Chapter 97: Continuing to Raise Funds
Leaving Bao Yugang's home, Lin Haoran was in an excellent mood.
The visit had been incredibly worthwhile.
Not only had he found a method for investing, but he could also leverage Bao Yugang's network to make the investment proceed even more smoothly.
Before parting, Lin Haoran had given Bao Yugang the phone number of the Lin family villa, so if there were any updates from Saudi Aramco, they could easily reach him.
Back at home, Lin Haoran chatted briefly with his father Lin Wanan in the living room while waiting for Bao Yugang's call.
However, he didn't tell Lin Wanan about his plans to invest in oil.
Even Bao Yugang thought the risks were high and didn't want to take them — how could Lin Wanan, known for his cautiousness, possibly agree?
If he told his father, he might just get a long lecture instead.
About half an hour later, the phone finally rang.
Sitting by the phone, Lin Haoran immediately picked up.
As expected, it was Bao Yugang.
"Alright, understood. Thank you so much, Uncle Bao. I truly appreciate it. I've noted down the number.
Please rest early, I won't bother you further. Good night," Lin Haoran said, hanging up the phone and letting out a long sigh of relief.
In his hand was a small piece of paper with a telephone number written on it.
At that moment, Lin Wanan looked at him curiously.
Sensing his father's thoughts, Lin Haoran smiled and explained,
"Dad, I'm currently working on a business deal.
Uncle Bao helped connect me with someone important.
As for the details — it's still confidential for now.
When I have good news, I'll surprise you."
"You little rascal, always keeping secrets, even from your own father," Lin Wanan teased but didn't press for more.
"Dad, it's getting late.
I'll head upstairs to rest now.
Good night, and you and Mom should rest too," Lin Haoran said, waving before heading upstairs in high spirits.
Bao Yugang had called to inform him that he had successfully contacted the president of Saudi Aramco.
Thanks to Bao's influence, the president had agreed to meet Lin Haoran — but he would need to personally travel to Saudi Arabia to finalize the deal.
Even though a HK$200–300 million order wasn't large by Aramco's standards, the president was willing to meet him out of respect for Bao Yugang.
In 1978, Saudi Aramco's crude oil output exceeded 400 million tons.
To put that into perspective:
At the time, international crude oil prices hovered around US$13 per barrel.
400 million tons equaled roughly 3 billion barrels.
Thus, Saudi Aramco's annual oil sales revenue exceeded US$39 billion.
With the Hong Kong dollar-to-US dollar exchange rate at about 5 to 1, that meant Saudi Aramco's annual oil sales exceeded HK$200 billion — if not more.
Moreover, Saudi Aramco didn't just produce crude oil — it also controlled four American oil companies.
Thus, Lin Haoran's HK$200–300 million deal was trivial to them.
The president's willingness to meet him personally was truly a favor granted solely because of Bao Yugang.
Of course, Lin Haoran's projected figure of HK$200–300 million was still an estimate —
he didn't yet know exactly how much he could borrow.
For now, it was time to sleep — tomorrow he would figure out the financing.
The next morning, Lin Haoran and his father each left the Deep Water Bay villa in separate cars.
He didn't head to Qingzhou Cement.
Now that the oil deal was lined up, his next step was clear:
raise more money.
With HK$63 million in cash, he had a decent amount —
but not enough.
Even if oil prices doubled, his profit would still be too small.
Thus, the bigger the principal investment, the better.
Sitting in his office at Huanyu Investment, Lin Haoran reviewed a stack of financial institution profiles.
Banks like Hui Fung Bank, Hang Seng Bank, Standard Chartered, Citibank, American Express, BNP Paribas, Bank of East Asia, Wing Lung Bank, Wing Hang Bank —
both foreign and Chinese banks saturated Hong Kong's financial sector.
And aside from formal banks, there were countless finance companies:
Yumin Finance, Kowloon Finance, Asia Pacific Finance, and many more.
Across Hong Kong, there were hundreds of such banks and finance firms.
All of them could provide short-term loans —
a testament to how fierce Hong Kong's financial competition was.
As for Hang Seng Bank, Lin Haoran didn't plan to approach them again.
These banks were too strict —
you could only borrow roughly the same amount as your collateral.
Thus, finance companies were the better option.
Compared to traditional banks, finance companies were far more flexible and willing to lend larger amounts —
just like when Yumin Finance lent him HK$50 million secured by Huafeng Cement Factory.
"Maybe I should go back to Yumin Finance?" Lin Haoran thought.
He knew Yumin Finance would eventually collapse —
with leadership like that, it was inevitable.
