We're building a super chaebol in Hong Kong

"Mr. John Madden, this can be considered our first private meeting!" Su Cheng greeted John Madden.

They had occasionally met at large gatherings before, but only exchanged a few pleasantries before parting ways, as Su Cheng had no prior business dealings with Wheelock Group.

John Madden was a top figure in Hong Kong, and as the Tai-pan of Wheelock, one of the four great hongs, John Madden's status was naturally high.

"Mr. Su, you are a rare guest. I didn't expect you to actually come to my office." Although he knew in advance that Su Cheng would come to see him, John Madden was still very surprised to see Su Cheng.

Wheelock Group's main industries in Hong Kong are shipping and real estate.

When it comes to competitors, Global Shipping Group is their biggest rival.

However, it is clear that the relationship between the 'Shipping King' and Wheelock is good, otherwise his office would not be located in Wheelock House.

"Mr. John Madden is a senior in the business world. It's only natural for me to visit a senior!" Su Cheng said with a laugh.

"Mr. Su, please have a seat. Let's not talk while standing." John Madden personally pulled out a chair for Su Cheng, saying.

Su Cheng nodded and sat down without hesitation. John Madden also sat down opposite Su Cheng.

"Mr. Su, would you like tea or coffee?" John Madden asked again.

"Tea, please." Su Cheng surveyed the office environment while chatting with John Madden.

Soon, a staff member brought Su Cheng a cup of hot tea.

John Madden himself ordered a cup of hot coffee.

After all, John Madden was a foreigner, and he didn't have the habit of making tea, so there was no tea set in the office.

"You Chinese have a saying, 'One doesn't visit a temple without a reason.' Mr. Su must have something on his mind to come here, right?" John Madden asked directly.

After all, the two of them were not familiar with each other. If it weren't for Su Cheng's special status, John Madden would not usually meet with unfamiliar people casually.

When Su Cheng called John Madden, he didn't say what it was about, but simply said that he wanted to visit him.

Therefore, John Madden still doesn't know what this world's richest man wants from him.

He thought to himself that he didn't seem to have any business cooperation projects with him, and wondered what Mr. Su was looking for.

Su Cheng didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Mr. John Madden, it's like this. I heard that you are selling Central Federation Building and Mong Kok International Building. I happen to be a little interested, so I wanted to come and talk to Mr. John Madden about this matter."

"Oh? I didn't expect Mr. Su to come for this." John Madden was both surprised and happy to hear this.

Moreover, Wheelock had just had a large real estate investment project in Tsim Sha Tsui, which occupied a lot of Wheelock Group's cash flow, making it basically difficult for them to come up with more funds.

Hong Kong's real estate industry basically develops on the model of constantly borrowing money from banks to build houses, selling them, and then repaying the money. Therefore, Wheelock Group's Federal Real Estate owes a lot of money to the bank. It is uncertain whether the bank will be willing to lend another several billion Hong Kong dollars, and even if it is willing to lend, the conditions will be very harsh.

Therefore, if they want to acquire the batch of second-hand ships from Global Shipping Group, they can only rely on themselves.

What to do if they don't have money? Sell properties!

Originally, John Madden had talked with the 'Shipping King', hoping to exchange these two buildings, and add money for the insufficient part.

However, Global Shipping Group only offered a maximum of HK$1.5 billion for these two buildings.

You should know that according to last year's market price, the valuation of these two buildings reached HK$2 billion.

Although it is basically impossible to sell them at a price of HK$2 billion in the current market, it at least has such a valuation, which means that it can really be sold at this price when the market environment is good.

Therefore, if they can only exchange for HK$1.5 billion, Wheelock Group will definitely not agree, as this is too much of a loss. It would be better to use this money to buy new ships, so why bother with their second-hand ships!

However, John Madden and other major shareholders of Wheelock do not want to miss this batch of second-hand freighters that Global Shipping Group is preparing to sell.

This is a good opportunity to surpass Global Shipping Group.

Like Global Shipping Group, Wheelock Group is also one of the world's top ten shipping companies. Although there is some gap between it and Global Shipping Group, it is not out of reach.

In addition to Global Shipping Group and Wheelock Shipping, there is also one of the world's top ten shipping companies in Hong Kong, which is Tung Group's Tung Shipping Group. Mr. Tung is also known as one of the world's seven major shipping magnates, just like the 'Shipping King'. This shows how developed the shipping industry was in Hong Kong in the 1970s.

Unlike the 'Shipping King', John Madden of Wheelock Group doesn't think the shipping industry's cold wave has arrived.

In his opinion, since Global Shipping Group is not optimistic about the future of the world shipping industry, that's even better. This is the best opportunity for their Wheelock Group to rise.

Every time he thinks about Wheelock Shipping becoming the top of the world's top ten shipping companies, John Madden becomes extremely excited!

"Yes, Mr. John Madden, I mainly want to buy the Central Federation Building. As for Mong Kok International Building, it doesn't matter. I am more interested in the Federation Building, but the price you quoted is too high in my opinion. Otherwise, I wouldn't have personally come to visit you, Mr. John Madden, but would have bought it directly." Su Cheng took a sip of hot tea and replied with a smile.

"Mr. Su, these two buildings have been valued by professional personnel. The market value definitely exceeds HK$2 billion. Our current offer of HK$1.8 billion is definitely very sincere and much lower than the market price. We are already selling at a loss." Hearing that Su Cheng's purpose was to negotiate the price, John Madden immediately began to complain.

"Mr. John Madden, real estate follows the market trend. At the beginning of last year, the international oil crisis had not yet occurred, the market was still very good, and Hong Kong's economy was very active. These two buildings were indeed worth HK$2 billion, but times have changed. You also know that since the end of last year, not to mention Hong Kong, the entire world market has been in a relatively dark period. Forgive me for speaking frankly, you have been listed for so long, and other than me, there should be no one interested, right?" Su Cheng said very directly.

(End of this chapter)