The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Sing Tao, Nanyi Group.

The secretary walked into the chairman's office and reported: "Chairman, Mr. Lin Zhichao, the boss of Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Holdings, would like to have a meeting with you. What do you mean?"

Lee Kong Chian (Li Yukun) raised his head, thought for a while, and then asked, "Does Cheung Kong produce zippers?"

It seems that he has heard of this person, but he is not sure.

The secretary immediately said: "Yes, their zippers sell well all over the world and occupy an absolute share in Asia. According to the executives of Cheung Kong Industries who contacted us, their company built a factory in Bukit Road a year ago and is about to start production now. .”

Li Guangqian suddenly realized it and said: "Yes, that's him. I remembered that the young zipper king seemed to be the world's first thoughtful young man to buy houses in tiers and installments. But, what did he ask me to do?"

The older he gets, the less he wants to socialize too much. He now devotes more energy to the reconstruction of Star Island, that is, government affairs.

The secretary said: "You are the president of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Xingdao. He is now going to open a factory in Xingdao, so he naturally wants to pay you a visit."

Li Guangqian nodded. This secretary had been with him for a long time and could analyze some things for him, which was very in line with his wishes. He thought about it carefully. Although Lin Zhichao was not from the same hometown, others had achieved good results and he was so young. He had better give it some face!

Sometimes, youth means great potential.

"Okay, you arrange a time in my office, but you have to consider other people's time." Li Guangqian said.

Either refuse or take care of others. This is his style. Because of this, he was elected president of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong.

"Okay, let me communicate again."

On the plane from Hong Kong to Sing Tao, Lin Zhichao was thinking about this trip.

After agreeing to meet, he immediately set off for Sing Tao to meet Mr. Lee Kong Chian.

There was no motive for profit in this trip. It was purely because Lin Zhichao felt that since he had opened a branch factory in Sing Tao, if he could visit the president of the Sing Tao Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, it would show his determination to invest in Sing Tao.

Of course, Sing Tao is just a layout planned by Lin Zhichao, and he will not invest too much for the time being. It will depend on the situation in the future (whether politicians will welcome it or not).

For example, for Orchard Road, although Lin Zhichao knows that the future development prospects are very promising, he will not go it alone or monopolize; at most, he will invest in a five-star hotel and a large shopping mall complex (including office buildings) in Orchard Road. Already satisfied.

After arriving at Xingdao, Lin Zhichao went directly to the Changjiang Industrial Factory. The factory covers an area of ​​72,000 square feet and is covered by two buildings, a three-story factory building and a one-story warehouse.

The investment in the entire factory is about HK$500,000, which is less than S$250,000.

"A very beautiful factory!" Lin Zhichao said happily.

The layout is reasonable and the factory environment is also very good. There are already people on duty and management inside.

Bao Chunlai said with a smile: "Indeed! Factories like Yangtze River Industries are the leading factories in Xingdao. The industry here is still far behind Hong Kong."

This is not nonsense. Hong Kong has taken over the manufacturing industry of Shanghai Stock Exchange in recent years. How can it not be developed?

Moreover, even in terms of status in the eyes of London, Sing Tao is far inferior to that of Hong Kong. The British only regard Sing Tao as a trading port, but Hong Kong is indeed developing with great efforts, such as Jardine Wo, Taikoo, Huangpu Shipyard, etc., can be said to be large-scale manufacturing enterprises.

"That's right! If you are recruiting workers in Xingdao, you must not recruit workers from the same province. You must recruit them evenly from each province. At the same time, workers from each province must be dispersed and distributed to various positions. You understand What do I mean?"

When you get to Xingdao, it's not as easy as in Hong Kong. If the people here are very cliquey, the factory will be in big trouble.

Bao Chunlai was suddenly awakened and said quickly: "The boss is right to remind you. I didn't think so far. I'm really ashamed."

Lin Zhichao nodded, not dissatisfied with Bao Chunlai. No one is perfect. He also formulated this strategy based on the experience of later generations. In many factories in later generations, people in certain places did not want them, especially in areas where people liked to drink and cause trouble.

