Reborn as a tycoon in Hong Kong

On Thursday, March 1, Lin Baicheng held a board meeting at Hutchison Whampoa.

Hutchison Whampoa has a total of nine directors, and all of them attended this meeting.

After the board meeting began, Lin Baicheng spoke up and said: "The resolution to be voted on at this board meeting has been placed in front of everyone. The management has decided to sell the company's foreign trade business subsidiary, and we will vote on whether to agree to the sale of the foreign trade business."

"Mr. Lin, the company's foreign trade business can be said to be one of the company's most profitable businesses. The annual profits are considerable. Why should we sell the foreign trade business?"

The person who asked was an older white man, his Chinese name was Richard, and he was another honorary director of the company. He had worked in the Hong Kong government for decades and had been in the Legislative Council for more than ten years. He had a wide network of contacts. This is the important reason why Lin Baicheng invited him to serve as an honorary director of Hutchison Whampoa with a high salary.

Since Lin Baicheng specially set up two honorary directors for Hutchison Whampoa, he would not say anything, so he explained: "The reason is related to the fact that Hutchison Whampoa was shorted last year. When Hutchison Whampoa was shorted by the British family, the company For our foreign trade business, the British customs seized the cargo ship. Although the customs said it was a routine inspection, we all know what is going on."

"Since this happened the first time, it is likely to happen a second time or even more times. The company's foreign trade business is indeed very profitable, but the foreign trade business is too dependent on the UK and UK-related markets. Once If the London or Hong Kong government wants to target it, it can easily suppress it, and the company will have no room to struggle."

"So, the company's business is profitable, but its risk resistance is too low. Once something goes wrong, it will easily have a significant impact on the company's stock price. Therefore, instead of waiting for another incident to affect the company's stock price, it is better to package and sell the entire foreign trade business. , to return funds to develop other businesses.”

Lin Baicheng was worried that he would be targeted by the British or the Hong Kong government for standing on the mainland. He could only think about it in his mind and could not bring it up to the board of directors, otherwise it would be like informing the Hong Kong government to suppress him quickly.

After hearing this, Richard couldn't help but said: "Mr. Lin, I don't think this kind of thing will happen again. After all, once the impact is too big, the media will not let the relevant departments go."

Lin Baicheng shook his head: "Maybe, but I don't want to take risks. The company's current market value is so high. If there is a negative impact and the company's stock price plummets, the loss will be too great for a major shareholder like me."

"Lin Sheng's concerns are not unreasonable."

Guo Henian quite agrees with this. He is also the company's major shareholder. Once the company's stock price plummets, the damage to him will be considerable. Let’s not talk about the loss in market value. For the loans he made using share mortgages, once Hutchison Whampoa’s market value plummeted, the bank would definitely choose to demand the loan from him, and he would either pay back the money or make up for the difference in collateral. Therefore, it is best not to let this happen. Stability is the most important thing.

Richard said: "Mr. Lin, according to your statement, the company's Watsons retail business also has many supermarkets in the UK. Once targeted, it will also cause considerable losses."

"Watson's retail supermarkets are different. Each supermarket has anywhere from nearly a hundred people to two to three hundred people. If the supermarket closes, a large number of people will lose their jobs. It's okay if the business is just bad and the supermarket has to close. But if the supermarket is closed down, Those unemployed employees will not give up if they lose their jobs, so as long as they are not stupid, they will not deliberately suppress Watsons."

Lin Baicheng couldn't help but smile when he heard this. Watsons and Hutchison Whampoa's foreign trade subsidiaries are different. The number of employees between the two is simply incomparable. No congressman will be determined to suppress Watsons supermarkets. Once a large number of unemployed people appear, it will be unlucky. It will only be the relevant personnel.

Furthermore, even if Watson's supermarket is really targeted, at most Hutchison Whampoa will package the supermarket and sell it. Anyway, no matter how hard it is suppressed, the property will not be confiscated. As long as it doesn't reach this point, Lin Baicheng doesn't have to worry. Now if he invests and sells it after two years, he can still make a small profit at least.

"Mr. Lin, foreign trade business is one of the three pillars of the company. Once the foreign trade business is sold, the company's main business will only be real estate and retail. I wonder if the company has any plans for development after selling the foreign trade business?"

