The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Shortly after the Spring Festival, Shen Bi and Boyi took the initiative to come to the chairman's office of Changshi Group.

Compared with Lin Zhichao's desire for Hutchison Whampoa, they are more eager to obtain shares in US-owned banks. With the liberalization of mainland politics, this is actually a "hanging edge" for British capital. The future of Hong Kong is about to be put on the table. So as a British capital, HSBC doesn't want to own rich assets in Europe and America. Woolen cloth?

In the office, Lin Zhichao asked Lin Ruihuan to accompany him. After all, his eldest son was about to take over as general manager; it is expected that after Lin Zhichao becomes the chairman of Hutchison Whampoa.

Shen Bi put down his tea cup and said straight to the point: "Mr. Lin, if you help us obtain 51% of SITC's shares, we will sell most of our shares in Hutchison Whampoa to you. This is a win-win situation."

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "How many shares of Hutchison Whampoa are you planning to transfer to me?"

Shen Bi said: "22.5%"

Lin Zhichao said: "Not enough, at least 30% of the shares, I can help you get 51% of the shares of SITC!"

Now it is only 22.5%. In addition, Lin Zhichao has 5% under the name of Victoria Harbor Investment, which is only 27.5% of the equity. This amount of equity is only enough for Lin Zhichao to serve as a director, and he still needs to absorb Hutchison Whampoa's shares from the market. In this way, the cost will be high later.

After thinking for a while, Shen Bi said: "25% of the equity. SITC Bank is important to us, and Hutchison Whampoa is also very important to Mr. Lin. Mr. Lin wants to develop the Cheung Kong Industrial Group comprehensively, and Hutchison Whampoa is the best choose."

Boy added: "We at HSBC only hold 33.5% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares. We have supported this company for many years and hope to gain profits in the future. Moreover, Hutchison Whampoa's stock price is sluggish at this time, less than HK$6 per share (total (equity of 400 million shares), it is in a downturn; but with Hutchison Whampoa’s financial improvement, it is after all a company with net assets of HK$6 billion.”

Lin Zhichao thought that it was only a few hundred million Hong Kong dollars to buy from the stock market, and it was not appropriate to have a serious dispute with HSBC over this matter.

People who do big business should try their best to pursue peace and wealth.

He said: "No problem, just 25% of the equity, but I hope it will not be paid in one lump sum, but in multiple installments."

In fact, Cheung Kong Group has never been short of money, but Lin Zhichao likes the feeling of sufficient cash flow.

This time, Shen Bi said cheerfully: "This is easy to say. With the strength of Changshi Group, we are not worried about your ability to pay."

In just a moment, the two parties had basically reached a consensus. The situation was much better than it had taken Li Jiacheng to beg for more than a year in his previous life. Of course, fortunately, Lin Zhichao paid close attention and knew that HSBC must be on guard against his overlord across multiple industries and took targeted actions.

Now, if HSBC wants to enter the United States, SITC is the best choice; after all, the top twenty American banks will not have two opportunities at the same time.

Lin Zhichao is really proud of Audrey Hepburn's move. Now her influence in Europe and the United States is much higher than that of Lin Zhichao. She was originally a descendant of a noble family, and was once the best actress in Hollywood. Now she has huge commercial achievements, and her influence has reached its peak. For example, in the US presidential election, if a candidate seeks votes from the female community, Audrey Hepburn must be the most important female target.

After Shen Bi and Boyi left.

Lin Zhichao said to Lin Ruihuan: "Do you know what acquiring Hutchison Whampoa means?"

After Lin Ruihuan thought about it, he said seriously: "This means that our Cheung Kong Group is more integrated. Hutchison Whampoa has comprehensive businesses such as wholesale and retail, import and export trade, transportation, shipyards, warehouses, container terminals, etc., as well as It has a huge land reserve.”

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "You are talking about the surface, but the inner part is the foreign expertise and overseas channels that Hutchison Whampoa has. Once we own Hutchison Whampoa, it means that Cheung Kong Group will develop overseas and be committed to development. Become a global company."

For a Chinese to be the boss of Hutchison Whampoa, at most it will be a battle of wits with the foreign senior management, but the middle and lower management will not care who is the boss. What's more, foreigners can also subdue them and use them for their own use. If you want to do business in the West, using foreigners is of course the best choice, and you should even use more locals.

When Lin Ruihuan heard this, he said with excitement: "Father is right! We at Changshi Group are now in a situation where we have a lot of cash flow but not enough investment projects. Of course, there is father's benevolence and righteousness in it. , so that everyone can make money. If we win Hutchison Whampoa, we will have more investment channels in Hong Kong and it will be easier to enter overseas markets."

