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

Chapter 768 Who wouldn't want the merit of following the dragon?
Time passed quietly, and September 26th arrived quickly. At this moment, in Hong Kong, in Asia, and even around the world, many Chinese and political figures from various countries are paying attention to today's major news.

Because today, the question of Hong Kong Island's future has finally been clarified.

Soon, the moment the pen fell in the Great Hall of the People, the news swept the world like a storm.

All Chinese people who care about the future of Hong Kong Island know that Hong Kong Island will be officially returned to China in 1997.

This news brought a huge sigh of relief to the people of Hong Kong. Even though the statement was only a draft and not the final one, its appearance undoubtedly meant that the substantive negotiations between the two countries had come to an end.

The people of Hong Kong Island, who had been worried about the possibility of war, can finally rest assured. The release of the draft statement means that the shadow of war has been dispelled.

However, for many who still held onto a glimmer of hope, this announcement shattered their expectations, and some began packing their things to leave.

But many more people are starting to prepare to make their mark.

For example, the Kadoorie family.

The day after the draft joint statement was released, Li Changhe received a phone call from the Kadoorie family in his office.

Soon, Michael Kadoorie arrived at Li Changhe's office in a hurry.

"Michael, what's wrong? What's making you so anxious?"

Seeing Michael's expression, Li Changhe chuckled and joked.

Michael sighed: "Vic, don't play dumb. What else could it be? It's about the nuclear power plant, of course."

The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant issue has always been a source of concern for the Kadoorie family, given that their power empire occupies a large portion of Hong Kong Island. Now facing a power shortage, nuclear power is their best option.

Otherwise, they would have to upgrade their power plants on a large scale, which would cost far more than the power plants on Lamma Island owned by Li Changhe's Hong Kong Electric.

Therefore, the Kadoorie family has been working on this matter for the past two years.

With Li Changhe's involvement, the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant had already been approved domestically. However, despite the approval, electricity, which is related to basic livelihoods, was actually a trump card in negotiations between the two sides.

So the project has been approved, but how to implement it is another matter.

Li Changhe wasn't in a hurry. From the moment he learned that Beijing was going to play the electricity card in the negotiations, he knew that the nuclear power plant project would not be officially launched until the negotiation results were finalized.

Li Changhe even speculated that this might be one of the reasons why Li Jiacheng was able to acquire Hong Kong Electric in his previous life.

The country could not allow such a fundamental industry related to people's livelihoods as electricity to be handed over to the British. After all, Hong Kong Electric was under the control of Jardine Matheson at the time.

Li Ka-shing's sudden acquisition of Hong Kong Electric, with HSBC providing HK$29 billion in support, was by no means simply due to the relationship between Sir Michael Sandberg and Li Ka-shing. Li Changhe now knows that there must be a deeper level of power struggle behind it.

The timing was too clever. Li Ka-shing acquired Hong Kong Electric on January 22, 1985, which went very smoothly. Then, on January 26, 1985, the joint venture nuclear power company was officially registered with the industrial and commercial department. The establishment of the joint venture company also meant that the nuclear power plant officially entered the construction cycle.

The two events were only four days apart.

Although on the surface, Li Ka-shing's Hong Kong Electric has no connection whatsoever with the Kadoorie family's joint ventures with mainland nuclear power plants, from the perspective of national welfare and people's livelihood, Hong Kong Island's power system is completely in the hands of British capital, led by Jardine Matheson and HSBC.

Although the Kadoorie family are British citizens, they are not Anglo-Saxons but Baghdad Jews. Moreover, the Kadoorie family has frequently made overtures to the country over the past few decades. Choosing the lesser of two evils, perhaps this is the Kadoorie family's good fortune.

In this life, Hong Kong Electric has long been in Li Changhe's hands. In this respect, the mainland has a great advantage over the Hong Kong government. Li Changhe doesn't know if the mainland has other conditions.

Could it be that something unexpected has happened, which is why Michael is in a hurry?

"What happened to the nuclear power plant? Has something gone wrong again?"

At this moment, Li Changhe pretended not to understand and said, "He can't very well say that the country is just dragging you down, can he?"

"It wasn't the nuclear power plant that malfunctioned, it was you!"

“Vic, you rejected the mainland’s invitation. Didn’t you ever consider our potential cooperation with the mainland in the power sector?”

“You own 30 percent of the nuclear power company on Hong Kong Island.”

Michael said with a hint of helplessness.

Regarding the nuclear power plant, although the Daya Bay project has been approved, its actual implementation will depend on the establishment of the joint venture between the two sides. The shareholders of the joint venture will be a mainland company plus a nuclear power company from Hong Kong Island.

The current shareholders of the Hong Kong Island nuclear power company are the Kadoorie family and Li Changhe, or rather, Hong Kong Electric and CLP are the two major shareholders of Hong Kong Island nuclear power. Among them, CLP holds 70% of the shares and Hong Kong Electric holds 30%.

