Chapter 237: Preparing a Way Out

Baron He Wei was unconcerned: "9 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to 1.55 billion US dollars, can he pay it off in one go? Last night he was still hoping I would help him negotiate a loan extension with you all; you should just go ahead and do it boldly."

Seeing Baron He Wei insist, Shen Bi sighed: "Baron He Wei, since you insist, then we can only do it this way."

After speaking, Shen Bi shook his head again, stood up, and left.

HSBC Group conference room.

On the left sat Chen Jiajun, Owens, Huang Dawen, and others, while on the right sat the HSBC Group Chief Manager—Shen Bi, General Manager Pu Weishi, and the group's legal counsel.

Shen Bi sighed and said helplessly: "Sir Chen, we have communicated with the Foreign Secretary."

"I am very sorry, but HSBC must still proceed with the withdrawal of loan. As for whether you want to file a lawsuit or raise funds to repay the debt, the choice is yours."

"Additionally, since we at HSBC are in breach of contract first, the interest will be waived."

After finishing this statement, Shen Bi sighed; whether Chen Jiajun could pay it back or not, he accepted it.

If he could not pay it back, according to Baron He Wei's wishes, as long as Chen Jiajun bowed his head to the British Empire and admitted his mistake, Sir Chen would still be a good comrade of the British Empire.

At this moment, the pressure suddenly shifted to Chen Jiajun's side; Owens and Huang Dawen both looked at Chen Jiajun.

Chen Jiajun took out a cigar: "Shen Bi, we have known each other for three years now; I understand you are under pressure."

Baron He Wei making such a decision was within Chen Jiajun's expectations.

When a country uses all its energy to deal with you, a mere 910 million Hong Kong dollars is nothing to Baron He Wei.

Anyway, it is not his own money being lost.

Shen Bi nodded and said: "I have no other choice, thank you for your understanding."

"Dumu." Chen Jiajun reached out his hand.

Dumu took a document out of his pocket and placed it in Chen Jiajun's hand.

Chen Jiajun pushed it directly across and said: "This is a Swiss Bank Deposit Certificate. I will notify Switzerland to transfer the funds immediately; the full 9 billion will arrive in the account tomorrow."

After speaking, Chen Jiajun took the lead in standing up and left in a dashing manner.

Shen Bi took the Deposit Certificate and looked at it, only to see the number on it was a staggering 8.07586 billion US dollars.

"Boom—"

In an instant, countless sensations of sour, sweet, spicy, and bitter surged into Shen Bi's heart.

Fuck your mother!

He had been played!

How was Chen Jiajun bluffing?

On the contrary, the man had too much confidence!

That was why he had taken the opportunity to demand the waiver of interest.

"Chief Manager, how much in deposits does Sir Chen have?" Pu Weishi leaned over to look and was also immediately stunned in place.

After the Landlord Association withdrew all their funds, and after deducting other people's money, Chen Jiajun had 7.3 billion US dollars in hand, plus the group's recent profits had all been converted into US dollars, so it totaled over 8 billion US dollars.

"Sir Chen, Sir Chen, let's discuss this properly."

Not until this moment did Shen Bi feel his guts turning green with regret; he stood up and shouted loudly at Chen Jiajun, who was walking out of the conference room.

Outside the VIP conference room was the HSBC executive office area; hearing the commotion in the conference room, everyone gathered at the door to watch the spectacle.

Inside the conference room, Shen Bi spat out a mouthful of blood and roared: "Foreign Secretary He Wei, fuck... pfft..."

After speaking, Shen Bi fainted directly onto the floor.

The blood splattered onto the blank wall, a shocking sight.

For a time, the conference room fell into chaos.

910 million Hong Kong dollars—what kind of concept is that?

Even for a large group like HSBC, the annual profit is only 2 billion.

Now, because of Baron He Wei's decision, HSBC had effectively wasted more than half a year of work.

After leaving the HSBC Building, Chen Jiajun arrived at one of his private clubs in Central.

The top floor of the original Guojun Building could no longer meet his private reception requirements, so last year Chen Jiajun bought a penthouse in a building in Central and turned it into a private club.

At this moment, sitting in front of Chen Jiajun were the Jardine Chief Manager—Niubijian, and the Hongkong Land General Manager—Baofuda.

To prevent some of Baron He Wei's dirty tricks, Chen Jiajun decided to buy Hongkong Electric first. Hongkong Electric is one of the two main electricity suppliers in Hong Kong.

"Please."

