NOVEL WEB Chapter 15: Chapter 15 The Investigation Results Were Unexpected
Chapter 15 The Investigation Results Were Unexpected
As a professional, Su Zhixue was naturally very skilled at gathering stock market information.
Soon, he was busy making phone calls in the office.
Lin Haoran was in no rush and instead picked up a newspaper to read.
He had bought this copy of the Hong Kong Economic Times from a roadside stall on his way back.
Sure enough, there was news about Wharf Holdings in the paper.
Just as he expected, after the King of Shipping publicly announced he had no intention of buying more Wharf Holdings shares, the stock price immediately fell from a peak of 49 HKD per share, and trading volume dropped significantly.
Originally, the shares the King of Shipping acquired were bought from Li Jiacheng; he hadn't purchased Wharf shares directly from the stock market, which made retail investors believe him.
Thus, with no one left to drive up the price, the speculators withdrew, and the stock price naturally plunged.
According to the article, Wharf Holdings' closing price yesterday had already dropped to 38 HKD per share—a sharp decline, but with relatively low trading volume.
Currently, the market was flooded with sell orders, many of which came from individual investors reacting late or misinterpreting market signals.
These retail investors, driven by the desire for profit, often neglected the complexities and risks hidden within the market.
This behavior made them the perfect targets for market makers and big players to "harvest" during downturns.
Lin Haoran frowned slightly as he looked at the stock prices.
At 38 HKD per share, it was still far from the bottom.
However, since the fifty-million-dollar loan hadn't been released yet, there was no need for him to rush into the market.
Since transmigrating, he had discovered with pleasant surprise that he not only gained a golden finger that allowed him to see loyalty levels but also developed an enhanced memory—an almost photographic memory.
All the articles and documents he had read in his past life now resurfaced in his mind as vividly as if he had read them just yesterday.
Wharf Holdings was one of the companies he had paid attention to in his previous life.
This was why, upon seeing news about Wharf Holdings, he had immediately devised a plan.
From what he remembered, after the King of Shipping's announcement, Wharf's stock price plummeted significantly, reaching a low of 21 HKD per share.
Thus, Wharf's current stock price had not yet reached its bottom.
His strategy was to remain calm and observe the price fluctuations closely.
He understood that in the stock market, timing was often more critical than choosing the right stock.
Therefore, he was not eager to act immediately but would patiently wait for the price to fall to a level he deemed reasonably undervalued.
To maximize profits from this investment, he needed to control his entry cost carefully.
Thus, he planned to build his position gradually during periods of market pessimism and price pressure, taking advantage of volatility to lower his average cost.
Putting down the newspaper, Lin Haoran sat patiently waiting for Su Zhixue's investigation results.
After a few more minutes, Su Zhixue finally put down the phone.
On the notebook in front of him, he had recorded a large amount of information and data.
"President Lin, I've gathered the information you asked for," Su Zhixue said.
"Alright, report it to me," Lin Haoran nodded.
"First, regarding Wharf Holdings: its stock price has been extremely volatile recently. Previously it peaked at 49 HKD per share, but it has been declining steadily. Yesterday, the closing price was 38.56 HKD per share, a 23% drop compared to the day before.
After opening this morning, Wharf's stock price continued to fall. The latest information I received shows the price currently at 34.23 HKD per share, with low trading volume.
As for Green Island Cement, I've been following this stock for a long time, so I know it well. It's always been relatively stable. The actual controlling shareholder is a British investor who holds 12.6% of the shares.
Based on the current stock price, the company's total market value is around 238 million HKD.
Compared to the same period last year, the stock price hasn't risen much.
However, I found some data showing that Green Island Cement not only has a strong business foundation but also owns 800,000 square feet of waterfront land in Hung Hom.
Based on current land prices, that land alone is worth at least 500 million HKD—this doesn't even account for the valuation of their entire industrial chain.
In other words, Green Island Cement's stock price is severely undervalued.
The discrepancy between its market price and its real value could be due to a lack of investor awareness, conservative projections about its future, or other market factors.
Currently, there are quite a few sell orders for Green Island Cement, but the listed prices are stable, and there's no collapse in pricing.
The latest transaction price for Green Island Cement is 4.76 HKD per share..."
Su Zhixue then thoroughly reported all the information he had gathered to Lin Haoran.
A market cap of more than 200 million HKD?
This somewhat surprised Lin Haoran.
He originally thought that Green Island Cement, being just a cement company, would have a market cap of about 100 million HKD—not over 200 million.
In his past life, information about Li Jiacheng's acquisition of Green Island Cement was mentioned only briefly, with no detailed records about the acquisition process.
By contrast, acquisitions of giants like Wharf Holdings, Hutchison Whampoa, and Hongkong Electric were recorded extensively.
This made sense—compared to such titans, Green Island Cement was smaller in both size and influence.
However, knowing that Green Island Cement owned such a vast piece of prime waterfront land in Hung Hom made Lin Haoran realize that 200 million HKD was indeed a bargain.
No wonder Li Jiacheng had eventually targeted this company.
At that time, many British enterprises in Hong Kong were ripe for acquisition.
Take Wharf Holdings, for example—its real value was around 4 to 5 billion HKD.
But around the end of last year and early this year, Wharf's stock price hovered between 13 and 14 HKD per share.
With around 100 million shares outstanding, its market cap was only about 1.4 billion HKD.
This huge gap between stock market valuation and real asset value was common among British-controlled enterprises in Hong Kong.
That's why they eventually became acquisition targets for Chinese business groups.
"Go to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and get me a detailed six-month trading record for Green Island Cement. I'll wait here," Lin Haoran instructed calmly.
"Yes, President Lin. I'll get it right away," Su Zhixue said and quickly left.
About ten minutes later, he returned.
In his hands were several sheets of A4 paper, stapled together, densely filled with trading data.
"President Lin, here's the six-month daily trading record for Green Island Cement.
I managed to get it through a contact inside the Hong Kong Stock Exchange," Su Zhixue said, handing the documents to Lin Haoran.
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