Chapter 804: Unrealistic fantasies

Although over 80 years old, Roland Kadoorie's eyes were not clouded, they were still clear and bright.

As the third largest shareholder of Hong Kong Telephone Company, the Kadoorie family naturally expressed concern about what had happened over the past two days.

It is useless to pursue the cause of what has already happened. The important thing is that the stock god Xia Yu has now let it be known that he wants to recoup his losses, and it is impossible for Lawrence Kadoorie not to take this seriously.

Anyway, Lawrence Kadoorie's attitude has always been to try not to provoke Xia Yu and to be on good terms if possible.

Unfortunately, although the Kadoorie family is also based in Kowloon, like Xia Yu, they have little interaction with him. Moreover, due to Xia Yu's rigid and even hostile relationship with British capital, the Kadoorie family simply cannot find an opportunity.

Later, because the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel and The Peninsula Hotel at Kowloon Harbour City were in competition with each other, and the Hongkong Electric Company and China Light and Power were also in competition, Lawrence Kadoorie gave up his initially positive attitude towards Xia Yu and subconsciously regarded Xia Yu as a rival.

Therefore, when faced with Wang Qi, who had come knocking on his door, Sir Lawrence Kadoorie was not enthusiastic. He said indifferently, 'Mr. Wang Qi, the shares of the Hong Kong Telephone Company can be sold, but the price must be right. We bought the shares at a high price, so it is impossible for us to lose money, is it?'

Wang Qi's eyes flashed, and he smiled faintly as he argued, 'No, Sir Kadoorie, all investments carry risks. There are gains and losses. Just like now, the Hong Kong Telephone Company is facing market resistance, which is very normal.'

'The Kadoorie family holds 3.16 million shares of Hong Kong Telephone Company. Before I came, the stock price was 17.20 Hong Kong dollars per share, and according to the current downward trend, it is estimated that the stock price has fallen below 17 Hong Kong dollars. I also understand your difficulties, so we are willing to pay 17 Hong Kong dollars per share to take over.'

In Wang Qi's opinion, this price was very high, and it was definitely a face-saving offer for Lawrence Kadoorie.

However, as soon as Lawrence Kadoorie heard it, his face fell, and he shook his head and said, 'Mr. Wang Qi, you are being disingenuous. A few days ago, the share price of Hong Kong Telephone was still 35 yuan, and now you are not even offering half of that.'

'You and I both know that as a monopoly in the telecommunications industry, Hong Kong Telephone has the exclusive right to provide telecommunications services in Hong Kong. Its revenue is therefore not at all in doubt. No matter how much the public may protest, they still have to use the service, so Hong Kong Telephone's revenue will not be greatly affected. Even if the share price is low now, it will rebound in the future.'

'If you had come to buy a few days ago, I would have at least offered a 30% premium on top of the 35 yuan per share.'

'Now I can only accept 35 yuan per share, and I will never sell at a lower price!'

Now, it was Wang Qi's turn to look bad, and his gaze was fixed on Lawrence Kadoorie.

The latter calmly returned Wang Qi's gaze, and it was obvious that what he had said was the truth in his heart.

Wang Qi couldn't help but laugh angrily. In this situation, Lawrence Kadoorie was still talking to him about the future of Hong Kong Telephone Company and asking for such a high price, which clearly showed that he didn't want to sell.

The price difference is more than double, and even if they continue to negotiate, they will only be able to reach a price in the mid-twenties.

If Wang Qi buys the company at a price in the mid-twenties, he will not be able to take credit for the deal, and Chairman Xia Yu will lose face.

Therefore, Wang Qi's face became solemn, and he said firmly, 'Mr. Kadoorie, this is an unreasonable request. If you say that, then no investment by the Kadoorie family will ever lose money. Do you think that's realistic?'

Roland Kadoorie looked innocent and spread his hands, saying, 'That's not what I meant, but the shares we hold in Hong Kong Telephone Company were not purchased with financial leverage, so it doesn't matter to me whether I sell or not. I don't look at Hong Kong Telephone Company's present situation, I look at its future, that's all.'

'So you can't let me lose either, can you?'

Having come to this point, Wang Qi had come to realise that Roland Kadoorie was not going to give in to his demands. They could not even agree on a view, and the outcome of the negotiations would definitely be unsatisfactory. If they continued to negotiate, they would come to a price that he could not accept.

Therefore, Wang Qi immediately adjusted his strategy in his heart, his attitude became indifferent, and even carried a hint of threat.

