Siheyuan: I have a multi-dimensional chat group!

Don't be fooled by Chen Dongqing's current respectable appearance, even though he's the chairman of the Jianing Group.

But the Jianing Group he mentioned was just an empty shell, with no real business other than pest control and tourism.

The so-called "high-level talents from Malacca" are nothing more than people who fled to Hong Kong to make a living after Malacca went bankrupt.

In this era, information is not readily available. Despite the existence of newspapers and television stations, there is still a lack of information about the outside world's businesses, making it far less transparent than the internet age.

But if Taishan wanted to dig into his past, he could trace his ancestors back eighteen generations even from as far away as Malacca, but he just couldn't be bothered with him.

However, Chen Dongqing clearly had no intention of leaving, and boasted extensively about his extensive connections in Southeast Asia, including his close business relationship with Immel, the wife of the current Luzon president.

He also secretly told Xiao Shan that he had the support of Hongsu Bank behind him, which meant that Taishan was very powerful, and that he wanted to befriend Xiao Shan. Chen Dongqing didn't usually tell this to just anyone, etc...

This guy's bragging is so exaggerated, it's like he's about to burst! If it contained hydrogen, this thing would be ready to fly.

Unfortunately, all that came out was carbon dioxide.

Chapter 706, Better to Let Me Have It Than a Cheap Scammer! (Please Subscribe!)

However, there was some truth to his boasting.

After going bankrupt and arriving in Hong Kong, he was highly valued by the Chung family. After accumulating some connections, he switched jobs and started his own company, which is now known as Jia Ning.

Riding the wave of Hong Kong's real estate boom, they accumulated several million Hong Kong dollars to develop real estate and even reached a cooperation agreement with their former boss, the Chung family, to jointly develop projects.

Just a month ago, it made a high-profile acquisition of the listed company Mei Han, went public through a reverse merger and changed its name to Caring Properties, and bought the Golden Gate Building from the Jardine Matheson consortium for a sky-high price, renaming it Caring Centre.

Of course, this deal seems to have many suspicious points.

It's not unreasonable for Jardine Matheson to sell properties to raise cash for its battle with the shipping magnate.

The problem is, two years ago the company's total assets were valued at only 1000 million, so how did it suddenly have so much money to buy a building?

According to the information provided by Chen Dongqing, he was just an agent, backed by the President of Luzon and the Hong Kong-based bank, so a mere HK$10 billion was nothing to him.

Whether it's the President of Luzon or the Hong Kong-based Hong Kong bank, only a very small number of people in Hong Kong have the ability to verify it.

Someone with that ability wouldn't bother verifying the veracity of this news.

As for those who are unable to verify the information, they naturally have no way of checking the source of the funds, and are even more convinced that the funds are clean money that President Luzon and Hong Kong's Hong Kong bank have circulated and given to Chen Dongqing to invest in Hong Kong.

But Xiao Shan knew that this guy was talking complete nonsense and that he didn't have such a powerful network of connections behind him.

"Mr. Xiao! The Golden Gate Building is a prime property of Jardine Matheson. If it weren't for needing cash to compete with the shipping magnate for Kowloon Wharf, we would never have let go of such a high-quality building!" After rambling on for a while, Chen Dongqing finally revealed his purpose, "Acquiring the Golden Gate Building outright is indeed a bit too much for me. I've observed that Hong Kong real estate prices will continue to surge. Mr. Xiao, are you interested in acquiring a stake in Carnegie Hall?"

So that's what they were after!

Chen Dongqing and his partner Zhong Zhengwen conspired to fraudulently acquire the Jinmen Building in order to inflate the stock price of the backdoor listing. The high stock price would naturally help them cover up the fraudulent accounts.

Attracting retail investors is too slow; getting big players involved is the key.

Moreover, Xiaoshan's reputation is now unparalleled, and receiving investment from Taishan is already a huge boost for shareholders. It's worth noting that Taishan owns numerous high-quality companies with terrifying profitability, yet none of them have chosen to go public.

In contrast, apart from Hutchison Whampoa, which is large and powerful and was acquired to expand its own strength, none of the listed companies invested in by Taishan Investment have suffered losses.

Even a small amount of investment from Xiaoshan would be enough for Chen Dongqing to create stories for the shareholders.

Investing in Jialing?

After a moment's thought, Xiao Shan asked, "What's the valuation?"

Chen Dongqing was overjoyed, but Sha Dantong frowned, somewhat unable to understand Xiao Shan's intentions.

Chen Dongqing's Jianing Group, though called a group, is actually just a medium-sized real estate company.

Companies of this caliber are a dime a dozen in Hong Kong's real estate industry.

Taishan Group not only owns real estate companies, but also corresponding property management companies and construction teams. It has so many projects that it cannot develop them all on its own, and there is also the huge Hutchison International slowly taking over its business.