Bao Chunlai still has many advantages, such as being good at interpersonal relationships and good at factory management, so he is still qualified for the Xingdao Factory.

"In short, I will give the factory some time to adapt, and if any problems are found, they will be corrected in time."

"OK"

There will be almost no problem, Lin Zhichao thinks so. Hong Kong will send at least 50 skilled workers, plus 5 management personnel, to Xingdao.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Zhichao came to Nanyi Group and met Mr. Lee Kong Chian (alias Lee Kong Chian).

"You are so young! When I was as young as you, I had just dropped out of school and worked due to financial difficulties due to World War I." Li Guangqian came up to him with a smile and said kindly.

Lin Zhichao quickly stretched out his hands and held Li Guangqian's hand respectfully, with a very low posture. He was a junior after all.

"You are too modest! Although you have just started working, as far as I know, you have already joined the alliance and been a teacher. Your resume is much more meaningful than mine."

"Haha, you are very interesting. Come, let's sit down and talk!"

As if it touched Li Guangqian's heart, the atmosphere immediately improved.

After sitting down, Li Guangqian immediately said: "You took the initiative to ask me out this time. Is there anything you want to do?"

Let’s get to the point first. Only if this young man is not a profit-seeking person can we continue to contact him. Because he is older, he doesn't like people who are too profit-minded.

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "It's just a normal visit to you! Of course, Hong Kong and Sing Tao are both areas dominated by Chinese people. I have a natural feeling of closeness, so I decided to open a branch factory in Sing Tao and build a home for us Chinese. Come here There is no purpose in visiting you!”

Li Guangqian was immediately relieved and in a very good mood.

"It's my honor that you can think of me. Xingdao welcomes industrialists like you to invest."

Before the meeting, Li Guangqian got to know Lin Zhichao again and found that this young man was very impressive. There were more than 500 workers in Cheung Kong Industrial; importantly, Cheung Kong was a relatively "technical" enterprise among the industries. There are other outstanding resumes, and it is obvious that this young man has a very good future.

Later, Li Guangqian handed his name card to Lin Zhichao, and Lin Zhichao quickly exchanged his name card.

In this way, it can be regarded as a preliminary foothold in Xingdao's social circle.

The conversation between the two lasted very quickly, probably more than half an hour, and then Lin Zhichao said goodbye. In fact, it was the first time the two met and they had this time to talk, which showed that they already valued each other.

Coupled with the lack of opportunities for cooperation, it was natural that enough was enough.

In Sing Tao, what Lin Zhichao valued most was not Li Guangqian's interpersonal relationship, but the lawyer-turned-politician. So when that person returns to Xingdao, we have to date him no matter what, and see if we can build a good relationship with him.

When doing business in Southeast Asia, the most important thing is to have good political and business relations. This is not a free trade port, so relations are particularly important. Of course, Lin Zhichao is not trying to build a big business in Southeast Asia, he is just here to occupy a niche. If a son is willing to immigrate to Star Island in the future, he will naturally have a career to inherit.

Hongkong.

Wang Liang, deputy general manager of Yangtze River Industries, came to Lin Zhichao’s office.

Wang Liang said calmly: "Boss, a zipper factory has appeared in Hong Kong and is seizing our Hong Kong market."

He is in no hurry, because Yangtze River Industrial can easily defeat this emerging factory.

Lin Zhichao laughed and then said: "This is not a sheep in a wolf's den - he is looking for death! What is the background of the other party?"

Although there is only one industry in Hong Kong (machine production), this is not incomprehensible.

Wang Liang also smiled and said: "Shanghai textile tycoon Wang Tongyuan is said to have invested a lot, and his purchase was three automatic rice rowing machines imported from the United States."

"It's him!"

When Lin Zhichao and Wang Tongyuan moved into the new factory of Dongfang Textile, they had a few friendly exchanges. Unexpectedly, he would focus on his own business so soon.

This can be said to be a shopping mall entering the battlefield, changing rapidly!

