The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Time flies and it’s March (1980) in a blink of an eye.

In the cold spring season, Lin Zhichao led his subordinates from Global Shipping to the capital. This is the second time he has been officially invited. The first time was of course the National Day in 1978. As for last year's return to his hometown to worship his ancestors, it was completely personal.

In the capital, Lin Zhichao was received by important figures, and then he came to the Sixth Machinery Department, which is the department in charge of the shipbuilding industry, its enterprises and institutions, research institutes, and universities and colleges. And this time his official invitation was from the Sixth Machinery Department.

Last year, he revealed to the delegation visiting the UK that he was willing to contribute to the shipbuilding industry of his motherland. Within half a year, he accepted the formal request. When he came to Beijing this time, he brought his best partner in the industry-Feng Yongfa, the vice president of Universal Group.

At the door of the Sixth Machinery Department, many students lined up with flags to welcome them. Lin Zhichao was embarrassed and quickly gave a kind smile. This formation is a bit too big, and he is a little uncomfortable with it. These students may be students from the school affiliated with the Sixth Machinery Department. Of course, in this era, their consciousness is very high.

"Mr. Lin, it's been a long journey, thank you for your hard work!"

"Director Chai (extreme title), I also want to see more of the great rivers and mountains of our motherland!"

"Haha, welcome, the country always welcomes entrepreneurs like you to return to the country for inspection, tourism and family visits."

The two parties greeted and introduced each other warmly and friendly, and soon walked into the office building of the Sixth Machinery Department, and the welcoming personnel then dispersed.

Visits and meetings are official procedures.

After the visit, everyone sat in the conference room and talked.

Director Chai took the lead and said: "Mr. Lin, the country has asked us to develop the shipbuilding industry, and the leaders have personally given instructions. Therefore, since I took office, I have realized that in order to develop the Chinese shipbuilding industry, the first thing is to open up the international market and export ships. Only in this way can we get out of this situation." time dilemma.”

Lin Zhichao said: "Director Chai's idea is right! However, the current domestic shipbuilding standards are Soviet standards, which is extremely detrimental to exports."

Director Chai immediately nodded and said, "Mr. Lin is the world's shipping king and has thirty years of shipping experience, so we also hope you can give us some help."

Lin Zhichao said: "No problem! I have two tips for shipbuilding to give to the motherland. The first tip is: since I started working in shipping, I have been used to going to shipyards to inspect and study. I have always had the habit of taking notes, and these notes I have witnessed the development of European shipyards and the rise of Japan's shipbuilding industry. This time I specially brought it to Beijing and prepared it for reference by the Sixth Machinery Department."

Director Chai and others did not know the importance of this information, but they felt Lin Zhichao's feelings for the country and expressed their gratitude.

"Mr. Lin's notes must be valuable experiences, and we must learn from them."

Lin Zhichao nodded and did not care about the 'contempt' of these people. He believed that as long as domestic professional engineers took a look at it, they would regard it as a treasure, no less than the information on the construction of the atomic bomb in the past, for the shipbuilding industry.

In the field of shipbuilding, the difficulty levels range from easy to difficult: bulk carriers, container ships, oil tankers, and liquefied natural gas carriers. Lin Zhichao’s information contains many technologies for the first three types of ships. Of course, there are many special ships, such as mining ships, which Lin Zhichao is not very familiar with.

Next, Lin Zhichao said: "The second tip is that our Global Shipping intends to order two bulk carriers from domestic shipyards, but the ships must be built in accordance with international regulations represented by Lloyd's Register. We will send a team Provide guidance and supervision, which will also help domestic adaptation to new standards."

Suddenly, the conference room was filled with warm applause.

Everyone understands that once these two ships are accepted, it will be equivalent to the true significance of China's shipbuilding industry going abroad and facing the world. Being able to build a ship for the world's shipping king is a perfect advertisement.

After finishing his work at the Sixth Machinery Department, Lin Zhichao decided to climb the Great Wall. He was accompanied by people from the Hong Kong and Macao Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, so there would be no trouble and only endless convenience.

The other side.

When Director Chai and his subordinates looked through the "Lin Zhichao Notes", their cheeks turned red. They quickly realized that this was not just notes, but a huge amount of shipbuilding technical information.

"Go and ask the naval engineers from the ministry to see the value of this information."

"Yes, Director!"

