Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 269 270 [Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Harm]

Siu On Real Estate Company Office

Chen Zhilong submitted several investigation reports, the most important of which were on the recent movements of Cheung Kong Holdings, Hutchison Whampoa and Li Jiacheng.

Now is a critical period. Hong Kong Land Development is undergoing a downsizing and debt-reduction operation, while Wheelock Properties is facing unprecedented difficulties. Both are likely to be acquired, especially Hong Kong Land Development, which has abundant assets, such as the specialized companies Electric Light Company and Telephone Company.

According to information, Li Jiacheng is paying attention to the Electric Light Company and Wheelock Holdings owned by the Hong Kong Land Development at the same time, and seems to be intending to take over these two high-quality large enterprises in one bite.

In his previous life, Li Jiacheng spent HK$34.9 billion in cash to buy 29% of the shares of the Electric Light Company from the Hong Kong Land Development. The ship chartering king spent HK$25 billion in cash to acquire nearly 50% of the shares of Wheelock and Company.

Because the latter was competing with the Nanyang tycoon Qiu Debao, he spent a lot of extra money, and the cash of 25 billion Hong Kong dollars could be reduced to 20 billion Hong Kong dollars.

If Li Jiacheng wants to acquire these two companies, he will need at least HK$50 billion. Even if HSBC is willing to lend, the several billion Hong Kong dollars in cash will not be enough.

Moreover, with four tycoons, namely Lo Chi-hung, Cheng Yu-tung, Yau Tak-pu and Lee Chiu-kee, as competitors, HK$4 billion may not be enough. According to past experience, a 50% increase would require nearly HK$2 billion in cash.

Even Li Jiacheng, who owns two major companies, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, is under great pressure. Luo Qihong has also thought of a countermeasure, which is to attack Li Jiacheng's lair and make it so that he can neither take in nor spit out.

"Li Jiacheng's move should be very big. His subsidiaries are mobilizing a large amount of funds, including Li Jiacheng's hidden family company." Chen Zhilong said with a gloomy face.

"Since Li Jiacheng's plan is so huge, why does the investigation report show that Hutchison Whampoa was preparing to distribute dividends in 84?" Luo Qihong closed the document and asked in confusion.

Chen Zhilong replied, "That's because Cheung Kong Holdings has a large number of development projects and many of its loans are about to mature. Li Jiacheng has to distribute dividends to allow Cheung Kong Holdings to repay these debts."

"The Cheung Kong Group's think tank suggested that Li Jiacheng acquire the electric light company instead of the heavily indebted Wheelock & Company. However, Li Jiacheng seemed to have other ideas. On the surface, he did not reject the think tank's plan, but in fact he conducted a series of investigations on Wheelock & Company."

Luo Qihong fell silent. He now regretted letting Li Zhaoji become a stumbling block for Li Jiacheng. If Li Jiacheng had not taken over the electric light company, he would most likely have turned to acquire Wheelock & Company. Otherwise, where would he find the direction for investment with his huge capital chain?

The only way now is for him to seize the opportunity to launch the acquisition of Wheelock and Company when the acquisition war of the electric light company begins, perhaps eliminating opponents like Li Jiacheng and Qiu Depu.

"Are you sure that John Madden has not colluded with Qiu Debao?" Luo Qihong asked.

Chen Zhilong responded categorically, "The two have not had any contact yet. Qiu Depu is still secretly purchasing shares of Wheelock and already holds a 3% stake."

This is good news for Luo Qihong. If a butterfly effect occurs, he will be very passive.

"What is Zhang Yuliang's current mentality? Is he still ignoring the shipping company?" Luo Qihong continued to ask. Zhang Yuliang was also an important part of his plan. If there was any deviation, the plan had to be adjusted, otherwise it might cause big trouble.

"Zhang Yuliang still pays attention to the shipping company, but he ignores its affairs. All his energy is focused on the real estate company. He even plans to clear out the Central properties." Chen Zhilong stated.

