Chapter 313 Karson Group Eyes Aimeigao Company
The events that had taken place today were, to many citizens of Hong Kong, nothing short of an extraordinary spectacle.
Though the newspapers had yet to publish anything, in reality, the content of Lin Haoran's two interviews, as well as Niu Bik Kin's statements, had already spread widely, passed along by those in the know.
Especially among the upper echelons of society, the details were already well understood.
On Lin Haoran's way home, in a building also located in Central, a middle-aged man was listening to a report from his subordinate, his eyes growing brighter with excitement.
This place was the headquarters of one of the hottest real estate giants in Hong Kong over the past two years — the Karson Group.
And the man was none other than the now widely-known Chen Songqing.
His fame was comparable to Lin Haoran's, commanding significant status among Chinese-owned enterprises.
However, Lin Haoran had never had much contact with him.
Lin Haoran knew very well that Chen Songqing was no easy character.
Doing business with him was akin to digging one's own grave.
Thus, he had long decided to avoid any dealings with him.
Earlier this year, Chen Songqing had tried to reach out through the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, hoping to co-develop real estate projects.
Lin Haoran politely declined, citing other commitments.
Today, Karson Group ranked among the top five real estate companies in Hong Kong.
Yet astonishingly, the group had only been registered three years ago, starting with a mere HKD 5 million in capital.
Superficially, it seemed like Karson Group, like Lin Haoran's empire, had achieved decades' worth of progress in just a few years.
In reality, it was a completely different story.
Karson's rise was fueled by speculation, loans, fraudulent activities, and collusive scams.
For instance, Lin Haoran's first financial partner, Yumin Finance, was Karson Group's biggest lender.
Over the past three years, Chen Songqing had drained more than HKD 1 billion from Yumin Finance.
Not only that, but he had secured massive loans from other financial firms and banks as well.
Karson's success relied heavily on clever financial maneuvers and strategic asset pledges.
In 1978, Karson bought a plot of land in Yuen Long for HKD 18.5 million, then mortgaged it to Malaysia's Yumin Finance for a HKD 60 million loan.
The same year, another plot bought for HKD 1.7 million was mortgaged to the Bank of Communications for HKD 20 million — far exceeding its cost.
Thus, Karson operated like a snowball:
new loans secured by newly acquired assets, which were then used to acquire even more properties.
Both assets and liabilities grew at breakneck speed, catapulting the group into Hong Kong's business elite.
Yet no one would have imagined that by 1983, just three years later, Karson would collapse spectacularly, leaving a debt black hole of more than HKD 10 billion, including HKD 4.6 billion owed to Yumin Finance alone.
At this moment, the confident middle-aged tycoon had already made up his mind.
Learning that Lin Haoran was planning to sell his Aimeigao Company shares, Chen Songqing immediately thought —
perhaps he could acquire Aimeigao!
He had been watching Aimeigao's IPO closely.
He had marveled that a fan-manufacturing company could generate such astonishing profits.
Karson's rapid expansion over the past few years had taught him well:
The group's foundations were extremely unstable.
Any downturn in the real estate market could bring the whole edifice crashing down.
Thus, acquiring a solid, profitable industrial business like Aimeigao would provide a valuable moat —
and drive Karson's valuation even higher.
Aimeigao, after all, had annual revenues of close to HKD 2 billion, and profits of HKD 400–500 million.
By rights, a company like that could be worth HKD 5 billion.
And yet today, its market cap hovered just above HKD 2 billion.
If he could take control of Aimeigao, he could hype its valuation into the top ten of Hong Kong-listed companies.
Raising HKD 2–3 billion — even more — would be a simple task.
Thus, upon hearing his subordinate's report, Chen Songqing was immediately tempted.
He had no real cash reserves — Karson was drowning in debt.
But that didn't matter.
He could always borrow more!
This was a tactic he knew all too well.
As long as he could gain control of Aimeigao, he could inflate both Aimeigao's and Karson's market caps.
And with that, he could leverage even greater financing.
Thinking quickly, he ordered,
"Get me detailed information on Aimeigao — especially its shareholder structure."
"Yes, boss!" his aide responded.
Half an hour later, Chen Songqing held a thick report compiled from publicly available securities filings.
The main shareholders:
Liu Luanzhong: 40%Lin Haoran: 40%
"If I buy Lin Haoran's shares, then quietly scoop up more on the market, wouldn't I be able to oust Liu Luanzhong and seize control?"
Chen Songqing's eyes gleamed.
It was feasible.
Since Lin Haoran had publicly announced his intent to sell, it shouldn't just be empty talk.
Even if he bought at today's valuation, he would only need about HKD 1 billion to take control.
Afterward, by manipulating Aimeigao's stock price higher, he could easily reap HKD 2–3 billion — or more.
Karson could expand again —
Maybe even dominate Hong Kong real estate!
Excited, Chen Songqing immediately sought to contact Lin Haoran.
He didn't have Lin's direct number, but he quickly obtained Lin's private office line at Wanching Tower through industry connections.
However, when he called, no one answered —
Lin Haoran had already left for the day.
After several tries, he gave up.
"Perhaps tomorrow, I'll have to visit in person," he muttered.
Meanwhile, Lin Haoran had safely returned home, unaware that merely announcing he might sell his Aimeigao shares had already drawn suitors.
Shortly after, Guo Henian — a major figure from Southeast Asia's business world — called to request a visit to thank Lin Haoran for looking after Guo Xiaohan during their time in Britain.
Lin Haoran, naturally, couldn't refuse.
After hanging up, he instructed the kitchen to prepare a feast for his distinguished guest.
At around six o'clock, Lin Haoran welcomed Guo Henian — and the young lady Guo Xiaohan, whom he hadn't seen for days.
Strangely, Lin Haoran thought he detected a hint of grievance in Guo Xiaohan's gaze.
Back in Britain, she had made her feelings quite clear — and yet, since returning to Hong Kong, he had not reached out to her.
Awkwardly, Lin Haoran smiled and pretended not to notice.
He had no intention of marrying early.
In the study, over drinks, Guo Henian chuckled and asked,
"Haoran, I didn't expect you to set your sights on Jardines Matheson!
Is there any difficulty with the acquisition?
If you need help, just say the word — your Uncle Guo will do everything he can."
With the Guo family's wealth and influence, they were indeed capable of assisting — especially financially.
But Lin Haoran immediately shook his head,
"No need, Uncle Guo.
I can handle Jardines Matheson myself!"
He had no desire to owe the Guo family a favor.
After getting no response from Shen Bi and hearing what he learned from Niu Bik Kin,
Lin Haoran was sure that Huifeng Bank would never support his acquisition.
Thus, the chances of succeeding against Jardines were slim.
Unlike Land Development Corporation, which he could capture with his own strength,
Jardines' shares were heavily concentrated among the British financial groups —
they controlled nearly 40%, while he held only 20%.
Even with limitless resources, he would have to pay far too high a price.
And frankly, Jardines wasn't worth it.
In Lin Haoran's eyes, Jardines Matheson's true value wasn't even half that of Land Development Corporation.
"Ah?
Haoran, it seems you're very confident," Guo Henian said, mistaking Lin's polite refusal as a sign of overwhelming assurance.
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