Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 231 The Circle (Seeking monthly tickets, recommendations, and subscriptions!)
Weiye Building, top-floor office.

Secretary Ali, carrying a thick stack of invitations, knocked lightly on the door and came in.

"Mr. Chen, these are all the event invitations we've received recently. Please take a look and see which ones you need to schedule time to attend."

As she spoke, Ali spread the invitation letter out on her desk and reported it softly.

Chen Bingwen's gaze swept quickly across the row of colorful and exquisite invitations on the table, and he felt somewhat helpless.

These invitations, to some extent, are a confirmation of his current wealth and status.

But the greater the fame, the more of these kinds of things they receive.

Many of these are pure waste of time, but there are occasions where you have no choice but to go.

He can no longer turn down all of them like he did in the past.

He casually picked up the top invitation.

The dark red background and gold lettering marked the banquet invitation from the Hong Kong Island General Chamber of Commerce.

“The Chamber of Commerce dinner will be next Friday evening,” Ali added. “Sir Sir Michael Sandberg of HSBC, Mr. Swire of Swire, and Sir John Newbridge of Jardine Matheson will all be in attendance.”

Mr. Li Jiacheng was also among those invited.

Chen Bingwen tapped his finger on the invitation.

This occasion, seemingly a social gathering, is in reality an informal meeting of Hong Kong's top business leaders, where information exchange and relationship maintenance are of great significance.

He is now qualified and required to be there.

"Put this in." He put down the invitation from the Chamber of Commerce and picked up another one.

"We would like to invite you to speak as a representative of young entrepreneurs at the Hong Kong Island University School of Economics Forum."

"Canceling it. There's no time to prepare a speech, and it's not cost-effective for this kind of occasion."

Chen Bingwen said simply.

He flipped through a few more, mostly charity auctions, art exhibition openings, and small community events. He instructed them one by one to "cancele" or "send a director to represent them."

Until I saw an invitation with a slightly different style.

It was a private wine tasting event jointly initiated by several overseas Chinese leaders from Southeast Asia, held at a private club in Deep Water Bay that was not open to the public.

"What's the background of this wine tasting event?" Chen Bingwen asked.

Ali had clearly done her homework beforehand, and immediately answered fluently: "The initiators are Mr. Guo Henian of the Guo family in Singapore and Mr. Qiu Deba from Malaysia."

It's said to be mainly a private gathering of Chinese business families in Southeast Asia.

Chen Bingwen's eyes flickered slightly.

Guo Henian and Qiu Deba were both wealthy tycoons in Southeast Asia, with businesses spanning sugar, hotels, banks, and real estate. They had deep roots and long-standing connections with the mainland.

Their circle is more worthy of in-depth exploration than the purely British Hong Kong business circle.

"Please arrange this as well. Is there a time conflict?"

"A little later, it won't conflict with the Chamber of Commerce's dinner."

“Okay, these two it is.” Chen Bingwen handed the two selected invitations to Ali. “The rest will be handled as usual.”

"Okay, Mr. Chen."

Ali accepted the invitation and quickly left.

On Friday evening, the Hong Kong Island General Chamber of Commerce held a dinner in the banquet hall of the Hilton Hotel.

Chen Bingwen arrived on time, dressed in a well-tailored dark suit that was neither overly flamboyant nor impolite.

His entrance immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Although Chen Bingwen looks young, he has already made waves in the capital market and recently acquired a controlling stake in Qingzhou Yingni, making him a rising star.

"Mr. Chen, welcome, welcome!" A vice president of the Chamber of Commerce personally came forward to greet him.

"Chairman Liu, hello." Chen Bingwen smiled and shook hands.

He was quickly led to the vicinity of the main table.

Shen Bizheng was talking with Swire, Newt Bijian and others when he saw Chen Bingwen and a standard smile appeared on his face.

"Mr. Chen, you've been making quite a few big moves lately," Shen Bi said, extending his hand.

"Sir Sir Benjamin Schumpeter is too kind," Chen Bingwen said with a smile, shaking his hand.

“It’s good for young people to be humble, but being too humble is arrogance.” Swire, the taipan of Swire Group and also a director of Hutchison Whampoa, interjected with a smile, “Mr. Chan had a very good eye for that piece of land in Yingni, Qingzhou.”

“Mr. Swire is too kind. I am simply optimistic about the future of the Hong Kong Island property market,” Chen Bingwen responded tactfully.

Niu Bijian's attitude was rather indifferent; he merely nodded slightly as a greeting.

Li Jiacheng arrived a little later and saw Chen Bingwen already chatting and laughing in the inner circle. His eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, and then he put on a warm smile and walked over quickly.

"Sir Sir Michael Sandberg, Mr. Swire, Sir John Newborg, Mr. Chen, you've arrived too."

He greeted everyone one by one, and only spoke to Chen Bingwen last, taking the order just right.

“Mr. Li,” Chen Bingwen replied with a smile, his expression revealing no emotion.

During the meeting, the conversation naturally revolved around economic trends, the real estate market, and the future of Hutchison Whampoa.

Sambi's words were impeccable, but his bias was subtly apparent. Swire and Newt Bikin were mostly just listening and echoing.

Li Jiacheng was quite active, frequently offering his "vision" on Hong Kong's economy and attempting to dominate the conversation.

