The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

It’s Spring Again (1961).

As soon as Lin Zhichao returned from overseas, he found that spring had entered Hong Kong and his mood became even better.

In the office of Cheung Kong Holdings, Lin Zhichao looked at the news in the newspaper and suddenly felt a little funny. It turns out that it was Liao Baoshan who proudly announced in front of the media not long ago that his family wealth has exceeded 100 million Hong Kong dollars!

This is too arrogant!

I am not so arrogant. Could it be that my assets of about 3 billion Hong Kong dollars were due to my vegetarian diet?

Most of Lin Zhichao's assets are the foreign exchange earned from Global Shipping and Yangtze River Industrial Group. This is something he is proud of. Otherwise, how could he earn so much money in Hong Kong?

Of course, Lin Zhichao has always kept his wealth secret, and no one knows how much assets he has.

Just like Lin Zhichao in his previous life, he believed that Li Jiacheng's assets were already more than 150 billion US dollars, but the media only counted more than 30 billion US dollars.

This is because the media only counts the market value of the stock market, but in fact, Li Jiacheng’s private wealth is unknown, and the company’s net assets are much higher than the market value.

Liao Baoshan announced in such a high-profile manner that her wealth is over 100 million. In fact, it is easy to understand. He is a banker, and what he needs is popularity and influence, so that depositors can safely deposit their money in his bank. At the same time, these Chinese banks are seeking to build As the headquarters building of the bank, Liangsha is also beneficial to the reputation of the bank.

It's just that Liao Baoshan didn't expect that a crisis was already brewing.

I don't know how many people are jealous of him. He is so high-profile, but they don't know that he has no defense at all. With just a slight poke from others, his business empire will collapse.

Because of Liao Chong Hing Bank's 100 million deposits, Liao Baoshan may have used 80 million to invest in the property market and lend money. Only the two commercial buildings on Des Voeux Road in Central and Kowloon cost a lot of money.

"Boss, the sales of Jinxing Real Estate have improved somewhat. Should we sell two buildings on the Xiyun Street land? Although they are not in the same location, they are both in Causeway Bay." Hu Zhaoxu suggested.

There are a total of seven commercial and residential buildings on Xiwan Street in Causeway Bay. They were originally church sites, with a total area of ​​150,000 square feet. It has been in my hands for almost ten years, and construction only started in October last year.

Lin Zhichao said: "The sale of buildings one by one has delayed Jinxing Real Estate for a year. Now we only need normal competition. We hope that the seven buildings on Xiyun Street can be sold until the first half of next year."

In one year, Jinxing Real Estate's funds were frozen for 40 million Hong Kong dollars, which was already a huge loss. Now, if you boil a frog in warm water, it will still be cut with a dull knife.

However, Cheung Kong Properties sold more than 1,600 residential units last year, more than 300 more than Lin Zhichao expected.

Therefore, there are less than 1,500 residential units on Xiyun Street, and Lin Zhichao hopes to sell them in one and a half years. After all, during the Liao Chong Hing Bank run, I don't know if it will have any impact. If there is an impact, then suspend sales for those months.

As for the site on Ferry Street, the plot ratio is very high. 200,000 square feet can be used to build 3,000 residential units. Calculated at HK$50,000 per unit, the sales volume is 160 million yuan. (PS: real data, the earliest private housing estate in Hong Kong - Wenhua New Village)

Lin Zhichao remembers that a 20% reduction in plot ratio was announced in 1962 and officially came into effect in 1965. Because of this, Hong Kong real estate developers worked hard to build high-rise residential buildings in the past three years. After all, 20% of floor space will be reduced in the future. Under the condition of equal land.

In those three years, a large amount of bank funds were invested in real estate developers, which led to a big wave of bank runs in 1965.

Therefore, Lin Zhichao also plans to start the construction of the "Telford Garden" on Ferry Street by the end of this year, and the sales can start in the second half of next year, and it will be sold out in two and a half years.

Lin Zhichao took every step very steadily.

Since Cheung Kong's land is very cheap, the cost of floor space per square foot is about HK$10 cheaper than other real estate developers; while residential buildings in Hong Kong are HK$40 to HK$55 per square foot, which shows how profitable Cheung Kong is.

"Okay, then I'll sell a building first, what is the land purchase plan for this year?" Hu Zhaoxu asked.

Last year, Cheung Kong purchased only 130,000 square feet of land. If the development land on Xiwan Street and Ferry Street were removed, there would be less than 1.2 million square feet left.

Of the 1.2 million square feet, maybe another 100,000 square feet will be developed in 1963~1964, leaving about 1.1 million square feet.

Lin Zhichao said: "Now the land has returned to the peak in 1957, and the residential land in Hong Kong and Kowloon has reached more than 170 Hong Kong dollars per square foot. However, the funds on the company's account are still sufficient, and the rent has increased significantly. This year, it can Take over about 100,000 square feet of land!”

