Chapter 319 The Youngest Chinese Chairman of the Board
Wang Yuanchao first arranged for reporters to submit articles to major newspapers, writing articles about Hong Kong's great development, construction, imports and exports, and people's livelihood.

For example, when interviewing some government officials, the reporters didn't need to hint at them. How could the government say bad things about themselves? Of course they would brag about Hong Kong's bright future and promising future. The government would also make big investments in the future. After all, bragging doesn't require tax.

The data also includes statistics on the number and area of ​​projects under construction in Hong Kong, and the changes in recent years. The authorities also have this data, which provides strong evidence.

Imports and exports count the imports and exports of the port, and some bulk products are mentioned, cement is naturally included, but it is only mentioned briefly.

Yes, Hong Kong’s cement still needs to be imported, and the production capacity of Qingzhou Cement is not enough to meet the demand of the whole of Hong Kong.

As for people's livelihood, housing prices and land prices were mentioned, and some relatively simple comparative analysis was also done. From the perspective of people's livelihood, it was concluded that the living pressure of Hong Kong residents has increased again.

Food, clothing, housing and transportation are not easy.

Anyway, different articles reported the incident from different angles.

These reports were not published in the same newspaper or in the same time period, and the content was very scattered.

Therefore, unless you are a dedicated person, you will never be able to come to any comprehensive conclusion.

After all these reports were laid out, Wang Yuanchao gathered the shares, confirmed the identity of the major shareholder, and began to launch the attack.

As a major shareholder, he requested an immediate meeting of the board of directors, firstly to declare himself the chairman of the board, and secondly to discuss two crucial issues:
One is to remove the current incompetent management team;

One is to expand production capacity and expand sales.

First, because there have been major changes in the shareholder structure, the board of directors needs to be re-elected.

The former chairman, Carl, held about 17% of the shares, already a significant majority shareholder. Who would have thought that Wang Yuanchao had secretly hoarded so many stocks?

So it was no surprise that Wang Yuanchao was elected as the chairman of the new board of directors.

If I choose someone else, it’s impossible for him to even pass half of the votes. How can I choose?
No choice!
After being elected chairman, two topics were immediately brought to the conference table for discussion.

The reason is sufficient and simple. The current management team has no market sensitivity at all, fails to make any money, and has damaged the rights and interests of the majority of shareholders, which is a serious dereliction of duty!

Good guy!
Originally, most directors (shareholders) felt that the dividends were distributed on schedule in the past two years, which was quite happy.

But as soon as he saw the materials distributed by the chairman, Wang Yuanchao arranged for people to organize clippings of reports from various newspapers, as well as some statistical data from the authorities, combining Chinese and English, with the numbers clearly listed and easy to understand at a glance.

Indeed, a lot of money was handed over to others! And a lot of it!

Hiss—it’s all everyone’s money!

Even Wang Yuanchao's predecessor and current second largest shareholder, Carl, felt that this management team had made some big mistakes.

Yes, Carl, I just think it was a mistake, not a dereliction of duty. After all, no one noticed it.

Karl intellectually felt that the new chairman’s proposal was correct, but emotionally he still wanted to use the original management team. After all, they were all arranged by him, right?

So Karl said:
“General Manager Rock may not be very sensitive to the market, but he is actually very good at production and research. He is also a top student majoring in cement at the University of London. At least our company’s cement has always had a very good reputation.

Now that we have discovered this problem, we should give Rock a chance. He can complete the task of expanding production well, just like he completed the production tasks assigned by the board of directors in the past, right?"

Karl first affirmed Rock's ability, and then used Rock's past achievements to try to persuade everyone not to remove Rock. After all, the chairman is a legitimate major shareholder! One person accounts for 40% of the votes, which is almost a matter of life and death.

What a pity that the chairman is Chinese! Johns help Johns!
Then another John shareholder, Ben, also chimed in:
“I agree with Director Carr’s point of view.

Our products are simply in short supply. We didn’t notice this problem before, but now that we have, we just need to expand production.

If we rashly change the general manager, is there anyone more professional than Rock in Hong Kong?
Is there anyone more professional than Rock who is more familiar with the product preferences of Hong Kong customers and the production team below? "

No one refuted the question raised by the chairman. After all, no one would go against money. But there is no need to change people. If you do, it may not necessarily be better.

John shareholders followed suit, as did some Chinese shareholders, but most of them kept silent. After all, if this was the level of performance the chairman could provide, it might not be impressive enough. They would have to wait and see and decide who would support them.

What's wrong with 40% of the shares? It's not absolute control! Besides, they are Chinese, so they may not be able to protect it.

Wang Yuanchao looked around and found that these people's firepower was indeed concentrated on the first point. However, the second point was his goal. These people were blinded by the money they did not earn.

So he laughed and said:

"Then I wonder if Mr. Rock's letter of appointment will still be legally effective if I don't sign and confirm it?"

Wang Yuanchao disagreed. The shareholders who just spoke held less than half of the shares, only about one third.

