Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 800 The mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole follows behind
“China Power?” Bao Yugang’s mind immediately raced with thoughts, weighing the pros and cons.
Yang Wendong calmly took a few sips of tea and said, "Bao Sheng, with your assets, if you want to enter the Hong Kong market on a large scale, you do need to acquire a large enterprise. Starting from scratch will take too long."

Currently, there is still a tacit understanding among Chinese-owned enterprises, so if you can't easily target Chinese-owned enterprises, then British-owned enterprises are the best choice. There are only a few British-owned companies in Hong Kong that can meet your needs.
Hongkong Land is too big, Swire is completely controlled by the family, and we all know that the Cheung family exists in Wheelock and Company. The only ones left are Hong Kong and China Gas, CLP Power, and Hong Kong Telephone.
Of these companies, I think CLP Power is the most suitable for you. Compared to gas, electricity offers the most stable returns, especially since Kowloon is poised to become Hong Kong's new industrial base, and its electricity consumption will eventually surpass that of HK Electric. Furthermore, CLP Power also owns a significant amount of property in Kowloon Peninsula, making it a good fit for your entry into the real estate sector.

Currently, HK Electric's power generation exceeds that of CLP Power. However, this will reverse in 10 years, as Hong Kong Island has a limited area. Once the population of Hong Kong grows too large, the demand in Kowloon will inevitably be higher.
However, Yang Wendong does not regret acquiring HK Electric, because HK Electric owns more land properties on Hong Kong Island;

As for the electricity issue, it doesn't really matter. After the mainland opens up, Hong Kong Electric will gradually invest in the mainland's power generation industry, which will be enough to easily increase power generation by ten times or more, instead of just playing the small-city monopoly game of sucking blood in Hong Kong as in the past.

"Of the British-owned companies that Mr. Yang mentioned, CLP Power is the most difficult to deal with, as it has a controlling family behind it. Hong Kong and China Gas and Hong Kong Telephone, on the other hand, do not." Bao Yugang hesitated.

Yang Wendong laughed and said, "That's because I'm already prepared to take action against these two companies, but I can't do anything about CLP Power due to legal restrictions."

Bao Yugang suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. Yang Sheng's judgment is indeed remarkable."

“Bao Sheng, China Power is indeed the toughest nut to crack, but once we crack it, the profits will be the highest. I don’t need to say more about that, do I?” Yang Wendong said.

Bao Yugang nodded: "Yes, I know."

Yang Wendong continued, "Over the years, the Kadoorie family has raised funds through multiple share expansions due to the construction of the new power plant. According to the financial reports, their family's shareholding is only around 25%. As long as you secretly acquire enough shares, you can try to take control."

Bao Yugang sighed, "This is bound to be a bloody battle."

"The transition between China and Britain will inevitably be a major battle. Although my Hutchison Whampoa has not been involved in any major conflicts, it was heavily indebted when I took over, which meant I was taking on a lot of risk. It's the same for us." Yang Wendong continued, "CLP Power at least has no problems with its operations and debt. If you launch an acquisition battle and spend more money, you can gain a long-term and stable business, so it's still worthwhile."

For a time traveler, there was naturally little risk in his acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa back then, because he knew the future of the Hong Kong real estate market;

At that time, however, the risks seemed extremely high to outsiders. There was considerable opposition from the media and even within the company itself. If Hutchison Whampoa's debt of around 20 billion yuan were to default, the acquisition by Changxing Group would be severely impacted.
Bao Yugang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I need to think about it."

“Such a major matter naturally requires careful consideration.” Yang Wendong knew that Bao Yugang could not make a decision immediately, and said, “I have about 10% of China Power’s shares. If Mr. Bao wants them, I can sell them to you at a reasonable price.”

"You have 10%? You can't?" Bao Yugang asked curiously.

Yang Wendong said, "Yes, I can't make acquisitions or even become a director, but as a normal investment, it's fine. I've invested in many companies in Hong Kong."

This is indeed true. When the Changxing Group's multiple businesses are generating huge profits and there are no good investment targets in the short term, the simplest thing to do is to choose large blue-chip companies in Hong Kong and buy them blindly. There are 100 companies that can accommodate a huge amount of funds, especially those companies with sufficient real estate.
Between 75 and 81, the Hong Kong stock market was strong. As long as I sold some uncertain stocks before 81, there would be little risk.

