In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Zeng Fan sat quietly in the corner of the conference room, without saying a word.

He is a senior executive at Hutchison Whampoa and also serves as a director of Cheung Kong Holdings.

Initially, Lin Haoran used Galaxy Securities to acquire shares in Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings. Later, after Lin Haoran took control of Hutchison Whampoa, the 38.4% stake in Cheung Kong Holdings held by Galaxy Securities was transferred to Hutchison Whampoa for nominee shareholding.

Although he is the second largest shareholder of Cheung Kong Holdings, Hutchison Whampoa has never interfered with any of Cheung Kong Holdings' management.

It could even be said that Hutchison Whampoa is practically a transparent presence on Cheung Kong's board of directors.

The reason, of course, is that Lin Haoran had given orders that Hutchison Whampoa only needed to hold shares in Cheung Kong Holdings and conduct audits of Cheung Kong Holdings periodically, without any interference in management.

Therefore, Zeng Fan would just sit quietly whenever he attended a meeting, never speaking or expressing his opinion, like an outsider.

Lin Haoran was fully aware of Cheung Kong's financial situation, but he did not interfere in any way.

The reason is simple: when Cheung Kong transferred its Hutchison Whampoa shares to Lam Ho-yin, Lam Ho-yin promised Li Ka-shing that he would not interfere with the operation of Cheung Kong Holdings.

He has always kept this promise.

Even though Cheung Kong Holdings' financial situation had deteriorated to this extent, he only sent a representative to attend the board meeting and never spoke up on his own initiative.

For Lin Haoran, holding shares in Cheung Kong Holdings was not only because he was optimistic about Li Ka-shing, the famous tycoon from his previous life, but more importantly, to prevent Li from rising again and trying to oppose him as before.

As long as Li Ka-shing holds shares in Cheung Kong Holdings, he will never escape Li Ka-shing's grasp.

This isn't because he's stingy, but because the business world is like a battlefield, and you can't afford to lose any of your backup plans.

All eyes involuntarily turned to Zeng Fan.

It wasn't because of what he said, but because everyone knew that the person standing behind him might be Cheung Kong Holdings' only hope.

Zeng Fan's boss is Lin Haoran, the richest man in Hong Kong.

Lin Haoran is also the owner of Hengsheng Group, the largest banking group in Hong Kong.

As long as Lin Haoran is willing to agree, Cheung Kong Holdings' funding problem can be easily solved.

However, because the relationship between Lin Haoran and Li Jiacheng had been so strained in the past, even after losing the business war, their relationship only improved and they were not friends at all.

Even though Li Jiacheng frequently tried to improve the relationship with Lin Haoran, such as at Lin Haoran's wedding with Guo Xiaohan and when his son Lin Yaoguang turned one month old, Li Jiacheng sent generous gifts in an attempt to repair the relationship.

Lin Haoran's attitude remained lukewarm; he neither rejected nor became intimate, but simply maintained a polite yet distant distance.

This left Li Jiacheng feeling uncertain, unsure of Lin Haoran's true intentions.

Now that Cheung Kong Holdings is facing a life-or-death crisis, he has no choice but to humble himself and take the initiative to ask Lin Haoran for help.

But he knew in his heart that whether Lin Haoran would help was still an unknown.

After all, when he spearheaded the "Anti-Lin Alliance" back then, he offended Lin Haoran quite a bit.

If it were him, he probably wouldn't easily forgive someone who once tried to kill him.

The atmosphere in the meeting room grew increasingly tense.

Li Jiacheng's gaze met Zeng Fan's gaze in the air.

Zeng Fan smiled slightly and nodded, still offering no suggestions.

A complex emotion welled up in Li Jiacheng's heart. A year ago, he was still thinking about how to remove Lin Haoran from the list of shareholders of Cheung Kong Holdings, but now he had no choice but to ask him for help.

Now, only Lin Haoran can save him in Hong Kong.

Those British conglomerates that once called him brothers have either run away or scattered, and they don't even answer his phone anymore.

Those Chinese business friends who once fought alongside him in the business world are now too busy to help each other.

Bao Yugang maintained a very good friendship with him, but he also knew that Bao Yugang's debts were still not paid off. Wharf Holdings was able to acquire Wheelock thanks to Lin Haoran, and the funds must have been borrowed from a bank under the Hengsheng Group. There was no need to speculate about these things.

