The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

It’s a new year again (1992).

On this day, Lin Zhichao, accompanied by Lin Ruijiang, inspected the Admiralty Center (Admiralty), the Hong Kong headquarters of The9 City.

The 9th City is now a well-known name in the world of gaming. The games it develops include: "Hong Kong Cube", "Space Wars", "Pac-Man", "Contra", "Street Fighter" and other console games, as well as Developed computer games (stand-alone version) such as "Sim City".

In terms of profit, it has been around US$150 million for seven consecutive years, making it an out-and-out cash cow company.

At the same time, The9 has branches in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom, employing more than a thousand employees; while the Hong Kong headquarters has as many as 500 employees, almost all of whom are graduates of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University supported by Lin Zhichao back then has become the best talent reserve base for the Lin family.

"Chairman, The9 is currently divided into two major business departments, namely the console game department and the PC game department. Entering the 1990s, we have increased our investment in the PC game department. This year, President Lin led us to formulate three The three PC game projects are "Resident Evil", "Age of Empires", and "The Sims". These three PC game projects are jointly developed through four R\u0026D areas." Lee Hyo-kee, President of The9 City, introduced to Lin Zhichao stand up.

Of course, in fact, many of The9's game outlines were produced by Lin Zhichao, and then handed over to Lin Ruijiang, who then established a research and development project department in the company.

Lin Zhichao is not a professional computer technician, but he must be a good game planner.

"Resident Evil" is a highly influential representative work among games with themes of anti-bioweapons and anti-bioterrorism, as well as horror, thriller, survival, puzzle, adventure, action, shooting and other elements;

"Age of Empires" is an enduring game. It has gone through three major stages: PC, online, and mobile games. It has always been a very famous game theme-the world is divided into 12 civilizations, each civilization has different attributes, such as The technologies developed are different, and the units that can be used are different. The basic gameplay requires players to control a civilization that develops from the age of hunting and gathering into a huge Iron Age empire. To ensure victory, players must collect as many resources as possible to produce new units, buildings, and develop more advanced technologies.

"The Sims" is the second production in the simulation series. The first "SimCity" was a Sega console game developed by The9 in 1986. It was released on DOS and Windows versions after 1987. Everything in "The Sims" game starts with the character of a citizen. The player must set the gender and basic appearance for him, just like the character creation process of many games. At the same time, he must determine many personality traits of the citizen, such as neatness, spending, Activity, sense of humor and just how kind. Don't forget to help the citizens find a comfortable home, this is where the game really begins.

Why didn't Lin Zhichao choose masterpieces like "World of Warcraft" and "StarCraft"? After all, he was more familiar with games, and it's not like there were no studios and branches in Europe and the United States.

This is because he plans to let Sega find a suitable opportunity to acquire Blizzard Entertainment in the future.

After all, they all belong to the same family, and whoever is the most suitable will be assigned to Lin Zhichao.

During the inspection, Lin Zhichao asked: "What is the current development situation of Hong Kong's game industry?"

Lee Hyo-kee said: "At present, in Hong Kong's game industry, our ninth city accounts for nearly 90% of exports. However, as the prospects of this industry become more and more prosperous, and talent training is improved, the development prospects of Hong Kong's game industry are very good. Last year, we also represented A best-selling game from another company, with sales exceeding 1 million."

At present, the world's largest game platform is of course Sega's 'Famicom'. The six major game manufacturers under Atari (software) almost all have annual profits of around US$100 million. As for Atari, a year's worth of software The profit exceeded 300 million US dollars. As for the Famicom itself, the hardware profit is only over 200 million US dollars.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "The success of a company is not really successful. If it can drive the success of Hong Kong industry, it is called success. This is why I have always asked you not to suppress or be harsh on your peers and employees."

He looks at the problem from God's perspective. He has the outline of a classic game in his hand, and he has no worries about someone in Hong Kong threatening his position. Just like the comics industry, the current "Hong Kong comics" are brought out by Oriental Publishing House. Hong Kong comics are still occupied by Oriental Publishing House for more than 70% of the share. Of course, the overall base is many times larger, even surpassing Japanese comics overseas. .

Lee Hyo-ki admired his boss’s charisma and immediately said, “Well, I understand!”

Games, comics, and Hong Kong culture will all be gifts that Lin Zhichao brings to Hong Kong, and of course they will also become one of the Lin family’s industrial chains.

As for the technology industry, it is full of unknowns and difficulties, so we can only do our best.

Conference room in Hutchison Building.

Lin Zhichao sat in the chairman's position and said decisively: "The telecommunications industry has invested too much, and the response to CT2 in the UK is not ideal. There are only 10,000 customers, less than one-fifth of the expected number. Moreover, we will continue to spend money in the follow-up, at least It requires 6 billion Hong Kong dollars to build a telecommunications network. For this kind of high-tech project that is not recognized by the market, it is no longer suitable for Hutchison Whampoa. I decided to cut off the CT2 business across the board, including the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Bangladesh and other regions." He also said last time , asked Ma Shimin not to invest heavily in CT2. Unexpectedly, Ma Shimin promised well, but still 'went his own way'. If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have tried CT2 (second generation mobile phone).

