Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1392 The Struggle for Destiny?

The Hong Kong government leader talked with Li Dongling for a long time before leaving with a smile. He noticed that many people from the banquet were waiting on the sidelines, looking for an opportunity to talk to Li Dongling.

Upon seeing the Hong Kong government leader approach, Secretary Tsang looked at him with a probing gaze.

"The Chief Secretary for Administration must provide full support for the projects of the Hong Kong Future Industries Foundation, no matter how many resources are required!"

Seeing the serious expression on the face of the Hong Kong government's leader, Secretary Tsang knew that this was no joke.

The Hong Kong government had already endorsed the Silicon Harbor project, and the entire government was supporting it.

Now, the Hong Kong government's intention is very clear: to provide full support, even at any cost!

Director Zeng couldn't help but look at Li Dongling. He was genuinely curious about what kind of grand promise Li Dongling had made that would make the Hong Kong government leader so desperate. This was quite rare for someone in a political career.

Many people aspire to achieve something in their careers, but few are willing to gamble everything on any one project.

This means that he is betting his entire political career on this project, which also affects his posthumous reputation and even his historical evaluation. The Hong Kong government leader's intention is very clear: this is a high-stakes gamble.

Li Dongling took a sip of his drink. He was using IBA as a lever in Hong Kong to try to make Hong Kong a mecca for high-end medical equipment research and development. This would take the Silicon Harbor project a step further and would also be of great benefit to Cyberport.

The significance of the Silicon Harbor project to the port city is self-evident, but for Cyberport, which is implementing the project, it is also an important step towards becoming the tech version of Berkshire Hathaway!
As for Cyberport becoming the tech version of Berkshire Hathaway, what is the point?

Looking at Berkshire Hathaway in its previous life, it could earn three to four hundred billion dollars in revenue every year, and its profits were even more astonishing, approaching one hundred billion dollars.

Of course, Cyberport is somewhat different from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway's core businesses are insurance companies, railroads, and energy companies, which provide stable cash flow for Berkshire Hathaway, which is then used to invest in other industries.

The latter, which is also widely talked about, made a fortune investing in Coca-Cola, Chevron, American Express, Apple, as well as domestic companies like PetroChina and BYD.

In reality, even if Buffett makes a mistake and loses a few times, it won't be a big deal, because with the three major companies in insurance, railroads, and energy, Buffett can make a comeback and afford to wait it out.

While Cyberport may not have the same large core business as Berkshire Hathaway, it still has Port City Telecom as its cash cow.

Then, the Port City Future Industry Fund is used to invest in the internet and high-tech industries in exchange for high returns!
As for whether Cyberport can achieve the same high returns as Berkshire Hathaway in the future, no one can guarantee that.

However, if the Silicon Harbor project is successful, Cyberport will be able to bring internet and technology companies from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia that want to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange into the Cyberport Technology Centre Industrial Park.

Then, support these companies and list them on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Once they are listed, Cyberport will recoup its investment with interest.

As for how much you can actually earn, that's hard to say. Tech stocks have no lower limit and an unknown upper limit. If you bet on a company like Tencent or GoTo Group, the return could be hundreds or thousands of times. Of course, if the price drops, it could become worthless.

Li Dongling hopes that Cyberport can become Dongling High-Tech's most important cash cow, just like Berkshire Hathaway.

Of course, revenue is one aspect. By bringing industries such as the internet, technology, and high-end medical care to the Cyberport Technology Centre, Cyberport can reap substantial profits through the Cyberport Future Industry Fund.

But what Li Dongling truly valued was the change brought about by Cyberport!
The Silicon Harbor project can bring together the wealthy families, companies, institutions, and even countless ordinary people from the port city and Southeast Asia around Cyberport.

When these people support Cyberport, they will become natural supporters of Cyberport in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Supporting Cyberport is supporting Dongling Hi-Tech.

Southeast Asia will become Dongling High-Tech's most solid base outside of the mainland in the future!

Compared to the revenue brought by Cyberport, making the Southeast Asian market Dongling Hi-Tech's backyard is even more important.

"Mr. Li, this is Khalid, the head of the Qatar Foundation in Southeast Asia!"

Li Dongling had just taken a couple of sips of his drink when Lin Xianhui, accompanied by the man dressed in Middle Eastern attire, approached him.

“Khalid is a member of the Al Thani family of Qatar!” Lin Xianhui whispered to Li Dongling.

Upon hearing Khalid's identity, Li Dongling merely glanced at the man before him, but didn't pay him much attention.

The Al Thani family is indeed a royal family of Qatar, but this family has tens of thousands of members. Just like the royal families of ancient China, their names are prestigious, but not all of them hold high positions of power. After several generations, some, like Liu Bei, might still be weaving sandals and selling mats.

