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Chapter 718 The "Anti-Lin Alliance" Collapses

“Hello, this is Brown.” His tone was tinged with impatience.

Since his position at Standard Chartered Bank was greatly elevated, Brown's official arrogance has grown increasingly pronounced.

The serious voice of Lord Derek Barber, his superior, came from the other end of the phone: "Mr. Brown, it's me."

Brown's expression froze instantly; he hadn't expected headquarters to call him at this moment.

Although he was a major contributor to Standard Chartered Bank's acquisition of Huifeng Bank, he still holds a pivotal position on the board of directors of Standard Chartered Bank.

However, no matter how high his status rises, he can never compare to the head of Standard Chartered Bank.

Lord Derek Barber's position at Standard Chartered Bank was similar to that of Sir Michael Sandberg during the heyday of HSBC. While he couldn't have absolute authority, his decisions rarely failed to pass at board meetings.

If Brown wants to run for the next chairman of Standard Chartered Bank in the future, getting Lord Derek Barber's support would definitely make things much easier.

Born in 1931, Brown is only fifty years old now, in the prime of his career, and naturally unwilling to let his career peak stop at just a regional manager.

So he quickly adjusted his tone and said respectfully, "Lord, what are your instructions?"

Lord Derek Barber's voice came through the microphone: "Mr. Brown, the board has discussed the 'Anti-Lin Alliance' you formed with Li Jiacheng, Henry Keswick, and others."

Brown's heart sank. He gripped the microphone tightly, trying to keep his voice steady: "Lord, this operation is to expand our market share in Hong Kong. Lin Haoran's rise has threatened our interests."

Since so many local businessmen in Hong Kong dislike Lin Haoran, we can take advantage of this opportunity…

"Enough!" Lord Derek Barber interrupted him, his usual affable demeanor gone. "The board unanimously agrees that your actions were too risky and unassessed, and were entirely unauthorized. The Kadoorie family's withdrawal and voluntary relinquishment of profits have already demonstrated Lin Haoran's strength and methods."

We at Standard Chartered Bank are at a critical juncture and cannot afford to take unnecessary risks because of your personal ambitions.

Brown's face turned pale instantly, but he still tried to argue: "Lord, please believe me, we are fully capable of dealing with Lin Haoran. Just give me a little more time, and I will definitely be able to gather more allies to join forces. At that time, no matter how strong Lin Haoran is, he can't fight against four hands with two fists. I don't believe that Lin Haoran would dare to be an enemy of the whole world."

"Brown!" Lord Derek Barber's voice suddenly rose. "The Board has decided to suspend all your decision-making authority in Hong Kong and send Mr. Tyron to Hong Kong to take over related matters."

Your current task is to cooperate with Mr. Tyron, stabilize the situation, and refrain from any further radical actions. After Mr. Tyron takes over, you will return to the UK headquarters to report for duty. I have other arrangements for you afterward.

Brown clenched his fists, feeling a sudden dizziness.

An unprecedented surge of anger and humiliation welled up within him. He had made great contributions to Standard Chartered Bank and originally thought that he could have absolute power and do whatever he wanted in Hong Kong, believing that he deserved all of this.

With his absolute power in Hong Kong, if he can further increase the market share of Standard Chartered Bank's Hong Kong branch, he will soon be able to take the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Standard Chartered Bank.

But now... he knew in his heart that if he really angered Lord Derek Barber and made the other man resentful, resisting at this moment would only make the situation worse.

He took a deep breath and managed to squeeze out a voice: "I understand, Lord."

After hanging up the phone, Brown stood there for a long time without moving.

The sun was still shining brightly outside the window, and the ships in Victoria Harbour were still busy, but his world seemed to have collapsed in an instant.

This phone call seemed to have reduced all his efforts in Hong Kong to ashes.

The assistant knocked gently on the door and peeked in: "Mr. Da Ban, the car is ready, and we can leave at any time."

“Cancel the trip.” Brown’s voice was hoarse and cold.

The assistant was taken aback for a moment, but seeing Brown's gloomy face, he didn't dare to ask any more questions and quickly nodded and left.

Brown slowly walked to the window, gazing at the Kang Le Building not far away, his eyes filled with resentment and anger.

He originally wanted to make another great contribution to Standard Chartered Bank and prepare for his future election as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Standard Chartered Bank.

But now, all plans have vanished with this phone call. Not only has he lost his decision-making power in Hong Kong, but he also faces unknown follow-up arrangements. His future career in the bank seems to be shrouded in a thick gloom.

Although he won't lose everything after returning to headquarters, he will definitely be given other important positions.

No matter what, he made great contributions to Standard Chartered Bank and was a major contributor to the bank.

