In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

The private plane landed smoothly at Kai Tak Airport.

As Lin Haoran led Guo Xiaohan and the others out of the cabin, a cool breeze from Hong Kong brushed against their faces. It was quite different from the warm tropical breeze of Hawaii, but it also brought a sense of familiarity, like coming home.

Although it's already early December, the temperature in Hong Kong isn't as cold as in New York.

Before Lin Haoran left New York, it snowed lightly.

In contrast, Hong Kong enjoyed clear skies and daytime temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius, a very comfortable temperature that Lin Haoran also liked.

At the bottom of the gangway, a group of core executives, led by Burton, Ma Shimin, Cui Zilong, and Wei Li, were already waiting.

Although Lin Haoran has been gone for less than a month, his business empire is still operating efficiently and is about to usher in another important milestone.

"Boss, welcome back to Hong Kong!" When Lin Haoran came down, everyone went up to greet him.

Lin Haoran smiled and shook hands with everyone, saying, "Thank you all for your hard work. During my absence, all the affairs of the various groups have been supported by you."

"Boss, you flatter us. This is all part of our job." Ma Shimin, as the chairman of the Galaxy Strategic Committee, responded on behalf of everyone. His Hong Kong dialect is now much more fluent.

Cui Zilong stepped forward and said with a smile, "Boss, you've come back just in time. The preparations for the release of the rich list are all complete, and we're just waiting for you, the main character, to make your appearance the day after tomorrow."

Lin Haoran nodded: "Very good, have all the details been finalized?"

"Everything has been arranged. The press conference will be held in the Peninsula Hotel banquet hall. Invitations have been extended to celebrities and media reporters from all walks of life in Hong Kong, and the response has been very enthusiastic."

"All of the top ten richest people have confirmed their attendance in person," Cui Zilong said quickly, sounding very confident. "With you in charge, the authority of this list is beyond question."

Although Hong Kong had never had a rich list before, Lin Haoran's status as the richest man was already an undeniable fact.

Its subsidiaries, including Hongkong Land Group, Wanqing Group, Hang Seng Group, Hong Kong Electric Group, and Hutchison Whampoa Group, almost occupy half of Hong Kong's business world.

If someone with such strength can't become the richest person in Hong Kong, then that would truly be a pipe dream.

"Hmm, well done," Lin Haoran praised, then looked at the others, "How's everything going with the major corporations?"

Ma Shimin picked up the conversation. As the chairman of the bank's strategy committee and president of Hongkong Land Group, he was very familiar with the situation of the major groups: "Boss, everything is normal. Several large projects of Hongkong Land Group are progressing smoothly, and the throughput of port business is steadily increasing."

In addition, regarding the reconstruction of the Huifeng Building, Mr. He has sent word that the team led by the renowned architect I.M. Pei is expected to arrive in Hong Kong early next month to conduct preliminary surveys.

Wyman also reported on the recent situation of Hutchison Whampoa, with all business data meeting or even slightly exceeding expectations.

Lin Haoran felt gratified as he listened to the concise reports from his generals.

This is the situation he wants: a business empire that can operate autonomously and efficiently even if he leaves temporarily.

"Looks like I've done a pretty good job as a hands-off manager." Lin Haoran made a rare joke, which drew knowing smiles from everyone.

As they exchanged pleasantries, the group headed toward the airport's VIP lounge, where several private cars had been waiting for some time.

Once inside the car, Lin Haoran and Ma Shimin sat side by side in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce.

As for Guo Xiaohan, she had already left in another private car.

Looking at the Hong Kong street scenes rushing past the window, Lin Haoran asked, "Has there been any significant changes in Hong Kong recently?"

Ma Shimin immediately reported: "Boss, the biggest change during your absence is that the Hong Kong real estate market has continued to cool down, and transaction volume has continued to decline."

Many real estate companies are trying to boost sales by offering discounts, which may have some effect in the short term, but it won't last long. It seems that the real estate market is indeed facing a downturn.