After all, the majority of the electricity in Daya Bay comes from the power grid area controlled by China Power.

Upon hearing Michael's words, Li Changhe immediately understood.

So the Kadoorie family isn't worried about the mainland, but rather that because he publicly refused the National Day invitation, the mainland will punish him, thus affecting their cooperation.

"Don't worry, Michael, this matter won't affect the construction of the nuclear power plant. In fact, I can tell you that they will speed up the construction of the nuclear power plant over there."

At this moment, Li Changhe reassured Mi Gao.

"Really?"

Michael looked at Li Changhe with some hesitation. During the negotiations, the mainland representatives had raised concerns about whether there would be any problems with the Kadoorie family completely controlling the electricity distribution.

Fortunately, thanks to the intervention of Hong Kong Electric and the Kadoorie family's promise, the matter was eventually resolved.

Michael is genuinely afraid that something else might go wrong with this situation.

"Don't worry. Think about it, the negotiations between the two sides are over, and Hong Kong Island will be returned to China. London may not be in a hurry, but the mainland will definitely solve the electricity problem for Hong Kong Island residents."

"My advice is that you should go back and start preparing the funds. This is no small amount."

Li Changhe said seriously, pointing to Mi Gao.

Nuclear power plant investment is a huge project, often costing billions of dollars. The shareholding of Hong Kong Island Nuclear Power is currently unclear and requires further negotiation between the two sides, but Li Changhe estimates it will not be high.

Even if they only hold 20-30% of the shares, that would still require an investment of over a billion US dollars. Furthermore, according to the shareholder structure of nuclear power plants, the Kadoorie family would have to bear an investment of seven or eight hundred million US dollars.

Seven or eight hundred million US dollars is a huge sum in this day and age. At the new exchange rate, it would be equivalent to five or six billion Hong Kong dollars.

Although the Kadoorie family is very wealthy, before the real estate boom, they probably wouldn't have been able to come up with such a huge amount of capital relying solely on the Peninsula Hotel and CLP Holdings. Taking out loans would have been inevitable.

Thinking of this, Li Changhe turned to Michael and said, "By the way, America, if the Kadoorie family needs a loan, I can help you get in touch with Standard Chartered Bank. They can give you very favorable interest rates."

"Standard Chartered? What, Vic, you think you can talk to Standard Chartered?"

Michael was somewhat surprised. Logically speaking, shouldn't the Bao family have a closer relationship with HSBC?
Li Changhe smiled and nodded: "Well, I can give you a little sneak peek beforehand. Standard Chartered has been acquired by me, but it hasn't been officially signed and announced yet." "Actually, if needed, Standard Chartered can provide loans for the Hong Kong Island Nuclear Power Company. After all, power supply is a sure-fire way for us to make money!"

Li Changhe wouldn't mind revealing some of his acquisitions to Michael Kadoya, which would also help him win over the guy and gradually bring him into his camp.

"Vic, when did you acquire Standard Chartered? There wasn't a single word about it in Hong Kong. You're really something else!"

Michael stared at Li Changhe in shock, at a loss for words.

During these two tense negotiations, Victor unknowingly acquired Standard Chartered Bank.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Michael's mind: No wonder Victor suddenly refused the National Day invitation from the mainland; it was because London offered better terms.
Is Standard Chartered a gift from London?

Michael felt he had guessed the truth; otherwise, an acquisition like this would have caused a huge uproar, instead of going unnoticed.

"Actually, we've been talking to Standard Chartered for a long time, but due to the current situation in Hong Kong, we've kept it a secret. In short, starting next year, Standard Chartered will be under my control. If Kadoorie has funding needs, he can consider Standard Chartered Bank. We will definitely offer better terms than HSBC."

Li Changhe gave Michael a few hints, and Michael nodded slightly.

When Michael left, he was still somewhat bewildered. He was simply baffled as to why Victor's business was growing so large.

Given Standard Chartered's high market capitalization, where did Victor get the money to acquire it?
Filled with doubts, Michael returned to Kadoorie Hill and shared his questions with Laurence.

After listening, Roland sighed.

“Michael, there are some things you don’t know. In fact, Bao Zeyang has been shorting the Hong Kong dollar for the past two years. He may have seen the crisis in Hong Kong Island long ago.”

“Two years ago, he borrowed nearly HK$10 billion from major banks on Hong Kong Island and converted it into US dollars. Then, taking advantage of the sharp drop in the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate, he converted it again and made billions of Hong Kong dollars from this one transaction alone.”

"In addition, he took the opportunity to acquire a large amount of assets. As far as I know, he joined forces with many wealthy Chinese to buy up a lot of assets and stocks at low prices during the collapse of the Hong Kong stock market and real estate market."

