In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 753 Another subordinate with a loyalty level of 100!
Meanwhile, Ma Shimin returned to the Kang Le Building with the signed contract.

On the other side, the four major stock exchanges in Hong Kong were as bustling as a vegetable market, filled with the sounds of people, noisy and chaotic.

The clock hands clicked to 9:30, and the stock exchange's opening bell rang.

After being suspended for three and a half days, the two blue-chip stocks, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, have finally resumed trading.

Many stock investors have been eagerly anticipating this for a long time.

"Changjiang Real Estate is the main buyer! List at 18.15 yuan!" a trader in a red vest shouted at the top of his lungs.

Before he could finish speaking, the number of buy orders on the electronic screen surged up like a tidal wave.

As soon as the market opened, Cheung Kong Holdings' share price soared like a rocket, jumping from HK$16.15 before the trading halt to over HK$18, a gain of more than 10%.

On the other hand, with no suspense left, although there were quite a few transactions at Hutchison Whampoa, they were far less than those at Cheung Kong Holdings.

Therefore, the main focus of the morning's trading session was destined to be Cheung Kong Holdings.

The air in the exchange seemed to be ignited; sweat beaded on the hands gripping trading orders in the retail trading hall, and countless eyes were fixed on the numbers flashing on the price display screen.

"Lin Sheng's Galaxy Securities will definitely continue to buy up shares. I don't believe they won't keep increasing their holdings!" Chen Bo, an old stock investor wearing a floral shirt, had bet all his retirement savings on Cheung Kong Holdings. At this moment, his fingers trembled with excitement. "Galaxy Securities already holds 38.4% of the shares. If they buy another 2%, they can overthrow Li Ka-shing!"

“That’s right, Li Jiacheng will not let Lin Haoran surpass him. Huifeng Bank will definitely provide full financial support to Li Jiacheng!” A middle-aged stock investor wearing black-rimmed glasses next to Uncle Chen held the transaction slip he had just completed, his voice filled with excitement and anticipation!
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! With two giants vying for shares, the stock price is bound to skyrocket!"

This is a consensus among many retail investors.

Many believe that with Lin Haoran's stake in Cheung Kong Holdings soon surpassing that of Li Ka-shing, he cannot afford to miss this opportunity.

These are all influenced by analyses from many financial newspapers.

For example, the Hong Kong Commercial Daily used the previous "Wharf Holdings acquisition battle" as an example and analyzed it in great detail.

After all, they had no idea that the two giants, Lin and Li, had not only reached an agreement, but had even signed a contract.

These retail investors, influenced by some media outlets, have come to regard Lin Haoran as Bao Yugang from more than two years ago.

Back then, in order to seize control of Wharf Holdings, Pao Yu-kong once drove up Wharf Holdings' share price to around HK$110 per share, while before the surge, Wharf Holdings' share price was only a dozen Hong Kong dollars per share.

Nowadays, in everyone's eyes, Lin Haoran and Li Jiacheng are just like Bao Yugang and Jardine Matheson back then.

Let alone a tenfold increase, even a severalfold increase would be enough to make these stock market investors extremely happy.

The foreign brokers in the VIP room on the second floor sensed something was amiss.

Baoyuan Securities' traders were watching the unusual buy order structure of Cheung Kong Holdings, with more than 60% of the buy orders concentrated below HK$18, clearly indicating retail investors following the trend.

“Someone is trying to lure in more buyers.” He ordered directly, “Place a sell order for 5 lots of Cheung Kong Holdings shares at HK$17.95.”

The market changed drastically the moment the words were spoken!
Two hundred thousand lots of sell orders suddenly appeared at the HK$17.95 price level for Cheung Kong Holdings.

In an instant, the stock price plummeted from a high of 18.15 yuan to the 17.7 yuan mark!
A cry of surprise rang out from the crowd: "Li Jiacheng has launched a counterattack?"

"Impossible! Lin Sheng just exposed his past at the press conference..."

