Chapter 118 - Fellow Countrymen Are Meant to Be Sold Out
"Convening a shareholders' meeting?"
Lin Haoran was slightly stunned when he received a call from one of the shareholders, appearing somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected that while he was still pondering his next move, the other side had already taken the initiative and proposed this matter.
What surprised him even more was that the shareholder mentioned during the call that the other seven shareholders had already reached a consensus, so there was no need to notify them individually.
"Alright, since everyone is willing, let's hold a shareholders' meeting. How about tomorrow morning at ten? That way everyone has enough time to prepare," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"Mr. Lin, that time works perfectly for us. We have no issues!" the other party responded.
"Good, then it's settled. I look forward to tomorrow's meeting. Goodbye!" Lin Haoran ended the call.
Sitting in his spacious and bright office, Lin Haoran fell into deep thought.
His gaze passed through the floor-to-ceiling window, seemingly penetrating the city's hustle and bustle, reaching the doubts in his heart.
Why were they looking for him? Was it to discuss Qingzhou Cement Company's future plans, or did they have other motives, like hoping he would acquire all their shares?
Such purposes were like shadows hidden in the mist. Lin Haoran didn't rush to draw conclusions.
He knew it was pointless to speculate before the time was right.
Just as he was immersed in thought, a knock on the door interrupted him.
"Boss, some reporters want to interview you," the female assistant said from outside, her voice slightly urgent.
Lin Haoran sighed softly.
These reporters really had sharp senses — invading everywhere.
After failing to find him at Qingzhou Cement Company, they had directly set their sights on Wan'an Group's headquarters.
Lin Haoran showed a hint of helplessness but quickly adjusted his mood.
He didn't want to antagonize the media easily, so he asked calmly, "Which media outlets are they from?"
"They're from the Oriental Daily and TVB Television," his assistant replied.
Lin Haoran nodded.
"Let them in."
The Oriental Daily was currently the newspaper with the largest circulation in Hong Kong, while TVB was one of the two remaining major television stations.
Originally, Hong Kong had three major TV stations — TVB, Rediffusion Television, and Commercial Television — but Commercial Television had gone bankrupt months earlier, before Lin Haoran had crossed over to this world.
These media outlets would stop at nothing for clicks and ratings.
Offending them could lead to slander, so it was better to grant a brief interview.
Soon, three people entered — a reporter from the Oriental Daily, and a reporter and cameraman from TVB.
"Mr. Lin, thank you for granting us this interview," the TVB reporter, about thirty years old, said excitedly upon entering.
They hadn't expected to succeed — and with only their two outlets present, they had an exclusive.
Exclusive interviews attracted much more attention than common news.
Lin Haoran smiled and responded, "No need to be so polite. I just wrapped up some work.
However, I have other matters shortly, so let's be direct.
I'll give you a few minutes to ask questions."
"Mr. Lin, allow me to introduce myself.
I am TVB reporter Huang Weiming.
I would like to ask, there are rumors that you orchestrated a scheme that caused Qingzhou Cement's stock to surge and then crash.
What is your explanation?" Huang asked, thrusting a microphone toward him.
Lin Haoran shook his head slightly, showing a trace of helplessness.
"That accusation is truly unjustified.
When I received the Securities and Futures Commission's notice, I was just as surprised."
"In fact, I hadn't even considered privatizing Qingzhou Cement recently.
Everyone knows my father's Wan'an Group is still much smaller than Qingzhou Cement.
Securing control of Qingzhou Cement was already a significant achievement."
"As for the origin of this matter, I suspect someone deliberately reported me.
To this day, I have no idea who the complainant is, and this uncertainty has been very troubling."
"If you really want to investigate further, perhaps you could ask Chairman Mike Smith of the Securities and Futures Commission.
After all, the initial news came from the Commission."
He knew many investors were cursing him in secret.
Even though he didn't care about ordinary investors' opinions, it was still irritating to be vilified.
Since the reporters asked, he took the opportunity to clear his name — and throw the blame back at the British shareholders.
"Mr. Lin, do you still intend to privatize Qingzhou Cement in the future?"
The Oriental Daily reporter followed up.
Lin Haoran smiled faintly, with a touch of helplessness in his gaze.
"I have indeed thought about it.
But reality is cruel.
Privatizing Qingzhou Cement would require over 100 million Hong Kong dollars —
a figure far beyond my current reach.
