Chapter 226 [I want to accuse them] (Subscribe)
After some thought, Li Wendi felt that the current situation was a good opportunity. While Hutchison Group was in despair, he could just acquire 18% of China Gas Company's shares at a cheap price.

Having made up his mind, Li Wendi immediately used complicated interpersonal relationships to try to make an appointment with Qi Dezun, the boss of Hutchison Group. Unfortunately, foreigners at that time still had deep discrimination against Chinese people, so he could only make an appointment with a senior executive of Hutchison Group.

Li Wendi didn't want to go at first because he was a little unhappy, but considering that one should not let emotions get in the way of doing business, he still went to the appointment on time.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Central
The blond vice president of Hutchison Group, Gao Fu, sat opposite Li Wendi, his eyes full of arrogance.

Li Wendi was a little unhappy, so he asked with a smile, "Mr. Qi Dezun, the boss of your company, is keen on securities investment. I heard that the loss in the past two years is close to 2 million. I wonder what Mr. Gao Fu thinks about this?"

You are so high and mighty, so I will hit you right where it hurts.

As for the shares of China Coal Corporation, Li Wendi is not obsessed with it. It is a good thing if he can get them. If he can't get them, he can get them later. Anyway, there are still ten years left and he can run the company well.

When this was mentioned, Goff's face changed drastically, but this was the fact and Goff had no way to refute it.

"Mr. Li, this is Hutchison Group's business. As a manager, I cannot talk about these things." Gao Fu's rebellious look disappeared a lot.

"I do have a business that can alleviate the debt problem of Hutchison Group. I wonder if Mr. Goff can make the decision?" Li Wendi went straight to the point. He felt uncomfortable competing with this foreign senior official.

Gao Fu was a little skeptical, but considering the information he had read about Li Wendi, and knowing that the man in front of him owned two large listed companies, he still held out a glimmer of hope. "I need to listen to this first. If I can't make the decision, I will report it to Qi Dezun immediately."

"I hope to buy all the shares of China Gas Company from Hutchison Group at the current market price." Li Wendi saw that Goff wanted to refute, and continued, "Mr. Goff, please listen to me first. The current stock market situation is very bad. It will probably take at least a year for it to recover. If Mr. Qi Dezun cannot solve the current problem, he may face the danger of stepping down. That is not a good sign. Don't you agree, Mr. Goff?"

"On the contrary, if the shares of China Gas Company were sold, Hutchison Group could obtain tens of millions of funds, which might help it to turn around and possibly revive."

These words hit Gao Fu's heart directly. He was Qi Dezun's confidant. If Qi Dezun left Hutchison Group, how could the new boss accommodate him?
At that time, even if Goff wanted to "change his ways", the new manager might not believe him, and at least he would definitely be benched.

It took Gough more than ten years to climb up to the position of vice president of Hutchison Group, one of the four largest trading companies in Hong Kong. The power and convenience it brought him made it impossible for him to let it go.

"Mr. Li, the shares of China Gas Company are an important asset of Hutchison Group and are unlikely to be sold." Goff did not refuse directly.

"Really? Nothing is impossible to sell in the world. If there is, it's just that the money is not enough." Li Wendi smiled meaningfully, "But a premium price is impossible. We can find another way to help Hutchison Group tide over the difficulties and extend Mr. Qi Dezun's time as the head of Hutchison Group. For example, let other people buy some of Hutchison Group's properties at market prices."

"I know that Hutchison Group can find people who can buy the properties at market prices, but I believe that those people are only willing to buy some high-quality properties. I'm afraid not many people are willing to buy those inferior properties." Li Wendi has been attacking Goff's psychological defenses, taking advantage of the foreigner's weakness that he is unwilling to lose his current power and status.

Finally, under the "intimidation" of Li Wendi, Goff agreed to try his best to persuade Qi Dezun. Even if he could not sell all of it to Li Wendi, he would sell part of it, and let Qi Dezun recommend Li Wendi to join the board of directors of China Gas Company.

Gao Fu was very helpful and helped Li Wendi make an appointment with Qi Dezun on the fourth day.

"Boss Qi Dezun, I've long heard of your name!" Li Wendi held Qi Dezun's hand, and they both sat down together.

Qi Dezun's hair had turned a little gray, and it was obvious that he had been under a lot of pressure recently. "I have heard about the deal that Mr. Li mentioned from Goff."

"There is no shortage of buyers for China Gas Company's shares. I think Mr. Li knows this very well. But I am interested in the business of buying and selling Hutchison Group's bad properties that Mr. Li mentioned."