But from Lord Derek Barber's tone, he already knew that his dream of becoming chairman of Standard Chartered Bank might have been shattered.

However, after his anger subsided, he had to face reality.

The headquarters' decision was irreversible; his power was stripped and the plan was shelved.

He must rethink his situation.

At this moment, he didn't even have the mind to talk to Li Jiacheng.

From now on, these matters will be none of his concern. Perhaps his dream of becoming the chairman of Standard Chartered Bank's board of directors has been basically shattered. Why would he care about the 'anti-Lin alliance'?
He's too busy taking care of himself right now.

Chairman's office at Hutchison Whampoa Building.

An hour ago, he contacted Mr. Brown and Mr. Henry Keswick.

After discussion, everyone agreed that even if the Kadoorie family withdrew, they could not admit defeat.

Since we've already offended Lin Haoran, we might as well go all in and try our best; maybe there's still a chance for a turnaround.

For Li Jiacheng, when he openly sided with Huifeng Bank during the full-blown business war between Huifeng Bank and Bank of East Asia, and even called on all his company's partners to cooperate with Huifeng Bank, he had already created an irreconcilable feud with Lin Haoran.

After that, he made a special trip to visit Bao Yugang, hoping to use Bao Yugang's relationship with Lin Haoran to ease the conflict between him and Lin Haoran.

However, Bao Yugang suggested that he personally apologize and that all of Li Ka-shing's companies' financial business be transferred to cooperation with Bank of East Asia, which would naturally resolve the conflict.

But Li Jiacheng knew that the contract he had signed with Huifeng Bank made it impossible for him to choose another partner.

Even if Huafeng Bank were acquired by Standard Chartered Bank, it's impossible!

Later, Hutchison Whampoa's performance plummeted, leading him to believe that Lin Haoran was retaliating against him.

So he simply went all the way down the wrong path. Since he had already offended them, he wasn't afraid to go even further, which led to his later alliance with Brown, Laurence Kadoorie, and Henry Keswick.

The original plan was quite good. They would start with the luxury hotel industry. Once they succeeded in one industry, other forces would see that competing with Lin Haoran was not necessarily a losing proposition, which would naturally attract more forces to join their 'anti-Lin alliance'.

The plan was going smoothly, but to their surprise, Lin Haoran's methods were even more ruthless and vicious than they had imagined. It was as if he already knew they were going to intercept the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Not only did he take it first, but he also forcefully acquired the Hong Kong Grand Hotel, which was originally controlled by the Kadoorie family.

Now, the Kadoorie family has directly backed down and withdrawn from their 'anti-Lin alliance,' causing their plan to suffer a major blow before it even truly began.

He has been waiting for Brown in his office for almost an hour, but Brown has not arrived or even made a phone call.

This made Li Jiacheng somewhat irritated.

He had known Brown for many years, and Brown was usually a very punctual and trustworthy person. Logically, if Brown said he would meet in half an hour, he would definitely meet in half an hour.

But now, an hour has passed, and not only has the other party not come over, but they haven't even made a phone call to explain.

Could it be that something has happened again?
Just then, the assistant cautiously knocked on the door and came in: "Mr. Li, Mr. Brown's office just replied, saying that Mr. Brown has an urgent matter and has canceled today's meeting."

Li Jiacheng frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Did it say it was some kind of emergency?

The assistant shook his head: "No, they only said that Mr. Brown is temporarily unable to get away and won't be coming."

Li Jiacheng was silent for a moment, then waved his hand: "You can go out now."

After his assistant left, he picked up the phone and dialed Brown's office number.

However, after a series of ringing sounds, the phone went dead.

Obviously, the person on the other end of the phone hung up immediately.

Li Jiacheng's face instantly darkened, and he slammed the telephone receiver heavily onto the landline.

He stood up and paced back and forth in the office, the hem of his suit jacket swaying with each hurried step.

"Something's not right," he muttered to himself.

Brown's unusual behavior alerted him to something ominous.

Just then, the phone rang.

Li Jiacheng rushed forward and grabbed the microphone: "Hello?"

“Mr. Li, it’s me.” Henry Keswick’s voice came from the other end of the phone. “I just received news from the Standard Chartered Bank board that Standard Chartered headquarters has suspended Brown’s decision-making authority in Hong Kong.”

Li Jiacheng's fingers tightened instantly, and the ominous premonition in his heart finally became a reality.

He asked, unwilling to give up, "When did this happen?"

“Just an hour ago,” Henry Keswick’s voice was grave. “Standard Chartered headquarters is about to send Mr. Tyron to take over Hong Kong affairs. It’s said that Brown has been urgently recalled to London for a briefing, and his future position has been reassigned.”