The Qatar Foundation is a behemoth responsible for investing on behalf of Qatar and buying up assets all over the world. Not only Qatar, but also other Middle Eastern oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE have similar foundations, mainly to prepare for the depletion of local oil reserves.

However, both the Qatar Foundation and the UAE Foundation are currently focusing on the United States and old Europe, and have not invested much in Southeast Asia, especially in the technology sector.

As the head of the Qatar Foundation for Southeast Asia, Khalid is, frankly, not the most core member of the Al Thani family. Otherwise, he would be in Europe or America.

"Mr. Li, I have long heard of your great name. You have made Asian technology famous all over the world!"

Shenzhou Global Pass phones are now the most popular phones in Qatar!

Khalid flattered Li Dongling.

When Li Dongling heard this, he just chuckled. As wealthy countries, Middle Eastern oil-producing nations have always been fans of high-end flagship products. They only like expensive things, not what is right. They are absolute price chasers and follow the oldest principle of "you get what you pay for".

Shenzhou Global Pass mobile phones are now a representative of high-end mobile phones worldwide, and they are selling quite well in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other places.

After exchanging pleasantries with Li Dongling for a while, Khalid finally couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Li, if the Qatar Foundation is willing to subscribe to the second phase of the Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation, I wonder if the Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation would be willing to accept it?"

Khalid was keeping a close eye on Li Dongling. What really caught Khalid's attention was the 300% return rate that the philanthropist Li had just mentioned about the Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation. This was simply too astonishing.

If Khalid's Qatar Foundation Southeast Asia company can achieve such a rate of return, then his name will likely become renowned throughout Qatari high society, making him a rising star within the Al Thani family.

In the large Al Thani family, unless one is a direct descendant of the king, one is born into a life of luxury and lacks nothing.

Khalid and his family, while not low in status within the Al Thani family, were not among the most core members.

To squeeze into the inner circle, you must achieve results in order to climb up.

Seeing Khalid's expectant expression, Li Dongling pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "The Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation certainly welcomes investment from the Qatar Foundation. I wonder how much you would like to subscribe for, Khalid?"

"Five billion Hong Kong dollars!"

After he said that, Khalid saw Lin Xianhui's surprised expression and assumed that Lin Xianhui was upset that he had cast too few votes.

Khalid said with a slightly embarrassed expression, "I just arrived in Hong Kong not long ago, and the amount of funds in the Southeast Asian company is not very high yet."

However, I can guarantee that in the future, the Qatar Foundation Southeast Asia Company will be able to invest more funds in the Port City Future Industry Foundation!

Lin Xianhui's lips twitched involuntarily. Five billion Hong Kong dollars and six 40 million US dollars seemed insufficient in Khalid's eyes. Could it be that he wanted to buy up the remaining two hundred billion Hong Kong dollars of the Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation?
Khalid was unaware of Lin Xianhui's thoughts; otherwise, he probably would have retorted that Lin Xianhui truly meant it...

Upon hearing the amount Khalid wanted to subscribe to, Li Dongling looked at him and said, "The Port City Future Industry Foundation can accept investment from the Qatar Foundation."

But Khalid, I need to tell you that the return on the Port City Future Industry Fund may not be as good as the first phase, and the return period may be quite long. I hope you are mentally prepared!

"I see!"

"I have confidence in the Gangcheng Future Industry Foundation and I also trust Mr. Li!"

Khalid's eyes gleamed. He wasn't some foolish son of a landlord. To have survived in the Al Thani family, he had to be a master of palace intrigue.

After arriving in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, Khalid has been paying homage to various powerful families, including the Lee family of Cheung Kong and the Lee family of Singapore.

But now, Khalid is willing to bet on Li Dashan, and compared to other wealthy families in Hong Kong, Khalid is more willing to gamble on Cyberport!
After all, what Khalid saw after arriving in Hong Kong was that Cyberport was invincible, crushing the old giants of Hong Kong and Singapore. With such a big project as the Silicon Harbor project, who else could he bet on if not Cyberport?
Li Dongling clinked glasses with Khalid. Those wealthy people from the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries were someone they had to win over. If they wanted to make the Hong Kong stock market's internet sector hot, they needed the hot money from the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries to prop it up.

Another point that Li Dashan doesn't know is that if investment funds from Middle Eastern oil-producing countries like the Qatar Foundation are all brought into the Hong Kong Future Industry Fund, will SoftBank's Masayoshi Son's Vision Fund still be able to attract so many institutional investors in the future?

Why must we invest in Masayoshi Son's Vision Fund, and not Cyberport's?
(End of this chapter)