Chapter 1062: The Jealous Duke of Howard

"I know!'

'Have you collected all the information on the French banking industry?'

Xia Yu nodded slightly and then asked again.

George Berkeley immediately said, 'Yes, The Banker magazine, a subsidiary of the Financial Times Group, is the world's most professional information collection and analysis platform for the banking industry. Last month, I asked them to specially compile information on the French banking industry.'

'However, it's been more than a month now, so there may have been some changes. Give me a few days, and I'll ask the Financial Times Group to adjust the data to the latest situation.'

'Yes, you can. Bring it to me when you're done!'

Xia Yu gave a smile and nodded.

George Berkeley was silent for a moment, and when he saw that Xia Yu was not going to speak again, he took the initiative to ask, 'Boss, what about the second telecommunications company? What should I do?'

Xia Yu thought for a moment and said, 'This matter mainly depends on the attitude of the government. I'll give it a try. You get ready to negotiate and wait for my instructions at any time.'

'Okay!'

George Berkeley immediately obediently responded.

Speaking of telecommunications companies, Xia Yu also thought of the previously privatised British company Cable & Wireless, and he asked about the company's current situation.

'George, what is the situation of Cable & Wireless after partial privatisation?'

George Berkeley's eyes flashed with memories, and after a long pause, he organised his thoughts and said from an appropriate perspective: 'Boss, although the government is still the largest shareholder, it does not interfere with the company's operations, but only plays a supervisory role.'

'Over the past five months, the company has undergone a major management reshuffle and completed a 30% staff reduction. Revenue and profits have not fallen in the third quarter, and everything is moving in the right direction.'

'Although 12% of the shares of Cable & Wireless plc are in the hands of other people, the company's development depends mainly on the will of us and the Howard family, and we occupy a more dominant position. Prince Philip basically doesn't care about this, and the other families can't interfere...'

As George Berkeley spoke eloquently, Xia Yu's mouth slowly curled up.

It seems that Datong Telecom will mainly carry out the will of the Bright Fund.

But that makes sense.

The second largest shareholder of Datong Telecom is the Bahrain Bank, with a 20% stake.

Then the third largest shareholder is Standard Chartered Bank, with a 12% stake.

The fourth largest shareholder is Bright Fund, with a 7% stake.

Apart from the 49% held by the government, the remaining 12% is widely dispersed among other families and companies.

Among the four major shareholders of Bahrain Bank, although the largest shareholder is the Lock Foundation of the Howard family, with a 35% stake.

However, the second largest shareholder is Jiuding Bank, with a 25% stake.

The remaining Bright Fund and Prince Philip's Black Rose Capital each have a 20% stake.

In fact, Xia Yu's side has a 45% stake.

Although the Howard family is now mainly in charge of the Bahraini bank, he can still dominate the company above it, Cable & Wireless plc.

However, after all, Cable & Wireless plc is not absolutely controlled by him. The government still owns 49% of the shares, and he cannot guarantee that he will be able to seize 100% of them when privatisation takes place next time. Therefore, the ownership of Cable & Wireless plc is not clear.

Therefore, the best approach is to make use of the existing rights and complete the strategic deployment as much as possible, for stability!

After pondering this, Xia Yu said to George Berkeley, 'George, Datong Telecom still holds 45.7% of the equity of the Xiangjiang branch. Now my company in Xiangjiang has only acquired 31.3% of the equity, which is still 35.4% short of absolute control.'

'I'll give you a task. As soon as possible, get Datong Telecom to transfer the equity of the Xiangjiang branch. You don't need to transfer it all, you can leave a small part as a tie-in, but you must transfer at least 35.4% of the equity. I need to have absolute control of the Xiangjiang branch, and this involves strategic planning.'

'Can you do it?'

George Berkeley frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then nodded firmly, saying, 'Boss, this matter is somewhat difficult, but I will do my best!'

'Well, that's good!'

'These are the two things I said about telecommunications.'

'Do you have any other questions?'

Xia Yu asked with a faint smile.

'Boss, I have something to report to you...'

Next, George Berkeley said something about work, and Xia Yu resolved anything that he could answer or promise on the spot...

