Reborn Tycoon Rise

"Mr. Sides, please sit down." Xu Zhi greeted with a smile.

After the secretary served tea to the two of them, he left the office

Sides said: "You're welcome, Mr. Xu. I came to visit you today in the hope that Standard Chartered Bank can undertake Hutchison Whampoa's fund-raising plan."

Xu Zhi smiled and said: "Mr. Sides, for such a large fund-raising plan, no party will be randomly selected. Hutchison Whampoa has prepared to invite many securities companies to bid together, and can propose the most effective and beneficial securities for Hutchison Whampoa." Only businessmen will get this opportunity.”

Sides nodded and said: "I understand this, but our Standard Chartered Bank has been cooperating with Mr. Xu for so long. Mr. Xu should also know that we will definitely consider the common interests of both you and us. In order to show our sincerity, we are willing to Reduce interest on financing to 13 points."

"13 points?" Xu Zhi also pondered for a moment. Due to the substantial increase in housing prices in the Hong Kong real estate market, the British Hong Kong government has increased bank margins several times, and the second oil crisis is still affecting the global economy. The Federal Reserve has Due to the interest rate hikes and the influence of many parties, the loan interest rate in Xiangjiang has basically reached around 18%. The 13% proposed by Standard Chartered Bank is indeed very favorable.

Xu Zhi thought for a while and then said: "Mr. Sides, let's do this. I will discuss this matter with Hutchison Whampoa's management. If there are no other issues, in principle I agree to this matter."

Sides smiled with satisfaction and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Xu.

One more thing, our board of directors has proposed to add two more directors. I wonder if Mr. Xu is interested? "

"Director?" Xu Zhi thought for a moment and asked, "Is Standard Chartered Bank going to sell its shares?"

Sides said: "This time we are only inviting non-executive directors. Standard Chartered has no plans to introduce other capital."

Directors of a company do not necessarily have to be major shareholders. In many cases, the company's top management or celebrities from outside are called non-executive directors.

Non-executive directors do not have any administrative or management responsibilities with the company. Under normal circumstances, they can participate in the formulation of some plans of the company, but they only have the right to know but not the right to vote. In fact, it is a false name and they have no big rights.

Xu Zhi smiled and said: "Mr. Sides, I have another proposal here. Since Standard Chartered Bank has long-term cooperative relationships with many of my companies, I wonder if I can make a strategic investment in Standard Chartered. "

Sides was stunned for a moment and asked, "Mr. Xu wants to invest in Standard Chartered?"

Xu Zhi nodded and said: "Yes, but this is just a strategic investment. We will not participate in the management of the bank."

"Mr. Xu, I invited you to join the board of directors before. You are the director of our Hong Kong branch of Standard Chartered Bank. And Standard Chartered Bank is headquartered in the UK. If you want to invest in shares, we in Hong Kong can't make the decision." Sides frowned and said. Standard Chartered Bank's branch in Hong Kong has strong independent rights, so there is also a board of directors here, but all the equity of the branch is controlled by the headquarters, and it is impossible to sell the equity.

Xu Zhi said with a smile: "I know this, but as far as I know, although Standard Chartered Bank has branches in hundreds of countries around the world, in fact, the highest profits of the entire bank are in the branches in the city of Xiangjiang."

"These do exist, but there are many objective factors, and I only work for the Xiangjiang branch and have no right to interfere with the headquarters' matters." Sides said helplessly.

In the 1970s, in order to further internationalize, Standard Chartered Bank, headquartered in the United Kingdom, acquired two regional banks and entered the markets of the Middle East and South America. However, due to acclimatization, these branch banks have been in a state of loss and need to ask the headquarters for money every year.

As the branch with the highest profit, the Xiangjiang branch naturally has to hand over more profits. This in turn prevents further development of the Xiangjiang branch. In recent years, it is fine if it is not a rival of HSBC. Even HSBC’s subsidiary Hang Seng Banks have surpassed Standard Chartered in scale.

Xu Zhi said: "Mr. Sides, several of my companies have large-scale investment plans and acquisition plans in the future, which involve Hong Kong, the mainland, and European and American countries, and the funding requirements are as high as billions of dollars, so I need to find a long-term partner among many international banks.

I hope this partner is Standard Chartered Bank. If we can acquire a stake in Standard Chartered Bank, then this cooperative relationship will have a stronger guarantee. "

"Billions of dollars?" Sides couldn't help but his face changed slightly.

Xu Zhi said with a smile: "Yes, Standard Chartered Bank has also participated in Evergrande's infrastructure investment in Shanghai. You should know that in the mainland now, any infrastructure project requires hundreds of millions of dollars, and large ones require even more .

Here in Hong Kong, the construction cost of a large office building is as high as hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars. As long as the right time comes, buildings will be built on many of my empty sites.

