Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 222 Forming Alliances and Strategies (Seeking monthly votes, recommendations, and subscriptions!)
He hurriedly asked, "Is there any way to resolve this?"

After a moment of contemplation, Uncle Chen nodded: "The way of heaven and earth lies in balance."

Although their momentum is strong, excessive rigidity is easily broken. We can leverage our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, using gentleness to overcome rigidity, and stability to control movement.

He walked to the desk, spread out a piece of paper, and said while drawing: "First, place objects belonging to the earth element in the center of the house, such as Taishan stone guardians or yellow crystal clusters, to stabilize the energy field of the house and ensure that its foundation is not shaken."

"Secondly, water is used to neutralize negative energy and attract positive energy to generate wealth."

A flowing water feature or a circular fountain pool can be added to the southeast corner of the courtyard, directly opposite number 75.

Flowing water is gentle, which can neutralize the force of a straight rush; moreover, water can generate wealth, so its force can be partially transformed for my use.

"Third, a small, smooth convex mirror or Bagua mirror can be hung in a concealed place on the exterior wall or window lintel of the villa facing No. 75 to reflect and disperse its energy, making it difficult for it to focus on this location."

"Fourth, Mr. Li should do more good deeds and accumulate merit. With abundant virtue, one will naturally be immune to all evils, have a stable foundation for fortune, and be difficult to be affected by external forces. This is the fundamental way."

Li Jiacheng nodded repeatedly, his mind suddenly clearing up, and the previous sense of oppression vanished: "Okay! Let's do as Uncle Chen says!"

"Yueming, immediately arrange for people to procure the necessary items and renovate the courtyard according to Uncle Chen's requirements."

Zhuang Yueming breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.

After writing a check for HK$100,000 and giving it to Uncle Chen, Li Jiacheng stood by the window and looked at No. 75 again. The feeling of oppression seemed to have faded a little.

Chen Bingwen had heard about the commotion at No. 79, and the security personnel arranged by Zhao Gang would keep an eye on the surrounding area.

But he just laughed it off and didn't take it to heart.

He is more concerned with concrete business strategies.

Thanks to the efficient operation of MacLehose, the planning scheme for the "Modern Beverage and Food Industrial Park" on the Hung Hom Crane Garden site in Yingni, Qingzhou has been further improved, and the land premium negotiations with the Hong Kong Planning Department and the Public Works Bureau have entered a critical stage.

With his professional skills and connections in the British business community, MacLehose successfully secured an installment payment plan: the land premium of HK$7800 million could be paid in installments of HK$1000 million upfront, with the remainder to be paid in five years at an annual interest rate of only 5%.

This greatly alleviated Sugar Heart Capital's cash flow pressure.

Meanwhile, Huo Jianning's financial and management restructuring within Qingzhou Yingni has yielded remarkable results, shortening the timeframe by nearly two-thirds compared to the expected three months.

In less than a month, redundant departments were eliminated, unclear related-party transactions were standardized, new financial processes and auditing systems were established, management efficiency improved, costs decreased, and cash flow improved significantly.

After reading the report, Chen Bingwen was even more impressed with Huo Jianning's abilities. He planned to transfer him back to the group headquarters after a while to replace Fang Wenshan as chief financial officer, so that Fang Wenshan could focus more on the group's strategy and external investments.

Vincent Fang and Ling Pei-yi will be promoted to vice presidents of Chen Ji Foods, one in charge of business development and the other in charge of internal operations and finance.

Just as things were looking up in Qingzhou Yingni, some unfavorable rumors began to circulate in the market about Cheung Kong Holdings.

Rumors, presented in seemingly detailed accounts, suggest that Cheung Kong Holdings is facing severe cash flow problems after investing in the Tin Shui Wai project.

With multiple projects underway simultaneously, Li Jiacheng is facing a cash flow shortage. He has been in frequent contact with HSBC recently, seemingly seeking emergency financing and possibly even considering selling some non-core assets.

These rumors have unknown origins, but they spread rapidly.

Although Cheung Kong Holdings quickly issued a clarification announcement claiming that the company's financial situation was sound, the market remained skeptical.

Cheung Kong Holdings' share price was affected to some extent, experiencing a slight decline, and trading became more active, indicating that some investors were selling.

That afternoon, Wei Li called Chen Bingwen's office directly, "Mr. Chen, there's something I need to remind you of."

There seems to be some new development at HSBC.

"Oh? What's the development?" Chen Bingwen asked. "Smurf may be preparing to sell the remaining Hutchison Whampoa shares held by HSBC at a suitable time."

Wei Li paused, then lowered his voice and said, "During this period, Li Jiacheng has been getting very close to several directors of HSBC, and they have met privately several times."

I'm worried they might be plotting to acquire the remaining Hutchison Whampoa shares held by HSBC.

Although Chen Bingwen was prepared for this situation, he was still somewhat shocked to hear the news.

It was initially thought that creating trouble for Cheung Kong Holdings would slow down Li Ka-shing's acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa shares, but now it seems that as long as Sir Michael Sandberg has the support, Li Ka-shing's acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa will not be slowed down at all.

"Is the news reliable?"

"Eighty percent of it is true."

Wei Li affirmed, "I also have friends on the HSBC board. Although I don't know the specific details, the direction is certain."

Sir Michael Sandberg preferred a one-time resolution to the Hutchison Whampoa equity issue, and Lee Ka-shing was clearly the most proactive buyer.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Bingwen leaned back in his chair, his brows slightly furrowed.

