Hong Kong Island Old Events

One month later.

In Central, "Miao Shengjin", the general manager of the Chinese Police Fund, was sitting in his office and said: "He Sheng, the Star Ferry Company is competing with Yau Ma Tei Ferry for a dangerous goods transport franchise license."

"If Star Ferry obtains the license, there is little hope of acquiring another Star Ferry."

Miao Shengjin graduated from the University of London with a major in finance. He worked in two foreign banks, Citigroup and HSBC. His previous position was the head of the fund department of Hang Seng Bank. Later, at the invitation of Luo Wenhao, he came to serve as the general manager of the China Police Fund, responsible for the specific implementation of commercial projects, and reported directly to He Dingxian, chairman of the foundation.

He and Mr. Ji Zhengming, chairman of the "Ho Ting-xian Charitable Foundation", can be regarded as Ho Ting-xian's two financial generals.

When He Dingxian heard the news, he crossed his legs and asked solemnly: "Which of the two companies has the greater advantage at the moment?"

"The Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company still has greater advantages." Miao Shengjin said: "The Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company participated in the application for a dangerous goods transportation license two years ago, and specially purchased special types of vessels that can provide dangerous goods transportation services."

"But last month, the Star Ferry Company urgently acquired three dangerous goods cargo ships from France and invested a large amount of lobbying funds in the Secretariat. Now the results are different."

He Dingxian took a puff of cigarette and asked aloud: "Is the dangerous goods transport license so important?"

"This license is definitely not as profitable as passenger transport." Miao Shengjin said with a wry smile: "However, as the fourth line of the island's ferry industry, there will definitely be some profits in the future."

"There is no bridge between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Gases, liquids, and solids that are flammable, explosive, and harmful to the human body, such as diesel, oxygen, and oxides, are all classified as dangerous goods."

"In the past ten years, Hong Kong Island used less oil. It was brought directly to the port by ship and then unloaded to the two districts. Now with the larger throughput of Victoria Harbor, many dangerous goods arrive in Kowloon first and then enter Hong Kong Island. I need to go across the sea during this period.”

"Hong Kong Island is only considering issuing licenses for transporting dangerous goods to ferry companies."

Miao Shengjin didn't get to the point of this matter. The reason why dangerous brand photos make money is not the traffic between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. In the late 1960s, Hong Kong Island will spend 320 million to build a 1.8-kilometer undersea tunnel, which was opened to traffic in 1973, connecting the two districts. transportation lines between.

The ferry industry will face its first impact, and its opponent is the Hung Hom Tunnel.

Just relying on the transportation of dangerous goods between the two districts, the franchise license cannot make any money at all. However, the Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company relied on its dangerous goods franchise license and continued to operate until 2005 despite continuous losses in the passenger transport business.

In the face of extremely difficult operating conditions, the company sold off its exclusive line from Tsim Sha Tsui to Wan Chai without selling its dangerous goods transport license. Why? Because Hong Kong Island also has an outlying island area with more than 20 islands, including the well-known Lamma Island, Lantau Island, Cheung Chau, etc.

There are tens of thousands of people living in these places, and every household will use gas and oil in the future. It is impossible for the Hong Kong government to lay pipelines to every island, so it will naturally need to use special ships to transport them. Until the future, vaporization and oil products used in outlying island areas will be transported by ships.

Of course, small wheels cannot directly load dangerous goods. For example, gasoline is transported in sealed cans, and gas is loaded into the vehicle before being loaded onto the vehicle. In addition, dangerous goods used by some schools and departments on Hong Kong Island also need to be checked by ferry companies.

With the gradual development of outlying island areas, dangerous goods franchise licenses are becoming more and more profitable. Although the transportation of dangerous goods will never be as profitable as the passenger transport service, getting a license is equivalent to getting an iron rice bowl. Currently, Hong Kong Island only issues one dangerous goods franchise license. Any idiot knows that you can make money.

It was normal for Miao Jinsheng not to remember the residents of the Islands District, because when it comes to business in Hong Kong Island, everyone only looks at Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. The New Territories are rural, and the Islands District is a desert island. He Dingxian did remember that there were people living in the outlying island area, but he only saw the competition for licenses. He didn't think much about it and said: "Fight!"

"Whoever the Star Ferry Company asks to give money to, we will give money to their boss. If they give 100,000 yuan, we will give 200,000 yuan!"

"It's not like you don't have money. Do you really think our holding is just for fun?"

Miao Shengjin was stunned by the big boss's wealth, and nodded: "I understand, Director He."

He Dingxian picked up the cigarette butt, hummed, and said arrogantly: "Although I can't find out whether I can make back the money I spent, but we must not give up what our opponents want to grab. Why did the Yau Ma Tei Ferry prepare so early? Is the Star Ferry Company indifferent to the bidding?”

"Oh, they may think that the license to specialize in dangerous goods may not necessarily make money, or they think that sooner or later they will be able to squeeze in the Yau Ma Tei Ferry. When the time comes, they will acquire the license and the route together, and they will make more money."

"Now, they are in a hurry and jumping up to fight for the license. It is obvious that they are frightened!"

"Surprised by our strength."

Miao Shengjin adjusted his glasses and smiled politely: "The big boss has a keen eye."

