From Inheriting a Small Factory to Becoming a Global Financial Tycoon

Chapter 14 Lin Haoran's Acquisition Target

Companionship is always brief.

The next morning, after having breakfast with his parents, Lin Haoran left the Lin family villa and drove alone to Causeway Bay.

In Causeway Bay, Lin Haoran picked up Li Weiguo and Li Weidong, and then headed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Central.

It's worth mentioning that in the 1970s, Hong Kong's securities market was quite complex and somewhat chaotic. Four major stock exchanges—Far East Exchange, Kam Ngan Stock Exchange, Kowloon Stock Exchange, and Hong Kong Stock Exchange—formed a quadrilateral competitive situation, each holding a significant position.

Among the four, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, being one of the oldest exchanges and the most powerful at the time, became the preferred listing destination for many British-funded enterprises, providing crucial financing platforms and market opportunities.

Lin Haoran's target companies were all listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

At 8:30 in the morning, Lin Haoran had already arrived outside the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and saw Su Zhixue waiting there.

Su Zhixue had actually arrived at 8:00. As soon as he got home yesterday, he couldn't contain his excitement and immediately told his wife the good news about securing the medical expenses.

His wife was overwhelmed with joy and even cried tears of happiness, repeatedly urging Su Zhixue to do his utmost for Lin Haoran.

For their family, Lin Haoran's loan for the medical expenses was nothing short of life-saving.

"Chairman Lin, you're here," Su Zhixue greeted nervously.

"Mm, from now on, just call me President Lin."

"President Lin, what would you like me to do?"

"Come with me first. The money you urgently need will be arranged for you after work this afternoon."

"Yes, President Lin. Thank you very much."

Lin Haoran didn't rush into the stock exchange but went to a nearby commercial building instead.

This commercial building specialized in renting out small offices; each floor was divided into many tiny spaces.

"How much to rent an office?" Lin Haoran asked the leasing office staff.

"Boss, we have offices ranging from 100 to 2000 square feet, priced per square foot..."

In the end, Lin Haoran rented a 200-square-foot office, which was less than 20 square meters.

He didn't intend to rent anything too large—there was no need. This small office was enough.

As for a fixed phone line, the building already had one, just temporarily suspended. A simple renewal would reactivate it.

The office already had basic desks and chairs, so there was no need for extra furnishings.

"Zhixue, from now on, you'll work out of this office. Your duties are very clear: as my private stock trader, your daily work will involve gathering stock market information, analyzing data, and executing stock transactions.

Simply put, I will tell you what stock to buy, when to buy it, and when to sell. You must follow my instructions precisely," Lin Haoran said, seated steadily in the office chair.

"Understood, President Lin," Su Zhixue responded, feeling relieved.

These tasks were familiar to him, and he was confident in his ability to handle them.

"There's one more important thing: all your work here must be strictly confidential. You must not disclose anything to anyone—not even your wife, and definitely not my father," Lin Haoran said with unmistakable seriousness.

This was crucial; he couldn't afford leaks while secretly acquiring stocks.

"President Lin, rest assured. I will not reveal anything. In our profession, leaking information would ruin our careers," Su Zhixue assured him.

Lin Haoran believed him—after all, with a loyalty level of 100%, if he couldn't trust Su Zhixue, he wouldn't know whom he could trust.

"Alright, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange should be opening soon. Let's go," Lin Haoran said, handing him the office key before leaving.

It was now about 9:30 AM, and the trading hours at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange were from 9:30 to 12:00 in the morning, and from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon.

Leaving the commercial building, they headed directly to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange trading floor.

Since the fifty million Hong Kong dollars loan had not yet been approved, Lin Haoran was in no rush to conduct large-scale transactions.

His current priority was to understand Hong Kong's stock market environment and confirm his acquisition targets.

At present, Lin Haoran had close to two million Hong Kong dollars in discretionary funds—120 million from Huafeng Cement Factory's account transfer and tens of thousands in his personal savings.

Two million Hong Kong dollars was a significant amount; if a good opportunity appeared, he could take action even before the loan funds arrived.

After entering the trading floor with Su Zhixue, Lin Haoran found that it wasn't very crowded.

The number of retail investors wasn't much higher than the number of brokers in red vests.

The existence of four stock exchanges in Hong Kong had undoubtedly dispersed trading volume.

Moreover, major investors preferred to stay low-key and efficient, often giving orders by phone rather than appearing on the trading floor themselves.

After wandering around the trading floor, Lin Haoran lost interest.

Big trades didn't need to happen here.

Soon after, Lin Haoran registered several stock accounts under his own name, making it easier for him to operate in the market.

Once that was settled, he and Su Zhixue returned to their newly rented office.

"Zhixue, start collecting stock market information on Wharf Holdings and Green Island Cement. I need detailed reports, especially on Green Island Cement," Lin Haoran instructed as soon as they sat down.

Yes, besides Wharf Holdings, his other target was Green Island Cement.

From his memories, he recalled that after giving up on acquiring Wharf, Li Jiacheng had turned his attention to Green Island Cement. That should have happened around 1978—this very year.

Lin Haoran wasn't sure if Li Jiacheng had already started the acquisition, but he was fairly confident that it hadn't happened yet.

After all, Cheung Kong Holdings had only recently given up on Wharf Holdings—it was too soon.

At this stage, Green Island Cement was the perfect investment target for Lin Haoran.

Buying Wharf Holdings stock was merely for profiting from price fluctuations; with his current strength, he couldn't hope to acquire a giant like Wharf Holdings, worth billions.

But buying Green Island Cement stock—he was aiming to acquire and control it.

Like Huafeng Cement Factory, Green Island Cement's core business was producing and selling cement.

The difference was that Green Island Cement was the oldest cement company in Hong Kong and also the largest.

Since he was competing with his elder brother Lin Haoning for the Wanan Group succession, Lin Haoran thought, if he could take over the largest cement company in Hong Kong and become the controlling shareholder of a listed company, he would like to see what Lin Haoning could possibly use to outshine him.

Moreover, the competition was secondary; what Lin Haoran valued most were the land assets held by Green Island Cement.

According to what he knew, Green Island Cement not only had a strong business foundation but also owned significant prime coastal landholdings in the city—a fact that had later attracted Li Jiacheng's attention.

Wanan Group's main income source was real estate; it was essentially a real estate-driven conglomerate.

If Lin Haoran could gain control over Green Island Cement, then once he became Wanan Group's successor, he could forge powerful synergies between the two companies in real estate development.

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