Therefore, it was impossible for him to get financial assistance from Bao Yugang.

Only Lin Haoran, the person he once most wanted to defeat, has now become his only hope.

Li Jiacheng sighed and finally spoke up, "Mr. Zeng, your group is the second largest shareholder of Cheung Kong Holdings. Now that Cheung Kong Holdings is facing debt problems, I would like to know if Mr. Lin has any suggestions?"

Upon hearing this, Zeng Fan shook his head slightly and said directly, "Mr. Li, our boss said that Hutchison Whampoa is just a shareholder of Cheung Kong Holdings, not a manager. He is not in a position to interfere in business matters, so naturally he has no suggestions."

If Mr. Li wants our boss's help, I suggest you approach him personally. After all, neither I nor our group's president, Mr. Wei Li, can make decisions regarding Cheung Kong Holdings' affairs.

Zeng Fan's words were perfectly tactful.

This both clarified Hutchison Whampoa's position as a shareholder and passed the buck back to Li Ka-shing.

His meaning was clear: Lin Haoran didn't want to help, but Li Jiacheng needed to speak up for him personally.

This isn't about being arrogant; it's about attitude.

When you, Li Jiacheng, joined forces with British consortiums to suppress Lin Haoran, did you ever give him any face?
Now that it's your turn to ask for a favor, you should at least show some sincerity.

Li Jiacheng certainly understood this meaning.

His expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

In the business world, there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends, only permanent interests.

He understands this principle better than anyone else.

He was able to humble himself to beg HSBC's Sir Michael Sandberg back then, and now he can humble himself to beg Lin Haoran.

However, asking Shen Bi and asking Lin Haoran felt completely different.

Sumpt was an Englishman and a banker, so it seemed perfectly natural for him to ask for favors.

But Lin Haoran is a Chinese businessman, his junior, and someone he once wanted to defeat.

Although he had already admitted defeat, it didn't mean he was willing to keep bowing his head in front of this young man forever.

But reality left him no choice.

At its peak, Cheung Kong Holdings had assets of over 10 billion yuan, tens of thousands of employees, and decades of accumulated wealth. Are we just going to watch it be destroyed in our hands?
Li Jiacheng can lose, but he cannot lose so badly that he loses even his last shred of dignity.

Thinking of this, Li Jiacheng couldn't help but sigh again and said, "Alright, I will personally visit Mr. Lin."

In the conference room, many Cheung Kong veterans who had followed Li Jiacheng for decades also had mixed feelings.

They naturally understand the principle that everyone prospers or suffers together.

Once upon a time, when Li Ka-shing took over Hutchison Whampoa, he was full of vigor and pride. His long-time followers also benefited from this and were admired wherever they went.

But now?

Hutchison Whampoa is gone, and Cheung Kong Holdings is also on the verge of collapse.

These veteran officials were on the verge of falling from grace.

Someone secretly glanced at Zeng Fan sitting in the corner, feeling a mix of emotions.

This young man was merely a representative sent by Lin Haoran to attend the meeting, but his appearance changed the atmosphere of the entire conference room.

It wasn't because he was so powerful, but because the person standing behind him, Lin Haoran, whom they once regarded as an opponent and an enemy, had now become their only hope.

Li Jiacheng stood up and straightened his suit and tie.

Looking at myself in the mirror, my hair is mostly gray, and the wrinkles around my eyes are much deeper than they were a few years ago.

He recalled the triumphant look on his face in front of the mirror when he acquired Hutchison Whampoa two years ago, and it felt like a lifetime ago.

"Let's adjourn the meeting," Li Jiacheng said.

The directors filed out.

Some people were walking very fast, as if they were trying to escape this place;

Someone was slowly tidying up the documents, as if waiting for something.

Li Jiacheng sat alone in the conference room, staring at the red numbers on the projection screen, motionless.

Outside the window, the building under construction gleamed in the sunlight, growing taller and more dazzling.

That's Lin Haoran's building, a new landmark for the city's future, and a symbol of this era.

Li Jiacheng, who once thought he was the protagonist of this era, now has to admit that he is just a supporting actor.

He stood up and walked to the window.