This is a bad result. Today's property prices are still sluggish, but Zhang Yuliang is thinking of "running away". It is conceivable how bad the debt situation of Wheelock Group is.

Luo Qihong was certainly fully prepared to attack Wheelock, but he was worried about resistance from Zhang Yuliang. If a counter-takeover was triggered, the investment would increase significantly, and even foreign enemies might be introduced, which would benefit others.

In the previous life, when Qiu Depu took over John Madden's 14% stake in Wheelock & Company, Zhang Yuliang went directly to Li Jiacheng. At that time, Li Jiacheng had just acquired the electric light company and did not have so much money, so he introduced it to the charter king. Although Qiu Depu made a profit in the end, his plan to gain a foothold in Hong Kong by acquiring Wheelock & Company failed, and the loss of benefits was not comparable to those gains.

Therefore, Luo Qihong was worried that he was the Qiu Deba in his previous life, and he always hoped to get an opportunity.

Luo Qihong talked with Chen Zhilong for a while, then left the office and went straight to New World Development Company.

New World Development Company General Manager's Office
Cheng Yu-tung has already handed over some specific matters to Cheng Jiachun, but the decision-making power is still in his hands and he has no intention of handing it over.

Luo Qihong briefly told Cheng Yutong the information he had investigated, including some of Li Jiacheng's actions.

Cheng Yutong took a deep look at Luo Qihong, and a sense of fear surged in his heart, "Do you suspect that Li Jiacheng will take action against Wheelock? Isn't he eyeing the Electric Light Company?"

"Uncle Tong, isn't Li Zhaoji also eyeing the electric light company?" Luo Qihong said solemnly.

Cheng Yutong is friends with both Lee Kar-shing and Lee Chiu-kee, but his friendship with Lee Chiu-kee is deeper. After all, Lee Kar-shing is a bit unpredictable, and is similar to a smiling tiger.

Although Li Zhaoji is not good at speaking, he is quite sincere to his friends. Otherwise, he would not have been so good friends with Feng Jingxi and Guo Desheng, and their friendship has not changed for decades.

Cheng Yutong nodded thoughtfully, "It seems that the acquisition of Wheelock and Company will inevitably be a tough battle."

Luo Qihong joked, "Uncle Tong, do you want to withdraw your investment? If so, you must inform me in advance, otherwise it will be too late to prepare."

Cheng Yutong glanced at Luo Qihong and shook his head, "Since I have agreed, how can I back down? I am just worried that we are not well prepared. Do we need to find a good bank?"

"HSBC is not an option. Li Jiacheng and Shen Bi have such a good relationship that they could easily backstab us." Luo Qihong analyzed, "Standard Chartered Bank is a little weaker. It's better to find Citibank. They should welcome us."

Cheng Yu-tung waved his hand and said, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Let's work together. If we exclude HSBC, can we do something with the Electric Light Company?"

Luo Qihong understood what Cheng Yutong meant and asked him to do something fishy. He should start with the acquisition of the electric light company. Since Li Jiacheng and Li Zhaoji were fighting, they would definitely not have the time, energy and funds to focus on Henderson Land Development.

Cheng Yutong's personality is that of a big friend of real estate who would not seize other people's property. Naturally, this image would not be broken because of Hutchison Whampoa. Luo Qihong's image is already not good, so it doesn't matter what he does next.

"Uncle Tong, Li Jiacheng has not officially expressed his position on the matter of the electric light company. Perhaps we can intervene in Li Zhaoji's situation and make Li Jiacheng feel a sense of crisis. This may have unexpected results." Luo Qihong said cunningly.

Cheng Yutong shook his head and said, "Not a good idea! If Li Jiacheng is forced to give up and jump to the acquisition of Wheelock, it will be even more disadvantageous to us."

A cornered dog will eventually jump over the wall!

Li Jiacheng is the best at seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, so the possibility of him jumping over here is really high.

(End of this chapter)