The Industrial Giant Reborn

The turmoil of Wharf's takeover gradually dissipated over time. It lasted for a total of three months. From Li Jiacheng's start to Chen Zhiwen's success, many people who eat melons can be regarded as very lively. Some media and newspapers also opened A page dedicated to tracking reports.

However, in terms of popularity, compared to Chen Zhiwen's previous acquisition of Hutchison, it is much smaller. After all, even if the process was not very exciting for the first time, it was still very exciting. The second time, it might feel good, but also Peace of mind.

If there is a third and fourth time later, it may be very normal, and the process is familiar.

After Zhao Lilin selected 3 pieces of land with a medium location and a medium area, Chen Zhiwen invited Li Jiacheng, Li Zhaoji, and Zheng Yutong to drink tea, and then discussed cooperation plans.

Originally, Chen Zhiwen's plan was to distribute several pieces of land to them. As for who wants which piece, they can decide on their own. However, Li Jiacheng proposed that everyone should form a joint venture company to develop these lands. In terms of shares, Chen Zhiwen would be the land holder. 50%, Li Ka Shing 20%, Lee Shau Kee and Zheng Yutong 15% each.

These pieces of land were injected into the joint venture company first, and then used bank loans to pay Wharf, because Wharf now also needs funds to develop Harbor City. For the subsequent development, the construction company will pay in advance, and the joint venture company will pay a small amount of cash. It only needs to quickly build one of the land, and when the property on this land reaches the time for pre-sale, it can quickly obtain a large amount of funds, and then develop other For a few lands, after all the projects have reached the pre-sale time, the funds will be recovered, the final payment for the construction and the bank loan will be settled, and the remaining profits will be divided equally according to the shares of several parties

This plan is quite radical, as long as there is a slight problem in the process, there may be losses.

Li Jiacheng used pen and paper to calculate the profit for everyone on the spot, and after guaranteeing that these projects could make a profit of 50 million Hong Kong dollars, Chen Zhiwen, Li Zhaoji, and Zheng Yutong nodded and agreed that he would be responsible for all the things. It is to provide an appropriate amount of funds (land) and bank credit.

After signing the contract, several people quickly established a new joint venture company. One week after the land injection, Wharf received 80 million funds from the joint venture company, which was used to purchase 3 pieces of land.

After Zhao Lilin received the funds, he immediately started the acceleration plan for the Harbor City project. Before that, because of the outbreak of the Wharf acquisition war, Jardine had almost stopped the construction of the Harbor City. Let Harbor City open within the time limit.

And Chen Tianfu, who got the news, also ran over, found his son and said, "Ah Wen, why do you cooperate with Li Jiacheng and those people on the land of Wharf? My side or Galaxy Real Estate can do it?"

"Dad, your funds should not be recovered until August, right?" Chen Zhiwen asked with a smile.

"Yes, the property projects of Central and Admiralty subway stations will not be available for pre-sale until August. Now the housing prices are rising too fast. I estimate that after deducting taxes and bank loans, the net profit will still be 200 million Hong Kong dollars. This is amazing. It's bloody money." Chen Tianfu said with a smile.

Chen Zhiwen said: "Wharf Harbor City, I am very optimistic about its future, but it has not yet opened, and it is sucking blood from Wharf every year, so I must complete it as quickly as possible. Wharf will be able to restore its true status as one of the top ten conglomerates in Hong Kong."

"That's okay. After the project in hand is over, in the second half of the year, we will develop Wharf or Hutchison land together. Your Xinghe Real Estate, several big projects in hand, can be expected at about that time." Let's sell it, it happens that we have sufficient funds and land, so we can earn hundreds of millions more easily." Chen Tianfu thought for a while and said.

"Okay, let's talk about it when the time comes." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, the money he got from Li Jiacheng and others now is enough to maintain Harbor City for half a year. After half a year, he still needs some funds. Need to develop the land, it is better to use their own funds.

The time is coming to April soon.

Henry Morgan came to Hong Kong again.

