In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 740 A feint to the east while attacking in the west: Hutchison Whampoa's largest shareholder changes hands

All the senior executives arrived at Standard Chartered Bank's trading room.

As a leader in the financial industry, Standard Chartered Bank is naturally involved in the securities industry as well. Moreover, after acquiring HSBC, their scale in the securities industry has become even larger.

Inside the trading room, the trading team was ready.

However, in the blink of an eye, Standard Chartered Bank issued its trading order, and hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars were about to flood into the market.

"Mr. Tyronn! Cheung Kong Holdings! Cheung Kong Holdings' stock price and trading volume are also showing unusual movements, with a sudden surge in trading volume!" An analyst who had been watching other related stocks suddenly reported loudly, holding a stock price chart that had just been printed out in real time.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn over.

On the chart, Cheung Kong Holdings, whose stock price had been relatively stable, suddenly surged as if injected with a shot of adrenaline, with trading volume increasing several times over in an instant!
Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone, the trader was reporting that on Cheung Kong Holdings' trading platform, countless sell orders were being rapidly swallowed up by astronomical buy orders. The ferocity and decisiveness of the tactics were exactly the same as those of Galaxy Securities, which was frantically buying up Hutchison Whampoa!
But how is this possible?

Everyone's attention should be on Hutchison Whampoa right now!
Li Ka-shing and all of Standard Chartered Bank's resources were tied up there!

Who is it that, at this particular time and in this manner, suddenly launched an attack on Li Ka-shing's foundation—Cheung Kong Holdings?

Tyron felt a chill run down his spine and up to his head, instantly making his hands and feet icy cold.

A chilling thought instantly flashed into his mind.

We've fallen for their trap?!

Lin Haoran's aggressive attacks on Hutchison Whampoa are a pretense; his real target is Cheung Kong Holdings.

No! The force of the attack and Huang's movements was real!

This is impossible to fake.

Moreover, the fact that the shareholders of Hutchison Whampoa cannot be contacted is enough to show that the other party has really taken action against Hutchison Whampoa.

What is this?
The mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole follows?

Could it be that a third force, a hidden and extremely powerful force, took advantage of the perfect opportunity when Lin Haoran was attacking Hutchison Whampoa with all his might and drawing all the firepower of Li Ka-shing and Standard Chartered Bank, and launched a precise and fatal surprise attack on Cheung Kong Holdings?

"Stop! Halt entry!" Tyron roared almost instinctively at his subordinates who were about to carry out the order.

The command that had just been issued was abruptly cut off.

Everyone in the trading room was stunned, staring at Tyron in bewilderment.

Tyron's face turned extremely ugly, and his brain raced.

If Standard Chartered Bank were to invest heavily in Hutchison Whampoa now, it would inevitably engage in a fierce battle with Galaxy Securities and other speculative investors, resulting in unimaginably high costs.

Meanwhile, the mysterious third party was able to acquire shares of Cheung Kong Holdings at a much lower cost without any interference!

Cheung Kong Holdings is the core of Li Ka-shing's empire!

If Cheung Kong Holdings changes hands, even if Hutchison Whampoa is saved, it will be a devastating blow to Li Ka-shing!

It's important to know that Li Ka-shing controls Hutchison Whampoa through Cheung Kong Holdings. Those 40% of the shares are all in the hands of Cheung Kong Holdings, not Li Ka-shing!
Could it be that the opponent wants to control Hutchison Whampoa through Cheung Kong Holdings?

If that's the case, then Standard Chartered's support will be completely meaningless!
Moreover, their entry into this market is destined to result in a loss.

In this situation, if he were to bring in several hundred million Hong Kong dollars from Standard Chartered Bank, but it would be completely ineffective, then Tyronn would inevitably become the scapegoat for this loss and would have to step down sooner or later.

How to do?
Should we continue to support Li Ka-shing in protecting Hutchison Whampoa as originally planned, or should we immediately divert our forces or even shift our focus to protecting the more core Cheung Kong Holdings?
This sudden turn of events completely disrupted all of Standard Chartered Bank's plans, putting Tyron in an extremely difficult dilemma!

