Chapter 447

Lü Dongliang tucked a stack of newspapers under his arm and walked into the Hong Kong Stock Exchange lobby as usual; those who knew him greeted him warmly.

"Lü Zai, haven't seen you in days—where'd you make your fortune?"

"Ma Sheng!"

Lü Dongliang found a seat, smiled, and said, "Last week, I went overseas to Japan and the Maldives."

"Looks like you made a killing on Swire shares!"

Hearing Lü Dongliang had traveled abroad, many around him glanced at him with envy—they knew his Swire stock had surged 62% in a year, netting him a massive profit.

"Lü Zai, next time you spot a good stock, don't forget to bring us along!"

Someone said this to Lü Dongliang; he laughed but said nothing—history was full of cases where helping others brought resentment instead of gratitude.

In stock trading, even if you helped someone make money, disputes over profit-sharing could turn friends into enemies; if you lost, it became a fight to the death.

Compared to those in the trading hall hoping to get rich overnight by blind guessing, Lü Dongliang was a finance graduate who had genuinely worked at a Hong Kong securities firm.

After the Hong Kong bull market began, Lü Dongliang quit his job, cashed in his savings, and went solo—free from the constraints of the securities firm, no longer forced to watch others profit while he sat idle; over these years, his net worth had grown to match what he'd need ten to twenty years to earn at the firm.

Though Lü Dongliang enjoyed coming to the trading hall and discussing market trends to clear his mind, he never gave investment advice—he didn't want friendships to turn into enmities.

"It's down again!"

"How many days has Hong Kong Telecom's stock dropped this month? All this nonsense about mainland's mobile king and Singapore's Lee family fighting for control—total rubbish!"

As two of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's highest-market-cap stocks, HSBC and Hong Kong Telecom were the largest, most valuable, most widely held, and most closely watched.

Since rumors surfaced that Cable & Wireless intended to sell its controlling stake, Hong Kong Telecom had been in constant turmoil.

When the news first broke, Hong Kong Telecom's stock price skyrocketed—not just in Hong Kong and Asia, but Huaerjie institutions rushed in to buy shares, and countless retail investors emptied their savings to purchase the stock.

But the results were always thunder without rain: constant rumors surfaced—Li Jiayi's Yingke Group, Singapore Telecom, mainland's Duling High-Tech, British Telecom, German telecom giants—all were rumored to be bidding for Hong Kong Telecom.

Each rumor triggered a wave of frantic buying in the trading hall, but every time, the news turned out false, and the stock price plunged again.

Hong Kong Telecom's stock had nearly become a tool for certain investment firms to harvest small investors—release a rumor, pump the price, wait for suckers to buy in, then "clarify" the rumor and crush the little Japanese Jiucai into despair; it never failed.

Despite knowing it was likely a trap, people kept jumping in because the temptation was too great: Hong Kong Telecom's current price was just over $12; if a real buyer ever emerged, a doubling of the price would be a mere beginning!

In his past life, during the battle for Hong Kong Telecom's control, the stock price had soared past $30—those who bought in had made fortunes.

No one in this world is truly foolish; actions that seem irrational in hindsight were made by people facing overwhelming temptation.

Faced with a 100% return—a chance to double your net worth instantly—it's like a lump of fool's gold sitting right before you—who could resist?

"That mainland guy, Li Li Dongling—isn't he about to leave? Haven't heard anything about him buying Hong Kong Telecom!"

"Yeah, probably another scam—fake rumors being spread!"

"I'm done. I've lost seven or eight thousand on this cursed stock—I'm quitting!"

Lü Dongliang listened to the chatter in the trading hall; as Hong Kong Telecom's price dipped further, many grew tired of the rollercoaster and began selling their shares.

Watching the stock fall again, Lü Dongliang stared at the screen's flickering numbers, lost in thought.

Previously, Lü Dongliang hadn't paid much attention to Hong Kong Telecom's price—he knew a company worth a few hundred billion couldn't double its value easily; even under perfect conditions, it would take one or two years.

But saying Hong Kong Telecom was useless now was impossible—it still nearly monopolized Hong Kong's landline market, with stable revenue and profits.

The only uncertainty was its future—that's why Cable & Wireless and outside investors were skeptical.

No one knew what would happen to Hong Kong Telecom after the handover—whether it would be crushed or survive was anyone's guess.

