The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Friday, August 31st.

Lin Zhichao came to Global Shipping Lines in the morning and sat in his spacious office, looking in a good mood.

He went to London in mid-August and purchased a total of eight second-hand ships:

Among them, the load capacity of four cargo ships is only 7,500 tons (total tonnage of 30,000 tons), and the price is between 550,000 and 600,000 US dollars each;

Among them, four cargo ships have a load capacity of 10,000 to 12,000 tons (total tonnage of 46,000 tons) and a price of 650,000 to 750,000 US dollars.

The total price of the eight cargo ships is US$5.2 million (gross tonnage 76,000 tons), and the ships are all between 15 and 25 years old.

This time, Lin Zhichao adopted a one-time payment without installment loans; HSBC loan was 3 million US dollars, plus 2.2 million US dollars of working capital expenses on the company's account.

At the same time, Lin Zhichao went to Japan again this week and negotiated long-term lease intentions for six ships:

Among them, four 10,000-ton cargo ships are all leased to the Japanese Shipping Company for a five-year lease with an annual rent of US$3.5 million;

Two of the 7,500-ton freighters were leased to Yamaguchi Steamship for a five-year period, with an annual rent of US$1.25 million.

The rents are very NICE! The market is still very good!

Theoretically, it only takes 12 to 15 months for these six ships to pay back their investment.

If Lin Zhichao hadn't proposed a five-year contract and a three-year lease according to the customer's ideas, the capital would have been repaid within 12 months.

As for the five-year contract, the customers have no objection. Since Japan's economy is developing at an observable speed, both customers are very confident and have high expectations for Japan's future shipping situation.

In addition, Japan Shipping is still short of ships, and the Far East is also short of ships, so it is natural for everyone to reach a mutually satisfactory contract.

There are still two 7,500-ton cargo ships left to open routes from Asia to Europe.

Lin Zhichao was in the office, calculating financial problems:

Originally, as soon as September's rent was collected, the previous debt was cleared (in theory), and Global Shipping had a deadweight of 126,000 tons (12 ships).

Now the boat purchase cost 5.2 million US dollars, which is equivalent to debt (convert it). Starting from October, Global Shipping can make a monthly profit of 1 million to 1.1 million US dollars. In this way, all debts can be paid off in February next year, and Global Shipping will have a load capacity of 202,000 tons, a full 20 ships.

Of course, these are all based on data. In fact, debt will not be repaid early. Moreover, next year (1952) is very critical, the market is still there, and it is the best time for expansion.

"Dong dong"

"Come in"

Chen Tianan, assistant to the general manager, walked in and said to Lin Zhichao: "Boss, it's time for the meeting!"

Lin Zhichao nodded, then stood up and walked towards the conference room.

Global Shipping has become a modern company, with various departments and branches forming a huge management organization. The nearly 700 seafarers are also large enough.

If the media learned about Global Shipping's strength, it would be no less than dropping a depth charge, shocking everyone in Hong Kong.

Of course, Lin Zhichao doesn't want to be that famous, so it's better to keep a low profile. In the eyes of outsiders, global shipping, which is seven or eight 10,000-ton cargo ships, is already a symbol of strength, and this is enough.

After arriving at the conference room, more than a dozen core executives looked at Lin Zhichao with excitement on their faces. Global shipping has developed so rapidly, and they all admire Lin Zhichao's courage and mind.

None of the shipowners in Hong Kong thought of going to Japan to seek long-term chartering and establish a trusting relationship. They almost all stayed in Hong Kong, waiting for customers to come to Hong Kong for leasing. Even when Japanese customers come to Hong Kong, these ship owners will only choose one-way short-term charter, or six months to one year, which is considered the longest term. They only focus on high short-term returns, but have no brains to think about gaining the trust of banks.

Therefore, Lin Zhichao is taking advantage of the bright future of the times to reduce dimensions and attack competitors.

Of course, there is another reason, that is, when Lin Zhichao invested in shipping, his capital was more than 9 million Hong Kong dollars, which is quite remarkable. The high starting point also resulted in particularly rapid development.

