Despite being scolded, ridiculed, and mocked, Lin Huowang didn't show any anger. He even leaned back on the sofa and asked calmly:
"Why don't you agree, Mr. Shen Bi?"
He paused, and for the first time, a hint of "friendly" allure appeared in his voice:
"My proposal, after all, is simply to increase interaction and deepen cooperation with your bank and Jardine Matheson... Bound together, we'll be intertwined, forming a closer community of shared interests. Is there any harm in that? You've already given me a billion-dollar loan from HSBC, and you're still saying you don't want Jardine Matheson to contribute another two or three hundred million?"
…
This light-hearted rhetorical question was like a basin of ice water suddenly poured on a fire that was about to burn.
Shen Bi's laughter on the other end of the phone died down abruptly, like the tide receding. The study was so quiet that one could hear the clacking of Daban's knuckles on the table.
That light-hearted rhetorical question was like a basin of ice water, precisely extinguishing his burning sense of absurdity and anger.
Collaboration? Bundling? Community of interests?
The word Lin Huowang was used extremely cunningly, but it was like a black hole, instantly sucking up all of Shen Bi's thoughts!
The rage he'd felt just moments before, a feeling of being fooled, was instantly drained away. The sophisticated financial machine in his head, spun at an unprecedented speed thanks to Lin Huowang's words about "increasing cooperation" and "community of interests," was finally humming along.
harm?
Indeed, on the surface, Lin Huowang's terms were pure extortion. Not only was Jardine Matheson forced to lend him 300 million, but it also had to bear the potential risk of losses. The three-year release clause was completely humiliating and detrimental to the nation! HSBC also took on the added risk of losing 300 million. This was sheer aid to the enemy! Giving Lin Huowang money and ammunition! It was sheer absurdity!
But...what about looking at it from another angle?
What was the deepest strategic goal behind everything Shen Bi had done before - pushing Lin Huowang to take over, providing generous loans, and adding exemption clauses?
It's control! It's binding! It's exploitation!
Find a seemingly impulsive and greedy agent, one with distant ties to mainland China, Japanese nationality, and irreconcilable ties with the rising Chinese family, the Fok family, to replace Jardine Matheson in controlling the symbolic core asset, Hong Kong Land. While this would seemingly remove Hong Kong Land from the direct control of the British-owned Jardine Matheson, it would actually fall into the hands of Kobayashi Tenmo, a figure who was easier to control, more beholden to HSBC, and more distant from mainland China. This would also effectively counter and deplete Chinese assets like the Fok family.
This is the "order" that Shen Bi, as the head of HSBC, truly wants to maintain - an order that is conducive to the control of British capital behind the scenes! An order that prevents any party, especially Chinese capital close to the mainland like the Huo family, from dominating!
Now, Lin Huowang's bizarre request appears to be a blackmail on Jardine Matheson and HSBC.
But if you think about it carefully... doesn't this just bind the "binding" and "utilization" relationship that Chen Bi wants, in the form of a debt... even more tightly, deeply, and unbreakably?!
Lin Huowang will not only be burdened with a huge loan of HK$1 billion from HSBC to acquire the 20% stake, but will also be burdened with an additional loan of HK$300 million from Jardine Matheson as the so-called "operating working capital"!
what does that mean?
This means that this ambitious young man will be "locked" to the British interest chariot by the two British giants, HSBC and Jardine Matheson, like two thick iron chains!
He must ensure that the Hong Kong Land Group operates successfully under his control, and that its stock price remains stable or even rises, in order to guarantee that he will be able to repay the loan totaling HK$1.3 billion!
He was not an enemy of Jardine Matheson, because he took over Hampton and helped Jardine Matheson resolve the crisis, but instead became a "major debtor" of Jardine Matheson!
Although Jardine Matheson was forced to lend 300 million, Lin Huowang's acquisition of Hong Kong Land also helped it completely resolve the 10 billion in bad mortgage loans that were piled up at HSBC. Not only did Jardine Matheson get rid of its biggest time bomb, but more importantly, it also acquired a massive debt claim against Kobayashi Tenbo!
On the surface, Kobayashi Tenmo took away 20% of the equity plus 300 million in cash, and took on 1.3 billion in debt.
But Shen Bi now recalculated the situation: To maintain his business empire on Hong Kong Island, Lin Huowang would have to rely even more on and become even closer to British capital, and would even more firmly oppose Chinese capital like the Huo family! His greed had woven a web from which he could not easily escape. HSBC and Jardine Matheson had become the most reliable nodes in this web!
As for the "three-year liability exemption" clause for the 300 million yuan loan? Compared to this deeper bond, this risk point suddenly seems... debatable. After all, if something were to go wrong within three years, HSBC's losses across Hong Kong Island would be far greater, making the 1 billion yuan and 300 million yuan irrelevant. So, it's not something to worry about at all. Thus, absurd logic, under the actuarial power of capital, seems strangely persuasive.
On the other end of the phone, Lin Huowang was silent, as if waiting. But for Shen Bi at this moment, this silence was no longer oppressive, but instead became a tacit signal - Xiaolin Tianwang was waiting for him to understand the deeper meaning of this "deal".
Shen Bi took a deep breath, and the tone of his voice, filled with shock, anger, and mockery, completely changed. Instead, it was replaced by a calm and tentative tone with a strong sense of calculation, as if the previous scolding had never happened:
"Xiao Linsheng... this 'additional cooperation' you just mentioned... this perspective... is indeed an interesting idea."
He paused deliberately, as if carefully weighing the force of his words. "You're right... Strengthening interaction, deepening cooperation, and forming closer... more solid bonds of interest... is indeed of... positive strategic significance for HSBC, Jardine Matheson, and, of course, your long-term development... especially in the current delicate environment."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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