Boss, I remember last November you mentioned to me that in about a year and a half at most, Hong Kong's real estate industry would accelerate into a downward trend.

The soaring prices of the past few years have concealed a huge crisis, and the current uncertainties brought about by the negotiations on the Hong Kong issue mean that Hong Kong's real estate market is destined to face a harsh winter.

"Now it seems your judgment was absolutely correct; the market is now beginning to validate your prediction." Ma Shimin's tone was filled with admiration.

Lin Haoran laughed and said, "Mr. Ma, didn't you also foresee this? I remember when you were at Jardine Matheson, you also mentioned to Mr. Niu Bijian that this was just the beginning, and the Hong Kong real estate market would be even more difficult in the coming year."

In about 20 days, it will be 1982, and the Hong Kong real estate market will face a real winter.

Lin Haoran, as a time traveler, was naturally well aware of this.

The Iron Lady of Britain falling on the steps of the capital was a historically significant event.

Hong Kong's special status as a British colony will begin to be shaken with that historic fall.

"So we made preparations early on, selling off most of our bad real estate projects and paying off all our debts. With ample funds in hand, even if the Hong Kong real estate market really runs into trouble, it won't affect us!" Ma Shimin said with a smile.

Yes, as early as last year, Lin Haoran had made ample preparations for this real estate crisis.

For example, he ordered Ma Shimin to sell dozens of real estate projects of the Hongkong Land Group, and to have Wan An Real Estate Company, Qingzhou Yingni and others sell off the land and properties they had previously hoarded, thereby recovering a large amount of funds, clearing the debt, and strategically shrinking.

"Last year, our decision to sell off a large number of real estate projects was seen as a very foolish one by others. At the time, many of our peers were laughing at us for being too conservative, making such a move when the real estate industry was booming," Ma Shimin said with some emotion.

When they sold off dozens of real estate projects, the transaction volume and prices in Hong Kong were still very high. As a result, these projects were sold off very smoothly, and many large companies even joined forces to buy them.

Lin Haoran smiled calmly: "The business world is like a battlefield. Sometimes retreating is for better advancement. Now, it's our turn to watch them make fools of themselves."

Ma Shimin nodded and said, "Indeed, although on the surface the Hong Kong real estate industry doesn't seem to be in a very serious situation yet, quite a few real estate tycoons have privately complained to me about the market, saying that if things continue like this, they probably won't be able to hold on for long, especially those companies that operate with high leverage, which have already started to seek help from all sides."

Mr. He also told me that in the past month, the number of real estate companies seeking loans from the four banks under the Hengsheng Group has been increasing.

Lin Haoran's gaze was profound: "This is just the beginning. Next year, you will see many more familiar faces coming to us for help."

There are nearly a thousand real estate companies in Hong Kong, and there are countless highly leveraged real estate enterprises, including some very successful large companies.

The most famous of them all is probably the Jialing Group.

From a small pest control company to one of Hong Kong's top five real estate companies in less than four years, Chen Songqing, the owner of Caring Group, can be said to have taken deception to the extreme, creating a huge business empire through fake transactions and forged documents.

In fact, Huifeng Bank was originally a major creditor of the Jianing Group.

However, when Standard Chartered Bank sold Huifeng Bank to Lin Haoran, the title of creditor had already shifted to Standard Chartered Bank.

In other words, this major risk has now been transferred to Standard Chartered Bank.

"By the way, my comments in the US caused quite a stir. Is there any reaction in Hong Kong?" Lin Haoran suddenly asked.

"Yes, several foreign-owned newspapers have reported on it. However, given your influence in Hong Kong, it's not like the situation in the United States where everyone overwhelmingly agrees. In fact, many Hong Kong citizens believe in your judgment."

"It's said that quite a few investors are eyeing US stocks, hoping to take the opportunity to short them, but most are taking a wait-and-see approach," Ma Shimin replied with a smile.