Hu Zhaoxu immediately said: "Okay, I have something to report to you!"

Saving 1.2 million square feet is enough.

After all, after 1967, the land was very cheap, and it would never exceed 100 Hong Kong dollars per square foot (in urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon).

It will be more advantageous to buy the bottom at that time!

At this time, Hong Kong's real estate industry was subject to restrictions - the economy was not developed enough, so it was difficult for the floor area per square foot to exceed 70 Hong Kong dollars per square foot (in urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon), and a house was only 40,000 to 70,000; that is, in At its peak in 1964, it was estimated to be around 50,000 to 80,000.

Therefore, there is no need to save too much land.

Jinxing Real Estate.

Zhang Yuliang is in a pretty good mood recently. The sales of the large-scale property he invested 40 million Hong Kong dollars in have finally begun to improve. At the same time, the unit price per square foot has increased to 50 Hong Kong dollars per square foot, which can be regarded as making up for the losses on the books. As for the books The loss is incalculable.

After all, if the funds were withdrawn last year, they might have invested in several new projects.

Moreover, the land on Paterson Street in Causeway Bay can actually be sold for 52 to 55 Hong Kong dollars per square foot; but due to the Cheung Kong Real Estate last year, the price here has not increased much, and Zhang Yuliang does not dare to gamble.

After all, if it cannot be sold, the loss will be even greater.

"General manager, Changjiang Real Estate has started again!" Seeing his nephew Zhang Shouyi breaking into Zhang Yuliang's office, he said urgently.

Zhang Yuliang was immediately troubled. He provoked Lin Zhichao, and the biggest loss was not the loss of the real estate. It was probably the introduction of his third brother and eldest nephew into the company, and he always felt that there was trouble following him.

"What's going on, you're in a panic?" Zhang Yuliang said unhappily.

Zhang Shouyi was stunned, then carefully handed the newspaper to Zhang Yuliang and said, "Changjiang Real Estate has another property for sale on Xiyun Street. I think they are all in Causeway Bay, and I'm afraid it will affect us again. And I went to inquire specifically. Over there, Changjiang Real Estate has a total of seven buildings, which is a large real estate."

Zhang Yuliang was also stunned, and quickly read the newspaper, only to find that it was so.

Suddenly, his face changed unpredictably.

After a long time, he said weakly: "There is a distance between them, and their prices are not cheap, so it doesn't matter!"

I can only comfort myself like this!

But in fact, he understands that Changjiang Real Estate has a good reputation, which may affect their real estate sales;

Of course, it's just an influence, Zhang Yuliang believes that it should be sold out this year.

"Oh, that's good!"

After Zhang Shouyi left, Zhang Yuliang slammed on the desk, venting his arrogance.

He didn't know when Lin Zhichao would end his attack on the Zhang family, it felt endless!

He also hated his third brother and his eldest nephew being in the way of the company and affecting his idea of ​​embezzling most of the family wealth!

Over the weekend, Lin Zhichao's father-in-law Tang Zhongyuan, mother-in-law Song Qiaoling, and brother-in-law Tang Xianqian came to visit No. 79 Villa in Deep Water Bay. As for Lin Zhichao, he also has a brother-in-law, Tang Youqian, who is still studying in London.

In the living room, the adults sat together while the children played outside.

Lin Zhichao teased Tang Xianqian: "My girlfriend will return to Hong Kong this summer, are you planning to get married directly, and then the couple will go to work in Africa together?"

Although Tang Xianqian was of the same generation in front of Lin Zhichao, in fact, he didn't have enough respect for Lin Zhichao to his own father.

So when he heard the joke, he scratched his head and said, "What do you think, brother-in-law?"

Lin Zhichao suddenly choked and said, "How can I get involved in this kind of thing! I don't even know the extent of your relationship in London. Can you give me some advice?"

He has never even seen the woman, he only knows that she is also a Hong Kong student studying in London, and her parents are relatively wealthy, otherwise they would not be able to afford to send her to study abroad.

Tang Xianqian really said: "We haven't reached the stage of marriage yet, but we have confirmed the relationship."

Tang Zhongyuan was stunned and said, "Didn't you say we just have a good impression of each other?"

Song Qiaoling immediately hit her husband, saying, "Why are you interfering so much?" Tang Zhongyuan suddenly lost his temper. He was very concerned about his son having a girlfriend. However, his son seemed to have found a supporter, and he didn't even tell himself, and he suddenly became a little discouraged.

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "Of course it will be two or three years. Your sister and I were in a much more urgent situation than you were, and it took almost two years. Young people, career is the most important thing. If she can understand you, you If you can persist for two or three years, everything will fall into place."