Of course, if we cut it off at this time, the loss will only be about 1 billion Hong Kong dollars, so we should learn a lesson.

This also shows that Ma Shimin has so much power that it has affected Lin Zhichao's decision-making.

Ma Shimin also used Husky to acquire a Canadian natural gas company, but did not obtain management rights, which also made Lin Zhichao quite annoyed. Without management rights, it would be a loophole for those foreign devils to slaughter their fat sheep.

Calculated in this way, Hutchison Whampoa's overseas business since 1984 has been almost completely wiped out. Only the Japanese real estate industry has made huge profits.

Of course, this is just an outsider’s view. In fact, although Husky is losing money, its asset value has tripled; although telecommunications has failed in one business, it has actually established a foothold in many countries; in terms of ports, it has won the UK’s largest Container port, the first step overseas.

However, this year it is time to change direction and develop in the mainland.

Ma Shimin immediately had a different opinion: "Sir Lin, CT2 has great prospects. It is too early to draw conclusions now. Just like your investment in oil and natural gas, this is a long-term investment."

Seeing the tit-for-tat confrontation between the chairman and the president, everyone fell silent, waiting for one party to compromise.

Of course, it must be Ma Shimin who compromises.

Lin Zhichao said directly: "CT2 business must be completely stopped, including Hong Kong CT2 business, investment must be gradually reduced."

Ma Shimin glanced at Lin Zhichao and knew that there was no room for maneuver in this matter, so he could only remain silent.

Subsequently, Lin Zhichao arranged for the person in charge of telecommunications to implement it.

afterwards.

Lin Zhichao called Ma Shimin to the office again and said: "We are all in business. There is not much benefit in participating in politics. We will miss a lot of information and our attitude towards doing business will also be affected!"

Ma Shimin knew that Lin Zhichao was related to his participation in the Legislative Council election.

At the end of last year, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council will be elected by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. There are pro-China and pro-British members in the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. The originally pro-China reserve member Cheng Mingxun is evenly matched with the pro-British reserve member MacLeod. , but was joined by Ma Shimin, which means that the votes representing Hutchison Whampoa voted for MacLeod.

This kind of thing also made Lin Zhichao very angry!

"Sir Lin, I have no intention of spending more time on politics!" Ma Shimin hesitated and said.

Lin Zhichao nodded. He did not want to interfere with Ma Shimin too much, so he did not continue to pester him. Instead, he said: "This year, we, Hutchison Whampoa, will invest heavily in the mainland. Overseas investment will be tightened across the board. You have to be prepared!"

Ma Shimin was stunned and then said: "Invest in the Mainland across the board? Sir Lin, I will not stop you from investing in the Mainland, but overseas investment should not stop! You are a world businessman and have many successful experiences in overseas investments. Hutchison Whampoa gave up Overseas investment is unintentionally a wrong decision, not to mention that the mainland’s attitude towards reform is unclear and it is not appropriate to invest heavily.”

Lin Zhichao said: "There is no 'political' idea in investing in overseas or mainland China. It is a strategy I make based on the situation. Maybe overseas will be the focus of investment in the future, but not yet. As for the unclear attitude towards reform in the mainland you mentioned , I tell you the truth. Therefore, I believe that the mainland will soon become an investment paradise."

That’s not to say that we won’t invest overseas, but currently we need to invest funds in the mainland, so overseas investment will just not increase new projects. The existing projects are sufficient - Husky, Hutchison Telecommunications, and Watsons are all developing overseas in an orderly manner.

Ma Shimin knew that he was once again decided by Lin Zhichao's "one word"!

"I see"

"Well, after investing in the Mainland this year and next, we will then change direction and invest in Europe and the United States. There will be plenty of opportunities."

"OK"

Ma Shimin still left the chairman's office with a lot of worries. He suddenly discovered that his boss already had a lot of 'thoughts' about him. He knows that the boss has always attached great importance to Huo Jianning's influence in Hutchison Whampoa, which can be regarded as training his successor.

Lin Zhichao looked at Ma Shimin's leaving figure and couldn't help but shake his head - Sure enough, the skin color is different, it means they are not of the same mind!

In fact, Ma Shimin can be considered a white-skinned and yellow-hearted person. He has worked in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. His son also works in a Hong Kong securities company, and he also married a Chinese wife. But even so, it couldn't stop some of his ideas.

For example, in the election of MPs last year, Pao Yukang's eldest son-in-law Su Haiwen supported the Chinese Zheng Mingxun, but Ma Shimin led others to support Macquarie. This made Lin Zhichao very embarrassed. After all, Hutchison Whampoa is his industry, and his subordinates took the lead in supporting the British. Like what words.

