Chapter 637
Enduring Prosperity
Time flies, and five years have passed in the blink of an eye, until the spring of 2006.
Central, Hong Kong.
Cheung Kong Holdings Center.
A high-level meeting is being held in Hutchison Whampoa's conference room. Attendees include nine 'core senior executives' such as Chairman of the Board Chen Zerui, Director and General Manager Huo Jianning, Executive Director Chen Zeli, and Business Director Scott.
At that time, Hutchison Whampoa was a globally renowned Fortune 500 company, and even ranked among the top 100 giants. Its main businesses included energy and mining, ports and terminals, retail and manufacturing, telecommunications, trade and investment, and biomedicine.
Chen Zerui, 48, is now the third-generation leader of the Chen family, as well as the CEO of Cheung Kong Holdings and the chairman of the board of directors of Hutchison Whampoa. He has almost completed the succession.
His two younger brothers, Chen Zeli and Chen Zejing, also work at Cheung Kong Holdings, but they mainly serve as executive directors, effectively retiring to the 'behind-the-scenes management'.
This arrangement was naturally intended to prevent 'family members' from making too many decisions about group affairs, and also to avoid 'power-sharing'.
In short, everything revolves around Chen Zerui as the 'core'.
The meeting began.
Chen Zerui then said, "Today's meeting agenda is: Husky's IPO and the sale of Norlanda Eaglebridge."
Upon hearing this, the expressions on everyone's faces changed, some showing disbelief, others excitement.
Husky Energy is now not only Canada's largest oil company, but also a major global oil and gas company.
In its early years, the company acquired a large amount of oil and gas resources, and even invested heavily in natural gas resources in the United States, thus snatching food from the jaws of death.
Over the years, many high-level officials have suggested that Husky alleviate its financial crisis by going public.
Then, they go public to obtain returns from the capital market.
However, all of these proposals were rejected by the Chen family, who argued that the time was not yet right.
As it turned out, this was an incredibly wise decision, because starting with the Iraq War in 2003, oil and natural gas prices skyrocketed, and Husky's value more than doubled, generating daily profits of over HK$3000 million.
If it were to go public at this time, its value would be at least around US$500 billion. Hutchison Whampoa would not only be able to cash out tens of billions of US dollars through the capital market (i.e., sell 25% to the public), but also hold securities worth three to four hundred billion US dollars.
Huo Jianning then said, "Sell Norlanda Eagle Bridge as a whole?"
Everyone held their breath, eager to know the answer.
Norlanda and Eagle Bridge were originally two large mining companies in Canada. Hutchison Whampoa acquired them one after another at great expense and then merged them.
Currently, Hutchison Whampoa holds the vast majority of shares and controlling stake, with a stock value of approximately US$150 billion.
The initial investment was approximately $60 billion, and the return on investment was substantial.
Chen Zerui said casually, "That's right! We'll sell it as a package, provided the price is satisfactory to us, so we need to be patient enough."
British executive Longman questioned: "Noranda Eagle Bridge is one of the world's top ten mining companies, with a very attractive long-term return on investment. Hutchison Whampoa is not short of funds, so why is it considering selling? And why sell it as a package deal?"
Of the nine core executives, only three are Chinese: Chen Zerui, Huo Jianning, and Chen Zeli. This is to better promote Hutchison Whampoa to the world stage.
Chen Zerui said, "Our initial investments in Norlanda and Eagle Bridge were just one investment by Hutchison Whampoa in the capital market. Now that we've made about double our money, we should consider selling these assets. At the same time, with global mineral resource prices rising, it will be a competitive arena for mining giants and nations. After all, we're an investor who entered the market later and don't have the advantage of integrating resources. In short, we should take profits while we can!"
Everyone realized that, apart from Husky, Norlanda Eagle Bridge was not on the Chen family's long-term investment list at all.
Subsequently, everyone agreed to the sale.
Hutchison Whampoa invested approximately US$6 billion in Noranda and Eagle Bridge, making it one of the world's top ten mining companies and holding the world's third-largest copper mine and third-largest nickel and zinc concentrate company.
However, while Norlanda Eaglebridge has high asset value, its profitability is not high, barely ranking among the top 50 listed companies in Canada.
As for Husky Energy, it's a real money-making machine. With soaring oil prices in recent years, its profits have been very good, so Hutchison Whampoa naturally wouldn't sell it off as a package deal.
However, the plan to list Husky is to first recoup the costs of the investment over the years and the basic returns that should be due in the capital market, and then gradually reduce the remaining shares.