He is right. Lin Zhichao has indeed given Chinese real estate companies a "clearance". Otherwise, Changshi Group's strength in the real estate field would have to at least double.

Precisely because Lin Zhichao considered being "big enough to have no friends", he only maintained a slight lead in the field of real estate development and only competed with British capital in the commercial field. For example, among the 20 commercial sites in East Tsim Sha Tsui, Lin Zhichao only wanted two coastal sites. It was not because he had no money, but because he did not want to look ugly.

This year, Cheung Kong Group has even more cash. Once the properties at Chater Station and Admiralty Station are sold, the land fee alone will bring back 600 million. Plus profits, it will be a cash flow of 800 million.

HSBC.

Shen Bi said to Boyi: "Based on the current situation, SITC is Lin Zhichao's move against our HSBC Bank. Audrey's investment in acquiring SITC happened in 1977. The important thing is that this company has no need at all. Spending huge sums of money to acquire a depressed U.S. bank, just as an investment, suddenly bought it from less than 12 US dollars, and finally bought it at a price twice as high, which completely violates business theory."

Boy nodded and said: "In this case, only if we at HSBC hope to enter the U.S. banking industry, we would lower our profile like this. But with Audrey Hepburn's influence, we would not do this at all."

After Boyi finished speaking, he immediately became shocked and said: "So, this is all planned by Lin Zhichao. He calculated that our HSBC Bank will seek overseas development, so he wanted to seize what we need in exchange for Hutchison Whampoa in the future? This is wrong. Logically speaking, given that he has cooperated with us at HSBC for many years, and he is the best candidate for Hutchison Whampoa, how could he still think of this?"

He was so shocked, what kind of opponent he was, he did things perfectly.

Shen Bi said in a low voice: "He is very smart. When he cooperated with HSBC in the past, he was not at a disadvantage. And he also understands that the largest consortium in Hong Kong is already his own, so how can we, HSBC Bank, be willing to sell Hutchison Bank Leave Huangpu to him?"

Ever since he took up the position of chief executive of HSBC, Shen Bi felt that the consortium built by Lin Zhichao had already surpassed HSBC. Therefore, why does HSBC still support such a powerful consortium?

Cooperation is possible, but it is not support.

Boy said: "In any case, Hutchison Whampoa was what we wanted to gradually withdraw from, but SITC is crucial to us."

Shen Bi nodded and said, "Okay, then transfer 25% of Hutchison Whampoa's equity to Cheung Kong as soon as possible!"

Boyi said worriedly: "Maybe he can."

Shen Bi said with a smile: "Don't worry about this, Lin Zhichao is still very trustworthy. What's more, this is the only way to operate."

Give it to Hutchison Whampoa first, and then discuss SITC. HSBC has no choice.

Monday, March 6, 1978.

At night, reporters from major media outlets in Hong Kong gathered in the conference room of the headquarters of Cheung Kong Holdings, waiting for important news to be released by Cheung Kong Group.

In February, when Cheung Kong Group announced its annual report, the media had already tasted the sweetness. The annual profit of 312 million Hong Kong dollars shocked the entire Hong Kong industry, second only to HSBC (480 million) and Jardine Matheson (330 million). , ranking third among Hong Kong listed companies.

At seven o'clock, Lin Zhichao and other senior executives of Cheung Kong Group walked into the conference room and sat down on the rostrum.

After a brief polite conversation with the reporter, Lin Zhichao, who has always been steady, said in an excited tone: "Without affecting the original business of the Yangtze River Industrial Group, our company has made a greater breakthrough - the Yangtze River Industrial Group has sold shares of 6.1 yuan per share. price, to purchase the equity of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, an established British consortium that holds 25% of 100 million ordinary shares held by HSBC."

Huh, the place is in a commotion!

Everyone was very surprised!

Three months after taking over the Wharf Group, Lin Zhichao once again took over the shares of Hutchison Whampoa from HSBC, thus becoming the major shareholder in one fell swoop.

Is this the decline of British capital?

Most of the reporters present couldn't help but applaud.

Later, a reporter asked: "Why did Cheung Kong Holdings only purchase the common shares held by HSBC Bank and no longer purchase its preferred shares?"

This question has a deeper meaning - Cheung Kong Holdings acquired 25% of Hutchison Whampoa shares and became a major shareholder in one fell swoop. Is it an investment or a holding?

