Chapter 280 278 [White-hot Stage]

Although HSBC is Hong Kong's "quasi-central bank", it is unable to influence Bank of Canada and Citibank for the time being. Moreover, there are many banks in Hong Kong. Although these foreign banks cannot compare with HSBC, their strength should not be underestimated.

Li Wendi would naturally not let HSBC's Shen Bi off easily for doing this, but at the moment, he was at war with the Jardine Matheson Group and had no extra energy to pay attention to Shen Bi.

The 2 million yuan loaned by the two banks may seem like a lot, but in fact it is barely enough. Fortunately, Feng Jingxi has been immersed in the securities industry for many years and has acquired two companies. He is quite familiar with the acquisition process and will handle this matter for Li Wendi.

In the previous life, in the "Wharf War" between Hong Kong Land and the charter king, since HSBC and TWSL had shipping cooperation, Shen Bi chose to support the charter king instead of Hong Kong Land.

But now it is Li Wendi's turn. The cooperation between the two is only in securities, and it has not tied more interests to HSBC. On the contrary, Swire Properties is more useful to HSBC, so HSBC's choice is not wrong.

However, Shen Bi of HSBC did not understand the saying 'Don't bully a slug'. Li Wendi's development prospects are huge, and he may pose a threat to HSBC in the future. Now that they have made enemies, HSBC will inevitably pay a heavy price.

When Bao Fuda of the Hong Kong Jardine Matheson Group heard about Shen Bi's actions, the frost on his face immediately disappeared. He believed that this would cut off Li Wendi's financial resources and the funds for the acquisition of Wharf Holdings were cut off.

However, before he had been happy for three hours, Bao Fuda's face became heavy again, and he murmured, "This Li Wendi is really a cockroach. No, the North Point Saixihu project has been cooperating with the Bank of Canada for a long time. Did Li Wendi think of HSBC's move in advance? If so, he is really a terrible opponent."

"No, we have to delay it. The loan from HSBC has not arrived yet. Yes, it's time to take action against Li Wendi's enemies."

Therefore, Bao Fuda sent several senior officials to visit Li Wendi's enemies. Bao Fuda thought this was enough to give Li Wendi a headache.

Changxin Real Estate Company
Zhang Wentao and Zhao Hongcheng came together, looking somewhat gloomy, obviously they had encountered something big.

"Boss, Changxin Real Estate and its subsidiaries have encountered bank runs from several peers. Eagle Land Company has implemented a strategy of lowering rents for industrial buildings. We have had some difficulties in leasing the industrial buildings we own, and Eagle Land Company has begun to compete with us for industrial properties and land. I heard that they got a loan of 4000 million from HSBC," Zhao Hongcheng reported first. He knew that this was the consequence of his boss's falling out with HSBC.

Li Wendi looked at Zhang Wentao again, signaling him to tell him about the bad situation as well.

"According to the news from Golden Harvest Entertainment, Shaw Brothers Film Company is preparing to shoot a movie about a gangster becoming a business tycoon. This is a bit ironic for you. In addition, Run Run Shaw has mobilized funds to start dealing with Golden Harvest Entertainment. The shadows of Hong Kong Land and HSBC are also involved." Zhang Wentao is in charge of the property business and also connects with Golden Harvest Entertainment. "And Hong Kong Land has also started to snipe at us. They want to get involved in all the business of Changxin Real Estate Company."

Li Wendi smiled slightly. Well done. He understood one thing. This was a group fight. If he wanted to break the deadlock, he had to focus on the leader. After all, if he punched them one by one, they wouldn't suffer serious injuries. Instead, if he knocked down the leader, the younger brothers would stop fighting and find a way to retreat.

"Never mind them. Changxin Real Estate and all its subsidiaries have begun to stop the acquisition business. The leasing work can also be suspended for a while. We can focus on the development of the land first. I will deal with the matters of Hutchison Whampoa Company first." Li Wendi said.

Zhang Wentao and Zhao Hongcheng looked at each other and were somewhat surprised by Li Wendi's decision, but it seemed that this was the only way.

Soon, Li Wendi received news that Lei Juekun of Kowloon Development Company had also obtained a loan from HSBC and began to slowly acquire shares of Kowloon Motor Bus Company, which put increasing pressure on Li Wendi.

The Hong Kong property company handled things very comprehensively, and was in cahoots with HSBC. Li Wendi knew very well that only by successfully acquiring Wharf Holdings could he make up for the losses.

Under the influence of Zhang Yan's bribery case, Luckin Coffee's stock price fell significantly, and its market value dropped to 7% of its original value.

Since Li Wendi had a good relationship with HSBC before, Zhang Yan also got a lot of loans from HSBC. Now that something happened, HSBC did not let Luckin Coffee go and sent people to collect the debt. Although the contract stipulated the repayment time, HSBC claimed that "Luckin Coffee's market value has plummeted and they have the right to inquire about Luckin Coffee's accounts receivable and payable." Otherwise, Luckin Coffee needs to settle the account as soon as possible.

Zhang Yan was the one who suffered from the disaster and was implicated by Li Wendi twice. However, Zhang Yan believed in Li Wendi very much and felt that even if he lost Luckin Coffee, he would rise again with Li Wendi's support. Therefore, Zhang Yan planned to sell the property and repay the loan from HSBC.

Li Wendi told Zhang Yan to take it slow and not be too anxious. If necessary, he could delay the time by fighting the lawsuit. Waiting for Zhang Yan to recover, these loans would be just a drop in the bucket.

"The lawsuit with the bank will probably affect the company's reputation. Anyone working in real estate needs loans. If the bad reputation gets out, it will have a great impact on the company's development." Zhang Yan said with some concern.

Zhang Yan’s meaning was very clear. There was no need to confront HSBC head-on, and it would not be cost-effective to do so.

