Chapter 176: Li Jiacheng Sets His Sights on Land Holdings
As expected, the news that Land Holdings would participate in the North Point Electric Road Power Plant site development project through equity financing with Hongkong Electric Holdings spread throughout Hong Kong the very next morning, thanks to coverage by the Hongkong Commercial Daily, South China Morning Post, and Asian Wall Street Journal. To prevent anyone from scheming to buy Hongkong Electric's newly acquired Land Holdings shares, the agreement's specifics were emphasized under Land Holdings' explicit instructions in all three papers. Essentially, this clause blocked any future attempts by others to purchase those shares from Hongkong Electric.
After waking up, Lin Haoran, as usual, read the newspapers. In his hand was the Hongkong Commercial Daily, one of his daily must-reads. On the front page, a photograph of him shaking hands with Percy Niblett took up the headline news. Both Land Holdings and Hongkong Electric were among Hong Kong's top-tier listed companies, so their cooperation naturally attracted immense attention. Moreover, the presence of the young Chinese entrepreneur Lin Haoran made the news even more widely discussed.
Reviewing the article carefully, Lin Haoran noted that the Hongkong Commercial Daily had reported the event accurately and objectively, without exaggeration, providing a detailed account of the cooperation between Hongkong Electric and Land Holdings. From here on, the specifics of developing the North Point site would be managed by Chen Shoulin on behalf of Hongkong Electric, freeing Lin Haoran from needing to worry about the day-to-day project matters. Chen Shoulin would periodically update him on the project's progress.
Today, February 9, was a Saturday, and the stock market was closed. As a result, Huanyu Investment Company was also off work. Looking at the constant drizzle outside, Lin Haoran dismissed any thoughts of going out. Spring rains nourished the earth but made traveling inconvenient.
In a residential building near Fortress Hill in North Point, Li Lijin and her two close friends were hanging out at home reading comics and chatting. Being the weekend, they had no school. "Lijin, whatever happened with that handsome guy who invited you to shoot an advertisement after we came back from Lamma Island?" the tall girl asked curiously. "Nothing. I told my mom about it after we got back. She was worried it was a scam. After all, even though we knew they were from Hongkong Electric, we didn't know exactly who he was. What if it was a trick? So I didn't follow up, though honestly, I wanted to. Imagine it — if it had been real, my face would have been all over Hong Kong. How cool would that be?" Li Lijin said, a mixture of regret and longing in her voice.
"True, he didn't say exactly who he was. Just showing up at Hongkong Electric claiming you were invited might get you laughed at," her tall friend joked, laughing loudly. Typical of close friends, a bit of teasing was natural, especially when one friend might suddenly become more successful.
"Lijin, Xiaofeng, look! Doesn't this guy in the newspaper look familiar? Isn't he the same handsome young man we met on the boat coming back from Lamma Island? If he hadn't agreed to let us board, we would've been stuck there all afternoon," the third girl, flipping through the newspaper, said excitedly. "Where, where? Let me see!" Li Lijin and Yang Xiaofeng crowded over.
"Ah! He's the chairman of Hongkong Electric?"
"Holy crap, the guy we met is the boss of a huge corporation? So young?"
"I can't believe I didn't recognize such a big shot!"
"I vaguely remember hearing some news recently about Hongkong Electric changing chairmen. I even overheard my dad and his friends discussing it, but I didn't pay attention. Who would've thought?"
"Lijin, you're about to become famous! That handsome, powerful CEO personally invited you to shoot an advertisement. I'm so jealous!"
"Well, he was very charming — funny and kind. And quite handsome too!"
"Too bad he didn't pick me. Even though I have some freckles, I'm not ugly! Plus, I'm taller and slimmer than Lijin!"
"Yeah right! You have no chest and no curves. Why would he pick you?"
"You're the one with no chest — your whole family has no chest!"
Their room erupted into laughter and playful teasing.