HSBC still holds approximately 23% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares. If Li Ka-shing were to acquire this portion, combined with his existing 10.65%, his shareholding would approach 34%.

At that time, he will truly replace HSBC as the controlling shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa, and he himself will definitely be marginalized.

This must be prevented from happening.

But how do we stop it?

Go directly to HSBC to bid? The possibility is almost zero.

Shen Bi's attitude was already very clear: he trusted and favored Li Jiacheng more.

Moreover, when HSBC sells assets, especially core assets like Hutchison Whampoa, it considers not only the price, but also the background of the buyer, future cooperation, and political factors.

As a newly emerging Chinese-owned enterprise, Sugar Heart Capital carries far less weight in HSBC's eyes than Li Ka Shing, which has deeper roots and closer ties with British capital.

If a direct assault is not an option, then the only recourse is to attack Zhao by besieging Wei, and strike at the point where the enemy must defend.

Li Ka-shing needs a huge amount of money to acquire HSBC's stake in Hutchison Whampoa.

Cheung Kong Holdings certainly cannot raise this amount of money on its own and will inevitably need financing from HSBC or other banking syndicates. If, at this time, Cheung Kong Holdings itself encounters "problems," such as abnormal stock price fluctuations or significant rumors circulating in the market that are detrimental to its credit, its financing will become more difficult and costly.

Therefore, the deal between HSBC and Li Ka-shing could be delayed or even shelved.

Attacking Cheung Kong Holdings is far easier than directly seizing Hutchison Whampoa's shares on the market.

Cheung Kong Holdings is a listed company with a considerable market capitalization, but compared to the massive Hutchison Whampoa, it is much smaller and easier to manipulate in the secondary market.

Secretly acquiring shares of Cheung Kong Holdings in the secondary market!

Through continuous and covert buying, acquire at least 10% of Cheung Kong Holdings' shares.

At critical moments, these shares can be used as bargaining chips, or negative news can be released to suppress the stock price, create trouble for Li Ka-shing, distract him, and delay his acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa.

Thinking of this, Chen Bingwen immediately asked Ali to call Fang Wenshan and Huo Jianning, who had just returned from Yingni, Qingzhou to report on their work.

The two arrived at the office quickly.

Chen Bingwen didn't beat around the bush and directly relayed Wei Li's news and his own analysis.

After listening, Fang Wenshan's expression turned serious: "Mr. Chen, if Li Jiacheng gets the remaining shares of HSBC, then our situation with Hutchison Whampoa will be very passive."

We must find a way to stop it.

“That’s the same idea,” Chen Bingwen nodded. “Director Fang, how much cash do we have available right now?”
After deducting necessary reserves and the portion used for gold investment.

Fang Wenshan quickly did some mental calculations and replied, "After deducting the budget reserved for the relocation and development of Qingzhou Yingni, the budget to support the renovation of Watsons and the expansion of the North American and mainland markets, as well as the 200 million HKD deposit for gold investment, we currently have about 150 million HKD in cash that we can flexibly mobilize."

150 million
Chen Bingwen pondered.

This amount of money is far from enough to control Cheung Kong Holdings, but it is sufficient to quietly accumulate shares in the secondary market and create volatility.

“Jianning,” Chen Bingwen looked at Huo Jianning, “you are familiar with capital market operations, so I’m entrusting you with leading this matter.”

Director Fang will assist you with fund allocation.

“Understood, Mr. Chen,” Huo Jianning replied. “I suggest adopting a dispersed, phased strategy, quietly buying through multiple different brokerage accounts to avoid attracting market attention and alerting Cheung Kong’s management.”

The initial target could be to acquire 3% to 5% of Cheung Kong's outstanding shares.

“Okay.” Chen Bingwen agreed with the strategy. “Don’t rush things, accumulate shares slowly. Since the Li family holds a lot of shares in Cheung Kong, we need to pay close attention to Cheung Kong’s movements, especially their financing plans and financial reports.”

"I'll keep a close eye on it," Huo Jianning nodded.

Just as Fok Kin-ning began secretly strategizing to acquire shares in Cheung Kong Holdings, Simon Murray's restructuring plan for Watsons also commenced.

Simon Murray is a decisive and efficient person. The first thing he did after taking office was to conduct a survey of the 72 Watsons stores on Hong Kong Island.

He personally led his team to visit more than a dozen stores in different locations and found that there were more problems than expected.

The stores have outdated and inconsistent appearances, varying levels of management, and a lack of employee training, among other issues.

In response to these problems, Ma Shimin immediately began sweeping reforms.

All stores underwent standardized renovations, with replacement of signs and in-store display shelves to a uniform standard.

Significantly increase the shelf space allocated to beverages, cosmetics, and personal care products from Chenji Foods, while reducing the sales volume and profit margin of low-volume, low-margin generic products.

At the same time, Chen Ji's best-selling products were introduced to drive traffic to the stores.

Reform inevitably touches upon the existing pattern of interests.

Watson's former manager, Xu Shiwen, had reservations about Ma Shimin's radical reforms, believing that the changes were too drastic and would scare away old customers.

Some middle managers who were used to the old model also began to outwardly comply but inwardly resist.

Ma Shimin did not compromise in the slightest. After consulting with Chen Bingwen, he decisively replaced Xu Shiwen and transferred him to a sinecure.

At the same time, several young managers who performed well and agreed with the new strategy were promoted.

With strong measures in place, the internal resistance within Watsons was quickly suppressed.

(End of this chapter)