Reborn in Hong Kong: The Tycoon Grows Up

Shen Bi's acting skills successfully deceived Governor Youde, and in his mind HSBC's interests may override the British Empire. After all, HSBC is a listed company, and he must first be responsible to the board of directors.

Yoder stood in the center of the stage and said: "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to the Governor's Mansion. You have already seen the theme of today's banquet. I must have known the purpose of inviting you here, and there is no need to hide it here. .”

"Not long ago, Argentina, a clown, dared to attack the Falkland Islands of the British Empire. This was a provocation to the imperial authority. Therefore, London has sent troops to safeguard the interests of the British Empire. I believe victory is only a matter of time."

"As we all know, a cannon fires a thousand taels of gold; war is an extremely money-consuming act. In recent years, the British domestic economy has been developing slowly, and it can be said that its own funds are not very sufficient."

"But the soldiers on the front line need the most advanced weapons and the most complete logistical support, which require a lot of funds. Therefore, the British Empire decided to issue war bonds in Hong Kong, with an annual return rate of 5%. I know you are all Big entrepreneurs, who are super rich, may not look down on this 5% rate of return. But this is the greatest sincerity of the British Empire. At the same time, you must also consider that this is during a war, so I hope everyone can buy it enthusiastically."

"The more you buy a pound of bonds, the more protection the frontline soldiers may have. On behalf of the British Empire, I would like to express my gratitude to you here and hope to get your support."

Youde's speech can be said to be quite satisfactory. He knows that these people are all super rich and human beings. Talking too much about falsehoods will turn people off, and having Bao Zixuan's £1 billion backing also doubles his confidence.

However, reality poured cold water on our Governor Yoder. After he finished speaking, no one bought war bonds. Even some British companies have no one to step forward, which makes Yoder very angry. It seems that these people have stayed in Xiangjiang for too long and no longer know why they can do business in this land. If the British Empire had not relied on its powerful force to make these people so comfortable doing business here, it would have been a dream.

Now everyone is extremely rich, but when they are asked to contribute, they all retreat. They don't have the dedication of their ancestors, and I don't think that after the British Empire lost its control of Xiangjiang, each of you can still be so comfortable.

It's no good if they don't come forward. London is still waiting for news. Yoder can only take the initiative and defeat them one by one, otherwise he will be responsible for failing to complete the task.

Youde came to the small circle of British businessmen and wanted them to take the lead in buying. This would be a request that other Xiangjiang businessmen, especially Chinese businessmen, would not dare to refuse.

Soon Youde found his first target, John Madden, the head of Wheelock \u0026 Company in Hong Kong. It can be said that his strength is neither strong nor weak, so he is most suitable as a leader.

Wheelock is a long-established British-owned foreign company. It was founded in Shanghai in 1925 by George Madden, a British Jew. It operates shipping and warehousing. In 1932, it merged with Canadian Thomas Wellock's Shanghai Tow Barge Co., Ltd. Reorganized into Wheelock. After the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, the company moved its headquarters and fleet to the United Kingdom. However, after the war, its founder had no roots in China and turned to vigorously develop the shipping business in order to be able to flee as soon as possible when encountering great changes. Although George retired in 1959, the policy of developing shipping to reduce political risks has been followed by his son John Madden. As a result, his business fell behind significantly and eventually changed hands.

In 1976, Hong Kong's economy recovered and the real estate market boomed again. This enabled Wheelock to expand its real estate business. In 1977, it cooperated with Hong Kong Electric to develop the first phase of Fortress Garden in North Point, and built industrial buildings in Tsuen Wan and San Po Kong. The group's asset value increased significantly. Despite this, when Wheelock was developing real estate at that time, it would rather revalue the land, allocate it as capital, and then cooperate with other powerful developers to share the profits. Among them, in 1980, Wheelock's Federal Real Estate and Li Chaoren's Cheung Kong Holdings formed Zhuojian Investment Co., Ltd., each holding 50% of the equity; Zhuojian first purchased Wheelock's Federal Building and International Building for 1 billion yuan, and first received 500 million in cash, and then Li Chaoren used Zhuo Jian to sell the two buildings for 2.235 billion, and then let Wheelock cash out 1.1 billion, and Li Chaoren also received 1.1 billion yuan, after deducting the 500 million yuan originally paid to Wheelock, It made 600 million yuan in just a few months. Wheelock's lack of confidence in Hong Kong's prospects and its overly conservative business practices ultimately resulted in its profits falling far behind developers such as Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai.

However, the good times did not last long. Wheelock was hit hard by the decline of the shipping industry in 1980. From 1979 to 1980, Pao was pessimistic about the prospects of world shipping and sold a large number of ships. However, Wheelock not only purchased a large fleet from Pao at this time, but also further ordered new ships in Japan, Spain, Denmark, and China. The number of ships in the fleet increased by 18 in just three years. In 1982, the net fixed assets of its fleet reached 1.633 billion yuan, a 70% increase from 941 million yuan in 1979. This misjudgment eventually caused Wheelock to record a loss of 60 million yuan in 1983. In contrast, Bao Yugang saw that his second largest customer, the Japanese Shipping Company, was on the verge of bankruptcy due to poor management in 1978. He was deeply wary of shipping, and subsequently adopted the strategy of "abandoning the ship and landing", selling a large number of ships at low prices. By 1986, its fleet had been reduced to 65 ships with a carrying capacity of 8 million tons, which was only 40% of its heyday.

