After divorce, I can hear the voice of the future

Chapter 728 The Best Strategy is to Win Hearts and Minds
Once the announcement of the takeover bid was released, the entire market fell into a deathly silence, like the calm before a storm.

All media professionals went into a frenzy, drafting news articles at lightning speed to educate the uninformed public about the background of this Starry Sky Investment Company from Tokyo.

"From the perspective of shareholding structure alone, this institution belongs to the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, which is the third largest financial institution in Japan, second only to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group in terms of overall strength."

"But looking only at the shareholding structure would be too narrow, because Xingheng Investment only has three shareholders, holding 34%, 33%, and 33% of the shares respectively. Sumitomo Mitsui holds 34%, and the other two are Hyundai Group and Tianxing Investment."

"Tianxing Investment is Lu Liang's Tianxing Investment, and the current general manager of Xingheng Investment Company is Lu Liang's first secretary, Wen Chao."

"To be able to become a general manager and lead a joint venture in a foreign country, the value of that position is self-evident."

"Therefore, there is speculation that although Xingheng Investment belongs to Sumitomo Mitsui, it has always been controlled by Lu Liang."

"Although Xingheng Investment has only been established for a year, its strength should not be underestimated. Last year's super Bitcoin market was created by Xingheng Investment."

"Rumors suggest profits exceeded $10 billion..."

The article caused an uproar in Hong Kong, with all sorts of speculations springing up like mushrooms after rain.

"Is Xingheng Investment owned by Liangzi?"

"According to the founding date of Xingheng, I remember that Bitcoin was only $3200 at that time?"

"Lu Liang has been quietly doing big things all along. His net worth must be more than a hundred billion, right?"

"Even if they have a net worth of trillions, it's none of our business."

"If selling high is for the purpose of buying low, then shorting Hong Kong stocks last Friday was actually aimed at these four groups?"

"Possibly, but isn't that a bit too arrogant? The Cheng, Li, Guo, and Liu families are all long-established powerful families in Hong Kong."

"That's how arrogant we should be! Ryoko can thrive in the international market, why should she have to humble herself in Hong Kong?"

A single word awakened them from their slumber; retail investors suddenly understood and, seeing that trading time was running out, went all in, buying shares of four groups.

If their speculation is correct, the "Baowan battle" that took place two years ago in the A-share market will be repeated in the Hong Kong stock market.

As long as you accurately predict Lu Liang's target, a buying frenzy will erupt, guaranteeing a return of at least three times.

The share prices of four major groups—New World Development, Chinese Estates Holdings, Sun Hung Kai Properties, and Henderson Land Development—have all staged dramatic reversals.

In the final fifteen minutes, the stock price chart moved like a bull riding a rocket, incredibly powerful and explosive.

A sudden surge, from a sharp drop to a sharp rise.

Soaring upwards, seemingly without end.

Meanwhile, at Yiyun Mountain Villa.

"He actually raised his sign."

Zheng Jiachun looked solemn. The fact that there was a six-month lock-up period after he raised his shareholding meant that the nature of the transaction had changed.

"His target wasn't HSBC or Standard Chartered at all; it was us from the very beginning!" Liu, Guo, and Li looked flustered.

All four groups have been listed for many years, with 100% of their shares in circulation. If Lu Liang had the idea, he could easily acquire a certain amount of shares from the secondary market, then contact other shareholders to ultimately seize power.

“We must stop acquiring HSBC and Standard Chartered shares immediately. We’ve all been deceived by Lu Liang,” Liu said in a deep voice.

Although he transferred a lot of assets, he only came out temporarily to avoid the limelight; his roots have always been in Hong Kong.

Although he did not found Chinese Estates Holdings, its existence transformed him from a fan-like figure into a powerful figure.

He also realized that Lu Liang definitely couldn't handle four families, and would eventually make them negotiate among themselves, sacrificing one of them.

Since he is not currently in Hong Kong, Chinese Estates Holdings is very likely to become the target of sacrifice.