"Mr. Qi Dezun, it is because there is no shortage of buyers for China Gas Company's shares that I proposed to help solve some of the bad properties." Li Wendi continued, "There are plenty of cheap and high-quality properties on the Hong Kong market now. There is no need to worry about not being able to buy the property and land that suits your taste."

Li Wendi's meaning is very clear. To help solve the problem of bad properties is to pay a premium. If a premium is required, then the sale of bad properties needs to be invalidated.

"It's true that the Hutchison Group is in trouble, but I still have a way to solve it. The China Gas Company is one of the few specialized companies in Hong Kong, and the annual dividend returns are very substantial." Qi Dezun was still reluctant to agree and still hoped to get more.

"How about this, I think Mr. Qi Dezun should be able to find a buyer for the bad properties, but I believe no one is willing to take over the stocks. I can help you, and the price will naturally be the current market price." Li Wendi tried another approach.

Qi Dezun was somewhat tempted. Although there would be a lot of losses if he sold the stocks at this time, at least he could stop the losses, and the funds recovered could temporarily repay some debts and alleviate the current pressure.

The shares of China Gas Company are high-quality assets, but they do not have much impact on Hutchison Group and Qi Dezun at present. As long as they get rid of the current crisis, they will find a way to get them back in the future.

In the end, Li Wendi acquired 3100% of the shares of China Gas Company for 18 million yuan, as well as a batch of shares worth 3000 million yuan held by Hutchison Group.

The 6100 million yuan in funds is a challenge for Li Wendi, but he has made a plan to use the funds he has as little as possible.

The market price of gold has risen to US$116 per ounce. The gold worth 1300 million has now become 3400 million, which is enough to pay half of the payment to Hutchison Group.

There is more than 800 million in cash in the stock account, so the funds of 4200 million are collected. The rest can be used for bank mortgage loans. Li Wendi believes that the bank will definitely be willing to take over 18% of the China Gas Company shares, and a loan of 2000 million should not be a problem.

However, Li Wendi also had a trick up his sleeve. He used the huge amount of funds as an excuse to pay 6000 million of the 2000 million first, and the remaining 4000 million within two months. Li Wendi would still pay the interest generated.

The transfer of major shareholders naturally had to be notified to the board of directors, so Li Wendi and Qi Dezun attended the board meeting of China Gas Company together.

There were only a few people sitting at the conference table, such as John Madden of Wheelock Group, Li Mingze of the Li family in Causeway Bay, and now Li Wendi of Cheung Kong Properties.

"Everyone, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Li Wendi, the second largest shareholder of China Gas Company." John Madden introduced Li Wendi and explained the situation. "Hutchison Group has withdrawn from the board of directors of China Gas Company. Mr. Li Wendi will take over. Please applaud and welcome him."

Li Mingze and Li Fushu looked at Li Wendi with interest. They seemed to think that it was a very novel thing that Li Wendi could join the board of directors. However, it was a good thing for them because they were all Chinese and easier to talk to.

China Gas Company has always had good business performance and the dividends are about the same every year, so there are not many things that require the board of directors to make decisions and the meeting did not last long.

Li Mingze and Li Fushu are both members of large Chinese families and are somewhat arrogant. After all, with their current status in Hong Kong, where foreigners are in charge, they are already considered big figures among the Chinese.

Li Wendi understood all these connections, so he did not force himself to get to know the two. After the meeting, he simply nodded and left the Causeway Bay headquarters.

In fact, acquiring shares in China Gas Company was only the first step for Li Wendi, laying the foundation for other things in the future. The Spring Festival of 74 arrived as scheduled. Under the influence of the economic depression, the bustle of the streets was far less than in previous years. There were certainly many celebrations by merchants, but there were no customers to consume.

Li Xiaonan naturally heard the bad news, so he did not pester Li Wendi to go shopping and eating in Central like in previous years, but instead acted like a weird child in the villa.

Li Wendi was not short of money, so she took the mother and daughter to Central for shopping. However, Central was a bit deserted, and the flow of people was not even as good as any other night when the economy was good.

The Spring Festival in 74 was very boring. It was just a get-together with relatives. The only difference was that Li Wendi went to the He family to pay New Year's greetings. However, some relatives of the He family did not pay much attention to Li Wendi, which made Li Wendi a little unhappy.

Tuesday, March 2

In the second week of work after the new year, Li Wendi was handling official business in the office of Changxin Real Estate Company as usual, but his secretary came in in a panic with a group of men and women in suits and ties, "Boss, they said they are from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and I can't stop them."