He suddenly recalled the scene from a year ago when Lin Haoran was competing with Jardine Matheson.

At that time, Lin Haoran took advantage of the loophole in the cross-shareholding between Jardine Matheson and Hongkong Land Group, and indirectly controlled Jardine Matheson by secretly controlling Hongkong Land Group, thus completing a classic "snake swallowing an elephant"!
Although the British consortium eventually regained control of Jardine Matheson, it paid a heavy price. Now, it has completely withdrawn from the Hong Kong market, and the once-powerful "King of Trading Companies" has thus made a humiliating exit.

This case has been studied repeatedly by top financial professionals in Hong Kong, and Standard Chartered Bank is no exception. As a senior executive of Standard Chartered Bank, Tyronn can even clearly recall the shocking events in the market at the time and the anger and helplessness of the British financial group afterwards.

At this moment, the astonishing similarities of history sent chills down his spine!
Lin Haoran launched a fierce attack on Hutchison Whampoa, drawing all the firepower.

Meanwhile, another mysterious force suddenly attacks Cheung Kong Holdings?
Cheung Kong Holdings owns Hutchison Whampoa.

If this mysterious force successfully takes over Cheung Kong Holdings, they will not only control Cheung Kong Holdings, but also indirectly control the 40% stake in Hutchison Whampoa through Cheung Kong Holdings!
At that time, no matter how many shares Lin Haoran acquired in the Hutchison Whampoa secondary market, or how many shareholders he turned against him, it would all become meaningless in the face of the mysterious force that held absolute control of Cheung Kong Holdings!

Because the other party is the true owner of that 40% stake!
Even more frightening is the possibility that this mysterious force is in cahoots with Lin Haoran.

One is feigning an attack on one side while secretly advancing another.
Or perhaps it was Lin Haoran who acquired the shares of Cheung Kong Holdings?

Is Lin Haoran using the same methods he used against Jardine Matheson to deal with Li Jiacheng?

This idea sent chills down Tyrone's spine, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

If that's the case, then Lin Haoran's scheming, planning, and audacity are truly terrifying!

This is an even more ingenious and ruthless killing move against the Li Ka-shing Empire than it was against Jardine Matheson!

Jardine Matheson only lost control, because the British conglomerate could still use politics to threaten Lin Haoran.

But what else does Li Ka-shing have besides Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings?
If that's really the case, Li Jiacheng might even have his foundation uprooted!
But if they're not part of the same group, then who is this third force?
Who has such courage, strength, and precise timing?
Is Jardine Matheson making a comeback?

Did Taigu make a move in secret?

Or are they a formidable force from North America or London?

Countless questions and possibilities collided wildly in Tyron's mind; it was all too perplexing and confusing.

Just then, an assistant rushed in and handed a mobile phone to Tyron: "Mr. Big Boss, it's Mr. Li Jiacheng on the phone."

Tyron nodded, took the phone, walked to a quiet spot, and then pressed the answer button.

"Mr. Tyronn, please help me, Standard Chartered Bank!" As soon as the call connected, Li Jiacheng's voice came through hurried and even slightly panicked, completely losing its usual composure.

"The situation is critical! My trading team reports that Cheung Kong Holdings is under heavy attack from unidentified funds! The attack is very fast! The attackers are coming on strong!"

In addition, it has been confirmed by Hutchison Whampoa that it was Lin Haoran's people who made the move. Just now, a shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa, a friend of mine, told me that it was Hongkong Land Group President Simon Murray who invited him over this morning.

"Besides him, there were five other shareholders who went with him. Now, Lin Haoran should have acquired all of their shares." Before Tyron could answer, Li Jiacheng continued.

This shows that Li Jiacheng has lost his sense of proportion at this moment.

He really has no other options now. The only way is to turn to Standard Chartered Bank, the parent company of his powerful backer, Huifeng Bank.