But that wouldn't happen for a few more years.
Right now, in 1978, it was still safe.
Plus, he was familiar with Yumin's management.
Yesterday morning, Yang Changdao, Yumin's boss, had called to congratulate him —
but they hadn't spoken much, just polite exchanges.
Thus, Lin Haoran decided to call him again.
"Uncle Yang, are you free? I have something to discuss.
Oh, you're coming over to see me?
Great, I'm at Hengfeng Building, 19th floor. I'll wait for you," Lin Haoran said, surprised.
He had intended to visit Yumin Finance —
but before he could suggest it, Yang had already offered to come to him.
Clearly, Lin Haoran's new status made Yang view him differently now.
Previously, Yang had only seen him as a junior —
but now he was Chairman of a British-listed company —
a far bigger deal than even Lin Wanan.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Yang Changdao arrived at Huanyu Investment — lightning-fast.
Both Yumin Finance and Hengfeng Building were located in Central, so the distance was short.
Still, Yang's eagerness showed just how seriously he took Lin Haoran now.
"Uncle Yang, come in — let's talk inside," Lin Haoran said with a smile as they shook hands.
Inside, Yang's heart was filled with complex emotions.
Barely two months ago, Lin Haoran had been a young client taking a small loan.
Now?
He was a giant figure commanding headlines across Hong Kong.
Newspapers were still buzzing about Lin Haoran's acquisition of Qingzhou Cement.
Simply taking over Qingzhou Cement had made him a household name in Hong Kong.
"Haoran, what did you want to discuss?"
After sitting down, Yang Changdao got straight to the point —
his tone far more respectful than before.
"I want to make an investment," Lin Haoran said directly.
"But I have a funding gap.
If I use my position as Chairman of Qingzhou Cement and pledge some shares as collateral, how much could Yumin Finance lend me?"
Yang's eyes lit up — a big deal had arrived.
For him, Lin Haoran's shares were now pure gold.
"How many shares are you willing to pledge?" Yang asked.
Technically, under the previous HK$50 million loan deal, Lin Haoran still owed collateral —
but now, no one cared about that detail anymore.
Given Lin Haoran's stature, he could get tens of millions without any collateral.
"I'm thinking of pledging 10 million shares," Lin Haoran said casually.
In truth, he currently owned 11.55 million shares of Qingzhou Cement —
the rest were already pledged at Hang Seng Bank.
10 million shares versus 11.55 million wasn't much of a difference.
"10 million shares?
Without conditions, that could easily secure you HK$50 million.
But given your Chairman status,
I can approve HK$100 million," Yang said after thinking.
But Lin Haoran wasn't satisfied.
He shook his head and said,
"Uncle Yang, I need a bigger loan.
If I only needed HK$100 million, I could get it from Hui Fung Bank —
I even have connections with Shen Bi.
But the channels are too complicated.
I need much more — HK$300 million if possible."
Yang's face changed slightly.
HK$300 million?
That was outrageous —
far beyond what Lin Haoran's shares alone could justify.
"Haoran, how much do you actually want to borrow?" Yang asked cautiously.
"I want HK$300 million," Lin Haoran said boldly.
"One-year term."
Yang immediately shook his head.
"Haoran, it's not that I don't want to help,
but HK$300 million is just too much —
it's way beyond the collateral value."
He wanted to do big business — but he also understood risk.
"Uncle Yang," Lin Haoran said confidently,
"I'm the controlling shareholder of Qingzhou Cement now.
The company's true value far exceeds its stock price.
At minimum, it's worth over HK$500 million —
just the Hung Hom land alone is worth a fortune.
I'm asking for HK$300 million — it's reasonable.
You can send someone to assess it if you like."
And Lin Haoran wasn't lying.
The Hung Hom land alone was worth several billion once rezoned from industrial to commercial use.
"Haoran, let's skip the appraisal.
We already collected Qingzhou Cement's data.
Given your current position,
I can approve HK$200 million," Yang said after careful thought.
"HK$200 million?"
Lin Haoran frowned.
That was close to his target — but he wanted more.
Thus, he pressed:
"Uncle Yang, to be honest,
my investment project requires HK$300 million.
I already have HK$60 million in cash.
Why not have Yumin Finance lend me HK$240 million?
That way, I reach my goal."
"And of course,
you'll get a 'tea money' bonus —
HK$500,000 in cash once the deal is done."
Just an extra HK$40 million —
Lin Haoran believed Yang wouldn't say no.
"Haoran, let me think about it.
I'll need to discuss it internally.
I'll call you with an answer soon," Yang said cautiously.
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