Of course, Zheng Mingxun is actually an American. He has American citizenship and has worked in American companies for a long time. In 1987, he became the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, becoming the first Chinese president of this chamber of commerce.

In any case, it is best that Lin Zhichao does not want Ma Shimin to participate in politics!

Of course, on the other hand, Lin Zhichao also admires Ma Shimin's work.

In terms of Hutchison Whampoa's influence, Ma Shimin can be compared with Lin Zhichao. The main reason is that Ma Shimin works very hard. Most people can't bear the various large and small meetings throughout the day, but he can handle them with ease. This is a reflection of his work strength. In terms of life, Ma Shimin is also very "smiling" to his subordinates. He is friendly to others and good at listening to the opinions of his subordinates. Even when he criticizes his subordinates, he is very gentle and unlike Lin Zhichao, who is not as good at swearing.

Lin Zhichao's influence on his subordinates is that he is generally silent and does not know his specific thoughts. He always waits for his subordinates to say the same thing before expressing his own opinions; and if his subordinates do something wrong, they will also be very scolding.

Because of this, the two of them have two different styles within Hutchison Whampoa!

Therefore, even if Ma Shimin has many shortcomings - he likes political opinions, advocates relocation, and has failed investments, Lin Zhichao still hopes that such talents can be used by him.

However, Lin Zhichao also understands that it is impossible to retain a talent like Ma Shimin!

Thinking of this, he called over Peter, a British executive in charge of human resources, and said: "Peter, Hutchison Whampoa is going to the mainland for development soon. I hope that Hutchison Whampoa will recruit talents now and only consider local talents, so that it will be more familiar with the mainland. and investment in Hong Kong.”

Peter was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Okay, I will tell you what you want!"

Lin Zhichao added: "Well, I will communicate with everyone later."

The implication is that we will continue to pursue this matter and don't be petty.

Of course, senior Hutchison executives like Peter have been tamed by Lin Zhichao over the years!

They are here to seek wealth, unlike the Hutchison Big Three who still wanted to arm-wrestle with Lin Zhichao; now, even Ma Shimin must obey Lin Zhichao.

January 20th.

In the office of Changshi Group, Lin Ruihuan and his third brother Lin Ruihai came to Lin Zhichao's office together. One of them is the president of Cheung Kong Group and the other is the president of Wharf Group. Now they are gathered in Lin Zhichao's office. It is obvious that something is going on.

After Lin Zhichao asked the two of them to sit down, he said, "According to people from Asia Television, the person in Shenzhen Town has been identified. Many people in Shenzhen Town have seen it with their own eyes, and it has been confirmed by officials there."

Asia Television is now Hong Kong’s ‘number one television station’. It has an advantage over TVB in terms of ratings and history. So when people from ATV called the Shenzhen Propaganda Department to confirm the news, they would not deliberately hide it, after all, the people had seen it.

Lin Ruihuan said: "I also saw this big news today! Now many Hong Kong people and even people overseas are paying attention to this issue."

Lin Zhichao said: "Then do you know what this means?"

Lin Ruihuan asked his younger brother Lin Ruihai to speak, and Lin Ruihai immediately said: "This means that China still insists on reform and opening up! Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union last year, the situation in the mainland has become a bit confusing; there was already a regression three years ago, so last year The changes in the international environment have made many people worry about how the mainland will go!"

Lin Ruihuan nodded and added: "Now that the old man is in Shenzhen, it is a signal that the reform in the mainland will not change!"

The Lin family has invested a lot in the mainland. If the policy changes, it will suffer a lot. Not to mention the more than 2 billion in political insurance, the investment in manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure is already quite huge.

Lin Zhichao said: "You are still too conservative. I believe that the mainland will be more open! Therefore, I have planned to let Cheung Kong Group and Wharf Group enter the mainland in a large scale. Of course, the premise is that formal documents are formed this time."

The brothers nodded, and they were also looking forward to the huge market in the mainland.

Later, Lin Zhichao asked the two brothers to pay more attention to the news in the mainland.

"It is expected that as soon as I am invited to Beijing, it will be truly open to the public, so be prepared!"

"Yes, father!"

The two brothers couldn't help but admire their father's calculation and self-confidence. If the mainland wanted to convey information, it would definitely be through Hong Kong; and who is the 'boss' in Hong Kong? It's not the current Governor of Hong Kong, who is a British man after all, but the 'Chinese' Lin Chichao. Governor of Hong Kong'.

Therefore, mainland officials will definitely invite Lin Zhichao to go to the mainland, which is expected to be in March.

After the news was conveyed, Lin Zhichao arranged for his two sons to go to the mainland to inspect specific projects and strive to win more projects this year. After all, the earlier you start, the more profitable you will be.

When investing in the inner body, of course you will also hoard land, and a lot of it. (End of chapter)