Chapter 391: Planning to Clear Out Li Jiacheng
Xia Yu's reputation was still significant, and with the assistance of other major Chinese figures who added to the support, his stock repurchase efforts were proceeding very smoothly. By the morning of the following day, he had managed to repurchase 8.9% of the shares. This success was largely due to the help from Bao Yugang, Li Zhaoji, and Feng Jingxi, who enabled Xia Yu to acquire shares from four previously difficult minor shareholders.
The shares held by these four minor shareholders totaled 7.5%, with the remaining 1.4% being repurchased from public investors.
With this 8.9% addition, Xia Yu's shares in the Kowloon Warehouse Group directly surpassed 70%, reaching 71.1%.
Excluding the 18.9% stake still firmly held by the Jardine Matheson Group, only 10% of the shares were left outside.
Given the inevitable outcome, this remaining 10% would likely be fully acquired within a few days.
Seeing Xia Yu's ongoing acquisition of shares, Old John was extremely frustrated but found himself powerless to stop it, merely watching helplessly.
While Xia Yu continued his systematic stock acquisitions, he suddenly received a confidential phone report from Liu Tianqi.
Qi Dezun was secretly increasing his stake in Hutchison Whampoa!
This was discovered by Liu Tianqi when he returned to the HSBC Building and happened to see Qi Dezun meeting with Shen Bi. Liu Tianqi, suspecting something given the current situation in Hong Kong and his intuition, believed this information would be useful to Xia Yu and thus sent someone to investigate secretly.
The results confirmed some clues.
Qi Dezun was not only increasing his shares but also investigating who was secretly buying up Hutchison Whampoa's stock.
Once confirmed, Liu Tianqi, fearing that the buyer might be Xia Yu, reported the matter to Xia Yu immediately to prevent him from missing out on a strategic advantage.
Indeed, this information was crucial for Xia Yu!
Qi Dezun secretly increasing his stake in Hutchison Whampoa indicated his panic, fearing to end up in the same situation as the Jardine Matheson Group.
From a logical perspective, as long as Qi Dezun wasn't foolish, he should act this way, so Xia Yu was not surprised.
What surprised him was that Qi Dezun had discovered someone buying up Hutchison Whampoa's shares and was now investigating the infiltrator!
Xia Yu knew exactly who was buying the shares in secret—Li Jiacheng.
Of course, he himself was also involved.
Yes, he had entered the scene as well, arranging for his subordinates to secretly buy shares just yesterday.
Unexpectedly, Qi Dezun had started increasing his stake to protect himself right after the action began!
This was somewhat frustrating for Xia Yu!
"Wait!"
As Xia Yu was feeling frustrated, a sudden flash of inspiration hit him. He was struck by a realization, and his mind started racing, his eyes lighting up.
"Why should I stick to the previous plan? The situation has changed drastically, and the old plan no longer fits!"
"Previously, I lacked capital, so I could only choose between Hutchison Whampoa and Kowloon Warehouse. Even if I chose Kowloon Warehouse, it was like swallowing an elephant, so I wanted to make a profit from Hutchison Whampoa to strengthen my capital."
"But now, I'm no longer short of funds. I don't need to hold on to the idea of making a quick profit anymore!"
The more he thought about it, the more excited Xia Yu became, his mouth curling into a smile, his face showing a mix of regret and anticipation.
As the saying goes, a person's ambition changes with their ability and strength.
Previously, Xia Yu's strength was weak, and both Hutchison Whampoa and Kowloon Warehouse were behemoths to him.
Hutchison Whampoa, with a market value nearly five times that of Kowloon Warehouse, was even larger. Despite his desires, he had no choice but to give up on Hutchison Whampoa due to his own strength and instead target the more attainable Kowloon Warehouse.
Although he lacked the strength to swallow it, Xia Yu, with his insatiable greed, would never miss an opportunity, so making a quick profit was the best choice.
Even though he had considered exploiting Li Jiacheng, Xia Yu could only lament quietly and continue his efforts with Kowloon Warehouse.
But times had changed, and now was different!
Life's opportunities are unpredictable. Xia Yu hadn't expected his strength to grow so rapidly, and he was surprisingly lucky to have so many companies under his belt and still have over a billion in liquid funds.
Even if it took a large sum of money to fully privatize Kowloon Warehouse Group, Xia Yu estimated that he could still have at least seven to eight hundred million left.
With substantial financial power, his confidence and boldness grew!
Swallowing Hutchison Whampoa was no longer impossible!
If he could acquire Hutchison Whampoa after Kowloon Warehouse, combining the opportunities from Bao Yugang and Li Jiacheng, Xia Yu would surely secure his position as the king of Hong Kong.
Thinking of this, even Xia Yu, with his temperament, couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation.
"Li Jiacheng, we are friends. As a good friend, you won't mind me taking your opportunity, will you?"
Xia Yu smiled to himself and made a decision.
Do it!
Swallow Hutchison Whampoa as well!
Despite making the decision, Xia Yu did not lose his composure. He knew that the timing was not right!
Qi Dezun was increasing his shares and building defensive barriers.
And Li Jiacheng was still secretly buying up Hutchison Whampoa's shares, waiting for the right moment to strike!
Both these factors posed significant obstacles to Xia Yu's goals.
Moreover, the current timing was not ideal; he needed to remain low-key and consolidate his rapidly increased strength, avoiding creating too many enemies, especially when facing a major British-controlled conglomerate like Hutchison Whampoa.
Even if successful, the British would likely join forces to bring him down, and Chinese investors would be envious and resentful, wishing for his downfall.
Furthermore, given the current situation, swallowing Hutchison Whampoa was unrealistic, with too many obstacles!
The timing and support were not favorable, and it would be foolish to launch an attack now.
Better to first develop quietly.
However, during this period of quiet development, he needed to find a way to remove these two obstacles!
As for Qi Dezun's increased shares, Xia Yu had no solution and could only rely on time to wear down the defenses.
Qi Dezun couldn't maintain defenses indefinitely. Once he felt secure after some time, he would surely relax, and at that point, Xia Yu could seek an opportunity.
In contrast to Qi Dezun's defenses, the obstacle posed by Li Jiacheng was more significant!
If Xia Yu rushed in recklessly, he would not only offend Hutchison Whampoa but also clash with Li Jiacheng, resulting in a loss.
So, he needed to figure out a way to make Li Jiacheng withdraw and give up his acquisition plans. Once Li Jiacheng gave up, Xia Yu could launch his attack later without any objections from Li Jiacheng, as he had given up the opportunity himself.
"But how to clear Li Jiacheng out of the way?"
Xia Yu frowned slightly, tapping his fingers on the table absentmindedly, while his mind raced.
"Dong! Dong! Dong!"
"I got it!"
After about a minute of thought, Xia Yu's eyes lit up as he came up with a practical solution, and he immediately began to mentally evaluate and ensure there were no loopholes.