Chapter 308 Huifeng Bank's Countermeasures
After Lin Haoran left the headquarters of Huifeng Bank, Shen Bi immediately gathered a few trusted confidants to discuss the matter.
Normally, major decisions at Huifeng Bank required approval from the board of directors.
However, Shen Bi held extremely high prestige within the bank, and most of his decisions would generally pass the board easily.
Everyone in the upper echelons understood that Shen Bi was wholeheartedly dedicated to Huifeng Bank's development and that all his decisions were made with the bank's best interests in mind.
After Shen Bi informed his confidants of everything that had just happened with Lin Haoran, all of them were deeply shocked.
After all, it was Jardines Matheson they were talking about!
Historically, it had been the most powerful business conglomerate in Hong Kong.
Even though it had lost Wharf Holdings more than a year ago, resulting in a decline in its overall strength, the old saying goes: "A starved camel is still bigger than a horse." Jardines Matheson still ranked immediately behind Huifeng Bank in strength.
And now, someone was targeting Jardines Matheson — and it was a young Chinese entrepreneur!
How could they not be shocked?
"Gentlemen, in your view, should we support Lin Haoran's plan to take over Jardines Matheson, or should we refuse him?"
Shen Bi asked solemnly.
"Mr. Shen Bi, I think we should not support Mr. Lin Haoran!"
"Yes, I agree! We worked hard to help Mr. Bao Yugang bring down Jardines from its dominant position in Hong Kong, allowing Huifeng Bank to rise to the top.
If we now support Lin Haoran's takeover of Jardines, wouldn't our position be overtaken by a Chinese financial group?"
"Laurie is right. Our current position wasn't easy to achieve.
Mr. Lin Haoran already controls Hong Kong Electric, Kowloon Bus, China Gas Company, and several other firms, all of which are quite strong.
If he also gains control of Jardines Matheson, he'll not only control Jardines but also Land Development Corporation indirectly.
His overall strength would surpass Huifeng Bank.
That is not in our interest!"
One by one, the trusted confidants all opposed supporting Lin Haoran.
Shen Bi nodded in satisfaction and said,
"I think so too.
That's why I didn't agree to anything during our meeting with Mr. Lin.
But I also didn't outright refuse him, because Mr. Lin's power is growing rapidly.
We don't know what the future political situation in Hong Kong will be like, so we can't afford to completely offend this rising Chinese business tycoon."
"Not only should we refuse Mr. Lin Haoran, but we should also secretly inform Jardines Matheson, so they can prepare.
If Lin Haoran successfully takes over Jardines, it would be a huge disadvantage for us," one confidant added.
"So, in your opinion, how should we reject Mr. Lin without offending him?" Shen Bi asked.
"Boss, the easiest way is to delay.
Don't give a clear answer.
If Mr. Lin asks, just say the company's senior management hasn't made a decision yet.
This way, he can't really blame us," one suggested.
"Mr. Shen Bi, we could adopt a vague and ambiguous attitude," another confidant advised.
"We could say we are interested in Mr. Lin's proposal but need more time to assess the situation carefully.
This keeps us from openly rejecting or supporting him, giving us room to maneuver."
"At the same time, we could stress that any changes involving Jardines must be handled with caution, as it affects the stability of Hong Kong's business environment and the interests of many stakeholders," another added.
"This shows we are responsible, while buying time to observe the situation and take action to maximize our own interests."
Shen Bi's eyes lit up with approval:
"Good strategy.
It's polite, but also leaves us room to move.
We can even praise Mr. Lin's business acumen slightly while emphasizing our responsibility to Hong Kong's economy — subtly hinting that any decision must consider the bigger picture."
After a long discussion, Shen Bi picked up the phone and arranged a secret meeting with Niu Bik Kin.
He would inform him of Lin Haoran's intentions to acquire Jardines Matheson, allowing Jardines to be fully prepared.
This way, Lin Haoran would never succeed.
Because it was not in Huifeng Bank's interests for Jardines Matheson to fall into Chinese hands.
