We're building a super chaebol in Hong Kong

"Alright, let's not talk about these things. I'm at ease with you overseeing Tianyuan Investment Company. Let me tell you the purpose of my visit this time. I need you to register an independent property management company and assemble a professional property management team. I have a big use for it," Su Cheng said directly.

"A property management company? As far as I know, Hutchison Whampoa and the Su Group both have professional property management companies. Why do you specifically want to register an independent one, boss?" Zhang Qizheng asked in surprise.

The property management company under the Su Group is not worth mentioning; its scale isn't large. After all, the Su Group hasn't been involved in the real estate industry for very long. The property management company is considered a supporting enterprise to the real estate company. Since the real estate industry hasn't developed much, the property management company's scale naturally isn't anything special.

But the situation is different with Hutchison Whampoa. Hutchison Property Management Company itself is a sizable subsidiary under the Hutchison Whampoa Group. If it were to be independently listed, its market value would definitely exceed one hundred million.

This Hutchison Property Management Company has also grown alongside Hutchison Real Estate. It currently manages over thirty properties throughout Hong Kong. Besides that, it also has operations in Singapore, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur. If only considering rankings within the property management industry, Hutchison Property Management Company can rank in the top ten in Hong Kong.

Moreover, due to the privatization of Hutchison Whampoa Group, Hutchison Property Management Company can be said to be equivalent to Su Cheng's private enterprise.

Therefore, he felt somewhat strange about Su Cheng wanting to establish another independent property management company.

This seems like a redundant thing to do.

Usually, if Su Cheng arranged tasks, Zhang Qizheng rarely asked questions, simply completing the task for his boss.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't seen Su Cheng for too long, coupled with his genuine curiosity, that Zhang Qizheng couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing to hide from you. I plan to purchase some properties, such as office buildings, commercial buildings, industrial parks, factories, and warehouses, etc. After purchasing these, I will only rent them out, not sell them. I want to establish a new property management company. While managing these properties, its primary focus will be on collecting rent. Although Hutchison Property Management Company is a relatively mature property management company, it is, after all, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Group. If the properties I newly purchase are incorporated into Hutchison Property Management Company, it would be equivalent to incorporating them into Hutchison Whampoa Group's management. Therefore, I want to establish a separate property management company, not subject to anyone's jurisdiction, with the person in charge reporting directly to me," Su Cheng said with a smile.

After listening, Zhang Qizheng finally understood and nodded.

As a business manager, he naturally understood Su Cheng's intentions.

If Su Cheng were to now use his private funds to acquire properties and then incorporate them into Hutchison Property Management Company's management, then the profits generated would belong to Hutchison Whampoa Group. At that time, the group would have the right to allocate and arrange the use of these funds.

But Su Cheng was unwilling to do this. He acquired properties not for Hutchison Whampoa Group to manage. If one day Wei Li sold some properties and diverted funds to other subsidiaries for development, he might not even know, after all, he usually couldn't be bothered with these small matters.

Su Cheng's purpose in purchasing properties was simply to collect rent every year while waiting for these properties to appreciate in value.

Just like the current Wharf Group, in reality, the company's main income also primarily comes from collecting rent.

The speed of making money from collecting rent is certainly slower, but only Su Cheng knows how terrifying Hong Kong's real estate will develop in the future.

In the late 1970s, an ordinary 10-story building in Central might only be able to collect a few million Hong Kong dollars in rent per year, but in the next few decades, it would be normal for a building to collect hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars in rent per year, and future housing prices would be even higher than they are now.

Su Cheng had seen an article in his previous life that Hong Kong's overall housing prices had increased by as much as 400 times in fifty years, and some shops had increased by more than 8,000 times.

Originally, he didn't have this idea, after all, doing business and investing actually made more money.

However, now there was simply too much surplus capital, lying in the bank would only continuously depreciate, it would be better to turn a portion of the capital into fixed assets.

At least in this era, real estate property was still considered a relatively cheap price for Su Cheng.

Therefore, Su Cheng had the idea of establishing a new property management company specifically to help him collect rent.

The personnel scale of this property management company didn't need to be too large, but the funds received each month might be relatively large, so it also needed very professional personnel to manage it.

Regarding professional personnel, Su Cheng wasn't worried about this issue. Sanyang Headhunting could find this kind of professional management for him at any time.

In Hong Kong, it might be difficult to find high-tech talents, but there was definitely no shortage of management in the property field. As long as the待遇 (dàiyù - treatment, pay/benefits) were good, there was no worry about not finding good management.

Moreover, the person in charge who was recruited also didn't have the right to move funds. All funds would be handled by the finance department and connected with Su Cheng.

"Boss, leave this to me. I'll get it done for you tomorrow. Let's put the company's office at Tianyuan Investment Company for now. Also, how does the boss plan to handle the recruitment of the person in charge?" Zhang Qizheng asked.

"How about this, let the general manager of Hutchison Property Management Company concurrently serve as the person in charge of the new company, and then give Sanyang Headhunting Company time to find a capable successor. I'll say hello to Mr. Wei Li about this matter," Su Cheng said directly.

The work of the new property management company certainly wouldn't be much. Serving concurrently wouldn't have much impact on Hutchison Property Management Company, so they shouldn't refuse if he mentioned it.

As for ordinary employees, recruitment was even simpler.

And the personnel for the finance department could be directly sent over from Tianyuan Investment Company. The income structure of rent collection was simple, without complicated income and expenses.

"Okay, is there anything else to do?" Zhang Qizheng accepted the task and continued to ask.

"Help me find out, using resources such as real estate agencies, what office buildings, commercial buildings, industrial parks, factories, warehouses, etc., are for urgent sale below market price in the downtown areas of Hong Kong Island and the southern part of Kowloon Peninsula, especially in Central, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, and other areas along both sides of Victoria Harbour. The more, the better. Then I'll see which ones are suitable for me to acquire. If there are suitable ones, I'll take them down," Su Cheng thought for a moment and said.

"There are quite a few properties for urgent sale, especially in recent years, with the market conditions not being good. Many enterprises or individuals are choosing to sell properties to reduce pressure. How much capital does the boss plan to use to acquire properties?" Zhang Qizheng asked.

"There's no limit for the time being. As long as it's suitable, as long as I think it's worth it, I can acquire it. Even if Connaught Place is for sale, I can buy it as long as the price is right!" Su Cheng said with a smile.

Connaught Place, located in Central, Hong Kong, is a 52-story (178.5 meters) building built by Hongkong Land, a major property owner in Central, Hong Kong. Completed in 1973, it was Hong Kong's first skyscraper and the tallest building in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia throughout the 1970s, until it was replaced by Hopewell Centre in the early 1980s. (End of chapter)