Originally, he thought the other party was only targeting Standard Chartered Bank.

Tyron's heart sank; Li Jiacheng's confirmation shattered his last shred of hope.

He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice calm: "Mr. Li, I've seen it. We've just detected abnormal fluctuations in Cheung Kong Holdings as well."

The situation is worse than imagined. The funds attacking Cheung Kong Holdings are using the same methods and determination as Galaxy Securities' buying spree and Huang Shih's, even more ruthless!
I suspect this is all part of Lin Haoran's plan! His real target was likely Cheung Kong Holdings from the very beginning! The attack on Hutchison Whampoa was just to draw all our attention!

This conjecture might seem unbelievable to others.

After all, both Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings are among Hong Kong's most powerful companies.

Acquiring both companies simultaneously, especially with Li Ka-shing holding a 40% stake, would be extremely difficult.

But Lin Haoran is different; who in Hong Kong doesn't know that he has the most cash flow?

Putting aside other things, the funds of the three banks under the Hengsheng Group alone can be controlled by the other party.

In this situation, whether it's acquiring Hutchison Whampoa or Cheung Kong Holdings, the other party has no shortage of funds.

Li Ka-shing's current advantage is that he holds a full 40% stake in Cheung Kong Holdings, which in turn holds a full 40% stake in Hutchison Whampoa. Even if the other party has money, it would be difficult for them to hold more shares than that.

This is a major advantage for Li Jiacheng.

But no one thinks this advantage can last long.

Li Jiacheng on the other end of the phone gasped, clearly shocked by this even more terrifying speculation. His voice trembled as he said, "Mr. Tyron, we must stop them immediately. Please acquire Cheung Kong Holdings' shares from the secondary market. I will contact the other shareholders of Cheung Kong Holdings right away. Otherwise, if we fail, Huifeng Bank will lose its most important client!"

At this moment, Li Jiacheng could no longer care about anything else. He directly tied Standard Chartered Bank, which had acquired Huifeng Bank, to his own interests, attempting to exert maximum pressure.

When Tyron heard the phrase "HSBC's most important client," his brow furrowed, and he felt even more agitated.

He knew Li Jiacheng's importance, but the situation at this moment had gone far beyond simple customer relationship maintenance.

Li Ka-shing's tone was almost pleading, yet filled with an undeniable urgency: "Cheung Kong Holdings is my foundation! If it falls, everything is over! Hutchison Whampoa can be put on hold for now; we must stabilize Cheung Kong Holdings first! Please have Standard Chartered Bank step in to provide support immediately!"

Just then, an executive walked up to Tyron and whispered a few words in his ear.

Tyron's eyes lit up. This was a viable solution. In this way, not only would Standard Chartered Bank not incur too much loss for the time being, but it would also temporarily prevent Lin Haoran's people from acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings in the secondary market.

This time, Galaxy Securities' actions were too sudden, catching them off guard and leaving them no time to react.

“Mr. Li, calm down. It’s already 11:48. Even if Standard Chartered Bank enters the market, they may not be able to absorb too many shares. I suggest that you take advantage of the upcoming lunch break and immediately apply to the stock exchange for a voluntary suspension of trading in the company’s name. We don’t know how many shares of Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings Lin Haoran or the person behind him actually controls. Suspending trading can at least temporarily prevent them from continuing to increase their holdings through the secondary market, and it will also give you more time to deal with this matter!” Tyron said directly.

In Hong Kong, listed companies can voluntarily apply for a short-term trading suspension when encountering unforeseen events.

For example, when stock prices or trading volumes fluctuate abnormally without a reasonable explanation, a company can voluntarily suspend trading to maintain market order.

Today's trading volume fluctuations in Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa fully meet the conditions for a trading halt.

Tyronn's words were like a match lit in the darkness for Li Jiacheng. Li Jiacheng on the other end of the phone froze for a moment, then, as if grasping at a lifeline, gasped for breath, his voice hoarse with excitement: "Yes! Yes! Suspension! Apply for suspension! How could I not have thought of that!"
Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Tyronn! I immediately instructed the secretariat to prepare the necessary documents and apply to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for a simultaneous emergency suspension of trading in both Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa!

