. Brown said, forcing a smile.

“Mr. Pu Weishi, Mr. Brown, this is going too far. This contract was signed by Mr. Pu Weishi without the knowledge of the board of directors of Hengsheng Bank. According to the relevant regulations for listed companies and the strict internal governance principles of banks, this is a complete violation of regulations.”

This not only seriously damages the interests of many shareholders of Hengsheng Bank, but also blatantly challenges the fair and just order of the financial market. Are you just going to let this go? He Shanheng slammed his hand on the desk.

When He Shanheng slammed his hand on the table, the atmosphere in the office instantly plummeted to freezing point.

Mr. Brown's forehead instantly broke out in fine beads of sweat, his eyes darted around, and he subconsciously looked at Pu Weishi, trying to find a solution from him.

This money should naturally be repaid by Standard Chartered Bank.

However, Standard Chartered Bank has recently had an excessive amount of funds to spend.

Therefore, after learning about the debt owed by Huifeng Bank to Hengsheng Bank, Brown and even the senior executives of Standard Chartered Bank behind him decided to delay as much as possible.

In their view, if Standard Chartered Bank insists that the loan is a normal loan, then they can hold it for three years before repaying the loan, which would be fantastic news for Standard Chartered Bank.

HK$50 billion! Such a huge sum of money is extremely useful for Standard Chartered Bank these days.

Lin Haoran's eyes were sharp as he coldly scanned Brown and Pu Weishi, taking in their little schemes.

A mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips as he slowly said, "Mr. Brown, Mr. Pewter, your plan is quite ingenious, but the financial market is not a playground where you can play however you want."

Mr. Brown forced a smile and said, "Mr. Lin, we are facing financial difficulties at the moment, and we did not intend to delay. Moreover, we have a contract in hand, and the three-year term is a fait accompli. We will act in accordance with the contract."

He Shanheng snorted coldly, looked at Brown, and said in a stern voice: "Contract? This illegally signed contract has not had even the slightest bit of legality from the moment it was created! You actually dare to try to take advantage of this loophole to wantonly seize the interests of Hengsheng Bank. It's just wishful thinking and delusional!"
Today, this matter must be resolved completely. You must give us a clear and unambiguous repayment time and a feasible solution. Otherwise, I, He Shanheng, will not tolerate this and will definitely take legal action to make you pay a heavy price for your actions, and fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of Hengsheng Bank!

“In that case, Mr. He, Mr. Lin, why don’t we ask the Governor’s Office to judge this matter?” Brown’s lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of smugness, as he spoke slowly.

For Standard Chartered Bank, they have many intricate relationships and covert transfers of benefits with the Governor's House, and the Governor's House will most likely favor and support them in this matter.

Therefore, when Brown heard He Shanheng mention taking legal action, he was secretly delighted, as if he could already see things developing in a direction that was favorable to him.

At this moment, their shameless and greedy faces were on full display.

(End of this chapter)