After a while, five or six naval engineers from the Sixth Engine Department came in. Most of them were in their sixties, with only one or two in their prime. As for young engineers, of course there were no such.

"Gong Zhao, Gong Wang, please take a look at the value of these information?" Director Chai said excitedly.

He is also an industry technician and has already anticipated the value, but he still feels that he is not professional enough and cannot believe it.

After all, although Lin Zhichao is the world's shipping king, how can he be so proficient in specific technologies. In these materials, in addition to summaries of some important technologies, there are also some summaries by Lin Zhichao, which are simply like textbooks.

Gong Zhao is the most senior engineer in the ministry and is already in his early sixties. After watching it for a while, he became deeply involved.

"Director, which country provided us with the shipbuilding information? The United States or the United Kingdom?"

Director Chai immediately became amused and said: "Gong Zhao, how dare you think about why they are helping us! These materials are all from the hands of the world's shipping king Lin Zhichao. They are his study notes and summaries over the years. It is said that he writes every When you order a ship, you will go to the shipyard to study for a while and understand the technology of the ship, so that you can better control the ship."

Zhao Gong and others raised their heads in disbelief!

"Impossible! Of course we know about the world's shipping king Lin Zhichao, but he is not a technician and runs a huge fleet. How can he have time to study these professional technologies."

Director Chai and others were stunned for a moment, and then became suspicious.

But soon, Director Chai said firmly: "These notes have fully demonstrated that this is Mr. Lin's notes and cannot be fake. Can you tell me, how much is this information worth?"

Zhao Gong said: "At least it will allow China's shipbuilding industry to advance for three years and integrate with the world."

Wang Gong said: "It may take five years to truly break into the world's shipbuilding industry."

For a time, everyone gave their opinions one after another.

Of course I haven't read all the information, but I already basically know the importance of these information.

Director Chai slammed the table and said, "Okay! Mr. Lin is giving a big gift to the country, and he has also ordered two bulk carriers and will guide us to build them in accordance with international standards."

The Sixth Machine Department fell into a carnival.

A week later.

Lin Zhichao just returned to Hong Kong because he made a special trip to Shanghai for inspection.

At this time, Lin Zhichao seemed to have a lot more work, which was to contact and communicate with mainland officials. He also became a director of CEFC last year, an honor that should have been given to Li Jiacheng.

As a result of his manipulation of history, there are no longer Bao Yugang and Li Jiacheng in Hong Kong. Both of them have become "second-rate businessmen"; in the entire Hong Kong, only Lin Zhichao is a top-rate businessman. Therefore, Lin Zhichao was suddenly noticed by the mainland, and his official duties suddenly increased a lot.

Of course, this kind of thing is naturally a good thing. After all, he will invest in the mainland in the future and it will also have some convenience. As for the advent of the Internet era, Lin Zhichao may have already retired, so don't worry about the storm behind him.

Mid-March.

Jardine Matheson announced that Jardine Matheson and its subsidiary Jardine Matheson Securities already hold 40% of Land's equity, while Land also holds about 38% of Jardine's equity, forming the so-called "iron triangle" and "serial ship."

In the office of Changshi Group, Lin Zhichao showed a smile after seeing the news. Ever since he successively acquired Qingzhou Yingni, Wharf Group, and Hutchison Whampoa, Jardine's Niubijian was scared out of his wits.

Because the Keswick family only holds more than ten percent of Jardine Matheson's equity, and Jardine Matheson only holds about 20% of Land's equity. Faced with the aggressive trend of Chinese capital, how can the Keswick family and Newbijian sleep with each other? It’s time to sleep!

As a result, Newbijian began to go to war last year:

First, Jardine Matheson exchanged 50% of the World Trade Center in Causeway Bay and Wheelock's 33 million A shares for 64 million new shares of Land. In this way, Jardine Matheson increased its stake in Land to 27.8%;

Next, Jardine Matheson announced the issuance of 25 million new shares to Land and received approximately HK$760 million in cash from Land. Prior to this, Land purchased another 5% of Jardine Matheson's issued share capital from the stock market. Jardine Matheson purchased another 78 million shares of Land on the stock market with cash, increasing its stake in Land to about 40%.

The dazzling operation is actually a serial ship. Land purchased the new shares of Jardine Matheson with cash, and Jardine Matheson used the cash received to purchase Land shares from the stock market. After a while, the left hand was the right hand, and no family or individual paid a penny, so Jardine Matheson and Land were allowed to hold 40% of each other's equity.

