The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

A New Year Comes (1966).

After New Year's Day, Lin Zhichao brought Huang Changhong, Li Paulo and other management personnel from the construction field to the naval dockyard.

This piece of land is indeed very large, but planning it is difficult because the Hong Kong government also has requirements and planning for roads. Therefore, the communication time between the two parties may take several years. Fortunately, Lin Zhichao originally planned to delay it for a few years.

Hong Kong's economic boom took place in the 1970s, and a solid foundation could only be laid in the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, the construction time of the entire naval dockyard was set at 15 to 20 years.

"This land (the former Far East Financial Center) is to be built with a five-star luxury hotel, designed in the shape of a sailboat. Instead of using steel beams as the entire structure, the cost is too expensive, the top of the building is designed in the shape of a curved sail. That’s it.” Lin Zhichao transformed into a professional designer and commanded.

At this time, a cooperative architectural designer has not yet been found. Lin Zhichao plans to invite world-renowned designers to cooperate through bidding; of course, Lin Zhichao will give a general framework.

Huang Changhong looked at the land and reminded: "Boss, a small road should be left in this east-west direction. This is what the Planning Department of the Hong Kong Government means!"

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "I know! Therefore, there is no hope of merging these two pieces of land (Far East Financial Center and Lippo Building), but the road can be moved diagonally to the south, and the north-south roads here can also be moved to the northeast. One point, reserving an area of ​​about 40,000 square feet for the sailing hotel can easily meet the Hong Kong government’s requirements for roads.”

Huang Changhong, Li Paulo and others all echoed, in this way, a first-class hotel building can definitely be built with 40,000 square feet.

What is the concept of a 40,000-square-foot site?

Taking the skyscrapers of later generations in Hong Kong as an example, almost none of them exceed 20,000 square feet per floor, and most of them are only 10,000 or more than 10,000 square feet per floor.

"In this way, this hotel can be built about 50 stories high, with each floor covering an area of ​​15,000 to 18,000 square feet. A two- or three-story annex building will be built next to it to serve as a hotel lobby and restaurant."

In fact, the Far East Financial Center in its previous life was expanded and raised, occupying part of the land area of ​​'Lippo Center Tower AB', but not much in fact. The main thing is to expand the whole to the east, and this part of the naval dock land belongs to A long land that runs east-west.

"Then what about this side?" Huang Changhong pointed to the site of the former Lippo Center.

Lin Zhichao looked at it and remembered that in his previous life, Tower AB (Twin Towers) of Lippo Center was rated as the 24th ugliest building in the United States. He thought that it was better not to leave it; it was too modern, and to put it bluntly, it was too stiff.

"The floor space of this site has actually been transferred to the Burj Al Arab Hotel, but an office building can still be built. The height can reach more than 40 floors, and the shape can be rectangular. The property area is almost over 12,000 square feet per floor."

In fact, the "floor area" of Lippo Center Tower AB and Far East Financial Center in the previous life was swapped; the total floor area of ​​the Lippo Center Twin Towers in the previous life was almost 880,000 square feet, and that of Far East Center was 480,000 square feet.

The Burj Al Arab Hotel is approximately over 800,000 square feet and is a first-class address on the seafront in Admiralty, Central. If Lin Chi-chao succeeds in building the Navy Dockyard, the value of the entire site will be as good as that of all the buildings in the heart of Landmark, or even higher.

Of course, the cost must be very high, with an estimated construction cost of more than 2 billion, which was still in the 1970s.

"The boss's design is very beautiful! It not only highlights the dignity of Burj Al Arab Hotel, but also does not waste the land behind it. In this way, the prominent location on Cotton Rouge Road and Connaught Road will become the most beautiful landmark building." Huang Changhong Said excitedly.

This conspicuous location is actually very close to Landmark in the heart of Central, about the same distance as a building, Chater Garden, and the Court of Final Appeal.

The opposite side is watching with eager eyes!

Next, everyone moved towards the east.

In fact, it is quite easy to plan. Taking into account economic interests, this area is actually the area of ​​five buildings (six in the previous life, the Twin Towers count as two) and a shopping mall (Admiralty Gallery). Of course, this area The remaining half has not been developed, but it is close to Wan Chai, so Lin Zhichao plans to reserve it, part of it will be used as Harcourt Gardens, and part of it will be sold to the Hong Kong government to be used as the JC headquarters.

