In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 721 Standard Chartered Bank Apologizes, Lin Haoran Travels to Mainland China Again!

In the blink of an eye, three days have passed, and it's now September 2nd.

In the past three days, a major event has occurred in Hong Kong's business community: the renowned Mr. Brown, the head of Standard Chartered Bank's Hong Kong branch, was suddenly rumored to be transferred back to the UK headquarters.

Brown's new position is filled by Mr. Tyron, Global Senior Vice President of Standard Chartered Bank.

Brown is currently still in Hong Kong, but some news has already been leaked.

Many people were surprised by this. Could it be that Brown was promoted to a higher position at headquarters because of his great contribution in acquiring Huifeng Bank?

Only a few bigwigs vaguely guessed that this was probably because the "Anti-Lin Alliance" had failed.

In the morning, Lin Haoran was still at home when he received a call from Ma Shimin.

Ma Shimin said to Lin Haoran, "Boss, the new head of Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong has sent you a letter of inquiry. Would you like to meet with him?"

"The new head of the Hong Kong office?" Lin Haoran asked, puzzled.

He already knew about the new head teacher, but it had nothing to do with him, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

The new taipan just arrived in Hong Kong, and I didn't expect him to be so eager to visit me.

Although somewhat surprised, Lin Haoran still agreed.

At 10:00 a.m., Lin Haoran and Ma Shimin met with the other party in the reception room on the 51st floor of the Kang Le Building.

In the meeting room, Mr. Tyron got straight to the point, saying he was there on behalf of Standard Chartered Bank to apologize to Lin Haoran.

The other party emphasized that Standard Chartered Bank had no intention of being an enemy of Lin Haoran. The "luxury hotel alliance" formed with Li Jiacheng, the Kadoorie family, and others, and the actions taken against the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, were all actions taken by Mr. Brown on his own initiative and were decisions made without the consent of the Standard Chartered Bank board of directors.

At the same time, the other party also stated that Standard Chartered Bank would provide full support for the international cooperation between Standard Chartered Bank and Hengsheng Group.

In addition, Standard Chartered Bank will also put pressure on the Hong Kong Government House regarding the right to issue banknotes, so as to get the Government House to agree to the matter as soon as possible.

In short, the other party's attitude was extremely good, and they completely shirked their responsibility.

Lin Haoran responded with a gentle and satisfied smile.

He nodded slightly and said with a faint smile, "Mr. Tyron's sincerity is evident to me. Mr. Brown's previous actions did indeed cause some unnecessary turmoil in the Hong Kong business community, which made me dissatisfied. Fortunately, your company has been able to correct the situation in time."

Mr. Tyronn quickly chimed in, adopting a very humble tone: "Mr. Lin, I am truly sorry, Mr. Brown's behavior has seriously violated Standard Chartered Bank's consistent business principles and cooperative philosophy."

Our board of directors was furious upon learning of this, which is why we quickly made adjustments and sent me here, hoping to repair our relationship with Mr. Lin and the business forces behind you.”

The two didn't chat for long, less than half an hour, before Lin Haoran said he had something to take care of and saw his guest out.

After Tyron left, Lin Haoran and Ma Shimin returned to the office.

"Mr. Ma, do you really think that, as the other party claims, Standard Chartered Bank headquarters was completely unaware of what happened before?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.

“Absolutely impossible! Even if Brown has a lot of influence in Hong Kong, Standard Chartered Bank headquarters must have spies here. They can’t possibly be unaware of Brown’s every move.”

The only reasonable explanation is that they were waiting to see if Brown could unite with other business forces in Hong Kong to bring down you, Boss.

"If it succeeds, Standard Chartered can seize the opportunity to take over more market share; even if it fails, they can still shift all the blame to Brown, just like they are now, and escape unscathed." Ma Shimin said with certainty and conviction.

Lin Haoran nodded slightly and said with a smile, "It seems that the Standard Chartered Bank headquarters is full of old foxes who have a good plan."

However, they think they can easily get away unscathed and even profit from us? They're seriously underestimating me.

Ma Shimin frowned slightly and asked, "Boss, what should we do next? We can't just let them manipulate us and follow their script, can we?"

Lin Haoran's lips curled up into a confident smile: "Of course not. Since they want to put on this show, we'll play along. On the surface, we can accept their apologies and overtures. We can proceed with the projects that need to be cooperated on, allowing Hengsheng Group to leverage their channels and resources to accelerate its international cooperation."

A hint of doubt flashed in Ma Shimin's eyes: "Boss, isn't this letting them off too easily? What if they come up with some bad ideas later? Wouldn't we be put in a passive position?"

Lin Haoran stood up, walked to the window, looked at the bustling Hong Kong street scene outside, and slowly said, "Mr. Ma, this is called 'feigning weakness to lure the enemy into a trap.' We'll give them some sweet treats first to lower their guard."

