Chapter 331 Bofuda Turns Traitor
Henry Keswick's words instantly shocked everyone present who had not been informed beforehand of the meeting's purpose.
Many even gasped aloud in surprise.
Even Niu Bijian had a stunned expression on his face.
He hadn't expected that Henry Keswick's purpose in convening this board meeting was actually to expel Lin Haoran from Jardines Matheson!
At first, Niu Bijian had been worried that Lin Haoran, as Vice Chairman, would meddle excessively in the company's affairs.
But as time went on, Niu Bijian discovered that Lin Haoran truly lived up to his word—he barely intervened in the management of the company.
In fact, from the beginning of the month to now, Lin Haoran had only visited Jardine House a handful of times.
Gradually, Niu Bijian came to believe that having Lin Haoran in the core leadership of the board was the best arrangement.
Not only did Lin Haoran refrain from interfering with company affairs, but his presence also helped check Henry Keswick's power, allowing Niu Bijian to exert his authority to the fullest within Jardines Matheson.
If things continued like this, it would have been the ideal situation for Niu Bijian.
Yet, just after the mutual control between Jardines Matheson and Jardines Matheson had been completed, Henry Keswick couldn't wait to drive Lin Haoran out of the board?
At this moment, Niu Bijian thought of many things. He finally understood why Henry Keswick had previously urged him to accelerate the mutual control plan.
"But how can he be so sure he can oust Mr. Lin Haoran?" This was Niu Bijian's doubt.
The reason he had never considered this possibility was because he believed Henry Keswick couldn't rally enough support to remove Lin Haoran.
After all, Mr. Shen Bi had initially supported Lin Haoran's entry into the board and his appointment as Vice Chairman.
Moreover, Bofuda, an executive director of Jardines Matheson and a key representative for Jardines Matheson's voting rights, was considered Niu Bijian's trusted aide.
Given this, Niu Bijian didn't think Henry Keswick would succeed.
In any case, now he could only wait and see how things unfolded, for today's meeting had already slipped from his control.
Many people were visibly shocked.
As for Lin Haoran, he remained impassive, as calm as water, showing no expression, as if Henry Keswick's words had nothing to do with him.
Of course he wasn't flustered. After all, just as Henry Keswick had his confidence, Lin Haoran had his own as well.
Once his own trump card was revealed, everyone present would surely be even more shocked.
"Everyone, we will now proceed to vote on removing Mr. Lin Haoran from his position as Vice Chairman of the Board and revoking his board membership. The vote will be based on voting rights: those in favor, please raise your hand; those against, do nothing," Niu Bijian announced helplessly.
However, he still didn't believe Henry Keswick would succeed.
He didn't want Lin Haoran removed, but facing Henry Keswick's move, there was nothing he could do because Henry Keswick, as a representative of the British consortium, had the right to make such a decision.
As soon as Niu Bijian finished speaking, everyone made their choices.
Among the British consortium, except for a few shareholders loyal to Niu Bijian, most raised their hands.
Not only that, but even Shen Bi, the head of Huifeng Bank, raised both hands.
Now Lin Haoran finally understood the awkward expression Shen Bi had shown in the elevator earlier. He had intended to side with Henry Keswick all along.
No wonder.
Even more critically, Bofuda also raised his hand on behalf of Jardines Matheson, as did several other Jardines Matheson shareholders.
Currently, Jardines Matheson held 30.1% of Jardines Matheson's shares, so their voting rights were highly significant.
As the executive director managing Jardines Matheson, Bofuda clearly had the authority to represent the company's stance.
With the votes of the Jardines Matheson shareholders, it was clear that Jardines Matheson was overwhelmingly supporting Henry Keswick's move to expel Lin Haoran.
"Mr. Bofuda, you—!" Niu Bijian turned in shock to look at Bofuda, whom he had always considered a loyal subordinate.
He couldn't believe that this man, who had always been obedient to him, would side with Henry Keswick to drive Lin Haoran out of the board.
"Mr. Niu Bijian, I'm sorry, but this time I support Mr. Henry Keswick," Bofuda said quietly.
In reality, Henry Keswick had already privately persuaded Bofuda.
Previously, Jardines Matheson owned 20% of Jardines Matheson's shares and effectively controlled the company.
Meanwhile, Jardines Matheson had no shares in Jardines Matheson, making it a subsidiary.