This happened far too suddenly. If his team hadn't noticed something was wrong, and if it hadn't been for Chairman Wang's report, he would have remained completely in the dark.

From the moment he noticed the unusual activity in the stock market to Mr. Wang calling to report it, and then to him seeking help from Standard Chartered Bank, all of this happened within half an hour.

The truth is, Galaxy Securities has been too secretive about its actions lately. If it weren't for today's accelerated acquisition, even Li Jiacheng's trading team would have had a hard time finding out.

What can you do in half an hour?
He simply didn't have much time to think.

It all stemmed from the fact that it was all too sudden.

Tyronn's approach is indeed an excellent delaying tactic!

Once trading is suspended, secondary market transactions will be forcibly halted, and neither Lin Haoran nor the mysterious third party will be able to accumulate shares through the open market.

Even now, he still believes that Lin Haoran's shareholding is definitely not 40%.

In other words, Li Jiacheng believes the advantage still lies with him.

This will buy Li Ka-shing valuable breathing space to stabilize shareholders, raise funds, understand his opponents, and even seek political intervention.

"There's no time to lose, Mr. Li, please act immediately! I will also, as a major bank, explain to the stock exchange the seriousness of the abnormal market fluctuations and support your suspension application!" Tyron immediately added, trying to pull Standard Chartered Bank out of the potential quagmire of losses and instead have it play a "righteous" role in stabilizing the market.

For Tyronn, both Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings were merely partners of Huafeng Bank.

He didn't want Standard Chartered Bank to be dragged down with him.

Because Standard Chartered Bank simply can't afford to lose that much money right now.

"Okay! Okay! Thank you! I'll take care of it right away!" Li Jiacheng seemed to have regained some energy, and quickly agreed before hanging up the phone.

Tyron put down the phone, let out a long sigh of relief, and felt the huge weight on his chest lift a little.

Suspending trading is currently the best way to control the situation.

He immediately turned to his subordinates who were still waiting in the trading room and quickly issued a new instruction: "Listen up! The plan has been changed!"

"Suspend all active buying! Shift to a defensive stance!"

"Immediately prepare the necessary materials to support Standard Chartered Bank's application for an emergency trading halt for Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, citing the extreme and abnormal market volatility! Hurry!"

"Continue to closely monitor Cheung Kong Holdings' trading activity and record the movements of that mysterious fund in its final moments!"

With the order given, the tense atmosphere in the trading room eased slightly, shifting from an offensive to a wait-and-see and supportive approach.

If there are other options, it would be best to avoid having Standard Chartered Bank provide the funds.

Everyone hopes that the suspension application can be approved as soon as possible, temporarily freezing this bizarre situation.

At this very moment, neither Ma Shimin nor Dai Shi, located in the Kang Le Building a few hundred meters away from the Standard Chartered Building, knew anything about these events.

It was Simon Murray who prompted Dai Shi to increase his efforts to acquire shares of Cheung Kong Holdings, the reason being a feint.

The purpose was to completely disrupt the entire battlefield.

It is obvious that the effect is remarkable, making Standard Chartered Bank hesitant to invest, fearing heavy losses.

At the Kang Le Building, inside Galaxy Securities, Dai Shi looked at the data report in his hand and smiled with satisfaction.

At this moment, there are only ten minutes left before the stock market's lunch break.

Currently, they hold 35.8% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares. Combined with the 10.2% stake held by the five shareholders resolved by Simon Murray, the boss controls a total of 46% of the shares.

In other words, the real largest shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa is now the boss.

As for Cheung Kong Holdings, even though it controls as much as 40% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares, it can no longer compare with its boss.

This can also be felt through the secondary market.

Although stocks on the secondary market are rising more and more wildly, Dai Shi knows for certain that there are not many stocks left in the hands of ordinary investors.

