Chapter 1154: Eight leading companies preparing for listing
'Chairman, I remember. After I get back, I will call a meeting with everyone to redefine the development strategy.'
Liu Tianci humbly accepted Xia Yu's suggestion and replied respectfully.
Afterwards, he added, 'Chairman, in the short term, there may not be much effect, but I will strengthen management and find ways to stimulate the stock market.'
Xia Yu nodded slightly and said after thinking about it, 'Well, now that the stock market has regained its vitality, high-quality companies will no longer be undervalued by the capital market when they go public.'
'I will take some companies public to stimulate the stock market.'
After Xia Yu finished speaking, Wang Qi and Liu Tianci were both very surprised and looked at Chairman Xia Yu sharply.
After confirming that Xia Yu was not just saying something, Liu Tianci asked hopefully, 'Chairman, which companies do you plan to list?'
Xia Yu shook his head with a faint smile and said, 'I also came up with this idea on the spur of the moment, and I haven't decided yet.'
'However, the bottom line is that the core companies cannot be listed, and the sub-core and non-core companies that can obtain a higher price-earnings ratio will be pushed to go public.'
'Jiuding Bank and Jiuding Securities will definitely not be able to go public.'
'I will decide which ones to select in the next two days and let you know then.'
'Okay.'
Liu Tianci obediently nodded and did not ask any more questions.
After asking some other things, Liu Tianci left first, and Xia Yu asked Wang Qi to stay behind and ask about the Heung Kong Futures Exchange.
The Heung Kong United Stock Exchange has been in operation for more than 20 days, and for the Heung Kong Futures Exchange, the time is ripe. The key is whether the Heung Kong Futures Exchange itself is ready.
'Wang Qi, how are the preparations for the Heung Kong Futures Exchange coming along?'
'Chairman, I was just about to report to you on this. The new Management Regulations and Trading Rules have been drafted, and the four commodities, HSI Futures, Nikkei 225 Stock Index Futures, FTSE 100 Stock Index Futures and Natural Rubber Futures, are all ready. The Futures Exchange is currently conducting internal simulation tests.'
'However, because our futures exchange is not starting from scratch like the United Stock Exchange, and is still operating every working day, we can only conduct internal simulation tests after the daily closing, so the progress is relatively slow.'
'The preliminary plan discussed by the company is to also hold a press conference on Monday, November 15th, to announce the implementation of the new policy and launch the four major futures commodities.'
'However, before that, we need to conduct extensive publicity first to avoid a lack of trading at that time.'
Wang Qi reported in detail.
'Have you got it all?'
'Now take me over there to have a look,'
Xia Yu commanded after a moment's deliberation. He still needed to see it for himself before he could make a decision.
'Okay.'
...
The rest of the morning, Xia Yu and Wang Qi went to the Xiangjiang Futures Exchange in Central, Hong Kong Island, first learning about the current situation of the futures exchange, and then checking the various systems and four types of futures commodities from the information.
When the market closed at noon, the doors of the Xiangjiang Futures Exchange were closed and simulated operations began inside. Xia Yu personally experienced the operations and conducted various extreme tests. Not finding any problems, he let out a sigh of relief.
Then he made a decision on the spot at the Xiangjiang Futures Exchange: a press conference would be held on November 15 to announce the new rules and launch the four major futures commodities.
Publicity work will officially begin this afternoon after he leaves.
Xia Yu even authorised Wang Qi to use the media resources of the entire consortium to publicise the new rules of the Xiangjiang Futures Exchange and the upcoming launch of the four major futures commodities as widely as possible.
It is important to attract more investors and capital.
Sure enough, that evening, Global TV's 'News 30 Minutes' and financial channels carried related news.
After the news was released, all interested parties became active.
The next day, the newspapers also carried comprehensive reports on these events. The Hong Kong Futures Exchange was full that day, and although many people were there to find out what was really going on, some institutions also moved in directly, preparing to find out what was going on in advance.
News about the Hong Kong Futures Exchange was not only promoted in Asia, but also in the United States and Europe, with the aim of attracting as much attention as possible from financial institutions.
The focus of the publicity was, of course, the geographical advantage of Hong Kong, which was able to connect with the opening times of London and New York.