“Stop the operation. If Lu Liang’s target is us, we must conserve more funds now,” Guo Bingsheng said.

Even if New World Development disappears, the Cheng family still has the equally powerful Chow Tai Fook Group. But if Sun Hung Kai Properties disappears, the Kwok family will plummet from a top-tier family to a bottom-tier one.

Although it might yield a massive sum of money, enough for three generations of the Guo family to live in luxury.

Having a mountain of gold without corresponding social status and influence is no different from a young girl strolling in an Indian slum; sooner or later, she will be taken advantage of.

When people's hearts are in disarray, it's difficult to lead the team.

Zheng Jiachun sighed inwardly.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon Yang Shoucheng.

He stood up, sat down beside him, smiled, and patted his arm lightly, saying, "Uncle Yang, what are your thoughts?"

Although he addressed him as "uncle," his actions resembled those of a superior questioning a subordinate.

A hint of displeasure flashed in Yang Shoucheng's eyes, and he chuckled, "Ah Zheng, what opinion could I possibly have?"

The person who used to pat him on the shoulder was Uncle Tong, now it's his son, and in the future it will be his grandson.

When he dies, his position will be inherited by his son, just as a general's son can only become a general, because a marshal also has his own son.

“Uncle Yang, you have it.” Zheng Jiachun squinted, his smile sending chills down one’s spine.

He took out his phone from his pocket, opened the photo album, and swiped his finger across several photos taken from surveillance angles.

Yang Qisheng left the villa at 10:00 AM, appeared on the 82nd floor of Phase 2 of the Plaza Building at 11:00 AM, and left at 12:30 PM...

An hour ago, Zheng Jiachun received these photos. As expected, Yang Shoucheng was the traitor who leaked the information.

Since the situation was just going very well, he didn't want to make a fuss for the time being and planned to settle accounts with Old Man Yang later.

But now, people's hearts are scattered, and we must find something to unite them in their hatred of the enemy, so as not to cause them to lose their composure.

"Qi Sheng? What happened to him?" A hint of surprise flashed in Yang Shoucheng's eyes, as if he knew nothing at all.

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be Qi Sheng who took our secret to seek refuge with Lu Liang." Zheng Jiachun's face was gloomy.

Upon hearing this, Guo Li revealed a hostile look, and Da Liu's voice came from the screen: "Uncle Yang, explain yourself."

"This bastard!"

Yang Shoucheng was furious. He picked up his phone and dialed Yang Qisheng's number, but no one answered.

"What a misfortune for our family!"

He gave a bitter laugh and bowed deeply in apology: "Gentlemen, it is my fault for failing to raise my son properly. I am sorry to all of you."

The group stared at him coldly. They were all cunning and shrewd; what good would it do to play tricks on him?
To say that Yang Shoucheng was unaware of the situation is merely Yang Qisheng's personal opinion, unless the sun rises in the west tomorrow.

"I know that there's no point in explaining anymore, and it's normal for you to doubt me."

Yang Shoucheng looked dejected and bowed again to apologize, saying that he was no longer fit to stay there.

The Yang family's HK$15 billion investment is something they can use as they wish; whether they repay it or not is not important.

"Uncle Yang, I believe you. So the most urgent thing is to think about how to solve this."

Zheng Jiachun hurriedly tried to persuade them to stay, but in his heart he had already cursed the Yang family's ancestors for eight generations.

If Yang Shoucheng leaves now, the newly reunited hearts will fall apart again. What use is HK$15 billion? Even Chinese Estates, which has the lowest market value, has a market value of HK$380 billion.

So even though he guessed that Yang Shoucheng was putting on an act, he had no choice but to persuade him to stay and contact Yang Qisheng so that Yang Qisheng could arrange a meeting with Lu Liang.

"But I am too ashamed to face you."

Yang Shoucheng looked conflicted, and Da Liu quickly spoke up: "Uncle Yang, we've been friends for so many years. Ah Zheng is right. The most urgent thing is to think about how to solve this."