At this moment, on the top floor of the Kang Le Building, Lin Haoran was looking down at the direction of the stock exchange through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the commotion of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange could be faintly heard from that direction.

He was well aware of the excitement over there, but now he was more of an observer.

There was a knock on the door, and soon Ma Shimin strode in with the newly signed equity transfer agreement in hand: "Boss, the transaction is complete, but the market is still betting that we will continue to increase our stake in Cheung Kong Holdings."

Lin Haoran didn't turn around, but smiled and said, "Let them be, it has little to do with us anymore."

His stake in Cheung Kong Holdings has already stopped at 38.4%, and he will not continue to increase his holdings.

At least for now, as long as Li Jiacheng doesn't make him feel threatened, he has no interest in continuing to increase his holdings.

He's already got his real target, Hutchison Whampoa, so what's the point of continuing to increase his stake in Cheung Kong Holdings?
Do they really intend to increase their holdings to surpass Li Ka-shing's?

Li Ka-shing is the soul of Cheung Kong Holdings. Removing him from his position as head of the company would only do him harm, not benefit.

"Boss, there is one more thing that requires your personal attention. I have already discussed it with Mr. Li Ka-shing, and he will resign from his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hutchison Whampoa."

"This position is more suitable for you, Boss. Also, you need to decide on the future arrangements for Hutchison Whampoa as soon as possible. Cheung Kong no longer holds any shares in Hutchison Whampoa, and Mr. Li Ka-shing has no reason to continue leading Hutchison Whampoa," Ma Shimin reminded him.

"Hutchison Whampoa." Lin Haoran turned his gaze back from the window and repeated the phrase softly.

Before taking over Hutchison Whampoa, he was preoccupied with how to take over Hutchison Whampoa, one of the four major foreign trading companies, from Li Ka-shing.

But now that he has successfully won the bid, he feels somewhat indifferent.

Perhaps it's because he has too many powerful companies under his control.

Although Hutchison Whampoa is outstanding, it is not as good as its subsidiary Hongkong Land Group, or even Hong Kong Electric Group.

However, now that it has acquired Hutchison Whampoa, this company can rank third among his groups, slightly stronger than Wan Ching Group and slightly inferior to Hong Kong Electric Group.

Lin Haoran walked back to the sofa from the window, sat down, crossed his legs, and began to think.

He knew what Simon Murray was thinking: he wanted to merge Hutchison Whampoa into Hongkong Land Group, thereby making Hongkong Land Group even stronger.

This is the main reason why Simon Murray was so proactive in helping him with the acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa.

After all, this was beyond the scope of his job duties.

Moreover, since both groups are diversified and most of their businesses overlap, integration will be much less difficult and will generate synergies quickly.

But Lin Haoran had deeper considerations.

He gently shook his head, rejecting the unspoken suggestion from Simon Ma: "Mr. Ma, Hutchison Whampoa will not be merged into Hongkong Land."

Ma Shimin looked slightly surprised, but did not interrupt, waiting for his boss to continue.

Lin Haoran picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly said, "Hong Kong Land is already the absolute king of Hong Kong's real estate market. Its scale is already large enough. Forcibly swallowing Hutchison Whampoa would certainly increase its size, but it might also lead to indigestion and bloated organization, which would not be good. More importantly..."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “I need Hutchison Whampoa to maintain its independence and flexibility. Although it is now far inferior to Hongkong Land, Hutchison Whampoa has always been an independent entity. Forcibly merging it into Hongkong Land is not the best solution.”

Although Hutchison Whampoa is now inferior to Hongkong Land in port and retail businesses, it manages more ports than Hongkong Land, although many of its businesses have been taken away by Hongkong Land.

Now that Hutchison Whampoa has been acquired by Lin Haoran, his port business will naturally gradually recover to its peak in the future.

In the future, the Hong Kong market will ultimately be limited; the real battleground is overseas. Hutchison Whampoa will be the vanguard and important platform for my companies to go global.