Although Niu Bijian was the head of Jardines Matheson, his real authority was limited, and most of the actual control rested in Bofuda's hands as executive director.
Now, with mutual control achieved and each company being the largest shareholder of the other, they were equals rather than superior and subordinate.
Naturally, Bofuda's ambitions grew.
At this critical moment, Henry Keswick promised him that if he helped oust Niu Bijian, he would groom Bofuda as the next leader of Jardines Matheson, at the very least preserving his position at Jardines Matheson.
Thus, Bofuda decisively defected and supported Henry Keswick.
From Bofuda's perspective, they were both professional managers—why should he rank beneath Niu Bijian?
Niu Bijian's expression grew increasingly complicated.
He quickly scanned the room and realized, without needing to calculate, that the current voting results were enough to place Lin Haoran in an unfavorable position.
Even though Lin Haoran held a significant percentage of shares, with most board members against him, he could no longer retain his seat.
Niu Bijian felt deeply unwilling. His plan had barely been implemented for a month, and now it was about to collapse.
But he was powerless.
Having lost Shen Bi and Bofuda's support, his strategy of using Lin Haoran to restrain Henry Keswick had utterly failed.
"According to the calculation of voting rights, the approval rate is 64%, and the disapproval rate is 36%. This motion has officially passed. From this moment on, Mr. Lin Haoran will no longer serve as Vice Chairman of the Board, nor as a member of the Board," announced the secretary responsible for counting the votes.
A wave of applause erupted, and most of the foreigners present broke into broad smiles.
Lin Haoran's presence in the core management of Jardines Matheson had been seen as a humiliation by the British consortium members.
Expelling Lin Haoran from the board was their greatest victory.
Although Lin Haoran still held a significant number of shares, so what?
From now on, he would be just an ordinary shareholder.
"Jardines Matheson and Jardines Matheson will always be controlled by our British consortium. We will never allow Chinese consortiums to covet them!" Henry Keswick declared, standing up once again to announce his victory.
Jardines Matheson was the property of the Keswick family, and he would never allow Chinese consortiums to interfere.
Lin Haoran, who had remained silent until now, suddenly laughed.
These people were far too naive if they thought that by banding together they could drive him out of Jardines Matheson.
However, he was not in a rush to reveal that he already controlled Jardines Matheson.
After all, this was Jardines Matheson's home turf.
Although announcing it here would be a powerful counterattack, he preferred to first firmly establish control over Jardines Matheson.
There was no rush.
"Mr. Lin Haoran, do you have anything else to say?" Niu Bijian asked, looking at Lin Haoran.
Niu Bijian was also unwilling to see Lin Haoran leave, but now it was beyond his control.
Lin Haoran's removal from the board was already a foregone conclusion.
"I have nothing to say, but I would like to offer everyone a piece of advice: since many of you have come all the way from Britain, don't rush back yet. Believe me, you might just have to turn right around and return to Hong Kong soon!" Lin Haoran said with a smile.
No one understood his words, nor their meaning.
But Lin Haoran didn't care whether they understood.
Let them enjoy their fleeting triumph for now.
Soon, they would realize they had celebrated too early.
"Mr. Henry Keswick, do you have anything else to add?" Niu Bijian asked again.
"No, I've said everything I wanted to," Henry Keswick replied, beaming.
With Lin Haoran out of the way, his power within Jardines Matheson would only grow. Soon, he would move to remove Niu Bijian as well, placing a member of the Keswick family in control.
Everything was proceeding according to his plan.
"Then let's adjourn. Secretariat, prepare the announcement as soon as possible after the meeting," Niu Bijian said unhappily.
"Yes, Mr. Niu Bijian!" the secretary responded respectfully.
This board meeting, which had lasted barely ten minutes, was thus concluded.
And Henry Keswick had achieved his goal.
Lin Haoran walked out of the meeting room alone, feeling somewhat emotional.
The meeting had indeed been beyond his expectations.
Yet, he felt no sadness or disappointment.
"Mr. Lin, please wait!" At this moment, Shen Bi called out from behind.
"What is it, Mr. Shen Bi?" Lin Haoran stopped and asked with a smile.
"Mr. Lin, I truly apologize. My previous support for you was forced. I hope you can understand my situation. After all, I am just a professional manager at Huifeng Bank, and I must consider the opinions of the many British consortium shareholders behind me," Shen Bi said with a bitter smile.
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