Although He Dingxian's speech was direct and straightforward, he had to admit that it was strategically correct.

When doing business, as long as you have enough capital, sometimes you really don't need to think too much. In every field that your competitors want to grab, sooner or later you can squeeze your opponents' development space to zero. Rival companies are being squeezed out at every turn and have no prospects at all. Isn't acquisition a matter of time?

"By the way, let's do some more pretense and find a junior official from the Development Department and ask him to propose building a cross-sea tunnel in Hung Hom." He Dingxian thought of a damaging move and chuckled: "Let the Commercial Daily write a front page headline. , let’s see if the Star Ferry Company dares to spend a lot of money to fight for it.”

The emergence of the Hung Hom Cross Harbor Tunnel will end the dividend period of the ferry industry. Of course, this does not mean that the ferry industry will be unprofitable, whether it is normal passenger transportation or tourism that can be carried out later. The income is still very impressive.

After all, the population of Hong Kong Island has grown so rapidly that major traffic jams occurred within a few years of the completion of the Hung Hom Tunnel. Sometimes crossing the sea is faster than taking a boat.

"Sheng Bao, I want to order two new ferries for the operation of the ferry company." Three days later, He Dingxian found a new favorite in the shipping industry, Bao Yugang, who was rising to fame. In less than two years, Bao Yugang developed Jin'an Shipping Company, which had only one cargo ship, into a company with ten cargo ships, with a total displacement of 200,000 tons.

Among the new generation of shipowners on Hong Kong Island, Bao Yukang's tonnage has grown the most.

Bao Yugang smiled and said: "Sheng He, how much does a ferry cost? With Mr. He's financial resources, it is no problem to replace all the ferries of the Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company."

However, Ho Ting-yin knows that to improve the competitiveness of Yau Ma Tei Ferry, it is useless to just focus on a license plate. A dangerous brand photo is the icing on the cake. It can help Yau Ma Tei Ferry make money, but it cannot help Yau Ma Tei Ferry annex the Star Ferry.

The shipping industry needs to get back to its roots.

Those who transport goods must transport goods well, and those who transport people must transport people well. The reason why the Star Ferry dominates Hong Kong Island is due to sufficient funds and rapid development. Another reason is its good service! As a ferry company with an independent terminal, the Star Ferry has the most ships and the most convenient routes, so naturally more people come to visit.

Yau Ma Tei Ferry used to have no money to buy new passenger ships, nor did it have the money to build a pier and provide good services. Now that Ho Ting-yin wants to give the Yau Ma Tei Ferry a new look and directly compete with the Star Ferry in passenger transport services, it is natural to change the ferry.

"I don't want an ordinary ferry." He Dingxian said with a smile: "I want to customize two double-decker ferries, five ferries with a capacity of 500 passengers, and each ferry must be equipped with air conditioning."

Bao Yugang looked stunned and said suspiciously: "He Sheng, how much does it cost to make money from air-conditioning for ferries?"

"Loss money and earn money." He Dingxian took out the cigarette case in his pocket, took out one and handed over the money: "It's okay if the ship cost is higher, as long as the passenger flow can be there, you will make money. After all, the price of air conditioners is dead , one unit costs tens of thousands, and water and people are alive.”

Air conditioning is the top luxury item in electrical appliances these days. In an era when ordinary people are reluctant to use electric lights, who is willing to spend electricity to blow up an air conditioner? If you give an air conditioner to ordinary citizens, they will not be able to afford electricity.

If Ho Ting-yin can operate air-conditioned ferries while keeping fares unchanged, Yau Ma Tei Ferry will definitely become popular.

Of course, one advantage of shipboard air conditioning is that it is powered by the engine and can burn oil instead of electricity. Although it will increase fuel consumption costs, it is acceptable to only turn on the air conditioner in summer to dilute the cost. Customers can naturally experience the sincerity of Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company through a quarter of enjoyment.

In addition, the current mainstream ferries on Hong Kong Island have a passenger capacity of between 200 and 300. The 500-passenger ferries have not yet been launched. Double-decker ferries are a new product in the 1980s.

Bao Yugang saw that Boss He was going to make a big splash in the ferry industry, so he thought about it and said, "In this case, I will contact the shipbuilding company in Japan for you."

In recent years, the Japanese shipbuilding industry has been reborn by relying on the dividends from maritime trade. It has the top shipbuilding level in Asia and the largest shipyard. From small ferries to large cruise ships of tens of thousands of tons, we accept orders for everything and build all kinds of ships.

With current shipbuilding technology, it is actually very simple to build a double-decker ferry with air conditioning. It's just that the ferry industry has not developed to the point of pursuing service before, so there is no need to actively increase costs. He Dingxian took the initiative to enter the ferry industry with huge sums of money, allowing the industry to enter full competition in advance, which will naturally push up the service level of the industry.

Bao Yugang has business dealings with Nishima Mitsui Shipyard, and has two large cruise ships with a displacement of 30,000 tons, which are being prepared for construction. In the end, the Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company signed a contract with the commercial representative of Mitsui Shipyard, and signed a shipbuilding contract at a price of HK$200,000 for a single-deck air-conditioned ferry and HK$370,000 for a double-deck air-conditioned ferry. In addition, Mitsui Shipyard must guarantee delivery within two years and undertake free maintenance for five years.