If we include the 43% controlled by Li Jiacheng and that Chairman Wang, it's nearly 90%, which means that shareholders only have a little over 10% left in their shares.

However, precisely because of this, Hutchison Whampoa's market capitalization has now reached a staggering HK$128.3 billion.

This can be considered a break of Hutchison Whampoa's peak record.

The higher the stock price, the higher their acquisition cost.

In reality, however, the cost incurred by Galaxy Securities was extremely low.

The reason is quite simple: the initial cost of inhalation is too low.

Spread across the remaining shares directly lowers the overall cost.

As for the other stock, Cheung Kong Holdings, they now control a full 29.2% of the shares, which is about to exceed 30%.

Although it can't compare to Hutchison Whampoa's shareholding, it's still enough for the boss to play a significant role.

As the key figure, Dai Shi naturally understood the boss's purpose perfectly.

His primary objective was Hutchison Whampoa; Cheung Kong Holdings was merely a side project.

"Boss, should we continue accumulating? There are another 30 shares at HK$22.3 per share. It must be some medium-sized investment force taking the opportunity to sell off." A core trader asked.

Dai Shi checked the time; it was already 11:53, which meant he had at least seven minutes left.

"Inhale, keep inhaling!" Dai Shi said decisively.

Before going to Shenzhen, the boss said that there was no upper limit to the number of shares he could acquire in Hutchison Whampoa; the more the better!
Currently, no major forces have entered the fray, meaning that Li Jiacheng's side has not yet made a move.

However, by the afternoon, the situation was still unclear.

Therefore, Dai Shi felt that the more shares he controlled, the more confident he would be.

Time passed slowly, and soon seven minutes had gone by.

When the bell rang at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Galaxy Securities already held a 36.7% stake in Hutchison Whampoa.

In addition, its stake in Cheung Kong Holdings also successfully exceeded 30%, reaching 30.3%!

"Well done, everyone. Take a break, and we'll fight again at 2 PM!" After compiling the data, Dai Shi stood up with satisfaction and said to his team members.

Immediately, everyone in the trading room breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone was on edge during the morning's stock trading, and now they could finally relax for a while.

The traders got up and stretched, their faces showing tired but satisfied smiles.

The feeling of victory in sight overshadowed the fatigue from the intense gameplay.

Undoubtedly, the morning's trading was very smooth and successful.

After giving his instructions, Dai Shi hurriedly left the trading room with the documents in his hand and headed for the elevator.

With the boss absent, his direct supervisor was Ma Shimin.

Therefore, he needed to go to Ma Shimin's office to report on the morning's results.

During the morning, Ma Shimin also called him several times to inquire about the battle situation.

I got off once along the way.

Kang Le Building, 51st floor, President's Office of Hongkong Land Group.

At this moment, Ma Shimin was somewhat worried. His boss hadn't called him back yet, so he couldn't report the progress to Lin Haoran.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

The one who entered was Dai Shi.

"Mr. Ma, we have lived up to your expectations!" Dai Shi, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement, strode to Ma Shimin's desk and handed him the data report. "The battle this morning was a resounding victory!"

Ma Shimin immediately took the report, his eyes scanning the key figures on it eagerly:

Galaxy Securities' holdings: Hutchison Whampoa: 36.7%; Cheung Kong Holdings: 30.3%.

Adding the 10.2% he personally resolved, his total shareholding in Hutchison Whampoa has reached 46.9%.

Although it's a bit of a pity that Chairman Wang got 3%.

Looking at these astonishing figures, especially the 46.9% that clearly shows Lin Haoran has become the undisputed largest shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa, Ma Shimin's tense face finally showed a relieved and extremely excited smile!
"Good! Good! Good! Dai Shi, your team has done a great job! The boss will be very happy when he finds out!" He said "good" three times and patted Dai Shi's shoulder hard.

　I highly recommend a new book by a popular author with over 10,000 subscribers—it's incredibly good!

(End of this chapter)