In the eyes of everyone, this move by Niubijian was a very clever move, making the controlling stakes of Jardine Matheson and Land Holdings extremely impregnable, making it difficult for the Chinese tycoons who had been coveting it for a long time.

Only Lin Zhichao looked at all this very calmly!

However, there seems to be nothing in the Jardine department that excites him, but competition still exists. Therefore, if Lin Zhichao can work together with the Yihe Department, Lin Zhichao will not be able to do it.

"Father" Lin Ruihuan came to the office and said respectfully.

Lin Zhichao nodded, and then said: "How is the progress of the expansion of Miramar Hotel?"

Today, Hong Kong receives 8 million foreign tourists every year, more than 5 million local residents. The tourism industry is booming and hotel profits have increased significantly. Last year, Miramar Hotel's profit was as high as HK$45 million.

Therefore, in 1978, Lin Zhichao arranged to rebuild the Lok Fu Building opposite Kimberley Road into a hotel building (covering an area of ​​36,000 square feet), which was used as an extension of the Miramar Hotel.

When he purchased the Lok Fu Building, Lin Zhichao thought that Miramar Plaza and the hotel would have to be rebuilt sooner or later. Since they were built in the late 1950s, they would not be able to keep up with the hardware facilities in the future. The Lok Fu Building is just opposite. If it is rebuilt into a hotel building, the Miramar Hotel Building will not go out of business during the reconstruction period.

Of course, it is now an extension. After completion, the Miramar Hotel will have 1,000 rooms. As for the Miramar shopping mall and hotel, when they will be demolished and rebuilt will depend on the situation. After all, the entire Miramar can currently make a profit of about HK$90 million.

Lin Ruihuanhui reported: "It has now entered the renovation stage. It will be open for business in the middle of next year."

After hearing the report, Lin Zhichao felt relieved.

It suddenly occurred to him that if this project was done as a "bureau", he would not only be able to cheat the real estate company, but also make hundreds of millions in vain. In the end, the property would still be his own.

How could there be no reason not to prepare for such a good thing!

"Okay, next year we will have two hotels and three hotel buildings in Kowloon, which can attract more tourists and increase our revenue significantly."

"Well, the Hilton Hotel in East Tsim Sha Tsui can also open on time, and the Hilton Hotel will be ready to send a team for management training soon."

In fact, the Lin family has no shortage of five-star management experience. The two Shangri-La hotels are very profitable. The Shangri-La Hotel in Central created a profit of 86 million last year, and the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore also made a profit of HK$52 million.

However, Lin Zhichao adheres to a concept: there can only be one Shangri-La Hotel in a city, so the hotel tower in Tsim Sha Tsui East is managed by Hilton Hotels. At the same time, the management rights in Central can be transferred to avoid the loss of a liquidated damages.

In the conference room of the Crocodile Shirt Building, Lin Zhichao heard about the development of the 'Crocodile Shirt' brand in Japan and the transformation of 'Uniqlo'.

President Cheng Xixian said: "Currently, we have opened four crocodile shirt specialty stores in three cities in Japan, and the performance is very good. A single store has reached 70 to 80% of the level of crocodile shirt flagship stores in Hong Kong and Kowloon. The Uniqlo brand has already been established in Hong Kong. With the opening of ten stores, the concept of the 'Fast Retail' brand has been initially determined. Next, we also plan to expand to Singapore and Japan."

Opening a store does not mean that you can make rapid progress just by having the strength. You must advance steadily in the early stage, and then make rapid progress when all conditions are mature. Even for crocodile shirts, there are only four stores in the Japanese market after two years. There are two reasons for this: first, crocodile shirts are not a Fast Retailing brand, so the store opening speed will not be fast; second, crocodile shirts are also in Test the local market to avoid losses and make timely adjustments if things go wrong. As for Uniqlo, after two years of exploration, it has formed a ‘Fast Retail’ brand model, and now it can expand overseas.

Lin Zhichao asked: "Is there a lot of financial pressure?"

Cheng Xixian said: "If we expand the store opening model, there will be greater financial pressure, but there will be no financial pressure in the short term."

Lin Zhichao nodded and then said: "I will consider selling some properties later to support the overseas development of the two brands, so don't worry."

