Hong Kong variety show: I Am a Tycoon

Chapter 193 Betrayal
At this time, at the Yan family villa.

Yan Chengkun, sitting in the center, remained outwardly calm, but inwardly felt a little regretful.

After the KMB takeover battle, he should have promptly strengthened the Yan family's competitive advantage.

"Henry, have your uncles arrived yet?" After taking a sip of hot tea, Yan Chengkun checked his watch.

Yan Hengli shook his head and said, "No."

"Never mind, let's get started." Yan Chengkun waved his hand: "Given the grim situation currently facing China and Pakistan, what countermeasures do you all have?"

Since Yan Chengkun was getting on in years, the Yan family's representative in charge of operations at Chung Hwa Bus was Yan Jieqiang, the eldest son of the Yan family, who was in his forties and at the age where he was very experienced in doing things.

"As soon as Wei Li proposed that so-called innovation plan, he couldn't wait to launch the acquisition plan. There is no doubt that the Asian Investment Company had been planning this for a long time."

"I and my financial advisor, Baoyuan Company, recalculated the assets of China-Brazil."

The net asset value per share of Sino-Brazilian stock is 42.51 yuan, while Asia Investment is offering only 37 yuan, which is far from sufficient.

"Tomorrow morning, I will convene an emergency board meeting to stabilize the morale of the Chinese and Pakistani shareholders. At the same time, we will suspend the listing."

"The chairman of the board of directors of Asia Investment Company is Wu Guangzheng, the son-in-law of the shipping magnate Bao."

"The eldest son of the Yan family," Yan Jieqiang replied in a deep voice.

Yan Chengkun nodded approvingly and said, "Your work is very thorough."

"However, this may not be enough."

“Dad, we should also utilize government resources to expose that the Asian Investment Company only wants to seize the land in China and has no intention of developing the bus business, in order to gain sympathy from the government and the public. In addition, we should also come up with a genuine anti-takeover plan.”

Yan Jieqiang thought for a moment and then added.

Yan Chengkun nodded slightly and turned his gaze to his daughter, Yan Jieling: "Don't drag out the negotiations with the union regarding the salary increase any longer. Meet their demands."

Yan Jieling understood and said, "Dad, I understand. I will win over a few union representatives and launch a media offensive immediately."

Seeing that his daughter, a lawyer, understood his intentions, Yan Chengkun then instructed Yan Jieqiang: "At tomorrow's board meeting, you can make a commitment that this year's dividend per share will increase from 29 cents last year to 45 cents."

"Before the board meeting tomorrow, visit your uncle. I'll contact some old friends to help out."

Seeing that Yan Chengkun was in control, the Yan family members were relieved and went out to do their respective tasks.

After the Yan family children had all gone out to run errands, Yan Chengkun first visited Li Zhaoji of Hengji Group.

Li Zhaoji was the fourth child in his family, hence he was known in the underworld as "Fourth Uncle".

In 63, he, Guo Desheng, and Feng Jingxi founded New Hongji Real Estate.

Sun Hung Kai Properties quickly distinguished itself among a group of Chinese-owned real estate groups, becoming one of the top five real estate groups in Hong Kong, and the three individuals were dubbed the "Three Musketeers."

In 75, Li Zhaoji established his own real estate company. In 81, the Hong Kong stock market experienced another boom, and Hang Kee Group successfully went public, raising one billion Hong Kong dollars and becoming one of the top ten real estate groups in Hong Kong.

Li Zhaoji later became the richest man in Hong Kong, and now he is engaged in large-scale development in Sha Tin, New Territories.

"Brother Kun, you've been through thick and thin for decades. Now that Yan Jieqiang is in his prime, it's time for you to enjoy life."

Li Zhaoji walked around the desk, took the tea from his assistant, and placed it in front of Yan Chengkun.

“Aki, when you’re in business, there’s no time to retire. You have to know that the new generation will always surpass the old, and the old generation will be left behind. If you’re not careful, the Bao family’s son-in-law will launch a takeover bid for the China-Pakistan Group.”

Yan Chengkun shook his head with a wry smile and went straight to the point:
“Aki, the reason I came here is to get financial support from Hang Kee Group. I plan to join forces with you to repurchase China Bus shares. We will then develop China Bus Group’s factory on King’s Road in North Point together.”

