The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

In the top-floor office of Global Building, Lin Zhichao is sitting in the office and working.

Universal Group and Wharf Group have separated, which was a decision Lin Zhichao later made.

Over-concentration of family business is not a good thing, especially if it is too large; brothers will also have conflicts in the future, so it is better to distinguish them clearly.

In this way, Lin Ruihai, the eldest son of the second brother, got the Wharf Group, which is mainly engaged in the real estate industry; Lin Ruicheng, the second son of the second brother, got the Global Group, which is mainly engaged in shipping, aviation-related, and real estate investment projects.

Of course, there is currently no real meaningful handover for Lin Zhichao, and Lin Ruicheng is still learning.

Assets controlled by Universal Group include:

Global Shipping: A total of 15 VLCC/ULCC oil tankers, with a total load capacity of 4 million tons; a total of 22 3,000TEU container ships (about 30,000 tons); and a small number of bulk carriers and special ships, with a total load capacity of 5 million tons. (All its listed companies, except Longfeng International, have been privatized)

Hong Kong Airlines: A total of 15 aircraft, flights to eight cities, and charter services.

Amazon Business: Nine commercial office buildings in Manhattan, half of Kwai Chung Pier 1, Singapore joint venture oil refining company, etc.

In the shipping business of Global Group, although it has been reducing ships, it still has a load capacity of 5 million tons. Even with a very low debt ratio and a very good relationship network, Global Shipping only made a profit of US$12 million last year.

As for those shipping companies that operate with debt, they almost suffer serious losses!

but.

This year (1984), shipping conditions improved, which led some shipowners to misjudge the situation again and go to shipyards to order ships (at cheaper prices).

Even Zhao Congyan of Hong Kong publicly stated in newspapers that shipping will develop steadily and for the better, and will even plan to list one of its shipping companies in Hong Kong.

Facing these bird eggs, Lin Zhichao was speechless.

"Father, the people from Fortune magazine are here!" Lin Ruicheng walked in honestly and reported.

This guy fell in love with the first-generation Asian sister Kuang Meiyun, but he has no plans to get married. He doesn’t know what his plans are. He is somewhat similar to his second brother Lin Ruijiang. He has had several girlfriends, but seems to be a little resistant to marriage.

The only difference is that Lin Zhichao is too lazy to care!

Lin Zhichao now has eight grandchildren, two granddaughters, and one grandson, and there is no rush. What's more, he himself is also creating humans and already has five 'illegitimate children', two of which are still in the bellies of Lin Qingxia and Guan Jiahui.

"Well, invite me in!" Lin Zhichao said cheerfully.

"Fortune" is an authoritative magazine. They recently wanted to interview Lin Zhichao to talk about shipping-related topics. Coincidentally, Lin Zhichao also hopes to use their platform to express his views on shipping and warn some ship owners.

After a while, several staff members walked in, simply set up the equipment, and then entered the formal interview process.

Generally speaking, Lin Zhichao rarely accepts special interviews from Hong Kong newspapers and magazines (answering questions in specific sessions does not count), and only accepts exclusive interviews from mainland and overseas reporters. The reason is simple. If he accepts an exclusive interview in Hong Kong, then other newspapers will have to say - Mr. Lin, you also have to accept our exclusive interview. This will make Lin Zhichao too busy, so he does not want to offend everyone.

As for exclusive interviews from the mainland, they are usually of a "political" nature; while exclusive interviews from overseas are usually for Lin Zhichao's needs and to achieve certain goals.

In any case, Lin Zhichao is now in front of his seven sons and two daughters. They are doing well in the company, and Lin Zhichao, the father, is in charge of large-scale public relations.

At the same time, his seven sons and two daughters also served as talismans and backing, allowing Lin Zhichao to have nothing to worry about.

"Hello, Mr. Lin, I am Richard, the editor-in-chief of Fortune. We are very happy that you can accept our interview!"

"Hi Richard, I usually like to read Fortune magazine."

"Really? This is our honor, but to verify this, can you give us some advice!"

"As for my opinion, I would like to trouble you to lower my wealth a little. I think there are many people richer than me!"

"Um, well, actually we use a lot of statistics to determine wealth rankings!"

"Haha, just kidding, of course I will not interfere with the freedom of the media. I am a person who advocates freedom!"

"I can tell! Because I know that you are also a media tycoon!"

