People in Hong Kong create super chaebols

Time quietly slipped into the deep winter of 1981.

Since Su Cheng successfully took control of Jardine Matheson and Hong Kong Holdings, a short two or three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Initially, Su Cheng thought that by retaining Niu Bijian and Bao Fuda's positions as executive directors of the two major groups, he could gain their heartfelt support and a smooth transition, thus avoiding unnecessary turmoil.

He had expected that this tolerance would lead to harmonious coexistence between the two sides, but unexpectedly, things in the world are often unexpected.

However, reality has taught Sucheng a sobering lesson.

He gradually discovered that his kindness was not appreciated as he had expected. Instead of showing due gratitude and loyalty, Niu Bijian and Bao Fuda were secretly planning unknown actions.

This made Su Cheng realize that the business world is like a battlefield. Although compassion is a good thing, it is often difficult to gain a foothold in the game of interests.

After successfully bringing Jardine Matheson and Hong Kong Holdings under his control, Su Cheng has quietly placed many "hidden chess pieces" within these two major groups, making almost every move of the groups under his control.

Not only did he place capable personnel in the top ranks of the two groups, he also gradually took over a considerable portion of key power.

After two or three months of careful planning and running-in, these new senior executives quickly integrated into their respective positions, demonstrating outstanding work ability and adaptability.

Their arrival not only brought new vitality to the group, but also quietly began to weaken the original influence of Niu Bijian and Bao Fuda, gradually eroding their power base.

During this period, Niu Bijian appeared to be quite submissive and managed Jardine Matheson as usual, without any apparent unusual movements.

Bao Fuda of the Hong Kong Land Group was even more low-key, almost adopting a "hiding one's capabilities under a bushel" attitude, making it difficult to discern his true intentions.

However, Su Cheng knew very well that there were often undercurrents beneath the calm surface of the water, and he had to remain vigilant at all times to prevent any accidents.

Bao Fuda originally worked under the management framework of Niu Bijian. At first, he did not show much resistance to the new owner Su Cheng. After all, in his opinion, it was just a change of boss.

As time went by, especially after two or three months of subtle changes, the attitudes of Niu Bijian and Bao Fuda began to show obvious differences.

With the help of his spies carefully placed throughout Jardine Matheson, Su Cheng gradually realized that Niu Bijian maintained secret contacts with British Jardine shareholders such as the Keswick family.

This discovery made Su Cheng alert. He understood the complex motives and plots that might be hidden behind this secret relationship.

Through further investigation and information sent back by his spies, Su Cheng soon uncovered their true purpose - a secret battle for his control was quietly brewing.

Faced with such a situation, Su Cheng had to respond more cautiously to ensure that he could firmly control Jardine Matheson and the Hong Kong Land Group.

As for the Jardine Matheson Group, Su Cheng might have some intention of letting go, because he understood that with his current control, it would be almost impossible for the Jardine Matheson to be taken back by British capital.

However, the situation of Jardine Matheson was completely different.

This is not only because of the huge value contained in Jardine Matheson itself, but also because it occupies a pivotal position in the hearts of British financial groups. It is a symbol of their pride.

Now, seeing that Jardine Matheson has fallen into the hands of others, the British financial group is naturally unwilling and finds it difficult to accept such a reality.

Therefore, they began to plan secretly, attempting to regain control of Jardine Matheson through various means.

This unwillingness and anger is driving them to make secret plans and prepare for a fierce battle with Su Cheng.

And Su Cheng has also seen through all of this.

The most indignant person was Simon Keswick, the leader of the Keswick family.

As a major shareholder of Jardine Matheson, he had long been dissatisfied with Niu Bijian's leadership position and had even conceived the idea of ​​replacing him.

In recent years, the open and secret struggles between Simon Keswick and John Tew have become increasingly fierce, especially after John Tew's wrong decision-making led to the loss of control of Wharf Holdings by the Hong Kong Property Group. His influence within the family and Jardine Matheson has increased significantly, and he has gradually gained the upper hand in the internal struggle.

Simon Keswick was confident that he only needed to wait for more than a year until Niu Bijian's term of office expired, and then he would be able to successfully expel him.

However, what Simon Keswick had not expected was that Jardine Matheson was suddenly emerged in Suzhou and taken over in one fell swoop.