Only by remaining the dominant force in Hong Kong's business world could Huifeng Bank maintain its influence.
An hour later, Jardines Matheson's senior executives were informed about Lin Haoran's plan to acquire the company.
Upon hearing the news, shock spread throughout Jardines' leadership.
They had already noticed today's unusually high trading volume in Jardines' shares but had dismissed it, thinking it was just speculators riding the waves caused by the Land Development situation.
Now, learning from Shen Bi that Lin Haoran's real target was not Land Development, but Jardines Matheson itself — they realized they had completely misjudged the situation.
Thus, Jardines Matheson's leadership immediately entered another round of urgent meetings to discuss how to counter Lin Haoran's ambition.
At 4 PM, Lin Haoran returned to Universal Investment Company's offices.
As expected, their acquisition pace in Jardines Matheson shares remained steady throughout the afternoon.
By the end of trading, Universal Investment's holdings in Jardines Matheson officially surpassed 20%, reaching 20.23%.
This was nearly double the Keswick family's stake in Jardines Matheson.
Meanwhile, their progress in acquiring Land Development Corporation shares slowed considerably in the afternoon.
Too many retail investors and large funds had entered the stock, making it harder to absorb shares quietly.
Moreover, the stock price had been hyped to an absurd level, with Land Development Corporation's market cap even briefly surpassing that of Huifeng Bank.
Of course, everyone knew that valuation was inflated —
They were all waiting for the ultimate battle between Lin Haoran and Jardines Matheson over control of Land Development Corporation.
To the investors, this was a gamble.
If they guessed right, they could reap enormous profits — just like during the Wharf Holdings battle, when the stock price quintupled from HKD 20 to HKD 105 per share.
Time flew by, and evening came.
At 6 PM, Universal Investment Company officially ended the workday.
Ruan Jingcheng, as usual, left Wanching Tower cheerfully, driving his personal car home to North Point.
He had worked at Universal for over a year — the peak of his professional career so far.
In just one year, his income matched two to three years' worth of salary elsewhere, thanks to the generous bonuses.
But human greed knows no bounds.
Faced with rising living costs — kids' education, mortgage payments for a new house — Ruan Jingcheng was tempted when a reporter from the Hong Kong Times secretly approached him, offering good money for insider information.
Initially, he hesitated.
Life was good at Universal.
But the promise of anonymity and high payouts convinced him.
"This deal stays between you and me.
If you don't talk, I won't talk.
No one will know!" the reporter assured him.
Ruan Jingcheng sold insider information for HKD 7,000 — a sum he was very satisfied with.
Driving out of Wanching Tower and onto the main road, he was unaware that a van was tailing him.
After about ten minutes into North Point, he turned off the main road onto a side street.
Suddenly, the van accelerated, cutting him off and forcing him to stop.
A man got out, knocked lightly on his window.
Puzzled, Ruan Jingcheng rolled it down.
Before he could even ask a question, the man yanked the door open, unbuckled him, and dragged him from the car.
Several others jumped out of the van, and together, they shoved the terrified Ruan Jingcheng into the van and sped off.
The entire operation took less than thirty seconds.
The van crossed the Hung Hom tunnel and quickly entered Kowloon Peninsula, heading to a remote warehouse...
That evening, Lin Haoran returned home to the Lin family villa on Shixun Road as usual.
The news of his interest in Jardines Matheson was already spreading, and he just needed to let it ferment slowly.
Only by shifting the focus away from Land Development Corporation could he seize it more smoothly.
Around 9 PM, Lin Haoran received a call.
It was from Hu Xuyong, the 13K leader from Yau Tsim Mong district.
"Mr. Lin, the matter you entrusted to me is completed.
The target has confessed to leaking the information.
We even obtained a copy of his confidentiality agreement with the Hong Kong Times reporter, along with a videotaped confession.
The documents and tape will be delivered to Wanching Tower tomorrow morning," Hu Xuyong reported.
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