Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1388 Dealing the Cards
"If the surprise attack on Orange Telecom back then was an accident, that would be one thing. But if Li Dongling had foreseen this day, then he is the most ruthless person I have ever met in my life in terms of vision and strategy!"

Instead of mentioning Orange Telecom, Mr. Li from Changjiang brought up Li Dongling first.

What Mr. Li of Changjiang is most concerned about is whether Li Dongling's investment in Orange Telecom by the Zhixing Foundation was intentional or unintentional.

The difference is like night and day. If it were just a random move, that would be one thing.

But if Li Dongling had planned this all along, and it was all for today, then his tactics and schemes would have made even the seasoned Mr. Li of the Yangtze River feel a chill in his heart.

Hearing Mr. Li's concerns, Li Zekai, the eldest son of the Li family in the Yangtze River, and Yuan Tianfan and others standing nearby were also taken aback.

If what Boss Li guessed was true, then the methods of this philanthropist Li were truly astonishing. In wartime, that would be anticipating the enemy's moves, setting up an ambush in advance, and just waiting for them to deliver their heads!

One can only imagine the psychological trauma of facing such an opponent.

Seeing that the atmosphere at the Li family in the Yangtze River was somewhat somber, Li Zekai spoke first, "But whether Li Dongling's move was intentional or unintentional, we have no choice but to accept it!"

Upon hearing Li Zekai's words, a hint of appreciation appeared in the eyes of Mr. Li from Changjiang.

To be honest, he genuinely admired his second son. The fact that he could stand up in the face of immense pressure was something that not everyone could do.

To dare to draw one's sword against any opponent is something that is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

If it weren't for the fact that the Li family of Changjiang needed a stable successor to take over, Mr. Li would genuinely be interested in Li Zekai.

But the Cheung Kong Group can't afford to gamble. Li Zekai's personality is too fond of going all in, and the Cheung Kong Li family can't withstand such a gamble.

“Jian Ning is currently in England and is able to maintain the situation at Orange Telecom, so there is no need to worry too much for the time being.”

Orange Telecom in the UK has always been managed by Huo Jianning, Li's right-hand man, and this sale of Orange Telecom was also handed over to Huo Jianning.

"Yangtze holds more than 50% of Orange Telecom's shares. As long as we are willing, no one can stop this deal!"

The eldest son of the Li family of Changjiang spoke up. He was the person who knew the Changjiang Group best, and indeed, it was as Li Dongling had predicted.

In recent years, Cheung Kong Group has repurchased a significant amount of Orange Telecom's shares, and now holds more than 50% of Orange Telecom's shares. The entire board of directors of Orange Telecom is entirely controlled by Mr. Li.

"However, Zhixing Foundation is also a shareholder holding 20% ​​of Orange Telecom's shares."

Under British law, if the Zhixing Foundation were to convene a board meeting to vote or file a lawsuit in a British court, the deal could indeed be delayed!

Yuan Tianfan also said that Hong Kong's laws and British laws are of the same origin, after all, Hong Kong's modern laws were formulated by the British.

Therefore, both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the British Stock Exchange have regulations to protect small and medium-sized investors.

But rules are rules, and whether they can be implemented is unknown. In general acquisitions, even if minority shareholders object, it's useless; the majority shareholder will veto the deal.

However, this is on the premise that the strength, background, funds, and connections of the minority shareholders are not as good as those of the majority shareholders, otherwise they will be controlled by the majority shareholders.

But you're talking about the Zhi Xing Foundation, which just cashed out nearly $10 billion from the American internet industry. Would it have no connections, no background, no resources, and be unable to afford lawyers?

Anyway, no one in the Li family of the Yangtze River dares to think like that. You may not respect the great philanthropist Li, but you have to respect the US dollar backed by the dozen or so aircraft carriers and thousands of fighter jets of the United States. You have to abide by the basic law.

Yuan Tianfan's concerns were also what Boss Li cared about most.

The Zhixing Foundation may not be able to veto the sale of Orange Telecom, but it can certainly annoy the Li family of Yangtze River and delay the acquisition, and it is definitely possible to delay it.

If you're willing to spend the money, there are plenty of vulture lawyers in Britain who would go through fire and water for the Zhixing Foundation and could delay this deal.

Moreover, the biggest fear with such a large transaction is delays, as delays could lead to unforeseen circumstances.

It's even possible that things could go wrong, since neither BT nor Vodafone wants Orange Telecom, the UK's third-largest telecommunications company, to be sold to its arch-rival!

"Find an opportunity to talk to him!"

After much deliberation, Mr. Li from Changjiang decided to speak with Mr. Li, the philanthropist, in person.

It is said that Li Dongling had visited Hong Kong several times before, but unlike other visitors to Hong Kong, he had never paid his respects to Boss Li first.

But Li Dongling, who had never paid homage to any of Hong Kong's powerful families or local bigwigs like HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank, not only managed to establish himself but also single-handedly helped the Ning family, a newly emerging powerful family in Hong Kong, rise to prominence!
What happened in the port city was a demonstration of what it means to be a formidable force; only a truly powerful dragon could dare to plant its flag in the port city. Now, can we really expect Li Dongling to come knocking on the door of the Li family of the Yangtze River?
No one in the entire Li family of Changjiang has such thoughts anymore. To be honest, in the current port city, the voice of Cyberport is louder than that of the Li family of Changjiang. The network of people and resources that Li Dongling can mobilize is no weaker than that of the Li family of Changjiang.

Putting aside everything else, the Hong Kong government also has Yanjing. When faced with the choice between supporting the Li family of Hanxi or the Li family of Cheung Kong, it's never a matter of choice!