Now that Lin Zhichao has come to design, apart from the replacement of Lippo Center by the Burj Al Arab Hotel (the location has also been reversed), there are not many other changes.

"On the seaside side, two more first-class office buildings will be built; on the south side, a four-story shopping mall and a first-class office building will be built, and the two buildings will be connected (land-type plazas). The planning here is almost complete "Don't worry about the open space over there for now." Lin Zhichao explained the outline of the plan while making gestures.

Five buildings (including hotel buildings) and one shopping mall are the general plan of this area.

At the same time, it seems that the exit of the Admiralty Subway Station in the previous life has been occupied. But don't worry about things in the 1980s, because the Admiralty MTR station can be located in the reserved space here, or next to the shopping mall.

The entrance of the subway station does not need to be big at all, but the development rights of the property above the Admiralty of the Hong Kong MTR have been lost. The Naval Dockyard is almost the entire Admiralty, so the MTR Corporation can only choose to export on the site of Cheung Kong Holdings.

“What about the large shopping mall to the south?”

Lin Zhichao then elaborated on the idea of ​​​​later Pacific Place, which is roughly two bases (shopping malls) connected from the underground level to form a huge shopping mall; on the two bases, there are two skyscrapers and four skyscrapers. Two of the buildings have introduced a five-star luxury hotel and set up high-end apartments with hotel-style services, and the other two buildings are office buildings.

"The planning of this site is first. The actual construction may be in the late 1970s. After the construction over there is completed, we will start here."

"good"

It was a design sketch at the beginning, and it is actually repeated today, but in more detail. Cheung Kong's idea is the key to the bidding for the architectural designer team this year.

The past year (1965) was relatively unfriendly for the Yangtze River Industries Group. Changjiang Plastic Factory 'closed', Changjiang Wig Factory 'closed', zipper and steel profits fell, only Changjiang Toy Factory bucked the trend and grew.

In the conference room.

Lin Zhichao still held annual meetings with senior executives. His expression was not sad and he faced it very calmly.

Last year, the Yangtze River Industrial Group made a profit of HK$96 million. After disposing of its expenses, the balance was HK$80 million.

The cash flow of Yangtze River Industry has reached 400 million Hong Kong dollars; he still did not choose to use it, but deposited it in major banks to earn interest.

Because the U.S. stock market had already risen a lot at this time, Lin Zhichao was worried that he would not make much money if he entered it, and there might be a short-term decline this year.

After all, Lin Zhichao only knows long-term investment, and now he only has two years before he is ready to cash out.

Stability is very important!

"The 1970s must be the beginning of glory for the zipper industry! Therefore, if short-term profits decline, you don't need to consider it. What's important is that we strengthen technology research and development and quality assurance. In the new year, we can expand our business in Europe, America, and Asia. The investment in the R\u0026D department will increase the investment ratio in R\u0026D and quality to 25% of profit."

To be honest, Lin Zhichao is very satisfied with Yangtze Zipper, which has made him a lot of money over the years. This alone puts Hong Kong industrialists to shame, because no outside factory can surpass it in terms of profits.

Yangtze Zipper is still one of the biggest competitors of YKK Zipper. YKK Zipper has lost the opportunity to defeat Yangtze Zipper. In the future, Yangtze Zipper may not be able to catch up with YKK Zipper.

At this time, Yangtze Zipper had factories in Southeast Asia and Europe, three R\u0026D headquarters in Europe, America and Asia, and companies with equity interests in Taiwan and Germany. In short, a huge industrial chain has been formed.

Veteran Bao Chunlai quickly replied: "Okay, I will definitely come up with a plan and submit it to the group for review. Our Yangtze Zipper has long-term investment in research and development and equipment, and there is not much difference with our rival YKK Zipper. We will definitely have the opportunity to catch up in the future."

Yangtze Zipper invests 20% of its profits in technology research and development and equipment replacement every year to ensure that the quality will never lag behind YKK zippers.