Wang Liang immediately said: "They gave Hong Kong manufacturers 0.85 to 0.9 Hong Kong dollars for a zipper, and many manufacturers were taken away by them at once. But what is certain is that Wang Tongyuan was also stupid. He only investigated the Hong Kong market and the Southeast Asian market. What we supply The zippers are produced by old-fashioned machines, and the price is slightly higher. But we don’t know that this is the case for the time being because we have no competitors.”

Indeed, Wang Tongyuan did not investigate carefully at all. He just heard from other places that Yangtze River Industry was very profitable, and he was very jealous. Of course, it is more difficult to investigate more carefully. After all, he is a native of Shanghai and does not understand the local market.

To be honest, the last time he saw Wang Tongyuan, Lin Zhichao was thinking of Guan Jiahui, but unfortunately he was not born yet.

It doesn't matter, he can wait and even raise him, but he can't give birth to someone else.

"What do you think should be done?" Lin Zhichao asked.

A sure-win game, let’s see how Wang Liang plays it.

After Wang Liang thought carefully, he said: "Let's stand still for now and wait for the new machine to be installed in the Xingdao factory before giving it a heavy blow. Using an old-fashioned rice arranging machine, manual stamping pullers, and imported materials Trade, etc., their cost is 0.6 cents, and the quality is not as good as new machines, so they are uncompetitive. At that time, we will first throw the eliminated machines to a familiar trader, and then we can sell them at 1.5~ Give them $18,000 for one processing unit.”

It's a bit of a silver coin, but Lin Zhichao likes it very much.

"This method is good! In short, regardless of whether they will buy the machines we have eliminated, as long as we use the new machines to produce zippers and supply them to the Yangtze River in Hong Kong, the price will be 80 cents, and Wang Tongyuan's zipper factory will not have much room for survival."

2 cents a piece, Wang Tongyuan does still make a profit, but at the same price, manufacturers will choose products with better quality. Of course, in this case, it will not go bankrupt and can survive for a while.

"Yes! Moreover, in just over a month, it is impossible for their products to open up much of the Southeast Asian market, so the impact is not very big. As for purchasing machines, I think there is a high chance of success. If not, it will cost 15,000 US dollars." You can throw it to him, but he still has to be fooled!"

The machine was originally planned to be placed in the warehouse, and Li Gaofu could sell it to the mainland in the future.

Lin Zhichao laughed. He also thought that Wang Tongyuan must have been fooled. After all, it costs 35,000 to 40,000 US dollars to import one into the United States, which is very expensive. But now you can get the machine for less than half the price, so why not!

Six zipper machines, only about two years ago!

"It doesn't matter! Even if all these don't completely destroy his zipper business and make him bankrupt, I still have some tricks up his sleeve!"

Wang Liang responded with a smile: "The boss really thinks highly of him!"

Wang Tongyuan miscalculated this step just by entering the zipper field hastily. Why no other manufacturers in Hong Kong follow suit? The simplest reason is that the market (Hong Kong) is not big, and Cheung Kong has grown so big that there is actually no room for other factories to survive.

And this Wang Tongyuan is indeed very powerful. In 1948, he invested more than 3 million Hong Kong dollars to establish a Hong Kong textile factory. It is the largest and most advanced textile factory in Hong Kong's textile industry; its investment is 50% higher than the second place Nanyang Textile Factory, and the third place. It is Tang Bingyuan's Nanhai Textile Factory.

And why Lin Zhichao is sure that even if Wang Tongyuan's zipper factory is not destroyed this year, it will be destroyed next year, and it will certainly be able to destroy his zipper factory.

Let’s wait and see!

Hong Kong Textile Factory.

Looking at the machines imported from the United States, Wang Tongyuan spit out zippers continuously, and immediately felt that this business is very good, and the profit is much higher than that of the textile industry.

With profits so high, why don’t those people follow suit?

The profit of the textile industry is so low, but everyone rushes in.

Worried about competing with Cheung Kong Industrial, that's only people who have no strength think so, Wang Tongyuan thought so.

In 1940, Wang Tongyuan had already served as the chairman of the family textile factory. At that time, the scale of his factory had reached 2,000 employees.