This sudden change completely disrupted his plans and made him feel unprecedentedly frustrated and unwilling.

In Simon Keswick's eyes, Jardine Matheson was not only an important part of the business empire, but also a symbol of family glory. Now that it had fallen into the hands of others, how could he not feel resentment and vow to take back the lost territory?

In order to revive his business and regain control of Jardine Matheson, Simon Keswick decided to take extraordinary measures.

He contacted Niu Bijian privately and made an important promise: once he successfully took back Jardine Matheson, he would voluntarily withdraw from the competition for the next chairman of the board of directors and fully support Niu Bijian to continue to hold this important position.

This commitment is undoubtedly a timely help for Niu Bijian.

In the past two or three months, he not only lost his position as the boss of the Jardine Matheson Group, but his influence within Jardine Matheson has also been declining, and his management rights are being gradually eroded.

This constant sense of crisis made him agree quickly to Simon Keswick's proposal without any hesitation.

Niu Bijian knew very well that under Su Cheng's strong leadership, his position as executive director of Jardine Matheson & Co., although seemingly stable, was actually precarious.

He was worried that one day he would be suddenly fired by Sioux City and lose everything.

Therefore, joining forces with Simon Keswick became his only hope to escape from the predicament and regain power.

So, the two of them began to plan intensively.

Not only did they strengthen communication and collaboration with each other, they also actively contacted all British Jardine shareholders, trying to fight against Suzhou through united strength.

An open and covert struggle for control of Jardine Matheson & Co. quietly began.

Although Su Cheng only directly holds 31.26% of Jardine Matheson's shares, together with the 25.8% shares held by the Hong Kong Land Group, he actually directly or indirectly controls a total of 57.06% of Jardine Matheson's shares.

Theoretically, such a shareholding ratio has made it difficult for opposition forces such as Simon Keswick to shake Su Cheng's position.

However, Simon Keswick and others did not give up. Instead, they adopted a more radical and united strategy.

They planned to unite all shareholders who could be mobilized to form a powerful alliance and jointly file a complaint with the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Office, attempting to use legal means to declare Su Cheng's acquisition of Jardine Matheson invalid.

In their hearts, the land of Hong Kong is still the territory of their traditional forces, and everything should be dominated and decided by them, the high-ranking British people.

This deep-rooted sense of superiority and territorial consciousness drove them to regain control of Jardine Matheson at all costs. In order to achieve this goal, Niu Bijian was chosen as the middleman to coordinate the forces of all parties and promote the smooth progress of this conspiracy.

He understood that he played a key role in this power struggle, having to balance the interests of all parties while ensuring the secrecy and success rate of the plan.

A legal and intellectual battle over the control of Jardine Matheson & Co. quietly began in the prosperous city of Hong Kong.

After learning about the conspiracy of Simon Keswick and others, Su Cheng did not show too much worry. Instead, he sat on the balcony of his villa, frowned slightly, and muttered to himself that these opponents were like flies that could not be driven away, which was really annoying.

Faced with such a challenge, Sioux City responded quickly.

He contacted Ma Shiming directly, a business elite who had demonstrated outstanding management skills since taking the helm of the Hong Kong Electric Group.

Under the careful management of Ma Shiming, the Hong Kong Electric Group not only achieved stable growth, but also successfully implemented a diversified development strategy, which enabled the group's strength to soar. Its stock market value has proudly exceeded the HK$30 billion mark, making it one of the top companies in Hong Kong.

In view of Ma Shiming's brilliant achievements and extraordinary abilities, Su Cheng decided to give him a new mission and let him take over Niu Bijian's position in Jardine Matheson.

This decision is not only a full trust in Ma Shiming's personal ability, but also a strategic deployment made by Su Cheng after careful consideration for the future development of Jardine Matheson.

He believes that under Ma Shiming's leadership, Jardine Matheson will be able to cope with current challenges and continue to develop.

In fact, Ma Shiming has a deep connection with Jardine Matheson.

Back then, Su Cheng had a keen eye for talent and tapped out Ma Shiming, who was just a middle-level manager in a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson. Now, in just a few years, Ma Shiming has grown into a business elite who can stand on his own.