Yuan Tianfan asked aloud. Although he now works at Galaxy Bank and is already Lin Baicheng's subordinate, Lin Baicheng did not inform him of the sale of foreign trade business in advance. Unless special circumstances arise, some of Lin Baicheng's personal decisions will not be discussed with him in advance. What Lin Baicheng wants is for Yuan Tianfan to consider it from Hutchison's own perspective, rather than relying on any of his decisions.

If it was just to avoid any opponents in Hutchison Whampoa, Lin Baicheng would not have established two honorary directors in the first place, but would directly grab these directorships.

Lin Baicheng said to the directors: "Wei Li and I have said before that Hutchison Whampoa's three major development directions are real estate, retail and pharmaceuticals. Now that we have decided to sell our foreign trade business, it is time to focus on developing the pharmaceutical industry. ”

"Pharmaceutical industry?"

Guo Henian did not expect that Lin Baicheng would enter this industry. He couldn't help but said: "Lin Sheng, although I don't know much about the pharmaceutical industry, whether it is pharmaceutical manufacturing or medical equipment, they are all very technical industries. Although there is also a pharmaceutical company under the company We are a subsidiary company, but we are engaged in the purchase and sale of medicinal materials and the consignment of medicines. We do not have exclusive technology at all, so it is not easy to develop."

"I know this too."

Lin Baicheng nodded and said: "I am not planning to start the company from scratch in research and development of pharmaceutical technology. Instead, I will open a pharmacy and become a pharmaceutical agent and distributor first. In addition, we will build a hospital, and we will build a first-class hospital in the region." , so the investment in this area will be relatively large.”

Xia Boyin reminded aloud: "Mr. Lin, the establishment of a hospital requires highly skilled doctors. In addition, it also needs advanced medical equipment, so the initial investment will be huge."

"The company's foreign trade business can be sold for at least HK$800 million. Except for a small part of the money invested in pharmacies, the rest will be used to build hospitals. If necessary, we can even find bank loans, so funding is not a problem."

Lin Baicheng replied, and then said to everyone: "Birth, old age, illness and death are inevitable for us humans. No matter whether you are poor or rich, as long as you are sick, you must see a doctor and take medicine. Therefore, medical consumption is a rigid need and will never become obsolete. The initial investment may be huge, but as long as we continue to invest, sooner or later the company's pharmaceutical industry will develop and become the company's pillar industry."

"What Mr. Lin said is that medical consumption is indeed an urgent need. As long as it is not a disease that cannot be cured, no matter who is sick, they will go to the hospital to see a doctor or buy medicine. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the market, as long as it is done well. There’s a huge market out there.”

Yuan Tianfan agreed and said that this industry will never be outdated no matter what era it is placed in. It is just a matter of whether it can be done well. And whether it can be done well, no one knows now. We can only say that there is no problem with the direction chosen.

Wei Li then said: "I also think we can focus on developing the pharmaceutical industry and develop it as the company's next key industry."

"I am not opposed to entering the pharmaceutical industry. As Mr. Lin said, the market in this industry is huge."

Richard first expressed his attitude, and then changed the topic: "However, forget it about opening a pharmacy and acting as a drug agent. If you build a hospital, because of the huge investment, there is no need to focus on the development of each department at the beginning. You can focus on development first. Certain departments will gradually increase the hospital's reputation. At the same time, the company does not need to invest too much money at the beginning. If it has more funds, it can be invested in other businesses first."

"Director Richard is right. This matter needs to be discussed carefully."

Lin Baicheng nodded in agreement, and then said: "Today we will first decide to sell the foreign trade business. As for the specific investment in the pharmaceutical industry, it will not be too late to hold a board meeting for discussion after the foreign trade business is sold."

"Let's get back to the topic of whether we agree to sell the foreign trade business. If you have no other questions, let's vote now."

Lin Baicheng looked at the crowd as he spoke. When he saw that no one was speaking, he said, "If everyone has no doubts, let's vote."

After all, the person in charge of the company is Lin Baicheng. Lin Baicheng's attitude is already obvious, that is, to sell the foreign trade business and enter the pharmaceutical industry. And his statement was able to convince everyone, so after asking all the questions, everyone naturally had no opinions.

In the subsequent voting, the motion was unanimously approved, and the board of directors approved the decision to sell the foreign trade business.