I have no idea when I might accumulate that much money."
The questions became increasingly pointed.
"Mr. Lin, was your decision to sell large amounts of stock at 5 Hong Kong dollars motivated by personal profit?"
"This question is truly baffling," Lin Haoran said with a wry smile.
"First, let me clarify:
my cost to acquire Qingzhou Cement shares was far higher than 5 Hong Kong dollars per share.
To prove it, I'll show you one of my purchase contracts."
He got up, opened a locked cabinet, and retrieved a contract signed with Cheung Kong Holdings.
Handing it to the reporter, he pointed out:
the contract clearly showed Cheung Kong had sold him 3.915 million shares at 6 Hong Kong dollars per share — a total of 23.49 million Hong Kong dollars.
"This is only part of my acquisitions.
My average cost is much higher than 5 dollars.
Even though I sold shares yesterday at 5 Hong Kong dollars, I actually incurred a loss."
"In the secondary market, there are many orders lower than 4 dollars.
If I were truly manipulating the market, I could have bought back at those low prices to make a profit."
"But I didn't — precisely because I currently lack the ability to privatize the company," Lin Haoran explained, sounding both earnest and helpless.
Of course, in truth, his actual average cost was much lower after pushing the price down.
But he wasn't about to admit that to the media.
"Mr. Lin, may we photograph this contract for our report?" one reporter asked.
"Of course," Lin Haoran replied casually.
Li Jiacheng had previously told him that the transaction would be reflected in Cheung Kong's financial reports anyway, so it didn't matter if he revealed it early.
Once the reporters finished photographing, Lin Haoran decided the interview was over.
He had already said everything he needed to say.
Besides, reporters loved setting traps with tricky questions — who knew what pits they might dig later?
He glanced deliberately at his watch.
"Sorry, I have to get back to work.
Today's interview ends here," he said, locking the contract back in the cabinet and signaling them to leave.
The reporters from TVB and Oriental Daily wanted to continue, but Lin Haoran gave them no chance.
He left Wan'an Group's building and had his driver, Li Weiguo, take him back to the Deep Water Bay villa.
Even though he had already separated the family wealth, he was still unmarried.
Living with his parents was natural.
Meanwhile, the TVB and Oriental Daily reporters set their sights on Chairman Mike Smith of the Securities and Futures Commission.
The Oriental Daily reporter already knew that one of Qingzhou Cement's shareholders had tipped off the Commission.
But he also knew those shareholders would never admit it.
If they could get confirmation from Mike Smith, however, it would be explosive.
Thus, the two media outlets rushed toward the Securities and Futures Commission headquarters before office hours ended, hoping to catch Mike Smith.
At the Commission building, Mike Smith again agreed to an interview.
For senior officials like him, appearing publicly was normal.
"Mr. Smith, it's rumored that the reason you sent a letter requiring Mr. Lin Haoran to privatize Qingzhou Cement was due to a report.
Is that true?" the reporter asked.
"It's true.
We received a joint report.
Only then did we start investigating.
After an internal meeting, we issued the letter to Qingzhou Cement," Mike Smith admitted straightforwardly.
"May we ask who submitted the report?"
The Oriental Daily reporter asked eagerly.
Mike Smith fell silent for a long time.
Originally, he intended to refuse — after all, those shareholders were fellow Britons.
However, seeing the way things had escalated — and knowing the Commission risked being blamed —
he decided it was better to be transparent.
He picked up the joint report letter from his desk, reread it, and said,
"According to what I know, the five complainants are all shareholders of Qingzhou Cement.
Maybe they felt it was unfair that Mr. Lin Haoran controlled so much of the company."
"As for their real motives, I cannot say.
Our investigation found that Mr. Lin Haoran indeed violated the 'fair treatment' principle under the Takeovers Code.
Thus, it was natural for us to send the letter urging either privatization or a reduction in holdings."
The two media outlets were ecstatic at this revelation.
"Mr. Smith, may we record the names of these people?" the reporter asked.
"Of course," Mike Smith replied, showing them the letter.
With that, the Securities and Futures Commission successfully shifted the blame away from itself.
As for fellow countrymen — well, they were meant to be sold out.
After photographing the report letter, both media outlets were thrilled.
The information they obtained would undoubtedly dominate tomorrow's headlines.
After all, plenty of people had fallen into the trap today.
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