Chapter 198 Citizens' Reactions
After reaching the deal with Lin Haoran, Li Mingze finally learned that this young man had secretly managed to control 19.9% of China Gas Company's shares.
In other words, even without their transfer, Lin Haoran already held more shares than they did individually.
And now, with the shares they had just sold to him, Lin Haoran controlled more than 50%.
At this point, even Li Mingze couldn't help but admire Lin Haoran's audacity.
"Mr. Lin, do you remember I previously mentioned inviting you to join the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce?" After finalizing the share transfer, Li Mingze didn't rush to leave but instead began chatting casually with Lin Haoran.
"Of course I remember. I've been looking forward to it," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"I submitted your information before the New Year, but with the holidays, everything slowed down. Many of the Chamber's operations paused during the celebrations. But within a few days, you should receive an official invitation. Then you'll be a full member," Li Mingze continued.
"That's perfectly understandable," Lin Haoran nodded.
He wasn't particularly anxious to join, nor did he have overly high expectations.
Given his current status, he was already among Hong Kong's business elite. More people now sought to curry favor with him, rather than the other way around.
The biggest benefit of joining would simply be meeting more people, making future cooperation easier.
Given his current standing, anyone he wanted to meet would likely agree immediately.
"Also, regarding China Gas Company, I will be there tomorrow morning to help with the formal handover. We will need to issue a public announcement. Considering the complex situation, it's best to complete the transition under the witness of the media.
I'll arrange everything tonight. Mr. Lin, please be at China Gas Company headquarters in Quarry Bay by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. Under the eyes of the reporters, the leadership transition will be completed. Jardines Matheson announced tonight that they will come tomorrow too, so we should settle everything at once," Li Mingze said, returning to business.
Jardines Matheson's move had already failed, though they didn't know it yet. They must still be dreaming about taking over China Gas Company.
Now that Li Mingze had been forced to give up control, he could hardly wait to see Jardines Matheson's failure.
Even though he had already signed over the shares to Lin Haoran, officially, he was still chairman until the transition was complete.
"Good. Thank you for arranging this, Mr. Li. Also, thank you for handling the media invitations," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
After chatting with Li Mingze and the others for another half hour, Lin Haoran finally saw them off.
By now, it was already past six in the evening.
Back in the general manager's office, Lin Haoran said to Chen Shoulin, "Chairman Chen, I will remain nominally Chairman of the Board at China Gas, but you'll be appointed as Vice Chairman. From now on, management authority will be fully yours. Is that acceptable?"
China Gas also had a general manager, a professional executive. After all, Li Mingze couldn't run the company personally every day, being involved with many businesses. The general manager handled the daily operations.
"Boss, no problem at all. Please rest assured!" Chen Shoulin replied with a smile.
Chen Shoulin clearly understood that Lin Haoran's role as chairman would be more honorary; day-to-day management would fall to him as the professional manager.
Except for major events, such as this acquisition, Lin Haoran would leave the details to him.
With China Gas now part of the Hong Kong Electric Group system, and functioning as a listed subsidiary, Chen Shoulin's position and influence grew significantly.
Moreover, his income would increase as well—from both his salary at China Gas and the improved performance bonuses at Hong Kong Electric.
In short, his workload would increase, but it was well worth it.
After saying goodbye to Chen Shoulin, Lin Haoran didn't return to the Deep Water Bay villa. Instead, he went back to his villa on Sassoon Road, which he hadn't visited for a few days.
Two of the maids had gone home for New Year's and would return on the fifth day of the New Year.
However, two other maids had voluntarily stayed to work during the holiday.
Although they were Filipino, they were actually of Chinese descent.
In Hong Kong, Chinese-Filipino maids were highly favored—not only affordable and hardworking but also fluent in Chinese.
The night passed quickly.
The next morning was the fourth day of the New Year, February 19.
The weather was bad—cold rain was falling.
The temperature in Hong Kong had dropped to around 10°C, and it felt even colder.
When Lin Haoran went out, he wore a thick, warm suit.
Upon arriving at China Gas Company headquarters in Quarry Bay, Chen Shoulin was already waiting for him in the parking lot.
It was about 8:40 a.m., a little before the 9 a.m. meeting time set by Li Mingze.
"Chairman Chen, how long have you been here?" Lin Haoran greeted him with a smile.
"Boss, I just arrived a few minutes ago. When I didn't see your car in the lot, I figured you hadn't arrived yet, so I waited here," Chen Shoulin replied.
"Good. Let's head up then."
They took the elevator to the fifth floor.
China Gas Company's headquarters wasn't very tall—only eight floors. Li Mingze's office was on the fifth floor.
When they entered, it was clear that Li Mingze had been waiting for a while. The three other major shareholders were also present.
"Mr. Lin, Mr. Chen, good morning!" Li Mingze and the others greeted them warmly.
"Good morning!"
"We invited the media last night. They're already here. We didn't invite too many—just Oriental Daily, Hong Kong Commercial Daily, Hong Kong Economic Times, and the South China Morning Post," Li Mingze explained.
