Chapter 484: Taking 4 Billion Hong Kong Dollars to Japan
Lin Haoran stayed at Concordia Building until the afternoon.
During this time, several media outlets attempted to interview him, but he declined all requests.
Recently, he had been locked in a fierce battle with Jardines Matheson, a fight to the death, and in the end, it was Jardines Matheson that crumbled.
Although the conflict had now concluded, public discussion was far from over.
After all, Jardines Matheson was a company that had grown alongside Hong Kong's colonial history.
For such a titan to be suddenly pushed out by Lin Haoran — there was no way this news would fade away quickly.
Thus, the major media outlets in Hong Kong remained enthusiastic about covering the latest developments involving Jardines Matheson and its feud with Lin Haoran.
In the afternoon, Lin Haoran finally received Land Corporation's financial report.
Sitting down in a chair, Lin Haoran carefully reviewed the report, while the Chief Financial Officer stood respectfully by, ready to explain any detail.
Land Corporation was no longer a listed company but a truly private enterprise.
Although its market valuation was now hard to estimate, its strength was undeniable.
Compared to the time before Lin Haoran had taken control, the company had undergone a complete transformation.
Not only had it seized assets like Kwai Chung Terminal and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel from Jardines Matheson, it had also acquired Hong Kong Telephone Company, and now, with the merger of Galaxy Securities, Land Corporation's power had grown exponentially.
It was no longer just a real estate company under Jardines Matheson — it was now a fully diversified, comprehensive enterprise.
The financial report was comprehensive, consolidating all subsidiaries' revenues and net profits into the final figures.
While flipping through the document, Lin Haoran listened to the CFO's explanations and gained a clearer understanding of Land Corporation's financial standing.
"Currently, the company holds 12.184 billion Hong Kong dollars in cash reserves. Company debt stands at 4.82 billion Hong Kong dollars, of which 1.82 billion must be repaid in February, and the remaining 3 billion is scheduled for repayment over the next eight months in three installments," Lin Haoran read aloud.
12.184 billion Hong Kong dollars — a staggering figure.
Even after subtracting the debt, Land Corporation still had 7.346 billion Hong Kong dollars in net cash reserves.
This didn't even include the intrinsic value of the company's assets.
Buying Land Corporation had been a truly incredible bargain.
The tens of billions that Jardines Matheson lost during the battle barely scratched the surface — losing Land Corporation was their real, irreparable loss.
Now, as Lin Haoran planned his upcoming trip to Japan, he needed to decide how much funding to take along.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Singapore operations also required ongoing investment, particularly with plans like building the world's tallest tower in Central and developing multiple land parcels — all of which needed substantial upfront funding.
Lin Haoran did a rough calculation with a calculator, and the resulting figure startled him.
If he really mobilized everything available, he could potentially move about 16 billion Hong Kong dollars, combining reserves from Land Corporation, Hong Kong Electric Group, and Wanqing Group.
"Mr. Ma, regarding the reserve funds needed by Land Corporation this year, I need to understand the situation better," Lin Haoran said, raising his head.
"You know I'm planning real estate investments in Japan."
After thinking for a moment, Ma Shimin answered,
"Boss, Land Corporation must reserve at least 10 billion Hong Kong dollars as a safety buffer.
Next month, we plan to participate in a government land auction in Singapore, where several prime parcels will require over 3 billion Hong Kong dollars for bidding and initial development costs.
At the same time, we have over thirty ongoing projects that will require at least 2 billion over the next year.
Additionally, five newly acquired land parcels will need around 1 billion in early-stage costs if we proceed with development this year.
Moreover, subsidiaries like Dairy Farm International and Mandarin Oriental Hotel plan to expand, with a budget of about 2 billion allocated for them.
We also must reserve 1.82 billion for the upcoming debt repayment."
"As for the remaining 3 billion Hong Kong dollars," Ma continued,
"We can gradually raise it through other means, like the sale of two upcoming residential projects that should bring in a decent cash flow."
Listening to this, Lin Haoran could only laugh wryly.
He had thought 12.184 billion Hong Kong dollars was a massive amount — yet after factoring in all these expenditures, there was barely anything left!