Lü Dongliang stroked his chin, staring at the lobby screen for a long while, leaving only at closing; the next day, he returned to watch Hong Kong Telecom's stock again.

On the third day, just before noon, Lü Dongliang called his stockbroker: "Buy 800,000 shares of Hong Kong Telecom at $12.42."

"Hong Kong Telecom shares?"

His familiar broker exclaimed, "You're not falling for those acquisition rumors too, are you?"

"Don't care about rumors—buy me one million Hong Kong dollars' worth of Hong Kong Telecom stock!"

…

At PCCW Investment, when Li Li Dongling and Ning Ning Wenke were ushered in, they saw many people busy at their computers.

"These are Asia's best traders!"

Liang Liang Botao said proudly to Li Li Dongling—these traders, dealers, and analysts were PCCW's most valuable asset; assembling such top-tier Asian talent wasn't easy, and money alone couldn't guarantee it.

"This is my partner, William Du."

Liang Liang Botao introduced another PCCW founder to Li Li Dongling.

"Li, it's an honor to meet you—you'll be PCCW's best partner from now on!"

William Du was warmly enthusiastic toward Li Li Dongling—he was deeply interested in Li's Digital Harbour internet hub, and with the Hong Kong Telecom acquisition, he naturally regarded Li as PCCW's major client.

Li Li Dongling looked at William Du—back in his past life, it was this man who, after Soros arrived in Southeast Asia, gambled PCCW's last cash flow on Malaysia, hoping for a bottom-fishing play.

Of course, Soros and his Huaerjie hedge funds crushed him outright, leaving PCCW permanently ruined.

But now, William Du was still the glorious founder of PCCW—no one believed he'd lead the firm into ruin.

As soon as they entered the office, Liang Liang Botao said to Li Li Dongling: "Financing for Digital Harbour went smoothly—banks from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore have pledged loans; we've preliminarily raised $300 million, and the full $1.7 billion should be secured, though the interest rate is high."

Li Li Dongling nodded—Asia's economy was booming, and corporate borrowing demand was fierce; interest rates were bound to be steep.

"Someone's buying large blocks of Hong Kong Telecom stock—we don't know if they're competing with us."

The head of PCCW's trading department burst in.

Hearing this, Liang Liang Botao and William Du rushed out; Li Li Dongling and Ning Ning Wenke exchanged glances and followed.

"It's a $10 million order—pause further buying!"

Watching the sudden price spike, Liang Liang Botao stared at the screen: "Our traders are being cautious; with Hong Kong Telecom's market cap, this shouldn't have drawn attention."

"Are some players testing us?"

William Du added—geniuses were never in short supply; some had such sharp instincts they could detect anomalies from subtle data patterns.

As the big order hit, dozens of smaller orders rushed in to buy Hong Kong Telecom stock.

But with no follow-up, the price dropped again—right now, countless eyes were fixed on Hong Kong Telecom's stock.

"At this pace, how much more do we need to acquire 5% of Hong Kong Telecom?" Li Li Dongling asked.

"To avoid violent price swings, we'll need at least a week," Liang Liang Botao replied, turning to Li Li Dongling.

"Three days."

"By day three, Digital Harbour must secure this stake and announce its entry into Hong Kong Telecom's board."

Li Li Dongling said bluntly—this couldn't be hidden; better to make some noise, tell everyone that Duling High-Tech-backed Digital Harbour was entering. After all, to win final control of Hong Kong Telecom, a showdown was inevitable—but that was for later. Right now, Li Li Dongling planned to return to Hanxi for the New Year.

…

In the Hong Kong Stock Exchange trading hall, Lü Dongliang saw his $10 million investment stirred only a tiny ripple before fading—yet he wasn't disappointed.

He watched another day's trading; just as he thought nothing would happen, near closing, a cry erupted in the hall.

He saw Hong Kong Telecom's price surge from $12.58 to $12.70, then break past $12.90 at closing.

The next day, when Lü Dongliang returned, under the gaze of countless traders, Hong Kong Telecom's stock swung wildly—clearly fierce battles had raged—but at closing, it soared to $14.70!

Immediately after closing, a shocking announcement spread through Hong Kong: Digital Harbour declared it had acquired 13% of Hong Kong Telecom's shares and officially joined its board.

A company less than a month old had invested in Hong Kong Telecom, a century-old institution.