Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

Seeing that Wang Yaotang was about to leave again, Morris couldn't sit still any longer and hurriedly got up to chase after him.

With over 3 million less, is he supposed to loudly proclaim at the board meeting, "Wang Yaotang is threatening Jardine Matheson's other businesses in Hong Kong to force them to lower prices"? If so, his tenure as general manager is over.

The fact that one of the four great foreign trading companies had fallen to the point of being bullied and coerced by the local Chinese was a crime he could not bear.

We need to find a suitable reason for this, otherwise it will cause a huge mess.

As for what would keep them alive, Morris didn't care. It's true that the Wang family was ruthless, but as long as they weren't killed, they would be fine. Didn't you see that the bombs Li Xiangjiao's family threw were all empty shells?

“Mr. Wang, if I agree, I’ll definitely lose my position as general manager.” Morris grabbed Wang Yaotang’s arm and whispered, “Please leave me a way out.”

Wang Yaotang looked her up and down, and finally a smile appeared on his face. "You're quite good at talking. 3 million is no small amount. I'm not going to spend that much money on you. What are you going to offer in exchange?"

"I heard that you, Mr. Wang, promised not to get involved in Hong Kong's real estate industry?"

Wang Yaotang nodded.

"Then the land of Ap Lei Chau is of no use to you?"

“Jung Kong wants it? I don’t care, but 3 million isn’t enough. You said before that the land in Ap Lei Chau is worth 40 billion!”

Morris's expression froze. "I was just bragging back then. How could you take it seriously?" "Too much, too much. 40 billion is definitely not enough. That's the price at least 10 years from now."

Wang Yaotang didn't say anything, just quietly watched him.

With his mind racing, Morris gritted his teeth and said, “You and Jardine Matheson will jointly establish a company to acquire the existing land and factory buildings in Ap Lei Chau, and then sublease them to HK Electric. This will slightly increase operating costs. Without the land, the price can be reduced to 35 billion, which is the maximum. You know that this land has no development value in the short term, and tying up so much capital will put a lot of pressure on Jardine Matheson.”

“If you’re under a lot of pressure, find someone to share it with. What use is this piece of land to me? Li Zhaoji, Zheng Yutong, the Xu family, the Guo family, everyone is trying to hoard land and find partners. Ap Lei Chau is so big. When it comes time to develop it, won’t your financial pressure be even greater? You can’t make all the money by yourself. Don’t think about hoarding it all.” Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

How could you say you don't eat alone? You've eaten up all the profits that the Hong Kong power industry has been hoarding!
Of course, Morris was just thinking this. In everyone's imagination, it was all orchestrated by the Chinese behind the scenes, just like HSBC hired Li Xiangjiao to make gloves.

However, Wang Yaotang's suggestion is good.

“In that case, we’ll need to talk to other people, and it might not be possible to complete the acquisition in a short time,” Morris said, frowning.

"This is a 40 billion yuan acquisition, are you kidding me?" Wang Yaotang spat. "If it weren't for HSBC and the Hong Kong government pushing things along, could such a huge acquisition have been finalized so quickly?"

Normally, such a large acquisition would not be completed in less than six months to a year. It's not just a matter of asset auditing; asset auditing doesn't take that long. It's the sale of such a large company, and it involves the interests of so many people!

At least six months should be given for the acquired company's management to settle their internal accounts...

This was even with Wang Yaotang causing trouble and Jardine Matheson making exorbitant demands. If it had followed the original trajectory, the entire acquisition would have taken 19 hours, but if we subtract the time spent sleeping at night, the actual acquisition process would have been completed in about 9 hours.

To say there were no political considerations involved would be to assume everyone is an idiot.

So what? You can exert influence through official channels, but Wang Yaotang can't use his connections?

Saying it's all about forced buying and selling is utter nonsense.

“You can handle contacting each company yourselves; I’m not involved.” Wang Yaotang pointed north. “We only want Hong Kong Electric; don’t try anything funny.”

As a warning, Wang Yaotang is really gone this time, and Morris can only sigh in despair.

……

The sudden suspension of such a large acquisition affected not only Li Xiangjiao and Jardine Matheson, but also HSBC, which was immediately alarmed upon receiving the news. They contacted China Resources and North China News Service, which represent business and government officials in Hong Kong, to question them about market intervention.

