Chapter 805: Self-protection through stock exchange

After Xia Yu gave the order, Wang Qi immediately got to work, starting to consolidate relevant business intelligence on the Kadoorie family. At the same time, holding Xia Yu's order, he consolidated the stocks of the companies involved under the Kadoorie family within the Jiuding Financial Group.

Jiuding Financial Group's Jiuding Bank, Jiuding Securities, Jiuding Insurance Company, etc., have strong financial resources and have all launched investment businesses, and stock investment is one of the most common.

Not to mention that Chairman Xia Yu has already made it clear that Hong Kong stocks have been in a bull market in recent years, so you can invest in the stock market with confidence.

Therefore, these companies have successively swept the goods on the stock market, and they have not let go of any blue-chip stocks, holding a large and diverse portfolio of stocks.

Among them are just the stakes in two listed companies in which the Kadoorie family is involved.

They are the Shangri-La Group and CLP Power Hong Kong Limited.

As for the Kadoorie family's other major pillar, the Hong Kong Carpet Company Limited, which was established in 1961, and other companies in the real estate, construction, and dyeing and printing industries, they are not listed and are basically majority-owned or wholly owned by the Kadoorie family, so they are not under their control.

Of course, some listed companies in which Sir Elly Kadoorie & Sons Limited has made a small financial investment are a different matter and cannot be considered as part of the Kadoorie family's holdings, so they are not under consideration.

...

'Norman, you've been back in England for two months. I haven't seen you for a long time. It's great to see you!'

Roland Kadoorie, who had arrived at the Shih Ah-Hwei family mansion on Tai Ping Shan, enthusiastically greeted the Swire Group boss, who was a good ten years his junior.

Norman Shih Ah-Hwei beamed, just as warmly: 'Yes, it's been a long time. Roland, just leave your things here and have a seat!'

'Thanks!'

'Still black coffee? Sure you don't want milk?'

'Of course. You know me, I like the bitter taste of black coffee, just like the taste of life.'

'OK, unique taste, please wait...'

Soon, the two men were chatting over their coffee.

'Roland, what brings you here today?'

Norman Shiawei asked with a smile, taking a sip of coffee.

Foreigners are quite direct in their speech, unlike the Chinese, who are more reserved and like to beat around the bush.

If Norman Shiawei were talking to a wealthy Chinese, he would definitely not have asked the question in advance, but since it was his good friend and ally, Sir Roland Kadoorie, the situation was different.

Hearing Norman Shiyahuai's question, Lawrence Kadoorie swallowed the black coffee in his mouth, his face showing a bitter expression, and he let out an unconcealed sigh. He looked at Norman Shiyahuai and said, 'Norman, I have come to ask for your help this time. I have encountered a huge problem.'

Norman Shi Yahui's eyebrows twitched, and he sat up straight and asked, 'Roland, your family's strength ranks among the top few dozen in the entire Xiangjiang, so how did you get into trouble?'

As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of inspiration crossed Norman Shi Yahui's mind, and he blurted out, 'Could it be Xia Yu?'

Roland Kadoorie was taken aback. He didn't expect Norman Shi Yahuai to have guessed so quickly, and he didn't bother asking how he had guessed. He nodded slightly and said, 'Yes, it was him who came to see me. No, to be precise, he came to cause trouble for us.'

'Before I came, Wang Qi from Jiuding Securities approached me, wanting to buy all the shares of Hong Kong Telephone Company that I held. And the purchase price was pushed down to 17 Hong Kong dollars per share. It's downright bullying!'

'Seventeen Hong Kong dollars per share?'

Norman Shi Yahuai frowned, stared at Lawrence Kadoorie and asked again.

The latter nodded to indicate that he was correct, and said with a smile, 'I don't want to sell at all. And we are allies. Hong Kong Telephone Company is now controlled by the Swire Group, so of course I can't stab you in the back, so I simply refused.'

'Before leaving, Wang Qi threatened me with words, asking me to think about it for two days. How would I consider it? No, I just came straight here to you.'

'By the way, before I came, I already looked up the share price of Hong Kong Telephone Company. It has now dropped to 15.8 Hong Kong dollars per share, a drop of nearly 20 Hong Kong dollars in just a few days.'

'Shit!'

On hearing this, Norman Shi Yawai, who was over 60 years old, could not help but swear.

This was completely unexpected!

He was already annoyed by the public opinion storm surrounding Hong Kong Telephone Company in the past few days, and yesterday he even went to the Governor's Office to explain to Murray MacLehose.

At the same time, he had to endure the pain of the plummeting share price of Hong Kong Telephone Company.

Who knew that now, Lawrence Kadoorie would bring yet another piece of bad news, that Xia Yu had actually set his sights on Hong Kong Telephone Company.

As the largest shareholder of Hong Kong Telephone Company, Swire Group holds 24.5% of the shares.

Just like what Sir Lawrence Kadoorie had considered, despite the plummeting stock price of Hong Kong Telephone Company, Norman Shiawai was in no hurry and had no intention of selling his shares.