'Mr. Kadoorie, I can understand that you are saying that the Kadoorie family has enough funds to wait for the Hong Kong Telephone Company to get out of the doldrums again. Is that right?'

Roland Kadoorie keenly perceived the change in Wang Qi's attitude, and after slightly frowning, he nodded slightly and said, 'That's also one way to look at it.'

Wang Qi said coldly, 'Mr. Kadoorie, I have a completely different opinion from yours. I think that before HKT's problems are completely solved, its share price will only continue to fall, and it will be easy for it to fall below HK$10 per share.'

'It may still be worth HK$17 now, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future...'

'Mr. Kadoorie, would you like to reconsider my price?'

After saying this, Wang Qi looked at Lawrence Kadoorie quietly, waiting for his decision.

Lawrence Kadoorie's eyebrows furrowed, and a fierce battle raged within him.

According to the price of HK$35 per share he had set, the 3.16 million shares in his hands could be worth HK$1.1 billion.

But according to Wang Qi's offer, that would be cut in half, to HK$53.72 million.

The difference was more than HK$50 million!

The Kadoorie family's assets today amount to just over HK$1 billion, and losing 50 million Hong Kong dollars would not be enough to cripple the family, but it would still have an impact. Who really thinks that money is easy to make these days!

Furthermore, the Swire Group is the largest shareholder of Hong Kong Telephone Company, and if he sells his shares to Wang Qi, he will offend the Sze family. If he still sells at a super low price, he will not even have a chance to explain, and he will definitely offend the Sze family to death.

But Lawrence Kadoorie also noticed that Wang Qi's attitude had become much tougher, and it was clear that he would not rest until he achieved his goal.

Thinking of Xia Yu behind Wang Qi, Lawrence Kadoorie also felt some anxiety.

So after thinking for a long time, he took a step back to show his attitude, saying, 'Mr. Wang Qi, your price is indeed too low, but I also hope to make friends with you, so I will back down and lower the price to 30 Hong Kong dollars. This is the lowest price, if you are not satisfied, then I'm sorry.'

In Roland Kadoorie's ideal world, he had already conceded nearly 16 million Hong Kong dollars, which was a big enough concession and a very low profile.

But Wang Qi was still not satisfied. He said with a sigh, 'Mr Kadoorie, you are putting me in a difficult position. Our chairman's face is not that cheap.'

'In that case, why don't you think about it for a couple of days? What do you think?'

'Okay, I will think about it carefully.'

...

As he watched Wang Qi's car drive away, Lawrence Kadoorie frowned, sighed, and felt terrible.

A problem had suddenly appeared before him. Regardless of whether he sold or not, he would offend someone. What was going on?

"Holding onto this stake in the company is not the solution after all. I might as well ask the Shi Yahuai family if they want it. If they are willing to take it over for the right price, then that would be perfect!'

After thinking about it, Lawrence Kadoorie went back to his office, made a phone call to the Shi Yahuai family, then prepared two small gifts and set off for the Shi Yahuai family residence.

After all, he was British and an ally of the Shi Yahuai family. Even if he offended Xia Yu, he didn't want to offend the Swire Group, which was of similar strength, and the British alliance, which was now led by the Swire Group.

...

However, Xia Yu, on the other hand, saw that Wang Qi had returned with an unhappy expression on his face. Xia Yu already had a guess in his mind, so he directly asked, 'The Kadoorie family refused to sell?'

Wang Qi looked ashamed and said with his head bowed, 'Chairman, I'm sorry that I couldn't get it done. Sir Lawrence Kadoorie is senile...'

After listening quietly to Wang Qi's account, Xia Yu laughed, patted Wang Qi on the shoulder, and said with a smile, 'It's okay, don't blame yourself. I didn't expect that Sir Lawrence Kadoorie would be so stubborn either. It seems that my face doesn't carry much weight.'

'In that case, there's no need to give him face. Doesn't Sir Lawrence Kadoorie pride himself on not being short of money? Let's see how much money he has to waste in the stock market.'

'Send someone to mess with the publicly listed companies run by the Kadoorie family.'

'On the other hand, try to get the attitude of the Shi Yahuai family again. If the Shi Yahuai family will let go, then it is possible that Lawrance Kadoorie will directly give in.'

Wang Qi nodded and said, 'I understand. The reason Lawrance Kadoorie is holding on is that he still trusts the British alliance led by the Etagroup too much. Then let's break his expectations.'

Xia Yu lifted his teacup to blow away the white mist, took a small sip, let out a comfortable puff of hot air, and said with a light smile, 'It's time to shatter their unrealistic fantasies, hehe...'