As for CLP Power, it is a long-term stable company with a high future growth rate. It is a worthwhile long-term investment, regardless of whether it is acquired by Pao Yu-kang or other Chinese, or whether the Kadoorie family continues to control it.

"If that's the case, then I'm really tempted." Bao Yugang was moved. With 10%, and buying a little more, he could challenge the Kadoorie family.

Yang Wendong then said, "Based on the market price from a few days ago, I'll sell it to you."

“How about I increase the price by 20% instead of the original price?” Bao Yugang said. If he bought it at the original price, he would be indebted to him, and this was worth much more than cash.

Yang Wendong laughed and said, "No need, you can pay me back after you succeed."

Even if the price increases by 20%, it's only 10% of the shares in total, which would earn him at most around ten million. It's meaningless to him; it's better to turn it into a favor, which might be more valuable in the future.

“Okay, no problem.” Bao Yugang readily agreed, knowing that he now owed Yang Wendong a favor, which was also Yang Wendong’s purpose in helping him. Yang Wendong was richer than him and obviously valued favors more.

Of course, if I am ultimately able to successfully acquire CLP Power, then it will be worthwhile to owe them this favor.
"Okay, regarding the stocks, I'll send someone over tomorrow to hand them over to you." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I hope I can see a spectacular acquisition battle this year."

Bao Yugang smiled and sighed, "Actually, the more exciting the acquisition battle, the more money it costs."

“Yes, of course, so you need to plan ahead before you decide what to do,” Yang Wendong nodded.

The two most famous acquisitions in Hong Kong in the past were Li Ka-shing's acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa and Pao Yue-kong's acquisition of Wharf Holdings.
The former won Hutchison Whampoa with virtually no cost, having cultivated a good relationship with HSBC; the latter, on the other hand, spent over 2 billion in a spectacular battle with Jardine Matheson in the stock market.
It's clear that while Pao Yuk-kong appeared powerful, he actually suffered huge losses, reportedly exceeding one billion HKD in 82 alone. Fortunately, Wharf Holdings remained a high-quality asset, and the Pao family gradually established themselves in the Hong Kong real estate market. Then it became the Wu family's turn.
Bao Yugang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I will communicate with the professionals."

"Bao Sheng, I have a personal question for you." Yang Wendong paused, then said, "You have four daughters but no sons. What will you do with such a large business in the future?"

Bao Yugang asked with a smile, "Can't a daughter inherit the family business?"

“That’s certainly possible, but how many people in history have done that? The key is that none of your daughters are suited for business, but your sons-in-law are.” Yang Wendong said, “I don’t need to elaborate on the final result.”

Bao Yugang nodded and said, "I know, but I don't have a son, so what can I do? I once thought about finding someone in my grandson's generation to change their surname to Bao, but doing so might actually lead to more intense internal struggles within the family after I pass away."

“Yes, definitely.” Yang Wendong said, “If you have a son, you can’t say anything if you favor others a little. But it’s more complicated when a grandson is adopted. It’s hard to say what his father will think in the future.”

Historically, one of Bao Yugang's grandsons changed his surname to Bao, but it was to no avail; the Bao family almost disappeared. "Yes, that's all we can do for now," Bao Yugang seemed to understand perfectly well.

"Actually, there's another way, it just depends on whether you're willing to try it?" Yang Wendong suddenly said.

Bao Yugang smiled and shook his head: "You wouldn't ask me to go find other women, would you? I'm already 60. Even if I could still have children, I wouldn't betray my family."

“Bao Sheng is truly a fine man, I admire him.” Yang Wendong laughed, “But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m referring to the in vitro fertilization technology for artificial babies that Britain and the United States have just launched recently.”

When Pao Yu-kong came to Hong Kong in the late 1940s, he had over 100,000 US dollars in his hands, which was a huge sum of money at the time. He later started a successful business and became a well-known ship owner in just a few years. Although he was not as wealthy as Tung Chao-yung, he was still very powerful.

Given his status and lack of sons, Hong Kong allows for multiple marriages, yet he did not. Even if the Bao family line were to end, he would not betray his first wife. Such devotion is truly admirable.

"Artificial test tubes? What kind of technology is that?" Bao Yugang was unaware of this.

Yang Wendong explained, "That's right, this is a possibility."

Yang Wendong had only heard of this technology in his previous life, but had never understood it.

