Chapter 121: The Controversy Comes to an End
After the shareholders' meeting ended, just as expected, Henry and the other seven shareholders immediately got busy dealing with Lin Haoran's situation.
They first went together to see Securities Commission Chairman Max and jointly submitted a written statement explaining the circumstances.
Next, the five British shareholders took even more drastic action. They directly contacted several influential media reporters, openly accepted interviews, and stated that they had reported Lin Haoran solely to force him to consider taking the company private.
According to them, after internal discussions, Lin Haoran had finally become interested in privatization.
In order to sell the shares they held, these five British shareholders showed no concern whatsoever for the negative publicity their actions might bring.
They believed that the vast majority of those who would suffer were Chinese investors, while their status as British citizens seemed to make them feel superior.
Moreover, their report was indeed supported by facts, because at the time Lin Haoran actually controlled more than 50% of the shares—and by a considerable margin.
Precisely because of this, even though they publicly admitted that the report was intended to pressure Lin Haoran, the law could do nothing to them.
Originally, after interviewing Max, these reporters had planned to interview the five British shareholders, since they were the real instigators of the entire affair.
However, all their previous attempts had gone unanswered.
Unexpectedly, this time the five shareholders voluntarily joined together to accept interviews.
The matter once again gained momentum, sparking widespread public discussion.
At home, Lin Haoran looked through the newspapers and the articles they carried, feeling quite satisfied.
Sure enough, these foreigners were really effective. The moment they said they would help solve his problem, they immediately took action.
"Haoran, your concerns were well-founded. One careless move and the Securities Commission might have ruled that you manipulated the stock market. In serious cases, you could even have gone to prison. But now that they've come forward to explain the situation, they've essentially cleared you completely. From beginning to end, this matter had nothing to do with you. You handled this very cautiously. I'm completely at ease leaving Wan'an Group in your hands!"
Lin Wan'an was having breakfast with his son while reading the newspaper, and he couldn't help praising Lin Haoran repeatedly.
"When all is said and done, this was just an accident. I never expected those people to report me," Lin Haoran said with a sigh.
Although Qingzhou Yingni Company had a market value of over 200 million, it wasn't particularly prominent among British-funded enterprises. It couldn't compare with top British firms such as Jardine Matheson, Swire, or Wheelock, so it rarely attracted much attention.
If not for the shareholders' report this time, the Securities Commission might never have paid any attention to the matter.
The securities laws of that era were still far from complete. Otherwise, a small place like Hong Kong would never have had four stock exchanges operating simultaneously.
The takeover code's privatization trigger was often little more than a formality.
Many listed family businesses privately controlled more than 50% of their own shares to prevent hostile takeovers by major conglomerates.
Before the mid-1970s, Hong Kong's securities and commodities markets had even been completely unregulated.
Only after the stock market crash of 1973–1974 did the government begin intervening and subsequently formulate the core legislation regulating the securities and futures industries.
However, because so little time had passed, the laws remained highly incomplete, with many systems hastily modeled after Western securities regulations.
"Haoran, are you really planning to take Qingzhou Yingni Company private?" Lin Wan'an still asked in disbelief.
His son becoming the controlling shareholder of Qingzhou Yingni Company had already surprised him greatly.
Later, when his son continued increasing his holdings until they exceeded 50%, Lin Wan'an had merely assumed it was to prevent others from targeting Qingzhou Yingni Company again.
After all, he had already learned that Qingzhou Yingni Company had previously been targeted by Cheung Kong Holdings.
Even Lin Wan'an found it somewhat unbelievable that his son had successfully wrested control of Qingzhou Yingni Company from such a major Chinese-funded enterprise as Cheung Kong Holdings.
"Of course. If I get the chance, I'll definitely take Qingzhou Yingni Company private. Just look at Uncle Kuok from Kerry Group. To acquire several plots of land in East Tsim Sha Tsui, he had to join forces with other companies and pay a considerable price.
You can imagine how expensive the land there is! And Qingzhou YingniPao Yue-kong Company's site isn't far from those plots they bought. So the land it's sitting on is also extremely valuable.
Although it's industrial land, after all these years, such a prime location is no longer suitable for inducstrial use. It seriously affects Hong Kong's cityscape.
On top of that, Qingzhou Cement Company frequently receives complaints from residents, so relocating the cement plant has become urgent. Once the time comes, if I pay the land premium and apply to the government to convert it into commercial land, they'll be more than happy to approve it!" Lin Haoran explained with a smile.
