The Industrial Giant Reborn

KMB ranks among the top 100 listed companies in Hong Kong. In the eyes of many people, it is already considered a very large company with two to three thousand employees alone. However, for the top business giants in Hong Kong, It was just a few words. After the decision to quickly acquire KMB was made, the meeting continued and then ended, but the top managers of Xinghe and Hutchison stayed.

"Have some coffee." Chen Zhiwen gestured, and the assistant next to him quickly went out to prepare.

"How is the preparation for HK Electric's acquisition?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.

When the meeting was just held, not only Zhou Jiayang, Xu Jinhong and others came, but also vice presidents of more than a dozen companies. There are actually a few of them, but Hong Kong Electric is different. This is one of the top ten listed companies in Hong Kong. Its acquisition is absolutely confidential. Only the top managers of Xinghe and Hutchison and their direct subordinates participated. The trading team only knew about it, and everyone in the latter signed a very strict non-disclosure agreement, as well as a high salary, which was so high that they would not go home once a year.

"During this period, we have been using the oil crisis to manipulate public opinion and prevent the Hong Kong government from agreeing to the request of the two power companies to increase Hong Kong's electricity prices. The stock price of Hong Kong Electric has been in a downturn. We currently have almost 20% of the stock in our hands." Zhou Jiayang replied.

"That's okay. Continue the acquisition. We'll announce the acquisition plan when it reaches 30%." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. HK Electric's market value is as high as more than 3 billion Hong Kong dollars, which is not at the same level as Kowloon Bus. Acquisition is much more difficult.

"But now there is a problem." Zhou Jiayang said again: "I bought a senior executive of Hong Kong Electric, and learned that Hong Kong Electric is going to pack up all the land in its hands, and then form a joint venture with Cheung Kong Industrial to develop these lands together. , it is said that the negotiating requirements of the two parties are very different, but I think this is a very dangerous matter. With Li Jiacheng's ability, if it really happens, then even if we acquire HK Electric, it is a done deal. We have cooperated with old Li Jiacheng."

"Li Jiacheng? This ability is really strong enough." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, although he snatched away the Hutchison that would have belonged to him, but his ability has always existed. In the golden age of rapid real estate market explosion, others Opportunities can also make Li Jiacheng rise.

"Yes, Li Jiacheng just cooperated with the Swire Group to develop several pieces of land last year. It is said that he earned hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars. Cheung Kong has now become the largest property holding company in Hong Kong." Zhou Jiayang said.

"The biggest?" Chen Zhiwen asked curiously. Although Li Jiacheng was indeed very strong, he probably wasn't so strong yet, right? The status of Hongkong Land is not comparable to that of Hutchison + Galaxy + Wharf.

"The area is the largest. Li Ka-shing owns a lot of land in many remote places, such as Yuen Long, Sha Tin, and Sham Shui Po, and cooperates with many British companies to develop land. At present, the property area in the hands of Cheung Kong Properties has surpassed that of Landmark. It is the location. It's much worse, and the value is estimated to be seven or eight times worse." Zhou Jiayang explained.

"That's not bad, the route of encircling the city from the countryside, with his development speed, sooner or later he will enter the bustling area of ​​Hong Kong, and with his ability, many British capital will look to cooperate with him." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, I have to say that this trick works. Hong Kong housing prices have been copied by various interest groups. Most companies are sitting in prosperous areas to enjoy the soaring land prices, but some people are working hard in remote places because they know many people and have to Get out of the city center, it's cheaper for these people.

The rise of Chinese capital in Hong Kong is actually seizing this opportunity. Otherwise, in the early stage, how many people are qualified to compete with several big British capital groups on Hong Kong Island or Tsim Sha Tsui?

"Chen Sheng, what should we do? If we launch the acquisition war in advance, then our cost will be higher, but if it is later, we are afraid that Li Jiacheng will reach an agreement with HK Electric, which will be troublesome." Zhou Jiayang analyzed .