The Chinese community leader was completely bewildered. "What do you mean we forcibly intervened in the market? Absolutely not! You need to provide evidence!"

"Wang Yaotang threatened Li Xiangjiao's entire family's lives, dropping a 500-kilogram bomb on his villa to force him to abandon the acquisition of Hong Kong Electric, and even said it wasn't forced market intervention!" the HSBC general manager said angrily.

This not only thwarted HSBC's plan to control the power supply on Hong Kong Island, but also caused them to raise funds for nothing. Many financial institutions that had made advance investments in the stock market to acquire Hong Kong Electric shares in hopes of making a fortune are now stuck with their funds!
If the acquisition falls through and the stock price can't rise, and they sell now, it will inevitably cause a sharp drop, and they'll lose all their capital.

"First of all, whether Wang Yaotang threatened the lives of Li Xiangjiao's family should be decided by the Hong Kong Royal Police and the courts. We will not protect any criminal. Secondly, Wang Yaotang is a Hong Kong resident and is not within our jurisdiction. If the Hong Kong Royal Police need our cooperation in the investigation, they can issue an official letter, instead of HSBC making irresponsible remarks." The person in charge of the Chinese community still had a smile on his face, but his words were unambiguous, completely disclaiming any responsibility.

The HSBC general manager's expression froze. Wang Yaotang had always been unequivocally on the side of the Chinese, which made them completely overlook his nationality issue for a moment...

Damn it, how can this beast be from Hong Kong!

How can he be from Hong Kong!

How could such a person appear in Hong Kong?
"What do you mean by coming to find us now?"

"Are you trying to get us to stop this deal?"

"Doesn't that mean we should forcibly intervene in the market?"

"It should be the Hong Kong government that calls for a halt. Furthermore, we must state that any forced intervention in the market is contrary to the freedom of business, and we will be closely monitoring this matter."

The HSBC representatives left the Chinese community with grim expressions, and the financial sector immediately mobilized its connections to reach the Governor's House, hoping that the Governor's House would intervene to resume trading.

"What do you want from me?" Yud's face was also very ugly. What the hell could I do?
"Am I supposed to grab Han Yili by the collar and force him to produce evidence against Wang Yaotang?!"

If I could do that, I would have done it already. You wouldn't be coming to me!

“I can pretend I don’t know what you’re planning to do, as long as no one catches you red-handed, go ahead,” Yud said, cursing.

Although there is no evidence, Edward now clearly sees who ultimately benefited from the Kadoorie assassination: the entire Kadoorie Foundation was controlled by Wang Yaotang, and the assassination that injured and hospitalized him was definitely Wang Yaotang's doing.

Although there is no evidence.

Yud was equally furious, but what could he do?

While assassinations of government officials in the Western world don't happen every day, even the President of the United States can't do anything about it, so what am I, the Governor of Hong Kong, compared to that?

The issue with the man surnamed Wang isn't whether he dares to do it or not; he's genuinely capable of doing it.

It's not that Youde wants to break the rules, but that he has to coax Wang Yaotang to abide by them!
Despite being the governor and wielding considerable power, his authority stemmed from government decrees, which, in turn, prevented him from finding someone to eliminate Wang Yaotang; that would require Downing Street.

But Wang Yaotang can do whatever he wants!
A group of people who came to his door were scolded and driven away by Youde. Even after they left, he was still complaining to his secretary.

"Trying to frame Wang Yaotang? Are all these people brainwashed? All they know how to do is eat shit!" Youde shoveled the cold coffee into his mouth. "Hong Kong is only a tiny place. Wang Yaotang has thousands of regular troops, all kinds of light and heavy weapons, including armed helicopters, bombs, and warships. If you dare to frame him, we'll be fighting the next day!"

"The Chinese army crossed the river that very day; they were just looking for an excuse."

"Don't drag me into your mess!"

……

Police headquarters.

"The bombs have been dismantled. They weren't made in China, nor in any other country," Han Yili whispered to the HSBC staff in the office. "They were homemade!"

"In other words, we have no way of finding the source, let alone making accusations based on the place of origin."

"Don't associate with anything negative!"

"Where's the explosives inside? Uh, there are no explosives. But even homemade ones need a factory. Can't we find a factory?" The HSBC people were very unwilling to give up.

