Chapter 434

Zhao Shinan stared at the phone on the table with bloodshot eyes; his dashing, suave, and debonair persona no longer existed. The phone had rung more than a dozen times in a row, with bad news arriving one after another.

Moreover, it was happening too fast. Before Zhao Shinan could even think of a countermeasure, a project contracted by his construction company had already been halted. The financier of the building had called, threatening that if the trouble wasn't resolved by tomorrow morning, Zhao Shinan should get lost, and he would also have to pay a massive penalty for breach of contract.

Hong Kong is currently in the hottest period for real estate, reaching a point of sheer frenzy, having risen continuously for twelve years.

Even after experiencing some setbacks, it would quickly rise again. Property prices have increased more than tenfold. Although many people curse the high prices, every time a new development opens, it triggers thousands of people to line up and scramble to buy.

Paying a "tea fee" to buy a house didn't start in the mainland; in Hong Kong, this has been much more severe in recent years. The tea fees for buying a house at a sales office start at 200,000, so one can imagine the state of the market.

The reason it is so hot is, of course, that there is money to be made. As long as you can grab a property, you don't have to worry about not being able to sell it.

Anything related to property can be speculated upon. Small players have their own way of speculating: grab a property, then add a million or so to the price and sell it off, a single wave equivalent to more than several years' salary.

When big players speculate, they use entire buildings as chips. Buying a shopping mall or an office building for hundreds of millions or billions today, they can double the price and sell it off in a few months.

Under this frenzy, naturally, all parties are desperately speculating. Houses are like chips, constantly moving from one person's hand to another. With every change of hands, the chips become heavier, and those who handle them get a layer of profit.

It's equivalent to stepping on your own feet to lift yourself into the air. Hong Kong's stock market and real estate have appreciated by seven trillion Hong Kong dollars in seven years. Basically, anyone involved in these two industries has made a fortune, but they have also been tied together, and Zhao Shinan is one of them.

The project Zhao Shinan's construction company is currently undertaking was also taken over from other companies at a premium, and then he found a construction company to do the work. He took out loans to front the money, so if the building isn't completed, not only will he not make money, but he will also owe the bank a huge sum!

Not only his construction company, but the two buildings Zhao Shinan took over from other companies and then sublet were also ordered by the Housing Department and other agencies to evict tenants and renovate the buildings.

Now the tenants of these two buildings are causing a scene at Zhao Shinan's leasing company. Hong Kong media are already reporting it. If he cannot resolve the problem by tomorrow morning at the latest, he might face... bankruptcy!

The seemingly glamorous Zhao Shinan relies on large loans from banks to turn over his stocks, construction company, and property leasing company. When the market is good, it's naturally not a problem; as long as he wants to borrow, Hong Kong banks dare to lend!

Now that two of his properties have run into trouble, Zhao Shinan doesn't even know if the banks are still willing to lend to him.

Bankruptcy—this word was something Zhao Shinan had never thought of before. He had seen many news reports from Hong Kong media about the bankruptcy of Hong Kong "child prodigies," but he never imagined that this day would come for him.

Now, Zhao Shinan's mind is a bit blank. He doesn't know how things suddenly turned out this way. There used to be rumors in the Hong Kong underworld that offending the major Hong Kong tycoons would lead to total disaster, and no one, black or white, dared to provoke those major tycoons.

Now Zhao Shinan has had a preliminary taste of what happens when you offend one of the top twenty richest people in Asia. He even vaguely sensed a "killing the chicken to warn the monkey" vibe from this operation, because he had used this tactic on others, but having it used on himself, the taste was truly not very pleasant...

Before Zhao Shinan could force a bitter smile, the phone on the table, which had been quiet for a few minutes, suddenly rang again. Zhao Shinan was given a big fright.

His hand trembled as he placed it on the phone. After answering, the person on the other end immediately said, "Mr. Zhao, I am the loan business manager of Standard Chartered Bank. You have a loan, and we hope you can come to our bank tomorrow to repay it, otherwise we will..."

After cursing angrily and hanging up, Zhao Shinan panted heavily. He had thought banks would burn bridges, but he hadn't expected it to be this fast.

The phone rang again. Zhao Shinan finally couldn't help but curse loudly, but the person on the other end was even angrier than Zhao Shinan, "What on earth have you done? Come back immediately!"

Zhao Shinan was stunned for a moment. This time it was his father, Zhao Jinsha, calling. He had a vague feeling of impending doom.

Up to now, although Zhao Shinan was angry, he wasn't yet desperate. His fallback was that he was a member of the Zhao family. Even if he went bankrupt, with his father Zhao Jinsha around, he could still live as a wealthy man and have a chance to make a comeback. But what if his father also fell? Could he really run away to Nanyang and walk the path of his ancestors again?!

In the seaside villa arranged by the Ning family, Li Dongling stood on the viewing terrace, able to see the beach behind. This villa has five floors, with a wine cellar, swimming pool, cinema, gym, helipad, etc., and is now priced at over 400 million Hong Kong dollars.

"The media has already reported that Zhao Shinan's company is in financial trouble. The two buildings under his leasing company have been ordered to be cleared due to safety issues, and Zhao Shinan's construction company has also been ordered to halt work!"

Lin Xianhui, General Manager of Dongling High-Tech Hong Kong, reported the situation regarding Zhao Shinan to Li Dongling with a respectful expression. These were not secrets; the always gossipy Hong Kong media had already begun to focus on Zhao Shinan.

