Jardine

"When we went public in ’72, the market went berserk. The shares just kept on going up. That’s when I got frightened that the market was way ahead of the value. And I said to my part- ners, “I created this, I conceived this, but you know there’s reality and then there are dreams. This is not reality.” The company was worth US$20 million, but on the Hong Kong market SPP was worth $100 million! Our shares went from $2.50 to $6. Jardine’s David Newbigging, one of my directors in SPP, gave a lunch for me. After lunch Newbigging, whom | adore, talked with me. He was a big shot, the Zaipan. He shut the door and said, “You know, Peter, Jardine’s going to have a fantastic year, because we sold much of our own SPP shares at a great profit, all because of your effort. Have you sold any shares?” I said, “Me? It’s my company.” He said, “I don’t give a damn, Peter, whose company it is. You cannot afford not to sell. You're a rich man on paper—you must also have some in cash.” I said, “I’m not a rich man, but I own a quarter of this company.” He said, “Peter, I’m older than you are. I’m wiser than you are. Please. The market is boiling. The demand is enormous. The market is still open for another hour. Why don't you take two million dollars’ worth of shares and put it in your bank?” I"

"The unique background allowed prominent merchants who built fortunes on opium, like Jardine, Matheson & Company’s Matheson and Jardine, Mody and Company’s Mody, Belilios and Company’s Belilios, and the Sassoon families, as well as the Ho family, to become influential figures of the era. Smoking opium was considered commonplace, nothing unusual."