Sitting down next to Yan Chengkun, Li Zhaoji offered him a cigar, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "Brother Kun, you know I've been developing Shatin for the past two years, right?"

"Is your project in Shatin going well?" Yan Chengkun asked with concern, taking the cigar.

"It's not going well. All my funds are tied up. As you know, the real estate business has become increasingly difficult in the past two years, with more and more competitors, making it even more challenging."

Li Zhaoji shook his head again.

Actually, it can't be said that things went wrong. The project had already been built, but sales were not as Li Zhaoji had expected. So Li Zhaoji simply bought back all the pre-sold apartments, intending to resell them later.

His boldness was undeniable, and subsequent events proved that Li Zhaoji's choice was correct.

Yan Chengkun nodded: "Since you're having financial difficulties, I won't make things difficult for you. Have you considered selling your stocks?"

"Brother Kun, if I were to sell my stocks, I would definitely choose your Yan family."

Li Zhaoji immediately expressed his opinion, but in reality, he had no intention of selling the shares.

why?
Before Yan Chengkun arrived, Wei Li and Wu Guangzheng had already visited him several times.

Li Zhaoji knew he couldn't afford to offend Yan Chengkun, a senior figure in the business world, and of course, he couldn't afford to offend Sir Bao and Chen Jiajun even more.

As for the reason?

Lee Siu-kei wants to continue large-scale development in the New Territories, but he cannot afford to offend the Luk family, who are backed by Chan Ka-chun.

Fortunately, he decided to continue holding onto his shares in China-Pakistan, neither selling to anyone nor offending anyone.

After visiting Li Zhaoji, Yan Chengkun immediately went to find Ye Gengnian of Xinchang Real Estate.

In terms of reputation, Xinchang Real Estate is certainly not as well-known as Xinhongji Real Estate, Hang Lung Properties, Yu Rong Group, or Cheung Kong Holdings.

But being low-key doesn't mean lacking strength. Take the highly publicized inheritance dispute within the Cheung Chuk-shan family, for example. If it weren't for the extensive media coverage, the general public would have had no idea that the Cheung family was the largest shareholder of Wheelock Properties, one of Hong Kong's four major British-owned trading companies. They wouldn't have known that the Cheung family owned properties across several streets in Causeway Bay, or even that in the 1950s and 60s, they wielded immense influence in Hong Kong's Western medicine industry. They certainly wouldn't have known that Leslie Cheung's godmother was a member of the Cheung Chuk-shan family…

Ye Gengnian's father, Ye Yu'an, had a sworn brother, Ye Chengzhong, who was a prominent merchant in the late Qing Dynasty, known as the "King of Hardware." He was a pioneer in the modern hardware industry and made significant contributions to education.

Yan Chengkun and Ye Gengnian discussed establishing a new company to counter the partial takeover of Asia Investment Company. Once China Bus Group weathered the crisis, the Ye family would naturally share in the profits from the development of China Bus Group's land.

Xinchang Real Estate went public around Christmas 80, but the listing process was full of twists and turns. It was listed through Huoduoli Company, and the subscription amount only accounted for 55% of the total amount.

As for why the subscription amount is so low?

It's not that Xinchang Real Estate lacks strength, nor does it have a great reputation in the real estate industry.

Xinchang Real Estate is currently lacking some strong projects to boost investor confidence.

The land owned by the China-Pakistan Group is enough to make most real estate developers in Hong Kong drool.

Chung-Pak Group owns a total of 20 square feet of prime land scattered across Hong Kong Island.

The Ye and Yan families have been friends for many years, with a deep foundation of trust between them. Coupled with the tangible benefits, Ye Gengnian naturally agreed to this timely assistance.

“Ah Kun, time waits for no one. Now I’ve handed over the business to my son Mou Zun, so these specific matters need to be handled by him.”

“Perfect timing. Jieqiang is in charge of the specific affairs on the China-Pakistan side, which is a good opportunity for these young people to fully utilize their talents.”

Yan Chengkun burst into laughter, a rare occurrence for him.

In fact, Yan Chengkun's good mood was not only because Ye Gengnian agreed to help.

