Reborn Xiangjiang Tycoon Growth

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. However, the UK's domestic economic development has been slow in recent years, 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."

"If you buy more one-pound bonds, maybe the frontline soldiers will have more protection. 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 here are all super rich and human beings. Talking too much false things will make people disgusted, and having Bao Zixuan's 1 billion pound backing also doubles his confidence.

However, the reality poured cold water on our Governor Yoder. After he finished speaking, no one bought war bonds. Even some British companies did not have anyone to step forward, which made Yoder very annoyed. It seems that these people are Having stayed in Xiangjiang for too long, I no longer know why they were able to 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.

Nowadays, everyone is extremely rich, but when asked to contribute, they all retreat. They don't have the dedication of their ancestors, and they don't expect that after the British Empire loses the right to rule 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 held responsible for failing to complete the task.

Youde came to the small circle of British businessmen and wanted them to take the lead in purchasing. This would make it easier for other Xiangjiang businessmen, especially Chinese businessmen, to dare not refuse.

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

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 survive in the face of great changes. They scurried around and evacuated as soon as possible. Although George retired in 1959, the policy of developing shipping to reduce political risks was always 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's real estate business to expand. In 1977, it cooperated with Hong Kong Electric to develop the first phase of Fu Chak Garden in North Point, and built industrial buildings in Tsuen Wan and San Po Kong.

The group's asset value has increased significantly

Despite this, when Wheelock was developing real estate, 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, Federation, a subsidiary of Wheelock,

Real estate and Li Chaoren's Yangtze River Industrial formed an outstanding alliance

See Investment Co., Ltd., each holding 50% equity; Zhuo Jian first purchased Wheelock's Federal Building and International Building for 1 billion yuan, first received 500 million in cash, and then Li Chaoren used Zhuo Jian to sell the two buildings for 2.235 billion.

Let Wheelock cash out again11

billion, and Li Chaoren also received 1.1 billion yuan. After deducting the 500 million yuan originally paid to Wheelock, he earned 600 million yuan in just a few months. Wheelock lacked confidence in the prospects of Hong Kong and his business methods were too conservative.

As a result, its profitability lags far behind developers such as Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai.

However, the good times did not last long. What really hit Wheelock hard was the decline of the shipping industry in 1980. From 1979 to 1980, Pao Yugang was pessimistic about the prospects of world shipping and sold a large number of ships. However, Wheelock was

Not only to Bao Yugang

Purchased a large fleet and further ordered new ships in Japan, Spain, Denmark, and China. In just three years, the number of fleets increased by 18 ships. In 1982, the net fixed assets of its fleet reached 1.633 billion yuan, which was 1.633 billion yuan compared with 1979.

of 941 million

Yuan surged by 70%. This misjudgment eventually caused Wheelock to record a loss of 60 million yuan in 1983. In contrast, Bao Yugang saw his second largest customer, the Japanese Shipping Company, on the verge of collapse due to poor management in 1978.

Closed, already sailing

Deeply wary of the oil tankers, it subsequently adopted the strategy of "abandoning ships and landing", selling a large number of its fleet at low prices, and even scrapping oil tankers and selling them for scrap. By 1986, its fleet had been reduced to 65 ships with a carrying capacity of 8 million.

tons, only 40% of what it was in its heyday.

Although Wheelock is in a difficult period now, a lean camel is bigger than a horse, and the rotten ship still has 3,000 nails; it is not a big problem for them to come up with some money. And Youde believes that as long as Wheelock buys war bonds

Then other companies have no reason to refuse.

In difficulties, you can have Wheelock difficulties. People have already contributed money to support the country's war effort. Others have 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. He knew that this old boy would be up to no good. But now that he was saying hello to him, it was impossible to ignore him. After all, he was also the governor, and he should still be given face.

Want to give.

Although John Madden does not have the ability and courage of his father, he is still a qualified leader. At least he does not have many flaws in management and operation. It may be that his vision is slightly worse and his 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 crying about poverty in front of him, he just didn't want to buy war bonds. How could he let him do so? After all, he came here to ask for money.

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 take the lead."

John Madden doesn't want to be the one who stands out. 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."

Yoder thought to himself that if someone is willing to do it, I will come to you. I really think of myself as a green onion. But I 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 don't you go to HSBC, Jardine Matheson, or Swire to be the leader? Isn't it because you are worried about being rejected? I am still too shy about my Jewish identity. It seems that the British have never regarded them as their own, and sometimes they still need you to do something.

Just the first bird.

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

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

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 to mortgage the loan, and then use the loan to buy treasury bonds."

Hearing Governor Yoder's method, John Madden's nose was almost twisted with anger. Wheelock had to borrow money with an interest rate higher than the yield on war bonds, and then buy war bonds. In this way, it would cost several dollars every year.

Millions of pounds, what is the difference between this and an open robbery, and the most important thing is that the war bonds do not know when they will be cashed, but bank loans have a time limit, and interest must be paid every month.

Isn't this pushing 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 is he just staring at him? It seems that he will figure this out after he returns.

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 can't do anything with the rest."

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

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."

Hearing that someone has finally taken action, everyone knows that this matter can no longer be avoided. After all, after someone purchases, the balance in the hall will be broken, and things will not be decided by yourself after that.

To everyone's surprise, Wheelock actually fired the first shot. Didn't you hear that they are very strapped for funds recently? It seems that sometimes the rumors cannot be believed, as this kind of old-established family hides very deeply.