The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

After nearly a month of extremely difficult negotiations, GreatStgle Company and Hengchang Enterprise finally reached an agreement on June 15:

Baoyuan Investment, the consultant of Hengchang Enterprise, recommended that shareholders accept the acquisition proposal.

Peregrine, GreatStgle's financial adviser, claimed to have received acceptance commitments from shareholders holding 44.4% of Hengchang's shares (mainly directors and their families).

Two days later, Peregrine announced that 52.24% of its shareholders had accepted the acquisition, which was successful.

This acquisition has nothing to do with Lin Zhichao. He is just "waving the flag and shouting", not to mention that he still invests in the name of the "Lin Zhichao Foundation"; anyone with a discerning eye can see that he is not doing it for profit.

On the contrary, Zheng Yutong, when playing golf with Lin Zhichao, was quite satisfied with the acquisition; it seemed that he planned to prepare for long-term dividends.

After Hengchang Enterprise was acquired, Rong Zhi served as chairman, Lin Zhichao introduced Yuan Tianfan as president, Zheng Yutong appointed his son-in-law Du Huikai as executive director, and the remaining shareholders served as directors.

Yuan Tianfan is also a talent that Lin Zhichao values ​​​​and he was Liang Botao's boss (Huduoli Financial Company) in his early years. The talents that Lin Zhichao values ​​​​do not necessarily have to work for him. In fact, many of them do not work for him, such as Du Huilian, Li Yeguang, Liang Botao and others; but these people are equivalent to Lin Zhichao's staff and advisors, and will make suggestions for Lin Zhichao and Lin Zhichao's family. Lin Zhichao reciprocated their suggestions and took care of their careers, such as helping Liang Botao and To Huilian establish Peregrine, and helping Peregrine acquire Kwong Sang Bank, in which Lin Zhichao participated in the shares.

Time flies and it’s November in a blink of an eye.

Cheung Kong Group.

"Dad, preparations for the sales of the first phase of the Tin Shui Wai project have been completed and will be officially launched tomorrow!" Lin Ruihuan came to Lin Zhichao's office to report.

This is not a trivial matter, because the first phase of the Tin Shui Wai project has 1,810 residential units, and Cheung Kong Group plans to sell it at a one-time price of HK$1,850.

This price has exceeded the price agreed between Changshi Group and Hua Run, which is 1,750 yuan per square foot. In other words, 75% of the profits from the Tin Shui Wai project will belong to Cheung Kong Group, which is expected to be tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in profits.

Even if Lin Zhichao has made a lot of money, such as nearly 20 billion US dollars from RB, he still attaches great importance to the Tin Shui Wai project.

Lin Zhichao picked up the newspaper in his hand and said: "The new Financial Secretary McGrath has just announced that he will increase the stamp duty on building transfers and limit the proportion of internal subscriptions in order to kill the boom in the property market and quell public dissatisfaction!"

Lin Ruihuan frowned and said: "I also read his announcement. Although I don't want to offend him, we have been preparing for this sale for a long time and spent a lot of money and energy. Rescheduling will definitely be greatly affected."

This is true, in order to sell the houses in Tin Shui Wai, Cheung Kong Group has done a lot of preparatory work; whether it can become an instant success is related to the success of the entire Tin Shui Wai project.

1810 residential units must create a huge sensation - the subscription is much larger than 1810 residential units, so as to build a good reputation for the subsequent sales of the Tin Shui Wai project.

After Lin Zhichao thought for a while, he also said: "We have been preparing for a long time, and it is not aimed at McGuller. In this case, let's sell it openly!"

Lin Ruihuan nodded and said, "Okay, we will hold a press conference tonight!"

At present, buying a house in Hong Kong relies on grabbing. Real estate developers usually send everyone a registration form and then sell it. If too many people register, lots will be drawn to determine the issuance of subscription certificates.

Just this subscription certificate can be worth tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars, or even hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars. This is the current situation of real estate.

The next day.

Long queues began to form early at the major sales offices of Cheung Kong Group. These people came to snap up the first phase of Tin Shui Wai.

