Chapter 105: Signs of the Oil Crisis
Lin Wan'an was a man of decisive action. Over the next few days, he swiftly completed the detailed division of the family assets between his two sons, Lin Haoran and Lin Haoning.
Among those assets, the 12.6% stake in Qingzhou Yingni was transferred under the name of Universal Investment Company, as arranged by Lin Haoran.
At the same time, Lin Haoran began following Lin Wan'an every day, learning the finer points of corporate management firsthand.
Although the 49.99% shareholding in the Wan'an Group had already been officially transferred into his name, he did not rush to take over immediately. Instead, he chose to begin as the company's Vice Chairman, advancing step by step.
Lin Wan'an understood the importance of cultivating a successor. He patiently waited for Lin Haoran to meet his standards in every aspect before officially handing over the position of Chairman.
To Lin Haoran, titles meant very little.
What truly mattered to him was the invaluable management knowledge and practical experience he was learning from his father.
Lin Wan'an's cautious yet farsighted business philosophy, along with the wisdom he displayed in corporate planning and decision-making, benefited Lin Haoran tremendously.
Especially the vivid stories of commercial competition and Lin Wan'an's own experiences—they were like living textbooks, allowing Lin Haoran to relive those pivotal moments that determined the fate of entire companies.
Under his father's careful guidance, Lin Haoran learned countless practical business techniques that no textbook could ever teach.
Of course, Lin Haoran did not devote all of his time solely to the Wan'an Group.
Besides the Wan'an Group, he also controlled Qingzhou Yingni, a much stronger publicly listed company, as well as Universal Investment, a small investment firm with only a handful of employees.
To make management more convenient, he relocated Universal Investment's office to the Wan'an Group Building.
The Wan'an Group Building was located in Causeway Bay, not far from Central.
Although the commercial atmosphere there was slightly less prosperous than Central itself, the difference was minimal.
The building had thirteen floors, and the company occupied far more office space than it actually needed.
As a result, more than half of the office area was rented out to outside tenants.
Therefore, Universal Investment simply established its office there.
This way, Lin Haoran no longer had to constantly travel between three different locations.
Most of his time would now be spent either at the Wan'an Group Building or at Qingzhou Yingni.
As for Universal Investment's old office in Hengfeng Building in Central, Lin Haoran had already arranged for Wan'an Group's construction team to renovate it.
Instead of remaining an office, it would be converted into an elegant apartment featuring three bedrooms, two living rooms, and a tea room.
The property had originally cost less than HK$1 million, so even if it remained unused for a while, it wouldn't be much of a loss.
Besides...
After the family assets had been divided, he had no intention of frequently returning to the Deep Water Bay villa.
The renovated apartment would serve as a temporary residence.
Once he had accumulated enough wealth in the future, he planned to purchase a villa halfway up Victoria Peak, near Central.
After receiving HK$10 million in cash from his father as part of the inheritance, Lin Haoran's financial situation improved dramatically.
His available capital became much more abundant.
Previously, after setting aside funds for routine expenses, he had only around HK$3 million left.
That amount was barely sufficient for daily operations and emergencies.
Whenever he wanted to pursue a major investment, he simply lacked the capital.
One could only say it was better than nothing.
After receiving the money from his father, his available cash instantly rose to HK$13 million, completely easing his financial pressure.
Although it still wasn't considered an enormous sum...
At least the traders at Universal Investment would no longer be sitting around with nothing to do.
Ever since Lin Haoran became Chairman of Qingzhou Yingni, the company's stock had indeed experienced a brief boom.
Its share price had once surged above HK$6 per share.
However, that rally had been driven primarily by irrational enthusiasm from retail investors and overly optimistic market expectations.
It lacked any real foundation.
As Qingzhou Yingni gradually came under Lin Haoran's complete control, institutional investors and market manipulators naturally lost interest in the stock.
They understood very well that once a company fell under the control of a single dominant shareholder, the possibility of a hostile takeover by others essentially disappeared.
Without takeover speculation, there was almost no chance of the stock experiencing another explosive rise.
Moreover...
Aside from successfully acquiring Qingzhou Yingni, Lin Haoran had yet to establish any other significant achievements in the business world.
As a result, he had not earned the market's trust.
More importantly...
His youth itself became a reason for investors to question his management ability.
Although he had earned widespread admiration as the first Chinese businessman to successfully acquire a British-owned listed company, and newspapers had reported extensively on the event for several consecutive days...
Many people still doubted whether he truly possessed the ability to manage such a large enterprise.
That lack of confidence gradually spread throughout the market.
Investor sentiment weakened.
Soon after the market cooled down, those retail investors who had rushed into Qingzhou Yingni discovered that there were very few buyers willing to purchase their shares.
At the same time...
Negative rumors regarding both Lin Haoran and Qingzhou Yingni continued spreading throughout the market, further increasing investors' panic.
Eventually...
Unable to withstand either the psychological pressure or mounting losses, many shareholders chose to sell their Qingzhou Yingni shares at a loss.
