Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 539-541 [The Tacit Understanding of the Opponents]

Soon after, Hengan Investment Company and City Development Corporation held a press conference and publicly announced that they would acquire 4% of Singapore Airlines' shares at a 2.3% premium.

Such a high price caused a huge wave in the outside world. The stock price soared sharply that day, with an increase of as much as 2%. The market value of Singapore Airlines has exceeded 80 billion Singapore dollars, and there is still a lot of room for growth.

Some economic experts predict that Singapore Airlines' market value is likely to exceed S$10 billion.

Qatar Airways then announced its withdrawal from the takeover battle and sold its 11% stake to British Airways, making a profit of S$2.1 million.

So Temasek started to get a little nervous and hurriedly sent people to contact Hengan Investment Company to discuss the acquisition of shares.

The Singapore government is worried that Hengan Investment Company will merge with British Airways. Such a situation will put them in an extremely passive dilemma, and the possibility of losing control of Singapore Airlines is increasing.

Initially they were not afraid of challenges and thought they had a good chance of winning, but the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

"Mr. Luo, as long as you are willing to sell, we at Temasek will never let you suffer any loss," said Li Xi, vice president of Temasek.

Luo Qihong joked, "Heng'an Investment is doing business. If you don't suffer a loss, you will have a loss. Running a company requires making a profit, not just not suffering a loss."

Li Xi smiled awkwardly and said, "Mr. Luo is right! Then Mr. Luo, please name your price."

"A 2% premium is impossible because British Airways has already offered a 25% premium. If Temasek wants to take away these shares, it must be more than 25%. Of course, we can't do the deal all at once. I still have to see what British Airways says." Luo Qihong perfectly demonstrated the meaning of 'waiting for the right price'.

Li Xi looked embarrassed, but he had expected before he came that he would be ripped off by Heng'an Investment Company.

"28% premium, how about that?"

Luo Qihong was not very satisfied with the price, and Li Xi still did not understand his hidden meaning: if he wanted to acquire 6.4% of the shares as soon as possible, he must be willing to pay a high price that would satisfy him.

Luo Qihong shook his head. "The price is still too low. If Mr. Li can't make the decision, he can go back and discuss it with the senior management and then give me an answer. I also need to notify British Airways."

At this time, Li Xi understood what Luo Qihong meant, gritted his teeth, and said, "3% premium, this price is already very good, Mr. Luo can make a lot of money."

Temasek is a state-owned enterprise. With the support of the Singapore government, it will sooner or later become the largest state-owned enterprise in Singapore. The power struggle within it is also very fierce. If Li Xi cannot handle this matter, it will be impossible for him to get more power, and he may even be defeated by his opponents.

"Mr. Li, I'm sorry! I have some things to take care of. Wenhe, please come and entertain Mr. Li." Luo Qihong smiled slightly.

The attitude is already very clear, he is not satisfied with the price and does not want to waste time.

If Zhang Wenhe can make the decision, is it necessary for Luo Qihong to take action personally?
Li Xi saw Luo Qihong standing up, and immediately looked anxious, "4% premium! This is the highest price I can decide, Mr. Luo."

Luo Qihong felt that it was almost done and there was no need to earn the last penny, so he turned around without any embarrassment and shook hands with Li Xi. "Mr. Li is straightforward, and I won't be a nag. 4% is 4%. Let's sign the contract now so that Mr. Li can go back and give an explanation."

After signing the contract, Luo Qihong glanced at the airline stock prices on his desk and calculated the profits of this sniping.

"Not bad, I made 2.6 million Singapore dollars from a sniping attack." Luo Qihong smiled proudly. It was a skill in itself to dare to snipe Temasek Holdings and British Airways.

"Congratulations, Luo Sheng!" Zhang Wenhe has also learned to flatter, as his boss's ability is far superior to his.

"It's just a small matter. What do people outside think of me? They don't think I'm a robber, right?" Luo Qihong said jokingly. Being a stock sniper is inherently unethical, otherwise Liu Luanxiong would not have been unaccepted by Hong Kong's wealthy circle.

