Chapter 1066: Superman? Profiteer?

Having completed the cooperation with the Bank of Pangu, Zhao Fusheng was undoubtedly quite delighted.

He was well aware that any company seeking commercial success must inevitably establish connections with banks.

Those familiar with the rags-to-riches story of Hong Kong's Li the Superman knew that back then, Li had used a snake-swallowing-elephant approach to acquire Hutchison Whampoa, with the backing of Shen Bi, then the taipan of HSBC.

After demobilizing in 1948, Shen Bi arrived in Hong Kong and joined HSBC, becoming its general manager in 1971. He rose through the ranks, and in 1977, at just fifty years old, he was appointed chairman of HSBC, the largest registered bank in Hong Kong.

Apart from his outstanding business acumen, Shen Bi was most renowned for his exceptional ability to recognize talent.

Although the British Empire was in decline, its long-standing principle of white supremacy still prevailed in its colonies, and this was particularly evident in Hong Kong.

Since the British colonization, whites in Hong Kong were inherently superior to Chinese. To highlight this distinction, they even established the so-called 'Peak District,' where only whites could reside, barring Chinese residents.

By the 1970s and 1980s, the status of Chinese in Hong Kong had improved, and the ban on Chinese living in the Peak District had long been lifted. However, throughout Hong Kong, perhaps due to long-standing habits, the notion of white superiority still held considerable sway.

Thus, in normal commercial transactions in Hong Kong, Chinese often faced many prejudices and were always in a disadvantaged position.

But Shen Bi was different from other whites. He treated all who could bring him benefits equally and interacted with Chinese on an equal footing.

In 1979, Li the Superman, with his shrewdness, integrity in business, and the soaring performance of his ever-growing Cheung Kong Holdings, quickly won the appreciation of Shen Bi, then the taipan of HSBC.

With Shen Bi's full support, HSBC transferred all its shares in Hutchison Whampoa to Li at a low price, allowing Li to control 22.4% of Hutchison Whampoa, a company with a market value of HK$6.5 billion, with just HK$620 million. This catapulted Li to fame as the first Chinese to acquire a British-owned conglomerate in Hong Kong.

In 1980, while Pao Yue-kong was attending a meeting in Europe, the taipan of Jardine Matheson, Newbigging, launched a surprise attack, igniting the battle for九龙仓. Hongkong Land deployed a share swap method, attempting to increase its stake to 49% and shatter Pao's 'dream of swallowing' 九龙仓.

At the critical moment, it was again Shen Bi who overruled objections and lent HK$2.2 billion to Pao Yue-kong, enabling Pao to become the first Chinese to take control of 九龙仓.

Having read Li the Superman's biography, Zhao Fusheng knew well that Li's successful snake-swallowing-elephant acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa involved a great deal of chance and luck.

If any single link had gone wrong, Li would not have taken over Hutchison Whampoa so easily, and might even have been directly thwarted.

To this day, the relationship between Li the Superman and HSBC remains very close.

Others hold this legendary Hong Kong tycoon in high esteem, but in Zhao Fusheng's view, he is nothing but a thoroughgoing businessman.

The phrase 'forget honor at the sight of profit' is not an exaggeration when applied to him.

No one knows better than Zhao Fusheng that although Li the Superman now appears to be on intimate terms with the mainland, aggressively acquiring real estate and investing everywhere, in fact, in about six years, Li will begin大规模 withdrawing his funds from the mainland and Hong Kong, redirecting them to the UK market.

If he had only done that, he wouldn't be criticized. But the problem is that in his autobiography, he repeatedly declares: 'I am a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, a Chinese. Cheung Kong Group is a Hong Kong enterprise, a Chinese company. I will never forget my roots.'

Hah...

If Zhao Fusheng remembers correctly, in either 2015 or 2016, Li moved the registered addresses of two of his companies from Hong Kong to the Cayman Islands, claiming it was to gain greater financial flexibility.

As soon as the news broke, Hong Kong's stock market plunged.

From then on, Zhao Fusheng never had any good feelings toward this legendary businessman.

A successful businessman—that is Zhao Fusheng's only perception of him.

As for the earlier praise of him as a patriotic entrepreneur, Zhao Fusheng can only say that everything he did was actually for his own profit. Even his alignment with the mainland around 1997 was driven by the exigencies of the times.

Li the Superman is ultimately different from the two former patriarchs of the He family in Macau and the Huo family in Hong Kong; they were true patriots.

Of course, someone's overcleverness eventually led to a slip. After Brexit, he lost 20 billion in personal assets in three days, and his entire company lost over 40 billion.

Although this is a drop in the bucket for him, it must be said that sometimes, those who treat everyone as fools are the most likely to become a joke.

...

...

On the plane back to the capital, Jerry cautiously asked Zhao Fusheng, 'Boss, are we really going to cooperate with the Bank of Pangu from now on?'

'Yes,' Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Jerry, 'Jerry, you probably don't understand that in the circle of Chinese businessmen, credibility is very important. The Bank of Pangu trusts me and is willing to lend me $300 million. In return, I naturally have to give them enough respect.'

Jerry frowned: 'But given your current development pace, I think it won't be long before the Bank of Pangu comes begging us to cooperate.'

'That's different,' Zhao Fusheng shook his head. 'I still say the same thing: compared to the Chen father and son, I don't trust banks like Citibank or Standard Chartered.'

Jerry fell silent. He had to admit that Zhao Fusheng's words made some sense.

At the very least, Jerry knew that if it were Standard Chartered or Citibank, they would never have lent Zhao Fusheng $300 million.

This is probably the difference between Eastern and Western cultures.

Easterners, deeply influenced by Confucianism, care more about personal relationships when doing business. Westerners, on the other hand, care more about rules, the so-called spirit of contract.

Both have their merits and drawbacks. But for Zhao Fusheng at this moment, he naturally prefers to cooperate with the Chen family, who share his black hair and yellow skin.

Only then can the plan in his mind proceed without hindrance.