Chapter 387: Hutchison Whampoa Exposed

When it comes to the impact of Cheung Kong being swallowed by Xia Yu, apart from the Yi He Consortium, the forces most shaken are undoubtedly the British-funded financial groups.

The three British-funded financial groups—Swire Properties, Hutchison Whampoa, and Hongkong Land—had previously been adopting a "sweep the snow in front of your own door" mentality, estimating that the Chinese capital would not dare to expand their attacks beyond the Yi He Consortium.

However, Xia Yu's devastating blow left them horrified.

In this situation, they were even less likely to take the initiative to confront the booming Chinese capital, bringing the conflict to their own doorsteps.

They would never be foolish enough to provoke trouble themselves, but strengthening defenses was a must.

After all, the bloody lesson from the Yi He Consortium was right in front of them. If they remained unalert, they would not be qualified to lead a financial group.

Under these circumstances, Norman Shiah, Qide Zun, and John Madden all issued orders to accelerate the internal audits of their respective financial groups' companies to check if any companies were targeted so that issues could be handled in time, preventing the same fate as the Yi He Consortium.

It turns out that checking revealed more than expected!

Each of the three major British-funded financial groups had one or two hundred subsidiary or associated companies, with Swire Properties having nearly three hundred of all sizes. It was absolutely impossible not to attract the attention of those with ill intentions.

When problems were discovered, the three major groups immediately took action.

If attackers like Xia Yu were to strike, even with the strength of the three major financial groups, stopping them would still be challenging.

However, if issues were detected early, resolving them was not too difficult.

In no time, many were extremely frustrated, having lurked for a long time just to nibble away at one or two companies. The conflict between Xia Yu and the Yi He Consortium had made the other three groups alert, causing their plans to be discovered prematurely and fail.

Those people were cursing their fate!

It was an unexpected disaster!

Of course, among the series of investigations, one person was the most anxious, and that person was the head of Hutchison Whampoa—Qide Zun!

In the top-level headquarters of Hutchison Whampoa, in the chairman's office.

Qide Zun looked at the neatly arranged numbers on the paper with a serious expression, and his face grew darker the more he looked. There was even a hint of unease in his heart.

Because what was recorded on these papers were the stock market trading records of Hutchison Whampoa over the past six months—turnover rates, transaction amounts, volumes, etc. The changes were obvious at a glance.

Even on the last few pages, several trend charts were specifically drawn.

Looking at just a few weeks or one or two months of data, nothing might be noticeable, but when the timeline was extended to six months, many clues became apparent.

From these numbers and trend charts, it was clear that there were abnormalities in trading volumes, with someone secretly absorbing shares, and the stocks were flowing in without flowing out. The total amount of circulating public shares was showing a decreasing trend!

Seeing this, Qide Zun immediately thought of Hutchison Whampoa's dire situation and then of the ruthless Xia Yu.

How similar it was!

Was the crocodile lurking in the water, gradually approaching, also Xia Yu?

Qide Zun felt heavy-hearted. He took a deep breath, looked up, and asked the chairman of Hutchison Whampoa, Wei Li, who represented his will, once again, "Can we confirm who is secretly absorbing shares? Is it Jiuding Securities?"

Wei Li was also heavy-hearted and shook his head slowly, "Mr. Qide Zun, we still don't know who it is. The issue has only just been discovered, but I have already sent people to investigate."

Wei Li continued, after a moment's thought, "However, according to the data, the trading anomalies appeared in early February. At that time, Jiuding Securities did not even exist, and Xia Yu had not yet risen, so they could not have had the funds. Therefore, I believe the infiltrator is not Jiuding Securities."

Qide Zun thought for a moment and nodded slowly, agreeing with Wei Li's analysis. For some reason, he felt a secret sigh of relief.

He then realized that, unconsciously, Xia Yu had left such a deep impression on him that he now regarded him as an equal.

But Xia Yu indeed deserved his serious attention.

Strength is not related to age. Xia Yu's undefeated battle record and formidable reputation had made him subconsciously overlook the fact that Xia Yu was a young man.

Qide Zun shook his head again to remind himself. Even if Xia Yu was not the most famous figure, it did not mean that Hong Kong lacked other powerful figures. He absolutely could not be underestimated.

Thinking this over, Qide Zun decided to prioritize stability during this sensitive period to avoid losing face and suffering heavy losses like Old John.

"I will mobilize funds to increase my personal shareholding. Also, continue to investigate. Find out who is secretly absorbing shares and notify me immediately once discovered. But remember, do not alarm the enemy!"

Qide Zun instructed solemnly. He had decided to liquidate some of his family's less important investments and secure additional funds from the bank to increase his shareholding as much as possible.

After all, no matter how good other investments were, they were not as good as his main business. If Hutchison Whampoa was taken over, rebuilding a foundation would be very difficult. Having money without power was like a floating reed with no roots, and the family's influence would undoubtedly be greatly diminished.

"Understood, Mr. Qide Zun!"

Wei Li nodded solemnly.

Although Qide Zun had stepped down, he was now the chairman of Hutchison Whampoa's board, and Qide Zun was at most a major shareholder.

However, he was appointed by Qide Zun, and his position as chairman was due to Qide Zun's shareholding. Without Qide Zun's shares, he would be out of a job in no time. Therefore, he held great respect for Qide Zun.

After Wei Li left, Qide Zun, feeling troubled, paced around the office a few times and finally came to the floor-to-ceiling window. He inadvertently looked at the distant HSBC Tower and suddenly thought of something, his expression becoming serious.

"No, I must find Shen Bi now. As long as he does not sell the shares to others, I am absolutely safe. If HSBC's shares are sold, it will definitely be a huge problem!"

Thinking of HSBC selling its Cheung Kong shares to add to Xia Yu's victory, Qide Zun felt uneasy.

He understood what kind of person Shen Bi was—a person driven purely by profit, and the profits he pursued were always long-term substantial gains. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so close to Chinese capital.

If Shen Bi could sell HSBC's Cheung Kong shares to Xia Yu, he might also sell HSBC's Hutchison Whampoa shares to others!

But unlike Cheung Kong, HSBC only held 13.5% of Cheung Kong's shares.

However, due to the 1973 stock market crash, HSBC had rescued Hutchison Whampoa, and as a result, HSBC held 33.65% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares, surpassing him as the largest shareholder!

Because Hong Kong's laws stipulated that banks could only conduct banking operations and could not engage in real estate or dock operations, despite HSBC holding so many shares, it could only act as an investor and could not participate in operations. Otherwise, it would not have been his turn to make decisions.

But precisely because of this, he was even more worried.

He was well aware of Hutchison Whampoa's operating conditions over the years, and HSBC was also very aware.

Despite his efforts, Hutchison Whampoa gradually climbed out of the mire after the 1973 stock market crash, but it was severely wounded, with investments too scattered, making it difficult to turn the large ship around and rectify the situation.

He also knew that Shen Bi was very dissatisfied with Hutchison Whampoa's current situation. If there were sufficient benefits, Shen Bi might really sell his shares.

Therefore, to be safe, he had to stabilize Shen Bi!

As long as HSBC did not sell its shares to others, he would be absolutely safe!