In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

The headquarters of Universal Investment Company is located in Times Square, a few kilometers away from Citibank's headquarters.

The office was very quiet.

In the past two days, Lin Haoran has finalized the acquisition intentions for ten more Manhattan buildings, and the information has been sent to Citibank for their help in negotiating the deals.

To date, the number of buildings confirmed for acquisition has reached 45, including 18 buildings surrounding Central Park.

He has no plans to add any more; 45 buildings are already quite a lot, and any more would probably cause problems for the New York City government.

They welcome your investment because it creates jobs, not because they want you to monopolize the real estate market in the heart of Manhattan.

Based on the original price, the total sale price of these 45 buildings is approximately US$13.95 billion.

However, the prices of these buildings are negotiable, and it's not a problem to get a final price reduction of ten or twenty million US dollars.

A few billion dollars could buy 45 buildings in the heart of Manhattan, which is unimaginable in the future.

After all, in the era before Lin Haoran's time travel, a skyscraper in New York that was about 300 meters tall could sell for between $18 billion and $28 billion!

He has now acquired 45 buildings for less than $14 billion, averaging only about $30 million per building, which is practically a steal.

Even though there are not many buildings over 200 meters tall among these buildings, there are only two buildings over 300 meters tall.

But the location speaks for itself; the land value in the heart of Manhattan will only increase over time.

Today is the last day of 1982, and it's snowing in Manhattan.

Snowflakes fluttered down from the gray sky, adorning the entire city in a silvery white hue.

Lin Haoran stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the general manager's office at Huanyu Investment Company, looking down at Times Square below.

In Times Square, workers are busy preparing for tonight's New Year's Eve countdown.

The giant crystal ball has been hoisted to the top of the flagpole in the square, waiting to be slowly lowered at midnight under the watchful eyes of the world, marking the beginning of the new year.

Su Zhixue sat behind his desk, holding a document in his hand, and was doing the final review.

This is a plan to transfer the remaining funds from the Latin American debt crisis. More than $70 billion remains and needs to be transferred to accounts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, and other locations within the next month.

Every flow of funds, every intermediary step, and every compliance procedure must be accurate and error-free.

"Boss, tomorrow there will be 12 transfers totaling $3.2 million from Argentina to the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the British Virgin Islands."

Su Zhixue looked up and rubbed his sore eyes. "We expect to transfer about $15 billion in the next week, all of which are funds from Argentina. It will take another week for the funds to arrive from Venezuela. Their capital controls are much stricter than Argentina's, so the process is slower."

Lin Haoran turned around, looked at Su Zhixue and smiled, "No rush, take your time. A few more days won't make a difference. Tomorrow is New Year's Day. Go home early tonight and spend time with your family."

For Lin Haoran, most of the money he earned from the Latin American debt crisis is already under his control, and he is not in such a hurry to deal with the remaining billions of dollars.

Su Zhixue shook his head and smiled, "Boss, I can only rest easy once all the funds have arrived. There's still one last step left, so I can't relax. But I'll go home early tonight."

Lin Haoran walked to the sofa, sat down, picked up the teacup on the coffee table and drank it all in one gulp. His gaze finally fell on Su Zhixue.

This old subordinate who followed him the earliest, although only 33 years old, already has some gray hair.

That year, Su Zhixue traveled back and forth between four Latin American countries. The investment involved such a huge amount of money that if he was not careful, it would cause huge losses to his boss. Therefore, the pressure he was under was unimaginable.

"Zhixue, thank you for your hard work!" Lin Haoran's tone was filled with sincere gratitude.

Without this loyal subordinate with a 100% loyalty rating, he would really find it difficult to entrust such an important matter to someone else.

Su Zhixue put down the documents and smiled, "Boss, you're being too polite. In the years I've worked for you, I've learned more and earned more money than I could have in my entire life in Hong Kong. What's a little hardship?"

Besides, you were the one who truly put in the effort and thought during this Latin American operation; I was merely executing orders.

Su Zhixue genuinely worked for his boss, Lin Haoran, with a heart full of gratitude.

Back then, his son was seriously ill and needed HK$18. If it weren't for Lin Haoran's appearance, he wouldn't have been able to raise that amount of money with his salary at the time.

The consequence of not being able to raise the money is that his son might not survive the serious illness.

Lin Haoran not only lent him HK$20, enabling Su Zhixue to pay off his other loans and have sufficient financial security, but also offered him a higher-paying job.

From that moment on, he secretly vowed that he would follow Lin Haoran for the rest of his life and never have any other thoughts!

This kind of gratitude for being recognized and appreciated cannot be measured in money.

Over the years, Lin Haoran has indeed treated him well, never shortchanging him in terms of salary, bonuses, and dividends.

More importantly, Lin Haoran gave him enough trust and a platform, allowing him to grow from an ordinary financial trader into the general manager of Huanyu Investment Company, who was capable of handling things independently, and whose net worth had exceeded HK$100 million, something he could hardly have imagined five years ago.

After all, he couldn't even come up with a few hundred thousand back then.