"Eric, congratulations on acquiring another big company in Hong Kong." Henry Morgan laughed loudly when we first met.

"Please sit down, the United States is also concerned about Hong Kong's business?" Chen Zhiwen gestured with a light smile.

"The Los Angeles Times reported on Ni's acquisition of a Hong Kong-based company called Wharf, and also mentioned Jardines. In fact, Jardines is quite well-known in the United States. Its land company was once rated as the world's largest The three major real estate companies." Henry Morgan said with a smile.

"That's because there are very few real estate companies like this in Europe and America, right?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

The natural property tax policies in Europe and the United States restrict the unlimited expansion of real estate companies. There are also large real estate companies in the United States, but they are generally developed and sold, and some are held, but the scale is not very large. Hongkong Land holds a large number of very high-value properties. If you only look at the field of real estate, the scale of Hongkong Land can indeed rank first in the world.

"You can't say that. In fact, there are many people in the United States who hold a large number of commercial office buildings, but they don't put them under the same company. Maybe it's out of low-key considerations. You also know that this is the best way to hide wealth. "Henry Morgan explained with a smile.

"That's true." Chen Zhiwen nodded. The super rich want to hide their assets, but there are actually very few channels. The stock market is not good, because capable people and even journalists may find out information, and business is not good. A large number of goods and funds are traded. It cannot be hidden from the society, but real estate can. Its daily transaction is only rent, which is not higher than the value of the whole house. As long as it is held by different companies, it is difficult to contact the same person. The most important thing is that there is no society. No movement, as long as you don't buy conspicuous buildings like the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building.

"Eric, to acquire such a large company, the financial pressure should be quite high. If there is any need, I can ask JP Morgan to give you a preferential loan discount." Henry Morgan said with a smile.

"Not for the time being." Chen Zhiwen shook his head, and asked again: "JPMorgan Chase is starting to lack clients now?"

"No, the interest rate is too high now, so high that many companies dare not borrow." Henry Morgan said helplessly.

"Maybe I will need it after a while, and I will contact you then." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

Since the outbreak of the first oil crisis, hyperinflation has appeared around the world, and it has been maintained for several years. This is a fatal economic blow to European and American countries. In order to suppress inflation, the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates continuously, causing the The banking industry has been hit hard. Like other countries, the interest rate is soaring. If it is not for the huge short-term economic bubble caused by the continuous rise of housing prices in Hong Kong, life will be very difficult.

However, in this environment of high inflation and high interest rates, the price of gold has risen sharply. Before 1978, it was not an exaggeration, but in 1979, the increase exceeded everyone's imagination. Prepare for a "golden" opportunity.

In about a year, the price of gold can triple, which is not an exaggeration. Occasionally, special stocks can even increase five times or ten times. But gold is the world's largest trading commodity after oil, and it can accommodate huge amounts of funds, which means that it can make huge profits in the short term, but stocks that can double their value are not good. The total market value of such stocks It cannot be high, and there is simply no room for too much money.

"Oh, about when? How much money do you need?" Henry Morgan asked curiously.

"A lot is needed, but it's just a drop in the bucket for you Morgan Bank." Chen Zhiwen smiled, not wanting to waste any time on this matter, so he changed the subject and said: "Henry, you came to Hong Kong because you wanted to Is JPMorgan Chase looking for clients?"

"Of course not." Henry Morgan didn't care about the bank anymore. After all, his own affairs are the most important, so he said: "This time, it's mainly because of this. This is a new gadget that has suddenly become popular in the US market in the past six months. .”

After finishing speaking, Henry opened the suitcase beside him, and took out a flat cuboid box inside, which looked like electronic products one by one.

"Is this Atari's home game console?" Chen Zhiwen immediately knew what it was after seeing the shape and the letters ATARI on it.

"You know this thing?" Henry Morgan said in surprise: "I didn't expect Eric to know what happened in the United States recently when you were in Hong Kong. It seems that I am overwhelmed."

