Chapter 725: Hutchison Whampoa's Big Slimming

Early in the morning on November 20th, cars kept driving into the underground parking lot of the Jiuding Building in the Kowloon area. The heads of the companies under the Jiuding consortium got out of the cars and entered the elevator to go directly to the top of the building.

Today, Xia Yu officially launched the meeting to split Hutchison Whampoa, and the heads of each company have been sharpening their knives for a long time.

In front of the Jiuding Building, an Englishman stopped and looked up at the huge sign for 'Jiuding Building' with a very complex expression.

Although he had received the news a long time ago, when the day finally arrived, he could not help feeling sad.

He had been recruited by HSBC at the last minute to take up the position of general manager of Hutchison Whampoa, and had struggled to support the company for several years.

He had always tried to prevent the division of Hutchison Whampoa, but now that it had been acquired, the fate of division was inevitable.

He just wondered what would remain of Hutchison Whampoa after today.

'I hope they will be merciful!'

Wei Li sighed inwardly, then shook his head to dispel the bad thoughts, straightened his tie, and strutted proudly into the room.

After a while, he was guided by the staff into the main hall. As soon as he entered, he immediately attracted the attention of most of the people in the hall.

But most of them smiled and nodded at him as a sign of goodwill.

Wei Li felt slightly better and found a seat at the table with his name on it. Immediately, someone handed him a thick document.

Wei Li flipped through it and saw that it was information about Hutchison Whampoa. It listed more than 200 companies under Hutchison Whampoa and described the characteristics of each company in concise language.

He immediately focused his attention and read it carefully.

Time passed slowly, and people kept coming in, chatting in small groups.

Just then, Xia Yu appeared at the door, and the meeting hall fell silent. Everyone held their chins high and looked straight ahead.

Xia Yu walked to the top seat and took his place, scanning the room. He noticed that all the seats with name tags were occupied, and everyone was clearly present.

'It seems that everyone is punctual. Since everyone is here, let's get started!'

'Everyone has been handed a copy of the information. You should have seen a rough version before, and this is the latest detailed version.'

'We will start with the company that has suffered the most losses. If any of you think this company can complement the company you manage, you can explain on the spot and state your business ideas. If the advantages are obvious, a decision will be made on the spot. If the advantages are not obvious, in order to speed up efficiency, it will be put on hold and discussed at the next agenda.'

Xia Yu paused here, looked at Wei Li, who was sitting in the front row, and said, 'Wei Li, you can also speak at any time. If you think that any company would be more suitable for remaining in Hutchison Whampoa, you can also raise it, but you must give a strong reason.'

Wei Li felt both heavy and relieved. He nodded heavily, feeling heavy because he had to do his best to save Hutchison Whampoa, and relieved because he could hear the meaning in Xia Yu's words: Hutchison Whampoa would still exist, and he would still be the general manager of Hutchison Whampoa.

'Then let's begin.'

'The first company...'

As soon as Xia Yu finished reading the information, two people immediately raised their hands, and Xia Yu pointed to one of them to begin his presentation.

Xia Yu had informed them in advance more than 20 days before, so everyone was fully prepared to take shortcuts to grow their own company, and the presentations went very smoothly.

As long as the reasons were sufficient, Xia Yu would make a decision on the spot.

Disputed cases were put aside for further discussion.

The deliberations were very efficient, and the ownership of 38 companies was decided in the morning.

At noon, everyone ate together in the company canteen, and the meeting continued at 1 pm.

The three days passed in a flash.

At 5 pm on November 22, the intensive division meeting finally came to an end.

Hutchison Whampoa, which had more than 200 companies, underwent a major downsizing. At this point, only 52 companies remained. The reason for this was that Hutchison Whampoa's business was too diverse, and many of the companies under the Jinding consortium did not engage in those industries, so there was no valid reason to divide the companies up.

Of the core companies of Hutchison Whampoa, only Hutchison Port Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa Properties were retained.

However, the retail business was split up, with A.S. Watson Group being carved out and merged with Mannings Pharmacy to form a new company, JD Sports, which oversees the Mannings Pharmacy and A.S. Watson brands. The company made plans internally to compete differently, which is beneficial for competing in the market.

After the divestment of PARKnSHOP, it was fully merged into Wellcome. All existing PARKnSHOP supermarkets were renamed Wellcome PARKnSHOP, and only Wellcome supermarkets would be opened in the future, no more Wellcome PARKnSHOP.

The reason for the different fate of PARKnSHOP and A.S. Watson Group is that PARKnSHOP, unlike A.S. Watson Group, was not established for a long time and does not have a deep foundation.

In addition, the hypermarket market is more competitive, and the English name of Wellcome Supermarket is better than that of PARKnSHOP, which is more advantageous when competing abroad.

It is worth mentioning that Hutchison Whampoa originally held 49% of the equity of the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, and this equity was transferred to the Jiuding Real Estate Group.

A separate Jiuding Hotel Management Group was established under the Jiuding Real Estate Group.

The Marco Polo hotel brand acquired during the previous acquisition of Wharf, the Mandarin Hotel brand split during the acquisition of the Hongkong Land Group, and the current stake in the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers were all transferred to the Jiuding Hotel Management Group for unified operation.

Of course, Hutchison Whampoa was not just divided up, but also gained something.

That was the significant increase in the strength of Hutchison Port Holdings.

Xia Yu directly approved the merger of Wharf Terminals, which owned three ports, into Hutchison Port Holdings, which gave the latter 17 of the 24 terminals in Xiangjiang, giving it a 70% market share.

In this way, Hutchison Whampoa would have supreme deterrence in the Xiangjiang port sector, and Taikoo Dockyard would be eclipsed, losing the possibility of competing with Hutchison Whampoa.

Yang Dajun, the former general manager of Wharf Terminals, was given another assignment.

The two companies originally owned by Wharf T&T, Hong Kong Tramways and Star Ferry (which had merged with Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company), merged to form the Jiuding Transport Company.

In Xia Yu's opinion, this division meeting seems to have been a success so far. Hutchison Whampoa has successfully slimmed down, leaving only two core businesses: ports and real estate. Hutchison Whampoa Ports owns a large amount of land, which has laid a solid foundation for Hutchison Whampoa Properties.

At this time, in the real estate industry of Xiangjiang, Hutchison Whampoa Properties can definitely enter the top ten. Coupled with Jiuding Real Estate Group, which Xia Yu originally owned and was the number one in the Xiangjiang real estate sector, Xia Yu's say in the real estate industry has once again been strengthened.

As for the other companies, they have all gained something. Having absorbed so many companies, they will definitely try every means to turn losses into profits. They also have the strength and energy to do so.

As news of the split of Hutchison Whampoa spread, the attention of the media and tycoons from all walks of life was attracted. The reactions were mixed, but Xia Yu no longer cared.