He stood there for a long time until his secretary knocked on the door and came in cautiously, saying, "Mr. Li, the meeting ended half an hour ago."

He snapped out of his reverie and nodded, "Understood." He turned and went back to his chairman's office, his gaze falling on the phone. After hesitating for a moment, he reached for the receiver, his finger hovering over the buttons for a while before finally pressing a number.

This is Lin Haoran's private mobile phone number. Although he rarely dials it, he has already memorized the number and doesn't need to look it up in the phone book.

Soon, Lin Haoran's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Mr. Li, what's the matter?"

Li Jiacheng hurriedly replied, "Mr. Lin, I wonder if you are available now? I would like to visit you and discuss something with you."

In the past, he would never have addressed a young man like Lin Haoran with the respect due to a formal address.

But things are different now. When it's time to bow his head, Li Jiacheng never hesitates.

"Mr. Li, you're too kind." Lin Haoran's tone on the other end of the phone was flat, revealing no emotion. "I'm free after 3 p.m. If you don't mind the distance, you can come to the Kang Le Building for a chat."

"Okay, I'll be there at three o'clock sharp." After saying that, Li Jiacheng added, "Sorry to bother you."

After hanging up the phone, Li Jiacheng leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

The sunlight outside the window was just right, shining on his gray hair and giving it a faint golden hue.

He is only 54 years old, but his hair is already half white.

Just a year ago, his hair was black.

The reason his hair suddenly turned white was because he lost Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings was almost swallowed up by Lin Haoran. During that time, he couldn't sleep all night, and his hair turned mostly white overnight.

Now, Cheung Kong Holdings is facing a life-or-death crisis again, and it has no choice but to bow down and ask Lin Haoran for help. The feeling in its heart is no less than that of losing Hutchison Whampoa a year ago.

He suddenly remembered that many years ago, when he first came to Hong Kong, it was also a sunny afternoon like this.

At that time, he had nothing, and his family lived with his uncle. Although he had nothing, he had passion and an indomitable spirit.

Now he has everything, but he finds himself old, so old that he has to ask his juniors for help.

He shook his head, trying to clear those distracting thoughts from his mind.

There's no use thinking about it anymore; you'll know when you get there.

At 2:30 p.m. sharp, Li Jiacheng left his office.

The driver drove the black Rolls-Royce slowly along the streets of Central toward the Connaught Building.

He sat in the back seat, looking out at the familiar skyscrapers, and a feeling he couldn't quite describe welled up inside him.

Ten minutes later, the Rolls-Royce had already stopped in the underground parking lot of the Kang Le Building.

The car stopped in front of the Kang Le Building. Li Jiacheng straightened his tie, opened the door, and got out of the car.

Upon reaching the lobby on the first floor, the building's security guards clearly recognized him and respectfully opened the glass door for him.

He walked into the lobby, pressed the elevator button, the elevator doors slowly opened, he went in, and pressed the button for the top floor.

As the elevator ascended, Li Jiacheng looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly felt somewhat unfamiliar.

The "superman" who once dominated the business world now looks like just an ordinary old man.

His hair was gray, his face was full of wrinkles, and his eyes were filled with fatigue and anxiety.

He sighed and looked away.

The elevator doors opened, and a senior executive from Hongkong Land Group just walked out of an office in the corridor. He recognized the man, and the executive greeted Li Jiacheng warmly.

Li Jiacheng forced a smile and greeted the other party, without exchanging pleasantries.

"Mr. Li, our boss is waiting for you inside, please come in." At this moment, Liu Xiaoli came out and guided Li Jiacheng to Lin Haoran's reception room.

Liu Xiaoli's beauty made Li Jiacheng sigh, "I have to say, Lin Haoran is really lucky with women!"
He had seen plenty of beautiful women, but a beauty like Liu Xiaoli was a rare find, even in the entire Hong Kong.

After walking through the corridor, Liu Xiaoli pushed open the door to the reception room and stepped aside to let Li Jiacheng go in first.

Li Jiacheng straightened his suit and stepped inside.

The reception room was very large. He had been here many times before, when the Kang Le Building was still in the hands of Jardine Matheson.

At that time, the building was still the property of Jardine Matheson and one of the symbols of British conglomerates in Hong Kong.

Every time he came here, he could feel the reserve and arrogance of the old British conglomerate.

