From Inheriting a Small Factory to Becoming a Global Financial Tycoon

Chapter 37 A Competitor Appears

Inside the real estate agency, Lin Haoran first clearly outlined his specific requirements.

The agent then carefully selected several properties that matched his criteria.

This real estate agency, being a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hongkong Land Holdings, had the strong backing and stellar reputation of its parent company.

Every transaction contract came with a guarantee: all recommended properties had been rigorously screened and vetted, ensuring no hidden risks, including but not limited to issues like existing mortgages.

Should any breach of this guarantee occur, the company promised full responsibility until the matter was satisfactorily resolved.

This naturally gave Lin Haoran complete peace of mind.

Given his current financial situation and real needs, Lin Haoran focused on properties priced under one million Hong Kong dollars.

He understood that within this price range, he might not find extremely spacious office space, but he maintained a pragmatic attitude—believing it was a practical choice for his current phase.

He planned that once his financial situation improved in the future, he could upgrade to a larger office space without any rush.

After carefully browsing and comparing several options, Lin Haoran quickly found a target.

It was a unit located within a bustling commercial building near the Hong Kong Stock Exchange called Heng Fung Building.

The building stood tall with twenty-one floors, and the unit for sale was situated on the prime 19th floor, offering not only a wide-open view but also a close proximity to the beautiful Victoria Harbour.

In Central, where land was incredibly precious, most commercial buildings were typically owned by major conglomerates, and rarely did individual floors come up for sale.

However, there were always exceptions.

The Heng Fung Building had once been wholly owned by a well-known British company, but the 1973 stock market crash severely impacted them.

To survive and restructure, the company had no choice but to split half of the building into individually owned units and sell them off.

The office that Lin Haoran favored was relatively compact at around 1,620 square feet (about 150 square meters), but it was well laid out and highly efficient.

Given its excellent location, convenient transportation, and stunning harbor views, the asking price of one million Hong Kong dollars seemed very reasonable and attractive.

Since there was still time, Lin Haoran decided to strike while the iron was hot and asked the agent to take him for an on-site visit.

The moment he stepped inside the unit, he was immediately drawn by its refined layout and fresh renovations.

The overall environment far exceeded his expectations, almost move-in ready with no additional modifications needed—a major bonus for someone as efficiency-driven as he was.

Being a decisive person, Lin Haoran, satisfied with the property, instructed the agent to arrange a meeting with the owner immediately.

Before long, a middle-aged Chinese owner arrived, explaining that he was emigrating to Canada soon, and thus had to reluctantly sell this ideal combination of office and residential space.

The negotiation process was extremely smooth.

Thanks to their mutual recognition of the property's value and their straightforward, respectful communication, they agreed on a final price of 950,000 Hong Kong dollars.

The seller was straightforward, and so was Lin Haoran.

Before 6 PM, with the help of the agent, they had completed the transfer procedures.

With the final signature, Lin Haoran officially owned his first piece of real estate in the heart of bustling Central.

After completing the purchase, Lin Haoran returned to his new property with Li Weiguo and Li Weidong.

The previous tenants had cleverly utilized the space to create a fully functional office setup, with a general manager's office, a finance office, and a department office.

The main hall had been partitioned into multiple work cubicles, perfectly meeting the needs of different teams.

The office could easily accommodate a dozen or twenty staff members without issue.

To Lin Haoran, the place was practical and perfect—he could even live there if needed.

He particularly appreciated the clever layout, which neatly separated the living and working areas within the 30-square-meter section.

Walking through the spacious hall, Lin Haoran's gaze was inevitably drawn to the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.

Outside stretched a breathtaking view: the shimmering waters of Victoria Harbour, with the skyline of Kowloon Peninsula etched clearly in the sunset's glow, like a magnificent painting unveiled before his eyes.

Right next to Heng Fung Building stood a towering commercial skyscraper—headquarters of Cheung Kong Holdings.

At this moment, inside one of its conference rooms, Li Jiacheng sat at the head of a table, meeting intensely with his team of strategists.

"Hong Kong is full of British-listed companies, like stars scattered across the sky, and there are no shortages of high-quality targets.

Right now, we're cash-rich.

Although we missed the opportunity with Wharf Holdings, many new battlefields await us.

Hutchison Whampoa is our next big goal—but the timing isn't right yet.

Mr. Wu, has your team identified any other promising acquisition targets in the meantime?"

Li Jiacheng asked gracefully, his demeanor as calm as ever.

Although some lamented Cheung Kong's failure to acquire Wharf Holdings, Li Jiacheng had his own calculations.

By selling off his Wharf shares to Bao Yugang, he avoided direct conflict with Jardine Matheson, earned favor with both HSBC and Bao Yugang, and set up Cheung Kong's future expansion—truly killing three birds with one stone.

Mr. Wu quickly organized his thoughts and responded steadily, "President Li, after several days of in-depth research and analysis, our team unanimously believes that Green Island Cement, located in Kowloon Hung Hom, is currently a highly attractive acquisition target.

Its stock price remains stable around five HKD per share, with a total market value of just about 250 million HKD—clearly undervalued.

Although trading volume has risen in recent months and the price has edged up, our investigation suggests that this reflects the market's recognition of its true, previously underestimated value.

Beyond its solid business foundation, Green Island Cement holds 800,000 square feet of prime waterfront land in Hung Hom—land whose value far exceeds the company's market cap.

Therefore, we firmly believe that acquiring Green Island Cement and controlling development rights over the Hung Hom site would be of immeasurable strategic value to Cheung Kong's future.

Here is our detailed research report for your review."

With that, Mr. Wu respectfully handed a thick report to Li Jiacheng.

Because Lin Haoran's acquisition of Green Island Cement shares had been extremely covert, not even Li Jiacheng's elite strategists had realized that someone was already secretly targeting it.

Li Jiacheng nodded slightly and began reading the report carefully.

As he read deeper, his expression shifted: sometimes frowning in thought, sometimes smiling in approval.

Finally, after a long while, Li Jiacheng decisively declared, "Good. Our next target is set—Green Island Cement!"

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