Started from Hong Kong Island

Chapter 194 [All for nothing]

Back to Changxin Real Estate Company
The secretary came to report that Mr. Li Jiacheng, the boss of Cheung Kong Holdings, wanted to invite him to dinner to talk about things related to Metropolitan Real Estate Company.

Li Wendi subconsciously guessed that Li Jiacheng wanted to discuss the sale of Capital Real Estate Company. Naturally, there was no possibility of selling Capital Real Estate Company now, after all, he had already joined the company's board of directors. However, he could give Li Jiacheng some face.

Now is the time when Cheung Kong Holdings is stronger than Changxin Real Estate, and the previous disturbances were all normal competition, so Li Wendi is temporarily unwilling to "fight" with Li Jiacheng, as he cannot defeat him.

Li Wendi recalled how Li Jiacheng made his fortune in his previous life. He first ran Cheung Kong Holdings Company honestly, then made a name for himself by suffering losses, defeated the Hong Kong Land Development, and became a hero of the Chinese in Hong Kong. With the support of HSBC boss Stephen Sham, he received a large amount of loan support, and finally got the big piece of fat meat, Hutchison Whampoa, laying the foundation for becoming one of the four major families in Hong Kong.

This approach is not surprising, because before him, there was the shipping magnate Pao Yue-kong who relied on the current HSBC boss Sanders to become a world-class shipping magnate. Li Jiacheng is just copying others, but there are also some innovations, such as forming a group to divide up Jardine Matheson and focusing on developing overseas industries.

This path is not entirely suitable for Li Wendi. He was already notorious in the early stage. Shen Bi had an option like Li Jiacheng, so naturally he looked down on him. Other banks in Hong Kong were not as strong as HSBC, and the support they could provide was not strong enough.

However, Li Wendi can rely on the memories of his previous life to seize more opportunities, unlike Li Jiacheng who needs to wait for several years. Now is an era of great opportunities. Money can generate several times the profit. Waiting means loss.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Central
Li Wendi and Li Jiacheng had met before, but had never talked, so they started complimenting each other as soon as they met.

"Mr. Li, you should know why I'm here. If you are willing to sell Ducheng Real Estate Company, I can buy it at a high price." Li Jiacheng stated his purpose directly. After all, there was not much for the two of them to exchange pleasantries.

"Oh? Then what's the highest price Mr. Li can offer?" Li Wendi would of course not refuse directly. The person has already come, and a direct refusal would only embarrass the other party. Although Li Jiacheng would not get angry in front of him, it is unknown whether he would take the opportunity to retaliate in the future.

"Mr. Li spent 3500 million yuan to buy 43% of the shares of Capital Real Estate Company. I am willing to increase the price to 3800 million yuan, so that Mr. Li can earn an extra 300 million yuan. How about that?" Li Jiacheng knew that this price was not attractive, but he could increase it slowly.

Li Wendi shook his head and smiled, "Mr. Li, do you think I'm the one who needs the 300 million?"

If he answered "yes", it would be a clear sign of disrespect for Li Wendi; if he answered "no", Li Jiacheng would continue to raise the price.

"Mr. Li, you certainly don't need the 300 million yuan, but no matter how high the price is, Metropolitan Real Estate Company is not worth that price." Li Jiacheng continued, "I can compensate Mr. Li from other places. I know that Mr. Li has a lot of land in Causeway Bay. Why don't you let me develop it and split the profits in half? How about that?"

Li Wendi sneered, "Mr. Li has a very clear plan. Do I, Li Wendi, need the money to develop the land? Why should I give you the profit for nothing?"

If it were someone else, they would think it was a good thing, but Li Wendi was familiar with this kind of operation. The biggest beneficiary was Li Jiacheng because there was little land in Hong Kong, and at the same time, this was an act of aiding the enemy.

"Mr. Li, this is not giving up profits, it's a win-win situation. As long as the land is developed, there will be huge profits. If you develop it earlier, Mr. Li, you can earn more money to invest in more land. Wouldn't the profit be greater?" Li Jiacheng continued to explain shamelessly, refusing to admit that he was the biggest beneficiary.

Li Wendi smiled and said, "Mr. Li is very good at math. He has used the method of small profits but quick turnover in real estate. I heard that Mr. Li has acquired a lot of old buildings in Wan Chai and plans to develop them into new commercial buildings. If I can participate, it will be a win-win situation for both parties. What do you think, Mr. Li?"