So, for now, let's ignore Standard Chartered Bank and let them think we actually believed their lies. Let's maintain a peaceful relationship with them. Standard Chartered Bank's crisis hasn't arrived yet; I have plenty of ways to teach them a lesson later!

In fact, Lin Haoran wouldn't even need to lift a finger; someone would soon cause Standard Chartered Bank to suffer heavy losses.

This person is Chen Songqing.

Today, Huifeng Bank is hiding a major problem. When Huifeng Bank was competing most fiercely with East Asia Bank, Chen Songqing began to publicly support Huifeng Bank on behalf of the Jia Ning Group, while also swindling a large sum of money from Huifeng Bank.

This loan involves billions of Hong Kong dollars.

The fact that Jialing Group is still able to hold on is largely thanks to this funding.

If the Jianing Group's cash flow encounters serious problems, then the "time bomb" hidden in Huifeng Bank will be about to explode.

Billions of Hong Kong dollars in debt are about to become bad debts, and for Standard Chartered Bank, a subsidiary of HSBC, this is absolutely unbearable.

Lin Haoran could easily act as an invisible "igniter" in this situation.

Of course, these are all things for later, and there's no rush for now.

For now, maintaining a superficial friendly relationship between Lin Haoran and Standard Chartered Bank is enough.

Now we just wait for the right moment and let Standard Chartered Bank enjoy what it's like to be in a financial crisis again.

Aside from the change of leadership at Standard Chartered Bank, the price war between Wellcome and ParknShop continues.

Even though Hutchison Whampoa is not in a good position now, it is still a giant enterprise in Hong Kong and it is not going to collapse in just a few days.

As for Wellcome supermarket, there are absolutely no problems.

For Hongkong Land, let alone a month-long price war, even a year-long price war wouldn't damage the company's core structure; it's just a matter of whether it's necessary.

Therefore, for these three days, the streets and alleys of Hong Kong were still filled with the intense atmosphere brought about by the price war.

Promotional posters from Wellcome and ParknShop supermarkets are everywhere, like silent battle flags in this commercial war.

Citizens enthusiastically shuttled between the two supermarkets, enjoying the shopping extravaganza. The price war between the two supermarket giants seemed to have lowered the overall cost of living in Hong Kong.

However, behind this fierce competition among giants, other supermarkets in Hong Kong are like small boats in a storm, teetering on the brink of collapse and facing an unprecedented survival crisis.

Although Wellcome and ParknShop are the largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, as a city with a population of five million, there is still ample room for the market to thrive.

Therefore, apart from Wellcome and ParknShop, supermarkets of all sizes are scattered throughout Hong Kong.

Normally, they live a comfortable life, surviving in the cracks.

But now this sudden and fierce price war is like a violent hurricane, instantly shattering their originally peaceful lives and dragging them into a huge vortex.

Take Lee Man Supermarket in Sham Shui Po as an example. On weekdays, it has a stable flow of customers, and most of the daily necessities such as rice, oil, salt and household goods for the surrounding residents are purchased here.

The supermarket owner, Uncle Chen, is a kind person who treats his employees like family, creating a very harmonious atmosphere in the supermarket.

But ever since Wellcome and ParknShop started their price war, Limin Supermarket's business has plummeted.

Uncle Chen looked at the mountains of goods piled on the shelves, his brows furrowed and his face full of worry.

The once bustling cashier area is now deserted, with only a few customers.

He sighed helplessly and muttered to himself, "If this price war continues like this, my little supermarket really won't last much longer."

When two giants clash, the first to suffer are small and medium-sized supermarkets like Limin Supermarket, which are not large in scale and have weak risk resistance.

Those large supermarkets that lack powerful backers like Hutchison Whampoa or Hongkong Land are also facing a difficult dilemma.

Although they offer the same wide variety of products as Wellcome and ParknShop, they lack the ability to engage in price wars.

Faced with a price war that lasted for a full month, perhaps the only thing they could do was to give up.

Should we join the price war?

This is a dead end.

Wellcome and ParknShop are backed by giants and have abundant funds, allowing them to sell at cost price or even at a slight loss, aiming to drag down their competitors and seize market share.

They sell cheaply, attract crowds, and maintain their cash flow through huge sales volumes. Furthermore, they purchase in large quantities, enabling them to obtain purchase prices from suppliers that are far below market rates.

Other supermarkets, while having a certain scale, lack strong capital support. If they were to follow suit, it would be tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst; such suicidal imitation might lead to their demise even faster than not following at all.

Suddenly, supermarket owners in Hong Kong were filled with gloom and despair.

However, Wellcome and ParknShop don't care about the fate of these small businesses.

