The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Lin Zhichao received Chen Zengxi, chairman of Hang Lung Properties, in his office.

Chen Zengxi is a very low-key person. He rarely appears in the media and never accepts interviews from reporters. To be honest, he is a bit like Wang Dehui, the same 'stingy', the same 'rich but not powerful'.

The so-called 'power' is actually a kind of reputation. By donating money, you can get various titles, or you can also hold public office and improve your social circle. If you are rich but not powerful, you will easily become the target of kidnappers, of course in this era. When the big circle gang appeared later, they were really lawless and unscrupulous, looking for rich and powerful people to kidnap.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Chen Zengxi said in formal words: "Lin Sheng, I heard that Changshi is looking to acquire Taohua Datong's land in Kowloon Bay?"

Lin Zhichao immediately understood the purpose of Chen Zengxi's visit and said cheerfully: "Henglong also wants to join?"

Chen Zengxi nodded and said: "Originally I was also interested in this land, but I found out that Changshi was also in contact, so I felt that competition between the two companies would only increase the land. It is better for us to cooperate in development."

This is a characteristic of this era. Chinese real estate companies are jointly developing land projects, and there are naturally many benefits. For example, if we cooperate on ten projects, if one or two suffer losses, the profits will not be affected.

Lin Zhichao said: "Actually, Cheung Kong and Wharf are in contact with this project. If Mr. Chen doesn't mind, we can cooperate with the three parties."

The Wharf Group was short of cash, so this project had to be added.

Chen Zengxi immediately said: "Of course there is no problem. Since Cheung Kong Group and Wharf have joined forces, Hang Lung is willing to join and Cheung Kong will lead the cooperation."

He wants to make money, not reputation. Of course, if Changshi competes, Hang Lung will not be able to resist it. After all, we are not in the same level.

After thinking about it for a while, Lin Zhichao said: "How about Cheung Kong and Hang Lung jointly take the lead, accounting for 35%, and Wharf holds 30%, and develop and sell this land as quickly as possible. After all, Wharf is short of money!"

Chen Zengxi was overjoyed and immediately said: "Lin Sheng is so cheerful, let's settle the matter like this. We will communicate with Xiao Zhou Sheng for the rest, shall we?"

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "Well, let's discuss the details with him."

Chen Zengxi said with a smile: "Lin Sheng has successively won Wharf and Hutchison Whampoa in the past six months, showing off the prestige of our Chinese capital. I admire your courage and strength."

This is almost one of his rare 'humorous' words!

Lin Zhichao responded: "Times have just changed. These British capital have always been wary of Hong Kong. This is the result today. Even if I don't challenge, more people will challenge the British capital. What do you think, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Zengxi nodded and said: "Our Chinese capital has developed rapidly through fighting to support war, while the British capital has developed slowly. One goes down and the other goes up. I believe that Chinese capital will have the absolute upper hand in Hong Kong sooner or later."

After chatting for a while, Chen Zengxi stood up and left.

Lin Zhichao was thinking in his office. Since the beginning of this year, land and building prices have increased by more than 60% a year. In some areas, they have doubled in a year. This is really scary. Even the stock market has risen sharply since February as major companies have released excellent results and paid generous dividends.

Already the final madness!

At this point, Lin Zhichao did not want to get involved in a dispute over high-priced land, so this was a refreshing cooperation. At the same time, Lin Zhichao believes that official land auctions should be reduced and he will no longer acquire land from official land auctions in the second half of the year.

Cheung Kong Group has annexed established British companies such as Hutchison Whampoa and Qingzhou Yingni, and has abundant land reserves;

The group itself also has a land bank of 1.2 million square feet, which can build about 10 million square feet of buildings. This part of the land alone is enough for development until the mid-1980s;

The Cheung Kong Group has a very good reputation and has attracted many companies that own land (without real estate development experience) to cooperate. When they sell the land, the Cheung Kong Group only needs to spend a small amount of money to build the foundation, and it can enjoy half of the profits.

These three guarantees are enough to keep Cheung Kong Group ahead of many real estate companies in the field of real estate development.

What's more, Lin Zhichao's personal real estate company, Victoria Harbor Investment, also owns about 2 million square feet of New Territories land and land exchange rights; if these lands are used for building floors, they can also be almost 15 million square feet.

This kind of strength is almost the same as the land reserve of Sun Hung Kai in the late 1980s (calculated in terms of buildable floor space, not floor area); and the Sun Hung Kai in the late 1990s in the previous life only had 50 million square feet of floor space. Reserve land.

These lands were reserved before the 1970s. In recent years, Lin Zhichao has invested too much in commercial real estate projects, so the land reserves have not increased, and have even decreased a lot.

In the later period, Lin Zhichao did not plan to reserve more land. After all, since the 1980s, Cheung Kong Group had to concentrate on the "large housing estate" project and overseas expansion plans.