FTSE 100 futures are already traded in the UK and the US. Once they are also launched in Hong Kong, financial institutions will be able to operate for more time and make more profits. This is equivalent to adding another layer to the original cake, which is what all financial institutions would like to see.
As for Nikkei 225 futures, as the world's first futures, they are absolutely excellent investment futures, supported by the island nation's booming economy and stock market.
Therefore, when they heard the news, many financial institutions in Europe and the United States were tempted.
When the news reached the island country, however, the situation was different.
But Xia Yu didn't care about the islanders' outcry and anger. This was to be expected and didn't warrant his attention.
...
Just as public opinion in the entire Xiangjiang focused on the Xiangjiang Futures Exchange, Xia Yu briefly sorted through his assets in Xiangjiang and, over the course of two days, selected eight companies for listing.
These eight companies came from just four group companies: Jiuding Culture Media Group, Jiuding Industrial Group, Jiuding Real Estate Group and Jiuding Energy Group.
Jiuding Culture Media Group has nine first-tier subsidiaries registered locally in Xiangjiang: Jiuding Newspaper Company, Jiuding News Agency, Jiuding Book Publishing Company, Jiuding Animation Company, Jiuding Printing Factory, Global TV Station, Global Music Group, Global Cinema Company and Galaxy Movies Company.
Xia Yu only plans to take Galaxy Movies, the current leader in the film industry, public. First, the aura of the market leader's position will add to the stock price, and second, because of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,' Galaxy Movies' profits will be extremely high this year, which will greatly stimulate the stock price of Galaxy Movies.
As for the other companies, either they cannot be taken public, such as Jiuding Newspaper Company, Jiuding News Agency, and Global TV, or their strategic layouts have not yet been completed, such as Universal Music Group and Universal Cinema Circuit, and they are not suitable for public listing for the time being.
Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd., on the other hand, has huge untapped potential and is extremely profitable. It is much more important than Galaxy Studios and should not be listed.
Under the Jiuding Energy Group, the two largest first-level subsidiaries are Hong Kong Electric Co. and China Gas Co.
The former is a leader in the electricity industry and is even stronger than CLP Power Hong Kong, which is under the Jiuding Industrial Group. Whether it becomes a listed company again or not, after all, in Xia Yu's future plans, Hong Kong Electric Co. going public will not have much of an impact.
The same goes for the China Gas Company. Although it is the only supplier in the Hong Kong gas market, the China Gas Company is only at the end of the gas industry. It is important, but not particularly significant. As long as it has absolute control, it is fine.
Under the Jiuding Real Estate Group, there are many subsidiaries. The one with the most assets is Jiuding Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., the king of real estate in Hong Kong, with the largest land reserves and the most buildings under development. If it were to go public, it would definitely shock the market.
However, this is different from Hutchison Whampoa Properties, which is part of the Hutchison Whampoa Group. Once Jiuding Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. goes public, the Hong Kong real estate industry, which he has worked so hard to suppress, will be stimulated to rejuvenate, and he will be slapping himself in the face.
In Xia Yu's mind, the biggest role of Jiuding Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong is to develop a large number of low-cost real estate projects, and to suppress the housing market so that it does not rise.
There is no conflict between suppressing housing prices and making a profit. As long as housing prices are suppressed, land prices will naturally not be able to rise to the stratosphere. In fact, there is still a lot of profit margin, money can still be made, the pressure on ordinary people to buy a house is not so great, and social capital can flow around, creating greater value.
Within the Jiuding Real Estate Group, the one that will be taken public is the Jiuding Hotel Management Group, which owns hotel brands such as Marco Polo Hotels, Culture Hotels, and The Peninsula Hotels.
The hotel industry has low profit margins and is not a core area, but it happens to require huge amounts of capital for expansion. It is just right to go public. At the same time, the identity of a listed company can make many shareholders become shareholders, which has a huge enhancing effect on the popularity and market of the Jiuding Hotel Management Group. The benefits of going public are great.
Under the Jiuding Industrial Group, the companies that are most ready to go public are Dairy Farm, Jiuding Transport Group, Hutchison Whampoa Group and Cathay Pacific Airways.