"No one really knows how many companies he controls right now,"

"Furthermore, Michael, I can tell you something else: Victor is still in control of SJM Holdings. That huge money pit in Macau is now an asset under Victor's control."

Michael was completely dumbfounded: "This..."

Laurence sighed, "If it weren't for the intelligence department of the Governor's Office, we wouldn't know any of this. He made a lot of arrangements quietly, and I still don't know how he managed to handle the complicated shareholder relationship of SJM Holdings, and even now, they haven't broken up."

"You know, Yip Hon and Ho Hung-sam are like oil and water."

Michael nodded in agreement: "Yes, Father, it's truly amazing."

Roland looked at Michael with some disappointment.

"Michael, my child, is this all you see?"

Michael looked at his father with some confusion: "Father, I don't quite understand what you're saying."

Seeing this, Lawrence said with exasperation, "Didn't you ever think about why Victor didn't call on us when the Hong Kong dollar plummeted and we were buying assets at rock-bottom prices?"

"Isn't that because we are British?"

Michael said with some confusion, "They are British, although they are British Jews, but Victor is Chinese. Isn't it only natural for him to cooperate with Chinese people?"

Looking at his foolish son, Roland sighed.

“Idiot, you must remember, we are not Anglo-Saxons, we are Jews, and our British citizenship is just a kind of talisman we seek to survive in Hong Kong.”

“Like Victor, he is also British, but his heart is actually with the Chinese.”

“Michael, we Jews can’t get along with the Anglo-Saxons. Europe has never trusted us. Look at what happened to the Sassoon family. Why did Victor Sassoon leave Shanghai for Panama instead of London?”

"Without his assets in Shanghai, he, with his immense wealth, would be a tempting target in London. The current situation of the first generation of the Sassoon family is already a testament to this."

"Have you ever thought about how we should conduct ourselves when Hong Kong Island will return to Chinese hands?"

Michael was beginning to understand what his father meant.

"Father, are you saying we should get closer to the Chinese?"

Laurence glanced at him and nodded: "You're not too stupid. You've seen the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong Island. The most important point is that from now on, Hong Kong Island will be governed by Hong Kong people. In other words, it will be governed by the Chinese in Hong Kong Island. Do you know what that means?"

Michael pondered: "Will Hong Kong Island become the domain of the Chinese in the future?"

"Ugh!"

Laurence didn't bother to guide his son anymore and said directly, "Victor is not even thirty years old this year, which means that when Hong Kong returns to China in 1997, he will only be in his forties. Do you think anyone can compete with him and seize the governance of Hong Kong if he steps forward?"

Upon hearing this, Michael suddenly realized what was going on.

However, Michael then hesitated and said, "Father, but Victor has already declined the invitation from the mainland for National Day, and his acquisition of Standard Chartered was probably a gift from London. Under these circumstances, can he still gain the mainland's approval?"

"Fool, you still don't understand the implications. What he needs first is the approval of the people of Hong Kong. Once the people of Hong Kong approve of him, can the mainland forcefully oppose him? Don't you think that at that point, with the British and Hong Kong approving of him, how could the mainland possibly oppose him?"

"Forget it, Michael, don't worry about these things anymore. From now on, you only need to do one thing: fully strengthen cooperation with Victor. Our Kadoorie family will bet everything on Victor from now on."

"As things stand, I don't see anyone on Hong Kong Island who has the ability to challenge Victor's position, unless the mainland really ignores the public opinion on Hong Kong Island."

"Father, have you ever considered what would happen if Victor didn't do it himself?"

At this moment, Michael had a sudden inspiration and said...

Roland looked at him like he was an idiot: "Forget it, you don't understand these things. All you need to know is that even if he doesn't want to do it, someone will push him to the position. You should just sit down as I told you to."

Rowland was too lazy to waste any more words with Michael. Betting on Victor was a huge gamble for the Kadoorie family, but Rowland felt that his bet wasn't very risky.

In fact, in recent months, he has been thinking about this very thing: how to ensure the survival of the Kadoorie family amidst the changes in Hong Kong. This is the wisdom of their Jewish way of survival, and it is also the foundation for the Kadoorie family's success today.

Over the past few months, he had thought it over and over and felt that the safest path was still Victor. There was something he hadn't told Michael: no matter what Victor chose in the future, he had already established his power and become one of the most important forces in Hong Kong.

For the Kadoorie family, allying with Victor was by no means a mistake.

Li Changhe was unaware that the Kadoorie family had already made up their minds to tie themselves to him, and that the Kadoorie family was not the only one with similar ideas.

In fact, many wealthy families on Hong Kong Island are also discussing these issues at this moment. For these families, the most important core issue right now is the future of Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong more than a decade from now.

Although it will take a long time, to be honest, there are not many qualified candidates, and among them, there is not a single one who can be compared with Victor.

Who wouldn't want the merit of following the emperor?
(End of this chapter)