Thus...
After more than a month of fluctuations, Qingzhou Yingni's share price had fallen from its peak of over HK$6 to around HK$4.10 per share.
It had even dropped well below the level during Harold Centurion's tenure as chairman.
After all...
Although Harold had managed Qingzhou Yingni for more than ten years, and his investment decisions were often confusing and frequently resulted in losses...
He had at least maintained regular dividend payments, helping preserve shareholders' confidence.
However...
After Lin Haoran took over, outsiders viewed the company's future as uncertain.
Many investors feared that not only would future dividends disappear...
They weren't even sure whether the company could stop losing money.
Yet for Lin Haoran...
The falling share price of Qingzhou Yingni was unquestionably good news.
After all...
His ultimate goal was to take Qingzhou Yingni private.
Once privatization was complete, he planned to relocate the cement factory and apply to the government to rezone the original factory land from industrial use to commercial use, completely separating the valuable land from the cement business.
Once that happened...
He would own a piece of land worth more than HK$500 million, situated in an outstanding location.
Therefore...
The lower the cost of privatizing Qingzhou Yingni...
The more profit he would ultimately make.
Before officially announcing privatization...
Buying up as many shares as possible at low prices was naturally the best strategy.
Once privatization was announced...
He would have to publicly offer to purchase the remaining shares.
At that point, the stock price would likely become unstable.
Before any announcement, however...
The price could still be kept within an extremely low range.
Buying shares at around HK$4 each...
It was an incredible bargain.
Thus...
After successfully obtaining HK$10 million from his father, Lin Haoran immediately instructed Universal Investment to begin continuously increasing its holdings of Qingzhou Yingni stock.
His strategy was simple.
The share price had to remain around HK$4.10.
It must never be pushed upward by aggressive buying.
Therefore...
Universal Investment's trading pace remained patient and disciplined.
Even on quiet trading days, when they could only accumulate ten or twenty thousand shares, with total daily trading volume below HK$100,000, they never became impatient.
They simply continued buying steadily.
Lin Haoran gave his team considerable freedom.
He imposed no rigid performance targets.
Instead, he encouraged them to adjust their trading strategies according to market conditions.
With Su Zhixue, whose loyalty was absolute and whose trading experience was extensive, overseeing the operation...
The team was fully capable of executing the plan precisely.
Lin Haoran trusted them completely.
Before long...
December quietly arrived.
Lin Haoran never stopped paying close attention to developments in Iran.
Every morning, his first task was to gather newspapers from all the major international news outlets and carefully study global affairs.
Since the beginning of the year...
The Pahlavi Dynasty had already been caught in the whirlwind of revolution.
The unrest had continued for a long time and had become the focus of worldwide attention.
Yet despite the frequent news coverage...
There seemed to be little real progress.
Although reports repeatedly mentioned large-scale strikes throughout Iran...
Surprisingly, crude oil production and exports had not yet suffered any significant disruption.
Oil prices therefore remained relatively stable.
Just two days earlier...
Lin Haoran had noticed that crude oil prices had risen slightly to US$13.12 per barrel.
That wasn't much different from the price at which he had purchased his own oil.
It made him somewhat anxious.
December 3rd.
"So it's already December 3..."
"When exactly will oil prices finally begin soaring?"
Standing before the window that morning, watching the rising sun, Lin Haoran silently wondered.
Afterward, he went to the bathroom and completed his usual morning routine.
Not long afterward, the family's Filipino maid brought him a hot breakfast together with the latest stack of newspapers, just as he had instructed.
While enjoying breakfast, Lin Haoran flipped through the international news section.
"December 2nd marked the Islamic month of Muharram. An unprecedented demonstration shook the world as more than two million people gathered at Tehran's Azadi Square, demanding the Shah's removal. The massive protest effectively brought much of Tehran to a standstill."
Reading this report in the international news section of the Oriental Daily, a spark flashed across Lin Haoran's eyes.
He slowly put down his utensils.
Then he read the article even more carefully, almost as though he were witnessing history unfold before his own eyes.
At that very moment...
A powerful intuition arose within him.
The oil crisis...
...was probably just around the corner.
According to what he remembered from his previous life...
The nationwide general strike that ultimately toppled the Pahlavi Dynasty had begun in Tehran before spreading across the country like wildfire.
Eventually...
Every industry came to a complete standstill.
Naturally...
Crude oil production would not escape its effects.
Once Iran halted its oil exports...
The balance between global supply and demand would be completely shattered.
Demand would far exceed supply.
And crude oil prices would skyrocket.
Lin Haoran knew perfectly well...
The chain reaction was only a matter of time.
And that time...
Would not be far away.
For the first time in quite a while...
He genuinely looked forward to what was coming.
At last...
He no longer had to wonder why the oil crisis hadn't erupted yet.
To everyone else...
The coming oil crisis would be a catastrophe.
But to him...
Wasn't the disaster that terrified everyone else also the greatest opportunity for his own rise?
(End of Chapter)
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