The Industrial Giant Reborn

"Yes, the acquisition of a large company, whether it is in Hong Kong or internationally, is based on the opportunity itself. It is too difficult to force an acquisition at an inappropriate time." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Looking at the entire history of Hong Kong, although there have been more than a dozen large-scale or medium-scale acquisitions in the 1970s and 1980s, they were basically a major shareholder who sold the stock in his hand to the acquirer, thus giving the acquirer a chance , Do something about this company.

For example, Bao Yugang acquired Wheelock in later generations, because the two shareholders of Wheelock sold their shares to Nanyang tycoon Qiu Deba and Bao Yugang respectively, and then the two began to fight each other, and Bao Yugang won in the end. .

And if there is no transfer of major shareholders, it is very difficult to slowly acquire enough stocks from the beginning, because in the stock market, it is easy to drive the stock price to rise sharply like Li Jiacheng, causing capital intervention from all parties, and eventually Had to retreat, and only those like Chen Zhiwen who knew the future would dare to plan slowly for a long time.

In fact, even if HSBC did not intervene, it would be impossible for Li Jiacheng to acquire Wharf under the circumstances of all kinds of hot money hype.

Even Chen Zhiwen later dared to fight because he acquired 40% of the shares after purchasing 10% of the shares from Li Jiacheng, which was very close to absolute control. vote.

Even for small companies like China-Brazil, when they were acquired in the 1980s, shareholders transferred equity. Only the stock market sniper Da Liu, who prefers to snipe, likes to take action in the stock market, but Da Liu’s essence is to eventually force him to attack The listed companies repurchase stocks, rather than really want to buy, so the purpose is different, and the operation method is naturally different.

"Yeah, there is no chance, so when I knew that Jardine was going to sell the Wharf stock in my hand, I was tempted, but Chen Sheng can rest assured that I will not interfere with the operation of Wharf, and my shares are also important to Chen Sheng. There is no threat." Bao Yugang said with a smile. This is indeed true. He bought shares in Wharf just for investment. Although he also wanted to acquire a company with an industry, he had no target right now, so he could only buy part of the shares of a large company first.

"I'm not worried about that, and if Bao Sheng wants to be the director, it's fine. The board of directors can give you a position. In the future, you can also provide your own opinions on the board of directors. I also welcome it." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile No matter what, Bao Yugang and his son-in-law Wu Guangzheng are very capable.

For companies like Wharf, Chen Zhiwen is interested in Harbor City and its core properties or land. As for how to operate it in the future, he will be lazy to guide himself in one direction, and leave the rest to his subordinates. It is always beneficial to join. Last but not least, if Wharf wants to do other big projects, it can also use the Bao family's funds to do it together when considering risks or lack of funds.

"Okay, then I'll accept this position, but I'm going to send one of my son-in-laws to be a director in Wharf. Does Mr. Chen have any objection?" Bao Yugang asked.

"It's okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

"Chen Sheng sees it this way, so I don't have any pressure." Bao Yugang laughed. He was worried that Chen Zhiwen would not like him becoming a shareholder of Wharf, but now it seems that he was worrying too much.

"It's nothing, in Hong Kong, cooperation is also a norm." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: "But Baosheng still got the Prince's Building and the Duke of Windsor Building, which makes me envious."

"Jardines is willing to sell the Central Building, which is beyond my expectation. They should be very short of money." Bao Yugang said with a smile: "But Chen Sheng also owns three buildings in Central, including this hotel. It's the fourth building, and it's much better than me."

"The location is still not comparable. If I had known that Jardine would sell the building, I would have done it." Chen Zhiwen said with some regrets, which was true.

Before, he knew that Jardine was planning to sell the remaining Wharf stocks in his hand, but he didn't know that Jardine was planning to sell the two buildings. Otherwise, he must have sent someone to contact them with the cheek. Of course, with such a big contradiction, Jardine It's hard to say whether to sell it to him or not.

"Chen Sheng, it is my lifelong dream to have several buildings in Central. Unfortunately, when the shipping business was good, Jardine once wanted to exchange Kangle Building with me for a 200,000-ton oil tanker. I refused at that time. Now, thinking about it now, I really regret it." Bao Yugang said with a sigh.

"It's a pity." Chen Zhiwen nodded, and asked again: "Is Bao Sheng not optimistic about the future shipping market?"

"How do you know?" Bao Yugang said in surprise, he only told the few people he trusted the most about this, and it is impossible for these few people to tell outsiders about this.

"It's nothing, because I'm not optimistic about it, and Baosheng was still selling old ships some time ago, and now he's starting to invest heavily in Hong Kong properties, so I guessed it." Chen Zhiwen said with a light smile. In fact, Bao's assets When it was impossible to target a large company, it began to invest in small properties, acquiring villas, office floor properties, etc. in various places.

"Why isn't Chen Sheng optimistic about shipping?" Bao Yugang asked curiously.

"I don't know much about shipping, but you only need to calculate the tonnage demanded by shipping and the tonnage under construction in shipyards around the world." Chen Zhiwen said: "Unless the future of the global economy can increase by more than 10% every year, otherwise There is absolutely going to be a massive excess of seaborne tonnage."