In the Jinbi Huihuang and tasteful club, the waiter served freshly ground coffee, while Chen Jiajun sat by the tea table, leisurely brewing Pu'er tea.

"Thank you."

Niubijian took the coffee and said with a smile: "Sir Chen, why do you still like to brew tea yourself when you are so rich now?"

He and Chen Jiajun could be considered old acquaintances; they had met several times during the battle to acquire Kowloon Wharf.

"This is the difference between us Chinese and you. In the eyes of us Chinese, brewing tea is a culture. People often think that a man who can brew tea is steady, because brewing tea requires the most effort and thought; one must calm their heart to learn it."

Chen Jiajun explained to Niubijian with a smile.

Niubijian sipped his coffee and praised: "Hearing you say that, I am reminded that when I was inspecting the United States, Americans told me that a barbecue grill is a man's spirit; almost every family has a barbecue grill, but they never let other men touch their grill, treating it like a treasure."

"Hahaha, more or less."

Everyone burst into a round of good-natured laughter.

Chen Jiajun poured himself a cup of tea and said: "Niubijian, I asked you to come over today because I want to discuss a business deal with you."

"Go ahead." Niubijian made a gesture of invitation.

"I want to acquire the Hong Kong Electric Group; give me a price." Chen Jiajun looked at the other party with piercing eyes.

Jardine is one of the Four Great Foreign Firms in Hong Kong, known as the King of Foreign Firms.

Long before Hong Kong was forcibly seized by England, Jardine had already started doing business on the land of China, and for so many years it has been controlled by the Keswick family.

Since it is called the King of Foreign Firms, it definitely has some substance.

The companies under the Jardine umbrella, including Jardine Fleming, Hongkong Land, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Dairy Farm, Hongkong Electric, and so on—let's put it this way, the Jardine system has grown alongside this city.

Many streets and buildings are named after figures associated with the Jardine system.

And the Jardine system is also currently the largest real estate developer in all of Hong Kong, without exception.

Hearing Chen Jiajun's demand to acquire Hongkong Electric, Niubijian set down his coffee cup and said with a smile, "Sir Chen, you should know that our Jardine system is not short on money, right?"

Not short on money?

Chen Jiajun almost laughed out loud upon hearing this.

This kind of talk is only meant to fool laymen.

The scale of Jardine's debt is calculated in the tens of billions.

Chen Jiajun flicked the ash off his cigar and sneered, "Let's speak plainly; you know better than I do how much debt the Jardine system has."

"Ahem." Niubijian coughed and said, "Sir Chen, as far as I know, you also owe HSBC 9.5 billion Hong Kong dollars, right?"

The implication was clear: where would you get the money to acquire the Hongkong Electric Group?

Chen Jiajun chuckled and said, "Niubijian, your intelligence channels are already outdated. I have already negotiated the repayment with HSBC today, and I will wire the 9.5 billion tomorrow..."

"Hiss."

Niubijian and Baofuda gasped; in this day and age, who would choose to pay back money owed to a bank?

Looking at Sir Chen's confident demeanor, it didn't look like he was lying.

Chen Jiajun waved his hand and said, "I didn't call you here today to discuss how to owe money to HSBC... In a word, how much are you willing to sell the Hongkong Electric Group for? Currently, the share price of Hongkong Electric Group is 6 dollars, and your Jardine system holds a total of 450 million shares. I'm offering a premium of 40 cents per share; will you sell? Cash transaction."

Niubijian remained unmoved: "Sir Chen, this is not a question of money."

Chen Jiajun smiled and said, "Niubijian, you at Jardine must have heard the news about Foreign Secretary He Wei and the negotiations with the Mainland, right? Are you really not afraid? As far as I know, the headquarters of the Jardine system was in Shanghai back then, and quite a lot of assets were confiscated, weren't they?"

"Besides, the Hongkong Electric Group is not the core business of the Jardine system, and you know its profitability; why not sell it to me while you have the chance?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Niubijian's expression suddenly turned ugly.

He fidgeted and said, "Sir Chen, it's not like you can just buy it whenever you want, right? The past is already in the past. Moreover, as far as we know, the Mainland has given England..."

"Then how about 7 dollars per share, a premium of 1 dollar per share," Chen Jiajun interrupted Niubijian.

Niubijian shook his head and said, "When our Jardine Group acquired Hongkong Electric, the price per share was 6.75 Hong Kong dollars."

"Then what price are you asking for?" Chen Jiajun leaned back on the sofa, watching the two with interest.

