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

Chapter 559 Union!

"Li, here you are, please sit down!"

After Li Jiacheng was brought in by the secretary, Shen Bi extended his hand and invited him to sit down.

"Is there something going on today?"

After the two of them sat down, Shen Bi took the initiative to speak.

Li Jiacheng showed a bitter smile on his face.

"Michael, I did come to you for help."

"I want to ask, did the young Bao Sheng from the Bao family accept the shares of Maersk and ENCL in Hyundai Container Terminals?"

Li Jiacheng did not try to be witty, but asked directly.

Shen Bi nodded: "Yes, Bao did introduce his nephew to Hyundai Container Line and took over the shares of Maersk and Yinglun."

"Maersk and British Shipping have already made up their minds to withdraw, and Swire Pacific has no intention of taking over these shares. As for HSBC, it is a bank and is unlikely to control and operate a company."

"So the only ones who can take over are the Bao family. They have priority."

"In the eyes of Maersk and Yinglun Shipping, Bao Zeyang is Bao Yugang's nephew. Their companies are just different companies, but they still belong to the same family."

"Just like China Shipping and Wharf Holdings, both belong to Pao Yu-kong, but in essence they are two unrelated companies."

"So Maersk and Yinglun had no objection to the sale to Bao Zeyang, and the shareholders meeting easily approved it."

Shen Bi did not hide anything from Li Jiacheng, but told him the inside story without hesitation.

"Why, do you think Modern Container Cargo Company is a threat to you?"

Shen Bi asked curiously again at this time.

Li Jiacheng shook his head and then sighed.

"Today, Hutchison Whampoa received a total of 25 resignation reports, almost all of which were from mid- and senior-level executives under Hutchison Whampoa."

"They were all recruited by Wellesley before, and they are all from the port shipping and retail industries."

After listening to what Li Jiacheng said, Shen Bi smiled slightly.

"I was told about this matter. Victor went to his home that day and consulted him about this matter."

"But it's true that Victor didn't intend to target you. The entire business plan was proposed by Wei Li."

"And the idea proposed by Wei Li is also very clear. He intends to expand global port business and combine the fleet of global shipping to create an international supply chain for Dairy Farm International."

"So next, Hyundai Container Line will probably expand outwards, and Global Shipping is expected to add several container ships to safeguard Dairy Farm International's global supply chain."

"Bao Zeyang has invested in Modern Container Cargo, and he will definitely need a lot of talent. I'm afraid Wei Li is taking this opportunity to attack you."

Shen Bi said slowly to Li Jiacheng.

In fact, he could understand Wei Li's anger towards Li Jiacheng. After all, Li Jiacheng had plucked Wei Li's fruits.

Wealth was the person hired by HSBC to save Hutchison Whampoa. It took him four or five years to sort out the companies under Hutchison Whampoa and put them on the right track.

Just as Hutchison Whampoa was about to rise again, Li Ka-shing reached an agreement with HSBC and acquired Hutchison Whampoa at super low and super favorable terms.

This is no longer just picking peaches, this is outright robbery.

Therefore, Shen Bi could understand Wei Li's anger towards Li Jiacheng.

It’s a pity that Wei Li is just an ordinary person after all, and he doesn’t know Shen Bi’s original intention in making this decision.

In fact, part of the reason why Shen Bi sold Hutchison Whampoa was that he was forced by the situation.

"He took this opportunity to make it very difficult for me."

"Michael, to be honest, Hutchison Whampoa's business is being completely suppressed by Hong Kong Land."

"From retail to real estate, to ports and terminals, Hutchison Whampoa competes with Hong Kong Land in all areas, and Hong Kong Land has the upper hand in all of them."

"Michael, I need HSBC's help."

Li Jiacheng raised his head at this moment, stared at Shen Bi seriously, and said seriously.

After listening to this, Shen Bi looked at Li Jiacheng thoughtfully.

"Li, you should know that the power of the Bao family in HSBC is not limited to me. His friends and connections can go directly to London. Even many shareholders on the HSBC board of directors recognize him very much."

"If you want to compete with other companies, HSBC can certainly provide support, but with Pao, I am in a difficult position."

Shen Bi shook his head gently and said.

Li Jiacheng smiled confidently at this moment: "Michael, I think you are wrong. Bao Yugang is Bao Yugang, and Bao Zeyang is Bao Zeyang. Although they have the same surname, their companies are separate."

"Take HSBC for example. Although Bao Yugang has a close relationship with HSBC, it seems that Bao Zeyang is not enthusiastic about HSBC at present."

"I believe you must be very clear, Michael. Bao Zeyang may not continue Bao Yugang's route in Hong Kong Island, and his business model will not completely overlap with Bao Yugang's."