Although Wheelock is currently in a difficult period, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse and a rotten ship still has 3,000 nails; it is not a big problem for them to come up with some money. And Youde believed that as long as Wheelock purchased the war bonds, other companies would have no reason to refuse.

In difficulties you can have Wheelock difficulties, where people have contributed money to support the country's war effort. Others had the nerve to watch from the sidelines.

Governor Yoder came to John Madden and said to him: "Hello, Mr. Madden. We haven't seen each other for a long time. How have you been recently?"

Seeing Governor Yoder coming over, John Madden actually wanted to leave, knowing that this old boy would be up to no good. But now that I heard him greeting him, I couldn't ignore him. After all, he was also the governor, so he still had to give him the face he deserved.

Although John Madden does not have the ability and courage of his father, he is still a qualified leader. At least there are no major flaws in management and operation. It may be that the vision is slightly poor and the prediction of the international situation is much worse.

John Madden: "The global shipping industry has been in recession recently, so Wheelock's shipping business has been greatly affected. The company is also in a difficult period now, and we hope that the Governor will give you more support."

Hearing John Madden cry about poverty in front of him, he just didn't want to buy war bonds. How could he get his wish? After all, he had to pay for his coming.

Yoder: "No matter how difficult it is, Wheelock cannot be as serious as the crisis facing the British Empire. Now is the time when all British people need to jointly shoulder the responsibility, so I hope that the Madden family can be the leader."

John Madden doesn't want to be the first person. Not only is there no benefit, but many people will think you are a soft persimmon who can be pinched whenever they want in the future.

John Madden: "There are many people in Hong Kong who are richer than Wheelock and the Madden family. The Governor should find them to be the leader. The strength of the Madden family does not allow me to do this."

Youde thought to himself that if someone is willing to do it, I will come to you. He really treats himself like an onion. But you can't say that now, after all, I came here to ask for help from John Madden.

Youde: "This matter is decided domestically. With the rise of Chinese capital, the status of British capital in Hong Kong has declined a lot. There are fewer and fewer companies like Wheelock that are still run by the founding family, so London hopes that Wheelock Feng can set an example."

Why not go to HSBC, Jardine Matheson, or Swire to be the leader? Isn’t it because you are worried about rejection? My Jewish identity is still too frowned upon. It seems that the British never regard them as their own people, and sometimes they need you to be the standout.

Now that high-level officials from London have come to suppress people, something might happen later! If you know you can't refuse, you might as well accept it happily, so that you can at least have a good relationship.

John Madden: "I don't know what the Governor wants Wheelock to do. The Madden family will not give up if they can contribute to the country."

Hearing John Madden's answer, Youde smiled and said: "You purchased 50 million pounds of war bonds on behalf of Wheelock. After the war is over, it will be regarded as a great contribution to the Madden family."

John Madden: "Your Majesty the Governor, Wheelock currently does not have that much cash in its account, so there is no way to complete the mission."

Yoder ": I know you are in trouble, you can contact the bank for a loan. Doesn't Wheelock have a lot of giant ships! You can use it as a mortgage, and then use the loan to buy treasury bonds."

Hearing Governor Yoder's method, John Madden's nose almost became angry. Wheelock had to borrow money at an interest rate higher than the war bond yield and then purchase the war bonds. In this way, millions of pounds will be posted every year. What is the difference between this and open robbery? Moreover, the most important thing is that we don’t know when the war bonds will be cashed. However, bank loans have a time limit, and interest must be paid every month. .

Doesn’t this push people to a dead end? It seems that Yoder doesn't want him to feel better, and the Madden family has never offended him! Why are you staring at yourself? It seems that you will figure this out after you go back.

John Madden: "Wheelock's ship has been mortgaged, so I can't take out a second mortgage. I can only raise 15 million pounds to show my sincerity. I really can't do anything about the rest."

What Yoder wants is for someone to buy it first, and he doesn't care how much. After all, Bao Zixuan has been promised not to disclose the information of his first purchaser; even if everyone knows it, there are some things that cannot be said openly.

Now that Wheelock is willing to take the lead, it is appropriate to give them appropriate reductions and exemptions.

After receiving the message from the Governor, Joante said into the microphone: "Thanks to Mr. John Madden for his support of the imperial cause, he has agreed to purchase 15 million pounds of war bonds."

When they heard that someone had finally taken action, everyone knew that this matter could no longer be avoided. After all, after someone buys it, the balance in the hall will be broken, and you won't be able to decide things by yourself.

To everyone's surprise, Wheelock actually fired the first shot. Didn't I hear that their funds are very tight recently? It seems that sometimes you can't believe the rumors. This kind of old-established family hides very deeply.