After the divestment of Dairy Farm's assets, it is now only involved in the fields of ice manufacturing, cold storage and dairy products. In the dairy sector, it has a wholly-owned subsidiary, Bright Dairy & Food Company, and also operates farms in Australia and New Zealand. Dairy Farm is the leader in these three fields.
Jiu Ding Transport Group owns two unlisted companies, Hong Kong Tramways and The 'Star' Ferry Company, as well as a 45% stake in the listed Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited and the management rights. The other 30% or so of the shares of Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited are held by Jiu Ding Securities Company and other companies.
The Jiuding Transport Group is also the leader in the Hong Kong transport market, monopolising Hong Kong's public transport and trams, as well as occupying a large majority of the ferry market.
The Hutchison Whampoa Group only has two secondary subsidiaries, namely Hutchison Port Holdings, which monopolises 21 of the 24 terminals in Hong Kong, and Hutchison Whampoa Properties.
In the future, Hutchison Whampoa Group wants to become a world-class port operating group, and it needs to acquire or build new port terminals in countries around the world. This requires a lot of capital, and Xia Yu doesn't want to spend too much here, so he decided to let investors support it.
The final Cathay Pacific Airways is considered a second-tier subsidiary of the Jiuding Industrial Group, and it is the largest subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways Group.
As for Cathay Pacific Airways Group's Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company, Hong Kong Airport Ground Services Company and other companies, Xia Yu does not plan to take them public.
The reason for choosing Cathay Pacific is mainly because this company is the one that will need the most capital in the future. If it wants to become an international aviation giant in the future, whether it is mergers and acquisitions or purchasing new aircraft, it will consume too much capital. It might as well be listed and let investors raise it together, and it doesn't matter if some profits are shared out.
Moreover, the status of Cathay Pacific as a listed company will also help it increase its popularity outside of Xiangjiang, and develop and consolidate the market.
Each of the eight companies is at least a leader, or even the sole monopolist, in its field. Going public will enable them to enjoy the halo effect of being market leaders.
Listing these eight companies will attract large amounts of capital, which is definitely enough to stimulate the vitality of the Hong Kong stock market.
However, going public is one thing, and Xia Yu does not want to be seen as a fool by being a spendthrift.
Even if they go public, the vast majority of the profits from underwriting the listing will go into his own pocket. His Jiuding Securities Company is the largest underwriter of listings, and Jiuding Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Sun Hung Kai Securities, etc. are also the main underwriters in the market. Of course, the profits from underwriting the listing have to be earned by himself, and there is no need to let others earn them.
Furthermore, even if they go public, at most he will only offer 25% of the equity to go public, and the remaining 75% of the equity will remain in his hands. This is to prevent infiltration.
As long as he holds onto this shareholding ratio, whoever dares to have evil intentions or do him harm will be easily crushed.
As for the way these eight companies went public, apart from Galaxy Movies, Jiuding Transport Group and Jiuding Hotel Management Group, which could not go through the normal listing process because they had not been registered for a long enough period of time and could only go public through backdoor listing, the other five companies were all established and well-known listed companies, so they were all prepared to go through the normal listing process.
It so happens that there are still quite a few 'historically-leftover toxic stocks' in the Hong Kong stock market. He will take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of the three junk stocks and replace them with Galaxy Movies, Jiuding Transport Group and Jiuding Hotel Management Group.
Since the actual listing of his five companies is controlled behind the scenes by the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission, the time-consuming listing process can be significantly shortened.
In the past, Foxconn was able to get a green light for its listing on the mainland all the way, creating a record A-share listing process that took only 36 days. He could definitely complete it within a month.
After all, the five companies, including Hutchison Whampoa Group and Cathay Pacific Airways, were originally listed companies, and various mechanisms and materials had been retained, so they were experienced veterans who didn't need to take detours.
Moreover, Xia Yu also planned to have the largest standard law firm and standard accounting firm under his control fully assist, and it would be completely OK within a month!
After making the decision, Xia Yu immediately gathered Liu Tianci and Wang Qi to give them their tasks.
The next day, the news was announced.
In an instant, the entire Hong Kong capital market was abuzz, all looking forward to these eight companies.
The impact continued to spread to surrounding countries, and the capital of Southeast Asian countries, island countries, South Korea, Australia, and other countries rushed towards Hong Kong like sharks smelling blood.
This November was destined to be an extraordinary month...