Started from Hong Kong Island

Chapter 276 273 [Prelude to the War]

Wharf Holdings Board of Directors
As soon as Bao Fuda saw Li Wendi, he smiled brightly, unlike his usual stern face, as if Li Wendi owed him hundreds of millions.

This smile made Li Wendi even more certain that Bao Fuda had a conspiracy, and it was specifically aimed at him.

Seven minutes later, all the directors arrived and Bao Fuda announced the start of the meeting.

As soon as he finished speaking, the secretary came over and placed a bunch of documents on the directors' desks. Bao Fuda then began to talk about the main topic, "Ladies and gentlemen, there are two topics for today. The first one before you is about the issue of new shares by Wharf Holdings."

Just as he opened the document, Bao Fuda's voice reached Li Wendi's ears. Li Wendi was stunned. It turned out that Bao Fuda wanted to issue new shares to weaken his equity. This was a good strategy.

Li Wendi pretended to be calm as he flipped through the documents, his mind full of thoughts. The Keswick family had transferred most of the funds of Jardine Matheson and its subsidiaries. Jardine Matheson and Land Development had also spent a lot of money in the recent period to acquire and privatize several companies. Although most of them were stock swaps, the amount was huge.

However, it is very easy for Jardine Matheson to get a loan, but it will undoubtedly increase Jardine Matheson's debt. In addition, Swire Properties has spent a lot of money to rebuild its commercial properties in Central. If the operation is not handled properly, it may easily encounter the same difficulties as Hutchison Whampoa Group, which seems too risky.

"Bao Fuda!" Li Wendi groaned inwardly, "He is such an ambitious person, taking a little risk is not a big deal."

"Mr. Bao Fuda wants to issue 1000 million new shares. Why? Under the current circumstances, Wharf Holdings is not very short of money." The directors began to question this decision because it would weaken the equity of all the shareholders and future dividend profits.

Bao Fuda had already prepared a plan. He smiled and said, "The construction of Harbour City has drained the funds of Wharf Holdings. The current construction funds of Harbour City are all supported by the profits of companies such as the tram company and the tunnel company. If we can issue new shares, we can speed up the progress of the project. The sooner Harbour City is completed, the sooner you can get dividends."

When it comes to dividends, the directors are naturally very excited. After all, Hutchison Whampoa has not paid dividends for several years, and Harbour City is a money-eating beast.

“It is of course a good thing for Harbour City to be completed as soon as possible. However, for the sake of long-term interests, if new shares are issued, the dividends we get will be less. We have been waiting for several years. Harbour City can start operations in another two years. Why should we lose that 10% dividend profit?” Li Wendi asked with a smile.

"Mr. Li, you don't know that with the booming real estate industry, many real estate companies are building shopping malls and commercial buildings. Once these shopping malls and commercial buildings are opened for business, our Harbour City will lose a group of high-quality customers," Bao Fuda was fooling around.

Of course Li Wendi didn't believe a word of it, but the other shareholders were still tempted. The pros and cons were obvious, and the dividends were even more attractive.

Li Wendi felt a little nervous. Once 1000 million new shares were issued, his shareholding would drop to 18%, while the shareholding of the Hong Kong Land Development would increase by several percentage points. If the shareholding of the Hong Kong Land Development exceeded 30%, the difficulty of the acquisition would probably more than double.

"Mr. Bao Fuda, since 1000 million shares are being issued, I think I can get a corresponding proportion of the certified shares in my hands, right?" Li Wendi said with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Bao Fuda was slightly stunned, and responded, "This batch of new shares is specifically provided to the Landmark Company. If Mr. Li wants it, he needs to wait for the next batch."

"Mr. Bao Fuda, do you mean that the certified shares in my hands are of no use at all? Then is the company law of Hong Kong just a decoration in front of the Wharf Group?" Li Wendi was forced into a corner, how could he still have a good attitude.

"." Bao Fuda's smile suddenly became a little awkward. It was not that he had not thought about these things, but he wanted to overwhelm Li Wendi with the vote of the board of directors and force Li Wendi to succumb under the situation.

"Based on the 20% certified shares I hold, I can at least get priority to subscribe for 1000 million shares out of 200 million shares. If Mr. Bao Fuda insists on issuing all the new shares to the Hutchison Whampoa, I will file a lawsuit in court and have these shares deemed illegal." Li Wendi directly exposed himself.

Suddenly, the entire conference room fell silent, and most eyes were focused on Li Wendi. Li Wendi was definitely the first person to oppose the Hong Kong Land Company so much in the board of directors.

Bao Fuda looked embarrassed. After some thought, he decided to put the proposal on hold for the time being. If Li Wendi took over 200 million shares, the shareholding ratio would not change much. Although the shares of the Swire Properties were increased, the effect would only be half.

After the meeting, Li Wendi was still frightened, which made him think of concentrating funds to secretly buy Wharf shares, even if it would fail and he would be heavily in debt.

Hongkong Land Office

Niu Bijian was sitting on the sofa with a cup of fragrant coffee on the coffee table. His expression was unusually gloomy.