Cheng Xixian said: "The debt ratio of Uniqlo clothing brand is relatively low, and there is no problem with bank loans!"

Lin Zhichao shook his head and said: "Now that interest rates are getting higher and higher, loans are not cost-effective. Moreover, I originally planned to take advantage of the rising real estate market to cash out a number of non-core properties."

Uniqlo's high market value is largely due to its large number of high-quality properties, including a Central building (Crocodile T-shirt), two industrial buildings (Kwun Tong), and hundreds of shops. Most of these properties are located in When UNIQLO went public, it bought it from Lin Zhichao for HKD 50 million. That was in 1972, and its value has now increased by more than 4 times. In addition, if there are good stores for sale during the period, UNIQLO Group will also buy them. For the purpose of opening a store.

Today, Lin Zhichao will definitely not lose money by using the funds from property sales to develop clothing brands.

When the meeting was almost over, Lin Wanzhu, who was wearing professional work clothes, raised her hand to signal.

Lin Zhichao immediately smiled and said, "Wanzhu, what do you want to say?"

All the senior executives smiled. The eldest princess is not only the boss's daughter, but also an excellent manager who is loved by everyone in the company. This is not just agreement. Lin Wanzhu graduated from a prestigious university and does not have the arrogance of the boss's daughter, which is enough for her. Everyone likes this proud daughter of heaven.

Lin Wanzhu said: "Chairman, I think the group should set up a retail clothing company to exclusively represent first-tier European and American brands. My reason is that as young men and women follow Western fashion pursuits, Hong Kong has become a fashion capital."

Lin Zhichao quickly realized, isn't this a ready-made plan?

"Do you have any specific plan?"

"Not yet, just an idea."

"Well, then prepare a plan! Uniqlo is committed to developing into a comprehensive clothing enterprise, and expanding into clothing is a good thing."

"OK"

A group of senior officials also expressed their approval. The eldest princess wanted to prove herself. How could they not agree? Today's Uniqlo has a market value of HK$7.8 billion and an annual profit of more than HK$50 million. It can be considered a large-scale enterprise; with a solid foundation, it can naturally make breakthroughs.

After the meeting ended, Lin Zhichao called his eldest daughter to the office.

Lin Wanzhu immediately stood in front of Lin Zhichao, acting like a typical good girl, but Lin Zhichao knew her performance at Uniqlo - she was more capable in doing things, without the airs of a princess, and could get along well with her colleagues.

"Dad, do you have anything to teach me?" Lin Wanzhu said intelligently.

Lin Zhichao smiled, and his eldest daughter responded quickly.

Immediately, he said: "I also have some ideas about the retail clothing brand you just mentioned, and I just want to communicate with you. The overall plan is almost the same as yours, which is to recruit European and American first-line brand agents, and we will build a fashion platform. But, we To become a popular trend in Hong Kong, we must choose the right advertising and clothing brands. In terms of advertising, I plan to ask Oriental Newspaper to set up a magazine, which can be linked to the brand later. I think that starting from the 1970s, European and American punks and skinheads and New Wave elements are popular, so we can choose to represent 'Levis' and 'Martin boots', specialize in the youth market, and sponsor clothing for stars and disc jockeys."

Lin Wanzhu was dumbfounded. Her father had just listened to her idea, and after a while, he had a perfect plan. After she reacted, she immediately came to Lin Zhichao and showed her hospitality.

"Dad, since you told me in private, the credit must go to me." After saying that, he did not forget to give Lin Zhichao a pat on the shoulder, which was full of flattery.

She had heard the story of Fifth Brother and knew that her father planned Cabbage Patch Dolls for him.

If she can rely on this merit now, she will be able to have a legitimate reputation in the group in the future, instead of having the aura of 'eldest princess'.

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "You are my good daughter. Not to mention picking up an idea, even if UNIQLO gave it to you, your father would be willing to give it up."

Lin Wanzhu immediately said: "I don't want so many!"

"Haha, do your best. As long as you get results, everything will be easy. Of course, you are about to turn 25 and it's time to think about personal matters."

"Dad, I'm not in a hurry!"

In the end, Lin Zhichao even picked a name for Lin Wanzhu, and it was called I.T Fashion Brand Retail. ‘I.T’ is the abbreviation of Income Team, which is a team that makes money.

As for bringing out a magazine to match, of course I have to choose the youth campus magazine "YES" as the template.