In this situation, why spend money to invest in a medium-sized real estate company?

Moreover, the source of funding for Jianing has always been a problem.

“Jianing Group is valued at HK$2 million. If you agree to invest, I am willing to give up 20%,” Chen Dongqing said to Xiao Shan after thinking for a moment.

The only thing worth anything about the entire Carnegie Hall Group is the Golden Gate Building; a valuation of HK$2 million is clearly inflated.

That American company was already on the verge of being delisted, otherwise it wouldn't have been sold off by the Huang family.

Not to mention the Jianing Group, which went public through a reverse merger.

If they really have this ability, why doesn't Jialing go public on its own instead of using a backdoor listing?

"2000 million Hong Kong dollars?" Xiao Shan smiled slightly. "Okay! This is my business card. People from Taishan Law Firm will contact you later to coordinate."

"Okay, okay, Mr. Xiao!" Chen Dongqing took the business card that Xiao Shan handed him with both hands and stuffed it into his shirt pocket as if it were a treasure.

Xiaoshan's business card is extremely simple, consisting only of "Taishan·Xiaoshan" and a company number.

Upon receiving the business card, Chen Dongqing was surprised by how smoothly things went, and his mind was already starting to plan how to tell the next part of the story.

Sensing the implication in Xiao Shan's words that he was seeing them off, Chen Dongqing quickly continued, "Then I won't disturb you any longer; I'll take my leave now."

Throughout the entire performance, only Chen Dongqing was acting; Xiao Shan and Sha Dantong remained unmoved.

After Chen Dongqing left, Sha Dantong frowned and asked, "What are Xiao Sheng's plans? Investing in a company like this is too risky. They might even be losing money. Do you really believe his story?"

Truly capable people are people in themselves; they don't need to talk about how powerful their connections are or how many important figures they know.

Only those who lack ability constantly talk about being related to the wealthy and powerful, either to show off or for other purposes.

Just as Xiao Shan and Sha Dantong both know Mai Lihao, neither of them would talk about Mai Lihao all the time.

She tells everyone she meets how she and MacLehose were together...

As a world-class shipping magnate and a contemporary leader of the Ningbo business community, Bao, who had even dined with the Japanese imperial family, would never publicize this matter.

Xiao Shan smiled and replied, "I don't believe what Chen Dongqing said, but I'm just investing in his deception skills because he's so good at it."

"Taishan did not go public to raise money, nor did it fleece retail investors, but that does not mean Taishan lacks the ability or need to raise money. It's just that we're using this guy's name for a while. Once he's wearing Taishan's banner, I can cash out my shares from the stock market."

Xiaoshan has never been a kind-hearted person, and has never been averse to companies going public and using shareholders' money for development or exploiting shareholders.

The first rule of investing in stocks is: "The stock market is risky; invest with caution."

But even if that's the case, how many people can actually control themselves?

Just like everyone knows that spinach and gambling are extremely risky, yet people still flock to them time and time again.

The stock market is not a "zero-sum game". Allowing companies to go public is for the better development of enterprises, so that they can obtain funds to develop and give back dividends to shareholders.

But looking at stock market investors, how many of them actually choose to invest for a meager dividend?

The vast majority of them buy when prices are rising or falling to profit from the price difference.

Earning dividends is a form of investment and financial management, while profiting from price differences is a zero-sum game.

There are gains and losses; that's just how the market works.

Or perhaps it's because there's an element of gambling in human nature, or perhaps it's the innate desire to gain without effort.

Since they're going to be fleeced anyway, Xiaoshan would rather fleece them himself, so he can use the funds to do more things.

Chapter 707, What is a mutually destructive fighting style? (Please subscribe!)

As for enlightening the world...

When faced with significant interests, most people lose their way.

They might even think you're hindering their ability to make money, or they might be driven by jealousy or envy.

Just as you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep, many people are willing to remain in their dreams and refuse to wake up.

The saying "You won't turn back until you hit a brick wall" perfectly illustrates this point.

Furthermore, Xiaoshan has no responsibility or obligation to advise others not to be deceived; this is something the Hong Kong government needs to monitor and consider.

"You really believe he can fool people?" Sha Dantong shook her head and said disdainfully.

There are plenty of fraudulent companies, but how many of them actually succeed?

After all, deception is a skill, and most people are self-taught.

Even if they managed to get the company listed through deception, they couldn't make any money. In the end, they ended up in a limbo, unable to keep up the lie, and were delisted.

"I believe you!" Xiao Shan watched Chen Dongqing walk away and smiled, "Look how confident he is in his deception! He probably even believes his own lies. It's not a skill to deceive others; a true master is one who can deceive himself!"