The meeting was quickly approved. Chen Zerui's control remained very strong. Even Huo Jianning was just an excellent CEO; he still needed to work under Chen Zerui's instructions.
Of course, Canning Fok has been named one of the world's best CEOs for over a decade, and his salary has consistently been among the highest in Hong Kong. His most notable achievement, of course, is the sale of Orange Company for HK$1680 billion.
When Hutchison Whampoa announced the sale of Norlanda Eagle Bridge, global mining giants were overjoyed and began to spy on the news.
Interested companies include giants such as Vale of Brazil, Rio Tinto of the UK, BHP Billiton of Australia, China Minmetals, and Glencore of the US.
However, Hutchison Whampoa was not in a hurry to negotiate, but instead kept everyone in suspense, while Husky's listing was put on the agenda.
Of course, some financial professionals have commented in the media that Hutchison Whampoa will reap huge profits of over US$200 billion from listing Husky Energy and selling Norlanda Eagle Bridge, exceeding the net profit from the "hundred-billion-dollar sale of Orange" years ago. More importantly, Hutchison Whampoa will still hold an absolute stake in Husky Energy, which is extremely valuable.
Hutchison Whampoa's stock price soared, with its market capitalization exceeding HK$8000 billion, surpassing that of its parent company, Cheung Kong Holdings.
A 127-meter-long superyacht rests quietly on the sea near Hong Kong.
This is Chen Guangliang's third 'superyacht,' delivered in 2002, and he spends a lot of time on it.
At this time, Chen Guangliang was 96 years old, and his mental and physical health were still quite good.
He remained concerned about the family's development, so when he saw news about 'Hutchison Whampoa' in the newspaper, he began to think about it.
Hutchison Whampoa's sale of Norlanda Eagle Bridge was a smart move. Although it wasn't sold at the peak of 2007, it didn't intend to intervene because the return on investment was already extremely high (approximately $120 billion in profit over seven or eight years, with a cost of over $60 billion).
As for Husky's IPO, the timing was perfect.
Crude oil is currently at $60 per barrel, but compared to $25 per barrel in 2003, it has more than doubled in value. Hutchison Whampoa's listing at this time would allow it to recoup $100 billion in capital gains.
After Husky went public, its market value was immediately $50 billion, and by early 2008 it would have almost doubled, because oil prices had soared by over $100 per barrel during that period.
After Husky Energy's IPO, Hutchison Whampoa and the Chen family retained a 75% stake, but began to cash out gradually from the second half of 2007. Ultimately, by mid-2008, Hutchison Whampoa only needed to hold 51% of the shares, allowing them to cash out over ten billion US dollars.
Chen Guangliang smiled. His eldest son from the main wife's family was the 'barometer' of the entire family, so it was naturally very important.
This long-term investment can generate a lot of cash, which is then distributed as dividends. This money flows into the hands of the Chen family and is not included in the wealth rankings, which is a very good thing.
Overall, Cheung Kong Holdings needed to streamline its operations before the 08 financial crisis and could no longer maintain its high profile.
Of course, while slimming down, Cheung Kong Holdings has actually invested heavily in infrastructure and telecommunications industries in Europe since the millennium, with the aim of achieving a balanced global asset portfolio and diversifying investments.
In this lifetime, the Chen family will not completely withdraw its investment from the mainland, because core assets such as one of Shanghai's "three-piece set" (the Shanghai World Financial Center), Shanghai's most profitable shopping mall, and the Shangri-La Hotel will certainly not be sold. The assets sold will definitely be non-core, and will likely fetch over a hundred billion Hong Kong dollars. Of course, the Chen family's investments in the mainland are not limited to real estate, ports, and infrastructure; they also include technology, culture, food and beverage, etc., making it impossible to separate them from the mainland business.
"dad"
Chen Wenjie came to his father's side and greeted him respectfully.
He is 73 years old this year and looks older than Chen Guangliang. Although he also inherited good genes, he is not as strong as the original. In addition, he has been under a lot of pressure all the time, unlike Chen Guangliang who always has a sure-fire way of winning.
"You have so much free time to come and keep me company?"
Chen Wenjie said, "Zerui is now in control of the entire group, and I have plenty of time. I'm just afraid of bothering you."
Chen Guangliang nodded slightly. He really didn't want his children and grandchildren to come and keep him company, since he still had some energy.
"If that's the case, then let's stick to this for another ten years!"
However, as the chairman of the board, he must provide guidance to the third generation at crucial moments. This applies to both Chen Wenjie and other second-generation leaders.
Of course, for people like Chen Zerui and Chen Zesong, being a CEO is basically being the 'top leader,' and their parents don't interfere too much, only intervening at crucial moments.
