Chapter 4: A Chance to Make Money Arises

In the blink of an eye, another day had passed.

The next morning, Lin Haoran rose early as always.

A few days prior, he had already instructed Lin Si to bring him copies of several mainstream Hong Kong newspapers along with his breakfast each morning: Oriental Daily, Ta Kung Pao, Hong Kong Economic Daily, Sing Tao Daily, Hong Kong Commercial Daily, and others.

This was, of course, to better understand the current situation in Hong Kong. At the same time, he hoped to glean useful information from the papers.

A calendar hung prominently on the wall, clearly marking today as September 5th, 1978.

After breakfast, Lin Haoran half reclined on his bed and picked up a copy of the Hong Kong Economic Daily to read.

The front-page headline immediately caught his attention.

“Shipping King publicly declares he holds 15%-20% of Wharf’s shares, becoming Wharf’s largest shareholder!”

The article included the Shipping King’s detailed public statement and the background of the acquisition.

He claimed he had no intention of purchasing more Wharf shares.

Reading this, Lin Haoran’s mind stirred. In his previous life, he had learned about the battle to increase holdings in Wharf, so he was well aware that the Shipping King’s statement was nothing but a smokescreen to create the illusion of disengagement.

It was all to confuse rivals and shareholders, causing Wharf’s stock price to fall from its peak. Otherwise, the Shipping King would have difficulty accumulating more shares.

Originally, it was Li Jiacheng who first set his sights on Wharf, secretly acquiring 18% of its shares before word leaked out.

As the actual controlling party of Wharf, the Jardine Group was unwilling to lose control so easily, and sought out Shen Bi, the head of HSBC, hoping HSBC could persuade Li Jiacheng to abandon his acquisition.

In the end, after Shen Bi’s mediation, Li Jiacheng did indeed give up his pursuit of Wharf. However, the shares he had secretly acquired were all sold to the Shipping King with HSBC’s support, essentially giving face to both the Shipping King and HSBC, laying the groundwork for persuading HSBC to later sell him shares in Hutchison Whampoa.

Jardine Matheson had merely exchanged one formidable adversary for another, a loss rather than a gain.

This, then, was why the Shipping King could suddenly become Wharf’s largest shareholder.

During this period, Li Jiacheng’s secret acquisition was exposed, and after Jardine initiated a counter-acquisition, Wharf’s share price soared to 49 HKD per share.

Yet although the Shipping King was now the largest shareholder, he was still far from gaining full control.

After all, Wharf’s major shareholders were primarily British financial groups. While individually their holdings were now less than the Shipping King’s, together they could easily block him from seizing control.

Originally, Lin Haoran had been pondering ways to find opportunities for big profits.

Now, here was his chance.

The thought excited him greatly. If he could take advantage of the battle for Wharf’s shares to make a hefty profit, he would have the capital he needed to get started.

Lin Haoran knew well how wildly Wharf’s stock price would rise in just a few months.

“To think, after crossing into this world, I get to witness such a classic acquisition battle firsthand. A pity, if only I’d arrived a few years earlier, perhaps I’d have had a shot at acquiring Wharf myself.” Lin Haoran felt a pang of regret.

Had he landed in the timeline of 1970, he would have had ample time to strategize, and he’d have been confident in competing with the Shipping King.

But now, it was already the latter half of 1978; the Shipping King had become Wharf’s largest shareholder, and Lin Haoran only held a cement factory.

He quickly calmed himself.

What mattered most now was securing sufficient startup funds, then leveraging the Wharf acquisition battle to reap his own benefits.

Even if he couldn’t acquire Wharf, so what? At least he could sit back and watch the giants clash, waiting for an opportunity to profit.

Besides, he was still young and had plenty of chances ahead.

As for how to obtain his initial capital, seeing this news had already given Lin Haoran an idea.

By all means, he must seize such a golden opportunity.

When the time came, winning the competition to become the heir of Wan’an Group would be as easy as turning his hand.

Afterward, Lin Haoran read several more newspapers.

It was clear that today’s headlines across Hong Kong centered on the Shipping King becoming Wharf’s largest shareholder.

Every paper reported and analyzed the event from different angles.

Wharf was a venerable British enterprise with considerable strength and market value.

Hong Kong had always revered British companies; Chinese financial groups were rising, but there was still a vast gap compared to their British counterparts.

For the Shipping King to become a major shareholder in such a powerful British institution was an unprecedented event.

Thus, his ascent at Wharf was both controversial and newsworthy, and the media vied to cover it.

Having finished reading, Lin Haoran finally left his room.

The sun today was especially fierce.

Standing in the corridor on the third floor, Lin Haoran gazed at the turbulent waters of Pengcheng Bay dozens of meters away, feeling particularly cheerful.

Downstairs, workers bustled about.

Business was not as abundant as before, but there were still plenty of clients—ones that Lin Haoning could not simply interfere with.

So even with fewer old customers, Huafeng Cement Factory still had a fair amount of business and would not suffer losses in the short term.

He went down from the third to the second floor, heading to the factory’s financial office.

His purpose was simple: he wanted to see how much money was in Huafeng Cement Factory’s accounts.

When Lin Wan’an handed the factory over to Lin Haoran, knowing he was at a disadvantage in the competition, he had deliberately left one million HKD in the company account.

This was something Lin Haoran’s elder brother Lin Haoning did not know.

Clearly, Lin Wan’an doted on his youngest son.

“Miss Lin, please give me a copy of the company’s financial statements.”

Entering the office, Lin Haoran directly addressed the financial manager.

He glanced at the top of Miss Lin’s head.

Lin Xiya: [Loyalty: 75/100]

Lin Haoran was surprised—he hadn’t expected such a high degree of loyalty from a financial manager.

Miss Lin had also been sent by his father to assist him.

Obviously, she was much more trustworthy, at least not infiltrated by Lin Haoning, and likely loyal to the company.

“Of course, boss. Please wait a moment.”

Soon, Lin Haoran had in his hands the August financial report for Huafeng Cement Factory.

He first looked at the company’s cash reserves.

Next, he would need funds to profit from the battle for Wharf, and the more capital he had, the more he could earn.

Thus, Lin Haoran had specifically come to the financial office to determine the total funds he could presently mobilize.