"From the road to simplicity, that's the reason." Bao Yugang nodded and said, "So I'm going to enter the real estate industry in Hong Kong, but it's too late now."

"Actually, it's not that there is no goal." Chen Zhiwen said suddenly: "I know one, it's very suitable for Baosheng."

"Which one?" Bao Yugang regained his energy immediately, but he has never been able to find a suitable target. If there is one, then there will be a direction.

"What Bao Sheng actually thinks is to stabilize his wealth and leave it to future generations safely?" Chen Zhiwen didn't answer directly.

"Yes, the shipping market is unpredictable. Especially in recent years, the oil crisis and regional wars have had a great impact. When making money, it is naturally a huge profit, but if there is an accident, it may also go bankrupt. Ships with tens of millions of tons, If you can’t find customers, you will lose millions of Hong Kong dollars every day. This risk is too great, and I don’t want my descendants to do such a business.” Bao Yugang nodded and said: “It happens that the shipping market may change. I also want to take this opportunity to invest in some real estate and real estate businesses in Hong Kong. Although the real estate may encounter a crisis, the most serious problem is that the value will be halved, and the rent will be lower. It will not cost money every day like a ship. A lot of money goes into maintenance, berthing.”

"This idea is not a problem, but the current Hong Kong real estate market is relatively hot, and no matter how much money you have, once a takeover war is launched against a British-funded company, the stock price may immediately increase several times, just like what Li Jiacheng encountered back then. The situation is the same, or you start your own real estate company from scratch, but you have no experience and no team in this area. It may take a few years to succeed, but don’t forget that the real estate crisis in 1973, It may appear again at any time, so it is still very difficult to do." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.

"Chen Sheng doesn't need to go around in circles anymore. Is there any condition before he will tell me that it won't work?" Bao Yugang asked eagerly.

"What I prepare for Baosheng is not a real estate company, but an industry that is more stable than real estate. No matter what crisis we encounter, there will be no shortage of business." Chen Zhiwen smiled, and then pointed to the desk lamp next to him.

"Chen Sheng, are you talking about electricity?" Bao Yugang is a smart person, so he naturally wouldn't think Chen Zhiwen was talking about lamps.

"Yes, it is electricity. Regardless of the economic crisis or real estate crisis, ordinary people, office buildings, and factories all need electricity. Even under such a bad economic environment in 1973, the growth momentum of the two power plants in Hong Kong has only become a little lower. , and with more and more people in Hong Kong, the demand for electricity will only increase." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"Actually, I have considered this aspect." Bao Yugang paused and said, "Although Hongkong Electric has no major shareholders, its market value is very high. Unless it negotiates with their board of directors, it will be difficult to acquire.

CLP Power, on the other hand, has a major shareholder, but its controlling family, the Kadoorie family, is also very powerful, so I'm not sure.

Which one is Chen Sheng referring to? "

"CLP Power." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: "The Kadoorie family is indeed very strong. You are difficult to deal with alone, but if we work together, it will be much easier."

"Chen Sheng also has ideas about the power company?" Bao Yugang asked.

"Yes, but it is impossible for the Hong Kong government to allow one person to control the electricity of the entire Hong Kong, not even the British Ghost, so how about two electricity companies, one for each of us?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

In the 1960s, two power supply groups, CLP Power and Hong Kong Electric, once thought of merging to improve power generation efficiency and grid laying costs, but they were strongly opposed by all local powers. It is estimated that if a monopoly really occurs, everyone may become The lamb to be slaughtered, even a few giants of British-owned foreign firms, also disagreed, and all the common people also disagreed, and finally nothing happened.

Although there are many monopolies in Hong Kong, even two power groups have monopolies in their respective places, but because there are two, they dare not go too far, and there is a comparison.

"It turns out that Chen Sheng has taken a fancy to Hongkong Electric?" Bao Yugang said with a smile.

"Yes, and we can also adopt a model similar to the current Wharf. For example, if I get a controlling stake in Hong Kong Electric in the future, Baosheng, you can become a major shareholder of Hong Kong Electric, and vice versa. I can become the owner of CLP Power. As a major shareholder, in this way, no matter whether Hong Kong's future is on Hong Kong Island or Kowloon, we will not lose." Chen Zhiwen said.

There are four most famous infrastructure companies in Hong Kong in later generations, and they are called by the media to make money lying down, namely Hongkong Electric, Chunghwa Power, China Gas and Hongkong Telecom.

At present, gas in Hong Kong has not been popularized on a large scale, and telecommunications have been developed earlier, and it will not be too late to prepare for it in the 1980s, but the first two have existed in Hong Kong for nearly a hundred years.

Electricity, like water, is the most basic need for the existence of a city. Food can also be selected in a variety of ways, but there is no choice between water and electricity. Hong Kong's water is controlled by the Hong Kong government because of a public relations crisis, and outsiders have no chance To intervene, besides, looking at the world, the water supply industry is not a huge profiteering industry.

Electricity, however, has always been privately owned. Hong Kong Electric is the power supply plant for the entire Hong Kong Island, and CLP Power is the power supply plant for the Kowloon Peninsula.

