Chapter 192: Plotting for China Motor Bus
Time quickly slipped into October.
All the various businesses under Changxing Group were progressing steadily.
On the 2nd, Yang Wendong arrived at Ganghua Tower. With Changxing Industrial now operating smoothly, his focus had begun to shift more and more toward real estate.
After all, the real estate business was still in its early stages. At the very least, he needed to see through the first high-end residential project before he could consider delegating it to professional managers.
And among the critical supporting elements for residential—and future commercial—developments, the bus industry was undeniably important. Convenient transportation was one of the top considerations when people decided where to live.
"Mr. Yang," Zheng Zhijie greeted softly as soon as he saw him. "There's been a little progress with China Motor Bus."
"Great, let's talk inside," Yang Wendong said with delight.
By now, Changxing Real Estate already had quite a number of employees and fully established departments. With so many people involved, discretion was important. Trust was one thing, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
Once they were in private, Zheng Zhijie reported, "Mr. Yang, I've made contact with Wong Yiu-nam, the son of Wong Wong-choi. He's agreed to meet with us."
Yang asked, "Did you tell him we want to buy his shares?"
"No, I didn't go that far," Zheng shook his head. "I just told him we're interested in investing in Hong Kong's public transportation industry, and that we'd like to support the Wong family in gaining influence. The meeting is to discuss how we can work together."
"Good," Yang smiled. "But if Wong Yiu-nam's got any brains, he'll figure out we're after China Motor Bus."
"Exactly," Zheng nodded. "But even if he figures it out, we're better off keeping it vague for now. We need to test the waters before we say anything outright.
After all, this isn't a publicly listed company, and with such concentrated ownership, we can't make any moves unless we've got one of the families on board. The Wong family clearly wants to wrest control of the company from the Yan family, who currently run it. Unless the Wongs give up entirely, they'll at least want to hear us out."
"Got it. Did you arrange a meeting time?" Yang asked.
"He said he's available most days. Just depends on your schedule."
"Then the sooner, the better," Yang said after a moment of thought. "But we need to keep this low-profile. Let's set up a lunch meeting at the Grand Hotel tomorrow. Book a private dining room. I'll host him for lunch."
One big advantage of the Grand Hotel was that reporters weren't allowed past the main floor.
This era did have small roll-film cameras, but the quality was poor. They were only good for snapping close-up documents—more tools for spies than journalists.
That's why the Grand Hotel had become a trusted hangout for the rich, famous, and politically connected.
"Understood. I'll give him a call shortly," Zheng replied. Then he pulled out a file. "Here's a more detailed background on China Motor Bus's founders, Yan Cheng-kun and Wong Wong-choi.
Yan was highly educated and previously worked in the taxi rental business. Wong started out with nothing—he began his career in small-scale shipping, using wooden boats. Later, the two co-founded China Motor Bus.
Wong knew he didn't have the management skills to run a bus company, so he mostly stayed hands-off. But he poured everything into raising his son, Wong Yiu-nam, putting him through university overseas so he could one day take a place in the company.
But Yan never agreed to let Wong's son join. According to rumors, it was that very feud that led to Wong falling ill and eventually passing away.
These past few years, Wong Yiu-nam has been trying to use his shares to fight the Yan family's control, but without a majority, he hasn't made much progress."
"So there's real bad blood between the two families," Yang nodded. "How much of the company does the Wong family own?"
"Originally, it was a 60–40 split, with the Wongs holding 40%. But it's unclear if that's changed over the years. The company has never been listed, so the exact share structure hasn't been made public."
"But once they start prepping for an IPO, they'll have to disclose all that, right? It's a legal requirement."
"Exactly," Zheng confirmed.
"Still, we'll ask tomorrow. Who knows when they'll actually go public."
"Got it."
…
On the morning of the 3rd, Yang Wendong arrived at the Grand Hotel's eighth floor, where a Western-style restaurant offered private dining rooms.
Through the windows, he could see Victoria Harbour in the distance, with several massive cargo ships docked at the opposite pier, busy unloading. The entire scene evoked a strong sense of modern colonial-era Hong Kong.
After a few minutes, a man in his early forties knocked on the door and entered. He glanced at the two men inside and asked, "Mr. Yang?"
Yang Wendong smiled. "That's me. You must be Mr. Wong. Please, have a seat."
"I've heard a lot about the famous Post-it King," Wong Yiu-nam replied with a chuckle as he stepped in. "And you must be Mr. Zheng?"
Zheng Zhijie nodded. "Yes, we spoke on the phone."
After Wong took his seat, Yang said with a warm smile, "Mr. Wong, I assume you're familiar with this place. Feel free to order whatever you'd like."
"Thank you, Mr. Yang," Wong replied without hesitation. For people in their circle, being overly polite about trivial expenses was actually a form of disrespect.
Wong quickly placed the order. Once the waiter took the menu and left, gently closing the door behind him, Yang leaned in slightly and asked, "Mr. Wong, I'm curious—what did you think about what Mr. Zheng told you over the phone?"
"If Mr. Yang is truly willing to help me gain control of China Motor Bus, I'd be delighted," Wong said. Then, after a pause, he added, "But surely there's no such thing as a free lunch, right? Why don't you tell me what you're really after?"
Earlier, he had received a call from a friend at Hang Seng Bank, saying someone was interested in meeting him. Once he agreed, he got a call from Zheng Zhijie.
He had taken the meeting seriously after learning Zheng worked for the recently famed Post-it King.
On the phone, Zheng had only said they were willing to help him take control of China Motor Bus, but insisted the full discussion had to be face-to-face. No further details would be shared over the phone.