Seeing Chen Jiajun's "must-buy" attitude, Niubijian saw an opportunity and probed, "Could it be a little more..."

"Are you refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit?"

Dumu slammed a fist onto the table, causing the coffee cups and tea cups to jump, and the muscles all over Dumu's body rippled.

"My Big Brother buying your Hongkong Electric Group is giving your Jardine face, and you're still whining?"

Lao Yu threw the butterfly knife in his hand directly, hitting the bullseye, and glared while cursing.

The group looked at Niubijian and Baofuda with hostile expressions, waiting only for Big Brother to speak to let these two taste the iron fist.

Looking at the eyes of the young demon slaves in the private club... Niubijian couldn't help but recall the fates of Zhang Renlong, the Jiang brothers, and others, as well as a series of rumors.

With over a hundred thousand brothers in Hongxing, they could take his life by sending just a few people.

He was just a professional manager for Jardine; why risk his life so much?

Niubijian immediately picked up his coffee: "Sir Chen, seven dollars is seven dollars; if I ask for even a cent more, I'm your son."

"Now I've changed my mind; six dollars per share, take it or leave it." Chen Jiajun crossed his legs and looked at the two playfully.

"6 dollars it is, Sir Chen; I've made a friend in you." Niubijian gritted his teeth.

"Fine, the transaction is temporarily confidential; have the Jardine lawyer come over to sign the contract." Chen Jiajun nodded with satisfaction.

After completing the transaction with Jardine, Chen Jiajun held 450 million shares of Hongkong Electric Group, a 34.6% stake, leaping to become the largest shareholder of Hongkong Electric.

For a moment, Chen Jiajun felt a stinging pain in his heart; one must know that in '85, the price at which Li Jiacheng acquired Hongkong Electric was only 6.4 dollars per share.

But the Hong Kong dollar back then was nowhere near as valuable as it is now.

After the successful acquisition of Hongkong Electric, the next most important thing is the CLP Group.

If the British Hong Kong government really used ruthless means to suppress him, it would certainly be an all-out attack; back then, Huo Yingnan's Star Ferry had even had its power cut by the British Hong Kong government.

To be safe, Chen Jiajun also had to acquire the Kadoorie Family's CLP Group.

Unlike Jardine, the Kadoorie Family is a very hard nut to crack, and the CLP Group is also one of the core industries of the Kadoorie Family.

22 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.

Top-tier luxury cars pulled up one after another in front of the Peninsula Hotel, and Landlord Association members Zhan Peizhong, Sima Xiang, Huang Shitong, Luo Minsheng, Chen Zhan, Mai Shengyun, and others stepped into the hotel one by one.

They were all dressed in gold and silver, accompanied by bodyguards and assistants, looking imposing and full of airs.

Along the way, celebrities and tycoons kept greeting them.

In the past two days, the most shocking news in the Hong Kong business world was the Titan Group Chairman, Sir Chen, paying off 9 billion in loans to HSBC Bank in one go.

It is said that Sir Chen's Longteng Fund is managed by Zhan Peizhong, Sima Xiang, Huang Shitong, and others. In two years, they created an astonishing record of an average annual growth of 100%.

Not only that, a portion of the funds of Lin Mingze, Huo Yingnan, He Xin, and others were also managed by Zhan Peizhong and the others, and the generous profits earned made Lin Mingze, Huo Yingnan, He Xin, and others grin from ear to ear.

Therefore, these people were also called the Gods of Wealth.

Of course, the members of the Landlord Association all knew that the person who created all these legends was not them, but Sir Chen.

Last night, Sir Chen gave them orders to come to the Peninsula Hotel for a meeting, which was the reason everyone gathered here.

"Boss, everyone is here." Zhan Peizhong looked at Chen Jiajun.

Chen Jiajun nodded and said, "Fine, I summoned everyone here today because I want to acquire the CLP Group."

As soon as this was said, everyone's expression became strange.

The reason is that the CLP Group is an industry of the Kadoorie Family, and the Peninsula Hotel is also an industry of the Kadoorie Family.

Sir Chen was actually sitting in the Peninsula Hotel, plotting the future and fate of the CLP Group with them.

Good heavens.

Sima Xiang, the oldest member of the Landlord Association, said: "Sir Chen, the Kadoorie Family holds a 34% stake in the CLP Group. The equity has always been very stable, making a takeover extremely difficult. Do you want a quick victory, or...?"