And there are still a series of opportunities, such as buying Liberty Ship and Victory Ship cheaply, for example, no major ship accidents have occurred yet.

In short, success is the accumulation of various factors.

"Almost everyone knows that the company bought a total of eight freighters this time, and the company has reached a new level."

Just after Lin Zhichao finished speaking, everyone couldn't help applauding and motivating, feeling the exciting moment.

Then, he went on to say, "The bigger the company, the greater our responsibility. Sailing is a dangerous business, and our task is to reduce the risk"

It is already a cliché, but Lin Zhichao still emphasizes it all the time. Sometimes when an accident occurs, the loss is in various aspects, and the tenant will not even pay the rent for that period of time, and give a certain impression of difference.

Of course, if it is a ship accident, usually take a plane and then take a small boat to rush to repair it, and it will be repaired in 3 to 5 days without affecting the mission. At present, Global Shipping has not encountered this kind of accident, but once it does happen, Lin Zhichao will definitely rush to the destination in person to participate in emergency repairs.

Global shipping is now the period to gain the trust of customers, it is best not to have accidents.

After exhorting, Lin Zhichao found that everyone was recording, and nodded secretly in his heart, the attitude was extremely important.

Next, Lin Zhichao asked: "Can the senior staff of the eight ships ensure that nothing goes wrong?"

One characteristic of Lin Zhichao is that he attaches great importance to marine engineering, that is, the management of offshore engines, mainly the daily maintenance and overhaul of ships. Having a good team of marine engineers will save you a lot of trouble and even reduce the time you spend in port.

In order to win over such talents, Lin Zhichao turned into a double-faced man and called himself a Shanghai-style son-in-law in front of the marine engineers from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. So much so that everyone on board said that the boss was from the same village.

Deputy General Manager Feng Yongfa said: "No problem! Everyone is already engaged in this industry, and we have learned systematically through six months of practice."

Six months of practical learning is the key. They have been receiving training since April, and their level will definitely improve a lot.

Later, Lin Zhichao listened to the work reports of various departments, discussed many details, and felt relieved after making perfect preparations for the eight additional ships.

The next day was the beginning of September.

Lin Zhichao came to Yangtze River Industrial, and a small groundbreaking ceremony was held in an open space to officially start construction of a five-story industrial building.

This industrial building is the tallest industrial building in Hong Kong. It is not that Hong Kong cannot build five-story industrial factories, but most factory owners feel that the cost is too high and it is unnecessary.

As long as it does not exceed five levels, no complicated approval is required.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, Lin Zhichao said to Huang Changhong, the engineering manager of Cheung Kong Holdings: "Quality is very important. There is no need to rush the construction deadline."

At present, Yangtze River Industrial's factory area is still sufficient, with more than 130,000 square feet.

Huang Changhong nodded and said: "I understand, we must maintain quality."

Lin Zhichao asked again: "How many workers are there in total working on this project?"

Huang Changhong said: "More than fifty workers. Now that Hong Kong's real estate is at a stagnation stage, many construction workers have no jobs. The more than fifty workers are all skilled workers and former contractors."

Lin Zhichao sighed and said: "There is no way! House prices have dropped to about 25 Hong Kong dollars, and only five floors can be built. Who is willing to take the risk. But we at Cheung Kong Holdings must take advantage of these few years to learn more Just keep a low profile and opportunities will always come."

Huang Changhong nodded. He believed that the boss would definitely develop real estate in a big way, because the boss still had a land of more than 200,000 square feet. At the same time, the boss not only sponsors employees to study abroad, but also encourages everyone to study more and looks forward to the company's rapid development.

In fact, Cheung Kong Industries has been insisting on development, and it is just "speculating on the four hot meats". It only builds about ten tenement buildings a year. It's all about renovating some old houses that are in bad condition, and releasing them with a small amount of profit.

After chatting for a while, Lin Zhichao left the construction site and walked towards the Yangtze River Industry office.