Lin Zhichao replied: "From an asset perspective, Hutchison Whampoa is indeed a company with great development potential. Its real estate part is completely consistent with the company's business. We think Hutchison Whampoa's prospects are very good, because the preferred shares only enjoy interest , and the company’s profit and loss has nothing to do with it, and it has no voting rights, so we did not consider it.”

Most of the reporters at the scene applauded again, but only the foreign reporters looked sad.

In less than half a year, British capital lost two major companies, and they were defeated by the same person.

the following few days.

Hong Kong media have continuously reported on major events:

"Business Evening News" said that Cheung Kong Holdings' acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa was "like dropping a bomb" and "the stock market soared this morning."

The Hong Kong Economic Journal pointed out in its commentary: "Cheung Kong Holdings can control such a huge company and possess such huge assets at such a low price (temporarily only paying 20%). This transaction can be regarded as another major victory for Mr. Lin Zhichao …

"Sing Tao Daily" commented: "The purchase of 100 million Hutchison Whampoa shares is the most successful acquisition after the listing of Cheung Kong Holdings. Compared with Mr. Lin Zhichao's plan to acquire Wharf Group three months ago - — Use less money to control more assets. Mr. Lin Zhichao is not only the 'God of Management' in the industry, shipping industry, and real estate industry, but has also become a popular figure in the stock market."

Lin Zhichao successively won two large British-funded companies, and also attracted the attention of the international media community.

The US "Newsweek" said in a news review:

"Mr. Lin Zhichao, the richest Chinese man, has become the largest shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa. This is the first time a Chinese has acquired a British-owned bank in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong investors say, he will not be the only one."

The British Times analyzed:

"In the past six months, Mr. Lin Zhichao has scored successively in major mergers and reorganizations in Hong Kong's business community, which has made British companies in Hong Kong feel nervous. As we all know, Hong Kong is a British colony. However, the vast majority of Hong Kong's population are still Chinese and control the political power in Hong Kong. The British, who are the lifeblood of the economy, are a minority. Since World War II, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, the economic power of the Chinese has grown rapidly.

Mr. Lin Zhichao has already been a world shipping king, industrial tycoon, and real estate tycoon, but he has always been quite low-key. However, in the past six months, he has made successive attacks and won the Wharf Group and Hutchison Whampoa. This is because the pragmatists came to power and gave the Chinese in Hong Kong a powerful country to back them up. Chinese businessmen were even more powerful. They dared to openly compete with British businessmen in shopping malls to obtain greater economic benefits that originally belonged to British businessmen. This made the British businessmen in Hong Kong divided. Uneasy outside. Even Taipan, the major shareholder of the world-famous Jardine Matheson Group, feels like he has stepped into a minefield. British businessmen all lament the changes in the world. At the same time, they also have to admit that Lin Zhichao has become comparable to the top figures in the British business community. "

This article attempts to explore the reasons why Chinese businessmen such as Lin Zhichao gained power based on the background of the times. Some of the article's formulations are biased and contain a "British Empire" tone, but overall it is relatively comprehensive and objective.

Lin Zhichao continued to successfully acquire large British-owned enterprises, completely reversing the situation in which British capital had an absolute advantage in Hong Kong.

The reputation is overwhelming!

The conference room of Cheung Kong Group.

The expressions on the faces of the senior executives were very excited. After Cheung Kong Group acquired Hutchison Whampoa, it surpassed the consortium of HSBC and Jardine Matheson.

Only Lin Zhichao is very calm, because he knows that there is still a long way to go before he takes charge of Hutchison Whampoa.

Therefore, he said calmly: "Except for the step-by-step increase in Hutchison Whampoa shares, Cheung Kong Group has not made any changes. We still have to focus on our own business and cannot be affected by this acquisition."

Everyone calmed down immediately.

Huang Changhong also said: "It is true that Hutchison Whampoa is still led by Wei Li, and we don't know whether he will initiate a counter-takeover. However, we at Cheung Kong Holdings have abundant cash flow, and it is still difficult to shake the issue of increasing our shareholding."

Lin Zhichao said: "So, the step-by-step acquisition of common shares is to strive for our shareholding to reach 40% in one year. At present, the task of all of us is still to continue to expand our breakthroughs in real estate."

He actually already has a complete plan to control Hutchison Whampoa. As expected, he will officially become a director of Hutchison Whampoa at the end of the month. At this time, he will not interfere with Hutchison Whampoa's affairs, and Wei Li will continue to lead Hutchison Whampoa's business activities.