Although he felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed fly droppings, he understood Zheng Jiachun's intentions.

We really have to retain Yang Shoucheng now, because we need him as a medium to contact Lu Liang.

Li and Guo suddenly realized what was going on, and they forced smiles that looked more like they were crying: "Old Yang, stop being so dramatic. We've been working together for so many years, do you think we don't know your personality?" They felt humiliated, like their wives were having an affair and they were still forced to stand guard at the door.

"Then I'll give it another try."

After much hesitation, Yang Shoucheng reluctantly agreed.

Hong Kong stocks closed at 4 p.m.

The Hang Seng Index rose slightly by 0.58% to close at 24973 points.

Although the daily increase was only 144 points, the intraday fluctuation reached as high as 1520 points.

If someone bought in at midday and added to their position, they could basically recover the huge losses from last Friday, and even make a small profit.

In just two days, Lu Liang's reputation in the Hong Kong market was like a rollercoaster ride, plummeting from a high point to the bottom, and then soaring back up to the sky.

This also made many people realize that they were helped to make money in the past because they needed to, and that they were also cheated on Friday mornings because they needed to.

The so-called "goodness" in Lu Liang refers to the conscience of capital, but this is just wishful thinking on their part.

Lu Liang is a businessman through and through. You can follow his investment intentions, but you must make your own judgments.

Otherwise, like those who went long on Friday but shorted on Monday, they would have lost so much money they would have wanted to jump off a building.

"Chinese Estates is indeed the best target."

Hong Kong stocks closed, but Lu Liang and others were still talking, planning to make Chinese Estates Holdings their first target.

Lau was known as a financial sniper in the past, and he also seized power in Chinese Estates Holdings through the financial market.

Moreover, unlike the other three companies, Chinese Estates Holdings is not a purely real estate group. Although its main business includes property investment and development, it also has secondary businesses such as brokerage services, securities investment and money lending.

It also owns a commercial investment bank called Kwong Sang. Although it is only worth less than HK$2 billion, it is small but complete. The office address of this company happens to be in Chi Cheung Building.

"Moving back and forth is too much trouble, so let Guang Sheng stay in Tianxing Financial Building," Lu Liang said with a smile.

In the midst of conversation and laughter, the ownership of Chinese Estates was determined.

He was determined to have it, and even Jesus couldn't stop him.

“However, it would be best to talk to Mr. Xu of Hengtai first, as Hengtai holds a significant number of shares.” Sun Yutao pulled up the shareholding structure of Chinese Estates Holdings.

Ten years ago, when Hengtai was facing a life-or-death crisis, Lao Xu came to Hong Kong, knocked on the door of Yiyun Villa, and received support from the Earth Society.

The following year, it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, entered the capital market, and followed the development of the mainland, thus beginning a new stage of rapid development and expansion.

Today, Hengtai has become a super real estate group with assets of two trillion yuan, making Xu Jiayin the richest man in the country.

Over the years, he has been giving back to the members of the Earth Society who helped him in the past, and has been gradually increasing his shareholding in their group.

Henderson Land Development, Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land Development, and Chinese Estates Holdings all hold significant stakes in Henderson Land Development.

Chinese Estates Holdings holds the largest stake at 10.25%, second only to the Lau Chun-hung family and Standard Chartered Bank.

Their ability to acquire a 5.38% stake in Chinese Estates Holdings on the secondary market today is purely due to surprise, and also because Lau was unaware of their intentions and kept selling his own shares, intending to bankrupt them.

The news of the sign-raising has now spread.

Everyone knows Lu Liang's intentions.

Therefore, the further we go, the harder it will be to acquire shares in the secondary market, and the higher the cost will be.

If you don't want it to escalate into a protracted battle like the 'Vanke-Baoneng dispute,' it's best to contact other shareholders privately.