Su Cheng is confident that Ma Shiming will be full of interest and anticipation for such a transfer opportunity.

Faced with Niu Bijian's covert actions, Su Cheng decided to take decisive measures to remove him from the core management of Jardine Matheson to prevent future troubles.

As for the CSRC's subsequent handling of the matter, Su Cheng adopted a "take it one step at a time" attitude and was not overly worried.

After all, the shares he holds are real and secure, and his controlling stake in Jardine Matheson Group and Swire Properties is indisputable.

Su Cheng was confident in his heart. He knew very well that his status and strength were no longer what they used to be. He was prepared to deal with any possible move by the CSRC to favor the British.

He is looking forward to seeing what decision the CSRC will make in this game of power and interests, and he will remain unchanged in the face of all changes and stick to his own position and principles.

Su Cheng is open to the controlling stake of Jardine Matheson Group. If necessary, he is not against losing Jardine Matheson, but the prerequisite is that the other party must pay the corresponding price.

In his eyes, although the Jardine Matheson Group has certain value, it is not indispensable. In comparison, the Swire Properties Group is more important to him.

However, these are all considerations for the future. Suzhou's top priority at the moment is to solve the immediate trouble - to remove the "evil-minded" Niu Bijian from the Jardine Matheson Group.

With his current strong controlling power over the Jardine Matheson Group and his status as the boss of Jardine Matheson, removing Niu Bijian from his position is just a simple administrative procedure for him and can be accomplished with just a piece of paper.

Moreover, after two or three months of running-in, the senior executives he sent to Jardine Matheson have gradually been able to take control of the group's management. Even if Niu Bijian was directly ousted, it would not cause much loss to Jardine Matheson.

Therefore, on the day when the intelligence information was received, Su Cheng directly initiated a board meeting, which would be held the next day.

At this time, Niu Bijian was still unaware that his affairs had been leaked, and he still felt a little confused about Su Cheng's initiation of the board meeting.

He had been contacting other people secretly, so he never thought that Su Cheng had already known about his actions.

At nine o'clock the next morning, Su Cheng brought Ma Shiming to the headquarters of Jardine Matheson.

In a meeting room of Jardine Matheson, Su Cheng, as the boss of Jardine, was sitting in the main seat.

Niu Bijian, as the executive director, was sitting aside. At this moment, he also felt that Su Cheng's attitude towards him today was a little strange.

What surprised him most was that Ma Shiming, the president of Hong Kong Electric Group, appeared at the board meeting of Jardine Matheson Group.

Su Cheng looked at the twenty-odd board members below without even looking at Niu Bijian.

At this time, Niu Bijian seemed to feel something was wrong.

However, at this moment he still didn't know what was going on, and even if he felt something was wrong, it would be of no use.

He didn't speak until the time was up and everyone was present.

"Everyone is here. As the boss of Jardine Matheson and as a shareholder with absolute control over Jardine Matheson, I now formally announce one thing here. From today on, Mr. Niu Bijian's position as executive director of Jardine Matheson Group is officially dismissed. From today on, Mr. Niu Bijian is no longer a member of Jardine Matheson Group." Su Cheng said seriously.

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar at the scene.

No one expected that the meeting held in Sucheng was actually to remove Niu Bijian.

Something big has happened.

At this moment, this is the only thought in the minds of many board members.

Niu Bijian had been in charge of Jardine Matheson for many years. No one expected that he would be dismissed just three months after Suzhou acquired Jardine Matheson.

Niu Bijian was also confused, his mind was blank at this moment.

After a long time, Niu Bijian came back to his senses and asked, "Mr. Su Cheng, why?"

"Why? Mr. Niu Bijian, you still have the nerve to ask me why? Look at what this is?" Su Cheng threw some evidence in front of Niu Bijian.

After seeing these evidences, Niu Bijian finally understood what had happened. What he had done was exposed before it even succeeded.

At this moment, Niu Bijian's expression looked somewhat decadent.

He knew that no matter how much he said, he would not be willing to do anything.

So, Niu Bijian stood up silently and left the meeting room directly.

The moment he walked out of the meeting room, the secretary who was responsible for taking minutes took a picture of his lonely figure.

A business tycoon came to an end. (End of this chapter)