Lin Baicheng looked at the crowd and said, "Very good, unanimous vote passed, then this matter has been decided."

"Mr. Lin, regarding the sale of the company's foreign trade business, how should we proceed?"

Wei Li asked aloud. In fact, Lin Baicheng had already discussed with him how to operate. The reason why he asked now was mainly to let the directors know.

Hearing this, Lin Baicheng said: "Since we have decided to sell, there is no need to delay. I will sort out the details of the foreign trade business recently, and then release the news to the outside world, invite interested companies to participate in the auction, and auction the foreign trade business as a product." , the one with the highest price gets it.”

Richard asked aloud: "Mr. Lin, what is the minimum bid price? What if no one bids?"

"The reserve price is HK$800 million."

Lin Baicheng replied: "If no one bids, forget it, and we will look for a buyer who is willing to accept it. HK$800 million is the minimum sales price. If no one buys it, it will be another matter."

"Isn't the price of HK$800 million a bit low?"

Guo Henian frowned slightly, but felt that the price was not high enough.

Lin Baicheng explained: "800 million Hong Kong dollars is the lowest price. We choose to bid. Once a company participates in the bidding, the transaction price will be higher than 800 million Hong Kong dollars. Besides, 800 million Hong Kong dollars is not low. After all, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event." Funds that can be obtained through sex, rather than profits accumulated over several years.”

Guo Henian nodded after hearing this and said nothing more. From the perspective of being able to get so much money at one time, it is indeed not low. After all, it is Hutchison Whampoa’s profit for four to five years, but the actual situation is that no one can be sure whether the company will be in trouble in four or five years. The change.

Of course, you can also think about it from another perspective. That is, the company’s foreign trade business will continue to make money in the next four to five years. So if the company is sold at this price now, it will definitely be a loss. Not only will it not make the profits in the next few years, but its valuation will definitely be higher in a few years. .

However, who knows what will happen in a few years? It may be good or bad, so it’s best not to think too much, it’s meaningless.

Lin Baicheng said to Wei Li: "Wei Li, the next task of your management is to do this well, contact potential buyers, and try to sell the company's foreign trade business at a higher price."

"Okay, Mr. Lin, don't worry, we will do a good job in this job."

Wei Li said immediately.

After the board meeting adjourned, when Lin Baicheng left, Guo Henian left with him.

Guo Henian said: "Lin Sheng, regarding the company's foreign trade business, if the company in which I am a shareholder wants to participate in the bidding and acquisition, is it possible?"

"To be fair to Guo Sheng, Bao Sheng, I and a few friends have jointly established a company specializing in foreign trade. This company will also participate in the acquisition, so of course you can do it too. The one with the highest price will get it."

Lin Baicheng smiled and said that he would not hide it from Guo Henian. Guo Henian would know about it sooner or later.

Guo Henian was very confused after hearing this: "Lin Sheng, since you are worried that the British side will specifically target you, how can you repay it?"

Lin Baicheng explained with a smile: "Guo Sheng, our company has capital from the United States and Japan, and I own less than half of the shares. This is different from Hutchison Whampoa's self-operated foreign trade business."

"Then I wonder if I can participate in Lin Sheng's joint venture?"

Guo Henian asked tentatively. In his opinion, since there is capital from the United States and Japan, this company obviously has a bright future.

"I'm sorry, Guo Sheng, we have already established a company and are not preparing to raise external financing for the time being, so I'm sorry."

Lin Baicheng apologized aloud. Their shares had already been allocated and no one was short of money, so there was no need to find another person to allocate shares.

"That's such a shame."

Guo Henian felt a little regretful when he heard this.

The two of them walked and chatted, and when they were about to arrive at Lin Baicheng's office, they separated.

The matter of letting Hutchison Whampoa sell its foreign trade business has been completed. Lin Baicheng then notified Bao Yugang, Iwasaki Mineryu, Phil Smith and Logan Rockefeller respectively, so that they had a clear idea.

Although the matter has been confirmed, the sale will certainly not be announced to the public immediately. Hutchison Whampoa itself has to handle the matter internally. There is a lot to do, including asset integration and labor arrangements for foreign trade business.

(Thanks to ‘rg1969’ for the huge reward support!)