In the previous life, YKK zippers accounted for 80% of the zipper market in China. It was not that Chinese zipper companies could not conquer the technology, but that people were unwilling to invest. However, YKK zippers have long insisted on investing funds in technology research and development and equipment replacement. They only used sewing machines for two years. With one year, this is the pursuit of quality.

The reason why YKK zipper came from behind and surpassed the Yangtze River zipper is because the Japanese market is huge and the American market intends to take care of Japan; otherwise, the two sides will not be able to reverse their strength.

In fact, in terms of accumulation of technology, Yangtze Zipper is even better.

Lin Zhichao said: "In the 1970s, Hong Kong's garment industry will surely become the number one in the world, and our zippers will definitely have the opportunity to catch up. Especially on the zippers of jeans, we must strengthen technology and quality research and development."

You need to set goals for your subordinates and give them a boost.

Of course, Lin Zhichao is right. With the development of Hong Kong's garment industry, Yangtze Zipper will also benefit. At present, Yangtze Zipper has a small share in Japan, but YKK Zipper cannot squeeze into Hong Kong.

Bao Chunlai said: "Well, the fashion trend of jeans is obvious. We can invest in copper mines and increase the production of copper smelting."

As the general manager of Yangtze Zipper, he is naturally very familiar with the industrial chain. He single-handedly facilitated his decision to invest in a nylon factory in Taiwan and start branches overseas. Of course, General Manager Wang Liang will also be involved. On the contrary, Lin Zhichao has always been 'talking on paper' and has not worried about these things.

The Yangtze River Industries Group has formed a real group management, and Lin Zhichao does not need to do many things himself.

Lin Zhichao is also very interested in investing in copper mines. At the smelting base in Tseung Kwan O, Cheung Kong Industries can smelt steel and copper by itself. It is a heavy industrial enterprise in Hong Kong.

"Okay, it's feasible to invest in copper mines. You can go to South America to find opportunities. Deputy General Manager Wang, you have to take the lead."

As the deputy general manager of the group, Wang Liang is actually Lin Zhichao's spokesperson.

"Okay, let's discuss it with everyone later."

then.

Lin Zhichao talked about Yangtze Toy Factory: "The development of Yangtze Toys is undoubtedly very smooth, but this is due to our cooperative relationship with Audrey Toys Company. Remember to ensure quality. Next, we can appropriately strengthen OEM for other European and American factories. business, and open branches of the 'Bond Toys' brand in Taiwan and Southeast Asia."

In my previous life, Hong Kong toy exports surpassed Japan in the 1970s. It is said that on the day the news was announced, the owner of a Japanese toy factory committed suicide.

In this life, Yangtze Toys has taken away the OEM of Barbie dolls, which has actually greatly weakened Japanese toys.

Moreover, Lin Zhichao planned to use the Audrey Toy Company to develop Cabbage Patch Dolls under the "adoption system" in the 1970s; by then, Cheung Kong Industries would manufacture Cabbage Patch Dolls and increase profits. At the same time, Lin Zhichao plans to develop the comic industry, create Hong Kong IP, and promote Hong Kong's patented toys.

Ke Yanping nodded seriously and said: "Yes, boss. We can open a branch in Taiwan. We have one branch in Singapore, and we can also open a second branch. There is absolutely no problem with the quality of the OEM. We have always adhered to excellent management. System and quality control.”

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "I feel relieved now!"

In the past, officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce wanted Audrey Toy Company to OEM part of its products in Japan, but Ritchie naturally rejected it. The first was that the two parties had cooperated for many years without any problems. The second was that Ritchie knew that if he dared to do this, , the boss Audrey had to fire him the next day.

The real power of Audrey Toy Company is still in the hands of the founder, who owns 51% of the shares; and there is also 9% of the shares in the hands of the second shareholder Changjiang Toys.

Of course, in recent years, U.S. Department of Commerce officials no longer have that idea. After all, the Japanese economy no longer needs support.

The most important thing is that the United States had completely changed its thinking about Hong Kong in the late 1950s. In the 1960s, Hong Kong had even become a logistics base for the US military. Wan Chai was also a rest base for American soldiers, and Americans were also using Hong Kong. .

Because of this, most of Hong Kong's industrial products are now exported to the United States.