Therefore, Su Zhixue never felt it was hard work, but only felt fortunate. He was fortunate to have followed the right person and to have Lin Haoran give him this opportunity, because he felt that many financial elites could do his job, but others did not have this opportunity.

"Zhixue, you've been with me for so many years, there's no need for these formalities between us. I only feel at ease with Huanyu Investment Company because of you, so you deserve a lot of credit. I'm a person who has been true to my people, and I will definitely live up to them!" Lin Haoran glanced at the snowflakes fluttering outside the window and smiled.

Su Zhixue nodded and said nothing more. Some things, if said too much, would only seem pretentious.

"I'm going to Citibank. Contact me if anything comes up," Lin Haoran said as he stood up from the sofa and walked away.

The properties that Lin Haoran entrusted Citibank to purchase will be negotiated and sold one after another.

Therefore, it is definitely necessary to have a property management company to handle the coordination.

In particular, matters such as the subsequent property management, tenant maintenance, and financial accounting of these buildings require a professional team to handle.

Citibank is clearly a professional when it comes to company registration, so he figured he could just leave it to them. He planned to have Citibank handle it for him first, since it was a minor matter.

As for talent, it's simple. He has already contacted Kenneth Fok, the president of Hongkong Land Group, and asked him to help assemble a team to come to the United States to be in charge of the property management of these buildings.

Hongkong Land manages over a hundred commercial buildings in Hong Kong and has extensive experience in property management. By bringing in a few mid-to-senior level managers familiar with the business, along with some entry-level staff recruited locally in New York, the framework can be set up quickly.

The team has already set off and should arrive in New York by tomorrow night at the latest. Therefore, it's time to finalize the company registration. After all, managing fixed assets worth over a billion dollars requires professionals.

In addition, he had just received news that He Shanheng and Li Guowei had secured the target and were now at Citibank headquarters.

So he decided to go there.

Su Zhixue stood up, escorted his boss to the elevator, and then returned.

Half an hour later, Lin Haoran's car stopped in the underground parking lot of the Citibank headquarters building.

Soon, he appeared on the floor where the Citibank executives' offices were located.

In Li Guowei's office, Lin Haoran met He Shanheng, whom he hadn't seen for several days.

At this moment, He Shanheng was beaming, clearly having good news to report.

Li Guowei's office was right next to John Reid's office. Although it was not as spacious as the Citibank chairman's office, it was still decorated in a simple and elegant style. The floor-to-ceiling windows offered views of the Midtown Manhattan skyline, with the spire of the Empire State Building peeking through the snow.

"Haoran, I have good news for you. Regarding Hengsheng Group's acquisition of Carole McKinty and McKinsey & Company, both parties have finally reached an agreement. We officially signed the acquisition contract this morning at the headquarters of Carole McKinty and McKinsey & Company," He Shanheng said with a smile as he saw Lin Haoran enter. At the same time, he handed Lin Haoran a document.

Lin Haoran sat down on the sofa, opened the folder, and said with a smile, "Uncle He, it took you so long to reach an agreement. It seems quite difficult!"

They came from Hong Kong on December 20th. The day after they arrived in New York, He Shanheng and Li Guowei got busy with this matter, and it wasn't until December 31st that they finally got it done, which is quite a long time.

“It is indeed quite difficult. Carol McKinty and McKinsey are not publicly traded companies. We need to persuade most of the company’s shareholders and get a reasonable price. If it weren’t for Citibank’s help, it would have taken several months to acquire this company!” He Shanheng said with some emotion.

At this moment, Lin Haoran had already turned to the front page of the contract, his eyes fixed on the key content.

Forty-five million US dollars, acquiring 100% of the shares of Carole McKinsey & Company!

This price isn't too expensive, but it's probably not cheap either. After all, although Carole McKinsey & Company is a primary dealer in U.S. Treasury bonds, it's not a very large company. It's asset-light and profits from trading commissions and price differences. Its net assets for the entire year last year were only around $50 million. Acquiring it at the company's net asset value would be a reasonable premium.

Lin Haoran closed the folder and nodded in satisfaction.

Carole McKinsey and McKinsey & Company are primary dealers of U.S. Treasury bonds, and this is what he values ​​most.

With this company, Hengsheng Group had a legal entry point into the North American bond trading business, enabling it to participate more easily in the trading of US Treasury bonds, and even, with the help of Citigroup, expand into the trading of other securities.

This is of great strategic significance for Hengsheng Group to expand into the North American market, optimize asset allocation, and enhance its international influence.

Moreover, this company also holds a number of high-quality client resources, which are large institutional investors in the United States. This is a long-term hidden asset for Hengsheng Group.

Buying it was definitely a good deal. As for how Li Guowei used his Citibank connections to help negotiate the deal, Lin Haoran didn't care about that.

"Uncle He, now that you've settled your purpose for coming to the United States, do you have any new plans?" Lin Haoran closed the file and asked with a smile.

"I plan to go back to Hong Kong tomorrow. I've been delayed in New York for too long, and there are still many things I need to take care of at the Hengsheng headquarters."

