Reborn in Hong Kong as a Tycoon

Chapter 411 Selling, Entering the Pharmaceutical Industry
On Thursday, March 3st, Lin Baicheng held a board meeting at Hutchison Whampoa.

Hutchison Whampoa has a total of nine directors, and all of them participated in this board meeting.

After the board meeting started, Lin Baicheng said aloud: "The resolution to be voted on at the board meeting has been put in front of everyone. The management has decided to sell the company's foreign trade business subsidiary, and vote on whether to agree to sell the foreign trade business."

"Mr. Lin, the company's foreign trade business can be said to be one of the company's most profitable businesses at present. The annual profit is very considerable. Why sell the foreign trade business?"

The questioner was a very old white man, whose Chinese name was Li Cha, another honorary director of the company. He had worked in the Hong Kong government for decades, and had also been in the Legislative Council for more than ten years. He had a lot of connections. This is an important reason why Lin Baicheng invited him to be an honorary director of Hutchison Whampoa with a high salary.

Since Lin Baicheng specially set up two honorary directors for Hutchison Whampoa, he will not make a speech, so he explained: "The reason is related to the fact that He Huang was shorted last year. When He Huang was shorted by the British family, the company The foreign trade business of the company was detained by the customs in the UK, although the customs said it was a routine inspection, but we all know what happened."

"Since this kind of thing happened for the first time, it may happen for the second time or even more times. The company's foreign trade business is indeed very profitable, but the foreign trade business is too dependent on the UK and the UK-related market. Once If the London or Hong Kong government wants to target it, it can be easily suppressed, and the company has no room for struggle."

"So, the company's business is making money, but the ability to resist risks is too low. Once an accident occurs, it will easily have a major impact on the company's stock price. Therefore, rather than waiting for another accident to affect the company's stock price, it is better to sell the entire foreign trade business , to return funds to develop other businesses.”

Lin Baicheng was worried that he would be targeted by the British or the Hong Kong government for standing on the sidelines of the mainland. He could only think about this matter in his heart, and it was impossible to say it on the board of directors, otherwise it would be to inform the Hong Kong government to suppress him quickly.

After hearing this, Li Cha couldn't help saying: "Mr. Lin, I don't think this kind of thing will happen again. After all, once the impact is too great, the media will not let the relevant departments go."

Lin Baicheng shook his head: "Maybe, but I don't want to take risks. The company's current market value is so high. Once there is a negative impact that causes the company's stock price to plummet, it will be a big loss for a major shareholder like me."

"Lin Sheng's concerns are not unreasonable."

Guo Henian quite agrees with this statement. He is also the major shareholder of the company. Once the company's stock price plummets, it will do him a lot of damage.Leaving aside the loss in market value, the loan he made with shares as collateral, once the market value of Hutchison Whampoa plummeted, the bank would definitely choose to press him for the loan, and he would either repay the money or make up the difference in collateral.Therefore, it is best not to have this kind of thing happen, and stability is the most important thing.

Li Cha said: "Mr. Lin, according to your statement, the company's Watsons retail business also has many supermarkets in the UK. Once it is targeted, it will also cause a lot of losses."

"Watson's retail supermarkets are different. Each supermarket has as few as 300 people and as many as [-] people. If the supermarket closes, a large number of people will lose their jobs. If it's just that the business is not good and they have no choice but to close, it's fine, but if the supermarket is being targeted As a result of the unemployment of employees, those unemployed employees will not give up, so as long as they are not stupid, they will not deliberately target and suppress Watsons."

Lin Baicheng couldn't help laughing when he heard the words. Watsons and Hutchison Whampoa's foreign trade subsidiaries are not the same. The number of employees between the two is simply incomparable. No congressman will take the lead to suppress Watsons' supermarkets. Once a large number of unemployed people appear, it will be bad luck Only relevant people.

Furthermore, even if Watson's supermarket is really targeted, at most Hutchison Whampoa will package and sell the supermarket, anyway, no matter how suppressed it will not be to the point of confiscation of property.As long as it doesn't reach this level, then Lin Baicheng won't worry about it. Now that he has invested for two years and sold it, at least he can make a small profit.

"Mr. Lin, the foreign trade business is one of the three pillars of the company. Once the foreign trade business is sold, the company's main business will only be real estate and retail. I wonder if the company has any plans for its development after the foreign trade business is sold?"