In the restaurant of the Shangri-La Hotel, Lin Zhichao invited the president of Singapore Haw Par Company, Mr. Malice, to have afternoon tea with him. Since negotiating the majority ownership of Haw Par Villa last year, Lin Zhichao has been proactively contacting Malis, and his thirst for talent is palpable.

Mellis is a master of modern enterprise management. Lin Zhichao hopes that he will be the "big steward" of the Cheung Kong Group. His British identity will also help the Cheung Kong Group's external expansion.

Sitting by the window, Lin Zhichao said: "Every day, I have to deal with too many things. I am not Sun Wukong. I can have three heads and six arms. I am just an ordinary person. If there are not many people to do things for me, I will not be able to do anything for me." There is no way we would have achieved what we have today. But today's Cheung Kong Group faces two major difficulties: the first is the handover of management, as many of my old colleagues are approaching retirement age; the second is The suffering is that the company has expanded too fast and we still have some internal problems. Therefore, I hope Mr. Merlis will join our Cheung Kong Group and create the future with us."

This is the first time Lin Zhichao has made it clear, and he naturally believes that the time has come.

After pondering for a moment, Meris said: "I have learned about Cheung Kong Group and Mr. Lin. I found that today's achievements have been made possible by Mr. Lin's personal wisdom and decision-making power. But if this is the case, what will Mr. Lin plan to do in the future? Is it based on business ownership or business management rights?”

This is the difference between family businesses and listed companies. Of course, there are many listed companies in Hong Kong that are still traditional family businesses.

Lin Zhichao said: "This is why I hope you join our Changshi! In the future, Changshi Group will develop towards diversification and internationalization. I hope to be a business leader, not a business owner."

Hearing what Lin Zhichao said, Meris understood what Lin Zhichao was thinking. He naturally hoped that Changshi would take the path of modern management.

So, he said: "In fact, Mr. Lin's style is very much talked about. I heard that those who work with you, whether it is management or employees, rarely look for another employer. I think this is also a kind of entrepreneurial spirit. "

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "This is a Confucian spirit. I hope my company will join this spirit to get along with colleagues. Of course, this spirit is mainly about managing people, not the development of the company."

Meris immediately said: "Confucian spirit? Mr. Lin, can you tell us specifically what this spirit is?"

Lin Zhichao said: "The so-called Confucian spirit has the central ideas of forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety, brotherhood, courage, benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trust. I think it should be like the West, with a system, more aggressive, and two ways to do it. , rather than total Westernization or total Confucianism. Confucianism has its advantages and disadvantages, and Confucianism is not enough in terms of advancement. Japanese companies usually take the oath of "bone burial company" on the first day when new employees report. I don’t agree with this. I think we should care about employees in detail, so that employees feel worthy of lifelong service.”

Merisi listened carefully and thought about it. He felt that people like Lin Zhichao, even if they really needed him, would not accept all his ideas, but would have their own unique insights.

After a detailed discussion today, he confirmed this view. Of course, after listening to Lin Zhichao's Confucian spirit, he also felt that this kind of thinking was very good and could be a supplement to modern enterprise management.

After a long while, Meris said: "If I come to Changshi, what kind of position can I be qualified for?"

Lin Zhichao said with joy on his face: "The deputy general manager and director, his main job is the modernization of corporate governance, and also participates in the communication of Western investments. It is worth mentioning that Changshi Group is preparing to adjust its organizational structure. I will step down from the position of general manager. Huang Changhong and Lin Ruihuan, the oldest and the youngest, will be supplemented and serve concurrently as executive directors. There are four deputy general managers and directors, namely Zhou Fuzhao, Zhou Huaian, Hu Zhaoxu and you. Next year, I also hope that you will go to Hutchison Whampoa to serve as a director concurrently. .”

This adjustment has a clear "old with new" approach, entering into an orderly second-generation management handover sequence.

Melis immediately understood that the boss not only wanted him to bring Cheung Kong Group into modern management, but also hoped to use his identity as a British national to penetrate Hutchison Whampoa.

Soon, he said: "I need 1 to 2 months to deal with the matter of Haw Par Villa in Singapore!"

Lin Zhichao said happily: "Of course. Mr. Meilisi, welcome to join Changshi Group." After saying that, he extended his right hand.

Meris also smiled and said: "I should be grateful to Mr. Lin for taking me seriously and allowing me to have a platform to better display my skills."

Lin Zhichao said: "Then let's cooperate and win-win!"

As his career expands, Lin Zhichao hopes that the company will be more modernly managed and that he will get rid of his busy work. After all, his advantage is - guiding the country.

Tang Xin, chairman of the MTR Corporation, brought people to the conference room of Cheung Kong Group to discuss the issue of strata sales of Tai Fu Building, the development rights above Chater Station.

Lin Zhichao did not directly say that he planned to package and sell it to his own company, but adopted roundabout tactics.

"Chairman Tang Xin, property prices have risen sharply this year. We can earn a lot of profits from this project. It can be said to be the beginning of the subway company's model."

