1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 552 Suppress Li Jiacheng!
A dock is not just a commercial resource, it also has certain national attributes.

So this thing requires very good political and business relations to do this business.

In today's Hong Kong Island, the so-called relationship between government and business is actually the Governor's Office.

Of course, what Li Changhe lacks is not his relationship with the Governor's Office. The embarrassing thing he is facing now is that the wharf in Kwai Chung is currently in the hands of Bao Yugang.

There are currently five docks and ten berths in Kwai Chung, three of which are in the hands of Bao Yugang and the other two are in the hands of Li Jiacheng.

The berths owned by Bao Yugang come from Hutchison Whampoa, also known as Jardine Matheson Group, while the berths owned by Li Ka-shing come from Hutchison Whampoa.

The problem now is that Bao Yugang has taken over most of the berths, so it is difficult for Li Changhe to intervene.

“At present, three berths at Kwai Tsing’s terminal are in the hands of Wharf Holdings and the other two are in the hands of Hutchison Whampoa.”

"Even if we apply again, the Governor's Office may not give it to us."

"After all, I am also a member of the Bao family. If I monopolize the wharf on Hong Kong Island, the Bao family will be the only one in power."

"And the Hong Kong government probably wouldn't want to see this."

Li Changhe analyzed calmly.

Wei Li nodded: "Boss, this is exactly what I want to say."

"In fact, we can cooperate with Wharf."

"In fact, Wharf Holdings only holds 25.6% of Modern Terminals, a subsidiary of Wharf Holdings. The remaining shares are held by Maersk, British Airways, HSBC, and Swire Pacific."

"But now, as far as I know, because Wharf Holdings is owned by the Pao family, the original shareholders, such as Maersk and British Rail, are planning to sell their shares."

"Because for them, the partner they chose was Jardine Matheson, not Pao."

"Now that Wharf Holdings is owned by the Pao family, both Maersk and CRRC have the intention to sell their shares, because in terms of business, both Maersk and CRRC are mainly engaged in shipping, with terminals as a supplement."

"Secondly, they have the same concerns as Jardine Matheson, they are worried about the future of Hong Kong Island and that it will be taken back by the mainland."

"As far as I know, Maersk and Enron have already proposed to other shareholders the idea of ​​selling their shares."

"But the Bao family doesn't seem to have enough funds to take over the shares of the two companies."

Wei Li said seriously.

Li Changhe nodded: "Because of Wharf Holdings, the Bao family now owes HSBC 2 billion, and it is difficult for HSBC to come up with money to continue supporting them."

"You mean, we take over the shares of Maersk and Yinglun?"

Wei Li smiled and nodded: "Yes, Boss, I think we can take over. I know you have borrowed a large amount of funds from the bank. Instead of leaving these funds idle in the bank account, it is better to put them to work."

"If we take over the Hong Kong Island terminal alone, the Governor's Office may not agree. But if we move in Modern Container, then there will be no problem."

"As long as we take over the shares of Maersk and ENCL, we will be the largest shareholder. Then we can expand our port business globally according to our procurement strategy."

"Now, you just need to negotiate with Mr. Bao."

Seeing Wei Li finish his words with full confidence, Li Changhe fell into deep thought.

It seems that this old guy has already thought out the strategy long ago, and even found out the shareholders behind Modern Container Cargo.

However, in terms of direction, there is indeed nothing wrong with Wei Li's idea.

The operation of docks and ports will be a profitable business in the future, especially relying on the domestic supermarket that is about to emerge. Shipping and ports will definitely be the first industries to reap the benefits.

"Okay, I'll go and test the waters tomorrow to see what the attitude of Wharf Holdings is."

"Boss, I believe they will be happy. You taking over the shares of Maersk and Yinglun will definitely make them feel more at ease than if someone else took over."

“Ports and terminals are asset-heavy investments. Without a certain level of financial strength, it is difficult to enter the market.”

Li Changhe is rich and is one of Wei's own. To be honest, Wei couldn't think of any reason why Wharf would refuse.

After all, in Wei Li's opinion, Li Changhe is Bao Yugang's nephew. Even if there is no equity penetration between the two companies, there will definitely be no problem in cooperation.

Li Changhe knew that Wei Li's idea was too simple, but he didn't say anything.

