The fact that Jardine Matheson was so active in holding a press conference was obviously because it could not wait to announce to the outside world that their British consortium had regained the controlling stake in Jardine Matheson.

When Lin Haoran arrived at the Jardine House, he had already seen quite a few reporters in the lobby on the first floor.

At the same time, in this spacious lobby of three to four hundred square meters, a large area has been specially cordoned off, and staff are busy setting up the rostrum, and the arrangement work seems to be nearing completion.

Behind the rostrum, a large red cloth covered a makeshift background wall, on which the words “Jardine Matheson Press Conference” were faintly visible.

The recent affairs of Jardine Matheson and Hong Kong Land Group have caused a sensation throughout Hong Kong, just like a big drama. Reporters are trying their best to collect all kinds of gossip every day. Newspaper sales have increased a lot, and the salaries and commissions of these reporters have also increased a lot.

Now that there is another big news announced about Jardine Matheson, these reporters are naturally very excited.

Those who were sharp-eyed quickly noticed Lin Haoran’s appearance and wanted to step forward to interview him, but were stopped in time by the security guards of the Jardine House.

Lin Haoran also took Li Weidong and Li Weiguo into the elevator and disappeared from the reporters’ sight.

Going up to the office of the boss of Jardine Matheson, many important people have gathered in this office of more than 100 square meters.

People like Niu Bijian, Ma Shiming, Henry Keswick, James Rothschild, etc. were all sitting on the sofas in the negotiation area, chatting about something.

When they saw Lin Haoran, they all greeted him.

“Mr. Lin, we originally planned to let Mr. Ma represent the Jardine Mason Group to attend the reception, so we did not specially invite you. But since you are here, it is of course even more perfect!” Henry Keswick said with a smile when he saw Lin Haoran.

However, Lin Haoran felt that the current head of the Keswick family did not seem to want him to attend the reception and had not mentioned the matter at all before.

If Ma Shiming hadn’t mentioned it to him, he wouldn’t even know about it.

But after thinking about it carefully, Lin Haoran could probably guess the reason.

Perhaps these British financial groups did not want to face too many questions at the press conference about the conditions for him to give up the controlling stake in Jardine Matheson & Co.

After all, although these British financial groups seemed to have regained control of Jardine Matheson, they actually obtained Lin Haoran’s consent by signing a series of unequal treaties.

If Lin Haoran revealed too many details at the press conference, these British financial groups would lose face.

Regaining control of Jardine Matheson was something worth celebrating for the British financial group, but if too many details were announced, it would not seem so worth publicizing.

“Mr. Henry, you are so happy and energetic! Congratulations on regaining the controlling stake in Jardine Matheson. Normally, Mr. Ma Shiming would be enough to represent me on such occasions, but considering that I am in the process of privatizing the Hong Kong Land Group, this important news also needs to be disclosed to the public.

Since you have already arranged a press conference, I won’t hold another one.” Lin Haoran said with a smile, his tone was a bit relaxed and humorous.

Upon hearing this, Henry Keswick immediately understood why Lin Haoran rushed over immediately after hearing the news.

At this time, Niu Bijian interrupted and said, “Mr. Lin, the press conference will start in the lobby on the first floor of the Jardine House in 20 minutes. Please sit inside for a while. We will go there together later.”

At this moment, Niu Bijian seemed to have regained his former high spirits. In his opinion, his position in Jardine Matheson would be even more solid.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten minutes had passed and everyone took the elevator downstairs together.

When we arrived at the first floor lobby, it was already crowded with people.

Compared to the number of reporters Lin Haoran saw when he just came here, there are now at least two or three times more. A rough estimate is that there are at least one or two hundred people.

The appeal of Jardine Matheson is naturally not small.

He noticed that there were eight seats on the podium, two of which had his and Ma Shiming’s names on them, but they were placed at the very left edge.

Lin Haoran didn’t care. After all, this was no longer his home ground and Jardine Matheson had nothing to do with him anymore.

The British financial group is arrogant and looks down on Chinese capital. In addition, they have the support of the government. Even though Lin Haoran’s strength cannot be ignored now, he is still not welcomed by them.

Although the Chinese financial groups in Hong Kong have gradually surpassed the British financial groups, these British financial groups believe in their hearts that the reason why the Chinese financial groups have gradually developed is because their British financial groups have been withdrawing continuously and giving up this big piece of cake.

Otherwise, there would be no opportunity for Chinese financial groups to develop, and Hong Kong would still be dominated by British capital.

Their arrival caused a commotion among the reporters.

Finally, I saw these big guys. Niu Bijian was still the boss of Jardine Matheson in name only, so he naturally sat in the middle of the podium.