"Michael, are you sure you want to let Bao Zeyang become more powerful just because of Bao Yugang's relationship?"

"Michael, to be honest, in my opinion, Bao Zeyang's choice has always been between China and the United States. Now he can be said to have more firmly chosen the United States rather than you."

"In his eyes, Britain has never been his alternative option. I think this is also the reason why his attitude towards you and HSBC has always been lukewarm."

"HSBC's importance in his eyes is far less than yours in Bao Yugang's eyes."

"He is not your best choice."

Li Jiacheng asked Shen Bi to help him not without confidence. He knew that Shen Bi had no choice, just like when Shen Bi sold Hutchison Whampoa to him.

Many people don’t know why Shen Bi went crazy and sold such a high-quality company as Hutchison Whampoa to Li Ka-shing.

But Li Jiacheng knew that Shen Bi was trying to win him over on the one hand, but he was also forced to do so on the other.

The reason why Li Jiacheng has a grasp of Shen Bi's pulse can be traced back to the time of Hutchison Whampoa.

Because of HSBC's intervention, Li Ka-shing had to terminate his acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa's shares and sold them to Pao Yu-kong.

Although he made a lot of money from this, his losses were actually even greater, after all, he had the opportunity to swallow up the fat piece of meat of Hutchison Whampoa.

Therefore, Li Ka-shing set his sights on Hutchison Whampoa. However, as to how to get HSBC to sell Hutchison Whampoa to him, Li Ka-shing took a gamble. He did not rely solely on Pao Yu-kong, but put pressure on HSBC himself.

This pressure is the capital!
1977 and 1987 were very special years, especially for Hong Kong Island. Along with a series of major moves from the mainland, and even calls for reform, huge changes also took place in Hong Kong Island.

A very special point among them is that many wealthy Chinese businessmen in Hong Kong Island began to go north to have contact with people there, including Bao Yugang.

Li Jiacheng also chose to join in, not only that, he also showed it off in a very high-profile manner.

That year, he not only made his whereabouts public, he even watched the military parade and climbed up to the observation deck on the city wall.

There were not many Chinese businessmen who had this honor that year. One was Li Jiacheng, and the other was Hu Yingxiang. Of course, in his eyes, the Huo family did not count, after all, they had always had a clear stance.

The companies owned by Li Jiacheng and Hu Yingxiang, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hopewell Holdings, were both among the famous five real estate tigers in Hong Kong Island and the leaders of Chinese real estate companies. It was for this reason that when Li Jiacheng came back and contacted HSBC and Shen Bi again, HSBC's attitude changed.

Li Jiacheng knew very clearly that he had won the bet!
HSBC must win him over as one of the representatives of Chinese capital in Hong Kong.

Then, as we all know, HSBC sold Hutchison Whampoa to him at extremely favorable terms. The cooperation here was not based on economic considerations, but more on integrity.

So from that time on, Li Ka-shing knew HSBC's intention, which was to win over Chinese businessmen.

This is also the reason why he has the confidence to speak to Shen Bi now. Shen Bi needs him, and HSBC also needs him.

Although Bao Yugang is also Chinese, he is a British citizen. Legally speaking, he is a British citizen. Well, so is Bao Zeyang.

But he is different. He is currently a Chinese from Hong Kong Island, which is very important in terms of integrity.

In terms of status at that time, Bao Yugang was actually much higher than him. Li Jiacheng also knew that the other party had secretly gone to the capital, but at that time, Bao Yugang was obviously not as valued as him and Hu Yingxiang.

The most important reason here is that they are Hong Kong people, while Bao Yugang can only be said to be Chinese.

Sometimes, this invisible identity can be very useful.

Just like now, persuading Shen Bi.

When Shen Bi heard what Li Jiacheng said, he fell into deep thought.

In fact, Li Jiacheng understands him, and he also understands Li Jiacheng. This man can be said to be a sophisticated egoist.

He insisted on selling Hutchison Whampoa to him, on the one hand because of his integrity, and on the other hand because of his courage.

This guy was the first Chinese businessman who dared to attack British capital unscrupulously, and he directly targeted Jardine Matheson, the head of the four major trading companies.

Moreover, this guy went to the observation deck to watch the military parade, and then came back to continue discussing the Hutchison Whampoa transaction with him, which also made him see some of the other party's attitudes.

Compared with those Chinese business groups who are trying their best to stand on the north side, Li Jiacheng is obviously the type who wants to have the best of both worlds.

But in Shen Bi's view, his playing both sides was actually a betrayal.

In terms of integrity, playing both sides is never allowed. Even if it is tolerated due to the circumstances at the time, it will be settled afterwards.

So Li's contact with Shen Bi at that time was, to some extent, a token of his allegiance.