"Yes, that makes sense, that's what everyone thinks."
He is a few years younger than the likes of Li Ka-shing, Cheng Yu-tung, and Li Ka-shing, and these people have not yet truly handed over the reins (i.e., the position of chairman of the board), so he is naturally not in a hurry.
Chen Guangliang said no more.
He would remind his juniors about things like cashing out starting in the second half of 2007. Even if something happened to him, it wouldn't matter, since the Chen family's businesses had very low debt and were not in crisis.
Even the sale of Norlanda Eagle Bridge is already a step towards gradually cashing out.
After a while, Chen Wenjie said, "Father, I won't disturb your rest any longer. Let's go back to shore first."
Chen Guangliang nodded. He didn't keep an eldest son because he didn't like the feeling of having children and grandchildren around him. Although he always considered his children's career, it didn't mean he liked spending every day with his descendants.
"Mr. Chen, let me help you."
After Chen Guangliang got up from the sofa, a young and beautiful woman quickly stepped forward to support his arm.
She was Chen Guangliang's private nurse, mainly responsible for his daily life.
"Ah Xuan, I'm not in a position to need help yet!"
Chen Xuan, who had only recently joined the job, said in a panic, "I'm sorry."
Chen Guangliang waved his hand and walked towards the bedroom, with Chen Xuan quickly following.
She was wearing a white long gown and a top over it. She was very professional and capable. By the time Chen Guangliang walked to the bedside, everything was already prepared.
He leaned against the bed, sizing up the young girl in front of him, and said directly, "Ah Xuan, you're studying nursing, so let me ask you a question: at my age, do you still have sexual function?"
Chen Xuan graduated from the nursing department of a well-known university in mainland China, but what made her happiest was that at the age of 25, she had the opportunity to become Mr. Chen Guangliang's private nurse.
High salary, and the opportunity to stay in Hong Kong long-term.
Upon hearing Chen Guangliang's words, she still displayed a lack of professionalism, and her face even flushed slightly.
“Mr. Chen, it’s normal for men to have sexual function in their eighties or nineties. Even though you are 96 years old, you may still have it.”
"Then let's give it a try."
Chen Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and then she asked, "How do we try?"
Chen Guangliang said with a smile, "You're my personal nurse, so naturally you should try them on. There are black stockings and nurse's skirts in that cabinet, so put them on!"
He looked at Chen Xuan with great interest. Young women often came aboard his yacht, all of which were voluntary.
Chen Xuan blushed and was momentarily at a loss for words.
Changing to those things seems a bit beyond her job; but if she doesn't change them, how will she know if Mr. Chen still has that function? Besides, she cherishes her current job.
She noticed that only Mr. Chen and herself were in the room, and although Mr. Chen was 96 years old, he was very well-maintained.
"Um"
When Chen Xuan shyly opened a cabinet, she found not only costumes and props, but also jewelry and banknotes. She was suddenly delighted, but she calmly put the items aside and only took out the costumes.
Black stockings, slowly rolled up from her beautiful legs, revealing her youthful, delicate skin.
The nurse's skirt seemed rather improper, more like a prop.
Chen Guangliang reached out and touched Chen Xuan's beautiful legs, savoring the taste of youth.
There was a time when he wasn't afraid of getting old and didn't want to go back to his youth, but now he's changed his mind.
If $1000 billion could bring him back to the age of fifty, he would choose it without hesitation. Furthermore, having already time-traveled once, if he dies of old age, will he have another chance?
"It's truly something to cherish."
Chen Xuan said shyly, "Mr. Chen, what kind of beauty haven't you seen?"
Chen Guangliang said, "But people always get tired of the old and crave the new, especially since you are my first private nurse. Come on, I believe you have already made your choice."
Chen Xuan nodded excitedly; at that moment, she knew what choice to make.
But when she lifted the sheet, she was immediately surprised.
Chen Guangliang naturally knew that what he had just done was just teasing the newcomer. In recent years, he had made great progress in "health maintenance". Through exercise, dietary supplements and control, he was not only confident that he would live a long life, but also that he could maintain his desires for a much longer life than the Guinness World Record in his previous life.
"Mr. Chen, you're lying to me! You're perfectly healthy!"
"Haha, enjoy it, you young girl."
Life lies in movement.
Chen Guangliang had long since lived the sordid private life of the 'tycoons,' 'wealthy individuals,' and 'powerful figures' he despised in his previous life. What was Xu Pi's song and dance troupe compared to that? If it weren't for his inconvenience, he too would have wanted to build an even larger troupe. (End of Chapter)