“The outer shell is hand-cut and welded. There are too many welders with this skill. It’s impossible to find a suspect through personal connections. We can’t arrest all the welders on Hong Kong Island, and besides, it might not have been welded on Hong Kong Island.” Han Yili pointed to the north.

“According to the information we have, he has a shipyard in Kwun Tong, which has the capability to manufacture these ships,” the HSBC representative said reluctantly. “Interrogate the workers there.”

After giving the HSBC representative a long look, Han Yili slowly said, "We can ask the factory workers to cooperate with the investigation. The police have that right. I must remind you that the chances of getting any leads are extremely slim."

"Oh, by the way, we've made some progress in our investigation of the Sim Phillip shooting; the perpetrators are a group of Europeans."

The HSBC employee instinctively flinched. "What do you mean?"

“Sham Sir was the previous chairman of HSBC, so the police need to inform him about the case,” Han Yili said with a smile.

“I understand, thank you. We believe the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will uphold the law impartially.” The HSBC representative stood up. “Sorry to bother you, we’ll take our leave now.” “Let me see you out.”

……

After get off work that evening, several leaders from Huashe and China Resources got together for dinner, and the conversation quickly turned to Wang Yaotang.

"This kid really does things in a... wildly imaginative way."

"Young people are energetic and can be understood."

The group of people looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"This is the first time I've seen HSBC employees so agitated."

"I heard that nearly 50 billion yuan has been mobilized, but now it's stuck here and can't be moved."

The group gasped softly. "No wonder they're in such a hurry with such a large sum of money."

"I heard that Wang Yaotang is planning to merge the power grid with Guangdong? Has he contacted you about that?"

"No, Guangdong doesn't even have enough electricity to go around right now, so how can we merge? It's impossible for at least ten years. But the idea is good and valuable. Calling him a patriotic businessman is definitely not a problem."

"Does it mean...?"

"Who knows, if he can really complete the integration of Hong Kong's power grid, and Sha Kok B is successfully put into operation, then that would be great too."

"Tsk tsk, he's really waving that flag beautifully. He's left HSBC and the Hong Kong government completely helpless. He's really figured out this Western business logic."

"Hahaha, I can't help but laugh when I think about this. They intervened in the market before and got beaten to a pulp. Now they're waving the flag of market intervention against us. Their attitude is truly laughable."

"So, it's good to have Wang Yaotang around. It lets everyone see that these people are just paper tigers. Southeast Asian Chinese businessmen have been suppressed for too long. They need someone like him who can take the lead to break the image of foreign capital as unshakeable."

……

The Chinese community refuses to acknowledge it, the Hong Kong government cannot intervene administratively, the police cannot find any evidence, Li Xiangjiao has become withdrawn and unresponsive at home, and HSBC and other financial institutions are now at a loss. When they hold meetings to discuss the matter, no one can come up with any practical solutions other than resorting to insults.

The group was cursing enthusiastically, their eyes meeting, but no one was talking about anything serious.

The HSBC general manager was so angry that his lips trembled. "Where are all the bad ideas you have in your heads? Aren't you usually so resourceful?"
Shootings, car crashes, women seducing you—just say it out loud! What's the point of just yelling and cursing?

Wang Yaotang has repeatedly sabotaged everyone's efforts. He monopolizes the profits in Hong Kong mining and threatens everyone. Now is such a good opportunity to unite!
As a result, no one said anything.

The exchange of glances escalated the shouting among the crowd, who, having shed their usual cunning and treachery, now resembled shrewish women.

Nonsense, too many people will talk too much, and that Wang guy is vindictive.

If they were dealing with a good person, these people would have already been shouting for their lives.

There's no need to take matters into your own hands; that would be too crude. You could simply mobilize the media to launch an attack, smear campaigns, label people, incite public outrage, and provoke those who have lost everything in the stock market to the point of wanting to jump off buildings. Wouldn't it be better to drag Wang Yaotang down with them?

It's not just about those who lose money in the stock market; there are also many who have gone bankrupt due to unhappiness, and we can encourage them all.

With such a large population base, someone will always be willing to do it.

It is indeed a personal act, and even if you were the President of the United States, there's nothing you could do about it.

But as I said before, Wang Yaotang is no good person!

Using the media to incite emotions might work against others, and it might even work in normal countries, but it won't work in Hong Kong. It's too small a target. It won't work against Wang Yaotang either, since he's done things like directly controlling printing plants.