Lin Haoran nodded slightly: "It's a good thing that Hong Kong is relatively rational, but soon they will realize that my judgment is correct."

The car passed through the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom and soon arrived at the underground parking garage of the Connaught Building.

Cui Zilong, Burton, Wei Li and others also got off from the other vehicles one after another.

The group took a private elevator directly to the top-floor office.

He Shanheng had been waiting here for a long time.

Lin Haoran and several other important figures arrived at a small conference room, where they held an impromptu meeting.

The meeting agenda was simple: Ma Shimin, He Shanheng, Cui Zilong, Burton, Wei Li, and others reported to Lin Haoran on the operational status of their respective companies over the past month.

The meeting lasted for more than an hour before everyone dispersed.

Just before leaving, Lin Haoran called Cui Zilong back and asked him to come to his office later.

Back in his familiar office, Lin Haoran walked to the round window, where he could see the magnificent view of Victoria Harbour through the glass.

Having not returned here for a month, standing in this familiar office again, Lin Haoran felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Victoria Harbour outside the window remains bustling, with ships shuttling back and forth, and the Kowloon Peninsula on the opposite shore gleaming in the sunlight.

Cui Zilong tiptoed into the office and stood not far behind Lin Haoran, waiting for instructions.

After watching for a while, Lin Haoran turned around and said with a smile, "President Cui, please find a chair and sit down!"

“Yes, boss.” Cui Zilong replied respectfully.

To be honest, Cui Zilong used to be just a newspaper general manager, and his boss was a drug lord that everyone in Hong Kong hated.

After Lin Haoran bought the Oriental Media Group, Cui Zilong also changed owners.

Compared to his past association with drug lords, he is now not only thriving in his career, but his social status has also risen accordingly.

All these changes stem from the young yet far-sighted boss in front of us.

Lin Haoran returned to his seat and looked at Cui Zilong.

Without him saying a word, Cui Zilong had already opened his briefcase and taken out a document. That document was the soon-to-be-released list of Hong Kong's richest people.

And there are at least two hundred of them!

"Boss, please take a look!" Cui Zilong said respectfully.

Lin Haoran nodded, took the document, and began to read it.

Flipping through the thick list of rich people, Lin Haoran's eyes first fell on the top ten.

As expected, his name topped the list, with an estimated wealth of HK$678 billion.

Its subsidiaries include Hongkong Land Group, Hong Kong Electric Holdings, Wanqing Group, Hutchison Whampoa, Hang Seng Group, Hong Kong and China Gas, Hong Kong Grand Hotel, Kowloon Motor Bus, Hong Kong Telephone, and Wharf Holdings, making it an undisputed business giant in Hong Kong.

Of course, this data is not accurate.

But only he can be the richest man!

If he were to control Oriental Media Group and relinquish his position as the richest man, then the authenticity of this rich list would seem highly questionable.

Therefore, becoming the richest person is a must, but much of one's wealth must be concealed.

Just like his rich list, he concealed most of his overseas assets, such as investments in Japan and the United States, which were directly ignored.

Secondly, the actual valuation of companies privatized by Lin Haoran, such as Landmark Group, Hengsheng Bank, Wanqing Group, and Qingzhou Yingni, is naturally determined by themselves.

However, companies like Hong Kong Electric Holdings, Hutchison Whampoa, Hong Kong Telephone, Kowloon Motor Bus, Hong Kong and China Gas, and HSBC Bank are still listed companies because their market capitalization and the amount of shares Lin Haoran holds are public information and cannot be concealed.

Lin Haoran had discussed these things with Cui Zilong before.

Therefore, Cui Zilong knew early on how to create a "reasonable" rich list for Lin Haoran.

As for real wealth?
Even Lin Haoran didn't know this, but what is certain is that it is an absolutely terrifying number.

Putting aside everything else, just his investments in the United States alone—Su Zhixue had already reported to him last time—the shares held by Huanyu Investment Company, calculated by market value, were a terrifying figure.

