We're building a super chaebol in Hong Kong

"Our project must be accelerated as soon as possible. We can't let Hutchison Whampoa Plaza monopolize the market. This is a big piece of cake. As the largest real estate company in Hong Kong, we have no reason to just watch Hutchison Whampoa Plaza make big money!" Keswick, having received the news, said decisively.

"Yes, Mr. Keswick, I think so too. In that case, let's double the number of workers at our urban complex construction site that's already started in Sheung Wan. On the premise of ensuring quality, let's complete our urban complex as soon as possible and start attracting tenants!" Beauford said resolutely.

The first day's official business volume data of Hutchison Whampoa Plaza had already overwhelmed them.

Originally, according to their plan, their urban complex would not be completed until around September 1981, which is a two-year construction period.

A two-year construction period is actually not too long.

However, seeing others make big money is like having their own flesh cut off, how could they bear it!

Now that they have seen the success of Hutchison Whampoa Plaza, they no longer intend to delay for so long.

They must speed up the completion time and not let Hutchison Whampoa Plaza exclusively enjoy such a large piece of cake!

Doubling the workforce, although it cannot directly reduce the construction time by half, can at least shorten it by several months.

In the current situation, if the workforce is doubled, then the project, which was originally scheduled to be completed in September 1981, can be shortened to the spring of 1981.

Hutchison Whampoa Plaza in Kowloon Tong and Jardine Matheson's planned integrated commercial complex in Sheung Wan are different.

The reason why Hutchison Whampoa Plaza was built so quickly is that, in addition to the large number of construction workers, the most important thing is that the site was originally a flat land, which could be directly enclosed for construction.

The land planned by Jardine Matheson, however, not only has half of its area belonging to a hillside that needs to be leveled, but there is also a small village that needs to be demolished. Although the construction difficulty is not high, this also leads to a longer construction time.

"The construction progress must be accelerated. If those troublemakers refuse to cooperate, just forcibly demolish them. Leave this to the people from the Chinese community. They are familiar with this!" Keswick said directly!

Previously, a British-funded consortium had taken a fancy to a piece of land and planned to use it to build a commercial building. However, there was a primary school on this land, and the school had several hundred students. The principal, teachers, and parents all refused to relocate, and their resistance was very strong.

In the end, the consortium did not need to do anything themselves. Instead, they called a gang leader who directly set the school on fire in the middle of the night.

This incident caused a great sensation in Hong Kong at the time. As the taipan of Jardine Matheson, Keswick was naturally very clear about this matter, and this incident actually happened in Wan Chai.

"Then this matter will trouble Mr. Keswick. I heard that Mr. Keswick has a good relationship with the leader of a large gang," Beauford said with a smile.

"Okay, leave this matter to me. Spending a little money can solve these troublemakers. Why not!" Keswick said with a smile.

This piece of land is not far from Central, with a straight-line distance of less than two kilometers. Because of this, they believe that once an urban commercial complex is built there, people in Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, and Central will definitely be willing to go to Sheung Wan to shop.

Unfortunately, Jardine Matheson only purchased the hillside from the government, and the land on the hillside is not enough to build a large commercial complex.

Therefore, the small village not far away has become their best target for annexation. Once this small village is taken care of, then their land will be large enough to build a large commercial complex, just right.

Although Sheung Wan is next to Central, it is actually considered a suburb and not part of the city center.

"I knew last time that we shouldn't have exchanged the Jardine Matheson pier in Sheung Wan and the Soo's Group Building. If we hadn't exchanged, then we would have had more than enough land at the Jardine Matheson pier in Sheung Wan to build a commercial complex like Hutchison Whampoa Plaza," Beauford said with some regret.

The Jardine Matheson Central pier site is actually better than the address they have chosen now, because the straight-line distance from the Jardine Matheson Central pier to the westernmost part of Central is only a few hundred meters, and it is also close to the sea, which is far more advantageous than the selected site now.

They didn't consider so much at the time, otherwise, they probably wouldn't have exchanged with Soo's Group.

"This matter has its advantages and disadvantages. Although we lost the Jardine Matheson pier in Sheung Wan, we also gained the Soo's Group Building site, which is of greater value to us. This will completely perfect the financial and commercial circle we are building in Central!" Keswick said with a smile, not regretting the exchange at all.

"Yes, since it has been exchanged, it has become a reality, and it's useless to say more now," Beauford nodded.

"Mr. Beauford, then the task of poaching will be left to you. Since Wen Yu won't jump ship, then contact other senior executives, such as the deputy general manager of Hutchison Whampoa Plaza, and the heads of those departments. The experience they have is no less than Wen Yu's, but perhaps they are not as good as Wen Yu in terms of management. For Jardine Matheson, we don't lack talented managers. What we need is the operating experience of an urban complex!" Keswick continued.

"Okay, I'll leave this to me. I'll immediately urge our people to do this!" Beauford agreed.

"This Mr. Li is really a talent. No wonder he was able to turn the former Hutchison Whampoa around and make a profit. Now he has even come up with such a profitable weapon. It's a pity that we can't use him!" Thinking of the success of Hutchison Whampoa Plaza, Keswick couldn't help but think of Li Ka-shing, the president of Hutchison Whampoa.

Now, everyone thinks that Hutchison Whampoa Plaza was created by Li Ka-shing, but little do they know that this era-defining conceptual product was actually an idea provided by Su Cheng, the behind-the-scenes boss. Whether it's Li Ka-shing or Wen Yu, they are just executors.

"Yes, Li Ka-shing's ancestors were also British, so he is considered to be of the same lineage as us. Such a talented person is now working for the Chinese. It's really a disgrace to us British!" Beauford said very enviously.

"However, even if we could poach him to Jardine Matheson, I don't know what position to give him," Keswick said with a wry smile.

Now, Li Ka-shing's position is the same as Keswick's, both are the heads of a large group, and the strength between the two is almost the same.

If he poaches Li Ka-shing, does he, Keswick, have to give up the position of Jardine Matheson's taipan?

Of course not possible.

Therefore, this matter is ultimately just a private chat between them.

Poaching Li Ka-shing is not realistic at all. (End of this chapter)