In the evening, Li Changhe came to the Bao family’s mansion with gifts prepared for the Bao family.

In the villa, as soon as Li Changhe arrived at the door, he saw a child about ten years old walking out.

Seeing Li Changhe, the other party immediately greeted him enthusiastically.

"Uncle, are you back?"

The young man in front of him was Bao Suwengang, the eldest daughter of Bao Yugang and the son of Su Haiwen, and the future leader of Global Shipping.

Unexpectedly, this young man got along well with Li Changhe, or rather, he admired Li Changhe quite a bit, even though Li Changhe was actually only a few years older than him.

"Wen Gang, are you going out?"

Li Changhe actually likes it

"I had planned to meet up with some friends, but since you're back, uncle, I won't go out."

"Grandpa, my uncle is here."

Bao Suwen just turned around, walked into the living room and shouted loudly.

At present, Bao Suwengang is still very favored. He is the only male of the third generation of Bao Yugang's family.

Of course, Bao Yugang now has only this one grandson and one granddaughter, and the granddaughter is the daughter of Wu Guangzheng, the current head of Hutchison Whampoa, and is still a two-year-old baby.

"came back?"

In the living room, Bao Yugang looked at Li Changhe and asked gently.

"Uncle, this is a gift I brought for grandpa!"

At this time, Li Changhe took out a wooden box from the box he brought.

"This is?"

Bao Yu was a little surprised when he saw the box.

Li Changhe opened the box.

"This is a century-old ginseng from Changbai Mountain. It has been dried in the shade."

Li Changhe exchanged a total of three century-old ginsengs from the Northeast. The price he spent was not low, especially the last two, which were bought with foreign exchange coupons, and the price was not cheap.

After all, even if prices are low in this day and age, something like a century-old ginseng that can save lives has its value. People are not stupid and will not sell it at a low price.

Li Changhe left two plants at home, one for his parents and one for his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and brought the remaining one to Hong Kong Island.

"Hundred-year-old mountain ginseng? That's rare."

Looking at the old ginseng dried in the box, Bao Yugang was a little surprised.

This thing is hard to find now. He wanted to find it, but he couldn't find it. The main thing is that this thing now appears in three places, surrounding Changbai Mountain and Lesser Khingan Mountains, namely China, North Korea and the Soviet Union.

It just so happens that these three places are places where people have money but nowhere to spend it, and even these wealthy people find it difficult to go there.

The ginseng sold officially to the public is basically short-term. Those that are over fifty years old are rare, let alone century-old mountain ginseng.

Therefore, when Bao Yugang saw this, he was indeed quite surprised and felt quite touched.

At least Li Changhe put a lot of thought into giving this to her.

"Luckily, I got two plants. I brought one here."

"Of course, there are also gifts for you and your aunt."

"What about mine? What about mine? Uncle, I have a present too, right?"

Bao Suwen on the side said anxiously at this time.

Although he is of mixed blood, he has lived in Hong Kong Island for many years and is very familiar with many Chinese customs.

"Nuo, I packed a big red envelope for you, hide it secretly, don't let your mother take it away!"

At this time, Li Changhe took out a red envelope and handed it to Bao Suwengang.

As soon as Bao Suwen took it, he opened it with surprise and his eyes widened.

Oh my god, there was actually a check inside.

"Thank you uncle."

As soon as Bao Suwen finished speaking, he ran to his room. He had to hide this thing well, otherwise his mother would take it away when he returned.

"Ayang, you're still giving him a check. You're spoiling him too much."

Bao Yugang naturally saw what was inside the red envelope, smiled and shook his head.

"Uncle, times have changed. Young people nowadays cannot survive without money."

"Besides, I think Wen Gang is a good kid. There's no need to discipline him too strictly. He should learn to spend money properly so that he won't be tempted by external things when he goes abroad to study."

"Otherwise, he may be a good kid in front of us, but once he goes out, he will be like a wild horse that has been let loose. That's dangerous."

Li Changhe said with a chuckle.

Of course, he just said that. How other people take care of their children in the future has nothing to do with him.

"What you said makes sense. Times have changed. It's different from before."

"I've come to terms with it. My children and grandchildren will have their own blessings."

"Come on, let's go eat first."

