Chapter 435

Whether it's taking over the 8% stake in Hong Kong Telecom from the Tai Fu Group or acquiring the stake in Hong Kong Telecom held by Cable & Wireless, Li Dongling needs a shell company to do it; it cannot be directly linked to Dongling High-Tech.

This tactic has a bit of a "covering one's ears to steal a bell" flavor, but this is the industry rule. It's like something everyone knows who did, but as long as he doesn't shout to admit it, no matter how many people speculate, it cannot be confirmed. Rumors will always just be rumors...

Similarly, even if everyone knows this shell company belongs to Dongling High-Tech, as long as Dongling High-Tech doesn't directly admit it, if it runs into trouble one day or starts "harvesting leeks," it can't be blamed on Dongling High-Tech.

"Yes!"

Lin Xianhui said quickly. He didn't know what the big boss wanted to do, but this personal visit to Hong Kong was also the best opportunity for him, as General Manager of Dongling High-Tech Hong Kong, to perform, and he didn't want to miss it.

"Also, one more thing: register the brand 'Cyberport' in Hong Kong, along with all related brands!" Li Dongling added another instruction.

The Cyberport brand and the internet concept it represents are crucial, especially during the upcoming internet frenzy. With this brand, plus Hong Kong Telecom, many things can be done.

Inside Cable & Wireless Hong Kong, the new CEO, Brown, had just finished processing a document. Cable & Wireless has operations in over seventy countries worldwide, with over 40,000 employees. However, Hong Kong Telecom is its most profitable company.

Brown took office this time with the will of the Cable & Wireless board of directors, wanting to dispose of and sell Hong Kong Telecom as soon as possible!

The reason Hong Kong Telecom was able to dominate the market back then was because of its exclusive telecommunications operating rights, meaning Hong Kong could only have one company doing fixed-line and international telephone business. Although the Hong Kong government has issued seven telecommunications licenses in recent years, most are small-scale and do not threaten Hong Kong Telecom.

But the PHS telecommunications company that the Ning family trading company is preparing to promote has made Hong Kong Telecom feel threatened. If PHS mobile phones and PHS base stations enter Hong Kong, Hong Kong Telecom's fixed-line profits will definitely plummet.

Therefore, Cable & Wireless and Hong Kong Telecom have been trying every possible way to delay the time it takes for the Ning family company to obtain a license.

But such things can only be delayed for a while, not forever. Especially since the Ning family trading company has Dongling High-Tech behind it. Cable & Wireless's fear of Dongling High-Tech far exceeds that of any Ning family trading company or those telecommunications companies in Hong Kong.

The intensifying competition in Hong Kong's telecommunications industry is one aspect. Another aspect is that Cable & Wireless has repeatedly wanted Hong Kong Telecom to enter the mainland market. After all, Hong Kong only has a few million people, and the market is only so big; the mainland is the vast ocean for the telecommunications industry.

However, whether it's the Beijing postal department or companies like China Telecom and China Unicom, their attitudes have been tough, and they haven't let Cable & Wireless get what it wants. This has made Cable & Wireless think about retreating. Brown becoming the new CEO of Cable & Wireless is specifically for the sale of Hong Kong Telecom.

Having just processed a few documents, Brown lost interest and called over his assistant, "That matter with Zhao Shinan—has it been cleared up? What exactly is going on?"

Originally, hearing that Li Dongling had arrived in Hong Kong, Brown was quite happy because it meant Hong Kong Telecom could raise its price again!

Who concocted the rumor that Dongling High-Tech and the Ning family company were joining forces to acquire Hong Kong Telecom? It was precisely Cable & Wireless!

Cable & Wireless had no idea whether Dongling High-Tech and the Ning family company were going to acquire Hong Kong Telecom, but that didn't stop them from taking the opportunity to make a fuss. The effect was quite significant; several rumors caused Hong Kong Telecom's stock price to soar.

And now, according to news obtained by the Ning family trading company and Cable & Wireless from various channels, Dongling High-Tech and the Ning family company seem to have a genuine intention to intervene in the acquisition of Hong Kong Telecom, which made Brown and Cable & Wireless overjoyed.

Because for every additional competitor, the acquisition price of Hong Kong Telecom can increase. A thing only becomes more valuable when more people are fighting for it!

But this Zhao Shinan who suddenly popped up interrupted Brown's plans. This guy who suddenly appeared seems to have the intention of driving away Dongling High-Tech!

Let alone others, even Brown couldn't help but be suspicious, wondering if someone else who wanted to acquire Hong Kong Telecom had arranged this move to drive away the competition.

But for Brown, this is simply a damn disaster. If Dongling High-Tech, representing the mainland, were artificially driven away and couldn't join the acquisition negotiations for Hong Kong Telecom, would that make the Beijing Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications think this was someone deliberately causing trouble? How would Beijing view Cable & Wireless?

Brown even suspected if this was a staged tragedy. If Dongling High-Tech retreated, the Beijing Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications would have reason to speak up, claiming this transaction was manipulated, an unequal transaction, etc., and instruct the Hong Kong Telecommunications Authority to directly freeze the transaction of Hong Kong Telecom. Once it's delayed, it won't be able to be sold even if they want to. The longer it drags on, the more Hong Kong Telecom depreciates, and in the end, it will be acquired by someone at a cabbage price!

People are most afraid of overthinking, especially when it involves huge amounts of US dollars. The more he thought about it, the more Brown felt there must be something fishy, that it was just a conspiracy...

"Nothing strange has been found. Perhaps this is just a case of jealousy over Ning Wenke..."

The assistant said to Brown. He had already entrusted someone to dig into Zhao Shinan, but found nothing unusual.

"Are you checking news from Hong Kong gossip tabloids?"