Shen Bi naturally chose to accept it, and then sold Hutchison Whampoa to Li Ka-shing at a low price in a fair and open manner. This was both a response to his pledge of allegiance and a setting an example for Chinese businessmen in Hong Kong Island.

HSBC treats British and Chinese businesses equally.

Even in the subsequent battle for Kowloon Wharf, Shen Bi supported Bao Yugang, also based on this kind of demonstration!
The British financial consortium can withdraw, but HSBC cannot, as its banking roots are in Hong Kong Island.

Therefore, in order to maintain the status of Hong Kong Island and for the interests of Britain in Hong Kong Island, it must attract and support a group of Chinese people around it.

And Li Jiacheng was the representative he chose.

Compared with Bao Yugang, Li Jiacheng is a more pragmatic person.

In addition, the intelligence presented to Shen Bi by MI6 from Hong Kong Island also showed that although Bao Yugang was a British citizen, in terms of his integrity, he was actually more inclined towards the North and had a stronger national sentiment.

But the person in front of me is different. He seldom talks about these things, and apart from donating money, he has not made any other big moves.

This person pays more attention to his identity as a businessman.

Therefore, based on the information provided by the Military Intelligence Department, Shen Bi appropriately began to allocate resources to Li Jiacheng, and gradually listed him as the first person to be supported.

But now, Li Jiacheng's request was a little beyond his expectations.

But what Li Jiacheng said was not wrong. Perhaps in Bao Zeyang's heart, China and the United States are his options, and Britain has never been one of his choices, even though his roots are in Hong Kong Island.

This coincided with his prediction that Bao Zeyang was planning to build a consortium.

Because they ignore the power of Britain, the other party wants to build a consortium in Hong Kong Island and then serve as a capital bridge between China and the United States?
At this moment, Shen Bi felt that his guess was getting closer to the truth.

"Li, have you made up your mind to compete with Bao Zeyang?"

Shen Bi looked at Li Jiacheng seriously and said.

Li Jiacheng sighed: "Perhaps, this is not called competition, but self-help!"

"There are too many overlapping businesses between Hong Kong Land and Hutchison Whampoa, and Weeley has a deep misunderstanding of me. If Hutchison Whampoa does not take action, the consequences are self-evident."

"In fact, I have discovered something today. In addition to the reasons you mentioned, I think Bao Zeyang's business route has another idea, which is that he plans to build a consortium with Hong Kong Island as the core and radiate to the whole world."

"It's like Rockefeller in the United States and Jardine Matheson back then. The difference is that he doesn't have a suitable bank now."

"So I think Bao Zeyang has his sights set on Standard Chartered Bank."

"If you go against Jardine Matheson, even if HSBC supports you, Standard Chartered will most likely support Bao Zeyang, and the bankers in the United States also have close relations with him."

"Li, are you sure you want to continue to fight him?"

Shen Bi continued to ask with a smile.

After listening to this, Li Jiacheng thought for a moment, and then a determined look appeared in his eyes.

"Michael, I have no choice at this moment!"

Once you enter the world, you have no choice. Now, Swire Properties has completely suppressed Hutchison Whampoa. If Li Ka-shing continues to retreat, the only fate of Hutchison Whampoa will be dissolution or bankruptcy.

So in Li Jiacheng's view, this battle is inevitable.

In fact, he knew it when Ma Shimin mentioned it to him.

He did not agree to Ma Shimin directly because he had to get the support of HSBC first.

With the support of HSBC, it is equivalent to having the support of the current Governor's Office of Hong Kong, while at the same time cutting off one arm of Bao Zeyang.

After all, many people in Hong Kong Island are afraid of the Pao family because of Pao Yu-kong's close relationship with HSBC and the Governor's Office.

In Li Jiacheng's view, it is extremely necessary to cut off the support from HSBC first.

As long as he can get HSBC and the British to support him, Li Jiacheng will have a chance of winning.

After all, the county magistrate is not as good as the current manager. Even if Bao Zeyang has connections with Americans, the British still have the final say in Hong Kong Island.

Seeing Li Jiacheng's expression, Shen Bi made a decision in his mind.

He planned to give Li Jiacheng a chance, which was also his last chance.

"Li, HSBC can support you, but I need you to give me a detailed plan."

"The relationship between Hong Kong Land and Victor is not as simple as we thought. The power that HSBC can exert in this relationship is limited. Don't underestimate Bao. His influence in HSBC is too great."

Shen Bi said seriously at this moment.

Seeing this, Li Jiacheng smiled and nodded: "Of course, Michael, I actually didn't think of suppressing Jardine Matheson. That would be difficult."

"All we need to do is expand Hutchison Whampoa's industrial layout!"

(End of this chapter)