And he still wanted to use a hefty sum to purchase prime land and commercial buildings in Tokyo...
In the end, after considering everything, he realized he could only pull about 2 billion Hong Kong dollars from Land Corporation.
Fortunately, Wanqing Group could supply another 2 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Thus, for his trip to Japan, he would be carrying about 4 billion Hong Kong dollars — a substantial amount.
If he needed more, he would simply earn it directly in Japan.
Lin Haoran didn't argue further with Ma Shimin about the funding allocations.
"Alright, let's settle it like this," Lin Haoran said decisively.
"I'll extract 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, and you'll manage the rest."
"Yes, Boss!" Ma Shimin replied with visible relief.
As the head of Land Corporation, he had to prioritize the company's overall stability.
A shortage of funds would create massive headaches.
Even though Land Corporation could easily secure loans given its strength, it was unwise to borrow heavily right before a potential real estate crisis.
Once the crisis hit and property values plunged, then would be the time to borrow aggressively and scoop up assets.
After finishing the review of Land Corporation's report, Lin Haoran pondered quietly.
He wasn't planning to withdraw dividends from Hong Kong Electric Group for now.
At Wanqing Group, after accounting for ongoing projects, he could still mobilize about 2 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Thanks to Qingzhou Cement's rapid expansion under Wanqing Group — generating over 1.3 billion Hong Kong dollars in profits over two years — plus recent land sales, Wanqing Group had netted over 3 billion in cash.
Of course, in the past year, Lin Haoran had already drawn several hundred million to repay loans, such as:
290 million to Yumin Finance45 million to Hengsheng Bank50 million to Hui Fung Bank
And a 130 million loan related to land acquisitions by Wan'an Real Estate had also been fully repaid.
Thus, the final disposable cash stood at about 2.5 billion Hong Kong dollars.
As for Kowloon Motor Bus, any cash it produced was trivial in Lin Haoran's eyes.
Its true value lay in the idle land reserves already integrated with Wan'an Real Estate.
When he acquired Kowloon Motor Bus, that had been his real motive — to claim those strategic land reserves.
Thus, extracting 2 billion Hong Kong dollars from Wanqing Group was already reasonable without jeopardizing its growth.
Moreover, Lin Haoran still owed 2.2 billion Hong Kong dollars to Hui Fung Bank, due in July.
He also had a much larger loan — 3.3 billion — from Citibank, which was due in November.
Together, these two loans amounted to 5.5 billion Hong Kong dollars of personal debt, but for now, repayment wasn't urgent.
In summary, Lin Haoran could mobilize 4 billion Hong Kong dollars for Japan!
4 billion — not a small sum at all.
However, Lin Haoran understood that if he wanted to invest in Japan, he would have to start with Tokyo — where land prices rivaled or even surpassed those of Hong Kong.
Especially since he would prioritize prime locations — and prime land meant astronomical prices.
Thus, 4 billion Hong Kong dollars wasn't an endless well.
He would need to use it wisely.
"Boss, regarding your trip to Japan, what kind of team do you need?" Ma Shimin asked, noticing Lin Haoran's expression had relaxed.
"Mainly real estate and securities industry elites," Lin Haoran said after a brief thought.
"Limit the number to a few dozen.
We can recruit more locally once we're there.
I'll also dispatch more staff from Hong Kong later if needed.
No need to build an oversized team from the start."
Lin Haoran clearly understood that relying solely on Hong Kong staff would not be enough.
Having local employees was crucial for navigating Japan's unique market.
"Understood," Ma Shimin nodded.
"I'll select the best from Land Corporation's real estate arm and Galaxy Securities.
When do you plan to depart?"
Real estate experts would help assess land and manage development projects, while securities experts could handle market analysis and investment decisions — the perfect foundation for an initial team.
"Departure date is still undecided, but definitely within this month," Lin Haoran said.
He had only met the Japanese Foreign Minister last night.
Although he had already planned to develop in Japan, this new connection made it urgent to act swiftly —
before the relationship cooled or political circumstances changed.
After returning from Bao Yugang's home, Lin Haoran had made up his mind:
he would seize this window of opportunity immediately.
The earlier he entered Japan, the better.
The later he moved, the higher the cost would become.
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