Brown said with dissatisfaction, "If it were just a small matter, would it be worth so many people in Hong Kong taking action? Have you checked the situation of the Zhao family in Nanyang?"

"Hiss..." The assistant gasped, shocked by Brown's "keen insight," "Are you saying this person is a pawn pushed out by other acquirers to test the waters?"

Everyone knows the Zhao family started in Nanyang, and this time, the most active acquirer of Hong Kong Telecom is Singapore Telecom from Nanyang. This makes it hard not to let one's imagination run wild.

The more Brown thought about it, the more he felt it was possible, but he said, "Regardless of who this Zhao Shinan is, and regardless of whether he has anything to do with this matter, he must pay the price. Li Dongling and Dongling High-Tech cannot leave Hong Kong at this time, nor can they leave in this way!"

Brown made up his mind, "Connect me to the Governor's Office!"

"Slap!"

Inside a villa in Hong Kong, Zhao Shinan received a solid slap on the face, which left him seeing stars.

"What on earth is going on between you and that founder of Dongling High-Tech?"

Zhao Jinsha looked at this prodigal son with eyes that could eat him alive, wishing he could strangle him. He only knew before that Zhao Shinan liked to waste energy on women, but he never expected him to be such a pitfall for his father. If he had known today would come, he would have died rather than give birth to this bastard.

"I did run into some trouble, but I can solve it!" Zhao Shinan said, trying to hold his ground.

"You solve it?"

Zhao Jinsha's face was livid, "Do you know that many companies have canceled their logistics and shipping cooperation with the company? Especially from the mainland, it has been reported that they will not accept shipping deliveries from our Zhao family!"

Zhao Shinan's face changed drastically. Although Hong Kong has shipping business with surrounding areas, the biggest one is undoubtedly the shipping business with the mainland. Once this market is lost, the Zhao family's shipping business will lose at least a huge chunk of its operations.

After slapping him, Zhao Jinsha also knew that being angry at this time was useless; the matter still had to be resolved. While he was dissatisfied with Zhao Shinan, he also felt that Li Dongling had gone too far.

For an outsider to act so domineeringly just after arriving in Hong Kong is too much. The Zhao family has operated in Hong Kong for so many years and also has some connections and resources. Zhao Jinsha prepared to invite some old friends to come forward and let Li Dongling know that Hong Kong has its rules!

Just as he was about to pick up the phone, the phone in the Zhao family villa's living room rang suddenly. After Zhao Jinsha answered the phone, he heard from the Hong Kong Marine Department on the other end that the Zhao family's shipping license had been frozen!

Zhao Jinsha's face turned purple, and the veins on his forehead bulged. The Zhao family's two most important businesses are logistics and shipping. With the shipping license frozen, it means the ships the Zhao family bought with loans will all have to sit idle!

The Zhao family was in chaos, and they had to feed Zhao Jinsha blood pressure medication to help him catch his breath.

But just after catching his breath, another call came in. After hearing the content of this call, Zhao Jinsha collapsed straight down.

The license for the Zhao family's logistics company was also frozen. Logistics and shipping, the two most important businesses, had all gone bust.

"A Hong Kong family with 600 million in assets suddenly suffers a change of fortune; Zhao Jinsha was sent to the hospital yesterday, and several members of the Zhao family have begun recruiting lawyers to fight for the family assets!"

"Last night, the Hong Kong Police Force, Marine Department, and other departments unearthed violent criminal cases involving the Zhao family in the logistics and shipping industries from many years ago. In addition, there were tax and assault incidents. Multiple shipping and logistics licenses under the Zhao family's companies have been frozen and suspended!"

"Zhao Shinan, known as a Hong Kong playboy, has been exposed by the media as possibly facing the risk of bankruptcy!"

"The construction company and leasing company under Zhao Shinan's name are both in a state of suspended work, and he also needs to pay compensation to hundreds of tenants. Currently, many tenants are planning to sue Zhao Shinan!"

"The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission announced that it will launch an investigation into Zhao Shinan, who may be involved in multiple cases of insider trading!"

"Standard Chartered Bank has applied to seal a luxury villa under Zhao Shinan's name!"

The next day, multiple Hong Kong media outlets suddenly reported that the Zhao family, with assets exceeding 600 million Hong Kong dollars, had suddenly collapsed!

After Zhao Jinsha was sent to the hospital, the Zhao family, with its many descendants, immediately began to scramble for the family assets, from villas to jewelry and antiques, and then to ships and fleets, all of which began to be snatched up and sold off.

And Zhao Shinan, who had always appeared in the news for his playboy lifestyle, appeared on the cover of the newspaper with a panicked expression, diving into a car and driving away while stepping hard on the gas, refusing to accept media interviews.

Besides these media reports, the Hong Kong gossip media reported even more explosive news.

"Zhao Shinan and one of the top 20 richest people in Asia fight over the female head of the Ning family trading company!"

"Tycoon family infighting, revealing the secret news of the Zhao family's bankruptcy!"

"Zhao Shinan's girlfriend exclusively reveals that Zhao Shinan suddenly suffered a change of fortune because he offended the founder of Dongling High-Tech..."

Various news stories, true and false, involving tycoon family infighting, snatching assets, and other serious topics that Hong Kong people love to see, as well as wild arrangements, gave the Hong Kong gossip-loving public a full meal today.

But countless people, while gossiping, also learned that the Zhao family's sudden change and Zhao Shinan's bankruptcy were more or less related to Li Dongling, who had come to Hong Kong.

Some people were just gossiping, but for those in the same circle as Hong Kong and the Zhao family, they began to be vigilant. This time it was the Zhao family, so if they offended someone they shouldn't offend next time, what would happen to them?