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China Engineers (Holdings) Limited
In 1972, the now very profitable HARPERS INTERNATIONAL was sold to the Singapore-based SIME DARBY LIMITED and merged into THE CHINA ENGINEERS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED (CHINA ENGINEERS), a diversified company then listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and controlled by SIME DARBY.
The sale of HARPERS realised HK$140 million for Mr Wyllie and his two partners, netting Mr Wyllie his first major corporate dealing profit, in excess of HK$46 million. Shortly after this, Mr Wyllie purchased a seat on the then rapidly expanding Hong Kong Stock Exchange and established his personal investment holding company, ASIA SECURITIES LIMITED.
Prior to the acquisition of HARPERS INTERNATIONAL LTD and its merger with CHINA ENGINEERS, SIME DARBY had been very active in the Hong Kong market acquiring shareholding control of property and various other businesses, including the AMOY CANNING CORPORATION LTD a long established food-manufacturing and soft drink company. Like HARPERS, these businesses were all grouped through subsidiaries under CHINA ENGINEERS.
Because of poor communication and autocratic personnel policies which SIME DARBY'S Chief Executive in Hong Kong applied during that period, a situation quickly developed whereby key people in senior management positions throughout the expanded group either resigned or became completely unco-operative.
These problems, together with inherent and poor financial controls in some of the businesses, soon led CHINA ENGINEERS into substantial operating losses and, in December 1974, the group reported a loss for the first six months of that year of HK$41.3 million.
Although small by comparison with losses since reported by public companies in Hong Kong, that was then a very significant loss indeed and it came as a shock to many people, not least the controlling shareholder, SIME DARBY.
SIME DARBY in Singapore was experiencing its own problems at that time as the former Chairman had been arrested by the local authorities and charged with commercial crime. In October 1974, prior to the public announcement of CHINA ENGINEERS' half year loss, the new Chairman of SIME DARBY Singapore, Mr James Bywater, visited Hong Kong and offered Mr Wyllie a generous salary plus an option over 10 million shares at par if he would take on the job of restoring the Hong Kong group to profitability.
This was Mr Wyllie's first involvement in the rescue of a publicly listed company, and in November, following the sacking of the previous Chief Executive and the retirement of the former Chairman, Mr Wyllie took over as Chairman and Chief Executive of CHINA ENGINEERS.
At the time of Mr Wyllie's appointment the market capitalisation of CHINA ENGINEERS was just HK$43.7 million. So successful was the recovery in 1975 and in the ensuing years, SIME DARBY successfully bid to privatise the CHINA ENGINEERS group in July 1979, valuing the company at HK$605 million.