"As for the successful acquisition by Carol McKenty and McKinsey & Company, I will send a team back to take full control of the company's operations. This company is crucial for Hengsheng Group's expansion into overseas markets."

He Shanheng picked up a cup of tea and took a sip. His tone was a little tired, but more than that, it was the relief of having completed the task.

Lin Haoran advised, "Uncle He, why don't you rest in New York for a couple of days? There are other senior executives at the Hengsheng headquarters in Hong Kong, so there won't be any problems in the short term. You've been busy since you came to the United States, and you haven't even adjusted to the time difference yet. Tomorrow is New Year's Day, so you should at least rest for a day or two."

He Shanheng was already 82 years old. Although he knew that the other party had lived to 97 in another world, everything had changed because of him, and the course of many things was completely different from that in another world.

Although He Shanheng is in good health, he is still getting on in years. Lin Haoran is worried that he won't be able to handle the constant travel and jet lag.

He still hopes that this legendary figure in Hong Kong's banking industry will continue to work for him for another ten or eight years, laying a solid foundation for Hengsheng Group's global business and making it a top global banking group.

He Shanheng was slightly taken aback, then smiled, a hint of warmth flashing in his eyes.

He laughed and said, "Haoran, you don't need to worry about me. I'm still in good health. But since you say so, I'll stay another day. It's been a long time since I've really explored New York. I can buy some gifts for the younger generation in my family."

Li Guowei laughed and said, "Uncle He, I'll accompany you tomorrow. Citibank is closed for New Year's Day. I've been here for quite a while, so I know where to buy whatever you want."

He Shanheng laughed and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Lin Haoran glanced at the two of them, stood up, and said, "Since there's nothing else here, I'll go find Mr. John to take care of some things."

"Okay, Haoran, you go about your business, don't worry about me." He Shanheng waved his hand and smiled.

Lin Haoran nodded, turned around and walked out of Li Guowei's office.

Arriving at John Reed's office, Lin Haoran knocked on the door and said, "John, it's me."

Inside the office, John Reed and Soros were having an in-depth discussion about the financial industry, which could also be considered a test for Soros. He was initially annoyed that someone was knocking on the door to disturb him, but when he heard Lin Haoran's voice, his expression immediately softened, and he got up to open the door himself.

When Soros heard that the visitor was Lin Haoran, his expression changed slightly.

He wasn't ready to meet Lin Haoran, but he never expected that the other party would appear here at this moment.

He subconsciously lowered his head, his hands gripping the sofa armrests tightly, his heart pounding in his chest, and an indescribable emotion welling up inside him.

Is it nervousness?
Is it shame?
Or is it that feeling of humiliation from being looked down upon and scrutinized?

Even he himself couldn't tell the difference.

The door was pushed open, and Lin Haoran walked in.

Soros heard the footsteps getting closer and closer, and his feelings became increasingly complicated.

Once upon a time, he was a powerful figure in his own right, able to remain calm and composed even when facing the leaders of giants or even the heads of a nation.

But now, facing this Chinese businessman who is more than 20 years younger than him, he felt more awkward than ever before.

This unease wasn't because the other person's aura overwhelmed him, but because he knew in his heart that his current predicament was entirely caused by this young man.

Ironically, it was this young man who pulled him out of the mire.

"Mr. Soros is here too?" Lin Haoran's voice came from above, calm and casual, as if he were just greeting an acquaintance he had met by chance.

They were actually acquaintances. Soros had traveled all the way from the United States to Hong Kong to congratulate Lin Haoran at his wedding to Guo Xiaohan, even though he had ulterior motives and was rejected.

However, the two did have some interaction in name only.

Soros took a deep breath and looked up.

Lin Haoran stood in front of him, wearing a dark gray overcoat and a navy blue scarf, still carrying the chill of the snowflakes outside.

His face was handsome, his eyes were deep and steady, and a faint smile played on his lips.

That smile wasn't mockery, nor pity; it was simply a very ordinary form of politeness.

But when Soros saw that smile, a bitter feeling welled up in his heart.

"Mr. Lin, it's been a long time." Soros stood up, extended his hand, and said in a slightly hoarse voice.

Lin Haoran shook his hand and replied with a smile, "It's been a long time, Mr. Soros. How have you been lately?"

Soros was slightly taken aback, then gave a wry smile.

how are things?
If someone else had asked him this question, he might have felt that they were mocking him.

After all, who in America doesn't know about his miserable situation?

But when Lin Haoran said it, he couldn't sense any malice; it was as if the other person was genuinely concerned about his situation.

"What else can we do? It'll just stay that way." Soros withdrew his hand, sat down again, and said with a hint of self-mockery, "How well can a bankrupt person live?"

Lin Haoran sat down on the sofa next to John Reed, took the coffee his secretary brought him, placed it on the table beside him, looked at Soros, and said calmly, "Mr. Soros, bankruptcy is not the end, but just a turning point. Wall Street doesn't lack bankrupt people, it lacks people who can get back up from bankruptcy, and I believe you are the latter."

The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning their past grievances.

Those things are too complicated to talk about, and too embarrassing to mention, so it's better not to bring them up. (End of Chapter)