After everyone was seated according to their names, Niu Bijian stood up from his seat in high spirits and looked at the more than one or two hundred reporters below the rostrum.

Everyone immediately focused their attention on Niu Bijian, waiting for him to announce something big.

“Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Jardine Matheson, I am officially announcing something. From now on, Jardine Matheson will return to British hands. From now on, Mr. Lin Haoran will have no relationship with our Jardine Matheson, and will no longer be a shareholder of our Jardine Matheson!” Niu Bijian announced directly.

Immediately, there was an uproar at the scene.

No one expected that less than a month after Lin Haoran took over Jardine Matheson, the company would change hands again.

Many reporters wanted to ask questions about the specific situation, and the scene was in chaos.

Because everyone knows how great the impact will be after this matter is announced.

Could this be a failure of the Chinese financial group in the face of the British financial group?
Upon seeing this, Niu Bijian gently patted the microphone in his hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet.

There was a hint of pride in his eyes, and he was obviously quite satisfied with the reaction on the scene.

When the noise gradually died down, Niu Bijian cleared his throat and continued:

“I understand your curiosity, but please allow me to answer them one by one. Yes, as I just said, Jardine Matheson has completed the adjustment of its equity structure and returned to the embrace of British capital.

This decision is the result of long-term negotiations between the British consortium headed by Mr. Henry Keswick and Mr. Lin Haoran, and is aimed at promoting the long-term development of Jardine Matheson. “

Having said that, Niu Bijian deliberately paused and glanced at every reporter present, as if he wanted to see their reactions.

Then, he changed the subject and continued, “Of course, we must also express our deepest gratitude to Mr. Lin Haoran for giving up the controlling stake in Jardine Matheson and allowing Jardine Matheson to move towards a better future.

Although Mr. Lin once served as the controlling shareholder of Jardine Matheson for a short period of time, we all know that Jardine Matheson is deeply rooted in the soil of British financial groups and has a long and glorious history.

It is a company with pure British blood. Returning to the embrace of the British consortium is undoubtedly the most natural and correct choice in its development process. If you have any questions, you can take over and ask them. We will answer all the questions we can! “

After Niu Bijian finished speaking, he sat down.

Below the stage, reporters were discussing the matter.

Could it be that Lin Haoran was treated unfairly and was forced to return Jardine Matheson?

What are the inside stories involved?
At this moment, many reporters are full of questions and want to get answers as soon as possible.

“Mr. Henry, we are very curious about what price you paid to regain the controlling stake in Jardine Matheson?” At this time, a reporter could no longer suppress his curiosity, stood up and asked directly to Henry Keswick, the former boss of Jardine Matheson.

Henry Keswick took the microphone with a smile on his face, but his tone was very brief: “We and Mr. Lin Haoran reached the decision on this equity adjustment after several rounds of in-depth negotiations in a harmonious and friendly atmosphere. As for the specific details, they are commercial secrets and cannot be disclosed here. Later, Jardine Matheson will issue an announcement to the public, and we will announce what needs to be announced.”

Obviously, Henry Keswick does not intend to reveal more about the specific negotiation process and conditions to the outside world.

For him, he wished that these reporters only knew that Jardine Matheson had returned to the hands of their Keswick family!
After saying this, he gently put down the microphone and swept his eyes across the audience, as if silently declaring: This is our answer.

Although the reporters were unwilling to accept the result, in the face of Henry Keswick’s clear statement, they could only temporarily put aside their doubts and look for other possible breakthroughs.

At this time, the reporter from Oriental Daily had stood up and pointed the microphone at Lin Haoran.

“Mr. Lin, during the negotiation with the British consortium, have you encountered any unfair treatment?”

“Of course not, as Mr. Niu Bijian stressed, our negotiations were conducted and agreed upon in a completely fair and just environment.

In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to make an announcement to everyone. Currently, I personally hold more than 50% of the shares of the Hong Kong Land Development. Therefore, I and my Universal Investment Company officially announce that the Hong Kong Land Development will initiate the privatization process.

We have reached an agreement with the Bank of Hong Kong’s subsidiary, Wardley, to handle all matters related to the privatization of Hong Kong Land Group. The relevant application procedures have also been submitted to the Securities and Futures Commission. You can obtain the specific details from Wardley.

As for why I gave up the controlling stake in Jardine Matheson, although this was not my original plan, they offered too much and I would be a fool if I disagreed, so I decided to give up Jardine Matheson and focus on the privatization of Hong Kong Land Group. “Lin Haoran said to the microphone with a smile on his face.

Lin Haoran’s last words immediately made Niu Bijian and Henry Keswick, who were originally in high spirits, change their expressions slightly. (End of this chapter)