Zhang Wenhe smiled, not daring to answer Luo Qihong's words, but he also made his point clear. Luo Qihong smiled and waved his hand, saying indifferently, "Singaporeans will definitely have no objection to sniping the British. They are on the side of the Z government, but this is a business war, so it's fine as long as it's legal."

There are some differences between him and Liu Luanxiong. He will not keep doing this kind of sniping. Firstly, he does not have a suitable target, and secondly, he does not need to accumulate original capital through this. This may be the last time he will do sniping in Singapore.

As time goes by and the Lo family runs Singapore, Singaporeans will forget these things.

"How's Huang Tingfang going? Hasn't Huang Zuyao discovered it yet?" Luo Qihong asked seriously.

Although he is not the protagonist of this acquisition, he has invested a lot in it and does not want to fail.

Zhang Wenhe's face turned cold, and he replied, "I think Huang Zuyao has already found out, but he just kept silent, because Huang Zuyao has obviously contacted other shareholders and has the intention of secretly acquiring shares."

"What did Huang Tingfang say?" Luo Qihong frowned suddenly, realizing the problem.

Zhang Wenhe said, "I didn't see Huang Tingfang. It was Huang Zhixiang who contacted me all the time. He said he was not worried and thought Huang Zuyao's behavior was normal and he probably hadn't discovered it yet."

Luo Qihong fiddled with his fingers and said, "Huang Zhixiang couldn't see it, but the senior members of the Huang family must have seen it, but they just didn't care, or they didn't want to break that layer of paper. After all, if it was broken, it would start a takeover war, which would be very disadvantageous to both parties."

In fact, the current situation is not much different from a takeover war. However, once a takeover war is launched, those shareholders will definitely take the opportunity to "ask for a sky-high price", which will be disadvantageous to both parties and will only benefit the shareholders for nothing.

Huang Zhixiang didn't want to discuss this with Zhang Wenhe, so he just said that Huang Zuyao didn't find out, so as to save time and effort.

"Then should we just let it go?" Zhang Wenhe asked. Even if he guessed the result, there must be clear orders.

"Don't worry about him. Huang Tingfang is not a novice in the business world. He will do a good job." Luo Qihong lowered his head and thought for a while, then asked, "How is the secret purchase of the United Industrial Group going?"

He wanted to take advantage of the battle between the two Huangs and Huang Zuoyao, when he was overwhelmed, to attack United Industrial Group. After all, he had made a profit of S$2.6 million from Singapore Airlines.

"We didn't dare to make big moves a few days ago, and even stopped for a while. Now we dare to make big moves. We currently hold 16.2% of the shares." Zhang Wenhe understood what Luo Qihong meant. "If we launch the acquisition at the most critical time when the Tiger and Leopard Enterprise acquisition battle is the most intense, our chances of winning will be the highest."

Luo Qihong waved his hand and said, "Don't be impatient. This acquisition war will last for quite some time, and we still have many opportunities."

"On the contrary, if the flaw is revealed now, Huang Zuoyao will probably choose to die with honor rather than live in disgrace. He will give the United Industrial Group to someone he knows rather than sit there and wait for death."

Zhang Wenhe nodded. "I understand! I will definitely be careful."

"We can put the acquisition of Australia's CSR company on hold for a while and focus on United Industrial Group." Luo Qihong knew very well that things had to be prioritized. There was a high probability that there would be no rivals in Australia, so he would focus on Singapore first.

Moreover, in Luo Qihong's view, Singapore is more important than Australia and has a more promising economy.

After dealing with the affairs in Singapore, Luo Qihong flew back to Hong Kong. The current situation in Hong Kong is very complicated. The stock market and the local market have fallen a lot. Fortunately, the industrial sector can remain stable.

The Hang Seng Index has fallen below 1 points, falling back to 9900 points, but mainland red chip stocks are still active and the decline is not large. In addition, companies such as Shanghai Industrial are actively listing, making the financial situation much more complicated.

The Hong Kong government has also introduced new policies for local cities, including raising the down payment ratio to 30% of the house price, limiting the mortgage loan term to 20 years, and imposing additional stamp duty on short-term resales.

(End of this chapter)