"Then don't wait any longer, just like the Kowloon Bus, let's make the acquisition public." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said: "The acquisition has reached 34.9%, so let's not trigger the acquisition invitation, and then we will talk to the senior management of Hongkong Electric. Those who know the current affairs are Junjie , as long as someone cooperates with us, it is enough, if not, we will still use the old trick of holding a general meeting of shareholders."

In order to protect British capital, the Hong Kong government has reduced the 50% acquisition rate that triggers a takeover offer to 35%. Such a change has led to the fact that once only 49.9% of the shares were received, the entire company could be absolutely and directly controlled, while the current 34.9% is still No, at most one veto can be obtained. If the original shareholders or the management do not cooperate, if they want to completely obtain the right to operate the company, they must go through the general meeting of shareholders. The most troublesome thing about the general meeting of shareholders is that it is difficult to get everyone together. It is also difficult to find 15% of the people who came to vote for themselves, especially the management teams of several large British-funded companies, which have been in business for decades, and the relationship has already penetrated most of the company's stakeholders.

Although it cannot be said that it will never succeed, the change of this law has made the probability of success of the acquirer much lower. Later, in the period of Yizhi Mutual Control in 1984 and 1987, Chinese giants wanted to acquire Landmark many times. , I was trapped by this one and couldn't give up in the end.

However, this move has little effect on Chen Zhiwen. During the several acquisitions in recent years, he deliberately kept a few companies from being privatized, just to prove to all investors in Hong Kong that the future prospects of the companies acquired by him are limitless. For example, Taohua Datong, in the two years since it was acquired, because of the hot sales of a hot sauce product overseas, if its market value has quadrupled, it is much higher than the increase in land prices in Hong Kong. The same is true for Wharf. As high as 4 billion Hong Kong dollars, those who voted for Chen Zhiwen to take over Wharf all got a certain return.

The reason for doing this is for the convenience of future acquisitions, such as Hongkong Electric, and the Landmark that made him even more jealous.

"Okay, then I will announce the news in the next year." Zhou Jiayang nodded and said, if Hong Kong Electric's acquisition is successful, then the overall strength of their alliance may surpass that of the Jardines.

"Okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "However, keeping you guys here is only one of the things for Hong Kong Electric. The other thing is to discuss the future development of Xinghe and Hutchison Huang."

"Chen Sheng, please tell me." Zhou Jiayang and Xu Jinhong immediately gathered their attention.

"You also know that I mobilized funds from Hong Kong to invest in a good project overseas more than a year ago, and I have already obtained good returns, so I will double the funds you gave me back then, so A large sum of money requires a suitable investment direction." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, no one in Hong Kong knows about gold speculation, including his parents.

"If there are so many funds, it is really not suitable for investing in the current real estate market. The bubble is already too big. It is not the time to acquire large properties and hold them. If the development properties are sold, the funds will be too much." Zhou Jiayang thought After thinking about it, Hutchison Huang raised 600 million U.S. dollars to Chen Zhiwen at the beginning, and signed a lot of debts for this. Most of the profits last year were used to repay the debts. Now if the return is doubled, it will be close to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

This amount of money is not absolutely unacceptable in today's Hong Kong real estate market, but since it is a real estate business, it must be desperately using other people's money, which is equivalent to the principle of financial leverage. To invest in Hong Kong real estate companies, a leverage of US$100 million can drive several super-large projects.

"So it's time to start Hutchison's previous business." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "I hope that Hutchison can develop in several directions in the future. The first is the existing advantage, the port business."

"As for the port, the Hong Kong government has no intention to expand the Kwai Chung terminal recently. There is no opportunity in Hong Kong. If we want to expand, we can only choose overseas. Are we going to buy ports in Europe and the United States?" Zhou Jiayang asked.

"It's not Europe and America, but the mainland." Chen Zhiwen pointed to a world map on the table and said. Although I don’t know whether the future ports in Europe and the United States will be able to make money, what Chen Zhiwen knows is that the next few years will be a nightmare for the shipping market. Although the port theoretically takes both cold and heat, there is a difference after all. , that is, the days of the port are also sad.

