Chapter 293: The Secrets of the Jardine Matheson Group

Not long after returning to the Jiuding Media Company office, Xia Yu received some more good news. Lin Shanyuan and his team had completed a thorough analysis of the Jardine Matheson Group.

Eager to get started, Xia Yu went straight to the Economic Research Office and found Lin Shanyuan.

"Xia Sheng, here's the compiled information," Lin Shanyuan said with a smile, handing over a large stack of documents he had just organized.

Xia Yu took the documents with a smile and skimmed through them briefly, gaining a general understanding.

He smiled and said, "Professor Lin, you're really quick!"

Lin Shanyuan chuckled and explained, "The Jardine Group is so massive, and its subsidiaries are numerous. When we were working on the 'Economic' magazine, Jardine Matheson was a key subject. Most of this data was collected a long time ago. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to gather all this information in just a few days."

Xia Yu nodded in agreement, shaking the stack of documents in his hand. "You all can continue with your work. I'll take a good look at this."

"Xia Sheng, take care," Lin Shanyuan said as he left.

With the documents in hand, Xia Yu returned to his office and began to delve into the details of Jardine Matheson.

Even though the documents had been edited and filtered by the Economic Research Office, they still amounted to at least a centimeter in thickness, demonstrating the complexity and strength of the Jardine Matheson Group.

Without further ado, Xia Yu took a sip of tea and began reading carefully.

The rustling sound of the papers filled the room as time flew by. Before he realized it, two hours had passed.

"Xia Yu, do you need to take a break? You've been reading for so long; your eyes must be tired," Li Qian said with concern, approaching Xia Yu after noticing him blinking vigorously. She had been quietly reading a book nearby.

"It's okay; I'm just finishing up," Xia Yu replied with a smile, then closed his eyes to think.

Seeing this, Li Qian moved behind Xia Yu and started massaging his temples.

Feeling the soft, warm touch on the back of his head, Xia Yu relaxed and playfully turned his head, causing Li Qian's chest to jostle.

"Oh, you're being mischievous again. Please don't move around so much," Li Qian said with a hint of annoyance but continued to massage Xia Yu's temples.

Xia Yu stopped his playful antics and quietly enjoyed the soothing massage from Li Qian while his mind raced through the information about Jardine Matheson's various companies and details.

Jardine Matheson, as the largest conglomerate in Hong Kong, had numerous companies under its belt, covering various industries and extending its reach into countless households.

Although Jardine Matheson Group was only ranked second on the list of powerful entities, falling behind HSBC, it would be a mistake to think that HSBC was currently more powerful than Jardine Matheson!

While the market value of the Jardine Matheson Group was lower than that of HSBC, it still had a significant number of listed companies, such as the fifth-ranked Land Development Corporation, the 28th-ranked Kowloon Warehouse, and over ten companies in the top 100.

Moreover, between the 100th and 500th ranks, there were dozens of companies established by or belonging to the Jardine Group!

Though most of these were minor stakes with only a few holding majority control, in terms of influence, Jardine Group was indeed comparable to HSBC.

In the financial sector, Jardine Matheson had Jardine Insurance and a 46% stake in PT Bank Permata Tbk, Indonesia's sixth-largest bank, along with other minor stakes in banks and securities companies.

In retail, the most notable was the Dairy Company, originally a Chinese business but acquired and privatized by Jardine Matheson in 1972.

The Dairy Company owned substantial land in Hong Kong, making it a property giant, although much of the land was underutilized, with the company focusing on retail and opening Hong Kong's first supermarket.

In mechanical manufacturing, Jardine Matheson had the Jardine Machinery Group, founded in 1923, which provided electrical, mechanical, and construction technology services across Asia. This was a core component of the conglomerate.

In construction, the iconic company was the subsidiary Kim Mon Construction Limited, acquired and privatized by Jardine Matheson in 1975. Kim Mon Construction was renowned for its major construction projects in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region.

In the automotive manufacturing and trade sector, there was the Jardine Auto Group, which included Indonesia's largest auto and motorcycle manufacturers, and the Renfu Company, a major player in automotive sales and service in Hong Kong, also acquired by Jardine Matheson in 1973.

In real estate, the Land Development Corporation and Kowloon Warehouse Group were crucial.

Additionally, there were two major property management companies: Zhibang Property and Yigao Property, along with stakes in real estate companies across Southeast Asia.

In shipping and transportation, Jardine had the prominent Jardine Shipping and Jardine Air Cargo companies, excelling in their fields.

In the food and beverage sector, the Jardine Food Group held franchises for KFC and McDonald's, making it a dominant force in the restaurant industry.

Apart from these core enterprises, the Jardine Group also held stakes in many other companies.

Since the 1970s, Jardine Matheson had expanded aggressively, acquiring and merging with other companies while continuously establishing new subsidiaries. Although this put a strain on finances, there was no denying that the strength of the Jardine Group had grown explosively.

Despite Jardine Matheson's formidable strength, Xia Yu was not intimidated because the group also had several weaknesses.

The massive funds used for Jardine's acquisitions came from various sources: bank loans, business profits, and also from cashing out by listing subsidiaries!

Cashing out meant reducing the equity of the subsidiaries, but Jardine Matheson could not let go of control. Thus, they employed cross-holding methods.

Jardine Matheson Holdings controlled the Jardine Group, which in turn controlled other companies. Additionally, Jardine Holdings held a portion of Jardine Pacific's equity, while Jardine Pacific also held some equity in Jardine Holdings.

This cross-shareholding allowed Jardine Matheson to maintain control over its subsidiaries with a minimal shareholding.

However, over the years, problems had arisen!

Historically, as the Chinese business grew rapidly, the Keswick family recognized the crisis and established a third holding company, Jardine Strategic, in 1980. This created a cross-shareholding structure involving Jardine Holdings, Jardine Strategic, and Jardine Pacific to maintain control and fend off acquisitions by Chinese businesses.

But since it was still 1978, Jardine Strategic had not yet appeared, leaving room for maneuver.

After some consideration, Xia Yu had selected two targets for his strategy. These targets were not overly complex or massive but were within Xia Yu's capacity and were core enterprises of Jardine Matheson.

Once the operations began, it would definitely create chaos within Jardine Matheson!

"These are the two targets!" Xia Yu said with a smile, looking at the names of the two targets from the documents.