A white knight who opposes a forced takeover must be powerful, but if he is too powerful, he is likely to invite trouble.

Li Zhaoji's Heng Kee Properties is incredibly powerful.

After all, in the business world, friendships may not be able to withstand the test of interests. What if Heng Kee Properties turns against them and drives the Yan family out of the Chung-Ba Group?
The Ye family's strength was just within Yan Chengkun's acceptable range.

After the two secretly finalized the agreement, the second generation of the family quickly put it into action.

The following day, Yan Jieqiang announced that Asia Investment Corporation's acquisition of China-Pakistan Group involved a significant transfer of equity, and therefore the board of directors of China-Pakistan Group applied for a one-day suspension of trading.

Ye Mouzun, Chairman and General Manager of Xinchang, announced that as a long-time friend of the Yan family, the Ye family would act as the white knight.

The two parties have established Snowspark, announcing the acquisition of 10.4 million shares of Chunghwa Bus at a price of NT$42.51 per share.

When this news was announced.

Wei Li and Zhan Peizhong came together to meet with Huang Yaonan, a shareholder of the China-Pakistan Group and Yan Chengkun's brother-in-law, to acquire Huang Yaonan's shares.

"Mr. Huang, tea or coffee?" Luo Xurui asked.

“I don’t like tea, coffee please,” Huang Yaonan said.

As a high-achieving student who returned from studying abroad, Huang Yaonan has become accustomed to the taste of coffee.

After Huang Yaonan returned from his studies in America, he originally wanted to make great strides, but the global shipping industry plummeted, which also affected the Huang family's main business of shipping.

After his father, Huang Ping-sun, passed away, his other children in Hong Kong successively sold their shares in China Bus and invested the funds in their own main business, shipping, in an attempt to revive it, but all their efforts failed.

All that remained was Huang Yaonan's 8.35% stake in Chung Hwa Bus. Huang Yaonan was not happy at Chung Hwa Bus. The reason was simple: he wanted to make his mark at Chung Hwa Bus, but his brother-in-law, Yan Chengkun, disagreed with him.

He even suggested that his son, Huang Ren, join the board of directors of the China-Pakistan Group, but Yan Chengkun rejected all of them.

Yan Chengkun's ruthlessness filled Huang Yaonan's heart with endless resentment.

After all, in his view, his sister had married down to Yan Chengkun back then, and Yan Chengkun was just a sedan chair carrier. If it weren't for the Huang family supporting Yan Chengkun back then, how could Yan Chengkun have his current status?
"Waiter, two coffees and one tea, please!" Zhan Peizhong said. "Mr. Huang, I won't beat around the bush. I want to acquire your shares in China Bus."

“Mr. Zhan, please don’t joke around. The shares of Chung Hwa Bus were passed down from my father. They are ancestral property, and we have never intended to sell them,” Huang Yaonan said.

Zhan Peizhong and Wei Li exchanged a smile. Wei Li shook his head and said with a smile, "Mr. Huang, I don't have the energy to beat around the bush with you. I'll give you two options: either we acquire your shares."

"Or, you can take your shares now and join our Asian investment company. After we successfully acquire the company, we will give your son a position on the board of directors."

Upon hearing Wei Li's words, Huang Yaonan seemed to deflate completely.

Because his weakness was hit by Wesley.

Huang Yaonan drank most of his coffee, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "I'm asking you, how confident are you in acquiring the China-Pakistan Group?"

James Chan said with a smile, "If our Asia Investment Company really wanted to launch a hostile takeover, then apart from a few foreign firms, everyone else in Hong Kong would be easy prey."

This wasn't James Chan bragging; he knew his boss's capabilities all too well. If his boss withdrew all the funds from the Japanese stock market, even the Keswick family behind Jardine Matheson would tremble.

"With Sir John Paul's backing, they're arrogant enough."

Huang Yaonan took out a Camel cigarette and lit it for himself.

"You're wrong. Sir John Paul was not the mastermind behind this acquisition of the China-Pakistan Group."

Zhan Peizhong shook his head.

"Guojun Group, Chen Jiajun?"

Huang Yaonan exhaled a deep puff of camel smoke and immediately savored the taste.

(End of this chapter)