For example, Intel Corporation holds a 7.2% stake, valued at $2.86 million based on the latest market capitalization.
ExxonMobil holds a 4.7% stake, valued at $13.73 billion based on the latest market capitalization.
Schlumberger holds a 4.1% stake, valued at $6.64 million based on the latest market capitalization.
Chevron Corporation holds a 5.89% stake, valued at $8.52 million based on the latest market capitalization.
Citigroup holds a 5.43% stake, valued at $2.92 million based on the latest market capitalization.
Walmart holds a 20.3% stake, valued at $3.37 million based on the latest market capitalization.
Coca-Cola holds a 4.99% stake, valued at $2.63 million based on the latest market capitalization.
And Berkshire Hathaway, Disney, Altria Group...

Based on recent market capitalization, the wealth controlled by these global investment companies has already exceeded $138 billion.

Converted to Hong Kong dollars, that's over 70 billion Hong Kong dollars.

As for investments in Japan, Hongkong Land Group alone has invested over HK$20 billion in Japan in the past two years.

Moreover, these numbers are still rising.

Therefore, if Lin Haoran were asked to calculate how much money he actually had, even he himself would probably find it difficult to give an exact figure.

However, even at only HK$678 billion, it is still an incredibly staggering figure, placing it far ahead of other Hong Kong tycoons.

Lin Haoran continued to review the information and saw that the second-ranked Bao Yugang's wealth was estimated at HK$163 billion, mainly from Wharf Holdings and Worldwide Shipping Group, as well as important equity stakes in Huifeng, Standard Chartered and other investments.

Actually, this position should have been occupied by Li Jiacheng.

Unfortunately, his Hutchison Whampoa was acquired by Lin Haoran, resulting in a significant loss of strength.

Third, the Swire family, who control the Swire Group, have a combined wealth of HK$157 billion through a series of businesses including Swire Properties, Cathay Pacific, Swire Shipping, and Swire Beverages, which is almost comparable to that of Paul Koo.

Fourth is the Cheng Yuk-tung family, with an estimated wealth of HK$115 billion, mainly from a series of industries such as New World Development and Chow Tai Fook, demonstrating their formidable strength.

Fifth is the Kadoorie family, with an estimated wealth of HK$94 billion. Their wealth mainly comes from CLP Power, real estate, manufacturing, and finance. Although the hotel business was taken over by Lam Ho-yin, their foundation was not greatly damaged.

The sixth is the Kwok family, with an estimated wealth of HK$76 billion.

This Guo family is not the Guo Henan family, but the Guo Desheng family. After all, the Guo Henan family is a Southeast Asian family, not a Hong Kong family, so it is not included in the ranking.

The Kwok family business, which controls Sun Hung Kai Properties, is developing well, and with other investments, its wealth is growing rapidly.

Lin Haoran continued to review the information. The seventh person was Li Zhaoji, with an estimated wealth of HK$73 billion. He was the head of Henderson Land Development.

In eighth place, he finally saw Li Ka-shing's name. With absolute control of Cheung Kong Holdings and other investments, the Li Ka-shing family controls HK$69 billion in wealth.

In fact, if he hadn't provoked Lin Haoran, Li Jiacheng would have already secured second place. After all, Hutchison Whampoa alone once had a total market value of nearly HK$20 billion, and with Cheung Kong Holdings, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to surpass Bao Yugang in total wealth.

Unfortunately, one wrong step led to another, and now they can only settle for eighth place.

Lin Haoran continued flipping through the pages. The ninth person was Li Mingze, whose wealth was estimated at HK$55 billion. He was a representative figure of the Li Xishen family.

At number ten, Lin Haoran was surprised to find a very familiar name: Liu Luanxiong, with an estimated wealth of HK$51 billion. He owns the listed company Amigo, as well as Far East Investment Company, and a huge amount of cash.

Lin Haoran was stunned for a moment upon seeing this.

