From Inheriting a Small Factory to Becoming a Global Financial Tycoon

Chapter 34 Forming a Trading Team

"Tell me, how can we speed up the acquisition of Wharf Holdings' shares?" Lin Haoran asked.

"President Lin, the simplest way is to add more traders. Right now, we are too understaffed and can't compete with the trading teams of those financial consortiums. Luckily, based on current trends, these teams have been cautious in their acquisitions to avoid pushing the stock price up too quickly. Thanks to that, we've still managed to absorb some shares," Su Zhixue suggested.

Lin Haoran had considered recruiting more people, particularly traders like Su Zhixue who had fallen on hard times.

However, despite frequent visits to Wanan Group lately, he hadn't encountered anyone else in desperate financial straits like Su Zhixue.

Thus, even if he hired others, he couldn't guarantee high loyalty.

So he had shelved the idea for the time being.

Now, however, it seemed clear that forming a dedicated trading team was necessary.

If the absorption speed for Wharf Holdings was too slow, and acquisition costs rose too high, it would be a loss rather than a gain.

Moreover, he faced another imminent crisis: Green Island Cement could be targeted by Li Jiacheng's side at any moment.

Although Lin Haoran already controlled nearly 13.9% of Green Island Cement, if Li Jiacheng's team began acquiring shares, they could easily surpass him.

After selling Wharf Holdings shares to Bao Yugang, Cheung Kong Holdings was flush with cash—far beyond what Lin Haoran could match financially.

Also, stock acquisition wasn't limited to the market.

With Li Jiacheng's network and resources, he could likely persuade certain Green Island Cement shareholders to sell their stakes privately, speeding up his acquisition dramatically.

Therefore, Lin Haoran needed to rapidly secure enough shares and officially disclose his status as a major shareholder to Green Island Cement's board.

That way, he could be invited to join the board, and news of this would surely reach Li Jiacheng, possibly deterring him from pursuing Green Island Cement any further.

Even if Li Jiacheng persisted, Lin Haoran would have more leverage to counter him.

Additionally, once he neared his target shareholding, Lin Haoran planned to push Green Island Cement's stock price higher.

That way, even if Li Jiacheng wanted to buy shares on the open market, it would take more time and much greater expense.

If Lin Haoran could secure enough capital from his Wharf Holdings investments, he could continue acquiring Green Island Cement until he gained true controlling power.

Right now, what he lacked most was time.

Furthermore, most traders adhered strictly to professional ethics, and confidentiality agreements were standard.

Thus, after hearing Su Zhixue's suggestion, Lin Haoran thought for a moment and decided to form a small team of about five people to accelerate stock absorption.

"Zhixue, since you're in this field, I assume you majored in finance at university?" Lin Haoran asked casually.

"Yes, President Lin. I graduated from the finance department of Hong Kong University," Su Zhixue replied truthfully.

Although Hong Kong University hadn't yet achieved international fame at this time, its finance program was growing strong alongside the booming financial sector in Hong Kong and was gaining increasing recognition.

"I want to form a trading team with you as team leader. We'll start with about five people. Do you have any trustworthy friends you can recommend?" Lin Haoran asked directly.

Given Su Zhixue's 100% loyalty, Lin Haoran believed that anyone he recommended would be reliable.

Besides, after they joined, he could use his golden finger ability to check their loyalty personally.

Previously, he had been too cautious.

Hearing this, Su Zhixue's eyes lit up. "President Lin, I know many people in this industry.

Several of my university classmates are also in trading.

Some of them were the first to lend me money when I needed surgery funds for my son—they are definitely trustworthy.

Recruiting four people won't be difficult.

As long as you offer a slightly higher salary than their current companies, they should be willing to jump ship."

"Are any of them available to start immediately? If they have to resign, that could take time," Lin Haoran asked.

"President Lin, with the rapid development of Hong Kong's financial sector, especially after the stock market boom, there's no shortage of finance talent here.

One of my friends is currently unemployed—he left his previous company about a month ago and is looking for work.

His trading skills are very professional.

The others would need about a week to resign and transition," Su Zhixue replied cautiously.

"Good. Then notify them tonight and arrange interviews for tomorrow. I'll offer a base salary of 4,000 Hong Kong dollars per person, with bonuses based on performance," Lin Haoran said decisively.

A base salary of 4,000 HKD was quite good for the industry at that time.

In fact, most traders earned a modest base salary and relied on bonuses and commissions for real income.

For example, when Su Zhixue worked at Wanan Group, his base salary was only 2,500 HKD; with bonuses and commissions, he barely reached over 4,000 HKD per month.

"Understood, President Lin. I'll notify them tonight.

But except for the unemployed friend, the others can only come during their lunch breaks, since they still have to work during the day.

Luckily, their offices are nearby, so it won't be hard for them to drop by," Su Zhixue said.

"Alright. Thank you for your effort tonight.

Work hard—you'll be leading this team from now on.

As long as you perform well, you won't have to worry about bonuses and commissions with me," Lin Haoran said with a smile.

Watching Su Zhixue leave, Lin Haoran sat down and started contemplating his next steps.

Once he had the right people in place, the speed of stock absorption would surely improve significantly.

At that point, he wouldn't need to worry so much about Wharf Holdings.

After all, his target wasn't that big—just over a million shares.

Compared to Wharf Holdings' total stock count of just over 100 million shares, his goal was insignificant.

What he worried about most, however, was the situation at Green Island Cement.

Even though he had become the largest shareholder, there was no absolute guarantee of security.

Since he had no way of obtaining information from Cheung Kong Holdings, he could only rely on luck and continuous action to handle the upcoming challenges.

After brooding in the office for a long time, Lin Haoran finally decided to leave.

He knew that overthinking was pointless.

The only path forward was to continue laying out his plans carefully to prepare for future battles.

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