RPAGF Chapter 16: [9 Dragons Warehouse] Launches its First Battle
Chapter 16: [9 Dragons Warehouse] Launches its First Battle
One week later...
September 5th, around 7 a.m.
Lee Ka Kong House, Nam Cheung Street, Sham Shui Po.
Although the abandoned tenement building left by his father is only three stories high, it lacks the grandeur of a hilltop villa and the luxury of a Repulse Bay mansion.
However, thanks to the careful management of Uncle Fu and his wife, it was able to thrive.
Now, the building is not only bright and clean, but also warm and inviting. Compared to its previous emptiness, it now has a more human touch.
The small garden in front of the building is planted with many elegant potted plants. The fragrance of the flowers wafts into the house, giving the entire tenement building a unique warmth and vitality.
At this moment, Lijiagang is still asleep.
"Jun Jie, come out and help me with these things."
Hearing Fu Bo's wife's voice outside, Li Junjie, who was helping to clean the garden, immediately put down his work and ran to the door.
"Mom, you're back from grocery shopping. Did you buy the newspaper?" Li Junjie ran out, but instead of immediately helping his mother with her things, he looked for the newspaper he needed.
"You damn brat, why are you rummaging through things without taking anything?" His mother yelled at him angrily.
Li Junjie ignored everything and quickly browsed the contents of the newspaper after finding it.
A short while later...
A passage of words that triggered all his senses appeared before his eyes, and he was immediately unable to suppress his excitement.
These past few days, Li Jiagang had instructed him that if he saw the words "Wharf Holdings" or "Cheung Kong Holdings," he should tell him immediately, even if the sky were to fall.
He'd been glued to the newspaper these past few days, afraid of missing it. Today, the day finally arrived. He took off running, shouting as he went:
"Young Master, wake up!!"
"Hey! You brat, you didn't give me anything!" His mother shouted loudly from behind, but Li Junjie had already disappeared.
Second floor, Lijiagang bedroom.
"Knock knock knock!!! Young master, open the door."
"Thump thump thump!! Thump thump thump!!"
Li Junjie kept banging on his bedroom door, as if to say, "If you don't open the door, I'll smash it to pieces."
In the bedroom.
Li Jiagang was startled awake by a series of urgent, almost frantic knocks on the door. His brow furrowed, his sleepiness completely shattered, his face contorted with annoyance at being disturbed, his voice hoarse with sleep and anger: "Li Junjie, if you don't do something to my liking, you're finished!"
He forcefully threw off the covers, jumped out of bed with a burst of energy, and was about to curse as he opened the door when he saw Li Junjie, his face flushed, his eyes shining brightly, clutching the newspaper tightly in his hand as if it were some rare treasure. "Young Master, you're here! You're here." Li Junjie's voice trembled.
"What the hell is going on?" Li Jiagang frowned, his tone still carrying the grumpiness of being woken up, but his eyes involuntarily fell on the newspaper.
"Young Master, the report you requested is here." Li Junjie shoved the newspaper into his hand, pointing excitedly to the headline of the financial section.
Hong Kong Economic Journal: "Wharf Holdings' value is significantly lower than its market capitalization, and Cheung Kong Holdings is secretly targeting Wharf Holdings."
The report is as follows:
"Wharf Holdings owns prime land in Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom, and its net asset value is seriously undervalued. Its land reserves are worth far more than the book value and market price. The actual value per share is no less than HK$50, while the current share price is only about HK$21.5. The market value and asset value are seriously mismatched."
The company's business is at a turning point in its transformation. If it can revitalize its land resources, it is expected to grow at an annual rate of 20% over the next ten years, making it a focus of the capital market in 1978.
The data traces back to mid-77, when Wharf Holdings was allegedly targeted by mysterious funds accumulating shares through dispersed accounts. Investigations revealed that the mysterious manipulator was none other than Li Ka-shing, the head of Cheung Kong Holdings, who currently likely controls at least 15% of Wharf Holdings' shares. Investors should closely monitor any unusual fluctuations in its share price and equity holdings…
Upon seeing the report, Li Jiagang's face instantly lit up with a smile. He was in high spirits, as if he were full of energy.
For the past period of time, he has appeared to remain inactive, but in reality, he has been secretly sorting out the asset structure of Wharf Holdings, waiting for this signal.
Moreover, Cheung Kong's entry not only validated the assessment of Wharf Holdings' value, but also meant that history had not changed, and this "undercurrent" in Hong Kong's business community was finally about to turn from an undercurrent into an open confrontation.