"So, it's clear that Li Wendi wants to acquire Wharf Holdings. We didn't achieve our goal, but we didn't gain nothing. How do you think we can stop Li Wendi?"

Bao Fuda pondered for a moment, "Li Wendi will most likely seek a loan from HSBC. We can first say hello to Shen Bi of HSBC to cut off Li Wendi's acquisition funds, and then we can contact Li Wendi's enemies to put Li Wendi in a competitive dilemma and drain his funds." "It is not difficult to stop HSBC from lending, but you have to consider that there are too many banks in Hong Kong. I heard that Li Wendi has reached a cooperation agreement with the Bank of Canada. I believe it is not difficult for the Bank of Canada to lend several hundred million to Li Wendi." New Bijian continued, "The Chinese have a saying, 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend! It is a good idea to unite Li Wendi's enemies to deal with Li Wendi, and it can also reduce our financial pressure to deal with Li Wendi.'"

"Okay, then I will be responsible for contacting Li Wendi's opponents. Li Wendi will soon feel the feeling of being surrounded." Bao Fuda said with a smile.

"Then I'll wait for your good news." Newbijian raised his glass and gestured to Bao Fuda.

Saturday, May 8

Baguio Residence in Pokfulam, Hong Kong Island has launched four high-end residential buildings with a total of 4 units. All of them are luxury homes with an area of ​​292 square feet and a price of HK$380 per square foot.

Although the infrastructure was still under construction, many wealthy people came to buy the properties, and there were long queues at the sales office, even during the hot summer season.

In order to prevent its employees from suffering from heatstroke, New World Development Company bought more than a dozen boxes of cool drinks to cool down the guests.

According to the plan, there will be 7 residential buildings launched in the second phase of Baguio Bay, and the infrastructure will be initially constructed by then.

However, according to the current situation, houses in the Baguio Bay residential area will not have trouble selling and can even be sold at a higher price. However, Cheng Yutong disagrees and thinks that it is enough to compare with the market price. Business is about reputation, not just profit.

Li Wendi had no objection to this. His shares in the Baguio Bay project were too small. Even if he made an extra 100 million yuan, he would not get much. He just wanted his company to gain some experience from this project.

"Uncle Tong, New World Development is going to be famous in the future. First it was the New World Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, and now it's the high-end residential area in Baguio Bay. The stock price should have risen a little more today. I should have bought more shares earlier." Li Wendi complimented Cheng Yutong.

“Baguio Bay doesn’t have such a big impact. It’s no match for your bold statement at the Wharf Group. Although I didn’t attend that board meeting, the whole circle knows about your feat.” Cheng Yutong said with a smile.

Li Wendi smiled bitterly and said, "I am just being pushed into a corner. I think the current situation is the most difficult. Hong Kong Land must be trying every way to increase its holdings in Wharf Holdings. My chances are getting slimmer and slimmer."

Hearing this, Zheng Yutong's expression calmed down and he said, "If you want to acquire Wharf Holdings, you have no choice but to bite the bullet. I can lend you 5000 million."

"Thank you, Uncle Tong!" Li Wendi said seriously, "If I really need it, I will borrow from you again."

"Well! This is a tough battle, and it's all about financial resources, so you have to be prepared." Zheng Yutong turned around and said seriously, "Losing to the Landmark Company is nothing to be ashamed of. We can just win it back in the future."

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Central
Wells met with Li Wendi here to discuss the second phase of cooperation on the Aberdeen project.

"Mr. Li, you are indeed a prominent figure in Hong Kong. You even dare to challenge the authority of the Hong Kong Land Company." Willis praised with a faint smile.

Li Wendi shook his head and responded, "It's just for my own benefit, it's not a big deal."

The two chatted for a while, and Willis began to get to the point. "Mr. Li, Hutchison Real Estate Company plans to independently develop the Xiangjiangzai Phase II project. I'm afraid Changxin Real Estate Company will withdraw."

According to the original contract, Changxin Real Estate Company had the priority right to cooperate on Hutchison Group's Xiangjiangzai Phase II project, but now Willis intends to take over the project alone, which seems a bit unfair.

Li Wendi smiled and said, "Hutchison Land Company has the strength to independently develop the second phase of the project, but I'm afraid Hutchison Land Company's funds are not so sufficient. With the participation of Changxin Real Estate Company, Hutchison Land Company will be more at ease. What do you think, Mr. Willis?"

"Mr. Li, I'm really sorry! This is the decision of the board of directors!" Wells still refused to listen.

"Well, since Mr. Wells doesn't care about our friendship, I can only accept my fate. But I still hope to strengthen cooperation with Hutchison Group." Li Wendi said without any anger. He had already thought of this scenario. Wells dared to abandon even Dachang Real Estate Company, so what was Changxin Real Estate Company?

However, Li Wendi silently made a decision that after dealing with the Wharf Group, he would turn around and deal with Hutchison Properties. It would be better for him to be patient at this time.

(End of this chapter)