Yuan Tianfan asked aloud, although he is now working in Galaxy Bank and is already Lin Baicheng's subordinate, but Lin Baicheng did not inform him of the sale of foreign trade business in advance.Unless special circumstances arise, some of Lin Baicheng's personal decisions will not be told to him in advance. What Lin Baicheng wants is for Yuan Tianfan to consider from the perspective of Hutchison Whampoa itself, rather than relying on any of his decisions.

If it was purely for the sake of not having any opponents in Hutchison Whampoa, Lin Baicheng would not have set up two honorary directors at the beginning, but directly took these directorships in his hands.

Lin Baicheng said to the directors: "I told Wei Li before that the three major development directions of Hutchison are the real estate industry, retail industry and pharmaceutical industry. Now that we have decided to sell the foreign trade business, it is time to focus on the development of the pharmaceutical industry. gone."

"The pharmaceutical industry?"

Guo Henian did not expect that Lin Baicheng would enter this industry. He couldn't help but said: "Lin Sheng, although I don't know much about the pharmaceutical industry, whether it is pharmaceutical manufacturing or medical equipment, they are all very technology-hungry industries. Although there is a pharmaceutical company under the company Subsidiaries, but for the purchase and sales of medicinal materials and drug consignment sales, they do not have exclusive technology at all, so it is not easy to develop."

"I know that too."

Lin Baicheng nodded and said: "I am not going to let the company start from scratch in the research and development of medical technology, but to open a pharmacy and become a drug agent and distributor first. Besides, it is to build a hospital, and it is a first-class hospital in the region. , so the investment in this area will be relatively large.”

Xia Boyin reminded: "Mr. Lin, the establishment of a hospital requires highly skilled doctors. In addition, it also needs advanced medical equipment, so the initial investment will be huge."

"The company's foreign trade business can be sold for at least [-] million Hong Kong dollars. Except for a small part of the money, it will be invested in the pharmacy, and the rest will be used to build the hospital. If necessary, it can even find a bank loan, so funding is not a problem."

Lin Baicheng replied, and then said to everyone: "Birth, old age, sickness and death are unavoidable for us human beings. Whether they are poor or rich, as long as they are sick, they have to see a doctor and take medicine. Therefore, medical consumption is just needed and can never be out of date. The initial investment may be huge, but as long as we continue to invest, the company’s pharmaceutical industry will develop sooner or later and become the company’s pillar industry.”

"What Mr. Lin said is that medical consumption is indeed a rigid demand. As long as it is not the kind of disease that has no cure, no matter who is sick, he will go to the hospital to see a doctor or buy medicine. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the market, as long as it is done well. There's a huge market out there."

Yuan Tianfan agreed that this industry will never become obsolete no matter what era it is in, it is nothing more than a question of whether it can be done well.As for whether it can be done well, no one knows now. It can only be said that there is no problem with the direction chosen.

Wei Li went on to say: "I also think that we can focus on the development of the pharmaceutical industry and develop it as the company's next key industry."

"I'm not opposed to entering the pharmaceutical industry. As Mr. Lin said, the market for this industry is huge."

Li Cha first expressed his attitude, and then changed the subject: "However, it's fine to open a pharmacy as a drug agent. If you build a hospital, because of the large investment, there is no need to focus on the development of each department at the beginning. You can focus on the development first. Some departments gradually bring the hospital's reputation. At the same time, the company does not need to invest too much money at the beginning, if there is more money, it can be invested in other businesses first."

"Director Li Cha is right. We need to discuss this matter carefully."

Lin Baicheng nodded in agreement, and then said: "Today we will first decide to sell the foreign trade business. As for the specific investment in the pharmaceutical industry, it will not be too late to hold a board meeting to discuss after the foreign trade business is sold."

"Let's talk about whether to agree to sell the foreign trade business. If you have no other doubts to ask, then let's vote now."

Lin Baicheng looked at the crowd as he spoke, and when he saw that no one had made a sound, he said, "If you have no doubts, then let's vote."

After all, Lin Baicheng is the owner of the company, and Lin Baicheng's attitude is already obvious, that is, to sell the foreign trade business and enter the pharmaceutical industry.And his statement can convince everyone, so after asking all the questions that should be asked, everyone naturally has no opinion.