After a while, Li Lijin said seriously, "I really want to grab this opportunity. I might not continue school after a couple of years. If shooting ads makes me famous, I'll have a career. Now that we've confirmed who he is, I know the invitation was real. No wonder even the older executives deferred to him."
"Look, here's the photo of that older guy who tried to stop us from boarding — he's the CEO and Executive Director of Hongkong Electric!" another friend pointed out. "Lijin, you're destined to be a star! Just don't forget us when you're rich and famous!"
"Don't worry. We're best friends forever!"
Meanwhile, at the Lee family villa in Deep Water Bay, Li Jiacheng had gotten up early. It was Saturday, and Cheung Kong Holdings had no pressing matters. His acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa wasn't yet finalized, so he had rare free time to spend with his family.
"Land Holdings is developing the North Point site jointly with Hongkong Electric through equity financing?" Upon reading the news, Li Jiacheng frowned deeply. He had previously contacted Hongkong Electric's former chairman, Chen Shoulin, multiple times, hoping Cheung Kong Holdings could partner with them to develop the site. He knew that successful development could easily yield several hundred million Hong Kong dollars in profit, perhaps even over a billion if the property market kept booming.
He had planned to approach Lin Haoran for a discussion after the leadership change at Hongkong Electric. But now, less than two weeks later, Land Holdings had already secured the deal. Cheung Kong was shut out.
"Why would Lin Haoran choose this method? Normally, developers just invest cash. Why would he want Land Holdings shares? Is he planning to acquire Land Holdings?" Li Jiacheng briefly entertained the thought but quickly shook his head. It seemed impossible. Acquiring Hongkong Electric had already been an impressive feat. Most assumed Lin Haoran must have taken on heavy debt to achieve it — how could he immediately move on to target Land Holdings?
Even Pao Yue-Kong had needed massive loans from HSBC to win Wheelock. And when Li Jiacheng acquired Hutchison, he had only paid 20% down and negotiated a two-year delayed payment for the rest, leading to accusations from Hutchison's chairman that he had bought a billion-dollar company for a mere US$24 million down payment.
It was unimaginable that Lin Haoran could rely solely on his own resources to seize Qingzhou Cement and then Hongkong Electric in such a short time.
Still, the thought lingered. "Could I acquire Land Holdings instead?"
Li Jiacheng grew more interested. Land Holdings held vast commercial property assets in Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, and Tsim Sha Tsui — Hong Kong's most prime locations. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had to try.
"Jardine only holds about 20% of Land Holdings' shares. Maybe after I fully control Hutchison, I can attempt to buy it."
He decided he needed to start gathering detailed information about Land Holdings immediately, even if he couldn't act yet.
Since 1978, after Lin Haoran suddenly acquired Qingzhou Cement, Pao Yue-Kong seized Wheelock, and now Lin Haoran had taken Hongkong Electric, Chinese conglomerates had begun carving up British companies like prized cakes. Everyone wanted a piece.
Li Jiacheng had regretted losing Qingzhou Cement, but taking Hutchison from HSBC somewhat made up for it. Still, would just owning Hutchison satisfy him? Of course not.
At that moment, Li Jiacheng set his sights on Land Holdings.
After giving instructions to his subordinates, Li Jiacheng put down the phone and returned his gaze to the newspaper. He found Lin Haoran more and more unbelievable. Their first encounter had been in 1978, only two years ago. Back then, he had barely begun considering an acquisition of Qingzhou Cement, only to be blocked by Pao Yue-Kong because of Lin Haoran's involvement.
Though they hadn't had further dealings since, Li Jiacheng had kept a close eye on Lin Haoran, who continued to surprise him. First, he seized Hongkong Electric — a company even Li Jiacheng coveted. Now he had leveraged the North Point land to become a shareholder and director at Land Holdings.
"What exactly is his goal?" Li Jiacheng wondered. He was certain Lin Haoran had a plan. But believing that Lin Haoran could acquire Land Holdings outright seemed impossible.
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