He knew about the Far East Investment Corporation, after all, he was also a shareholder.

But isn't Amega now under the control of the Caring Group?

He looked up at Cui Zilong and asked, "Liu Luanxiong has acquired Aimeigao Company back?"

"Boss, speaking of which, it all happened last month. President Liu suddenly shorted Aimeigao Company, and in the end, Jianing Group had to sell Aimeigao Company back to President Liu at a very low price. This matter caused quite a stir last month," Cui Zilong reported.

Lin Haoran nodded. It seemed that the Jianing Group was about to collapse.

To be honest, he did have some feelings about this company, Emigo.

Back then, he was one of the owners of Emigo Corporation, and as an investor, Emigo Corporation created a lot of wealth for him.

However, after taking Amego Company public, Lin Haoran sold his shares to Jianing Group.

Ultimately, with an investment of only HK$120 million, he earned a net profit of nearly HK$14 billion, more than a thousand times in just two years, making it an extremely successful investment case.

Of course, Lin Haoran was definitely a major contributor to Liu Luanxiong's current wealth.

At Lin Haoran's suggestion, he used the dividends earned by Aimeigao Company to buy land. Later, at Lin Haoran's suggestion, he sold the land in time and obtained a considerable cash flow.

However, he remembered that Liu Luanxiong's wealth was only a little over three billion Hong Kong dollars before, right?

Have they made over two billion during this period?
"Was this wealth figure revealed to your team by Liu Luanxiong?" Lin Haoran asked curiously.

“Yes, boss, everyone knows that Mr. Liu and you have a very good relationship, so our visit to Mr. Liu went very smoothly. In the second half of this year, Mr. Liu made a lot of money in the US, Hong Kong and UK stocks through his Far East Investment Company,” Cui Zilong explained.

Lin Haoran nodded.

Speaking of which, Liu Luanxiong does seem quite out of place among these ten richest people.

Today, the total market value of Amigo is just over HK$100 million, while Liu Luanxiong's wealth exceeds HK$5 billion.

As for the other tycoons, they all own very powerful industrial groups, such as Paul Y.'s Worldwide Shipping, Swire Group, and New World Development.

Liu Luanxiong's wealth mainly comes from investments and cash, which is indeed rare among Hong Kong's tycoons.

However, it must be said that Liu Luanxiong in later generations was indeed famous in Hong Kong for his unique investment vision.

Lin Haoran remembered that in his previous life, Liu Luanxiong did indeed become a famous investment tycoon in Hong Kong, known for his accurate investment vision and decisive operation.

Liu Luanxiong was even called a "stock market sniper".

After experiencing the speed of making quick money in finance, Liu Luanxiong no longer cared about doing real business step by step.

Lin Haoran closed the rich list data, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Indeed, the allure of financial investment lies in its astonishing speed of returns. Once you've tasted the sweetness, it's hard to return to the slow pace of traditional industry.

"It seems Liu Luanxiong has found a path that suits him," Lin Haoran remarked.

Cui Zilong nodded in agreement: "That's true. From what we understand, Mr. Liu has recently made several successful investments in US and Hong Kong stocks. He seems to have a very high talent for investing."

Lin Haoran crossed his legs and muttered, "Looks like this little brother has made me quite a bit of money again!"

Initially, Liu Luanxiong approached Lin Haoran to establish a Far East Investment Company.

The investment company invested only HK$5 million, of which Liu Luanxiong contributed HK$3 million, holding a 60% stake, and Lin Haoran invested HK$2 million, holding a 40% stake.

For Lin Haoran, this investment was just a hobby, and he didn't care how much he made. He also told Liu Luanxiong frankly that he would not interfere in the company, but would only send financial supervisors.

The finance personnel dispatched were handled by the finance team at Wanqing Group, without needing to go through him.

Therefore, he never really cared about the Far East Investment Company; to him, it was just a small investment.

But now it seems that this small investment has grown into an asset that cannot be ignored. (End of Chapter)