Li Wendi nodded, thinking that what Zhang Yan said made sense. Just because he was not afraid, it did not mean that everyone was not afraid of HSBC.

"Then you should sell some of your properties first, and then borrow money from other banks to repay the loan from HSBC."

"Yes, that's my plan too. The real estate market is gradually recovering now, and it would be a pity to sell most of the properties." Zhang Yan looked more and more like a businessman.

A few days later, Feng Jingxi helped to arrange a meeting with a foreign shareholder of Wharf Holdings, who held about 4% of Wharf Holdings' shares but was not on the board of directors of Wharf Holdings.

"Hello, Mr. Weiss!" Li Wendi greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Feng, Mr. Li!" The foreigner Weiss responded with a smile. After the three shook hands, they sat down in a triangle shape.

After chatting for a while, they got down to business. Li Wendi asked first, "I heard that Mr. Weiss holds 4% of Wharf Holdings' shares. What price do you want to sell it for?"

Weiss glanced at Li Wendi and said with a smile, "I have also heard about Mr. Li and Wharf Holdings. I have to say that Mr. Li is very capable. I admire him very much, so I don't want to take advantage of the situation, but I also don't want to lose this opportunity."

"A 2% premium per share, how about that?"

"This is a very favorable price, mainly because I want to make friends with Mr. Li."

Li Wendi said, "I see Mr. Weiss's friendship, and I won't let my friend suffer any loss. 2% is 2%, but we have to sign the contract right away. Is there any problem with Mr. Weiss?"

"No problem at all, I can sign the contract anytime." Weiss spread his hands.

After taking over the 4% shares in Weiss, Li Wendi already holds nearly 30% of the shares of Wharf Holdings, only 2% away from his stake in Hong Kong Land Development.

Feng Jingxi had a very large network of contacts. He arranged for Li Wendi to meet with three shareholders of Wharf Group at one time, and all of them were won over by Li Wendi. Although the premium was higher than that of Weiss, it was still within Li Wendi's affordability.

So, on the same day, Li Wendi increased his stake to 34%, 2% higher than the Swire Properties.

"Mr. Feng, if I launch a takeover bid for Wharf Holdings, what are my chances of success?" Li Wendi asked Feng Jingxi.

"Mr. Li, to be honest, your chance of winning is not great, only 4%. But I have made appointments with three shareholders of Wharf Holdings for you. They are all Chinese and you should be able to win them over. You can probably increase your holdings by 3%. In this way, Mr. Li's shareholding will reach 6%, and your chances of winning will increase significantly." Feng Jingxi said solemnly. There are many "reversals" here, and no one dares to say that they will win.

"If we take this 6%, how much funds will we have left?" Li Wendi asked thoughtfully.

"There are probably still 2 million left." Feng Jingxi reminded, "Once the acquisition war begins, the stock price will rise wildly. It will definitely rise to 10 yuan, or even 20 yuan. We can hold on, but I don't think it's necessary."

Li Wendi knew that the acquisition war was fought with cash. Even if the share price was 20 yuan, acquiring 10% would only be 2 million yuan, but it seemed that this money could be saved.

"Okay, please ask Mr. Feng to contact those shareholders immediately. I want to meet with them as soon as possible and try to acquire these shares before the land company." Li Wendi said a little anxiously.

"Don't worry, Mr. Li. I have already made an appointment with them. We can meet tomorrow. But Mr. Li, be prepared to be ripped off. These people are businessmen who will not do anything without profit."

Li Wendi nodded, "I'm mentally prepared."

Although they are both Chinese, they cannot maintain friendship by letting others harm their own interests. As long as they don’t sell it to the Jardine Matheson Group, Li Wendi will be thankful.

The next morning and afternoon, Li Wendi met with the three Chinese shareholders one after another. Fortunately, they did not ask for an exorbitant price. They only asked for a 4% premium and hoped to cooperate with Li Wendi's company.

Li Wendi naturally agreed to all the requests and successfully acquired the 6% stake, bringing his shareholding to 40%, becoming the largest shareholder of Wharf Holdings. However, he also received news that Hutchison Whampoa's shareholding had also increased to 35%, and it was actively contacting other shareholders. Unfortunately, Hutchison Whampoa's luck was not very good, as those shareholders wanted to wait for a good price and believed that there was hope that Wharf Holdings' share price would rise to HK$30.

Feng Jingxi reported the situation on the stock market. The news that the two companies were competing for Wharf Holdings had already spread, and now Wharf Holdings' share price has risen above 10 yuan.

Today's stock market is still in a downturn, and such an increase is already an abnormal situation. It cannot be compared with the Wharf Warehouse Warehouse in 78 and the Wharf Warehouse acquisition war in 80 (the charter king and the Hong Kong Land Development Company fought for nearly two years).

Just when Li Wendi was about to ask Feng Jingxi to help him make an appointment with those foreign shareholders, he received an invitation letter from Bao Fuda, who wanted to meet him. The matter was of course about the acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa.

Li Wendi agreed, not because he wanted to give up Wharf Holdings, but because he wanted to see the conditions of the Hong Kong Land Development. Although he had a hunch that the conditions proposed by Bao Fuda would not be very good, he still wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

On the other side, Feng Jingxi also promised Li Wendi to help him make an appointment with those shareholders, but Feng Jingxi reminded that it might not be possible because these foreigners were somewhat discriminatory against the Chinese.

Li Wendi said it didn’t matter, if he could get it he would get it, if he couldn’t he could also initiate an acquisition.

Today's acquisition war has reached a white-hot stage and there is no room for retreat. Once retreated and failed, the losses will be huge. Even if the shares of Hutchison Whampoa can be earned back in a few years, it will be difficult for Li Wendi to withstand the current predicament.

(End of this chapter)