Lin Zhichao also summed up other Midea Electric Appliances and Zhongtian Iron and Steel, but did not emphasize too much.

As for wigs and plastic flowers, there are only some agency business and high-end product business left, so don't worry about it.

At present, zippers and toys are still the pillar industries of the Yangtze River Industry Group.

The closure of the Yangtze River Plastic Factory is not really a closure! If he persisted, it would last at least a year; but Lin Zhichao didn't want to dismiss the workers, he was worried that he would be hostile and provoke conflicts.

Therefore, Lin Zhichao could only support 1,500 people, so he simply canceled the production of plastic flowers. Many of these workers were introduced to cooperative companies, but their salaries were reduced a lot, and many were immediately unemployed. Of course, the Yangtze River Toy Factory also took over some of them.

The Changjiang Plastic Factory still exists. It mainly acts as an agent for Hong Kong plastic flower products and sells them to European and American wholesalers. As a result, it still makes more than two million yuan in profits every year.

At the same time, Hong Kong's plastic flowers are not in crisis. There are still more than a thousand factories; this is because small factories can easily survive and large factories can easily go bankrupt.

For example, the factory of the Jewish brothers in the previous life also went bankrupt in 1966 and sold the factory to others.

Large factories have better wages, because if they are not careful, they can easily cause strikes, so when the industry goes downhill, they are the first to 'go bankrupt'.

Plastic flower factories can generally transform into producing toys, which is similar.

Cheung Wo Plastic Factory.

Li Jiacheng finished calculating last year's accounts in the office and showed a hint of joy.

Originally, he thought profits would fall a lot, but he didn't expect that the profits including the factory rent would be HK$1.2 million in total. You know, the factory rent was also lowered last year, and the plastic flower market was very difficult. Logically speaking, even 1 million won't necessarily make a profit. get.

"Thanks to the Changjiang Plastic Factory for entrusting a lot of business to our factory, this will cost almost 300,000 Hong Kong dollars in OEM fees!" Li Jiacheng suddenly showed a grateful look.

It turned out that the Changjiang Plastic Factory distributed at least HK$3 million in profits from plastic flower processing fees. Lin Yunchu's factory got a larger share, about 20%, and Li Jiacheng also shared 10%, while the rest went to fellow Shunde residents.

It was assigned to Li Jiacheng because Lin Zhichao planned to support him. After all, Li Jiacheng could not be his competitor now, and the quality of Li Jiacheng's factory was guaranteed.

"In this way, I have about 3 million Hong Kong dollars in capital. Now the factory land in Kwun Tong only costs 40 to 50 Hong Kong dollars. I want to invest in another factory building." Li Jiacheng thought about the problem.

Today, investing in a factory building may only cost a little over 2 million. Li Jiacheng is still optimistic about Hong Kong real estate and plans to invest in another industrial building.

Real estate fell, he felt it was an opportunity!

Li Jiacheng has also laid out his future plans, which is to enter the real estate industry. Although his capital is expected to be only 1 million after the construction of two industrial buildings, after all, the factories and buildings can still bring him stable profits.

Although he has predicted that plastic flowers will no longer be popular, his plastic factory is still producing toys and other plastic products.

Generally speaking, it can provide him with a steady stream of profits.

In fact, Lin Zhichao has also been paying attention to Li Jiacheng. He knows the size of Li Jiacheng's factory, so he can calculate the profit. After all, they are all in the same industry.

According to Lin Zhichao's idea, as of 1967, Li Jiacheng had at most two factory buildings and 1 to 2 small sites; with such a scale developed by 1972, it would be good to be listed on the market.

Moreover, in the 1970s, Lin Zhichao would seize the opportunities he had in his previous life, such as the China Bank Building, Macao Company (Hilton Hotel), Saixi Lake, etc., so he had no worries about his growth.

Lin Zhichao is like raising Li Jiacheng in captivity, allowing him to grow and develop, but he will control it and cannot affect his layout.

This time, I entrusted him with a lot of plastic flower OEM work, and I hope that he will not fall into despair and will not be seen among the top ten real estate developers in the future. Undoubtedly, that kind of Hong Kong is not what Lin Zhichao wants to see. (End of chapter)