50: Joined Cathay Pacific

At the same time, the people arranged by Ji Jun had already started to make contact, reaching out to the capital and small shareholders who still held the remaining shares.

These capital and small shareholders were both surprised and fearful of Xinghe, this formidable force crossing the river. Surprised that in one night, without their knowledge, it had acquired 85% of their shares.

Fearful of what methods Xinghe would employ if they did not agree to sell their shares when faced with its proposal.

With their strength, they had no way to contend with Xinghe Group, so most shareholders, after learning of Xinghe's intentions, agreed to Xinghe's acquisition price, which offered a 10% premium over the share price.

Only a small number were still stubbornly resisting; they also wanted to get on board with Xinghe.

Jiang Chen was not in a hurry regarding those unwilling to sell their shares and planned to deal with them at the upcoming board meeting.

He himself held 85% of Cathay Pacific Airways, plus Xinghe Group's 6.7% controlling stake, bringing the total to 91.7%.

These people were merely overestimating themselves.

---

News of Xinghe Group's acquisition of Cathay Pacific Airways spread like wildfire, and the industry was discussing how Xinghe Group managed to acquire 85% of a listed company's shares so silently.

There was absolutely no news released; by the time they caught wind of it, they heard the acquisition was already complete.

It truly made some capital entities feel ashamed.

Some even went to inquire with the shareholders and capital entities who transferred their shares, but whenever asked, they remained tight-lipped (not referring to the 6.7% who were acquired).

This made industry insiders even more curious: what irresistible conditions did Xinghe offer?

They even heard that Xinghe had already hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to commence preliminary audit investigations into Cathay Pacific Airways.

A big move!

Their keen senses detected a hint of something amiss.

The stock price is the best indicator of a listed company's situation. When this news became known to the outside world, Cathay Pacific Airways, as expected, dropped by several points.

Although the stock price fluctuated, the majority of shareholders still held a skeptical attitude towards the arrival of Xinghe Group. Then, news was released from an unknown source, stating that Xinghe Group was powerful, possessing unfathomable cash flow.

Thus, many shareholders learned that such a behemoth existed in Shenzhen, just a river away from them, and they all began to increase their holdings.

Even more shareholders discovered that the shopping malls they often visited when crossing the border to Shenzhen on weekends were actually brands under Galaxy Real Estate, a subsidiary of Xinghe Group.

At this point, more people learned about Xinghe Group.

So, on the second day, the stock price returned to its original position, even rising slightly.

Although Jiang Chen said he was not concerned about stock price fluctuations, Ji Jun would not completely ignore it. He didn't know how much Jiang Chen spent to acquire Cathay Pacific Airways, but as a subordinate, he certainly had to help his boss alleviate worries and control all risks to the minimum, or even nip them in the bud.

All these messages and methods were his doing.

However, what Ji Jun didn't expect was that the Hong Kong market would respond so favorably to the small piece of news he casually released?

He had originally prepared funds and plans to deal with the potential impact, but it now seemed unnecessary?

While thinking this, the capital market is constantly changing. Ji Jun still arranged for Wu Gezhi, the Director of the Investment Department and General Manager of Xinghe Financial Company, to personally manage the trading and support the market.

He led hundreds of traders, staring intently at the line of code belonging to Cathay Pacific Airways on the Hong Kong stock board (assuming no market closure).

Li Ziyan, the Director of the Administration Department, followed Ji Jun's arrangements and began discreetly scouting for talent in the aviation industry domestically.

The entire Xinghe Group was mobilized for this seamless takeover of Cathay Pacific Airways.

---

There was one day left until Typhoon "Tumbleweed" officially made landfall in Hong Kong, and at this time, Shenzhen was already experiencing a light drizzle.

(Don't ask why flights are still possible the day before a typhoon; I've personally experienced it, it's absolutely true!)

At 10 AM, Shenzhen International Airport, VIP channel exit.

Xu Minghao, Executive Vice President of Xinghe Group, was currently waiting here with a Group of people from Xinghe Group.

He received orders from Ji Jun to come here to welcome the people from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Tianjing. Upon their arrival, he was to immediately lead them directly to Hong Kong to be stationed at Cathay Pacific Airways, and he would be responsible for overseeing their completion of this audit work.