Sure enough, Tang Xianqian listened immediately and said, "I think so too. Things in Africa haven't stabilized yet, and I don't want to start a family right away."

Tang Zhongyuan and Tang Xianqian took turns going to Africa to inspect factories and deal with interpersonal relationships; in fact, they have only invested in 2 textile factories and 1 dyeing factory, and they are still in the trial stage.

After all, Nigeria is a ‘very big country’. I am afraid that it can open more than a dozen textile factories, several dyeing factories, etc. before it can be considered the real ‘African Textile King’.

When Tang Zhongyuan talked about business, he temporarily ignored his son's emotional affairs and said: "After Nigeria became independent last year, I think the situation has been very stable in the past six months, and I am thinking about expanding the business!"

Lin Zhichao thought for a while and said: "It is best to expand slowly. The military in this kind of country is prone to coups. I suggest you build a good relationship with the military, such as letting them provide protection, give benefits and so on. In short, no one is here now If I fight with you, I can open 1 to 2 factories a year and advance step by step."

He will not advise on textile professional matters, only on risk control issues.

Tang Zhongyuan really listened. After all, it was impossible not to believe this son-in-law's vision.

"It makes sense. This is indeed safer! In the past two years, we have established a good network of relationships there, and the military also has connections. Recently, the Nigerian government intends to encourage us to invest more. They are very interested in our factory. welcome."

Why don't you welcome it? Billions of pounds of foreign exchange cannot be spent, and the country's industrial base is weak. If foreign capital builds factories, not only can cotton be turned into cloth, but many jobs can also be created.

Afterwards, everyone was talking about career matters!

Oriental Group currently has 6,000 garment workers and is the largest garment factory in Hong Kong. Its products are sold in South Africa, Nigeria, Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia. In the field of garments, it ranks second and third combined, with an annual profit of nearly 10 million Hong Kong dollars. The annual profit of the entire Eastern Group has reached 13-15 million Hong Kong dollars, making it a large industrial group in Hong Kong.

From this point of view, the added value of textiles is the lowest, followed by ready-made clothes, but the added value of plastic flowers is higher; of course, the added value of plastics, toys, etc. is also pretty good.

Generally speaking, the added value of textiles is low, but it cannot stand up to the high demand in the global market, so it is the largest industry in Hong Kong. At present, Hong Kong's garment industry has just begun to develop officially, and it is expected to catch up with the textile industry within ten years.

"I heard that the commercial land in Central has risen to 1,300 Hong Kong dollars per square foot!" Tang Zhongyuan asked.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "It's true!"

Tang Zhongyuan clicked his tongue secretly, and said, "Such a building is worth 30 to 40 million Hong Kong dollars, isn't it?"

Lin Zhichao smiled and said, "Could it be that father-in-law wants to invest in a building?"

A central building is a burden to a large real estate company. Take Liao Po-shan for example. He has invested in two buildings in Central, one is only ten storeys high, and the other is expected to be 24 storeys high. He also built a building in Kowloon. These properties will occupy about 40 million funds, and this is the land he bought two years ago.

Although Tang Zhongyuan is also powerful, it is estimated that the net assets of the entire Oriental Group, plus his cash flow, are only 60 to 70 million Hong Kong dollars.

"That's not true, at least not now. I'm more willing to invest in industry now!"

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "My father-in-law is very sensible. If we do it in Nigeria, you will be the real 'King of Africa' and you will have a good harvest of both ready-made clothing and textiles."

No one was surprised to hear Lin Zhichao's tone. It was his son-in-law who was helping his father-in-law expand his career. Both families knew that Tang Zhongyuan's textile business was initially supported by the Yangtze River Zipper; Tang Zhongyuan's ready-made clothes were a 'betrothal gift' from Lin Zhichao, his son-in-law; and Lin Zhichao also advised the Nigerian business.

Even if he wanted to cover up these things, it was impossible to cover them up; what's more, in Tang Zhongyuan's own opinion, his son-in-law's business skills and achievements in the industrial field could definitely serve as his 'master' - the master.

"We really need to specialize in these two industries! In the textile field, Dongfang Group was once the top three, but later fell behind and was almost fifth. I have been reviewing myself. In comparison, cousin Bingyuan's textile business, He took the lead, and now the second and third companies combined are almost the same, with estimated assets of 40 to 50 million. According to him, he plans to go public in the next few years."

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "It has not been cost-effective to go public in recent years! Of course, father-in-law, please don't talk nonsense. This is my family's opinion. If you say something wrong, you will offend your cousin."

Tang Zhongyuan nodded, and couldn't help but extinguish the idea of ​​​​following the competition, and said: "This is natural!"

If Tang Bingyuan was listed before 1964, the maximum funds could be used to purchase equipment and machinery for upgrading, and how much development could it achieve.