"Why are there so many people?" The citizens who came to line up couldn't believe it and said in surprise.

"I heard that there were already people queuing up at 8 o'clock last night, so it's only 8 o'clock in the morning and there are already huge crowds of people."

"No way, it's such an exaggeration. There are 1,810 residential units! Are you still afraid that you won't be able to grab them?"

“It is said that there are 1,810 residential units, but I don’t even know how many buildings there are for internal consumption!”

"It makes sense! If you buy a house now and sell it, you can make a profit of 100,000 or 80,000 yuan, which is faster than earning money from working."

"It's more than 108,000. Someone has already announced that if anyone gets a subscription certificate for Tin Shui Wai, they can buy it immediately for 120,000 Hong Kong dollars."

"Oh my God, just one form is worth HK$120,000?"

The people in the crowd were basically not in "rigorous need", most of them were "real estate speculators"; there were even people from many social groups mixed in.

To this end, Cheung Kong Group has arranged security to maintain order, and JC has come to support.

The long queue quickly attracted the attention of the media in Hong Kong, and it was feared that a "bloody storm" would follow.

after.

The first phase of the Tin Shui Wai sales project attracted up to 30,000 registrations within three days, which is equivalent to more than 20 times the 1,810 residential units on sale.

For a time, it was reported by the media!

Of course, there is one person who is particularly unhappy, and that is the new Financial Secretary McGrath.

According to media reports: "McGuller was very dissatisfied with this and felt that Lin Chi-chao and his son knew that he was announcing measures to combat property speculation that day, but they chose not to avoid the limelight and announced the launch of a large-scale development project on the same night, thus 'confronting' the Hong Kong government. McGrath decided to use a bigger trick, and then the Office of the Supervisor of Bankers sent letters to all banks in Hong Kong to reduce the mortgage loan rate for new and old residential buildings from the original 89% to 70%."

Increasing the down payment ratio is a "powerful measure" to curb speculation. After all, many people rely on 10% to 20% of the down payment for real estate speculation. The bank mortgage ratio is related to the down payment cash commitment of buyers and speculators, which in turn affects the rise and fall of the property market. When property prices fall, real estate developers and agents will both suffer.

Many real estate developers were still watching the excitement, thinking that McGuller would take the lead. After all, Cheung Kong Group was the first person, and it also 'played' McGullah hard once.

Unexpectedly, McGuole did not take the lead at all, but instead hit all real estate developers with 50 big hits, knocking over a boatload of people with one bamboo pole.

About a week later.

Lin Zhichao, Lin Ruihuan and his son hosted a banquet at the Shangri-La Hotel to entertain the visiting Governor of British Columbia, Canada, Lin Siqi. Real estate giants such as Lee Shau Kee, Cheng Yutong, Guo Bingxiang, Li Jiacheng, Guo Huonian, Stanley Ho, Luo Jiarui and other real estate giants were invited to attend.

Lin Siqi is the son of the founder of Ka Wah Bank. He settled in Canada after 1967 and made remarkable achievements in the Canadian real estate industry. Because he focused on charity in his later years, he became the first Chinese provincial governor in Canada in 1988 and the second. Governor-General of a non-white province.

Lin Zhichao and his son had close contacts with Lin Siqi. The Vancouver World Expo site project was initially resisted by locals, but Lin Siqi helped. Finally, it was promoted by Canadian officials, and it was finally sold smoothly in 1990. It was for Hong Kong and Vancouver. Also sold.

During the dinner, everyone was chatting and laughing.

Lin Siqi said humorously: "I have also seen the recent events in Hong Kong from the media. Since investment in Hong Kong is blocked, you can come to Canada to invest! Canada is more relaxed and friendly towards immigrants than the United States and Australia."

Everyone nodded and agreed with Lin Siqi's words.

This is true. People here have investments in Canada. Stanley Ho even settled his second concubine in Vancouver.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "Canadian investment is of course the first choice for our Chinese businessmen, but if too much money pours in at once, there will be another wave of trouble there. I think this time the Hong Kong government targets us real estate developers and uses the hands of banks to block our investment." The neck is actually not scary!”