Ma Shimin was somewhat disappointed.

As a result, Hongkong Land lost an opportunity to rapidly expand into a global behemoth.

Although Hongkong Land's assets are now absolutely world-class, even ranking in the top ten in the United States.

However, its influence is still somewhat lacking. If it were to merge with Hutchison Whampoa, the combined effect of the two would definitely be greater than the sum of its parts.

However, he understood that his boss's decisions were often based on a grander strategic vision, so he suppressed his regret and respectfully asked, "Boss is a man of great foresight. So, do you have a preferred candidate for the future leader of Hutchison Whampoa?"

"The helmsman? Let's not consider that for now, Mr. Ma. I have an idea. I have more and more large groups under my control, and they all operate independently. As you know, I rarely interfere with your management."

However, a problem has arisen: although you coordinate resources among yourselves, the utilization rate is insufficient, failing to maximize benefits, therefore…

Lin Haoran's gaze deepened. He put down his teacup and continued, "Therefore, I have decided to establish a higher-level coordinating body—the 'Galaxy Strategic Development Committee.' It's time to end this situation of each going its own way."

He actually thought carefully about the name "Galaxy".

This symbolizes that its subsidiaries revolve around the core like stars, and also demonstrates its grand ambition to expand globally.

Ma Shimin's eyes lit up as he immediately grasped the profound significance behind this idea.

This means that the boss will begin to systematically integrate his vast business empire, ending the current relatively loose management model.

Lin Haoran continued to elaborate on his idea: "I will personally serve as the chairman of this committee, you will serve as the interim chairman, and Mr. Burton of Wanqing Group, Mr. Chen Shoulin of Hong Kong Electric Group, Mr. Cui Zilong of Oriental Press Group, and Mr. He Shanheng of Hengsheng Group will all become members."

We will hold regular meetings to coordinate the strategic development direction, resource allocation, and major project decisions of all our core assets, as well as to avoid unnecessary internal competition and waste of resources.

I have high hopes for Mr. Fok Kin-ning. He is currently gaining experience at the Hong Kong Land Group's Japanese branch. I plan to transfer him back to the Hong Kong headquarters after he has gained experience for a year or two. At that time, he will replace you as the head of the entire Hong Kong Land Group.

"And you, at that time, will need to focus all your attention on the 'Galaxy Strategic Development Committee,' Mr. Ma Shimin. I have high hopes for you, and I believe you have the ability. What do you think of my idea?" He emphasized the last point, letting Ma Shimin know his importance in his boss's eyes.

Previously, Hongkong Land and Hutchison Whampoa had some overlap and potential competition in overseas port businesses, and the competition was quite fierce.

Although it has now been acquired by Lin Haoran, in the long run, there will always be competition between the two sides, and eventually it will be a case of internal conflict.

“For example,” Lin Haoran explained, “Hutchison Whampoa’s port network in Southeast Asia and Jardine Matheson’s logistics layout in Japan can be coordinated through a committee to achieve complementary shipping routes, information sharing, and even joint investment in the development of new hub ports, forming a true global network effect, rather than each going its own way.”

"For example, Dairy Farm International's retail channels and Hengsheng Group's huge cash flow can, within the framework of the committee, more efficiently support the development of other sister companies or jointly capture new investment opportunities."

As Ma Shimin listened to Lin Haoran's grand vision, his heart was filled with turbulent emotions.

The boss not only saw the problem, but also proposed a very forward-thinking solution.

The concept of this "Galaxy Strategic Development Committee" was far more ambitious and systematic than he had imagined.

Appointing him as the interim chairman and making it clear that he will take over the entire committee in the future, while entrusting the Hongkong Land Group to Fok Kin-ning, who is still gaining experience, fully demonstrates the boss's absolute trust in him and higher expectations for him.

This means that he will leap from managing a giant conglomerate (Jungland) to a strategic level coordinating all of Galaxy's core assets, which is undoubtedly a huge leap in his career.