A year later, his shareholding will increase to more than 40%, at which time he will naturally become the chairman of the board of directors; at the same time, he will dispatch two directors to Hutchison Whampoa, and the candidates are already ready, that is Lin Zhichao's 'strategist' Li Yeguang, and Merliss who is about to join CK Asset.

To this extent, Lin Zhichao can have greater power in Hutchison Whampoa, but he still will not choose to rush to take power; this is because Hutchison Whampoa is almost entirely managed by foreigners, and it is easy to make big changes if he is not careful. .

Therefore, after becoming the chairman of the board of directors, Lin Zhichao's key task was to win the real estate development rights of Hutchison Whampoa; this was his strength, and it also left the foreign executives speechless.

After that, it was natural to penetrate and become familiar with Hutchison Whampoa's business, and finally take power smoothly.

After everyone calmed down, Zhou Huai'an, a senior executive of the New Generation, said: "Boss, after the death of Huang Duxiu of Taohua Datong, I heard that Taohua intends to sell its 226,000 square feet of land in Kowloon Bay."

Lin Zhichao asked: "What is the approximate market price of this land?"

Zhou Huaian said: "Currently, industrial land is not cheap, and is expected to cost HK$200 million. However, if this land is converted into residential land, more than 4,000 residential units can be built conservatively, and it is expected to be profitable."

Lin Zhichao nodded. There is not much difference between industrial land and residential land now, and it is very easy to change it into residential land. This is because the population is growing too fast and housing is scarce. For example, if the Taoda land is worth 200 million, then if it is converted into residential land, it is estimated to be more than 100 million.

"Then you bring your lawyer to talk to Taobao and try to win it! But if it is won, I plan to take out this project and jointly invest with the Wharf Group."

"OK"

Lin Zhichao estimated in his mind that the total investment in this project is 8.9 billion Hong Kong dollars. Of course, there is actually no need to spend that much in advance. One-third of the funds is almost enough; next, of course, the funds will be collected through the sale of uncompleted properties. .

In any case, Hong Kong does not allow "building a gate and then selling a house." If we act quickly, Taoda's land will be available for sale in the second half of next year and will be sold out by the end of 1981.

However, Wei Li said that after learning that HSBC had sold 25% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares to Lin Zhichao, he immediately felt a sense of "humiliation" and the sadness of a senior migrant worker.

He tried to find an Australian consortium to carry out a counter-takeover, but after others heard that it was Lin Zhichao, they had no intention of talking about it. What a joke, if you can defeat Lin Zhichao in Hong Kong, it won't help even if the world's richest man comes.

What's more, HSBC is already on Lin Zhichao's side, which means that both parties own at least 35% of the equity.

Wei Li had no choice but to follow the rules and invite Lin Zhichao to serve as the executive director of Hutchison Whampoa.

The end of the month.

Lin Zhichao officially participated in the high-level meeting as the executive director of Hutchison Whampoa.

"Mr. Lin, this is my deputy Richard Richard, a British man."

When Weili introduced his subordinates, he deliberately emphasized "British". As a result, 60% of Hutchison Whampoa's senior management were British, and the remaining 40% were also foreigners, with no Chinese senior management at all.

It seems to be saying, Mr. Lin, you are a lone wolf who broke into the pride of lions.

Lin Zhichao greeted everyone personably, his attitude was natural and peaceful, and he gave people a humble attitude.

For a while, these foreigners could only respond politely. After all, Lin Zhichao's identity did not allow them to be left out in the cold. Even if they feel unhappy, they can only complain to each other in private.

Lin Zhichao specially observed Richard Richard. He believed that this person could be exploited for a while. After all, Wei Li wanted to leave as soon as possible. His influence in Hutchison Whampoa was relatively large, which was not conducive to Lin Zhichao's control of the company.

After the meeting, Lin Zhichao did not express any opinions, and it was considered a peaceful end.

After Lin Zhichao left, a group of senior executives started chatting.

"Don't worry, everyone, Hutchison Whampoa is by no means controlled by the Chinese. Lin Zhichao can at most become the same major shareholder as HSBC, and the management power will still be in our hands." Wei Li said with a smile.

"That's right, 80% of Hutchison Whampoa's senior staff are Westerners. Does Lin Zhichao still expect everyone to believe in him?" Richard agreed.

"Well, although Lin Zhichao has great influence in the business world, Hutchison Whampoa is not a company he founded after all. His genius business methods are completely useless."

Everyone quickly relaxed.

The name of a person, the shadow of a tree, Lin Zhichao put a lot of pressure on them at the beginning. Especially during the Wharf War, they were well aware of Lin Zhichao's wealth and courage.