Wong knew there had to be some hidden agenda—but this was his father's unfulfilled dream. That alone was enough for him to show up.
Zheng poured him a cup of tea and smiled. "Mr. Wong, don't worry. My boss believes in win-win partnerships."
"Exactly," Yang nodded. "Profit for both parties is my goal. To be transparent, I'm interested in acquiring China Motor Bus."
"You want to acquire China Motor Bus?" Wong Yiu-nam's expression changed slightly, though he still maintained his composure as he asked, "If you acquire CMB, then how would I still have management rights?"
Yang Wendong smiled. "Why not? If you help me acquire China Motor Bus, then once it's done, I'll leave the company's operations in your hands. Aside from a few special requests of mine, you'll have full control over everything else.
As long as you don't run the company into the ground and maintain a reasonable profit, and as long as you don't provoke the public or any major government departments, then China Motor Bus will be yours to run."
"You don't want management rights, so why acquire the company in the first place?" Wong Yiu-nam still didn't fully understand.
Yang chuckled and replied, "I have several industries under my belt—manufacturing, real estate, media, even shipping. Do you really think I personally manage every one of them?"
In this era, many Chinese businesspeople preferred to manage everything themselves, largely because there weren't any truly large-scale Chinese-owned enterprises in Hong Kong yet. Founders still had the time and energy to handle things directly.
But in another decade or so, as the scale of Chinese conglomerates expanded exponentially, even the most hands-on tycoons would be forced to delegate.
Wong Yiu-nam thought it over carefully and then said, "Mr. Yang, even if what you say is true, and I end up running China Motor Bus, the power still wouldn't be in my hands.
At any time, with a single word, you could remove the Wong family from the company. I'm not saying you would—just that you'd have the ability. In that case, there's no point for us."
Yang nodded. "From a business standpoint, you're not wrong. But look at it this way: if you don't accept my help, what do you think will happen?
The Yan family already has full control over China Motor Bus. They hold more shares than you do. Even though you're technically a shareholder, all you really have is a symbolic director title. You don't hold any actual authority, right?"
"You're right, Mr. Yang." Wong Yiu-nam didn't hide it. This kind of thing couldn't be hidden anyway—most of CMB's management acted like he didn't exist, and anyone with a bit of interest could easily find that out.
Yang smiled again. "Then wouldn't it be better to work with us? If I succeed, I'll give you full operational control. I can even put it in writing—an official agreement. How about it?"
Even if he eventually acquired China Motor Bus and forced both the Yan and Wong families out, someone would still have to run the company. So why not let the Wongs do it now and get their help in the acquisition process?
As for Wong Yiu-nam's capabilities, Yang believed they were at least decent. And with his own knowledge of the future, it would be hard for CMB to lose money even if it tried. The only tough years would be during economic downturns, and even then, the company would remain sound on paper.
Right now, the most important thing was to gain the Wong family's cooperation. Without it, even after CMB went public, most of the shares would still be tightly held by major shareholders, making it nearly impossible for Yang to make a successful acquisition.
Wong thought about it and said, "A written agreement would be good, but I still want to retain a portion of my family's shares. That's our foundation—my father's legacy."
Yang grinned. "I don't want your shares. Once the company goes public, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will disclose all shareholder identities. If we make a deal now, Yan Cheng-kun will catch on, and that would ruin any chance of pulling this off."
Wong's eyes lit up with realization. "You mean to wait until after the IPO to act?"
Yang nodded. "Exactly. Once we gain over 50% of the shares, we can seize control of the company. Even if the Yan family remains a major shareholder, they won't be able to reverse anything.
After that, I'll find a way to buy out their shares too. As for yours, I don't need them. You'll just need to stand with me when the time comes."
Wong frowned. "But Yan Cheng-kun currently holds 52% of the company. Even if that gets diluted post-IPO, he'll likely still retain close to 40%.
I currently have 33.6%, and after listing, I might be left with around 25%. That means you'd still need to acquire another 25%, and that's not easy."
"Of course it's not easy." Yang smiled, then asked, "Besides CMB, does the Yan family have any other high-value assets?"
Wong replied, "They have a taxi company on Hong Kong Island with over 100 taxis and a few small properties."
Yang shook his head. "Those don't count as major assets."
"Then that's probably all they've got." Wong also understood that Yang's definition of 'high-value' was very different from his. He continued, "Yan Cheng-kun treats China Motor Bus like his personal business. Many of his investments and expenses go directly through the company's accounts."
"Hmm, that's actually good news," Yang nodded. "Pulling this off won't be easy, but the first step is getting the IPO approved as soon as possible.
As far as I know, the only reason CMB hasn't gone public yet is because of internal disagreements between your families, right?"
"Correct," Wong nodded. "Yan Cheng-kun wants to use the post-IPO funds to rapidly expand routes and purchase new buses. It would be a huge cost burden. My family didn't agree to it. A few minority shareholders opposed it too."
"Even better," Yang said with a grin. "Mr. Wong, when you go back, you should agree to his plan. The sooner the IPO, the better—it gives me more room to operate."
"No problem," Wong agreed. "But I can't make it seem too easy, or he'll get suspicious."
"Of course," Yang said. "Here's what I suggest—ask him for money."
"Ask for money?" Wong was puzzled.
Yang explained further, "That's the second step. After agreeing to the IPO, support his high-expansion strategy at the board level. Make sure he overspends.
If he burns through the company's capital, he'll be forced to raise more funds through additional stock offerings. That's when our real opportunity comes."
Wong thought for a moment and then asked, "Mr. Yang, that could work—but what if he gets a loan instead?
Yan has strong connections with many banks. It wouldn't be hard for him to secure financing."
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