Especially ParknShop supermarkets, which are now struggling to survive, have begun to resort to drastic measures in order to survive this life-or-death war of attrition. Price wars, especially this kind of cash-burning price war between giants, cannot produce results in a short period of time.

Only when one company can no longer hold on and stops the price war, or when both sides shake hands and make peace, will this price war possibly come to an end.

However, judging from the current situation, neither Hongkong Land, the parent company of Wellcome Supermarket, nor Hutchison Whampoa, the parent company of ParknShop Supermarket, shows any sign of stopping. On the contrary, they are getting more and more entangled in this fierce competition.

In an effort to further reduce costs, ParknShop supermarkets have started to cut corners on their suppliers.

They dispatched a shrewd purchasing team to search for new suppliers and try to get the goods at a lower price.

At the same time, pressure is being put on existing suppliers to lower prices, or orders will be reduced or cooperation terminated.

This move has caused considerable distress to many suppliers.

A price war may seem to benefit ordinary citizens, but in reality, it is a brutal game with a scope and impact far exceeding what most people can imagine.

Suppliers pressured by ParknShop supermarket chain had no choice but to grit their teeth and agree to lower prices in order to keep this important order.

However, once profit margins are drastically compressed, their cash flow will begin to tighten.

In order to stay afloat, some suppliers will inevitably have to cut employee wages or even lay off workers.

In the factory, workers are filled with anxiety, unsure how long they can keep their jobs, and the originally harmonious work atmosphere becomes oppressive and dull.

Of course, these are all things for later. The price war has only been going on for a few days, and for the time being, the impact has not yet become apparent.

But given enough time, these things are bound to happen sooner or later.

"Boss, are you ready? We can set off now." At three o'clock in the afternoon, in Lin Haoran's office at Kang Le Building, Ma Shimin knocked on the door and walked in, saying this.

“Alright, in that case, let’s set off. It’s a two- or three-hour drive, and by the time we get there it will be evening.” Lin Haoran glanced at his watch, stood up, and smiled.

Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM, the Shekou Industrial Park, under the Wanqing Group, will officially open.

At that time, Landsea Group's subsidiary, Langwei Group, will produce many fast-moving consumer goods in this industrial park.

Lin Haoran had previously agreed to attend the opening ceremony in mainland China, but 8 o'clock was too early. Therefore, Ma Shimin had discussed with Lin Haoran that they would go a day earlier.

Therefore, when he went out today, he even packed two sets of clothes and had his bodyguard bring him a suitcase.

"Boss, two or three hours won't be necessary, about an hour will suffice!" Ma Shimin said with a smile.

"Oh?" Lin Haoran looked at Ma Shimin in confusion.

He had already been to Shenzhen before. The road north was mostly mountainous, and the roads in Shenzhen were difficult to travel on. Some roads were even gravel or dirt. On rainy days, even cars had difficulty traveling. Therefore, it would definitely take more than three hours to reach Shekou.

"Boss, this time we won't drive there, but will take a hydrofoil. I've already applied to the mainland in advance. It just so happens that the Shekou Port, which was built on the mainland, has been in operation for more than three months. We are VIPs and important investors this time, so everything has been given a green light. The mainland will arrange special personnel to meet us at the port."

"The hydrofoil is fast and travels by water, avoiding the rugged mountain roads, and can reach Shekou Wharf in about an hour," Ma Shimin explained in detail.

On May 7, 1981, the first phase of the Shekou Port construction project was completed and put into use.

So, it's been almost four months now.

More than two years ago, with the support and assistance of the Shenzhen government, Wanqing Group acquired multiple plots of land in Luohu, Nanshan, Shekou and other places.

Especially next to the Shekou Industrial Park, they acquired a plot of land totaling one million square meters.

This piece of land has been developed into a large industrial park, which is the industrial park that will open tomorrow.

Moreover, because this industrial park is adjacent to Pengcheng Bay, it can even be equipped with a large wharf. In the future, the products manufactured in this industrial park can be transported to all parts of the world through this wharf.

However, the dock is not yet completed and is still under construction.

However, although his own wharf is not yet completed, the first phase of Shekou Port, built by the local government, has already been completed.

The Shekou Port is less than a kilometer away from the industrial park acquired by Wanqing Group.

Therefore, the industrial park can temporarily use Shekou Port in the short term.

Lin Haoran's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "That's a good idea. Taking a boat there will save time and have a unique charm."

He went to the mainland twice, both times by car, and never considered taking a boat.

As for flying, he hadn't even considered it.

He knew about hydrofoils and had even ridden in one. They were a type of high-speed boat, used for things like the Hong Kong-Macau ferry service.