After simply adjusting the atmosphere, both parties entered into a formal interview.

Richard is a very professional person so the interaction was great.

"Mr. Lin, there are signs of recovery in shipping this year, so many people have begun to take the opportunity to order new ships; even your compatriot Mr. Zhao Congyan is very optimistic about the steady improvement of shipping. As the shipping king most qualified to predict trends in the history of world shipping, you Can you tell me your opinion?"

"You've got the prize! Then let me share my opinion. Shipping is a very cyclical industry. I see no sign that shipping can get out of the trough in the short term. I even bluntly say that this shipping cycle has not yet entered a real period. Rock bottom. 'Beware the sinking ship' That's the real sentiment. Ordering new ships now is a gamble so big that it makes even the most volatile stock market look like little more than a small wave in a bathtub (meaning stocks' Turmoil is nothing compared to the shipping ice season).”

Richard was shocked, as if he had found a treasure, and said: "According to Mr. Lin, this shipping ice season and the shipping situation in the early 1930s (the shipping in 1931 is almost only the shipping in 1928) 35 % price and business), can be compared, right?”

Lin Zhichao said firmly: "Yes! But the cycle may be longer. After all, there was the impact of World War II in the 1930s."

In Lin Zhichao's view, this ice age lasted from 1980 to 1990, with 1985 being the lowest point. Of course, specific circumstances require detailed analysis. For example, the container business was considered an '18-year cycle' from 1990 to 2008. Although there was the Asian financial crisis during this period, it only affected container transportation in Asia. As for oil and gas ship transportation, the glory period has actually passed, even in 1990. ~During 2008, I am afraid it will also be a 'medium market'.

But no matter what, Global Shipping will definitely invest in shipbuilding before 1990. After all, this business will continue. Especially the container business will become the world's number one in the future.

Shortly after.

Lin Zhichao's interview caused huge repercussions in the shipping industry. Very few people listened to Lin Zhichao's suggestions, and most of them insisted on their own opinions or even publicly refuted them.

Among them is Hong Kong shipowner Zhao Congyan. He publicly stated in the media that shipping will stabilize and think about things well. After four years of adjustments, shipping has initially begun to pick up. In the future, with the demand of the world economy, shipping will also usher in an upward trend. .

This ‘future’ Hong Kong shipping king seems to be a bit off!

With the hot summer coming, Lin Zhichao came to the Hilton Hotel in Central, and his son Lin Ruihuan followed him.

Now 35 years old, Lin Ruihuan has been ranked as the deputy managing director of Cheung Kong Group and has become the de facto ‘number one’ in charge of all aspects of its affairs. Lin Zhichao resigned as general manager and only served as chairman of the board of directors, only participating in and intervening in the group's large-scale project investments.

At present, Lin Zhichao’s five adult sons in Hong Kong have come to the forefront:

Lin Ruihuan serves as the general manager of Cheung Kong Group,

Lin Ruijiang serves as the general manager of Yangtze River Industrial Group (double general manager, Li Zhenlong is also the general manager),

Lin Ruihai is of course the general manager of Wharf Group,

Lin Ruikai serves as the deputy general manager of the media group,

Lin Ruicheng serves as the deputy general manager of Universal Group,

In addition, the two daughters also began to serve as group company executives:

Lin Wanzhu serves as the president of I.T Fashion Retail (a first-level subsidiary of Uniqlo Corporation),

Lin Huizhu serves as the assistant to Lin Xiner (his aunt), president of Shangri-La Hotels Group.

My five sons and two daughters in Hong Kong are all placed in a group company, a total of seven group companies.

As for the remaining "Octopus Financial Group", Lin Zhichao's brother-in-law Lin Benfeng is temporarily in charge. Later, Lin Zhichao hopes to train the third generation to join this syndicate that closely links various companies.

Finally, there are the two overseas family businesses - Audrey Company and Audrey Investment, which the two sons are gradually taking control of; even Lin Ruinan's European Red Bull Company is actually a holding company of Audrey Investment.

Of course, Lin Zhichao also has two investment companies - Victoria Harbor Investment and Family Office. He personally serves as the president of Victoria Harbor Investment, and the family office has Charles Fleming as president, but Lin Zhichao's seven sons serve as board members to participate in and supervise the family office.

At this time, the Lin Zhichao family was truly a 'large family', and it was as stable as a mountain.