"The faster, the better. I don't require acquiring all the shares held by the Kadoorie Family, but I must at least secure the position of Chairman of the Board," Chen Jiajun said.

Huang Shitong reminded him: "If that is the case, it might be more trouble than it's worth, Sir Chen."

Chen Jiajun waved his hand and said: "Is money still an issue for me?"

Once these words were spoken, the expressions on everyone's faces immediately became joyful; with Chen Jiajun's current net worth, purchasing the entire CLP Group would not be a problem.

"Although money is not an issue, according to our style, we must fight a beautiful battle and strive to save funds for the Boss. These are the materials I collected last night."

Zhan Peizhong set the tone for this takeover battle and passed the documents to everyone.

Luo Minsheng flipped through them and said: "Sir Chen, I believe that to acquire the CLP Group, we can start with the stock of the hotel group."

Chen Jiajun nodded: "Go on."

Luo Minsheng spoke eloquently: "I recently received news that the Kadoorie Group's CLP is preparing to expand. They have purchased a lot of equipment recently, and the Kadoorie Family has also spent a significant amount of money. Currently, the Kadoorie Family's cash flow is a bit tight."

"And the equity of the hotel group is somewhat unstable; we have an opportunity."

In 1923, the Kadoorie Family acquired the then "Shanghai Hotels Limited" and merged it with "Hong Kong Hotels Limited" to establish "The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited."

In 1928, the Peninsula Hotel, located just a stone's throw from Kowloon Pier, opened grandly. The Peninsula Hotel introduced the classic English afternoon tea and was the first hotel in Hong Kong to serve afternoon tea.

For many years, due to the influence of film, television, and literature, going to the Peninsula Hotel for afternoon tea has been a particularly stylish, romantic, and pretentious thing to do.

However, due to its history and special significance to the people of Hong Kong, the Peninsula Hotel has indeed rightfully become a symbol of Hong Kong's cultural and economic heyday, combining luxury with sentiment, and its status is irreplaceable.

Although for a long time, the largest shareholder of the hotel group remained the Kadoorie Family, because investing in the power industry required a large amount of capital, they had to "give up the fish to take the bear's paw" and gradually reduced their shares in the hotel.

By the 1970s, the largest shareholder of the hotel group had become Liang Zhonghao, who is the second generation of the Liang Chang family of Hong Kong, a family that has always been keen on acquiring properties in busy districts for investment.

The Liang Chang family actually has some connections with He Xin; he and Fu Laorong were operators of the First Generation of casinos in Macau.

Later, he suffered a mental breakdown, often handing out banknotes and watches on the street, and committed suicide by jumping off a building in 1979.

After Liang Chang died, the Liang family is now headed by his son, Liang Zhonghao.

Liang Zhonghao holds 31% of the hotel group's shares and simultaneously serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of the hotel group. The two families have a clear division of labor and jointly manage the hotel group. As for the position of Chairman of the Board, both sides take turns serving in it.

Luo Minsheng's idea is to acquire the hotel group stock held by Liang Zhonghao and drive the Kadoorie Family out of the hotel group's board of directors.

As the Founder of the hotel group, the Kadoorie Family certainly will not allow themselves to be driven out of their ancestral business and will definitely raise funds to launch a counter-takeover battle.

And while the Kadoorie Family launches the counter-takeover battle, the members of the Landlord Association will immediately acquire the CLP Group.

Chen Jiajun's eyes lit up as soon as he heard this. He nodded and said: "Fine, this takeover battle will be presided over by Luo Minsheng. The money will come from the Longteng Fund. Everyone assist him. Luo Minsheng, do a good job."

"Yes, thank you, Sir Chen."

Luo Minsheng stood up, suddenly feeling as if he had been crowned with the yellow robe.

"Everyone, let's go for it." Saying this, Chen Jiajun raised his wine glass to everyone.

Zhan Peizhong, Huang Shitong, Sima Xiang, and others also raised their glasses at the same time.

That noon.

At the Shangri-La Hotel, Sima Xiang and Luo Minsheng met with Liang Zhonghao, and the three of them chatted and laughed.

Nowadays, Sima Xiang, Luo Minsheng, and the others are already at the center of the vortex, becoming the targets of pursuit for media of all sizes in Hong Kong.

Every move they make can provoke much speculation from the outside world and stock investors.

And the Liang Zhonghao family is also an old-established family in Hong Kong; his father, Liang Chang, was one of the founders of Hang Seng Bank.

The combination of these three people immediately attracted the attention of interested parties.

(End of this chapter)