But now, the building has a new owner, and even the furnishings in the reception room have changed.

The paintings hanging on the wall were not British oil paintings, but Chinese landscape paintings.

The tea on the coffee table wasn't English black tea, but rather fine Longjing tea.

Everything had changed, leaving him somewhat dazed.

"Mr. Lin, I apologize for the intrusion and for disturbing you," Li Jiacheng said, his tone even more polite than on the phone.

Lin Haoran stood up from the sofa, stepped forward, and extended his hand with a smile: "Mr. Li, you're too kind. Your presence is an honor to my humble abode. Please have a seat."

The two sat down on the sofa. Liu Xiaoli brought over two cups of tea, placed them gently on the coffee table, and then left, closing the door behind her.

The reception room fell silent, with only the ticking of the wall clock.

Li Jiacheng picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The tea is top-quality Longjing, with a sweet taste and a long-lasting aftertaste.

But at this moment, he couldn't taste any emotion; his mind was filled with thoughts of how to start the conversation.

Before coming, he thought a lot about how to talk to Lin Haoran, what conditions Lin Haoran would propose, and how he should respond.

But when he actually got there, he found that he couldn't utter a single word of what he had prepared.

Lin Haoran seemed to sense his embarrassment, but did not urge him. He simply drank his tea quietly and waited for him to speak.

After a moment of silence, Li Jiacheng put down his teacup, took a deep breath, and finally spoke: "Mr. Lin, you should be aware of the situation at Cheung Kong Holdings. I'm here today to ask for your help."

Lin Haoran put down his teacup, looked at Li Jiacheng, and said slowly, "Mr. Li, please speak."

Li Ka-shing continued, "I would like to borrow HK$800 million from Hang Seng Bank on behalf of Cheung Kong Holdings, for a term of two years, with interest calculated at market rates."

Lin Haoran did not answer immediately, but picked up his teacup and took another sip, seemingly deep in thought.

Looking at his expression, Li Jiacheng felt somewhat uncertain.

He knew that 800 million was no small sum. Although Lin Haoran was wealthy and Hengsheng Galaxy was even more well-funded, everyone knew that lending to Cheung Kong Holdings at this time carried a certain risk.

Moreover, he did not mention what to use as collateral, because Cheung Kong Holdings' current debt consists of many fixed assets that have been mortgaged, and he has very few bargaining chips left.

Those assets that are not mortgaged are either properties in remote locations that are difficult to liquidate, or projects under development whose accurate value cannot be assessed.

Banks are not charities, and Hang Seng Bank is even less so.

Although Lin Haoran is the owner of Hang Seng Group, banks have strict procedures and risk control standards for loan approval. Li Jiacheng was unsure whether Lin Haoran would interfere with the normal operation of the bank for the sake of Cheung Kong Holdings.

He had even prepared himself for rejection before he came, thinking that if Lin Haoran didn't agree, he would find another way, even if it meant breaking up Cheung Kong Holdings and selling it off, just to get through this winter.

When Li Jiacheng said these words, he lowered his voice and did not look directly at Lin Haoran, but instead focused his gaze on the cup of Longjing tea on the coffee table.

The tea was clear and bright, with a few tea leaves floating in the cup, much like his current state of mind, drifting aimlessly, with nowhere to settle.

Once upon a time, Li Ka-shing was a very prominent figure in Hong Kong's business world.

Let alone 800 million, even 1 billion or 2 billion, as long as he asks, those British banks will lend him the money.

At that time, he was "Superman," the helmsman of two giants, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa.

But now?

He even had to humble himself and beg for 800 million, and there was no guarantee he would get it.

Lin Haoran did not answer immediately.

He picked up his teacup and took another sip, seemingly deep in thought.

Looking at his expression, Li Jiacheng felt increasingly uncertain.

He wanted to say something more, such as promising higher interest rates or using more of Cheung Kong Holdings' assets as collateral, but he swallowed his words.

Because he knew that housing prices were currently in a downward trend, and no one knew how low prices would fall in the future. Although Cheung Kong Holdings still had enough fixed assets to mortgage, banks might not be willing to accept them.

Office buildings and shopping malls that were once considered high-quality assets are now valued at half price or even lower on banks' valuation tables.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to come to Lin Haoran's side. (End of Chapter)