"That's fine, but, Chen Sheng, I have another question, maybe I'm a little suspicious." Bao Yugang asked: "Judging from the current economic development of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Island is the core, but The development is almost done, and although the economy of the Kowloon Peninsula is a bit poor, the future is absolutely limitless. In terms of electricity consumption, the industry is the big one. Now Hong Kong's industries are all relocated to Kowloon. Even Chen Sheng's own There is a Midea industrial park in Yuen Long, logically speaking, shouldn’t Chen Sheng choose CLP Power first?”

"Bao Sheng is right to think so. It's just that many of my investments are in Kowloon now, which doesn't mean it will be in the future. Hong Kong Island will also be my key investment direction in the future, so it's no problem to choose Hong Kong Island and Kowloon." Chen Zhiwen said: "Besides, both of us also implement the strategy of mutual shareholding, so I don't need to hesitate which one to choose."

If Hong Kong's industry can continue forever, and the factories of Midea, Red Bull and other companies are waiting in Hong Kong for a long time, then Chen Zhiwen will naturally give priority to CLP Power, but once the opening of the mainland starts, it will only take a few years. The basic processing industry will be transferred, which is inevitable for industrial development. It will be transferred from high-cost areas to low-cost areas, because if it does not transfer, it will not be able to compete with those that have already transferred.

The transfer of Midea was not because of cost issues. It has its own land in Hong Kong, plus considerable profits. A little artificial growth has little impact on Midea for the time being. At least there were no major problems in the 1980s, but Midea’s future is to become A large manufacturing group in the electronics industry, involving traditional home appliances and new electronic products, requires a large number of production bases and human resources. Hong Kong has a total population of less than 5 million and a maximum of one million workers. Now that the real estate market is booming, construction companies are still robbing people from line to line. Now that the overseas market has not fully expanded, there is no problem. In the future, it will definitely not be enough.

Of course, even if Hong Kong’s industries are transferred away, the power generation scale of the future CLP Power will still be larger than that of HK Electric. After all, CLP Power will cover more people in the future, but what Chen Zhiwen cares about is not the Hong Kong market. As long as there is a foundation, The outward expansion market is definitely bigger.

Therefore, at least from the present point of view, the scale of Hong Kong Electric and CLP Power is similar. As for the future, it depends on the ability of long-term operation. Because of the long-term operation of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Electric has a long history and has a large number of high-quality land. It is also the source of land for the second of the four major walled villages under Li Jiacheng's later generations. Chen Zhiwen naturally gave priority to it.

"So that's the case, it's just that these two companies are not very easy to deal with, what do we need to do?" Bao Yugang asked, he is a ship king, and he is at the top of the world in the field of shipping, but there is no such thing as an acquisition company. any experience.

"If you want to make a peaceful acquisition, not to mention CLP Power, Hong Kong Electric is also controlled by a group of ghost management. They will not agree to our acquisition, so we still have to use force. We need to be patient and acquire slowly for a long time. , when we have acquired enough shares, we will make a big move." Chen Zhiwen said.

In the original history, Li Jiacheng was able to acquire HK Electric because Jardines first acquired HK Electric in 1981, and the acquisition of Jardines was not a forced purchase, but a negotiated one. Otherwise, this kind of turmoil would I'm afraid it's no less than Landmark Drinking Milk. After Jardine became a major shareholder, it would be much easier to transfer to Li Jiacheng, otherwise Li Jiacheng would not be able to acquire HK Electric.

"That's true. To acquire such a big company, it does take a long-term plan, but even so, after we acquire a certain amount of shares, it will be difficult to hide it. There will definitely be movement in the stock price." Bao Yugang frowned. Said.

"Yes, so we need to control the stock price to a certain extent, but we can't rely on massive selling, which will cause abnormalities in the total trading volume. We can appropriately influence Hong Kong's electricity market through various news." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"What kind of news has such an influence? You can't spread rumors, right?" Bao Yugang asked puzzled.

"Of course not. You need to wait for an opportunity." Chen Zhiwen paused and said, "Just like when I started buying shares in Wharf, I also said I was waiting for the right opportunity to buy shares in Wharf slowly. I have been waiting for two or three years. , Only waited until the Jardine Group became weak due to losses in overseas business, and then made a deadly move.

For Hong Kong Electric and CLP Power, we can also use the same strategy. Wait, we will make a move when the opportunity comes. Yes, you can make money if you sell it, and maybe you can scare the Kadoorie family into taking over at a high price. "

"Okay, then I'll start tomorrow." Bao Yugang nodded and agreed. He knew that Chen Zhiwen didn't tell him some things, but the last sentence made sense. Let's talk about whether it works or not, but it will definitely not be a loss. Now that he is planning to transfer a huge amount of funds from the sea to the mainland, so much money always needs a place to go. Even if he bought the shares of Wharf and two buildings this time, it is only a small part of his assets.

In the future, he still needs to sell all kinds of ships in his hand, and even part of his business. Then in the next one or two years, with so much money, he can't buy houses one by one, right?

It's not bad to invest in the stocks of power companies, and once you really wait for the opportunity, you will make a lot of money.

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