After all, after the Jardine Matheson Group was dismembered and eliminated, excluding HSBC, the Swire Group is now the largest British-owned financial group in Hong Kong.

With all restrictions relaxed, the only things weighing on the Swire Group are HSBC and the Jiuding consortium.

Therefore, no matter how much the share price of Hong Kong Telephone Company falls, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the Swire Group. The Swire Group has the capital to wait and let time eliminate the impact, so that the share price of Hong Kong Telephone Company will rise again.

Previously, Xia Yu had hinted through Jiuding Securities that he wanted to recoup his losses, and Norman Shi Yahuai had some suspicions, but he wasn't sure where to start. Now that he learned that the target was not Cable & Wireless Hong Kong Limited, but Hong Kong Telephone Company, his mood was completely off.

It was a complete nuisance to have a conflict with the Jiuding consortium out of the blue.

'Norman, how do you plan to respond?'

Seeing that Norman Shi Yahui's expression stopped changing, Rowlands Kadoorie immediately asked, his gaze fixed on the former.

Norman Shi Yahui let out a breath and said helplessly, 'Rowlands, do you think we can back down?'

Rowlands Kadoorie immediately shook his head, 'No!'

Norman Shiawei nodded and said to himself, 'Yes, we can't. The Jardine Matheson Group has been completely dismembered and has now completely disappeared from Hong Kong. In just over a year, the Jiuding Group has also digested the companies it acquired from the Jardine Matheson Group.'

'Thanks to the Jiuding Group, the strength of the Chinese-funded consortium has greatly increased in the past two years.'

'Now, openly and secretly, I don't know how many people are watching us. As soon as we show signs of fatigue, trouble will easily find us.'

On hearing this, Lawrence Kadoorie deeply agreed, saying, 'It's all the fault of the Jiuding consortium for opening this Pandora's Box. The Chinese have become much bolder and have formed alliances with each other, uniting them as never before. The pressure on us British is increasing day by day!'

Of course, if it weren't for this reason, the British consortia and families, which were originally fighting their own battles, would not have come together in secret to form the Hong Kong British alliance led by Swire Pacific.

There was nothing they could do about it. Of the four major British consortia, Jardine Matheson had been dismembered and eliminated, Hutchison Whampoa had been absorbed, leaving only Swire and Wheelock.

But Wheelock was still mired in difficulties and could barely take care of itself, and its strength was inferior to that of Swire. Naturally, the leader of this alliance was Swire.

As for HSBC, which was truly the strongest, it need not be mentioned, as it was directly excluded by the British in Hong Kong.

Many of them were very angry with Shen Bi, a traitor who only cared about money and completely ignored their interests, and who was intent on doing business with Chinese capital.

Shen Bi himself was certainly aware of this, but he judged that the future of Hong Kong lay with Chinese capital. As chairman of HSBC, he was only responsible to all shareholders, and naturally his interests came first. He didn't want to get involved in any conflicts of interest.

'So Norman, you mean you won't sell your shares in Hong Kong Telephone Company?'

In the face of Roland Kadoorie's question, Norman Shiawai nodded without hesitation and said, 'Of course, let them do whatever they want, I definitely won't sell.'

Roland Kadoorie immediately smiled and said, 'That's good.'

'Swire Pacific Group holds 24.5% of the shares, we hold 15.8%, which totals 40.3%.

'The Hong Kong government also holds 20%, and the Hong Kong government will definitely not sell, so in this way, the upper limit of the acquisition by Jiuding Securities is only 39.7%, which is also unable to fight against us.'

'Not to mention that at least 15% of the shares of Hong Kong Telephone Company are still in the hands of other British families.'

Norman Shiyahuai obviously also thought of this, so he smiled and said, 'Yes, we theoretically cannot fail.'

'Although other people hold shares, they may not be able to withstand the pressure of the Jiuding consortium. They may sell their shares, but that doesn't matter.'

Roland Kadoorie immediately seized the opportunity to interject and complain: 'Norman, other people definitely can't withstand the pressure. Even I can't withstand the pressure and had to come to you.'

'As you know, in the financial sector, the strength of the Jiuding consortium is terrifying. It has been able to grow because of its unrivalled financial strength.'

'Now that the Jiuding Consortium is so well-capitalised, if it causes me trouble in the stock market, it could be very troublesome. Norman, I can't trust Shen Bo, and in the whole of Hong Kong, I can only trust you.'

'How about this: to facilitate your control of the Hong Kong Electric Company and to enable me to retain China Power Company, we will conduct a share swap between us. I will transfer the shares of Hong Kong Telephone Company that I hold to you, and you will transfer the shares of China Power Company Limited that you hold to me. I will make up the difference in cash. What do you think?'

At this point, Sir Roland Kadoorie finally revealed his true colours.

Norman Shiawei's face changed, and his deep gaze fixed firmly on Sir Roland Kadoorie, who had a thick skin and maintained an expectant smile, not feeling the least bit guilty.