Jardine Matheson suffered a defeat in its business battle with Lin Haoran last year, and subsequently launched a plan to relocate its headquarters.

Therefore, Jardine Matheson's headquarters have long since moved to London.

Standard Chartered Bank's headquarters are also in London.

Furthermore, Standard Chartered Bank has always been one of the most important banks in Hong Kong, while Jardine Matheson rose to prominence in Hong Kong. Standard Chartered and Jardine Matheson even held a certain percentage of shares in each other, albeit a small one, enough to give Jardine Matheson connections within Standard Chartered. Therefore, it's not surprising that Henry Keswick suddenly received this information from Standard Chartered; they wouldn't lie to him.

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

Li Jiacheng slowly sat back down in his chair, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

He knew all too well what this meant; he knew without a doubt that Standard Chartered Bank was going to withdraw from the "anti-Lincoln alliance."

“Mr. Li? Are you still listening?” Henry Keswick asked when the other party did not respond for a long time.

“I’m here.” Li Jiacheng’s voice was a little hoarse as he forced himself to calm down. “It seems our plans need to be readjusted.”

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Henry Keswick suddenly said, "Mr. Lee, I don't think there's any need for our 'Anti-Lin Alliance' to continue. Let's just disband it."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiacheng's pupils contracted sharply, and he slammed his left hand on the desk: "Mr. Henry, what do you mean by this?"

“Mr. Li, I will not stop dealing with Lin Haoran, but I think it’s a waste of time and energy to ally with you.” Henry Keswick’s voice was frighteningly calm. “Jardine Matheson will deal with Lin Haoran in its own way, but will no longer participate in your alliance.”

Li Jiacheng's chest heaved violently as he suppressed his anger: "Henry, you're deserting your post! Don't forget what we agreed on."

"What did we agree on? Mr. Li, the alliance has only been established for a few days, and the Kadoorie family has already withdrawn. Now even Standard Chartered Bank is going to withdraw. Do you think it's necessary for our cooperation to continue?"

"Mr. Li is well aware that Jardine Matheson withdrew from the Hong Kong market last year. Even if Jardine Matheson continues to cooperate with you, I cannot provide you with any assistance in Hong Kong," Henry Keswick said with a wry smile.

"You~" Li Jiacheng was speechless for a moment.

Henry Keswick continued, "Besides, I'm currently focused on conquering the South American market and don't have the energy to deal with Lin Haoran right now. Mr. Li, take care of yourself and good luck."

As for Jardine Matheson, they no longer had any businesses in Hong Kong, which meant they were not worried about Lin Haoran's targeting at all.

But they weren't worried; Li Jiacheng was!
But what does this have to do with Jardine Matheson?

Since this so-called "anti-Lin alliance" has not worked, it might as well be terminated directly to avoid wasting the energy and resources of Jardine Matheson.

After Henry Keswick finished speaking, there was a click on the other end of the phone, and the call was disconnected.

Li Jiacheng held the microphone, frozen in place.

Outside the window, the sunset over Victoria Harbour painted half the sky red, but his world seemed to have fallen into darkness.

Within a single day, the "anti-Lin alliance" crumbled—the Kadoorie family withdrew, Brown was recalled, and now even Henry Keswick has announced his withdrawal.

The once formidable alliance is now reduced to him fighting alone.

In other words, everything done before has been in vain.

Li Jiacheng walked to the bookshelf behind his desk and took out a folder from the drawer.

Opening the document, one finds Hutchison Whampoa's recent financial statements, showing that revenue and profit have declined for two consecutive months.

If this continues, we will inevitably fall into a state of loss sooner or later.

These matters have not been disclosed yet; otherwise, Hutchison Whampoa's market value would certainly be greatly affected.

However, as a listed company, Hutchison Whampoa will have to release these financial reports sooner or later.

Li Ka-shing only wanted to stabilize, or even raise to a safe level, Hutchison Whampoa's revenue and profit situation before the financial report was released.

Only in this way can Hutchison Whampoa's share price remain unaffected.

Today, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa are burdened with debt and often rely on bank loans to weather the storm.

Bank loans, on the other hand, assess a company's value primarily based on its market capitalization.

A company's market capitalization is often closely related to its profitability.

Just like when Lin Haoran acquired Qingzhou Yingni, it was because the former chairman of Qingzhou Yingni had falsified its financial statements, which made Qingzhou Yingni's external financial statements consistently mediocre. As a result, Qingzhou Yingni's market value was far lower than its actual value, which allowed Lin Haoran to get a great deal.

If Hutchison Whampoa's share price continues to fall, banks are likely to tighten credit, which would be a devastating blow to Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa.

The acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa was a case of a snake swallowing an elephant; in reality, Li Ka-shing's own capabilities were insufficient to acquire such a behemoth as Hutchison Whampoa.

Even if Huifeng Bank sold its Hutchison Whampoa shares to Li Ka-shing at a loss, it would only be a partial ownership of the shares.

Li Ka-shing later increased Cheung Kong Holdings' stake in Hutchison Whampoa to 40%, at a very high cost.

If the real estate industry continues to be hot, Cheung Kong Holdings may not face too much pressure, and will be able to repay its loans on time every year.

However, since the end of last year, Hong Kong's real estate industry has stagnated, with transaction volume, second-hand housing prices, and government land auction prices all gradually declining.

The once-booming environment of property speculation in Hong Kong vanished without a trace in an instant.

This shows just how much pressure Li Jiacheng is under now.

Although he successfully rose to the ranks of Hong Kong's top tycoons by relying on his position as chairman of the board of directors of Hutchison Whampoa, only Li Ka-shing himself knows how much pressure he is under.

Although Standard Chartered Bank will fully support Hutchison Whampoa, Li Ka-shing is also very clear that Standard Chartered Bank is currently struggling to survive, so how could it possibly provide him with the same level of financial support as Hui Fung Bank used to?
He stared at the numbers on the report, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the table, his face growing increasingly grim.

“They’re all gone…one by one they’ve all gone…” Li Jiacheng murmured to himself, his voice hoarse and trembling slightly.

He paced back and forth in his office, growing increasingly agitated.

Without the alliance, he faced Lin Haoran alone?

The thought sent chills down his spine.

Although he had great ambitions, he also understood that the gap between himself and Lin Haoran was enormous.

Lin Haoran's methods for dealing with the Kadoorie family were thunderous, precise, and ruthless, hitting their vital points directly.

The acquisition was swift and decisive, leaving the opponent with almost no chance to breathe or retaliate. The financial strength, intelligence capabilities, and decisiveness demonstrated were truly astounding.

What about yourself?
Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings also have obvious weaknesses: high debt, shrinking core real estate business, and retail and port businesses whose market share is being squeezed by Lin Haoran's companies.

The industries he's involved in are also those Lin Haoran is involved in, and he seems to be doing it more aggressively, faster, and stronger.

Previously, his businesses had been subjected to comprehensive suppression by the other party, resulting in a sharp drop in revenue and profits. This forced him to form a coalition to deal with Lin Haoran, hoping to use the power of the alliance to create a balance of power, and ideally defeat the other party and then divide up the other party's market share.

But now, the alliance has collapsed in an instant, which is equivalent to returning to the starting point, no, or even worse than the starting point!

His initiative to form an alliance has undoubtedly further enraged Lin Haoran, and he will inevitably face even fiercer anger and more precise attacks from him.

“We have to do something… We can’t just sit here and wait to die…” Li Jiacheng suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed on the glaring financial statement on the table.

The red numbers on it seemed to be jumping, transforming into Lin Haoran's cold and mocking face.

Fighting it head-on will only lead to certain death.

However, backing down was impossible, as he had a fatal contract that was now firmly held by Huifeng Bank and even Standard Chartered Bank.

This acted like a shackle, preventing him from turning to the Bank of East Asia for a genuine settlement.

The path that Bao Yugang proposed before is no longer viable.

Li Jiacheng always valued harmony in business, and he didn't want to offend Lin Haoran.

If he had to choose sides between the British consortium and Lin Haoran, then he could only stand on the side of the British consortium.

Annoying, so annoying, extremely annoying!

Li Jiacheng realized that ever since he publicly stated his position and sided with Huifeng Bank, things had started to go wrong.

Before taking sides, thanks to his connection with Bao Yugang, he could barely be considered Lin Haoran's ordinary friend.

But now, this already fragile relationship no longer exists, replaced only by cold hostility and suspicion.

He irritably loosened his tie, feeling as if the air in the office had solidified, making it hard to breathe.

As things stand, he really has no other solutions.

The only thing left to do is prepare for a targeted business war launched by Lin Haoran's companies.

Can I really defeat Lin Haoran in a one-on-one fight?
How will the other party retaliate against me?

Are there any allies that can be won over?
One question after another appeared in Li Jiacheng's mind, but there were no clear answers, only confusion and a heavy sense of powerlessness.

The sun had completely sunk below the horizon. The office was dark, the shadows engulfing him, much like his state of mind.

In the suffocating silence, the red internal telephone on the table suddenly rang sharply.

This phone number connects directly to his core management team and is not used for non-urgent or critical matters.

Li Jiacheng took a deep breath, suppressing his chaotic thoughts, and grabbed the microphone: "I am Li Jiacheng."

(End of this chapter)