On February 10, 1958, the third day after Li Heng returned to Hong Kong Island from abroad, a piece of heavy news spread in the stock trading market.
Kowloon Port announced the suspension of trading. The reason for the suspension was to conduct equity transactions.
Immediately afterwards, Leighton & Co., which controlled Kowloon Port, held a press conference and announced that they would transfer 36% of their shares in Kowloon Port to Huasheng Asset Management Company.
Following them was another foreign bank, which announced that it would also transfer 19% of its shares in Kowloon Port to Huasheng Asset Management.
This was like a thunderclap, shaking all the British-owned and Chinese-owned enterprises in Hong Kong Island.
No one expected that Huasheng would take over Kowloon Port without saying a word.
If Washington's previous acquisition of the Telegraph and Telephone Company was a small test, then now it is a big move to seize Kowloon Port in one fell swoop.
This is not a public service enterprise like a telephone company with a market value of just over 100 million. The market value of Kowloon Port is currently close to 2 billion, making it unique among all companies listed on the exchange.
Although the details of the transaction have not been announced yet, even based on the current market value, the money spent by Huasheng Company will exceed 1 billion.
There have always been many people who have ideas about Kowloon Hong Kong, but the wealth and status of the Leighton family are there. All these rich people can do is to buy some circulating stocks from the market and then become a small shareholder.
As for letting them go to Earl Leighton to discuss the acquisition, the result would be like Li Heng's first trip to England, where he wouldn't even be able to see his family.
In fact, a cargo port cannot make much money at all. What these rich people are really interested in is the large piece of idle land in the hands of Kowloon Port that is used as a warehouse.
The importance of land may not have been apparent when the population was small, but in recent years as the population of Hong Kong Island has surged from hundreds of thousands to less than one million to millions, the importance of land has suddenly become apparent.
.
There must be a place for so many people to live. Only when you have a house can you have a home. This is almost the most simple idea in every Chinese person's mind.
Now that it was suddenly acquired, they would not believe it if Huasheng would still use the vacant land as a warehouse like Leighton & Co. did before.
This also indicates that they can turn their attention elsewhere in the future. How can we make them willing to do so?
After receiving this news, how much money does this company have? This is also a big question lingering in the minds of all the rich in Hong Kong Island.
When they invested in the construction of TV factories and semiconductor factories, they already spent 500 million US dollars in one go. Although the money will definitely not be used up, and they may not even use the 500 million Hong Kong dollars, but as far as they know, the remaining money can be used.
It's all sitting in the accounts of HSBC, Standard Chartered, and their own banks.
This time, another billion or more money was spent to acquire Kowloon Port. It’s not unknown. If you calculate it this way, judging from the shareholding structures of several Huasheng companies, Li Fang Xiaoya, who is in his early twenties, is now
She is the richest man in Hong Kong Island, and she is a woman.
This conclusion shocked both the established and emerging tycoons in Hong Kong.
Being ridden on the head by a woman was an unprecedented experience for them.
Even if they know exactly what is going on, the facts are the facts.
The husband of this rich woman does not hold any position in Huasheng Company, nor does he hold even 0.1% of the shares.
At the same time, in the He Mansion on the top of the mountain, the head of the He family, Mr. He, who had returned from the east island again and was preparing to spend the Spring Festival at home, put down the phone in his hand and sighed heavily.
He knew that the news that Washington wanted to acquire Kowloon Port was relatively early, and he also knew that the young man's trip to England to meet Earl Leighton was only possible because of the matchmaking by the Governor.
When he learned about this at that time, he thought that this young man was a little ignorant. Even the last time he met Li Heng, he just treated him as a junior.
But he didn't expect that just a short time later, he would accomplish a feat that seemed impossible in his eyes.
"Oh~ Hua Sheng has finally established a firm foothold on Hong Kong Island."
"Sir, is Hua Sheng's surname Ying or Hua?" The steward of the He Mansion who had been standing silently suddenly asked.
"What's the last name? Haha, who knows what the last name is?" Mr. He laughed and shook his head: "From the perspective of the actual controller, it should be Hua, but from the perspective of the known share holders, it should be Hua."
My surname is Ying, maybe this is the reason why the Governor’s Office did not set up any obstacles to this transaction."
The current general environment is like this. Many industries on Hong Kong Island are in the hands of British-funded companies, and Chinese-funded companies that have only gradually developed in recent years often find it difficult to get a foot in the door.
Just like the public service industry, almost all of it is in the hands of foreign companies. It is even more difficult for the Chinese to acquire it. It is not a matter of money, but even if you have enough money, the Governor's Office will impose restrictions on such transactions.
You set various conditions.
For example, do you want to acquire a power plant? Yes, but how many power generation tasks must be completed every year after the acquisition, and how much revenue must be invested in updating the facilities every year. These conditions are often important reasons that deter the Chinese.
Didn't you notice that when Li Heng purchased the Telegraph and Telephone Company, he immediately said that he would reinvest 50 million to upgrade and maintain equipment, which made the Governor nod with satisfaction.
If it weren't for this, when he wanted to acquire the telephone company, even with his previous investment of US$500 million, the governor would not have agreed so readily.
"There may be more people who are jealous of Huasheng now."
"Haha, if you have money and ability, what can you do? They haven't gone through any crooked ways. Look at the TV manufacturing factory in Washington and that semiconductor factory. Because they can't recruit suitable workers, they
I applied to open a literacy class and build a technical school.
This is actually a real consideration for the lower class people. Those people who have learned skills in school will have many more opportunities even if they don't work in those two factories and go elsewhere in the future.
I think, instead of being envious and jealous of others, it is better to practice your own skills first. Those people only think about how to make quick money and do not consider social attributes at all." Boss He said with some disdain.
The people he is talking about here are actually referring to some of the newly wealthy people who have emerged in recent years. Boss He still looks down on those people.
He is very interested in the technical school that Huasheng is applying for, and plans to talk to Li Heng. The He family also wants to participate, not to make money, but to make some contribution to society.
Unfortunately, I can't seem to contact this young man in the past two days.