Chen Bingwen mostly listened, occasionally interjecting with direct and pragmatic viewpoints that often hit the nail on the head.

This made the British executives present nod slightly, feeling that this young man was indeed capable and not just a nouveau riche who only knew how to speculate in stocks.

Chen Bingwen could sense that Li Jiacheng was trying to integrate into this core circle dominated by British capital and attempting to demonstrate his value.

He himself prefers an attitude of equal exchange based on strength and interests.

The two of them have completely different styles.

After the dinner, Chen Bingwen did not linger and went straight to the next location, a private club in Deep Water Bay.

The atmosphere here is completely different from the bustling formality of the Hilton.

More private, more relaxing, with a Chinese garden design and soft lighting.

The participants were generally older, composed, and mostly of Southeast Asian appearance, speaking fluent Cantonese or English with accents.

The initiator, Guo Henian, personally greeted the guests at the door. Upon seeing Chen Bingwen, he smiled and came up to him: "This must be Mr. Chen, right?"

"Indeed young and promising, I am Guo Henian."

"Mr. Guo, I've long admired your name. Thank you for your invitation." Chen Bingwen shook hands with him with a smile.

"Come, come, let me introduce you to some friends." Guo Henian was very enthusiastic, leading him to a small group of people. "This is Qiu Deba, who runs a hotel and a bank."

This is Mr. Liem Sioe Liong, from Indonesia.

After the introductions, Chen Bingwen had a better understanding of the situation.

This is almost a miniature version of the "Gathering of Chinese Business Leaders in Southeast Asia".

These people may seem low-key, unlike the flamboyant British trading companies in Hong Kong, but they have cultivated deep roots in Southeast Asia and even China for many years, wielding enormous power and possessing a complex and intricate business network.

Their conversations leaned more towards international commodity trade, investment opportunities in Southeast Asian countries, and the boundless possibilities brought about by the newly launched reform and opening-up policy in mainland China, reflecting a broader perspective.

“Mr. Chen’s business in the US is quite large. I heard that his energy drink is very popular,” Qiu Deba said casually, swirling his glass.

"We're just starting out, and we've only managed to carve out a niche market. We've just been lucky," Chen Bingwen said modestly.

"Luck is also a part of ability." Lin Shaoliang didn't say much, but his insight into people was sharp. He slowly said, "I heard that Mr. Chen and China Resources are cooperating very closely?"

This is a sensitive issue, as it touches upon relations with the mainland.

Chen Bingwen answered tactfully: "There are some business dealings. The mainland market has huge potential and many opportunities, but it also requires patience and the right strategy. We are slowly exploring it."

He acknowledged the contact but didn't reveal any specific details, appearing both frank and cautious.

Guo Henian nodded: "Yes, there are many opportunities. We old guys are like a big ship that's hard to turn around. We'll really have to see how you young people make a name for yourselves in the future."

If Mr. Chen ever goes to Singapore or Indonesia, he must come and see me.

To be honest, my younger relatives really love your bottled sugar water and energy drinks!

"Definitely, definitely. You seniors are very experienced; you've seen more than I have. I still have a lot to learn from you."

Chen Bingwen raised his glass in a timely gesture.

On this occasion, he showed respect for his seniors, but his international perspective and judgment of future trends made these experienced veterans take him seriously.

What they valued was not only his ruthless tactics in the Hong Kong capital market, but also his boldness in successfully entering the North American market and the subtle connections he had established with the mainland.

This is an investment based on recognition of future potential.

After the wine tasting event concluded, Chen Bingwen exchanged personal contact information with several overseas Chinese leaders before taking his leave.

The two occasions and two completely different atmospheres tonight allowed him to perceive more clearly the different levels of the business ecosystem in Hong Kong and even Southeast Asia.

British capital, Chinese capital, and overseas Chinese capital from Southeast Asia formed a complex web of relationships.

In Illinois, North America, the newly acquired bottling plant's production lines are roaring and operating at full capacity after being upgraded.

The "Pulsating Thunder," a deep blue bottle emblazoned with a silver lightning bolt logo, moves rapidly along a conveyor belt.

The deep blue bottle and silver lightning bolt logo give it a strong visual impact.

As Chen Bingwen requested, the formula for Pulse Thunder uses a combination of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS-55) and sucrose.

After repeated testing, Zhou Zhiyuan's R&D team found the best balance between sweetness, cost, and taste.

Not only "Pulse Thunder," but also other product lines of Chen Chi in North America, including the classic "Pulse" energy drink and energy bars, have begun to be gradually replaced with similar compound sugar sources under the explicit instructions of Chen Bingwen.

According to the August financial report submitted by Vincent Fang, the raw material replacement alone can generate more than 15% of the profit for Chen Ji each month.

This is the net profit after paying the HFCS patent licensing fees.

"The cost advantage is too great."

When Fang Wenshan reported to Chen Bingwen, he couldn't help but feel excited: "The price stability of HFCS-55 is much higher than that of international sugar, and it is much less affected by fluctuations in the production area and futures market."

This gives us tremendous flexibility and control over pricing and promotions.

In the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, every percentage point increase in profit margin requires tremendous effort.

Such a significant increase in profits is of great importance.

(End of this chapter)