On the contrary, the current domestic situation is a waste of time, there are not many ports, and there are not very good ones, which are not in line with modern ocean transportation, and the country has been short of funds for the past 20 years. This is exactly what I invested in. Good opportunity, although the mainland's exports are very low now, I am afraid that except for a few big cities, there is no need for any large ports, but first rely on quantity to win, and every quantity can occupy a position.

"Chen Sheng, investment in ports shouldn't be allowed in China right now?" Zhou Jiayang said.

"There is no legal provision that does not allow it. It depends on whether there are such opportunities in the future. As long as the country wants to develop its economy, ports are necessary, especially for the export of industrial products. Eastern Guangdong Province can still rely on Hong Kong ports, but others The location is not good. This is a long-term goal, and I don’t care whether it can be successful this year or next year, so what you have to do now is to send some people who understand ports to some coastal cities in the inland to find suitable locations, and then the group or me Come forward and discuss these matters with the domestic government." Chen Zhiwen said.

You know, a port is not a Chinese cabbage. It is not built wherever you want. In many places, you may not be able to find a suitable port with a coastline of hundreds of kilometers. For example, in Shanghai in later generations, there is no suitable deep-water port. In the end, a suitable location came from Zhejiang.

As for Hutchison and Huang, plus some of the funds that can be transferred back from the United States in the future, the scale is at least not inferior to that of the general Fortune 500. It is unlikely that such a large-scale company will continue to seek ways to make money quickly like before. , When the plate is too big, it is impossible to develop rapidly, and more importantly, invest in long-term projects with a large number of stable returns.

Of course, there is quick money to be made, and of course you can’t miss it. Only when you make quick money can you have more capital to invest in various large projects.

"Okay, now Hong Kong people can go to the mainland directly, and I will arrange relevant professionals to go to the mainland for inspection in the next year." Zhou Jiayang nodded and said.

"The second business of Hutchison is retail. Both ParknShop and RT-Mart can fully expand in Southeast Asia. We still follow our previous rules to establish joint ventures with local capital giants and purchase some materials locally. If Xinghe Trade has an advantage, it can purchase from Xinghe, and the profit can be generously shared with the joint venture partner, but we must control the purchasing side, at least Xinghe Trading should become the main supplier." Chen Zhiwen continued.

The overseas expansion of retail supermarkets, referring to the experience of countless giants in the future, basically few companies can achieve real success. American supermarkets are half dead in Europe and Asia, and European supermarkets are suffering serious losses in America and Asia. Foreign management local Supermarkets generally do not operate well because they do not understand the local market at all. This is completely different from a traditional commodity. Supermarkets are a business that combines tens of thousands of commodities, and this is not a factory, which will seriously infringe to the interests of other local capital.

Rather than forcefully going overseas by yourself, it is better to cooperate with local giants, which is similar to authorization, but as an authorized party, it only needs to have a certain degree of procurement control, plus financial supervision, but even so, the risk is very high.

"In Wanwan, we have now opened 6 RT-Mart supermarkets and 16 ParknShop supermarkets. At present, the business is still going well, and maintenance is not a problem. In Southeast Asia, our people are working with Kerry Group, which is owned by the richest man in Malaysia, Guo Henian. Negotiations are currently progressing well, and it is estimated that a contract will be signed this year. At that time, we will jointly invest in the construction of a supermarket chain in Malaysia and jointly manage it. With the population of Malaysia, even if the economy is weaker, the market will be several times that of Hong Kong. "Zhou Jiayang said.

"Guo Henian? Okay, this person has a good reputation." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, at least judging from some of the later generations' reviews, Guo Henian is really a good capitalist.

"Actually, the main reason is that Guo Henian has been slowly transferring his assets to Hong Kong over the years, which reassures us a lot. Otherwise, he would have cheated us in Southeast Asia, and his investment in Hong Kong would not be able to escape." Zhou Jiayang said with a smile.

