The Industrial Giant Reborn

The acquisition of the two buildings of Wheelock and potentially a large amount of land was conducted by Galaxy Real Estate. In other words, Chen Zhiwen transferred the low-interest loan from HSBC to Galaxy Real Estate.

Galaxy Properties previously acquired the Saixi Lake land in North Point of Hong Kong Island from the Swire Group. As early as the end of last year, it began to build a large-scale North Point Garden. On Hong Kong Island, the total value is still very high.

North Point Garden started pre-sale in September this year. Given that the real estate market has grown considerably and the acquisition cost was very low at the beginning, a one-foot house can earn about 60 Hong Kong dollars. The entire community deducts costs such as loans, construction, taxes, labor, etc. After that, he made a net profit of 100 million Hong Kong dollars.

Although the house has not been completed yet, the project has already been completed in terms of profit. The rest is for the construction company to complete the house and then deliver it to the community. There are professional companies in Hong Kong who are responsible for these. Galaxy Real Estate will only continue in the future. Just stare at it a little bit to ensure the quality and service are in place.

And after the end of this project, the entire Galaxy Real Estate, except for the headquarters that is still under construction in Admiralty, has no other projects. At this time, it is just right to accept these assets from Wheelock. The two buildings can be used to collect rent. To repay the HSBC loan, the land in Kwun Tong and Sha Tin can be used to develop communities.

As for Hutchison Huang, there is already a large-scale project of Whampoa Garden, plus the 800,000-square-foot land in Qizhou Yingni, which is enough. There is no need for many real estate projects. After a few super-large developments are completed, they will not be lower than the Yangtze River. The benefits of this kind of development of dozens of small estates.

After receiving the order, Xu Jinhong, the general manager of Galaxy Properties, immediately began to communicate with Wheelock. Both parties were eager to close the deal as soon as possible. After half a month of discussions, the two parties finally reached an agreement.

Galaxy Properties acquired Wheelock's two federal and international buildings for HK$670 million, plus Wheelock's three warehouses in Kowloon and seven lands in Kwun Tong, Kwai Chung, and Sha Tin, with a total area of ​​about 100 square meters. ten thousand feet.

As soon as the news came out, public opinion in Hong Kong was once again detonated. Because this is the first time since the real estate crisis broke out in Hong Kong’s real estate market that there has been a transaction of two buildings in Central, especially this transaction, and after the failure of the merger plan between Jardine and Wheelock, it is difficult not to let One can imagine that it is really a coincidence that these two things are so close together?

Kangle Building:

Niu Bijian looked at an English newspaper in his hand, which introduced Chen Zhiwen's acquisition of several properties of Wheelock in detail, and frowned. Bao Fuda beside him was similar.

"What do you think of this?" Newbijan asked.

Bao Fuda said: "Chen Zhiwen's funds should come from HSBC, otherwise, he would not be able to suddenly have so much funds to acquire so many properties of Wheelock."

"Why do you know that? Several businesses of Chen Zhiwen are very profitable overseas." Niu Bijian put down the newspaper and asked.

"If he really has so much money and is so optimistic about the real estate market, then there is no need for Hutchison to cooperate with Huazi Real Estate for so many projects. Moreover, haven't you noticed that Hutchison's ParknShop supermarket is located in Huide After seeking self-sale, Feng suddenly began to acquire properties on a large scale, and began to directly compete with us on price. Although we had predicted this step, the timing was wrong, and the sudden aggressiveness must be due to the acquisition of sufficient funds. " Bao Fuda analyzed and said.

"Shen Bi is a shit-stirring stick, and it's his fault that Hui Defeng refuses to hand over the core data." Niu Bijian said with some resentment.

The acquisition of Wheelock is definitely one of the most dazzling achievements in Jardine's business history, enough to make Jardine the most colossal existence in Hong Kong, but the premise is that Wheelock's business is normal. In this case, even if Jardine And the current financial situation is not very good, but Wheelock is also a normal company. It does not need additional capital injection, and it has its own profitability. Insufficient areas, such as shipping.

However, after HSBC intervened through Dolly, John Maben refused to hand over the financial data. It's easy to cheat. If there are hundreds of millions or more debts for no reason, Jardine can be cheated to death.