Lin Xianhui didn't know what had happened between Zhao Shinan and his boss, but it was clear that Zhao Shinan had run into bad luck. As a Hong Konger, he had heard of Zhao Shinan's name, but this time Zhao Shinan seemed completely unable to fight back, having been tossed around so miserably that there were even rumors he might go bankrupt...

Li Dongling turned around and glanced at Lin Xianhui. He was a professional manager recommended by Ren Yuefeng, a Hong Kong native who had studied finance in England and had worked at Citibank Hong Kong. After the Dongling High-Tech Hong Kong headquarters was established, Lin Xianhui was poached.

But previously, the Dongling High-Tech Hong Kong company, within the Dongling High-Tech system, basically served to handle some of Dongling High-Tech's overseas affairs and reserve some foreign exchange, mostly acting in coordination with the Hanxi Dongling High-Tech headquarters.

Unlike the major tycoons like the Li family of the Yangtze River in Hong Kong, who invested most of the money earned in Hong Kong and the mainland overseas, acquiring telecommunications, water plants, natural gas, ports, shopping malls, and other companies in Singapore, England, and old Europe as their foundation for survival.

The foreign exchange earned by Dongling High-Tech in recent years, except for a portion kept at the Hong Kong company for emergencies, was mostly settled domestically, and the money was then poured into domestic R&D and supporting companies in the component supply chain.

But in the future, the role of Dongling High-Tech Hong Kong will become increasingly important, becoming one of Dongling High-Tech's bridgeheads overseas. Especially in a few years, when foreign exchange is no longer scarce domestically, it will be Dongling High-Tech's turn to start its era of "buy, buy, buy."

At that time, Dongling High-Tech Hong Kong will be needed to do all of this. For decades to come, Hong Kong's status in the world will remain very special, allowing it to be less targeted and making it more convenient to get things done.

"There is no need to pay too much attention to Zhao Shinan and the Zhao family!"

Li Dongling waved his hand casually. With this move, Li Dongling definitely wanted to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, to avoid what happened in his previous life when SMIC wanted to build a factory in Hong Kong and was actually driven away. Li Dongling didn't want to encounter such things.

The main force behind this move was the Nishiguchi Taifu Group. As a veteran Hong Kong group, dealing with a Zhao Shinan was a piece of cake.

It's no wonder the Nishiguchi Taifu Group reacted so strongly. This time, Li Dongling came to Hong Kong to take away that 8% stake in Hong Kong Telecom from the Nishiguchi Taifu Group.

Based on Hong Kong Telecom's market value, this stake is worth tens or even hundreds of billions of Hong Kong dollars. Nishiguchi Taifu was planning to use this money to acquire a stake in CLP Power, Hong Kong's largest electricity supplier.

If this transaction were ruined because of Zhao Shinan, let alone one Zhao Shinan, even if the entire Zhao family, along with his relatives in Nanyang, were wiped out, it wouldn't be as important as a transaction worth tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars!

Besides the Nishiguchi Taifu Group, there is also its parent company, Bank of China. The Bank of China and Beijing offices in Hong Kong should have taken action or called the Hong Kong Government's Administration Department.

Li Dongling didn't just come to Hong Kong as the founder of Dongling High-Tech this time; he also had the support of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics Industry, the State Economic and Trade Commission, and other Beijing departments, preparing to intervene in the acquisition of Hong Kong Telecom.

Zhao Shinan's actions were also uncertain to those in Beijing—whether it was a misunderstanding or someone wanting to make a fuss, trying to use Zhao Shinan's hand to cause trouble at such a sensitive time. To put it bluntly, if Li Dongling were to retreat from Hong Kong this time, that would be the truly troublesome time.

The Hong Kong Administration Department is also absolutely clear about this. The British withdrawal from Hong Kong is a foregone conclusion, and Hong Kong will return next year. Everyone can figure out which side the Hong Kong Administration Department should stand on in the future.

Now all parties in Hong Kong are afraid of trouble. If a mess is made, no one can clean it up. With Zhao Shinan pulling this stunt, the Administration Department almost hates him to the bone. If they don't deal with him, who will they deal with?!

Zhao Shinan's bad luck now isn't just the result of one party's efforts, but rather all parties in Hong Kong probably wish they could crush him to death, including the British side.

If Li Dongling failed to acquire Hong Kong Telecom, he couldn't blame others; it would be because his skills were inferior. But if he were driven out of Hong Kong by someone playing dirty, and they still wanted to sell Hong Kong Telecom, they could go dream on!

Hong Kong's telecommunications industry will also be under the jurisdiction of the Beijing Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in the future. As long as they don't loosen their stance and don't recognize this transaction, regardless of Singapore Telecom or other telecommunications companies, who would dare to take over Hong Kong Telecom?

Li Dongling felt that Cable & Wireless must be in chaos by now. This involves an acquisition worth tens of billions of dollars. If it falls through just like that, let alone Cable & Wireless, the current Governor of Hong Kong and even powerful figures in the British House of Lords would probably fly over to strangle Zhao Shinan!

This time, as long as Li Dongling doesn't say the word to end this, Zhao Shinan, who has offended all parties in Hong Kong, including the Zhao family that gave birth to this unlucky bastard, will absolutely not be able to escape!

This wave might not do much harm to those major tycoon companies in Hong Kong, but all the monsters and demons in Hong Kong who want to cause trouble for Dongling High-Tech or want to play some tricks will have to weigh whether they will become the next Zhao Shinan!

"You establish a new investment company in Hong Kong, but it must not be linked to Dongling High-Tech!" Li Dongling said to Lin Xianhui.