The directors present held about 77% of the shares in total, and some small shareholders and retail investors were not eligible to join the board of directors. Wang Yuanchao did not bother with them and struck a fatal blow to let them know that the major shareholders were not vegetarians.

Are you kidding? For a major shareholder with 40% of the shares, even if he cannot achieve strong control, it would be easy for him to achieve general control.

Even if these John shareholders take the case to court, there will be no hope, right?

Would other shareholders be willing to accompany them in this?

Can't you just keep making money? The cement factory has been around for decades. Without this general manager, it won't be able to produce cement anymore, right?

Sure enough, as soon as Wang Yuanchao said this, the crowd immediately started buzzing. The new chairman was definitely going to establish his authority, so how could the old chairman resist?

John, Carl and Ben were a little worried. This Chinese was not easy to deal with. He spoke fluent English. He must be a member of a big family who had returned from studying abroad. Why did he set his sights on a "small" cement factory?
Karl:
"Chairman, if you insist on replacing people, it will really waste everyone's time.

Like you said, the company has already missed too many opportunities to make money. Should it continue wasting time?

It will take time for the new general manager to get familiar with the company and the team.

If you want to start production as soon as possible, an experienced general manager and a mature management team are indispensable.

I suggest you consider it carefully!"

Everyone felt that what Carl said made sense. If there was to be a change, it shouldn't be done at this time.

Wang Yuanchao pretended to think for a long time and said:
"Karl, what you said makes sense. If we want to expand production on a large scale, the stability of the team is indeed very important. However, the general manager can stay for the time being and see how he performs. But I must replace the financial manager, otherwise, as the chairman, wouldn't I be blind?"

Wang Yuanchao's tone was firm and unquestionable.

John and his people felt that the chairman had originally planned to replace the general manager, but now he only replaced the financial manager, which was considered a victory for them. If they did not agree to this, the chairman, as a major shareholder, would simply overturn the table and no one would be able to play.

The poor financial manager had no idea that his fate was about to change.

Wang Yuanchao originally planned to change the financial manager.

Qingzhou Yingni is operating well and making money. How could he make a major change right after taking over?
He has plenty of time to boil the frog in warm water, gradually replacing key positions with his own people, gradually winning over people, and gradually swallowing up other people's shares.

The first topic was passed, and no one had any objection to the second topic, but how much should the production be expanded? Should additional investment be made? This was beyond the management team's authority, so the board of directors needed to discuss it.

The data provided by Wang Yuanchao clearly tells everyone that it is meaningless to expand production too little, and that big strides must be made.

Expanding production means additional investment, either shareholders injecting capital, the company taking out loans, or issuing additional shares to raise funds. No matter which option is chosen, dividends will inevitably stop.

So everyone proposed to expand production according to their own situation, ranging from 50% to 300%.

As for small shareholders outside the board of directors, just follow the resolution.

Wang Yuanchao said at this time:

"As for the specific expansion amount, I suggest that the management team come up with a feasible plan and let the board of directors make the decision. Dividends will definitely be stopped in the short term. Let's see whether to get a bank loan, inject capital from shareholders, or issue new shares to raise funds?"

Seeing the cement plant's bright financial prospects, the first reaction of the directors present was to ask shareholders to inject capital or issue new shares to raise funds.

why?
As long as it is not a bank loan, everyone can invest or subscribe in proportion! There are always small shareholders who are unable, unmotivated, or unwilling to invest or subscribe, so the shares of small shareholders will naturally be diluted!
If the dividends are stopped, some small shareholders may sell their shares if they are not aware of the situation. I don’t think anyone would be willing to share the contents of the board meeting with others, right?
The process of raising funds by issuing new shares is a bit long and too troublesome. It is better to have shareholders inject capital, which is faster and will not introduce too many external forces.

Everyone quickly reached a resolution that shareholders would inject capital in proportion, and the management team would study the specific scale and come up with a plan.

Carl, Ben and other John people even wanted General Manager Rock to increase the scale of capital injection for expansion. In this way, the new chairman would definitely have to invest a large amount, which might not be enough. Maybe if the capital injection is not enough, the shares will be reduced a little.

It seems that the cement market is still very promising, and they can afford to invest more and get more shares.

If Wang Yuanchao knew what they were thinking, he would probably be overjoyed. He had the support of HSBC behind him. He didn't need to pay for it himself. He could get support from HSBC with his shares. Who among you here could compare with a money printing machine?
He cut off dividends and proposed capital injection, intending to infringe on the interests of small shareholders.

It is natural for major shareholders to erode the rights and interests of small shareholders.

Wang Yuanchao may not have many other people under his command, but he has a lot of financial staff, because he has many companies, and he is not in charge of many of them. To know how the companies are doing, doesn't he just look at the financial statements?

After receiving authorization from the new board of directors, the cement plant management immediately launched an investigation.

In fact, Qingzhou Yingni does not want to expand production, but they have no place to expand production because the surrounding land is too expensive.

They have moved several times, from Macau to Hung Hom, Kowloon, and then to Sham Shui Po. Do they have to move again?
If we move again, we have to move to the countryside in Yuen Long? !
(End of this chapter)