Chapter 348 Vigilance and Meeting with Ma Shiming
After sending off the persistent Chen Songqing, Lin Haoran quickly put the matter out of his mind.
Less than half an hour later, as expected, Carnation Group sent over another packet of materials.
Lin Haoran didn't even look at it—he directly fed it into the shredder.
Standing nearby, Niu Bijian hesitated to speak.
Had he still held full authority over Jardines Matheson, he would certainly have agreed to partner with Carnation Group—especially after hearing Chen Songqing's promise to personally compensate if profits didn't double.
Such an "opportunity" was simply too tempting.
Even so, Lin Haoran still refused, casually shredding the proposal without even a glance.
"Boss, could you tell me why you're refusing to work with Carnation Group?
Jardines Matheson's current debt ratio is one of the lowest among Hong Kong real estate companies," Niu Bijian finally couldn't help but ask.
As the former head of Jardines Matheson, he knew the company's finances inside out.
The relatively low debt ratio had been one of his main reasons for aggressively expanding.
Thus, he was deeply puzzled by Lin Haoran's rejection and suspected there must be deeper reasons.
"No.
From your perspective, Jardines Matheson's debt ratio may seem low.
But from my point of view, it's still too high.
Especially since I know nothing about the real source of Carnation Group's funds.
They've risen to power in just three years with completely unknown backing.
I don't intend to let Jardines Matheson get too entangled with such a partner," Lin Haoran said with a calm smile.
Of course, that was only part of the reason.
Lin Haoran didn't bother mentioning the looming real estate crisis.
After all, Niu Bijian was just a temporary figure kept around to stabilize Jardines Matheson and Jardines Matheson.
Lin Haoran would never reveal everything to him.
"Carnation Group's funding sources..."
Niu Bijian muttered to himself, puzzled.
He was curious not only about Chen Songqing's funds but also about Lin Haoran's.
Both seemed shrouded in mystery.
Still, he wisely kept his suspicions to himself.
"Boss, I'll head back to the Jardines Matheson office to deal with some matters," Niu Bijian said, seeing he would get no further answers.
"Mm, go ahead."
Lin Haoran waved him off and returned to reviewing project documents.
Over the past two years, Carnation Group's scale hadn't been that large,
so their actual cooperation with Jardines Matheson had not been extensive—less than HKD 1 billion.
These were projects where contracts had already been signed or construction had begun.
Even if these minor projects ended up losing money, Lin Haoran could absorb it.
But if they had signed on for projects involving tens of billions,
even Jardines Matheson would have been crushed.
Back in early 1980, Carnation Group was still a second-tier developer in Hong Kong.
Thus, Jardines Matheson only engaged in small collaborations with them.
However, as Chen Songqing's schemes boosted Carnation Group's reputation,
Jardines Matheson had started treating him more seriously.
Some planned projects even reached HKD 3 billion in investment.
Fortunately, Lin Haoran's sudden acquisition halted everything before it began.
Now, it was impossible for Carnation Group to use Jardines Matheson's name to secure more funding.
As for the projects already underway:
Those that could be completed within a year, Lin Haoran would allow to proceed.Longer-term projects, taking two or three years or more, he intended to offload.
Currently, Jardines Matheson had over 70 real estate projects in progress, with total investments exceeding HKD 10 billion.
These investments couldn't easily be halted without causing significant losses.
It's worth noting that not all projects were co-developments with other companies.
About a third were initiated by Jardines Matheson itself and were crucial to its future.
Especially the decade-long redevelopment plan for Central:
Including Landmark, Alexandra House, Prince's Building, and Gloucester Tower.
These skyscrapers were interconnected by skybridges, forming a grand architectural complex that redefined Central's skyline.
This ambitious project was nearing completion—just another two or three years—
meaning Lin Haoran had inherited all the heavy upfront investments made by the British consortiums.
Naturally, Lin Haoran fully supported these strategic projects.
However, for non-core partnerships with other real estate companies,
he would seek to sell them off,
lightening Jardines Matheson's burden before the next real estate crash.
He didn't want Jardines Matheson carrying tens of billions in debt when the bubble burst.
He wanted it debt-free and cash-rich,
ready to buy distressed properties cheaply when the market collapsed.
That would be Jardines Matheson's next great leap forward.
By evening, around 6 p.m., Lin Haoran once again called Ma Shiming.
To his surprise, this time someone answered.
"This is Ma Shiming. Who's speaking?" Ma asked in confusion.
"Mr. Ma, this is Lin Haoran from Jardines Matheson.
I believe you've heard of me," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"Ah, Mr. Lin!
To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Ma Shiming asked, genuinely surprised.
As a former executive director of Jardines Matheson, Ma had naturally kept an eye on the recent upheavals.
He had heard of Lin Haoran's shocking takeover of Jardines Matheson and Jardines Matheson.
Though he found it incredible,
he knew that, realistically, he had no further ties to his old employer.
Still, he was puzzled why the new boss was reaching out to a former executive.
"I'd like to meet you, Mr. Ma, to discuss something in person.
Would you be available tomorrow?" Lin Haoran asked.
"Of course, Mr. Lin.
But I'm currently in Singapore, not in Hong Kong," Ma replied.
"No problem.
If you're available, let's meet tomorrow afternoon," Lin Haoran said warmly.
To recruit a top-tier manager like Ma Shiming,
traveling to Singapore personally was nothing.
"Alright. I'll wait for your call tomorrow," Ma agreed, still full of questions.
He didn't understand why Lin Haoran would travel all the way to Singapore to see him,
but he knew that some things were best discussed face-to-face.
After hanging up, Lin Haoran immediately instructed Su Zhixue to arrange a flight to Singapore for the next morning.
Though Jardines Matheson and Jardines Matheson both had private jets,
Lin Haoran chose not to use them for security reasons.
He had no illusions:
just because he controlled the shares didn't mean every employee was loyal yet.
There were still plenty who wished he would disappear.
Thus, boarding a private jet from these companies was too risky.
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