Chapter 16: Making Their Move
The reason Lin Haoran had asked Su Zhixue to obtain Qingzhou Yingni's stock trading records for the past six months was simple—he wanted to determine whether Li Ka-shing had already begun making his move.
Since he hadn't paid much attention to Qingzhou Yingni in his previous life, he didn't know exactly when Li Ka-shing had started acquiring the company. As such, these trading records would serve as the key reference for assessing the current situation and understanding the market's movements.
However, he did know that Li Ka-shing had likely begun secretly accumulating Qingzhou Yingni shares toward the end of 1978, rapidly acquiring nearly 25% of the company's stock and becoming one of its largest shareholders. He was subsequently invited to join the company's board of directors.
If Qingzhou Yingni's trading volume had suddenly begun surging abnormally, there would be no need to guess—it would almost certainly mean Li Ka-shing had started buying.
According to what Lin Haoran remembered, Li Ka-shing's covert acquisition of Qingzhou Yingni had gone extremely smoothly, without interference from any competing forces.
Although Li Ka-shing had lost the opportunity to acquire the Wharf Holdings, he had nevertheless earned nearly HK$60 million by selling his Wharf shares to King Pao Yue-kong.
As a result, Li Ka-shing's cash reserves were now more than sufficient.
Taking the trading records, Lin Haoran carefully but quickly scanned through the data.
The figure he paid the closest attention to was the daily trading volume.
Before long, he had finished reading the entire report.
Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
Judging from the data, Li Ka-shing had most likely not yet begun acquiring Qingzhou Yingni, as the daily trading volume remained relatively low.
That was reassuring.
Even so, Lin Haoran knew he had to act quickly.
It was already September.
Ideally, he wanted to become Qingzhou Yingni's largest shareholder before Li Ka-shing made his move, making it extremely difficult for him to accumulate shares through the stock market.
As for whether he would eventually run short of funds, Lin Haoran wasn't worried about that for now.
Once the HK$50 million loan arrived, he wouldn't have to worry about money until every last dollar of it had been invested.
If Wharf required additional funding afterward, he could simply think of another way to raise capital when the time came.
Putting down the trading report, Lin Haoran turned toward Su Zhixue, who was seated nearby.
"Boss, if you have any instructions, just let me know," Su Zhixue said, already sensing that another assignment was coming.
"If I asked you to secretly accumulate Qingzhou Yingni shares without attracting anyone's attention, while keeping the share price from rising too much and maintaining overall price stability, would that be difficult for you?" Lin Haoran asked.
"Mr. Lin, please don't worry. That wouldn't be difficult at all. In fact, it's exactly what I specialize in," Su Zhixue replied confidently.
"Good.
"Starting immediately, I need you to devote yourself fully to accumulating as many Qingzhou Yingni shares as possible.
"There is no upper limit to the number of shares you may buy.
"However, everything must be done discreetly. No one can be allowed to notice what we're doing.
"At the same time, you must keep the share price stable throughout the acquisition. We cannot trigger market fluctuations, but the pace of accumulation must remain as efficient as possible.
"Can you accomplish that?"
"I can!"
"I've already linked my stock trading account to my bank account. There is currently a little over HK$1 million in the account as our initial operating capital.
"Once those funds are exhausted, I'll inject additional capital as quickly as possible.
"My goal is to become Qingzhou Yingni's largest shareholder, and I hope to achieve that as soon as possible—preferably within one month.
"I've learned that other business owners have also become interested in this stock. They may begin taking action within the next month or two.
"That means we have to move against the clock and acquire as many shares as possible before they do.
"This won't be an easy task, but I believe in your abilities. I expect you to give it everything you've got."
Lin Haoran's tone was unusually serious.
"Mr. Lin, I've always believed Qingzhou Yingni has tremendous potential.
"I actually presented my analysis to my former company before, but unfortunately, after it reached the chairman, it wasn't taken seriously and nothing came of it.
"As a result, my research into Qingzhou Yingni eventually came to a halt.
"But now, seeing how highly you value this company, I honestly feel excited.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Lin. I'll devote every resource and every ounce of effort I have to serving you, and I'll make sure we accomplish our objective!"
Su Zhixue was overflowing with confidence.
He had never expected that his new boss had set his sights on the exact same stock.
A true kindred spirit!
"Qingzhou Yingni isn't your only assignment," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"Once Wharf's share price falls to a certain level, I'll have you begin buying that as well.
"By then, you may have to manage two stocks simultaneously."
Under the current circumstances, what he really needed was another one or two professional traders—or, better yet, an entire trading team.
Unfortunately, if their loyalty couldn't be guaranteed, his plans might easily be exposed.
Whether the information reached Lin Wan'an or leaked to outsiders, it would severely disrupt his future plans.
Lin Haoran wasn't willing to take that risk.
For now, Su Zhixue would have to handle everything by himself.
Besides, judging from the current trend, Wharf still had some time to go before reaching the bottom price Lin Haoran remembered.
At the very least, it probably wouldn't hit bottom before the HK$50 million loan was deposited.
That meant Su Zhixue only needed to focus on Qingzhou Yingni for the time being.
As for Wharf, Lin Haoran would monitor its market movements personally.
It wasn't as though he intended to sit back and do nothing.
"Managing two stocks at the same time will definitely put me under some pressure," Su Zhixue admitted.
"But I'll do everything in my power to carry out your instructions and achieve the results you're aiming for!"
Lin Haoran had changed his life.
Long ago, Su Zhixue had already resolved to dedicate everything he could to helping his benefactor.
"Good. That's enough talking. Get to work," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"Yes, Boss!"
The moment he received the order, Su Zhixue immediately threw himself into his work.
Lin Haoran was gambling.
He was betting that Li Ka-shing had not yet begun acquiring Green Island Cement.
He was betting that Li Ka-shing would only make his move toward the end of the year.
If he won the bet, he would have the opportunity to take control of Hong Kong's largest cement company.
If he lost...
He could simply sell his shares to Li Ka-shing at a profit and pocket the difference.
Win or lose, he wouldn't come out empty-handed.
That was why he had set his sights firmly on Qingzhou Yingni.
Watching Su Zhixue busily at work, Lin Haoran remained in the office for a few more minutes before leaving.
He had matters of his own to attend to.
For example, monitoring the latest trading activity of Wharf Holdings.
At that moment, he realized what he lacked the most was perhaps a dedicated intelligence team—one capable of gathering commercial intelligence, analyzing information and data, and conducting in-depth research.
If only he had a think tank capable of investigating any business intelligence he needed...
Perhaps then, he could even keep track of the movements within Cheung Kong Holdings.
Unfortunately, his current strength was still far from sufficient.
He simply wasn't yet in a position to build such an intelligence network.
(End of Chapter)
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