"Dad, do you want to build the Yangtze River Center?" Lin Ruihuan asked directly as he watched his father look around and at the Hilton Hotel Building.

There is still a great tacit understanding between father and son. Although Lin Zhichao was just observing, he did not rule out taking his son to dine at the Hilton Hotel.

Lin Zhichao said: "Well, we can start planning and designing! The Yangtze River Industrial Group has sufficient cash flow and a very low debt ratio. It is time to increase investment and build a solid foundation for Hong Kong. It will be better to invest in the overseas real estate industry later. "

Cheung Kong Group is positioned as a real estate company. Hutchison Whampoa, its subsidiary, is positioned as a comprehensive enterprise.

Although the Lin family actually only holds 30% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares, Hutchison Whampoa has more advantages than Cheung Kong Group - talents, shareholders, channels, etc. Therefore, Hutchison Whampoa is actually the development focus of Lin Zhichao.

Lin Ruihuan nodded and said: "Cheung Kong Group does have the strength for overseas development. As long as the debt is not high, the returns on overseas investments are better than the interest rates collected by banks. By investing in 'Raffles City' in Japan, we have successfully entered the Japanese real estate industry. "

He understood that once all the commercial projects of Cheung Kong Group were completed, the annual rental income would be huge; and Hong Kong was so big, and his father also hoped not to be too domineering in Hong Kong, so he had no choice but to invest overseas.

Lin Zhichao did not say that Raffles City in Japan was just a cover for the speculation of Cheung Kong Group. From 1989 to 1990, he would definitely reduce his holdings in every Raffles City building, or even sell them all, retaining only the management rights. If there is a chance, just buy back the shares at a low price.

The reason why I want to buy back equity or part of the equity is because Japan’s ‘Raffles City’ model is very excellent and will definitely have great investment value in the long term.

"Come on, let's go have lunch!"

"Dad, please!"

The father and son walked into the Hilton Hotel. The waiter inside obviously knew them, and soon even the lobby manager came to greet them.

“Just have a meal at the restaurant!”

"Okay, Mr. Lin!"

After a while, the father and son sat down, and Lin Zhichao asked the lobby manager for paper and pen.

While his son was ordering food, Lin Zhichao used skillful drawing techniques to draw the appearance of the "Yangtze River Center".

He has been engaged in real estate for almost 40 years, so he is naturally good at drawing. The overall appearance of the building is still the same as in the previous life - square, with the four corners flattened, actually octagonal, so as not to offend people. The entire building uses the best large-scale special glass, and is equipped with ‘chain mail’ on the outside.

However, Lin Zhichao decided to install a "Freedom Tower" in this building, which not only symbolizes that Hong Kong is the pinnacle of the global free economy, but also uses this Freedom Tower to be "on par" with the Bank of China Tower.

After all, he is not Li Jiacheng, so there is no need to compromise too much. Of course, it is also level in symbolic meaning, after all, the main body is shorter.

Lin Zhichao was so happy with the drawing that he drew a new plan. He referred to the One World Trade Center that was rebuilt after the 9/11 incident in his previous life - about one-third of the bottom part adopts a boxy layout; the upper two-thirds part, a combination of eight triangles is used. The difference is that the square part at the bottom occupies a larger proportion; and Lin Zhichao still hopes to put on "chain armor" for this building, which means that it can be attacked and defended.

"Two design sketches. Later you invite the American company LeoADaly to participate in the design. Come up with a sketch first, and don't finalize the plan. I want to see the plan for the Bank of China Tower before making a detailed decision!"

Lin Ruihuan looked at the exquisite design draft and couldn't help but admire his father's ability. He had known since he was a child that his father had extremely strong learning and memory abilities.

"The Feng Shui Master?"

"I am mainly involved in the Feng Shui of this building. The Feng Shui master will talk about it later."

In the past life, after the domineering appearance of the Bank of China Building, Hong Kong Feng Shui masters suddenly became very good. Even internationally renowned designers must refer to the opinions of Chinese Feng Shui masters when designing buildings. For example, in the previous life, the Wan Guo Baotong Center (Eagle) A combination of two buildings invested by Jun).

"Well, dad, these two design sketches of yours are really beautiful. If there are two plots of land, I might as well use them both!" Later, Lin Ruihuan looked at them with such interest that he didn't even think about eating.

"Don't be greedy for more. Choose the most suitable of the two options."

"I see!"