In the afternoon, Xia Yu made a special phone call to Duke Carter Howard, making an appointment to visit him at his home the next day at noon.

The rest of the day, Xia Yu went to the Chinese Mercantile Bank and met Wu Hongyi, who was very surprised and threw a banquet in the evening to welcome Xia Yu.

Early the next morning, Henry went back to school, while Xia Yu, accompanied by Elena, went to the Howard family castle.

Around 11 o'clock, Xia Yu arrived and just happened to see Duke Carter Howard leisurely watering the flowers, without any airs.

Seeing Xia Yu and his daughter Elena, Duke Carter Howard immediately put down the watering can, beaming with a loving smile on his face, and happily said, 'Oh my god, my dear Elena is back, what a happy day!'

'Dad, it's been a long time, I've missed you!'

Watching this heartwarming scene between father and daughter, Xia Yu didn't go over and interrupt them, but stood by smiling and watching.

After a long while, Duke Carter Howard finally looked at Xia Yu, smiled and came over to him, extending his hand.

'Mr Xia, long time no see!'

'Sir Carter, long time no see!'

...

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xia Yu, at the Duke Carter Howard's invitation, walked into the castle and arrived in the magnificent living room.

The servants brewed tea for Xia Yu and Elena, and also brewed coffee for Duke Carter Howard.

Looking at the cup of tea in front of Elena, Duke Carter Howard asked his daughter in surprise, 'Elena, when did you start drinking green tea?'

Elena gave a gentle smile, blinked her eyes softly and said, "Dad, I've liked drinking green tea for more than half a year. I feel that green tea tastes better than coffee.'

Duke Carter Howard was a little taken aback, "More than half a year?'

'Then why didn't you tell me when you came home before? Every time you drank coffee like me, I didn't know your preferences.

At the end of the conversation, Duke Carter Howard glanced at the tea in Xia Yu's cup, and a sudden sense of crisis and depression arose in his heart.

He suddenly didn't like Xia Yu.

Seeing Duke Carter Howard's somewhat sharp gaze, and feeling that he seemed to be somewhat hostile, Xia Yu was a little puzzled at first.

But he immediately reacted, feeling embarrassed inside, but on the surface he looked straight ahead, not looking away, as if he could see through the teacup and not notice Duke Carter Howard's hostility.

Elena, with her delicate mind, sensed that her father seemed to be as emotional as a little child. She was a little angry and a little amused, and of course there was a trace of shyness in her heart.

What if my father has discovered something?

She thought for a moment, then immediately said softly with a smile, 'Dad, because when I came back before, if I didn't drink coffee, no one would drink coffee with you, so of course I don't drink tea!'

'Today is different, Xia Yu is here in our home, he is my boss and also our guest, I will drink green tea like him, to show our family's welcome to him.'

Elena's words not only surprised Xia Yu, but also made her father, Sir Carter, a little stunned.

A moment later, Duke Carter Howard said with some resentment, 'Elena, there is nothing wrong with welcoming Mr. Xia.'

'However, it seems that this is the first time I have heard you say such a thing...'

After saying this, Duke Carter Howard looked at his daughter meaningfully, and Elena's pretty face could not help but flush with a hint of rosy colour, her eyes flickering constantly.

This further confirmed Duke Carter Howard's suspicions, and the look in his eyes towards Xia Yu became even sharper.

No father likes outsiders to bully the cabbage they have raised, and this is true for Duke Carter Howard, and this is common to every father, and has nothing to do with reason.

His attitude had changed, and his tone was a little impatient, and he directly asked Xia Yu what his business was.

'Mr Xia, is there something you came to Britain for this time?'

'Is it the new telecommunications company?'

In fact, it was bullying someone else's cabbage, so in the face of Duke Carter Howard's impatience, Xia Yu was full of patience.

No matter how you target me, I will respond with Tai Chi.

Ignoring Sir Carter's emotions, he nodded with a smile, 'This is one of the reasons, and also the most urgent matter at the moment.'

'I heard the details of this matter from George yesterday, so I made a special trip to visit you today to see if there is a suitable and effective solution.'

'After all, although the new telecommunications company has to be built from scratch, the prospects for the telecommunications market are very bright, and this is a very attractive cake.'