Tang Xin and other MTR company management members suddenly beamed with joy. He said: "The subway investment is huge, so these real estate profits are related to the construction issues of the MTR company and the livelihood projects of Hong Kong citizens. This cooperation with Cheung Kong Group allows us to appreciate Only with the credibility and strength of your group can we get a good start."

A senior executive of the subway company added: "The generosity of the Cheung Kong Group to ease the financial pressure on the subway company is even more admirable."

Last year, Cheung Kong Group paid a cash flow of HK$550 million to the MTR Corporation in batches, allowing the MTR Corporation to use it to repay bank debts as soon as possible. Over the course of the year, it saved tens of millions in interest.

Subsequently, the senior officials of Cheung Kong gave the strata sales quotation of Taifu Building for review by the MTR Corporation.

After a long time, Tang Xin said with satisfaction: "At this price, the total sales of Taifu Building will be HK$605 million, and the total profit will be HK$158 million."

Lin Zhichao said: "Not bad! Of course, we can postpone it for more than half a year, and we can earn more."

Tang Xin immediately said: "No! The subway company is in urgent need of money, and there are many property development rights built on the stations behind it, so it has only made less than 80 million Hong Kong dollars in a year and a half, and I am satisfied."

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "So, you have no objection to the price?"

The management of the subway company is naturally familiar with real estate prices. After all, it has cooperation with so many stations on the development rights, how can it not understand the market?

"I am very satisfied. The price is very good! To be honest, I will be happy if I can sell it."

Lin Zhichao followed these words and said: "Chairman Tang Xin, although we agreed to sell the building in layers to the public at the beginning, considering that if such a building is sold in layers in the future, it will not be conducive to management. So another company of mine—— Cheung Kong Industrial Group plans to immediately buy this building for HK$605 million in cash and use it as its headquarters office building."

So rich!

Tang Xin and others couldn't help but sigh in their hearts.

"No problem! This can also reduce a lot of trouble." Tang Xin said cheerfully.

It's not a sale to anyone. Now someone has bought the whole building, which is naturally better.

Afterwards, everyone briefly discussed the details, and the deal was considered a success.

After the entire project, the subway company can get a profit of 80 million yuan (excluding interest and other expenses), which is already very good.

As for the second building jointly built by the two parties, the building above Admiralty Station, it is expected to be sold in August. Anyway, as long as the sales conditions are met, the sale will be made as soon as possible.

The building built on the Admiralty Station account is larger than the Taifu Building and is expected to be worth HK$900 million. Both parties can each earn more than 120 million. Lin Zhichao plans to let Cheung Kong Group buy this building. But instead of holding it for a long time, we would wait until 1980 to sell it and try to get HK$1.5 billion.

Cheung Kong Group's participation in 'real estate speculation' is naturally a big deal.

The cost of Cheung Kong Group's acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa will be around HK$1 billion (more than 40% of the equity). Of course, this is not a problem. The cash flow of Cheung Kong Holdings last year alone was almost this figure (the land funds advanced to the MTR Corporation are calculated at Inside). And the companies are almost all "developing real estate". Even if they are speculating on the Golden Bell Station, it is "goods rotate", so the funds are withdrawn very quickly, and there is no shortage of money at all.

A week later.

Taifu Building was sold for HK$605 million, and the media reported it.

After hearing the news, Newbijian couldn't help but said: "Isn't this the same as the leasing in our bidding?"

Bao Fuda, the newly promoted real estate manager, couldn't help but admire Lin Zhichao's roundabout tactics. If the original bidding document stated the purpose of leasing, the subway company would definitely not cooperate because the subway company is short of money. But now Lin Zhichao uses other companies to buy this building and keeps the rent collection by himself. This not only satisfies the subway company, but also allows him to obtain long-term rent collection benefits.

"It's a truth!"

Newbijian sighed and said: "You are not unjustly defeated! Of course, the original bid also had many generous conditions that we could not provide. By the way, are you planning to increase the intensity of developing Hong Kong's real estate industry?"

Bao Fuda nodded and said: "Hong Kong's real estate is booming now. If we don't work hard to develop real estate and earn more profits, we will completely fall behind the Chinese capital."

He is a radical!

However, Niubijian was much more 'stable'. He immediately said: "I suggest you not to be too radical. Even though our Land lags behind Cheung Kong Group, it is still the second largest real estate company in Hong Kong. As long as we are a little more aggressive, other Chinese real estate companies It’s also beyond reach.”

He is the chief executive of Jardine He, and naturally he is also the boss of Mr. Bao Fuda, the chief executive of Landmark.

Therefore, Bao Fuda could only say: "Okay, I will grasp this speed!"

The two talked in detail before ending the meeting.

In fact, as the real estate situation gets better and better, Bao Fuda's investment intensity becomes stronger and stronger. After all, how can these British people see the situation clearly? Whether Land will become the debt king in this life, the choice is still in Bao Fuda's hands. If Bao Fuda wants to play, someone will definitely play with him. (End of chapter)