The result was that a group of people cursed for an hour, their mouths practically foaming at the mouth, but no one offered a single useful solution. This infuriated the HSBC general manager, who cursed them as utterly incompetent and unworthy of advice.

It might have been possible if it were someone with the prestige of Sir Michael Sandberg, but as his successor, he hadn't even sorted things out internally at HSBC, let alone contacted other financial companies.

Of course, if it were still Sir Michael Sandberg, it would only take 19 hours for Lee to acquire Hong Kong Electric.

HSBC is also holding internal meetings to find someone else to carry out the acquisition. There are only a few Hong Kong people who can come up with such a large sum of money, and all of them have been rejected without hesitation when contacted.

Just kidding. Wang Yaotang has made it clear that he will not get involved in Hong Kong's real estate industry, and he's even using his hometown's influence as leverage. How could they possibly get involved in such murky waters?

Everyone here is in the real estate business and has never been involved in the energy industry before. Li Xiangjiao had no prior experience with it either, and the acquisition itself wasn't for commercial reasons.

HSBC looked around in bewilderment; in all of Hong Kong, not a single person dared to defy Wang Yaotang!

After mobilizing a large amount of funds, they suddenly became idle, and internal forces began to fight back. The general manager of HSBC Trust was also under great pressure. It was at this time that Wang Yaotang once again appeared out of nowhere.

"What? Wang Yaotang wants to borrow money from HSBC to acquire Hong Kong Electric?"

"Wait a minute!" The HSBC general manager suddenly froze on the spot. "He was talking about acquiring HK Electric, but I haven't heard of him partnering with any bank. It turns out he doesn't have any money at all!"

"Hahahaha!"

"No money? What are you going to do with the money? You can't even make an acquisition!"

The secretary's expression gradually became awkward; for a moment, she held the documents in her hands, unsure whether to go forward or backward.

"What's wrong with you?" It took the HSBC general manager a long time to finally notice the problem.

"Sir, this is the financial situation on Wang Yaotang's side."

This was sent along with the loan request.

The HSBC manager frowned, took the document, and glanced at it. The long string of zeros made his mind go blank for a moment. "Over 2 billion? Cash? How is that possible?"

“General Manager, Hong Kong Mining has been issuing new shares to acquire mines held by Wang Yaotang, and he has cashed out a lot.”

"Fuck!" The HSBC general manager slammed the documents onto the table.

He understood perfectly well that Wang Yaotang had indeed made preparations in advance. He had more than 2 billion in cash on hand, and another 1 or 2 billion from other banks would be enough. With the size of Hong Kong Electric, this would not be a problem at all. This guy was showing him that funds were not an issue!

rich!

Banks, of course, lend money to people who have money.

Since refusing to provide funds cannot prevent Wang Yaotang from completing the acquisition, if he still refuses, the internal opposition will fabricate charges against him for affecting the company's loan business due to personal grudges.

First, he disrupted his own plans, wasted so many favors, and severely damaged his prestige. Then, he had to use HSBC's money to complete the acquisition.

What's the difference between this and someone breaking into your house, beating you up, then sexually assaulting your wife and forcing you to shove her butt?
Humiliation, blatant humiliation!
A week later...

Loan signing ceremony.

"Why are you looking so gloomy? Who are you trying to impress?" Wang Yaotang grinned and said, "I want Hong Kong Electric, but I don't want to spend the money, so I guess I'll just have to let you qualify."

"Let's think about it another way. You've always wanted to control Hong Kong Electric, right? Here's an opportunity for you. Seize it."

"Hahahahaha!"

The HSBC general manager didn't want to say anything. What the hell? Even if HK Electric really runs into trouble and its share price falls below the collateral limit, it won't be HSBC's turn to take shares. The Chinese will naturally step in to support it.

This is a done deal, regardless of whether China or the US benefits from this acquisition.

By using such a large tiger skin, Wang Yaotang was completely getting something for nothing.

Of course, he hadn't expected that getting a loan from HSBC would be such a scoundrel. It was only a few days ago that the exploration team and design institute he had hired from his hometown returned from Myanmar. Mining isn't something you can just do by driving an excavator around; it requires a design institute to comprehensively design the mining method based on the mineral's burial depth, content, associated minerals, and geological conditions.

Good news: Rich in minerals
Bad news: Huge investment (End of chapter)