Chapter 14: Lin Haoran’s Acquisition Target

Companionship is always fleeting.

The next morning, after having breakfast with his parents, Lin Haoran left the Lin family villa and drove alone to Causeway Bay.

In Causeway Bay, Lin Haoran picked up the two brothers, Li Weiguo and Li Weidong, before heading to the Hong Kong Securities Exchange in Central.

It’s worth noting that during the 1970s, the securities market in Hong Kong was quite complex and somewhat chaotic. The Far East Exchange, the Gold and Silver Securities Exchange, the Kowloon Securities Exchange, and the Hong Kong Securities Exchange formed a four-way stalemate, each holding its own position.

Among these four exchanges, the Hong Kong Securities Exchange was one of the oldest and also the most powerful. It became the preferred listing venue for many British-funded enterprises, providing them with crucial financing platforms and market opportunities.

The companies Lin Haoran targeted were all listed on the Hong Kong Securities Exchange.

By 8:30 a.m., Lin Haoran had already arrived outside the exchange and met Su Zhixue, who was waiting there.

In fact, Su Zhixue had arrived as early as 8:00 a.m. The moment he got home yesterday, he could hardly contain his excitement and immediately shared the good news—that the medical expenses had been covered—with his wife.

His wife was overjoyed to the point of tears and earnestly urged Su Zhixue to dedicate himself fully to assisting Lin Haoran in every task.

To their family, Lin Haoran’s loan for medical expenses was nothing less than life-saving.

“Director Lin, you’re here,” Su Zhixue greeted him nervously.

“Yes, just call me General Manager Lin from now on.”

“General Manager Lin, what should I do?”

“Come with me first. The funds you urgently need will be arranged for you after work this afternoon.”

“Alright, General Manager Lin, thank you very much.”

Lin Haoran didn’t rush into the exchange but instead went to a nearby commercial building.

This building specialized in renting small offices; each floor was divided into many small offices.

“How much to rent an office?” Lin Haoran asked the leasing office staff.

“Sir, we have offices ranging from 100 to 2000 square feet, priced per square foot…”

In the end, Lin Haoran rented a modest 200-square-foot office, which is just under 20 square meters.

He had no intention of renting a large office—there was no need. This small office would suffice.

As for the most essential fixed-line phone, it was already there but had been disconnected. By simply renewing the service, it could be used again.

The office was furnished with basic chairs and desks, so no extra purchases were necessary.

“Zhixue, from now on, you will work in this office. Your responsibilities are clear: as my private stock trader, your daily tasks will involve gathering stock market information, analyzing data, and executing buy and sell orders. Simply put, I will tell you which stocks to buy, when to buy, and when to sell—you just need to carry out my instructions precisely,” Lin Haoran said steadily as he sat in the office chair.

“Understood, General Manager Lin.”

Hearing this, a weight lifted off Su Zhixue’s heart; a relaxed expression appeared on his face. This work was not unfamiliar to him—he had ample experience and confidence in his ability to handle it.

“There’s one more important thing: everything you do here must be kept strictly confidential. You must not disclose anything to anyone, not even your closest people—your wife or my father. No leaks whatsoever,” Lin said with an unmistakable seriousness.

This was the most critical point. He did not want his covert stock acquisitions to be leaked.

“General Manager Lin, rest assured, I will never disclose any information. This is the rule of our profession. If information leaks carelessly, it will be difficult for us to survive in this industry,” Su Zhixue promised.

Lin Haoran trusted him completely. Loyalty was paramount; if he could not trust Su Zhixue, he wouldn’t know whom to trust.

“Alright, the Hong Kong Securities Exchange is about to open. Let’s go,” Lin said, handing him the office keys and standing up.

It was now 9:30 a.m., and the exchange’s trading hours were from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

After leaving the commercial building, the group headed straight to the exchange’s trading hall.

The HKD 50 million loan had not yet been approved, so Lin was not in a hurry for large-scale trading.

His primary task now was to understand the Hong Kong stock market and his targets within it.

Lin Haoran currently had nearly two million Hong Kong dollars in disposable funds. Aside from the HKD 1.2 million wired by Huafeng Cement’s finance department, he also had several hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars in personal savings in his bank account.

Two million Hong Kong dollars was no small sum. If a worthy entry opportunity appeared, he could hold firm until the loan was approved.

Lin Haoran and Su Zhixue entered the trading hall. There weren’t too many people inside; retail investors were only slightly more numerous than the traders in their uniform red vests.

The presence of the four major exchanges in Hong Kong undoubtedly dispersed the crowd.

Furthermore, major players preferred to stay low-key and efficient, rarely appearing in person. They usually operated remotely by phone, calmly controlling their trades.

After a brief stroll around the hall, Lin Haoran lost interest.

Large transactions didn’t need to happen on the trading floor.

Next, Lin Haoran swiftly and meticulously registered several stock accounts in his own name. These accounts would facilitate his personal investments in the stock market.

With that done, he and Su Zhixue left the trading hall and returned to their newly rented office.

“Zhixue, first gather stock market information on Wharf Holdings and Ching Chau Cement. I need detailed data, especially on Ching Chau Cement,” Lin instructed as soon as they were back in the office.

Indeed, besides Wharf Holdings, his attention was fixed on Ching Chau Cement.

From what he recalled, Li Ka-shing, after giving up on Wharf Holdings, had turned to acquire Ching Chau Cement, probably also in 1978, this very year. Lin was still uncertain whether Li Ka-shing had already initiated the acquisition.

If the acquisition had not yet begun, this would undoubtedly be an opportunity not to be missed.

Lin was fairly confident that Li Ka-shing had not yet moved on Ching Chau Cement since Cheung Kong Holdings had only just abandoned the bid for Wharf Holdings, and not much time had passed.

At this stage, Ching Chau Cement was an ideal investment target.

Buying shares in Wharf Holdings was merely to profit from stock price appreciation. With his current strength, he had no chance of acquiring such a massive entity valued in the tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars.

But he aimed to acquire Ching Chau Cement outright.

Like Huafeng Cement, this company primarily produced and sold cement.

What set it apart was that Ching Chau Cement was the oldest and largest cement factory in Hong Kong.

If he were to compete with his elder brother for the inheritance of the Wan An Group, owning the largest cement factory listed in Hong Kong would give him a significant edge. He would like to see what Lin Haoning would then have to compete with.

Moreover, competition was secondary; the real value lay in the land holdings of Ching Chau Cement.

From Lin Haoran’s knowledge, Ching Chau Cement not only had a robust business foundation but also held substantial plots of coastal urban land. This was why Li Ka-shing had targeted it.

The largest source of income for the Wan An Group came from real estate; in other words, the Group’s primary business was property development.

If he controlled Ching Chau Cement, then once he became the Wan An Group’s heir, the Group could collaborate with Ching Chau Cement to jointly develop real estate.

This was the strategic goal he pursued.