Li Zhaoji immediately said eagerly: "What Lin Sheng said is that each of us also has a financial company. If the bank does not provide an 80-90% mortgage, our financial company will. When I see it, it is the bank that is in a hurry, or we are in a hurry!"

His business is relatively simple. In addition to holding shares in Towngas, he is a real estate developer. Lee Shau Kee's Henderson Land Development does not have any rent-collecting properties, but is dedicated to developing residential properties.

Therefore, he is a more anxious person!

In recent years, Sun Hung Kai has invested in many rent-collecting properties - shopping malls in new towns; Cheng Yu-tung is mainly engaged in rent-collecting properties, and developing real estate is a side business; Li Jiacheng, relying on Wheelock Group, has a large share of rent-collecting properties. Not bad. Others don’t show it!

Zheng Yutong joked: "Lin Sheng is also from a bank!"

The atmosphere relaxes!

Everyone knows that if McGrath wants to "kill the tiger", then Lin Zhichao must be the "handsome tiger" of real estate and bear the brunt.

And Hengfeng Bank has to obey the instructions of the banking regulator, after all, it is the boss!

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "I think Shau Kee is right!"

He won't express his opinion, after all, real estate is not his main business. As for him serving as the convener this time, it is because of his status in this field.

After that, everyone seemed to agree with Lee Shau Kee's point of view, so they stopped discussing this moment and chatted with Lin Siqi.

Zheng Yutong said: "Seeing that Lin Sheng is investing in the oil industry in Canada, Ah Hong and I also have this idea!"

Many of Stanley Ho's family have Canadian citizenship, so they will not be affected by the policy.

Lin Siqi suddenly became interested and said: "Okay, Canada welcomes you to invest. The oil industry is the pillar industry of Canada's industry. Look at Lin Sheng, he has tripled Husky's assets in just a few years. It's amazing. It’s admirable.”

Stanley Ho also said: "This is exactly the reason. Oil has been at a low level for so many years. I think it is time to buy at the bottom. I would like to ask Governor Lin Siqi to help me when the time comes!"

Lin Siqi smiled and said: "This is natural!"

When he returned to Hong Kong, he also kept an eye on the Governor of British Columbia, so it was also his job to invite Hong Kong businessmen to invest in Canada on behalf of the government.

Lin Zhichao's invitation spread in the Hong Kong media the next day.

Some media and citizens believe that this is a protest and demonstration by Lin Zhichao and others. If they push people too hard, they will shift investment to Canada, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries.

After that, reporters rushed out to interview real estate developers in Hong Kong.

Lee Shau Kee, who has always been reserved and rarely speaks in public, jumped out in front of reporters.

He was the first to express his position: "I will provide higher mortgage ratios through my own financial company to prevent the property market from falling!"

Other real estate developers also expressed their opinions one after another, speaking in unison and with an extremely firm attitude, saying that they would provide higher mortgage ratios through financial companies.

Lin Zhichao finally accepted an interview with reporters under the square of the Yangtze River Group Center.

"Of course we hope to coordinate our relationship with the government. If all real estate colleagues do the same, Cheung Kong Group will also follow the trend."

Although he was the first person, he still gave McGuole a thumbs-down and continued to cause trouble without taking the lead.

Anyway, there is a group of his ‘little brothers’ making trouble.

A group of officials such as McGuller were extremely annoyed with the real estate developers' "confrontation with Taiwan". The next day, McGrath held emergency consultations with HSBC's Taipan Puweishi and Hang Seng Bank Chairman Lee Quo-wai, and the two financial oligarchs came forward to fight back.

The chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, Mr. Puves, spoke very strongly and sternly warned real estate developers that if they insist on going their own way, other development plans in the future will not receive support from banks.

Chinese banker Lee Quo-wai has a softer tone, but he is hiding something behind the scenes. On the one hand, he points out that finance companies affiliated with real estate developers (finance companies are banking institutions that lend limited deposits and loans) may not have enough funds; on the other hand, he explains that the government's measures are only to curb speculation. The wind is not a blow to the property market.