With the support of Hengtai Group, their shareholding will reach 15.63%, and they will then acquire another 3.93% of the shares from the secondary market.

At that time, with a 19.56% stake, they will be able to surpass Standard Chartered Bank and the Lau Chun-hung family to become the major shareholder of Chinese Estates Holdings Limited, thus forcing a board meeting.

As long as a board meeting is held, Lu Liang can use coercion or bribery to force board members to take sides.

At that time, with a shareholding ratio of 33.4%, regardless of whether Lau agrees or not, Chinese Estates will basically be under Luk's control.

It will be delisted and privatized in the future.

It was just a matter of Lu Liang saying a few words.

"Old Xu...it seems necessary to pay him a visit."

Lu Liang looked thoughtful, then called Xu Jiawei and asked him to call Lao Xu's assistant to inquire whether the other party was in Guangzhou, as he planned to pay a visit.

Xu Jiawei nodded and said, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Yang from Emperor Group invites you to a gathering at a small teahouse in Central tonight."

"You should contact Mr. Xu first. I'll call Mr. Yang back personally later."

After Xu Jiawei left, Lu Liang instructed Sun Wenliang and the other two: "When the market opens tomorrow, according to the original plan, quantitative and private equity firms will enter the market together to acquire shares of the four groups. I want to make them all feel insecure."

Although their primary target is Chinese Estates Holdings, they must not let the other party know this; they need to project an image of being able to acquire four companies.

In this way, in order to protect themselves, they had no choice but to sacrifice pawns to save the king.

After taking off his headset and leaving the office, Lu Liang called Yang Qisheng: "Qisheng, I'm sorry, I was busy and didn't have time to call back."

"Brother Lu's generosity is truly admirable."

Yang Qisheng said with a smile.

He had expected Lu Liang to take countermeasures, but he didn't expect it to be so fierce, directly starting a war with the four families.

He has a domineering attitude, thinking, "Whoever messes with me, I'll mess with them, whether it's one person or a group."

"What's so admirable about this? It's just a helpless act." Lu Liang sighed deeply.

If he had just been honest, obedient, and sensible, and let him invest in HSBC, none of this would have happened.

It's like a tiger hunting a wild boar when a few rabbits run by. It would be a shame not to feast on them.

Yang Qisheng was speechless for a moment, and his admiration for Lu Liang grew even higher. In his eyes, the powerful families that had dominated Hong Kong for many years were like primary school students who needed to be sensible and obedient...

He pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Lu, Mr. Zheng from New World Development, Mr. Guo from Sun Hung Kai Properties, and others would like to have a good talk with you."

Lu Liang was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Is this their idea, or yours?"

"It's their idea; my father asked me to pass on a message." Yang Qisheng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly expressed his opinion.

"Since it's their idea, I don't have time."

Lu Liang decisively refused, then said with a smile, "Qi Sheng, I can't have dinner with you tonight. I'm going to Guangzhou later to visit Mr. Xu of Hengtai."

"We can eat anytime. If you have something to do, just go ahead and do it. We can reschedule for another time later." Yang Qisheng said thoughtfully.

Lu Liang suddenly announced his itinerary: he was going to Guangzhou to visit Old Xu of Hengtai. Was this his way of asking him to deliver a message?

"Okay, I'll contact you again later." Lu Liang smiled as he ended the call with Yang Qisheng.

If the two parties are of equal strength, and they know that he is going to visit Lao Xu, they will definitely contact Lao Xu first, thus making Lao Xu wait for the best price.

But that was when the two sides were evenly matched. Now, the two sides are vastly different in strength. Lu Liang is confident that he can defeat Lao Xu, so letting them know in advance is a strategy to win their hearts and minds.

Hong Kong is just a small place, and Lu Liang doesn't take the four conglomerates seriously at all. He just wants to cut the Gordian knot.

Dominate the Hong Kong market as soon as possible.

We should embark on our journey into the international market as soon as possible.

　To be honest, it's a two-in-one product.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)