In 1946, in view of the domestic political turmoil, Wang Tongyuan planned to ship a batch of new textile looms and power looms ordered by the United Kingdom to Hong Kong. At that time, he visited Hong Kong for six months and found that although Hong Kong is a free port with ideal conditions, the local sales market in Hong Kong is narrow, lacks enough water and skilled workers (current water shortage is also a problem, but many manufacturers pump water from the mountains), and the weather The heat and humidity made it difficult to spin cotton, and we returned disappointed.

In February 1947, the National Government informed Wang Tongyuan that there was insufficient foreign exchange and was not allowed to import machines. Wang Tongyuan had no choice but to send the machines to Hong Kong again and put them in the warehouse.

In 1948, the domestic situation deteriorated again. Wang Tongyuan sent 80 skilled workers and technicians from Shanghai to Hong Kong to set up a Hong Kong textile company. He himself traveled back and forth between the two places. It was not until 1949 that Wang Tongyuan brought his family and his brother's children to Hong Kong. Settled in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong textile factories invested huge amounts of money and brought a large number of technicians and workers from the Shanghai stock market, which naturally opened up the situation quickly.

When Wang Tongyuan saw that Yangtze River Corporation had achieved such a scale but had no rivals, he became very jealous. Through his investigation, he found that Changjiang Industrial's profit margin was very high, which completely gave its opponents room for development.

How does this work?

How can one person make money, so he quickly decided to purchase three American automatic zipper rice arranging machines.

"Why is the production of this slider different? Why is Cheung Kong's slider technology so good?" Wang Tongyuan asked Wu Mingcheng, the manager of the Hong Kong zipper factory.

Wu Mingcheng made a comparison and said: "Some of them look like they are produced by automatic stamping machines, but this manufacturer doesn't value them very much. What's more, our prices are a dime cheaper, and everyone is dissatisfied with Yangtze River Industrial's long-term high-price sales. I believe it will soon be over." It can occupy half of the market in Hong Kong."

Wang Tongyuan frowned and said, "No! You should still find a way to find out about this automatic slider stamping machine. There are imports there. We can't lag behind in technology. After all, we still have to open up the Southeast Asian market."

Since he has to do something, he must do his best. This is his determination to enter this industry. Although the zipper industry is small, it is only the current situation. With the development of the economy, people's clothing will become more and more modern (Western style), so the zipper market will increase exponentially.

Today, Hong Kong's zipper market conservatively has 400,000 pieces. This small market alone has a profit of more than 100,000 yuan. Why doesn't he do it? Moreover, he sent people to Southeast Asia to investigate and found that the agent adopted by Yangtze River Industry In the cooperation model, the zippers obtained by Yangtze River cost 0.9 to 1 Hong Kong dollar.

Such a good market, it's no wonder he didn't fight for it.

"Okay, we will find a machine channel as soon as possible."

Wang Tongyuan nodded happily. The market in Southeast Asia is dozens of times that of Hong Kong. If he gets a piece of the pie, it can be regarded as an extra business.

"Alone Better Together"

Wang Tongyuan thought so.

In the evening, the Lin family and the Tang family had dinner at home.

During the dinner, Tang Zhongyuan also informed Lin Zhichao: "Wang Tongyuan's Hong Kong textile factory also invested in a Hong Kong zipper factory and imported three American machines."

He understands the strength of Yangtze River Industries, so he is not very worried, just a reminder.

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, anyone can invest in this industry! Moreover, we have recently been expanding the European and American markets, and we cannot worry about the Hong Kong market for the time being. Let him be proud for a while."

Tang Zhongyuan nodded and said: "Although it is said that anyone can do this business, in fact not everyone can do it. In short, Wang Tongyuan will be in trouble this time."

Lin Zhichao didn't want to be aggressive, insidious and cunning in front of his family, so he didn't say much. On the contrary, show a kind of generosity, but very confident.

"By the way, father-in-law. It's time for the Changjiang Garment Factory to replace it with the most advanced electric sewing machines. You are responsible for this. In short, it needs a more advanced electric sewing machine, preferably the American Singer brand, and the variety must be complete. need more."

Tang Zhongyuan was stunned and immediately said: "The investment is so huge, but Hong Kong's garment industry has not developed. There are so many people doing it in the Hong Kong and Southeast Asian markets. Can we consider slowly importing equipment, so that we can save some money?" ?”