The Hong Kong government needs Cyberport to promote the Silicon Port plan, allowing Hong Kong to open up a third new track in addition to real estate and finance. In this respect alone, the Li family of Cheung Kong cannot compare to the importance of Cyberport to the Hong Kong government. Whom to support is obvious.

Upon hearing that Mr. Li from the Yangtze River was going to personally visit the philanthropist Li, Li Zekai and the others' expressions changed slightly.

But then I thought about it again. Right now, it seems that the only person in the Li family of the Yangtze River who is qualified to negotiate with the great philanthropist Li is Boss Li. It seems that no one else is qualified to step forward!
……

Inside the villa on the hillside, Ning Wenke was participating in a conference call. This was a global conference for Wanjia Appliances, and the participants included Ning Wenke, Wanjia Appliances Europe President Lan Qi, and the head of Wanjia Appliances in mainland China.

The main reason is that after discussing for a period of time, Wanjia Appliances City is going to hold a big event, which will be held simultaneously in mainland China, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Naturally, it will require coordination from all sides.

Ning Wen was in a meeting, while Li Dongling was looking at a banquet list and playing with his little girl. The girl recognized Li Dongling now, and at least she wouldn't cry anymore.

It's hard to say whether Li Dongling will remember her when he comes again, but for now, he definitely needs to spend more time with the little girl.

Ning Keling held various colorful gems the size of pigeon eggs in her small hands, and beside her were custom-made Disney dolls, Hasbro building blocks, and rocking horses.

But what this girl likes most is colorful gemstones. Li Dongling has also figured out this girl's personality. She is definitely a big glutton. She can eat even more than Li Zhiyuan at this time, but she is not fat. She has a natural gluttonous constitution.

Besides eating, Xiao Keling's favorite things are colorful gems. She doesn't have many memories or consciousness yet, but now she has to pull out her gem box and touch it several times every day before she's satisfied.

Li Dongling marked up the list, glancing at his daughter every now and then. In just the past day or two since arriving in Hong Kong, Li Dongling had already received a huge stack of invitations, and some people were already getting impatient.

Li Dongling was also preparing to hold a banquet and invite all the people he was supposed to invite, but there was a specific reason why he was mainly inviting people.

Those invited to this banquet are also guaranteed to benefit from the IPOs of companies like China.com, 3721, and Ruyan e-cigarettes, so the number of invitations is definitely carefully considered!
The latest round of financing for 3721 was mainly aimed at wealthy families in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, including oil funds from Middle Eastern countries. How high 3721's market value can be speculated on in the future will depend on the support of these institutions and conglomerates.

As for China.com and Ruyan e-cigarettes, it would be necessary to invite the heads of Wall Street institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns in Hong Kong.

To list in America, one needs the support of these local New York figures, and issuing shares also requires them to promote them.

After Li Dongling finalized the list, he called Lin Xianhui and asked him to send out invitations according to the list.

The next day, after putting Xiao Keling to sleep, Li Dongling handed her over to the nanny before heading outside.

When they went outside, Lin Xianhui was already standing next to the Rolls-Royce, waiting.

"The invitations have already been sent out. The banquet will be held at the Peninsula Hotel. There are still quite a few people calling me, asking for an invitation!"

After Cyberport sent out its invitations, many wealthy families realized that tonight's banquet was practically a ticket to entry, and they were naturally unwilling to give up and wanted to get their own invitations.

"No need!"

"You have someone spread the word that there will be opportunities for cooperation in the future, but there will be no place for them at tonight's banquet."

Li Dongling said directly to Lin Xianhui, "So what if we were given an invitation? Wouldn't it be even more frustrating if we couldn't get investment opportunities from companies like China.com after we got in?"
Several cars escorted the Rolls-Royce all the way to Bel-Air Bay in the southern part of the port city. The road where the car stopped has been officially named Cyberport Avenue!
As Li Dongling stepped out of the car, he saw rows of unfinished buildings standing before him.

This is the heart of the Silicon Harbor project, currently the most anticipated development in Hong Kong, encompassing industrial parks, office buildings, residential areas, shopping malls, and other facilities, including the Cyberport Global Technology Centre.

This is where the Silicon Harbor project was transformed from a plan into reality!

Once the Cyberport Global Technology Center Industrial Park is completed, we will invite internet and technology companies from Zhongguancun and abroad to move in, and we will invite various venture capital firms to set up offices here.

In the future, there may be tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of programmers, software engineers, R&D personnel, venture capitalists, financial institutions, lawyers, accountants and other professionals working here.

Directly opposite the Cyberport Technology Centre is the Bel-Air Metropolis residential complex, which is part of the Cyberport Technology Centre industrial park.

Because of the existence of Cyberport Global Technology Centre, Bel-Air Metropolis is considered to be the next luxury residential center in Hong Kong after Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay, and Bel-Air Metropolis is naturally touted as the most prestigious residence in Hong Kong.

Even though it hasn't officially launched yet, and given that Hong Kong's housing market hasn't fully recovered, the residential prices at Bel-Air Metropolis will exceed HK$80,000 per square meter, far higher than the current price of HK$50,000 per square meter for some high-end residences in Hong Kong.

Of course, it can't compare to the peak of Hong Kong's real estate market. Back then, a slightly better-located residential property cost over HK$100,000 per square meter, and a villa's starting price was HK$200,000 per square meter. A 100-square-meter house was a luxury home that Hong Kong celebrities dreamed of, costing HK$10 million, equivalent to US$128 million. Even in America, that would make cattle and horses in America hesitate to buy it...

(End of this chapter)