In the subsequent vote, the motion was unanimously passed, and the board of directors passed the decision to sell the foreign trade business.

Lin Baicheng looked at the crowd and said, "Very well, the vote is unanimous, so this matter has been decided."

"Mr. Lin, how should we proceed with the sale of the company's foreign trade business?"

Wei Li asked aloud. In fact, Lin Baicheng had already discussed with him how to operate it. The reason why he asked this question now was mainly to let the directors know.

Lin Baicheng heard the words: "Since we have decided to sell, there is no need to delay. Recently, we will sort out the details of the foreign trade business, and then release the news to the outside world, inviting interested companies to participate in the auction, and auction the foreign trade business as a product. , the highest price wins."

Li Cha asked aloud: "Boss Lin, what is the reserve price for the auction? What if no one bids?"

"The base price is [-] million Hong Kong dollars."

Lin Baicheng replied: "If no one bids, forget it, and find another buyer who is willing to accept. [-] million Hong Kong dollars is the minimum selling price. If no one buys, it will be another matter."

"Is the price of [-] million Hong Kong dollars a bit low?"

Guo Henian frowned slightly, but felt that the price was not high enough.

Lin Baicheng explained: "[-] million Hong Kong dollars is the lowest price. We choose to bid. Once a company participates in the auction, the transaction price will be higher than [-] million Hong Kong dollars. Besides, [-] million Hong Kong dollars is not low. After all, this is a one-time auction." Funds that can be obtained for sex, rather than accumulated profits over a few years."

Guo Henian nodded and said nothing.From the perspective of being able to get so much money at one time, it is indeed not low. After all, it is the profit of Hutchison Huang for four or five years, but the actual situation is that in four or five years, no one is sure whether the company will be bad. The change.

Of course, you can also think about it from another angle.That is, the company's foreign trade business will continue to make money in the next four to five years, so the company must be losing money if it is sold at this price. Not only will it not make profits in the next few years, but the valuation will definitely be higher in a few years. .

It's just that who knows what will happen a few years later, it may be good or it may be bad, so it's best not to think too much, it's meaningless.

Lin Baicheng said to Wei Li: "Wei Li, the next task of your management is to do this well, contact potential buyers, and sell the company's foreign trade business at a higher price as much as possible."

"Okay, Mr. Lin, don't worry, we will do this job well."

Wei Li immediately responded.

After the board meeting adjourned, when Lin Baicheng left, Guo Henian left with him.

Guo Henian said: "Lin Sheng, regarding the company's foreign trade business, if the company in which I am a shareholder wants to participate in the bidding and acquisition, I wonder if it is possible?"

"To be honest with Guo Sheng, Bao Sheng, I and a few friends have jointly established a company specializing in foreign trade. This company will also participate in the acquisition, so of course you can too. The highest price wins."

Lin Baicheng said something with a smile, and he didn't hide it from Guo Henian, anyway, Guo Henian would know about it sooner or later.

Guo Henian was very puzzled when he heard this: "Lin Sheng, since you are worried that the British side will specifically target you, how can you pay back?"

Lin Baicheng explained with a smile: "Guo Sheng, our company has capital from the United States and Japan, and my own share is less than half. This is different from Hutchison's self-operated foreign trade business."

"Then I wonder if I can participate in Lin Sheng's joint venture?"

Guo Henian asked tentatively. In his opinion, since there are capitals from the United States and Japan, this company obviously has a bright future.

"I'm sorry, Guo Sheng, we have already established a company and are not planning to raise external funds for the time being, so I'm sorry."

Lin Baicheng apologized aloud, their shares have already been allocated, and everyone is not short of money, so there is no need to find another person to divide the shares.

"That's such a pity."

Guo Henian felt a little regretful when he heard the words.

The two chatted while walking, and when they were about to arrive at Lin Baicheng's office, they separated.

The matter of letting Hutchison Whampoa sell its foreign trade business has been completed, and Lin Baicheng then notified Bao Yugang, Iwasaki Mineryu, Phil Smith, and Logan Rockefeller respectively, so that they had a bottom line.

Although this matter has been confirmed, the sale will definitely not be announced to the public immediately, and Hutchison Whampoa itself has to deal with this matter internally.There are many things to do in the asset integration of foreign trade business, as well as manual arrangements, etc.

　(Thanks to 'rg1969' for the great support!)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)