For the Week i missed the uploads, and the 2 weeks of 3 chapters per day, we are square as of yesterday.
From today, we will go back to 2 chapters per day plus the bonus chapters.
Thank you for your continuous encouragement by reading this and the HP novel.
And see you in the comment section.
Peace Out!
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After the board meeting ended, Lin Baicheng went to the Chairman's Office. The office had always existed, but no one had used it for the past two years. Over the last couple of days, William (Wei Li) had arranged for people to clean and prepare it.
Lin Baicheng called both William and Cheng Yufeng into his office.
Now that he had officially become Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa, his conversations with William would naturally be more formal, and he could rightfully issue instructions as a superior. Before this, even though he was the largest shareholder, giving orders without a board meeting had always felt somewhat improper.
William was the President (CEO) of Hutchison Whampoa, and for now, Lin had no intention of replacing him. That meant it was necessary for the two of them to communicate properly — at the very least, they needed to be aligned on the company's development. If not, Lin would simply remove him and find another CEO.
"William, I've already reviewed your development plan for Hutchison Whampoa. Now I'll talk about my thoughts."
William listened carefully. He knew this mattered for his career. He was confident in his own abilities — even if he left Hutchison Whampoa, he wouldn't struggle to find work. But Hutchison Whampoa had a market value of nearly HK$3 billion, one of Hong Kong's top companies. Leaving this platform and landing another CEO job of similar scale would not be easy — after all, every top position already has someone in the seat.
"Regarding your idea to streamline group subsidiaries — selling off the unprofitable or barely-profitable ones — I fully agree. Hutchison Whampoa is still far too bloated. Instead of doing everything and doing it poorly, it's better to focus on a few industries and excel."
"As for your proposal to prioritize property development, I completely agree. Hutchison Whampoa owns the most land in Hong Kong. Not developing it would be a massive waste. As for whether the land should be used for malls, office towers, or residential projects, you and your team can make decisions based on each location. I don't need to say more — leave that to the professionals."
Hearing that two of his core strategic directions had been endorsed by Lin, William felt relieved. It meant the new owner thought similarly, and the company would continue developing according to the blueprint he had created.
Lin continued:
"As for the trade division, I think the company's current development in that area is already sufficient. There's no need to invest further — just maintain the current level."
William quickly responded:
"Mr. Lin, trade is Hutchison Whampoa's strongest line of business — our core business. Before the merger between Hutchison International and Whampoa Dock, Hutchison International was built on trade. We have a lot of talent in this area. With some investment, we can get results very quickly. Within a year or two, we'd see returns."
To him, the trade business was reliable, easy to scale, and capable of producing profits fast.
Lin replied:
"The trade business is fine as it is for now. We should focus our limited resources on property development first. We can revisit expanding trade after a few years."
Lin did not want to reveal the real reason — the upcoming Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kong's future — so he used delay as the tactic.
"I understand. Since you believe real estate should be the priority, then we'll focus on that first," William said.
He also considered real estate a promising sector, so prioritizing it was acceptable. Trade could indeed be revisited once the property division grew stronger.
Seeing that William had been temporarily convinced, Lin felt relieved. As long as he could delay for a few years until the Sino-British negotiations began, William would naturally understand that trade was no longer suitable as a major development focus — at least not worth heavy investment.
Next, Lin said:
"As for the company's investment division — I plan to oversee it personally. I intend to sell all current investments, reclaim the capital, and together with the HK$500 million loan from HSBC, use all of it for new investments that I will personally choose."
Lin knew management wasn't his greatest strength, but when it came to choosing profitable investments, no one could match him.
William frowned slightly:
"Mr. Lin, wasn't the HSBC loan meant to be used to develop the company? Why allocate it to investments?"
"Investment is for making money — which is also developing the company. There's no difference."
Lin continued, "As for development funds, won't we recover money from selling certain subsidiaries? That money can go toward real estate development."
William asked cautiously,
"Mr. Lin, may I ask what kind of investments you intend to make? Is the risk high?"
As CEO, it was his duty to ask.
"You'll know when the time comes. You're the company's president — how could I possibly hide my investments from you?"
Lin didn't reveal his plans. As Chairman, he wasn't obligated to explain everything in detail.
William didn't press further but felt obliged to remind him:
"Mr. Lin, as the largest shareholder and Chairman, you're free to invest the funds as long as the projects have no direct conflict of interest with your personal assets. But if the investments cause major losses, even though no one can oppose your authority directly, the other shareholders will still make life difficult for you and obstruct the company's development."
Lin nodded:
"Don't worry. I will only invest in things I believe will earn money. As the largest shareholder, I stand to lose the most if things go wrong."
He understood clearly — he could not abuse his authority to benefit himself privately, such as buying his own assets at inflated prices. That would violate corporate law.
Also, if his investments performed poorly and harmed shareholder interests, they would not tolerate it.
William had only been doing his duty by reminding him. After Lin showed he understood, William said no more.
The two continued discussing company development and management. After this communication, they were better aligned and would be able to cooperate more effectively in growing Hutchison Whampoa.
In the coming days, Lin planned to also meet with Richard, Summer Yin, and other senior managers one by one — to explain his long-term vision, build rapport, and establish his influence.
Unlike Jupiter Toys, which was worth less than HK$10 million, Hutchison Whampoa had a market value near HK$3 billion — a giant enterprise. Lin would be spending a long time here, until the company fully bore his imprint.