Chapter 345 Hong Kong's Richest Man, Lin Haoran
In a private dining room at a high-end restaurant near Connaught Centre, Lin Haoran and Niu Bijian sat facing each other.
Each harbored his own thoughts, but on the surface, they maintained a cordial atmosphere.
"Boss, regarding Jardines Matheson's development plans, do you have any opinions?" Niu Bijian asked, wiping his hands with a wet napkin before the food arrived.
That afternoon, Lin Haoran had not only reviewed Jardines Matheson's upcoming project plans but had also gone over Jardines Matheson's future plans.
Unlike Jardines Matheson, Jardines Matheson's development focused more on overseas investments.
By the 1970s, more than 60% of Jardines Matheson's assets were already overseas.
In other words, less than 40% of its assets remained in Hong Kong.
The reason was clear: like other British-owned enterprises, Jardines Matheson had growing concerns about Hong Kong's future and began gradually transferring its assets overseas, transforming from a Hong Kong-focused company into a true multinational group.
In terms of internationalization, Jardines Matheson was far ahead of Huifeng Bank.
For example, Jardines Matheson had investments in Hawaii's Theo Davies Company, South Africa's Relys Company, Singapore's Henry Wolfe Company, London's Madison Company, and Liberia's Middle East Transport and Trade Company.
Years of overseas investments had made Jardines Matheson's international reputation far greater than Huifeng Bank's.
However, Lin Haoran knew that Jardines Matheson ultimately paid a heavy price for its overseas expansion.
Eventually, many of its overseas subsidiaries were sold off en masse.
"Jardines Matheson's development can continue according to your current plans. I won't interfere too much for now.
But for Jardines Matheson, I have my own ideas.
As acting Executive Director, your role isn't to develop Jardines Matheson further.
Your task is simple: maintain the current stability of Jardines Matheson and ensure its smooth operation," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
As a company dominated by overseas investments, Lin Haoran decided not to intervene heavily in Jardines Matheson before replacing Niu Bijian.
He understood that someone like Niu Bijian, with his strong desire for power, would resent excessive interference.
Since Jardines Matheson was currently running steadily, there was no need to disrupt it.
However, Lin Haoran had a completely different view regarding Jardines Matheson.
In his opinion, the development blueprint crafted by Niu Bijian and Bofuda was nothing but endless expansion.
If Hong Kong's property market didn't experience a crash, their plan might have been sustainable.
But Lin Haoran knew that the next real estate bubble was less than two years away.
Under such conditions, pursuing aggressive expansion was suicide.
Lin Haoran absolutely would not allow such reckless strategies to continue.
"Boss, do you mean we should suspend all of Jardines Matheson's upcoming development projects?" Niu Bijian asked in shock.
Many of these projects had taken months of negotiations.
He and Bofuda had poured a lot of effort into each one.
Halting them would mean wasting all that effort.
Although no actual construction had begun and no real losses would be incurred, Niu Bijian still found it regrettable.
"Yes, Mr. Niu Bijian. I believe I've made it clear to you before.
You will continue to manage Jardines Matheson well, but as for Jardines Matheson, it's no longer your concern.
I will soon find a successor to lead Jardines Matheson.
You won't have to handle both companies for long," Lin Haoran replied calmly.
Hearing this, Niu Bijian nodded, though he still felt reluctant.
Once, he had controlled both Jardines Matheson and Jardines Matheson.
Now, Jardines Matheson was slipping from his hands.
Even though he remained an executive director at Jardines Matheson, it was merely a temporary position.
But what choice did he have?
Compared to Bofuda, who had been outright dismissed, Niu Bijian's situation was much better.
At least he still held a prestigious position at Jardines Matheson and remained one of Hong Kong's top business figures.
The two talked extensively throughout dinner, finally ending around 9 p.m.
Through this conversation, Lin Haoran gained a much deeper understanding of Jardines Matheson.
Although he had already reviewed many documents, most of those had focused on Jardines Matheson.
In his eyes, Jardines Matheson's potential value was at least twice that of Jardines Matheson.
As Hong Kong's real estate market continued to boom, that gap would only widen further.
Watching Niu Bijian's car drive away, Lin Haoran told Li Weidong,
"Let's head home."
"Yes, Boss!"
Another night passed.
The entire day's news of Lin Haoran's takeover of Jardines Matheson and Jardines Matheson had already spread throughout Hong Kong—and even to many countries in Southeast Asia.
In the evening, both TVB and Rediffusion Television provided detailed coverage.
By the next morning, newspapers had revealed even more details.
That morning, SFC Chairman Max accepted a joint interview from more than a dozen mainstream media outlets.
Everyone wanted to know the government's stance.
Max's response was very telling.
"Mr. Lin Haoran's acquisitions are entirely legal and compliant.
However, the process has exposed shortcomings in Hong Kong's securities laws.
Therefore, I have decided to recommend a major change to the Legislative Council," Max announced.
"Currently, a takeover bid isn't required until a party reaches 50% ownership of a listed company.
I propose lowering this threshold to 35%."
Had the threshold been 35%, Lin Haoran would not have been able to quietly amass over 40% of Jardines Matheson's shares.
If amended, future acquisitions like Lin Haoran's would be much harder.
Of course, Max's proposal was clearly intended to protect British business interests.
But for Lin Haoran, it no longer mattered.
He had already won.
More importantly, after completing a series of acquisitions in Hong Kong, Lin Haoran realized it was time to set his sights on a bigger stage.
Hong Kong, despite its huge potential, was still just a small pond.
He needed to move onto the global stage.
Although Jardines Matheson was already internationalized, Lin Haoran wasn't particularly interested in many of its overseas acquisitions.
Most of them were unknown companies with limited future prospects.
Hence, his real interest remained with Jardines Matheson's prime real estate assets.
At that moment, Lin Haoran sat before a stack of newspapers.
He had already gone through seven or eight of them.
All the major newspapers were reporting his acquisition in different ways.
Each article, even in Lin Haoran's opinion, was well-written.
One newspaper particularly caught his attention—Hong Kong Commercial Daily.
It was one of the city's top five newspapers by circulation.
Today's issue not only reported Lin Haoran's acquisition but also published a detailed profile of him.
The report covered Lin Haoran's rise to power, his battles with Jardines Matheson, and his legend as the first Chinese tycoon to overturn the British business establishment.
The most eye-catching piece was the headline:
"Hong Kong's Richest Man Emerges, Business Landscape Reshaped: Lin Haoran Crowned Hong Kong's Wealthiest!"
The article meticulously listed the estimated market value of all the companies under Lin Haoran's control.
The numbers were staggering, leaving readers in awe of his wealth.
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