"A lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth. The saying 'three men can make a tiger' is an idiom, but it's also true. HK$2000 million isn't much; let's just play along!"

Sha Dantong looked at Xiao Shan speechlessly.

There's probably only this guy in all of Hong Kong who treats 20 million Hong Kong dollars like it's nothing!

Taishan Group's profits in just one day are comparable to the annual profits of most companies.

Sha Dantong sighed and said, "You need to be careful lately. Many people are envious of your sale of Hutchison Whampoa's Wharf Holdings shares to Jardine Matheson, and they might take the opportunity to cause trouble."

There was no need for Sha Dantong to remind them; in the past two days, TVB has been biting Taishan like a mad dog, as if afraid that no one in Hong Kong still doesn't know that Xiaoshan betrayed the shipping magnate.

Even the law cannot convict Xiaoshan, yet the media can attack him through moral blackmail.

Shen Taipan even betrayed Hutchison Whampoa for profit. Why don't the major media outlets pressure HSBC? Instead, they're publicizing how Shen Taipan helped HSBC make a fortune.

To put it bluntly, it's all about treating people differently based on their status.

Xiao Shan said calmly, "This fierce battle won't last long. Soon the outcome will be decided, and then we'll see!"

After discussing business matters with Sha Dantong, the two started watching football.

After the match, the two said goodbye and went home.

Several days later, the highly anticipated battle for Wharf Holdings finally came to an end!

Although the battle ended quickly, both Jardine Matheson and Worldwide Shipping had spent a considerable amount of time preparing and suffered heavy losses.

Jardine Matheson sold the Golden Gate Building and many other properties, while Universal Group also issued new shares and received a loan from HSBC.

Last year, Wharf Holdings had a total market value of 15 billion, but its actual value was only 32 billion. However, it was artificially inflated to a valuation of 53 billion, which was an unexpected result.

Such an inflated valuation is bound to have someone foot the bill!

Those who cashed out their Wharf Holdings shares were all winners, while Jardine Matheson and Worldwide Shipping were both losers.

Wharf Holdings Building Conference Room!

At this moment, the executives of Wharf Holdings had to step back, as everyone present today was a figure from a conglomerate.

John, the head of the Keswick family, sat opposite the shipping magnate. Seeing Xiao Shan's mocking expression, he coldly replied, "Today is about handling Wharf Holdings' affairs. Those who are not shareholders of Wharf Holdings should not be qualified to sit here."

Being extorted by Xiao Shan is a disgrace to the Keswick family.

So when Old John saw Xiao Shan, he was also furious for no reason.

In fact, the price of HK$100 per share offered by Xiaoshan to Wharf Holdings was quite reasonable.

The problem is that Jardine Matheson has now lost Wharf Holdings, and all its efforts have been in vain, so it naturally harbors resentment towards Xiao Shan.

Moreover, this guy was clearly on the side of the shipping magnate, and this kind of behavior of beating up the cook after having eaten his fill made old John unable to tolerate it.

“Mr. Xiao was invited here, and he is also one of the shareholders, so of course he has voting rights in Wharf Holdings.” The shipping magnate looked on with delight at Old John’s amazed expression.

"What did you say?" Old John exclaimed in shock.

Hutchison Whampoa, which had cross-shareholdings, has already sold its shares to Jardine Matheson, yet it is still secretly increasing its stake in Wharf Holdings.

Xiao Shan waved his hand, signaling the lawyer behind him to produce the shareholding certificate.

These shares acquired from Taishan Securities Market have long been erased from the records by Taishan Bank, bypassing other banks' billing processes, so even HSBC couldn't detect them.

"Damn it!" Old John's face turned red with anger.

Xiao Shan looked at Old John with a slight upturn of his lips: "Didn't you tell the media that I betrayed the interests of Chinese capital? Didn't you call me a lackey of British capital? Now I'll show you how I act as a lackey of Jardine Matheson!"

Although Xiao Shan hadn't intervened these past few days, he knew the public pressure Tai Shan was under and how these bastards were stirring up emotions.

Taishan's office building alone has been stormed twice, and many employees with strong ethnic sentiments have even chosen to resign.

Many employees angrily denounced the company and secretly sabotaged it, causing a sharp increase in the damage and scrap rate of the factory and machinery.

Xiaoshan couldn't possibly ask its employees to settle these scores, nor could it confront the emotionally charged public; it could only attribute everything to the Keswick family, the instigators.

"Xiao Shan, Xiao Shan!" Old John glared angrily, silently chanting Xiao Shan's name in Chinese, as if he were cursing him.

"Are you furious? Let me tell you something else to cheer you up!" Xiao Shan said unhurriedly, "After the two shocking aviation accidents this year, the stock prices of airlines around the world plummeted. Aren't you curious why Jardine Air Services' stock price didn't fall?"