Hong Kong's richest man, HSBC Taipan, made a speech, and the real estate developers immediately compromised and held a press conference as soon as possible, stating that they accepted the 70% mortgage requirement and had no intention of confronting the bank.

In fact, after things happened to this extent, everyone did not really compromise, but retreated tactically.

We only openly disagree with the Hong Kong government and banks, but in fact, we will tacitly implement it - our financial company will provide an 89% mortgage.

By then, two groups of people will be the most unlucky:

The first group of people - small and medium-sized real estate developers. They do not have the strength to provide 80% to 90% mortgages and can only rely on banks; and if you want to attract speculators, you are not strong enough and who will buy your house, so you have to reduce the price.

The second group of people - small and medium-sized banks. Pu Wei Shi and Li Guowei have reduced the strength of Hong Kong's major real estate developers, and everyone has sufficient funds. Once our financial companies are operational, Hong Kong banks' loans will inevitably decrease and they will lose an important profit pillar; then small and medium-sized banks will no longer A defection will quietly give real estate developers higher mortgages.

This is just the ‘first move’ of Hong Kong real estate developers. In fact, the Hong Kong government can no longer handle it! Hong Kong real estate developers have too many tricks at their disposal, and the Hong Kong government is no match for them.

There was a widely circulated saying in the past: "The people who control Hong Kong are the Hong Kong government, HSBC, the Jockey Club, and Jardine Matheson."

Since the late 1980s, some people have said: "The people who control Hong Kong are the Hong Kong government, HSBC, the Jockey Club, and real estate developers."

That’s the truth!

At the same time, the Hong Kong government also has its own ‘weaknesses’:

Everyone understands that the Hong Kong government must be worried about gains and losses. How can it possibly dig its own grave?

Hong Kong has a lot of people but little land. The Hong Kong government pursues a high land price policy, resulting in high land prices. For a long time, real estate income has been the bulk of government revenue.

In terms of real estate income, the Hong Kong government and real estate developers are equally unsatisfied.

So why do people from all walks of life only condemn real estate developers and condone the government?

This is because the government's fiscal revenue is used for huge public expenditures. The British government does not transfer fiscal revenue to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government relies on the revenue from land purchases to maintain its low tax system. The government also builds public housing. One type is public welfare buildings such as schools; the other type of public residential buildings are sold or rented to ultra-low-income people for non-profit purposes.

The good people did it for the Hong Kong government, and the bad people did it for the real estate developers.

If a real estate developer buys a house built on the ground at a high price, the blame will definitely be put on the user, and the user will of course attack it in groups.

However, if the crackdown on speculation in the property market is too strict, it will inevitably lead to a decline in the property market. Once the property market weakens, the government's real estate income will surely drop sharply.

Many real estate developers accuse the government of hoarding land in order to sell it at high prices. The real estate market is high (high prices). First of all, the government's land prices are high. Combating speculation cannot fundamentally solve the problem. What is important is to increase the supply of land, lower land prices appropriately, and ensure government revenue with more land.

In short, this dispute is not over yet!

afterwards.

When Lin Zhichao was interviewed, he said seriously:

"Speech control certainly plays a role, but too much control is detrimental to the development of the property market."

"If Hong Kong wants to get rid of the real estate economy, it must develop in technology and cultural industries. The current government's guidance in this regard is far from enough."

His remarks once again caused widespread discussion in Hong Kong!

For science and technology and cultural industries, don’t look at Yangtze River Industrial Group and Media Group!

Today’s Hong Kong culture has begun to shine:

Hong Kong music, two Hong Kong groups HOT and SES were very successful in Hong Kong as soon as they debuted, and they successfully left Hong Kong and developed in Asia.

Among Hong Kong drama series, "Blue Life and Death" has higher ratings than "Bao Qingtian".

Not only these successes, but also allowing everyone to see a different cultural system, many people are studying "Hong Kong culture". (End of chapter)