As for international investment, Midea will also conduct several mergers and acquisitions in the future to integrate the upstream and downstream industrial chains.

These require a lot of money, billions of dollars more. "

"I understand what Mr. Xu means. I will report all this and do my best to promote this matter." Sides nodded and agreed. He already understood what Xu Zhi meant, that is In exchange for this huge future loan, Standard Chartered seeks to acquire shares.

Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Sides."

"Mr. Xu, you're welcome. I wonder what percentage of shares Mr. Xu intends to buy?" Sides asked.

"15%, what do you think of Mr. Sides?" Xu Zhi asked with a smile. This ratio is neither high nor low. Standard Chartered Bank has been established for hundreds of years. The largest shareholders are some large labor unions or pension funds in the UK. These funds do not participate in management, so Standard Chartered management has enough freedom, and 15% The ratio is enough to prevent Standard Chartered's management from having too strong a sense of crisis, while at the same time obtaining certain benefits.

"I understand. If there is any intention from the British headquarters, I will notify Mr. Xu as soon as possible." Sides stood up and prepared to leave.

Xu Zhi shook hands and smiled: "Okay, I hope we can cooperate even closer in the future."

After Sides left, Xu Zhi asked his secretary to contact Wang Liming and inform him to come over.

After Wang Liming arrived, Xu Zhi briefly described what had just happened.

After listening, Wang Liming said: "Xu Sheng, Standard Chartered Bank's performance in recent years has not been very good, and it is unlikely that the British headquarters will give us any rights to participate in operations."

"I know this." Xu Zhi nodded and said. In later generations, in 1986, Standard Chartered Bank was hostilely acquired by Lloyds Bank of England. Bao Yugang and South Asian tycoon Qiu Deba joined forces to save Standard Chartered Bank and obtained more than 30% of the shares. shares.

Bao Yugang had a banking dream since he was a child, hoping to run a bank. After acquiring a huge stake in Standard Chartered, in order to realize this dream, he thought it was a conflict of interest and resigned as a director of HSBC. However, he was eventually excluded by the management of Standard Chartered.

Xu Zhi continued: "Regardless of whether we can buy shares this time, starting from today, you will mobilize our overseas funds to secretly absorb the shares of Standard Chartered Bank."

"Understood." Wang Liming nodded and said, he already knew the boss's intention.

Xu Zhi continued: "Standard Chartered Bank's business is a long-term consideration. Currently in Xiangjiang, I am planning to acquire another medium-sized bank separately. Send someone to investigate which banks' major shareholders intend to sell their stocks, or whose management is inconsistent. type of situation.”

There are actually many medium-sized banks in Hong Kong. They generally refer to banks with dozens of bank branches, a market capitalization of several hundred million, and deposits in the billions. It is actually very simple to acquire one. However, banks are different from enterprises, and forced acquisitions will cause financial turmoil. , the Hong Kong government will also intervene at any time, so a negotiated acquisition is the best option. If it doesn't work, just wait until after the real estate crisis. A large number of banks are in crisis, and several have collapsed.

Wang Liming nodded and agreed: "Okay, Xu Sheng, I will send someone to investigate immediately."

…

In the afternoon, a yellow Ferrari galloped on the winding mountain road, quickly bypassing the mountain road and reaching the seaside on the other side.

After the car stopped, Xu Zhi smiled and said: "Are you good at it? Have you received training in this area before?"

He Chaoqiong said: "There is training, but it is not for professional racing, but for emergency avoidance. For example, how to deal with emergencies while driving. My dad pays more attention to this aspect. Everyone in my family has Received training in this area.

Generally speaking, your driving skills will improve a lot after you learn it. "

"Is there such an institution in Xiangjiang? I've never heard of it?" Xu Zhi asked.

He Chaoqiong shook his head and said, "No, I trained in the UK. Do you want to go too?"

Xu Zhi nodded and said: "I have this idea, but not only me, my drivers will also go."

He Chaoqiong opened the car door and said, "Okay, then I'll go back and find you the information."

Xu Zhi also came out. The sun was shining brightly at the moment, and the breeze blew on his face, bringing with it a touch of moisture.

He Chaoqiong took out the fishing rod from the "front trunk", handed it to Xu Zhi, and said, "This is the fishing rod I bought from Japan. What do you think?"

Xu Zhi took it and his first impression was that it was very light. After straightening the fishing rod, it didn’t feel strenuous to hold the corners. The appearance also looked very distinctive.

"It should be good, but whether it's a donkey or a horse, you still have to fight it once." Xu Zhi smiled and said, took out the bait from the glass, placed it on the hook, found a suitable position, and flicked the fishing line Got out.

He Chaoqiong moved two small benches and the two sat together. However, she did not fish, but only accompanied Xu Zhi.

After chatting casually for a while, He Chaoqiong asked: "We are going to the United States the day after tomorrow. Which places should we go to visit?"

Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Where do you want to go?"