Mergers and acquisitions in the world's business history are rare, but not impossible. The acquired company concealed a large amount of data. As a result, when the acquirer found out, it was thunderstorm and killed itself.

"Shen Bi, an old fox, not only blocked our acquisition of Wheelock, but also made Chen Zhiwen stand opposite us. Now he is focusing on expanding Baijia Supermarket. If we don't invest a few hundred million in it, we can't stop him at all. But once the investment is made, not to mention that it will affect Jardine Matheson or Hongkong Land's other businesses, I am afraid that in the future, we will continue to have endless relationships with Chen Zhiwen's company." Bao Fuda said with a frown.

Once Jardine enters into the supermarket field like Hutchison, the burning of money must be on both sides, and a lot of Chen Zhiwen's funds will also be burned, which will naturally cause certain conflicts. At the same time, both parties have opened a large number of supermarkets. If they are still very close, the price war will inevitably break out, because if it does not break out, both companies may die.

"Forget it, let's give up." After thinking for a while, Niu Bijian said: "Chen Zhiwen opened up retail trade overseas very early, and also cultivated a complete supply chain through orders from overseas supermarkets. In this regard, we There is no advantage, even if the purchase cost is only 1% lower, we will not be able to compete with ParknShop Supermarket after a long time, this is an absolute gap, even if we spend a lot of money, we can’t change it, and besides, we can spend a lot of money like Huang.”

Compared with capital, although Jardine is strong, it involves too many businesses. Chen Zhiwen's company only focuses on a few directions, and it seems that every business is developing well. I have never heard of a loss. In this case , Competing for capital is meaningless, it will only hurt both sides, and may miss many other opportunities.

"It's a pity. We have invested more than 100 million Hong Kong dollars in Wellcome. If we just give up, we will lose at least half of it." Bao Fuda said with some regret.

The supermarket business is not a real estate investment. Once you give up, all the things you did before and all the money you spent will be wasted. Only those properties that are acquired to open supermarkets can keep their money back.

"In this way, you can discuss with Chen Zhiwen again. We can transfer the Wellcome Supermarket to him. If the price is a discount, don't expect to recover all the costs. Everyone accepts it. Doing this is also an expression of goodwill. , We don't need to continue to fight against him." Niu Bijian thought for a while and said. It is also normal to sell if the business in Hong Kong fails.

"Okay, that's the only way to go, it's good to be able to recycle a little bit." Bao Fuda nodded and said.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel:

As the most luxurious hotel under the Jardine Group, this is the first choice for the Jardine Group to entertain VIPs.

"Chen Sheng, what do you think of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel?" Bao Fuda asked Chen Zhiwen with a smile after walking around several luxurious places in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

"It's not bad. If Landmark is interested in selling it, I can take over." Chen Zhiwen joked.

"Chen Sheng was joking, but you just bought the Federal and International Buildings, aren't you satisfied?" Bao Fuda said lightly.

"Compared with Landmark, the buildings in my hands are far behind." Chen Zhiwen said with a light smile.

Regarding the positioning of Galaxy Real Estate, it really refers to Landmark. In the future, Galaxy Real Estate will also focus on holding large properties for rent collection.

It's a great feeling to lie down and collect money, and as long as the property is purchased early, the value of the property itself can be increased by more than ten times in ten years, and the rent at that time can also be increased by more than ten times.

However, if you want to achieve this step, you need a lot of funds. Therefore, you need to learn from Chinese real estate companies, develop a large number of properties that can be sold, and quickly withdraw funds to grow yourself. When the scale is large enough, there is no way to make money exponentially. At that time, you should learn from Landmark and hoard high-quality properties like this.

Later generations of Chinese real estate companies in the 1990s have also come to this point. The four major Chinese families in Hong Kong are all like this. Relatively speaking, Li Jiacheng is more inclined towards internationalization.

"Chen Sheng's ambition is really not small." Bao Fuda said with a dry smile. He doesn't think that Chen Zhiwen can achieve the level of Hongkong Land, because it is almost impossible. Hongkong Land has already controlled a large number of properties in Central, Admiralty, and Tsim Sha Tsui.