Li Jiacheng put the plan of acquiring Capital Real Estate Company behind the acquisition of the old building in Wan Chai. Obviously, the reconstruction of the old building in Wan Chai is more important and more profitable. Now Li Wendi directly attacks the old building in Wan Chai, imposing a win-win approach on Li Jiacheng in disguise.

"Mr. Li, the Wan Chai old building project is already complete. I will inform you if there is business in this area in the future." Li Jiacheng politely declined, "Let's get back to the matter of Metropolitan Real Estate Company."

Li Jiacheng has been in the business world for many years, so he naturally understood what Li Wendi meant. However, he was quite thick-skinned and still wanted to fight for it.

"Add 1000 million more. Mr. Li knows better than me whether Ducheng Real Estate Company is worth the price." Li Wendi restrained his smile and took a bite of cake with a spoon.

Since you have rejected my cooperation, it is only natural for me to reject yours.

Li Jiacheng's face changed slightly, "1000 million is probably a bit too much, I can increase it to 500 million." Li Wendi still shook his head, "Mr. Li, this is my final offer, it is not a negotiable price. If you agree, we can sign the contract now."

Li Wendi's original purpose was to "drain" Li Jiacheng's cash flow, and now the essence of this plan can be better reflected.

Li Jiacheng thought for half a minute and responded, "I need to go back and discuss this with the top management."

"Okay, Mr. Li, please give me an answer before the end of get off work tomorrow." Li Wendi said expressionlessly.

"Okay." Li Jiacheng nodded.

Although the negotiations failed, both of them were smart people. They pretended nothing happened and chatted happily. If you didn't know, you would think they were close friends who had known each other for a long time.

The next afternoon, Li Jiacheng sent a message saying that the premium of 1000 million yuan was beyond the affordability of Cheung Kong Holdings and he indicated that he would no longer make the acquisition.

From the moment Li Jiacheng expressed his consideration, Li Wendi knew that Li Jiacheng would not buy it. After all, the premium of 1000 million could buy properties worth no less than half a Central Building during the low point of the local market. In other words, Li Wendi could earn half a Central commercial building no matter what, while Li Jiacheng would lose half a commercial building. In the end, he would lose a Central commercial building.

Wednesday, May 5

In order to rescue the market, Hong Kong's four exchanges announced on May 4 that they would resume full-day trading from today, hoping to stimulate trading and reverse the downward trend by extending the trading hours.

Afterwards, the Hong Kong government's Securities and Futures Commission publicly stated that "Hong Kong's economic prospects are good, and citizens do not need to worry too much. Confidence in the stock market can be restored."

Stimulated by various "rescue" measures, the stock market finally rebounded from the Hang Seng Index's low of 9 points on the 656.03th. In the first hour of trading alone, the Hang Seng Index reached 660 points.

Investors were delighted to see the Hang Seng Index rise, but not many dared to buy immediately and remained on the sidelines.

Investors were frightened by the situation in the previous month. Everyone was worried that the stock market would collapse inexplicably at the next moment and they would lose all their money.

But by two or three o'clock in the afternoon, investors saw that the share prices of most companies were still rising, so they began to buy small quantities of stocks.

When Li Wendi heard Wu Xiong's report over the phone, the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously. According to the current situation, a week's increase is not a big problem, so it will not be a problem for him to make millions of profits.

Chen Xingzhou was so angry that he let Li Wendi make the right bet. If he had not sold half of his stocks to Li Wendi, it would not be a problem for him to make tens of millions in the future. But now he had to give half of the profits to Li Wendi. How could he be willing to accept this?

"Who could have known that the stock market would recover so quickly! But the recovery of the stock market is also a good thing for us. We don't have to suffer losses, and we may even be able to make some profits." Chen Jinxi said comfortingly.

Chen Jinxi was very surprised. How did Li Wendi know that the stock market would pick up? Was the stock market crash related to him? Or did he know something inside?
"That's true. When I sold the stocks to Li Wendi, I was just thinking about reducing losses." Chen Xingzhou sighed and said, "The stock market will definitely rise. Should we take the opportunity to buy a large number of stocks? We should be able to make more profits."

Chen Jinxi thought for a moment and nodded, "Then let's buy a batch first and see how the market reacts. If something goes wrong, we can sell it in time. We must learn from the last lesson and always pay attention to the dynamic trend of the stock market."

"Okay, then let's discuss which companies' stocks to buy." Chen Xingzhou said with some joy on his face.

What the Chen siblings didn't know was that this stock market recovery would result in even greater losses if they were not careful. Li Wendi was even a little worried that he would not be able to grasp the timing, and if he missed it, all that would be left would be losses.

(End of this chapter)