"Those few are enough. By the way, have Jardines Matheson's people arrived yet?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.
"They haven't arrived yet. I suppose they believe the acquisition of China Gas Company is already in the bag, so they're not in any rush," Li Mingze said with a laugh. He could hardly wait to see the reaction of Nobby Jamieson and the other Jardines Matheson executives when they realized that despite all their efforts, they still hadn't managed to gain control of China Gas Company.
Just imagining it made him excited.
For Li Mingze, although it was a bit unfortunate to lose China Gas Company, it wasn't a major blow. After all, the Li family owned many other businesses.
At least, he could leave knowing that China Gas Company would not become a British enterprise, and that he had successfully sold the shares at a good price.
Thus, the current outcome was acceptable to him.
It was a result that everyone in the Li family could accept—something to be happy about.
Last night, after returning home, Li Mingze immediately convened a meeting with the main members of the Li family.
Although the media hadn't yet reported Jardines Matheson's announcement, the Li family leadership was already well aware.
They had been deeply concerned about how to handle their stake in China Gas Company.
Without control, the value of their shares would diminish significantly, especially since everyone knew what would happen to China Gas under Jardines Matheson's control.
Continuing to hold shares would be meaningless.
Thus, when Li Mingze brought back the news of the successful sale, it was an unexpected delight.
Selling their shares at such a good price meant the Li family's stake was worth nearly HK$100 million.
Escaping unscathed and pocketing such a large sum was undoubtedly a great success.
Li Mingze's prestige within the family rose even higher.
So today, he came to handle the final matters of China Gas with a light heart.
"Mr. Li, is that the Oriental Daily you're holding?" Lin Haoran asked, noticing the newspaper in Li Mingze's hand.
"Yes, it's Oriental Daily. It already reports on Jardines Matheson's announcement from last night. Mr. Lin, you probably haven't seen it yet. Here, take a look," Li Mingze said, handing him the paper with a smile.
Lin Haoran had already acquired Oriental Press Group some time ago, but few people knew about it. He had no intention of making it public.
Whether the ownership was revealed or not didn't affect him.
Moreover, Oriental Press Group was a privately held, non-listed company, so there was no need to disclose such matters.
Lin Haoran took the latest issue of the Oriental Daily and saw the front-page headline: "Breaking News: Jardines Matheson Announces Successful Acquisition of China Gas Company!"
The article detailed the news announced by Jardines Matheson the previous night.
"Holding 40.7% of China Gas Company's shares!"
With such a high ownership percentage, everyone naturally assumed Jardines Matheson had succeeded.
"Let's go. It's almost 9 a.m. I've told the reporters we'll hold the press conference right at nine," Li Mingze said, checking his watch.
For him, it was important to see things through to the end.
It wasn't enough to sell the shares—he needed to handle the transition properly, formally hand over to Lin Haoran, and then fully cut ties with China Gas.
Thus, the group left the office and took the elevator down to the third floor.
There, a large training room had been prepared. The chairs and tables had been cleared, leaving a wide open space that could easily accommodate over a hundred people.
At that moment, besides some China Gas Company staff, there were also journalists and photographers from four major media outlets.
When Li Mingze and the others entered, all eyes turned toward them.
Seeing Lin Haoran among them didn't surprise anyone.
After all, it was well known that Hong Kong Electric Group held a stake in China Gas, and journalists were certainly aware.
Thus, they assumed Lin Haoran was simply there representing Hong Kong Electric Group.
When these reporters had received the invitation last night, they immediately assumed the announcement would be about Li Mingze stepping down.
After all, they could hardly imagine any other reason for a press conference.
Especially given that Jardines Matheson had already publicly announced their 40.7% stake—most assumed the matter was settled.
In fact, many Hong Kong citizens felt a pang of sadness upon hearing the news.
"Jardines Matheson actually acquired China Gas Company—unbelievable!"
"Tell me about it. But what could we do? Jardines Matheson is just too powerful. It's understandable that Mr. Li couldn't resist."
"Ah, from now on, we'll have to use gas sparingly. I hate putting money into the pockets of those foreigners!"
"Same here. I always prioritize Chinese brands when I can. Foreigners always look down on us."
"And to think, it's called 'China Gas Company' and now it's going to be foreign-owned. It's hard to accept."
Everyone was Chinese, naturally wanting to see Chinese enterprises grow stronger.
Many Hong Kong citizens, especially the older generation, had moved there to escape wars. Their patriotism ran deep.
Thus, when Lin Haoran acquired Hong Kong Electric Group, Bao Yugang acquired Wharf Holdings, and Li Jiacheng took over Hutchison Whampoa, these were seen as great achievements—sources of pride.
But now, with China Gas about to fall back into foreign hands, ordinary citizens couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Although frustrated, there was little they could do.
Jardines Matheson had always been a formidable force in Hong Kong. Their acquisition of China Gas was just another typical move in the world of business competition.
(This chapter ends.)
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