However, the two buildings of Federal and International are also properties that Bao Fuda covets. Who would dislike the office buildings in Central?

"Bao Fuda, you invited me here because you want to show off this hotel in front of me." Chen Zhiwen said again.

"Of course not." Bao Fuda poured a cup of tea for Chen Zhiwen himself, and said, "Chen Sheng, in recent months, Wellcome Supermarket under Landmark and ParknShop Supermarket under Hutchison have launched some unpleasant competitions in many places. , our board of directors discussed it, and felt that it is not an option to go on like this. There are too many opportunities to make money in Hong Kong as a whole. Our way of consumption is not good for both parties, so I suggest now that it is better for us to combine Wellcome and ParknShop When supermarkets are merged, we will share 50/50 and manage the new company together. Together, we believe we can monopolize the entire Hong Kong market soon.”

"Merger? 50-50 split, Mr. Bao Fuda, are you kidding me?" Chen Zhiwen said lightly.

"We can discuss the share ratio, and the same goes for the investment." Bao Fuda continued. Although I came here to sell Wellcome, I absolutely couldn't say it directly at this time. Once I said it, I was immediately at a disadvantage.

It's better to talk about the merger first. If the other party agrees, it will be a bloody profit. Although the possibility is almost zero, if they don't agree, then they are discussing the acquisition. In this way, the two parties will have an equal platform.

"It's impossible to merge." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.

Bao Fuda continued to smile and said: "Chen Sheng, in Hong Kong, it is normal to operate a joint venture company. For example, we, Jardine, have many cooperation projects with Swire and HK Electric."

"Ordinary projects are of course no problem, but retail is the most important business under Huang and me, and we don't accept other capital investment for the time being. If you want to merge, then forget it. Like I said, if I want to take a stake in Kangle Building , will you agree?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile after taking a sip of tea.

"Of course the Kangle Building can't do it, but it doesn't affect anything, but if our two supermarkets continue to compete like this, they will have to burn money all the time. In the end, both of us will lose. Even if we win, it won't do you or me any good. " Bao Fuda said.

"I don't care." Chen Zhiwen shrugged and said. In fact, the price war is not without harm. A price war between two giants is enough to wash away other peers. This is a phenomenon that occurs in any industry. Besides, even if there is no Wellcome, If ParknShop wants to truly unify the retail supermarket industry in Hong Kong, it must also beat the supermarkets established by other capitals with low prices.

In the future, retailing in Hong Kong will inevitably be a comprehensive model composed of medium-sized retail supermarkets and various mom-and-pop stores. The former is mainly to provide cheap goods, and the latter is supplementary to solve the problem of convenience in daily life, and the mutual influence between the two is not the same. It is very big. What Baijia wants to do is to form a monopoly in medium-sized retail supermarkets.

"In this case, Chen Sheng, why don't you buy my Wellcome Supermarket?" Bao Fuda finally said it out. Although he was also very reluctant in his heart, Niu Bijian was right. On the one hand, it is very difficult. Spending a few hundred million more to fight against Chen Zhiwen, who is gaining momentum in the supermarket market, is completely chasing after the bottom. The several hundred million is used to buy land or develop properties under his own. With the help of the current real estate market, it can be doubled .

Of course, I can only comfort myself in this way. In the long run, of course, it is more cost-effective to acquire a super large supermarket chain. This is a huge industry, a company that employs thousands of people and has a huge capital chain. Well, some of the supermarket’s funds are used for investment, and the benefits will be higher, but there is nothing you can do if you don’t comfort yourself. Jardine may not be able to compete with Chen Zhiwen in terms of capital, and retail cost control is even worse. In the past month, ParknShop Supermarket A price war has been launched, and many branches of Wellcome have been losing money since they first opened. In the long run, Hongkong Land cannot stand it.

"Okay, but I don't want the same location as my Baijia supermarket." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, he had already guessed that today would be the purpose, otherwise, Bao Fuda would have no reason to ask him out.

"Okay, as for the price, we can discuss it after we have confirmed it." Bao Fuda thought for a while and agreed.

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