This hydrofoil boat has a support frame at the bottom of its hull, on which hydrofoils are attached. As the boat's speed gradually increases, the buoyancy provided by the hydrofoils lifts the hull off the water, thus greatly reducing water resistance and increasing the speed. The speed is extremely fast, just like flying on the water.

Its main advantage is that it can sail in relatively rough sea conditions and has less hull pitching.

"Yes, I've already had someone check today's tides and sea conditions. They're perfect for sailing, ensuring a smooth and safe journey without anyone getting seasick," Ma Shimin added.

After listening, Lin Haoran nodded in satisfaction: "Mr. Ma's consideration is indeed very thorough. Taking a hydrofoil is indeed much more convenient and can save us from the hardships of traveling by land. So, let's set off immediately according to your plan."

Not long after, the group arrived at the Central Ferry Pier.

At this moment, at a docking point of the Central Pier, a hydrofoil boat capable of carrying more than 100 people is quietly moored at the pier.

Lin Haoran, Ma Shimin, Burton and other bigwigs who wield considerable influence in Hong Kong's business world have all arrived here.

Besides them, there were also many senior and middle-level managers from Hongkong Land Group and Wanqing Group who came together.

Besides Lin Haoran and his 12 bodyguards, there were more than 30 people from the two groups, a considerable number.

Lin Haoran stood on the second floor of the hydrofoil, looking at the rippling blue waves of Victoria Harbour and the clear outline of the Kowloon Peninsula on the opposite shore.

Today is an auspicious day, with clear skies and crisp autumn air.

A gentle sea breeze swept through Victoria Harbour, dispelling the afternoon's sweltering heat and bringing a touch of coolness.

Lin Haoran took a deep breath of the slightly salty sea breeze, his gaze sweeping across the shimmering sea, as if he could see Shekou in Shenzhen, dozens of kilometers away.

He often comes to the Central Pier, but in the past he mainly went out to sea on luxury yachts to relax.

"Woo——"

The long, deep, and resonant whistle of the steamer heralded the start of this journey.

The hydrofoil slowly departed from the Central Pier and then quickly accelerated.

With the roar of the engine, the ship was smoothly lifted by the hydrofoils, breaking through the azure sea surface, like an elegant and swift seabird, speeding towards Pengcheng Bay in the northwest.

Inside the cabin, Lin Haoran sat in comfortable seats with Ma Shimin, Burton, and others.

An assistant brought tea and snacks. Lin Haoran picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said to Ma Shimin, "The opening of the Shekou Industrial Park is of great significance. Mr. Ma, what is the list of the first batch of companies to move in and their production capacity plans?"

Ma Shimin immediately took out a document from his briefcase and reported, "Boss, the first batch of confirmed companies to move in consists of eighteen companies, all of which are fast-moving consumer goods companies acquired by Langwei Group. They mainly deal in beverages, packaged foods, grains and oils, personal care products, and household goods, including Heineken beer, Red Bull, Vitasoy, Lee Kum Kee, Snickers, and so on."

Once fully operational, the facility is expected to provide over 30,000 jobs, with annual export value projected to reach approximately $300 million. This is only the first phase; there will be second and third phases in the future, providing a total of over 100,000 jobs.

Lin Haoran took the document and began to read it carefully.

The products on this list include brands that were famous in his previous life, as well as some well-known brands in Hong Kong during this era.

After a long while, he silently closed the document and handed it back to Ma Shimin.

In the future, under the operation of Langwei Group, these brands will go from Shekou to the world.

Burton, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "Boss, in your opinion, which areas in the manufacturing sector would be best for our Wanqing Group to develop?"

Wanqing Group's manufacturing sector is mainly based on Qingzhou Yingni, which produces cement. Later, it acquired many building materials companies, such as stone factories, steel factories, glass factories, aluminum factories, paint factories, coating factories, tile factories, and so on.

These were all developed by Wanqing Group in the later stages, in order to create a building materials industry chain based on Qingzhou Yingni and form a synergistic effect.

However, at present, Qingzhou Yingni Company still has the highest turnover and profit. It is extremely difficult for other industries to catch up with Qingzhou Yingni, after all, Qingzhou Yingni has become an extremely famous brand.

At Lin Haoran's suggestion, all the companies subsequently acquired by Wanqing Group used the Qingzhou Yingni brand for operation and promotion, leveraging Qingzhou Yingni's brand awareness and reputation to quickly open up the market.

However, the building materials sector ultimately has its limits and is significantly affected by the macroeconomy and real estate cycle.

And now, looking at the industrial park he has built, there are no good projects to put there for production, and it can only be leased to Hongkong Land Group, which makes Burton feel a little regretful.

As the president of a group, especially now that Wanqing Group is also pursuing diversification, and seeing that Zhidi Group is developing better and better, he naturally hopes that Wanqing Group can also develop in more promising fields.

(End of this chapter)