"If you truly have that capability, then of course I'll support you. It's a good thing. But if you're short of funds, don't force it. Loans can solve temporary financial problems, but when repayment comes due, if you don't have enough money to pay them back, everything will end up collapsing," Lin Wan'an said, still as cautious as ever.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'll only do things I'm confident about," Lin Haoran replied with a smile, offering no further explanation.
There were still many things he was keeping from Lin Wan'an.
When the time came, Lin Wan'an would naturally learn about them.
Because some things were simply too difficult to explain.
If Lin Wan'an found out that Lin Haoran had directly borrowed more than 300 million from Yumin Finance Company, he would probably regret handing over the inheritance rights of Wan'an Group to him.
Beep, beep, beep.
A buzzing sound rang out. Lin Haoran's pager was going off.
"Dad, I'm going to make a phone call," Lin Haoran said, putting down the newspaper.
"Mm, go ahead." Lin Wan'an waved his hand and continued reading the news.
The call was from Burton, the general manager of Qingzhou Yingni Company.
"Boss, a whole crowd of reporters has come to our company. They all want to interview you, and no matter how much we try to persuade them, they refuse to leave," Burton said helplessly.
Lin Haoran naturally guessed why they wanted to see him. Today's newspapers had all reported the statement made by the five British shareholders.
"Tell them I'll be there in half an hour!" Lin Haoran replied.
After hanging up, saying goodbye to his parents, he hurried into a car and headed for Hung Hom.
This suited him perfectly. He needed to use the reporters' interviews to respond to the matter once again.
Half an hour later, the car pulled into the reserved parking space at Qingzhou Building.
Lin Haoran's arrival immediately caught the attention of the reporters who had been waiting for a long time.
Dozens of them instantly swarmed around him, all competing for the chance to interview him.
"Everyone, what would you like to know?" He simply decided to accept interviews on the spot.
However, there were too many people. Everyone was raising their hands and shouting questions at once.
Lin Haoran said, "I'll point to someone, and that person can ask a question. Otherwise I can't answer anyone."
Only then did the scene gradually quiet down.
He first pointed to a reporter from Oriental Daily.
"Mr. Lin, I'd like to ask whether you really intend to take Qingzhou Yingni Company private?" the reporter immediately asked the key question that everyone wanted answered.
"I originally had no such plan in the near future. But yesterday, all the directors and shareholders of Qingzhou Yingni Company invited me to discuss the matter and hoped I would buy their shares at an extremely low price.
The price they offered was indeed very attractive. If I have the opportunity, I think I'll acquire those shares. Their asking price is so sincere that it even makes me want to obtain them at any cost.
However, I've already publicly stated that I have no immediate plans to take the company private. If I buy them now, my shareholding will once again exceed 50%, and I could also be suspected of manipulating the stock market.
Therefore, in order to avoid such suspicions, if the Securities Commission does not approve my taking Qingzhou Yingni Company private and delisting it, I will not take that step. I hope all investors will believe that the reason I previously sold part of my shares was entirely out of necessity!"
Lin Haoran answered directly.
He deliberately threw the issue back to the Securities Commission. Now that the matter had become so high-profile, the Commission would certainly respond. If it declared that the privatization process posed no problem, then he could naturally proceed to the next step.
"A question from Ming Pao: Mr. Lin, what are your thoughts on the British shareholders' report?"
"I don't really have anything to say. After all, they did catch me on a technicality. Personally, I prefer to keep a low profile."
"A question from Sing Tao Daily: Mr. Lin, if you intend to privatize the company, where will the funding come from?"
"I certainly don't have that much money. If such an opportunity really comes, I'll have no choice but to rely on loans."
After answering several questions, Lin Haoran left under the protection of his bodyguards, bringing the interview to a hurried close.
The reporters had already learned what they most wanted to know, so they didn't try to stop him.
Soon afterward, they all rushed to the Securities Commission headquarters to interview Max.
After learning about the situation, Max did not answer immediately.
Although he was the chairman of the Securities Commission, such matters required a meeting and collective decision. He could not decide them on his own.
So Max simply told the reporters, "We need to hold a deliberation meeting. After it concludes, our office will issue a public announcement."
Two hours later, the Hong Kong Office of the Commissioner for Securities and Commodities Trading issued an official statement:
"Mr. Lin Haoran may legally and compliantly proceed with the privatization of Qingzhou Yingni Company. In order to protect the interests of all shareholders, the privatization price must not be lower than HK$4 per share."
The Securities Commission's meeting effectively settled the nature of the controversy.
(End of Chapter)
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