What incredible trust this shows!
“Boss,” Ma Shimin took a deep breath, his tone solemn and full of gratitude, “thank you for your trust and appreciation! This is a great idea, extremely strategic, capable of coordinating all our resources, avoiding internal friction, and forming synergy. It is definitely a key step in the future development of the galaxy.”

I completely agree and am willing to do my utmost to shoulder this responsibility!

He paused slightly before continuing, "Mr. Huo Jianning is exceptionally capable and quick to understand. His achievements in Japan are evident to all. I am very confident that he will take the helm of Jardine Matheson in the future."

I will prepare for the handover and dedicate myself to nurturing Mr. Huo Jianning. As for the committee's work, I will immediately begin preparations, drafting detailed bylaws, member responsibilities, and operational procedures to ensure its efficient operation and truly become the brain and central hub of the Galaxy.

Originally, Simon Murray thought that his position as president of Hongkong Land Group was the pinnacle of his career, after all, Hongkong Land Group was already a leading and massive business empire in Hong Kong and even Asia.

He never dared to hope to go further and enter the core decision-making level.

However, the important task that the boss has given him at this moment is far more than just managing a group; it is to coordinate the future strategy of the entire "Galaxy"!

This was not only trust, but also a profound gratitude for being recognized and appreciated, which stirred within him a sense of loyalty and a willingness to die for one who understands him.

At this moment, the look in his eyes as he looked at his boss, Lin Haoran, was filled with not only excitement but also gratitude!

At that moment, Lin Haoran noticed that his loyalty level had suddenly jumped from 92 to 100.
Another subordinate with a loyalty rating of 100!
By now, having subordinates with 90% loyalty is not difficult for him; although not many, it's not few either.

Previously, only 4 people had a loyalty level of 100!

One is Su Zhixue, the other is the Li brothers, Li Weidong and Li Weiguo, and his personal secretary in Japan, Yamada Keiko.

Now, that number has increased by one more: Ma Shimin!
Lin Haoran took in Ma Shimin's reaction and was very satisfied with his loyalty and drive.

For Lin Haoran, today was truly an unexpected delight!

He had originally thought that handing over the chairmanship to Ma Shimin would surely increase Ma's loyalty.

But to his surprise, the other party actually raised it to 100%, which was indeed an unexpected turn of events.

However, with a loyalty rating of 100%, he felt even more at ease entrusting Ma Shimin with overall command.

He stood up, walked over to Ma Shimin, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice:
“Shimin, our cause has long since transcended the corner of Hong Kong. The future battlefield is on the globe. We need a stronger and more efficient central nervous system to command this ever-growing body. You are my most trusted arm. This important task is yours alone.”

He has many capable generals under his command, and in terms of ability, Ma Shimin is indeed the most suitable candidate for this position.

He not only has extensive senior management experience at Jardine Matheson, but he has also managed the massive Hongkong Land Group better and better.

Lin Haoran saw all of this.

Although Burton, Chen Shulin, Cui Zilong, and others were also excellent, the scale of the companies they led was ultimately far smaller than that of Hongkong Land Group, and their talents were slightly inferior to those of Ma Shimin.

As for Ho Sin-hang, he has focused on the financial industry his whole life and rarely ventured into other fields. In addition, he is now over eighty years old, so it is even more inappropriate to put such great pressure on him.

Ma Shimin is not only exceptionally capable, but more importantly, he is currently in his forties and can serve him for at least twenty years!
This is the best age to stand on your own and expand your territory.

"I understand, boss! I will live up to your expectations!" Ma Shimin nodded heavily, his excited expression filled with determination.

He felt a heavy burden on his shoulders, but even more so a sense of mission and honor of being entrusted with a great responsibility.

This "Galaxy Strategic Development Committee" was not an idea that Lin Haoran came up with on the spur of the moment, but rather a plan that had been in place for some time.