If his father-in-law listens to him, he will follow the path of Nan Feng Group's "Chen Tinghua" and Huaxia Dyeing Factory's "Cha Jimin" and become the most successful businessman in the transformation of the textile industry.

In other words, he would encourage Tang Zhongyuan to acquire the "Type B official letter for land certificate" in the New Territories in 1967, and slowly enter the real estate industry. It went public in 1972 to raise funds.

At least, Tang Zhongyuan's family will not lose to the Chen Tinghua family in the previous life, or even win more than twice.

After all, just marrying Xu Caiying to him back then was already a kind of kindness; after all, there is no reason for a daughter of the Tang family to be a concubine, even in a bungalow.

But now it seems that few people gossip about this matter anymore.

As Lin Zhichao's status increased, everyone felt that Tang Zhongyuan made the right choice.

at the end of the month.

Lin Zhichao came to the office of Sandus, the general manager of HSBC. The general manager is only the actual head of HSBC, but there is also the chairman of HSBC; of course, the general manager of HSBC will be the next chairman of the board of directors.

It is expected that Sandus will not truly become the top leader of HSBC in two or three years, but it will be enough for Lin Zhichao to use. As early as Sandus was just the deputy manager of the import and export department, he was already considered a senior executive in HSBC. After all, he was already scheduled to be the project manager at that time.

At that time, the import and export department was more important than the project department, because it was affected by the Peninsular War; but now, HSBC has long divided the import and export department into the "Import Department" and the "Export Department."

After taking a sip of tea, Lin Zhichao crossed his legs, leaned on the sofa, and said relaxedly: "Uniworld Shipping will order two oil tankers this year. Japan said it can build 130,000-ton oil tankers at a cost of US$11 million each."

Universal Shipping already owns four 56,000-ton oil tankers and six 103,000-ton oil tankers (two of which are under construction); its debt is US$12 million (including the final payment for shipbuilding), but the interest rate is only 6%.

In other words, HSBC is willing to provide oneworld shipping and Hong Kong Airlines with an ultra-low interest rate of 6%, which is relatively good. After all, the interest rates on bank deposits are much higher than this.

Sandus said: "There is no problem in terms of loans, but we will provide low-interest loans of 6%."

Then, he changed the topic and said: "Global Shipping can repay all its loans this year. And next year's profit may reach more than 13 million US dollars, so I am thinking, why not order four oil tankers?"

Along the way, he has seen Lin Zhichao's super vision, which can not only analyze the shipping situation, but also seize shipping opportunities. At the same time, Lin Zhichao is also good at building good relations with governments in various countries.

With such good conditions, if HSBC invests in shipping, it will naturally seek Lin Zhichao to deepen cooperation.

After Lin Zhichao thought for a while, he said: "Shipbuilding this year is relatively cheap, but next year I am afraid the price will have to rise. Of course, I believe that shipping will also come out of the trough, and the market for new oil tankers can reach a 20% return rate. Therefore, if Huanyu's debt is higher, it will No problem, just build four ships, but two of 100,000 tons and two of 130,000 tons are more reasonable."

A 20% return rate means that the cost of a new ship can be repaid in five years; of course, there is a prerequisite, that is, no accidents occur. The accident of the oil tanker is not bad. The Japanese shipyard will bear full responsibility. If the senior seaman operates improperly, there is only hope. Insurance compensation is sufficient.

Global Shipping also had an accident when a second-hand cargo ship ran aground. Not only did it have to compensate the owner of the cargo, but it also lost a second-hand cargo ship. But luck was good. The insurance funds were enough to compensate the cargo owner. Even the second-hand cargo ship could also compensate part of it. .

Generally speaking, Global Shipping's management is very good and its losses are low.

Sandus smiled and said: "You are a professional in these, we will not interfere!"

Today, Universal Shipping has four oil tankers of 56,000 tons and six oil tankers of 103,000 tons, with a total tonnage of less than 850,000 tons. If four more ships are built, it will only be more than 1.3 million tons.

To make a fortune with HSBC, the first is to strengthen ties with British capital, after all, British capital allies are still needed now; the second is to strengthen cooperation with HSBC, which will help HSBC to be used by him in the future; the third is to reduce the number of HSBC banks Invest in other shipping companies to avoid HSBC supporting new shipping kings.

After all, if HSBC is optimistic about shipping and Lin Zhichao is not willing to make them rich, they can immediately increase their support for Bao Yugang or support other shipowners.

According to Lin Zhichao's plan, the tonnage of World Shipping should be increased to 3 million tons before 1967.

Global shipping requires 8 million tons; Asian shipping requires 1 million tons.

After a simple communication, Lin Zhichao left Sundarshi's office. Today, his relationship with Sundashi is very close, and he is given gold every year. After all, Sandus also needs to make money.