"This is a good idea. Half of the wealthy people in Southeast Asia are Chinese. Many of these rich Chinese want to transfer part of their assets to Hong Kong. It is not just a supermarket chain. If there are other businesses in the future, they can also give priority to these Chinese for cooperation. , In this way, the security will be much higher." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

In fact, except for a few Chinese, the rest may not really like Hong Kong, but in places like Southeast Asia, there are too many rich Chinese, which is somewhat similar to the Lin family's evil sword manual. Life safety is generally no big problem, but assets are. It’s hard to say. Therefore, there are many people who moved to Europe and the United States, and some of them came to Hong Kong. After all, this is still a Chinese society, and many people are not used to settling in the white group.

"That's what I think." Zhou Jiayang said with a smile.

"Then follow this line of thinking. As long as we can open up the sales of Galaxy Trade in Southeast Asia, then there will be more sales for many commodities." Chen Zhiwen continued.

Just because a country is poor does not necessarily mean that the price of goods must be very cheap. On the contrary, because there is no industry, many industrial products will be very expensive. The light industry in Hong Kong, the Bay Area and the future mainland is very developed, which can reduce the cost of many industrial products to a very low level. Another problem in poor countries is that there is a serious information gap, and countless people inside cannot get cheap industrial products from outside.

Large supermarkets are actually a weapon to crack this kind of poor information. If the supermarket operates smoothly, the cost can be reduced to an appropriate price, so that everyone can benefit, but the former vested interests will suffer serious losses. Therefore, it is necessary to cooperate with the local Powerful people cooperate, and the other party will come forward to solve these problems, while Baijia and Xinghe Trading will provide cheap materials, and finally share the profits together.

"Okay." Zhou Jiayang agreed.

"The third business is something that Hutchison Huang has not been involved in before. I hope Hutchison Huang will enter the energy and mining industry." Chen Zhiwen continued.

"Energy and minerals?" Zhou Jiayang thought for a while and said, "Our group does not have a team in this area. Are we planning to acquire it from overseas?"

"Yes, buy it from overseas, otherwise it would be too wasteful for Richard and those British bastards to keep it for nothing." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

It has been almost 5 years since the acquisition and postscript in 1975. Although these British ghosts have been trying to prevent the Chinese from taking power, they can't stop the trend of the times. Nowadays, except for a few non-core businesses, other Basically, the Chinese are in charge of the management.

However, Chen Zhiwen is not going to kill a donkey. As long as these people are obedient and do their own things well, he doesn't need to find Chinese to replace them. After all, in his mind, He Huang is not only in Hong Kong or in the future. Domestic development, overseas is also a big market.

"Then Chen Sheng has a suitable acquisition target?" Zhou Jiayang asked.

"No, you should look for and acquire a company specializing in exploration in Europe, America or Australia first, and we can talk about the rest after the completion of this matter." Chen Zhiwen said.

The advantage of the Prophet lies not only in finance or some technological products. Mining exploration is another big head, and the benefits are no less than the first two. It's just that Chen Zhiwen didn't have the ability to participate in it before, but now he has enough funds in his hand. Come in and play this game.

Of course, with such a huge benefit, he is not stupid enough to take it all to himself, and he still understands some basic rules.

At present, he is preparing these three items for Hutchison Huang, and he needs to wait for the right time to prepare for others, such as telecommunications, which is still a bit early.

"Okay, the market value of this type of company is not high. Generally, tens of millions of dollars can buy a well-known exploration company in the industry." Zhou Jiayang said.

"Try to get the acquisition in place as early as possible." Chen Zhiwen nodded, and said: "Old Xu, Galaxy's side still focuses on trade and Hong Kong's real estate, because you don't have a lot of talents and experience that Hutchison used to have. You can also participate in the investment with Hutchison Huang, and in other aspects, you can also try to see what suits you, and I can invest more when I have results."

"Okay, Chen Sheng." Xu Jinhong nodded and said, the current scale of a Xinghe trade is actually no less than that of Hutchison Huang, and it has a better development prospect. It is enough to have this one.