Actually, not all the Bao family members were present tonight. The only son-in-law at home was Wu Guangzheng. The three of them had a few drinks together and then came to a leisure study room on the rooftop.

"How's your business lately? You've entrusted all the business to the manager, so you have to keep an eye on the accounts."

In the study, Bao Yugang asked Li Changhe gently at this time.

Li Changhe smiled and nodded: "I have set up a financial company in the United States and will come here for regular inspections. There won't be any problems."

"Uncle, there is something I want to discuss with you."

"I heard that Maersk and ENCL are planning to withdraw from Hyundai Container Group, is that right?"

Bao Yugang heard what Li Changhe said and looked at him with a smile: "Why, do you want to take over their shares?"

Wu Guangzheng also looked at Li Changhe in surprise at this time.

Strictly speaking, Modern Container Shipping is the company currently under his control and is part of the Wharf Group.

"I didn't pay attention to it, but Wei Li talked to me about it today. He wants to take over these shares."

"What Wei Li meant was that if we join forces, we can not only control more than half of the shares of Modern Container, but more importantly, we can continue to inject capital and expand the port business to the whole world."

"Wei Li's idea is mainly to focus on the supermarket sector under the current Jardine Matheson Group. In the future, he will gather some product resources from all over the world, such as cherries from South America, dried fruits from the United States, and beef."

"He thinks there is no need to operate a fleet, but he can cooperate with Hyundai Container to promote the port business globally and improve our supply chain."

"But I think this is Wei Li's rhetoric. I think Wei Li's real intention is to use this to suppress Li Jiacheng."

Li Changhe explained with a smile at this time.

"Suppress Li Jiacheng?"

Wu Guangzheng was a little surprised. He actually didn't know much about the details.

Li Changhe immediately explained to him, "Wei Li was the boss of Hutchison Whampoa before, you know that."

"Hutchison Whampoa was just beginning to show its quality under Wei Li's management when it was sold to Li Ka-shing by HSBC. Wei Li was not convinced at heart."

"And now, Li Jiacheng has hired a British man, Ma Shimin, to come to Hutchison Whampoa to be the new boss of Hutchison Whampoa."

"I guess Ma Shimin has placed Hutchison's next strategic move on the docks and ports. Wei Li intends to take this opportunity to compete with him, or to cut off his source of income and suppress Li Jiacheng."

"After all, there are actually many people in He Huang's side who were originally Wei Li's subordinates and were recruited by him."

"Wei Li now wants to bring these people back and then set up a company to get involved in the port terminal business."

"He told me that he wanted to improve Dairy Farm's global supply chain, but I think his goal was more to suppress Li Jiacheng."

"But I think Wei Li's suggestion is very good. Even if we put aside the commercial supply chain of the dairy company, I am optimistic about its future development purely from the perspective of the terminal and port business."

"Oh? Do you think the port terminal will have great development?"

Bao Yugang asked with great interest at this time.

Li Changhe nodded: "In fact, it is mainly because I am optimistic about the reforms in the north. Once their reforms are successful, the development of the entire country will require a large amount of primary resources."

“And these resources must be transported here from all over the world.”

"If we wait until their consumer market is developed, the amount of goods needed will be even greater."

"The most suitable mode of transport for bulk commodities is still sea transport, and the natural complement to sea transport is the port business."

"In fact, not only in the north, but also in the United States, Europe, and even in East Asia and Southeast Asia, I think there will be a consumption storm next."

"I find the economic philosophy promoted by the president very interesting. It is a free economic model that originates from neoliberal thought. I heard that the Iron Lady in the UK also has this kind of economic philosophy."

"If the US and the UK join forces, it will be easy to form a new economic concept model around the world. This low-regulation model will definitely bring about an active market and changes in people's consumption concepts."

"In the long run, I am optimistic about the prospects of port and terminal business."

Bao Yugang finished listening and seemed to be thinking about something.

Li Changhe’s words are actually a bit grand and empty, and his expectations for the future are too clear. This is not necessarily a good thing. After all, who can say when the international situation will not change?
But on the other hand, Li Changhe's involvement in the port business seems to have other purposes. Is it out of strategic needs in the north?
Or is it really like he said, that Wei Li simply wanted to suppress Li Jiacheng?
(End of this chapter)