"Mr. Xu, they've arrived."

Xu Minghao's secretary reminded him.

A Group of people suddenly emerged from the VIP channel. They were men and women, but without exception, all were dressed in suits and carrying briefcases, exuding a powerful aura. These were true workplace elites.

Xu Minghao's gaze focused as he looked over. It was indeed the people from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Tianjing Law Firm whom he was waiting for. At this time, they also noticed the sign held by the Xinghe staff.

They were walking quickly towards Xu Minghao.

Xu Minghao looked at the two leading the Group and smiled, quickly stepping forward to greet them.

He Manning and Robin also immediately stopped upon seeing the approaching figures, and the elites behind them also stopped and stood behind the two of them.

Xu Minghao laughed heartily, "Chairman He, Lawyer Robin, hello! Welcome to Shenzhen."

"Hello, Mr. Xu." x2

Then Xu Minghao shook hands with each of them.

Xu Minghao said enthusiastically, "We've finally been looking forward to your arrival. On behalf of Chairman Jiang, I extend a warm welcome to you."

As he spoke, he clapped, and the Xinghe Group members standing behind him also joined in when their boss clapped.

The applause lingered.

This made them, who were already attracting attention, noticed by even more passersby. Passing travelers even thought a high-ranking leader had arrived for an inspection.

Robin said with a smile, "Mr. Xu, you are too kind. Xinghe's choice of Tianjing this time makes us feel very honored to provide you with our services, so we immediately dispatched our staff."

He Manning, the foreigner, also learned from Robin and said a few polite words.

Then Robin joked, "See, even a typhoon couldn't stop us from rushing here immediately, hahaha."

Everyone laughed heartily at his words.

They didn't stay there long; after all, it was a public place, and so many people standing there had a significant impact.

After a few pleasantries and introductions to other executives, Xu Minghao led the Group out of the arrival hall.

Upon reaching the airport entrance, the rest of the staff consciously boarded the cross-border business coach prepared by Xinghe Group.

He Manning, Robin, and other executives from the firms boarded the five Maybachs with dual-region license plates that Xu Minghao had arranged in advance.

After Xu Minghao and some Xinghe Group executives boarded the vehicles.

A convoy, consisting of 8 Maybachs and two business coaches, drove majestically towards Hong Kong.

Xu Minghao didn't bring only administrative staff; there were also thirty internal security personnel from the Group, responsible for protecting them during the audit work. It's better to be safe than sorry, in case someone acts desperately.

They arrived at the Hilton Hotel in Central, arranged by Xinghe Group for them, at noon.

Due to the typhoon, Hong Kong had already issued a typhoon warning. After discussions at the hotel between Xu Minghao, Robin, He Manning, and others, they decided that to ensure the normal convening of the board meeting the day after tomorrow, they must immediately move into Cathay Pacific Airways.

If the typhoon arrived tomorrow, they would simply stay in Cathay Pacific Airways Building.

Xu Minghao arranged for some personnel to go out and purchase supplies. Thus, without even resting, they departed at 2 PM, arriving at Cathay Pacific Airways with their team. They immediately commenced rigorous audit work with the personnel from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Hong Kong office, who had already been stationed there the day before.

With the prior organization by the PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong office personnel, it took less than two hours for them to uncover a suspicious expenditure from the voluminous accounts.

Zhang Han, a senior auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers, pushed up his glasses. Before coming, even he thought Cathay Pacific Airways would be a tough nut to crack. His team had prepared for a hard-fought, prolonged battle.

And this was it?

He looked at the expense report in his hand and sneered, "Xie Yifa?"

"How could entertaining clients cost 7 million Hong Kong dollars? How was this approved?"

"Reporting a problem found!"

"Reporting an issue with this account!"

"Reporting a problem with this asset!"

"Reporting, I've found suspicious points in this expense for aircraft maintenance..."

...Then, simultaneously, other personnel also successively uncovered a series of loopholes, and the accounts were even more shocking!

According to their incomplete estimates, the unaccounted funds amounted to as much as 3.7 billion Hong Kong dollars!