But I happened to see this technology in an international newspaper a few months ago, and I didn't pay attention to it at the time, but now it suddenly came to mind.

Although the success rate of the technology was low and the price was high in its early stages, this amount of money was nothing to the Bao family.

In fact, this matter had nothing to do with him, but he knew that after the Wu family inherited the Bao family, they began to get involved in some things they shouldn't have, and even squandered Bao Yugang's investments, connections and political resources in mainland China in the 80s.

Moreover, Bao Yugang has had a good relationship with me over the years and has even helped me before, so I'm just repaying a small favor. It's just a matter of saying a few words.

After listening to Yang Wendong's introduction, Bao Yugang remained silent for a long time before saying, "I didn't expect that Europe and America would have such technology. Thank you for informing me, Mr. Yang. I will send someone to England to find out the specifics first, and then we'll talk about it later."

To say he doesn't care about not having a son is just self-deception. But if he could have another son of his own blood without betraying his family, how could he possibly disagree?

"Haha, I also hope to see Bao Sheng have a son in his old age," Yang Wendong laughed.

The gambling king in his previous life had a child late in life at the age of 78. There are also people in mainland China who have children in their 60s. Bao Yugang is only 60 this year. With IVF technology and enough money invested, the success rate should be quite high.

Bao Yugang's smile seemed even better than when he had previously attempted to acquire CLP Power: "Thank you, Mr. Yang."

If Yang Wendong hadn't told him about this, even if he had found out a few years later, his success rate would have been lower as he got older.

"You're welcome," Yang Wendong smiled.

After Bao Yugang left, Yang Wendong called Fang Xianming over and told him about what had happened, except for the in vitro fertilization part.

"Bao Yugang is acquiring CLP Power?" Fang Xianming asked after hearing this. "Even if we transfer our shares to Bao Yugang, it will only be 10%. If he wants to take over CLP Power, he will still need to invest a lot of money. The scale of this acquisition battle is probably even greater than when we acquired Wharf Holdings."

“Yes, CLP Power’s assets are indeed no less than Wharf Holdings’. We prepared for a long time before we made a quick decision. This time, Pao Yu-kong will definitely go head-to-head.” Yang Wen-dong said, “However, the Kadoorie family is not as powerful as Jardine Matheson. It is hard to say whether he can raise enough funds to fight against Pao Yu-kong.”

“That makes sense.” Fang Xianming nodded, then asked, “Mr. Yang, do we need to do something in the middle?”

“We won’t be involved in CLP Power’s stock. Although the potential profits may be substantial, pure money is meaningless,” Yang Wendong said with a smile. “My target is another asset of the Kadoorie family: the Grand Hotel Group.”

Even if he participated in the CLP Power stock acquisition battle and executed it perfectly, he could only profit tens of millions at most. To get hundreds of millions, he would have to do it openly and sell it to Pao Yuk-kong or Kadoorie at a high price, which was unnecessary. As the owner of HK Electric, he was not allowed to get involved in CLP Power's affairs.

But the Peninsula Hotel, under the hotel group, is different. This hotel is also the core asset of the Kadoorie family. It was established in the 20s. Although it cannot compare with the Four Seasons Hotel in terms of "newness", it has the strongest reputation in Hong Kong. Many tycoons and celebrities habitually stay and spend money here.
More importantly, this is a very early hotel with an excellent location. However, land was not valuable at that time, so the land area under the hotel was very large, a full 33 square feet (3.1 square meters), and the main building area was 10 square meters.

Liu Luanxiong had previously targeted this hotel, but gave up due to insufficient funds;
He wasn't in a hurry to go to war with the Kadoorie family; he could have waited until 83. But now that Pao Yu-kong was preparing to take action against CLP Power, it gave him an opportunity.

If the Kadoorie family spends too much money in its battle with Pao Yue-kong, or even sells shares of the Peninsula Hotel to cash out, then their opportunity will come, allowing them to acquire this top-tier hotel at a lower price.

“A grand hotel? This is indeed a good opportunity. They’re already listed on the stock exchange, and we ourselves own about 10% of their shares,” Fang Xianming said with a smile.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Alright, we don't know when Bao Yugang will make his move. We'll continue to secretly acquire the hotel's shares. When they start fighting, we'll also stab the Kadoorie family in the back."

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(End of this chapter)