Although he was refuting Lin Zhichao, he was also seeking Lin Zhichao's opinion.

Lin Zhichao said resolutely: "It can be divided into two batches to import machines, but it is best to complete it within half a year. Therefore, we have to invest 500,000 Hong Kong dollars in purchasing equipment. As for the market, don't worry, I will acquire a clothing brand , we will work hard to strengthen the markets in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, as well as to enter Africa (South Africa)."

The garment industry can only make a difference in these markets at present. It took the mid-1950s to enter the European and American markets. At that time, Europe and the United States imposed trade barriers on the RB garment market, which led to the rise of Hong Kong's garment industry.

Of course, during the years of the Peninsular War, Hong Kong was unable to import new electric sewing machines, so it was insufficient in the Southeast Asian market and lost to the RB garment industry.

Although Tang Zhongyuan doubted why even sewing machines (electric bicycle clothing) were banned from import, he did choose to trust Lin Zhichao's vision; he invested 500,000 yuan to purchase the machine, and he invested 150,000 yuan in proportion to the amount.

Affordable! This time I made 100,000 Hong Kong dollars by speculating in US dollars.

During the period, Song Qiaoling interjected: "But now everyone in Hong Kong is in danger, saying that even Hong Kong has been taken over."

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "Don't worry, mother-in-law. What I bought is a machine, and I have a ship. If I really want to do that, I will even transport the factory equipment away. We will go to Singapore again. In a few years, we will go back to Singapore." Go to Europe and the United States. Of course, I don’t think it will be closed. After all, Hong Kong is like a bridge connecting the West. If it is closed, we will have to be tied to the bears in the north. This is a very bad situation.”

When Tang Zhongyuan heard it, he immediately felt that it made sense, and said, "I don't think so either!"

"Father-in-law, don't go out and talk nonsense! Everyone feels that Hong Kong Island is a threat. The land in Tsuen Wan has not become cheap yet. You can expand the area around the factory a little more. It will be used in the future and the value will appreciate quickly. If you are short of money, the Yangtze River Industry can lend you some."

Tang Zhongyuan's eyes brightened. His Dongfang Textile also had a monthly profit of 60,000 Hong Kong dollars, and the current debt was only 600,000 Hong Kong dollars, which was not yet due. And he has 400,000 Hong Kong dollars in his hand, which is actually not bad.

"It's not necessarily much worse. I will try to buy another 100,000 square feet later, which is a little bit worse."

"Well, take your time. It's normal for the land price in Tsuen Wan to drop to around HK$4 this time."

Of course, that's assuming someone is willing to sell it.

After the dinner party, Tang Zhongyuan and Song Qiaoling returned to their home, and the couple returned to the bedroom.

"Is Zhichao very good to our family?" Song Qiaoling said.

Tang Zhongyuan said with a smile: "It's normal, he is our daughter's husband; what's more, he is good to the people around him. His cousin, just because he came to Hong Kong and lived there, he supported others to become bosses. It can be seen that he is a person who values ​​affection and righteousness."

Song Qiaoling pinched Tang Zhongyuan and said, "I mean, he and Caiying are too close. I don't believe he has no ideas."

Tang Zhongyuan thought for a while and said, "Caiying is still young!"

Song Qiaoling was stunned. When her husband said this, didn't he mean that he could grow up?

"Go to sleep. What's the use of worrying about some things too early? Children can choose for themselves."

Song Qiaoling was immediately unconvinced and said, "The children agree, but I don't want to agree either. Wouldn't this bring shame on your Tang family?"

Tang Zhongyuan said: "As long as his career is big enough and my two daughters are not wronged, what can we do if we interfere? Caiying's appearance, at least, she does not hate Zhichao; and Caiyun's appearance, And we are very attached to Zhichao. We don’t encourage or interfere too much. To put it in perspective, we still have two sons.”

Men value career. Tang Zhongyuan is eager to make a career in Hong Kong, and Lin Zhichao is his noble man.

Therefore, if at least his two daughters did not object, he would not interfere.