Chapter 371 Mastery Lies in Specialization
Early the next morning, Lin Haoran left home and headed straight for the Concord Building.
Soon, he arrived at Ma Shiming's office.
"Boss, are you really planning to return Jardines Matheson to those British consortiums?" As soon as Ma Shiming saw him, he couldn't hold back his question.
Now, as the top executive managing the Land Group, he naturally knew immediately about the major events that had transpired at Government House.
"Transferring the controlling stake of Jardines Matheson to them isn't out of the question. Mr. Ma, in your opinion, how does Jardines Matheson's value compare to that of the Land Group?" Lin Haoran asked suddenly.
Ma Shiming was momentarily speechless at the question and fell into deep thought.
After careful consideration, Ma Shiming finally answered, "The Land Group's value far exceeds that of Jardines Matheson! I've worked at Jardines Matheson for over a decade, and I'm very familiar with the company inside and out.
Currently, Jardines Matheson's greatest strength is its relatively successful international expansion and global reputation. However, judging by their annual financial reports, many of their overseas investments actually often run at a loss.
Overall, the profits Jardines Matheson gains from its international subsidiaries are modest. In fact, it's the local subsidiaries in Hong Kong—Land Group, Jardine Fleming Securities, Wharf Holdings, and Gammon Construction—that generate most of the company's profits.
But now, having lost Wharf Holdings and the Land Group, Jardines Matheson's core strength has been heavily diminished. Compared to the Land Group, Jardines Matheson's capabilities are significantly inferior, as clearly reflected by their respective market capitalizations—Jardines Matheson's market value trails far behind."
Hearing Ma Shiming's analysis, Lin Haoran nodded in approval, silently impressed.
In his previous life, Ma Shiming had been one of Li Ka Shing's most trusted advisors—and now, Lin Haoran was again witnessing his keen insight.
Bringing Ma Shiming back from Singapore had been a wise decision.
Had he asked someone else, he might not have received such a sharp evaluation.
"Mr. Ma, you know very well that I'm now under pressure from all sides and might be forced to relinquish control of Jardines Matheson. This means I won't be able to fulfill my promise of giving you control over Jardines Matheson.
However, please rest assured—no matter what happens, the Land Group will remain under your management.
Now I have a new idea: I want to take advantage of their urgency to reclaim Jardines Matheson and privatize the Land Group. What do you think?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.
"Losing Jardines Matheson's management isn't a big deal. Managing the Land Group alone is more than satisfying. In the past, even Mr. Niu Bijian seldom personally oversaw the Land Group's operations. Most decisions were made independently by Mr. Pao Fuk-tat.
So managing just the Land Group will keep me fully occupied.
However, boss, are you truly planning to privatize the Land Group? I don't think it's necessary.
The Land Group's market cap exceeds 10 billion HKD. Even after recent declines, it still holds around that value. Privatizing it would be extremely difficult.
More importantly, as a listed company, the Land Group helps you spread risks. Once privatized, you'd shoulder much greater financial pressure," Ma Shiming expressed his confusion and concern regarding Lin Haoran's privatization plan.
In his view, privatizing such a massive company wasn't a wise move.
Typically, British consortiums preferred controlling companies with relatively small shareholdings—taking minimal risks for maximum returns.
For example, former Qingzhou Cement chairman Harry Stent and the Keswick family, Jardines Matheson's top shareholder, each held only a small percentage but sought to control the entire organization.
That was their way: high control, low risk.
Yet Lin Haoran was moving in the opposite direction, something Ma Shiming couldn't understand.
Being British, Ma Shiming had naturally been educated in Western management principles: minimize risk, maximize profit.
However, Lin Haoran wasn't interested in explaining too much.
Only he knew how terrifying Hong Kong's real estate boom would become.
Given Hong Kong's future real estate trajectory, the Land Group would be virtually risk-free.
Thus, keeping it public would only mean sharing profits with countless shareholders.
Even if he remained the majority owner, he would still have to give away significant slices of profit.
Unless he resorted to illegal tactics—which he scorned—he couldn't avoid sharing.
Since the Land Group posed no real risks and promised endless streams of profit, privatizing it would be the wisest move.
He wanted to privatize every business that could generate massive cash flow.
For instance, if it weren't for regulatory restrictions on public utility companies, he would have privatized Hong Kong and China Gas Company already—an even greater cash cow than Hongkong Electric Holdings.
Public utilities were practically money-printing machines, unaffected by market volatility.
Since Hong Kong and China Gas couldn't be privatized, he would start with the Land Group instead.
Although privatizing it would be challenging, the difficulty lay mostly in securing sufficient funds.
Once he had enough capital, there would be no real obstacles.
The problem was that short-term fundraising would require tens of billions of HKD—a significant burden.
Even for him, accumulating that level of debt in a short time wasn't trivial.
Could he really repay such massive loans within a year or two?
"Mr. Ma, I have immense confidence in the Land Group's future.
If the Land Group were still managed like under the old British consortiums—reckless investments, ballooning debts—I wouldn't even dream of privatization.
But under my leadership, the Land Group has halted unnecessary expansion. Its current debt ratio is exceptionally low.
Even if another real estate crash like in 1973 were to occur, I believe Hong Kong's property market would recover rapidly just like it did after 1973–1974.
As long as the Land Group maintains a low debt ratio, no market crisis can threaten us," Lin Haoran said confidently.
Ma Shiming nodded. "Such strategic decisions aren't my area of expertise, boss. I'll simply offer advice when needed.
Since you're confident about the Land Group's future, I won't try to dissuade you."
"My biggest challenge now," Lin Haoran continued, sighing, "is the enormous amount of capital required.
To privatize the Land Group, I must quickly raise tens of billions of HKD.
I'm racking my brain on how to minimize that funding gap."
Indeed, raising such a massive sum quickly was daunting.
If there were ways to ease the burden, it would be a great relief.
"Boss, there's an old Chinese saying: 'Each field has its master.'
Since this involves tens of billions, I suggest consulting a financial expert.
I specialize more in managing operations and planning strategic development," Ma Shiming said with a smile.
A financial expert?
Hearing this, Lin Haoran fell into deep thought.
Among financial experts, the one who stood out most in his memory was Ho Kin Ning.
In his previous life, Ho Kin Ning had been a trusted lieutenant of Li Ka Shing—renowned for his talents not only in finance but also in negotiation.
Given this, why not consult Ho Kin Ning?
It would be a good chance to test his abilities as well.
Over the past year, Lin Haoran had been grooming Ho Kin Ning, initially assigning him as CFO at Qingzhou Cement, and later transferring him to a key post at Hongkong Electric Holdings.
However, Lin Haoran hadn't paid close attention to his recent performance.
It was time for an evaluation.
Although Ho Kin Ning was only 29 years old, many business elites had already made their mark at similar ages.
If Ho Kin Ning could prove himself capable, Lin Haoran would seriously consider promoting him further—maybe even to lead an entire enterprise.
After all, with Lin Haoran's expanding empire, he increasingly needed capable generals at his side.
If Ho Kin Ning could mature into a trusted right-hand man, it would be an enormous asset.
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