Li Wendi was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand, "You go back to work first."

"Everyone, just tell me what you want to talk to me about." Li Wendi said to the group of office staff.

"Mr. Li Wendi, we now suspect that you are involved in Xu Shoukun's corruption case. Please go back and investigate." The man with gold-rimmed glasses took out a letter of assistance in the investigation and showed it to Li Wendi.

Li Wendi knew that something would happen to Xu Shoukun sooner or later, and he would definitely be involved. He had already been prepared and was much more stable than last time.

"Okay!" Li Wendi nodded, but picked up the phone and said, "But I need to call my lawyer. This should be legal."

The person in charge did not answer, nor did he stop Li Wendi from making the call.

After the fight, Li Wendi followed the ICAC staff out of the office, but Li Wendi refused to take the ICAC vehicle and instead wanted to go in his own car.

Those who didn't want to cause any trouble could only drive closely behind Li Wendi, fearing that Li Wendi would disappear in a flash.

Inside the ICAC interrogation room

Li Wendi knew that he had cleaned up all the messes. Even if he admitted to bribing Xu Shoukun now, he needed solid physical evidence, otherwise he could not be convicted.

"Name and place of origin." the interrogator asked in a deep voice.

Li Wendi felt that it was the ICAC personnel who were causing trouble. It was you who asked me to come here, not me.

"I am a businessman and my time is very precious. If you have such a work attitude, I can sue you to the Governor's Office or directly to the Governor himself for wasting Hong Kong taxpayers' money." Li Wendi said bluntly.

He is not some small Karami, but a wealthy man who is a business tycoon. It seems a bit too much to treat him in this way.

"I'm asking you a question." The interrogator felt that Li Wendi was pretending to be cool, so he raised his voice.

"You were the ones who invited me back. Don't you know all this? Why waste my time here?" Li Wendi asked back in a calm tone. This interrogation method seemed to be from the police force.

"Okay, Mr. Li, let's get down to business." The companion took out a document and pushed it from the table to Li Wendi. "Mr. Li, please explain the document first. Why do you want to open a company with Xu Shoukun? Is it convenient for you to trade privately?"

"Opening a company with Xu Shoukun complies with all laws and regulations. As for why? Maybe it's because Xu Shoukun is handsome and I like him more." Li Wendi knew it was a cliché. "As for transactions, Xu Shoukun and I have never done any private transactions. Every penny earned by the company has receipts, records, and taxes. Xu Shoukun also put in real money to cooperate with us."

"According to the records in the accounts, your dividends are somewhat unreasonable. In just half a year, the company has made a profit of 400 million, and this was made through the transactions of other companies under your control. We have the right to suspect that you bribed Xu Shoukun through this dividend method."

"It is your duty to have doubts, but any accusation requires witnesses and physical evidence. It is probably far from enough to convict based on suspicion alone." Li Wendi said expressionlessly.

"Mr. Li, if you plead guilty, I can ask the judge..."

Li Wendi interrupted without mercy, "What crime should I confess? As public officials, you should not induce a confession. This will not work in court."

"I guess you believed Xu Shoukun's one-sided story. I still say the same thing. If you want to convict him, you must provide solid evidence."

Just at that moment, a person came in and whispered something in their ears.

"Mr. Li, your friend Zhang Yan has confessed that he was entrusted by you to discuss with Xu Shoukun the bribery for the former Wan Chai Detective Chief Lin Jianmin. We also found the check you wrote in the bank."

"Hmph!" Li Wendi said coldly. Zhang Yan has always been in contact with those gangsters. People like Xu Shoukun have always been his own responsibility. These people obviously couldn't find any evidence and just wanted to intimidate him.

"I still say the same thing. If you have evidence, just sue directly. As for the rest, I will wait for the lawyer to arrive." Li Wendi was too lazy to talk nonsense with them.

As a result, the two of them kept talking, trying to interfere with Li Wendi's thinking or elicit some testimony.

This time, it took Li Wendi a long time to meet Zhao Wanying, and it was obvious that those people from the ICAC deliberately delayed it.

Li Wendi is really helpless about these people from the ICAC, because their actions will have a relatively bad impact on his reputation.

So Li Wendi asked Zhao Wanying for her opinion and asked whether she could sue the ICAC?
"You can, but I don't recommend you to quarrel with the ICAC. You are a businessman and they are just employees."

Hearing this, Li Wendi understood the truth that 'those with bare feet are not afraid of those with shoes', but he really wanted to vent his anger.

(End of this chapter)