"Actually, when Atari released it last year, I asked someone to buy one back from the United States." Chen Zhiwen was telling the truth. He actually knew that Atari had been researching home game consoles desperately for the past two years, so he naturally arranged for someone to Keep an eye on Atari. When this first-generation home game console was born, he bought ten pieces at one time, and then brought three of them back to Hong Kong, leaving the remaining seven to the American team.

"So that's the case." Henry Morgan nodded and said: "A month ago, I went to a bar to play, and I met a few people playing the arcade game Space Invaders. In other words, it would be great if this game could be transferred to my ATARI at home.

At that time, I didn’t know about home game consoles, so I asked a few more questions, and then the person took me to his house to have a look, and I found out that many of Atari’s arcade games had been transferred to this small box. And this small box only costs a few hundred dollars, can be connected to the TV, and can also play many games. When I saw this thing, I knew that our arcade machine was about to suffer. "

"Henry, you really have vision." After hearing Henry's description, Chen Zhiwen couldn't help praising him. He was a little surprised that Henry Morgan, a businessman, had such vision.

"I don't understand technology, but I only see that this game has higher playability and lower cost. There is no commercial advantage at all in terms of arcade machines." Henry Morgan shook his head and said.

"You are right. This home game console is indeed the natural enemy of arcade machines, but things are not as pessimistic as you think." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"How to say?" Henry immediately regained his energy. He is a smart person, and a smart person has troubles of a smart person. For example, when he feels that the business he has built with great difficulty may be destroyed, he is very depressed. Now that there is hope, it is naturally exciting.

Chen Zhiwen said: "Home game consoles are better than arcade machines in every aspect, just like you said in terms of cost and playability, but the popularization of this thing is not so fast, and it is impossible in a few years.

The second is game copyrights. Without good game copyrights, this thing will not be popular. Atari or other game companies have basically had no achievements in the arcade market in the past few years. Now they are moving to the home game console market. It’s almost successful, and you can see that the space is so small, and it needs to be compatible with various games, and it needs to feed back the signal of the handle and send the signal to the TV. In terms of experience, for at least 3 years, home game consoles are far behind arcade machines. "

"What about three years from now?" asked Henry Morgan.

"Three years is enough time for us to develop high achievements in the arcade market. Besides, you can't really expect that arcades, like cars, can be practical for a lifetime?" Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "There is one more thing, Electronic products, in fact, the smaller the space, the more difficult it is to develop technology. Even after three years, we can develop high-performance games in arcades. In this regard, home game consoles are at a disadvantage, and you also know the development of the semiconductor industry. The cost is getting lower and lower. In the future, the terminal price of our arcade machines will only become cheaper and cheaper, so the market can still expand. Maybe when arcade machines only cost a few hundred dollars, there will be special arcade game stores, and the market will still always existed."

"It makes sense for you to say that, but the market will definitely be greatly affected." Henry Morgan said.

Chen Zhiwen nodded and said: "Of course, arcade machines will exist for a long time, but the era of huge profits belonging to arcade machines may soon come to an end."

With the development of the semiconductor industry, the performance of chips is getting stronger and stronger. Not only games, but other industries are also gradually developing. People will have more and more entertainment methods. Arcade machines with huge fees can no longer survive for a few years. Even in the original history, in 1981, that is, the third year after "Space Invaders" made $100 million in the US market, the entire arcade market failed. No matter how good your arcade games are, everyone Play games at home.

With the emergence of high-performance games, arcade machines began to recover again in the mid-to-late 1980s, but the rise of computers in the 1990s gave arcade machines another blow, and there will be no more opportunities in the future. After that, in the 21st century, although there was a new trend in the game hall, the things in it were different from the current arcade machines.

However, in developing countries where computers cannot be bought, cheap arcade machines also have a large market, but they are basically pirated versions, and have nothing to do with game companies.

"Eric, from what I know about you, since you have seen it so thoroughly, that means you are also planning to make a home game console?" Seeing that Chen Zhiwen was still talking and laughing confidently, Henry Morgan asked tentatively.

"Yes, last year, I had already arranged a team in the United States to research in this direction." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.