The company with the largest number of workers in the entire Tsuen Wan is not Cheung Kong Industries, but Oriental Textiles, which is the factory of Lin Zhichao's father-in-law. Since textiles and garments are large employers, Tang Zhongyuan can support nearly 800 people under his hands.

Of course, if Yangtze Industries includes the Xingdao branch factory, the number of employees will exceed 800, reaching a scale of nearly 1,000.

"Boss, there is another manufacturer that produces plastic bottles, called Changhe Plastic Factory. Their prices are cheaper than ours. But the quality is a little worse." In the morning, Tao Derong came to Lin Zhichao's office to report.

Lin Zhichao was stunned. This Li Jiacheng actually noticed this kind of business opportunity. He was indeed a Chaoshan boss in his previous life.

At the same time, Lin Zhichao is also relatively happy, because he now has the genes of a successful boss and no longer relies solely on the memory of the time traveler.

A very simple proof, look at the American "Times Plastics" magazine, there are definitely more than two people, Lin Zhichao and Li Jiacheng, but they can overcome all difficulties to independently develop machines. Others believe that the United States will not export machines to Hong Kong at present, and the machine is a bit expensive, so they should simply give up.

"Since there are competitors, we naturally have to adopt a low-price strategy, mass production, and a small profit but quick turnover strategy. Our factory is big, so we are not afraid of losing to the generals!"

This is Lin Zhichao's strategy to weaken Li Jiacheng's power bit by bit.

The most important point is that the Changjiang Plastic Factory must first introduce plastic flowers. In this way, Li Jiacheng's Changhe Plastic will at most be just one of the other copycat factories.

Then Li Jiacheng's real estate strength will be greatly weakened in the future. After all, plastic flowers brought Li Jiacheng tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars in profits in his previous life.

Lin Zhichao had no grudge against Li Jiacheng, and he himself would not beat them to death with a stick. It was just a matter of pure business competition to weaken his opponents. Anyone else would do this, such as the Charter King, Dong Haoyun and other shipping kings.

Tao Derong nodded and said, "I thought so too! But it was originally a one-man business that could make a lot of money. I didn't expect that someone would come to share a piece of the pie so soon."

Lin Zhichao waved his hand and said: "The plastic factory does not consider making big profits. I need you to develop steadily, ensure quality, and accumulate customers. Stable development is not necessarily worse than rapid progress."

"Been taught a lesson!"

Changhe Plastic Factory, Li Jiacheng returned to the factory excitedly and signed many more orders. Because his plastic bottles were sold cheaply, many shops and grocery stores made large purchases, which made him nearly 1,000 yuan in a short period of time.

At this time, another salesperson came back from the outside, saw Li Jiacheng, and rushed to meet him.

"Boss, the plastic bottles of Changjiang Plastic Factory have suddenly dropped sharply, and the price has been reduced by more than 30%."

Li Jiacheng was shocked. He had only been selling for more than a week, and others quickly took targeted measures.

"This price!" Li Jiacheng muttered.

Then, he felt a little bitter on his face. He had made a profit at this price, but it was no longer a huge profit.

"Come on, and we try to avoid big wholesalers and big stores, specialize in small grocers and small stores, and avoid their markets."

"OK."

Li Jiacheng understood that others deliberately lowered the price this time. Of course, after he produced it, he also gave a lower price than the Yangtze Plastic Factory. Because he felt that Changjiang Plastic Factory thought it was exclusively producing and therefore sold it at a high price. Now that he can produce it, of course the price cannot be the same.

After the salesperson left, Li Jiacheng sat in his seat with some panic. Overall, his business venture was actually going smoothly.

You will make money in the first year, and you can make further progress in the second year.

However, he felt that he had also experienced some things, such as the rise in raw materials and the monopoly status of large factories.

"It doesn't matter! The plastics industry has great prospects. One day, I will seize the biggest opportunity and stand out from the plastics industry."

Finally, Li Jiacheng regained his fighting spirit.

"This time the glue bottle can be regarded as an improvement, and it is not without gain."