Chapter 388 HKD 12.8 Billion in Funds
Concord Building, 51st floor, Land Group General Manager's Office. Lin Haoran was currently discussing Land Group matters with Ma Shiming.
Today's Land Group could truly be called a massive diversified corporation, especially with its wholly-owned subsidiary Dairy Farm International, which was involved in a wide array of industries.
Though Land Group was primarily a real estate company, its other businesses were numerous. Adding to that, the group was involved in the hotel and shipping industries—it had essentially inherited Jardines Matheson's core businesses in Hong Kong.
Lin Haoran and Ma Shiming were specifically discussing Dairy Farm International.
Dairy Farm had been merged into the Land Group in 1972, and now it was 100% owned by Land Group as a private subsidiary. It had become Hong Kong's largest food manufacturing, wholesale, and retail group.
It operated the Wellcome supermarket chain, 7-Eleven convenience stores, Mannings pharmacies, Lever Fine Foods, sandwich shops, ice cream kiosks, and held 50% of the largest local fast-food and bakery chain, Maxim's Group.
Dairy Farm had already hit a development ceiling in Hong Kong; the only way forward was to expand internationally.
"Boss, I heard you have good connections in Southeast Asia. I believe Dairy Farm should start expanding there first, focusing on international cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila, and Jakarta. Once we've covered these primary markets, we can gradually extend to second- and third-tier cities. Southeast Asia's population is enormous—capturing this market would be enough for Dairy Farm's future growth," Ma Shiming said, pointing to Southeast Asia on a world map.
"How much cash does Dairy Farm have now?" Lin Haoran asked, looking at the map without immediately responding to Ma Shiming's suggestion.
"Dairy Farm, mainly a retail business, has daily cash flow fluctuations. But currently, it holds about HKD 1.28 billion in its accounts. About HKD 200 million of that is earmarked for supplier payments within the next two months, meaning over HKD 1 billion is available for use," Ma Shiming answered.
"So much? That's even more than Land Group's available cash before," Lin Haoran said, a little surprised.
Today, the Land Group's cash reserves stood at nearly HKD 5 billion.
But that included the HKD 3 billion Lin Haoran had injected, plus proceeds from selling off non-core real estate assets recently.
A month ago, Lin Haoran had known Land Group's usable cash was less than HKD 1 billion—he hadn't expected Dairy Farm's cash flow to be so robust.
No wonder Jardines Matheson had once tried so hard to carve Dairy Farm out of Land Group.
"Dairy Farm, though a subsidiary, manages its finances separately from Land Group—just like Land Group was previously financially separate from Jardines Matheson.
Last year, Dairy Farm spent HKD 480 million acquiring the Franklins supermarket chain in Australia, expanding its retail network there.
Half a year ago, Land Group borrowed HKD 620 million from Dairy Farm to bid for a prime land parcel in Causeway Bay.
Otherwise, Dairy Farm's cash reserves would be even higher now," Ma Shiming explained.
Lin Haoran nodded, feeling very pleased.
Luckily, Dairy Farm hadn't been stripped away before he took over; otherwise, he would have suffered a huge loss.
Dairy Farm, with its strong position in food and retail, was a golden goose that kept generating wealth.
Food retail, after all, was far more stable than real estate.
Even if Hong Kong's property prices crashed, Dairy Farm's business would continue to thrive—people always needed to eat.
As the largest food manufacturing and retail group in Hong Kong, Dairy Farm's revenues and profits were incredibly stable.
"I agree—start with Southeast Asia. Also, don't overlook Macau and Taiwan. And in a few years, consider expanding into Mainland China.
Meanwhile, I'm already deploying Huanyu Investment toward the U.S. If good opportunities arise there, you can evaluate potential acquisitions.
Compared to slow organic growth, buying existing companies is the fastest way to expand," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
Jardines Matheson's international success had come from aggressive acquisitions, after all.
In another timeline, without Lin Haoran's intervention, Dairy Farm would have embarked on a global expansion after being split from Land Group—buying Kwik Save in the UK, Simago in Spain, and Woolworths in New Zealand.
Yet despite securing networks in Europe and Oceania, profits never matched expectations due to small, dispersed populations.
The key problem was demographics.
Europe's and Oceania's markets simply didn't have enough population density compared to Southeast Asia.
Thus, Lin Haoran would ensure Dairy Farm focused on populous regions like Southeast Asia, where growth prospects were much stronger.
He also wasn't worried about Ma Shiming mismanaging acquisitions, since any major investment would require Lin Haoran's personal approval.
Expansion would start in Southeast Asia and proceed cautiously elsewhere.
As they were discussing strategy, Lin Haoran's pager buzzed.
"Who's looking for me?" Lin Haoran wondered, checking the message before dialing back.
"Hello, is this Mr. Lin?" came a familiar voice.
It was Niu Bijian.
Although Lin Haoran wasn't sure why the former Jardines Taipan was contacting him, he answered politely:
"This is Lin Haoran. What can I do for you, Mr. Niu?"
"Mr. Lin, I'd like to meet you privately. There's something I want to discuss," Niu Bijian said.
"Come to Concord Building, 51st floor, the General Manager's Office," Lin Haoran replied readily.
Given Niu Bijian's former status, Lin Haoran didn't reject him outright—he was curious what Niu Bijian wanted.
"Okay, Mr. Lin. I'll be there in about ten minutes," Niu Bijian replied.
"Boss, what could Niu Bijian want with you?" Ma Shiming asked, surprised.
Now that Land Group and Jardines were separate, any issues should logically involve Ma Shiming, not Lin Haoran.
"I don't know. He said he wants to meet privately. Never mind, let's continue our discussion," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
At that moment, the office phone rang.
Ma Shiming picked it up: "This is Land Group."
After a brief conversation, he handed the receiver to Lin Haoran.
"Boss, it's Mr. Cui calling—he said he has something to report," Ma Shiming said.
Lin Haoran took the call and asked, "Mr. Cui, what's the matter?"
"Boss, I just got insider news. Half an hour ago, Jardines held a board meeting.
Niu Bijian was unanimously removed as Taipan by all the British shareholders. His replacement is Henry Keswick's brother, Simon Keswick," Cui Zilong reported.
"Got it. Thanks. Anything else?" Lin Haoran asked.
"Nothing else."
"Okay. I'll hang up then," Lin Haoran said, setting the phone down.
He wasn't surprised at all.
Even if it hadn't happened now, Niu Bijian's removal was inevitable. It was just a matter of timing.
Why had Niu Bijian rushed to find him after being ousted?
Lin Haoran found it curious.
"Niu Bijian has been fired," Lin Haoran casually told Ma Shiming.
"Boss, could he be thinking of joining Land Group?" Ma Shiming speculated.
At just over forty years old, Niu Bijian was at his career prime; he surely wouldn't retire willingly.
"Quite possible," Lin Haoran chuckled. "But don't worry, Mr. Ma. Even if he wants to join, he won't threaten your position!"
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1