Over the past three years, starting with Ying Ni in Qingzhou, he has acquired more and more large companies, such as Hongkong Land Group, Hong Kong Electric Group, Hong Kong Telephone, and Hong Kong and China Gas. Since they are all quite large, it would be inappropriate to merge them all, as it would be too bloated.

Therefore, he has always allowed trusted professional managers to run their respective companies.

Although it seems quite good now.

However, he always knew that the coordination of corporate resources among these companies was still quite lacking.

After all, everyone is primarily thinking about the interests of their own company.

Although he himself is the owner of these companies, he knows his own management abilities.

He really interferes too much in the management of these companies, and problems will inevitably arise sooner or later.

However, his rise to power was too short-lived.

Therefore, although he had a rough idea in mind all along, he never had the chance to put it into practice.

And now, he has acquired another Hong Kong behemoth group – Hutchison Whampoa.

This made him realize that it was imperative to integrate his resources and establish a higher-level coordination mechanism.

If this "fiefdom" continues, the waste of internal resources and potential competition will become a huge bottleneck restricting the development of the entire "Galaxy".

"very good."

Lin Haoran walked back to his desk, took out a simply bound document from the drawer, and the cover clearly read "Draft of the Galaxy Strategic Development Committee Concept".

The core of integrated management is "strategic focus, resource synergy, risk control, and cultural unity," while maintaining the flexibility and autonomy of each group.

These are some initial ideas I've compiled over this period, including the committee's organizational structure, functional positioning, rules of procedure, and key issues that need to be coordinated in the near future.

Take this back and study it carefully. Combine it with your experience and, as soon as possible, produce a detailed establishment plan and operational guidelines.

He couldn't have come up with these ideas himself. Instead, he drew up a preliminary framework by referring to the management models of some corporate giants he knew from his previous life and combining them with the actual situation of his current industries.

Although rough, it pointed out the direction.

Ma Shimin accepted the document with both hands, sensing the deep consideration behind the draft.

He eagerly flipped through it. Although it was just an outline, it was well-organized and clearly structured, and every key point was enough to benefit him greatly.

Clearly, the boss wasn't just talking theory; he already had a practical and meticulous plan.

In particular, when he turned to the last page, the four principles of simplified management mentioned therein caught his eye:
First, the parent company manages the "key few," such as direction, resources, and risks, but does not interfere in daily operations;
Second, the subsidiary group has "operational freedom"—as long as it doesn't violate regulations, it can decide how to make money.
Third, replacing "merging" with "sharing" reduces costs and increases efficiency without increasing management complexity;
Fourth, replace "rule by man" with "rules," such as lists, defense lines, and values, to reduce communication costs.

Upon seeing this, Ma Shimin seemed to be deep in thought.

Then, his eyes lit up.

As someone with exceptional talent in business management, Ma Shimin could already foresee that this model would not only maintain the scale advantage of a large group but also avoid the trap of being "too big to fail and in complete chaos," thus achieving efficient overall management.

This is simply a brilliant idea!

At this moment, Lin Haoran had risen to an unprecedented level in Ma Shimin's heart!
This is not only a testament to strong business acumen and capital skills, but also to a profound understanding of the essence of corporate governance and a forward-looking strategic plan!

Although Lin Haoran doesn't usually concern himself with company affairs, at this moment, the boss seemed even more mysterious and powerful in Ma Shimin's eyes.

"Boss, these four principles are simply a stroke of genius!"

Ma Shimin couldn't help but exclaim with admiration, "This completely solves the global problem of large diversified groups 'dying when controlled and chaotic when left uncontrolled'!"
This approach ensured both strategic unity and resource synergy, while also fully unleashing the vitality and creativity of each subsidiary group! This is infinitely more sophisticated than simply merging Hutchison Whampoa into Hongkong Land!

He had previously felt a little regretful that his carefully conceived merger plan had been rejected, but now it seems that his boss's vision and wisdom are far beyond his reach.

(End of this chapter)