"Young Master, look at what's behind you!" Li Junjie was even more excited than him, pointing to the analysis below the report, his voice trembling. "15% of the shares! Li Ka-shing has secretly acquired so many chips; Ziyi and the others definitely won't sit still now!"
Li Jiagang peered down through the gaps between his fingers.
The report's valuation analysis of Wharf Holdings' land reserves was almost sharp and accurate, stating that "the prime land in Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom" and "the actual value per share is no less than HK$50." These figures, once released, will surely attract countless investors to follow suit.
What caught his eye even more was that the report specifically pointed out the detail that "mysterious funds absorbed chips through diversified accounts," which was equivalent to revealing Cheung Kong's "hidden cards" to the public and bringing the prelude to this capital game to the forefront ahead of time.
This undoubtedly further encourages investors to follow suit.
9 points.
VIP room on the second floor of Hong Kong Island Securities Centre.
Li Jiagang specifically rented this VIP room for HK$100 per day to avoid the noise of the trading hall and to better monitor stock market fluctuations.
Meanwhile, they were outside.
Because of the report in the Hong Kong Economic Journal this morning.
This has already caused quite a stir, with many savvy investors rushing to the stock exchange early after seeing the report in the Hong Kong Economic Journal, waiting for the market to open.
Everywhere people are talking about "Cheung Kong," "Wharf Holdings," and "Li Ka-shing," all wanting to find out the truth and reliability of this report.
It was exactly 10 o'clock.
Ta-da!
The stock market opened as the exchange bell rang.
Li Jiagang stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, the smoke from the cigar between his fingers rising gently, his eyes fixed on the price quotation board in the trading hall, watching the staff write down the latest prices of each listed company.
The Hang Seng Index closed at 692.63 points.
Next came the four major foreign trading companies: HSBC, Jardine Matheson, and others. Their subsidiaries included Hongkong Land, Swire Properties, Wharf Holdings, Mandarin Oriental Hotels, Dairy Farm, and so on.
Soon it came to Wharf Holdings' quote.
HK$22.68.
The offer did not cause much of a stir in Lijiagang; it seemed that everything was within his expectations.
Although Wharf Holdings' stock price has performed well recently, the rate of increase has been slow. Since the Lijiagang project was launched, Wharf Holdings' stock price has only increased by a little over HK$2 in the past few days.
Yesterday, Wharf Holdings closed at HK$21.5 per share. This morning, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported that Li Ka-shing had secretly purchased Wharf Holdings shares, causing the price of Wharf Holdings to rise by more than HK$1 at the opening today.
This is enough to prove that the waters of "Wharf Holdings" are muddy.
"Knock knock knock!!!"
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Jun Jie, go open the door."
"Alright!"
The visitor was Wang Fusheng, a stockbroker in Lijiagang. He had also seen the report in the Hong Kong Economic Journal that morning, and he deliberately came to the exchange early today.
Once the opening price of Wharf Holdings was confirmed, he immediately put aside his work with other clients and rushed to the VIP room in Lijiagang to share the good news.
"Congratulations, Mr. Li, you've encountered a good opportunity."
Wang Fusheng congratulated Li Jiagang with a face full of excitement.
As a stockbroker, he naturally understood that when something like this happened, the chances of the stock price rising were very high.
If something like the "Jung Kong Milk Drinking" incident in 72 were to happen, he believes that Wharf Holdings' stock might even surge in the short term.
In their brokerage circle, such stocks usually receive their close attention.
"Brother Wang, Wharf Holdings' prices have only increased by a little bit, what's there to be happy about?" Li Jiagang asked, feigning ignorance.
Manager Wang smiled and said, "Mr. Li, you may not know this, but if today's report is true, then Wharf Holdings' stock will definitely rise." He then reached into his suit pocket and pulled out an old newspaper: "This is a newspaper from 1972. Mr. Li, you can take a look."
Li Jiagang reached out to take it and look.
It was the report about Hongkong Land's acquisition of Dairy Farm in 72 that made Li Jiagang understand what it meant for broker Wang to show him this report.
"You mean Wharf Holdings will be like this report?" Li Jiagang once again pretended to be a novice.
Wang, the agent, nodded and said, "The report is true. Li Ka-shing is also determined to fight back. History will definitely repeat itself." He responded to Li Jiagang with great confidence.
"I hope so."
Li Jiagang gave a curt reply.
He then walked to the sofa and sat down, personally pouring a cup of tea for Manager Wang.
Besides being quiet and private, the exchange's VIP rooms also offer the benefits of complimentary tea and snacks, and you can even get drinks for an extra fee.
That's definitely the treatment of a tycoon.