A month later.

In Central, the general manager of the Chinese Police Fund, Miao Shengjin, sat in his office and said loudly: "He Sheng, the Star Ferry Company is competing with the Yau Ma Tei Ferry for a franchise license for the transportation of dangerous goods. ”

"If the Star Ferry gets the license, there is little hope of buying the Star Ferry again."

Miao Shengjin graduated from the University of London with a degree in finance, and has worked in two foreign banks, Citigroup and HSBC, the previous position was the head of the fund department of Hang Seng Bank. Later, at the invitation of Luo Wenhao, he came to serve as the general manager of the China Police Fund, responsible for the specific implementation of commercial projects, and reported directly to He Dingxian, chairman of the foundation.

He and Mr. Ji Zhengming, chairman of the "Ho Tingxian Charity Foundation", are the two generals of Ho Tingxian in finance.

When He Dingxian heard the news, he crossed Erlang's legs and asked with a solemn face: "Who has the greatest advantage between the two companies at present?" ”

"The advantages of Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company are still greater." Miao Shengjin said: "The Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company participated in the application for a dangerous goods transport licence two years ago, and has purchased a special type of vessel that can be qualified for the transport of dangerous goods. ”

"But last month, the Star Ferry Company urgently acquired three dangerous goods cargo ships from France, and invested a large amount of lobbying funds in the bureau, and now the results are two."

He Dingxian took a puff of cigarette and asked out loud: "Is the dangerous goods transportation license so important?" ”

"This license plate is definitely not making money for passenger transport." Miao Shengjin smiled bitterly: "However, as the fourth line of the ferry industry on the island, there will definitely be some benefits in the future." ”

"There is no bridge between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, such as diesel, oxygen, oxides, etc., which are flammable and explosive, and gases, liquids, and solids that are harmful to the human body are all counted as dangerous goods."

"In the past 10 years, the Hong Kong Island area used less oil, and it was directly pulled to the port by ship and then unloaded into the two areas. Now, with the large throughput of Victoria Harbour, many dangerous goods arrive in Kowloon first and then enter Hong Kong Island, during which they need to cross the sea. ”

"Hong Kong Island is only now considering issuing a licence for the transport of dangerous goods to the ferry company."

Miao Shengjin didn't get to the point in this matter. The reason why dangerous brand photos make money is not the traffic between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, because in the late 60s, Hong Kong Island would spend 320 million yuan to build a 1.8-kilometre undersea tunnel, which was opened to traffic in 73 to open up the traffic line between the two districts.

The ferry industry will usher in its first impact, and the opponent is the Hung Hom Tunnel.

Relying on the transportation of dangerous goods between the two districts alone, the franchise license cannot make money at all. However, the Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company relied on its dangerous goods franchise license and operated until 2005 despite the continuous loss of passenger transport business.

Under the circumstance of extremely difficult operation, the company sold off the franchised route from Tsim Sha Tsui to Wan Chai, and did not sell the dangerous goods transport license, why? Because Hong Kong Island also has an outlying islands area, there are more than 20 islands of all sizes, including the well-known Lamma Island, Lantau Island, Cheung Chau, etc

Tens of thousands of people live in these places, and every household will need gas and oil in the future. It is impossible for the Hong Kong government to lay pipelines to every island, so it naturally needs to use special ships to transport them, and until the future, the vaporization and oil products used in the outlying island area will be transported by ships.

Of course, the small wheel cannot be directly loaded with dangerous goods, such as gasoline is transported by sealing cans, and gas is loaded before being loaded into the car. In addition, the dangerous goods used by some schools and departments on Hong Kong Island also need to be consigned by ferry companies.

With the gradual development of the outlying islands area, the dangerous goods franchise license is becoming more and more profitable. Although, engaging in the transportation of dangerous goods will never be as good as doing a good job in passenger transport services, but getting a license is equivalent to getting an iron rice bowl, at present, Hong Kong Island only issues a dangerous goods franchise license, and fools know that they can make money.

Miao Jinsheng can't remember that it is normal for residents in the outlying islands area to live, because when it comes to business on Hong Kong Island, everyone only looks at Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, while the New Territories is the countryside, and the outlying islands are deserted islands. He Dingxian remembered that there were people living in the outlying island area, but he only had the matter of competing for licenses in his eyes, so he didn't think much about it at all, so he said: "Fight!" ”

"Whoever the Star Ferry Company looks for to send money, we will send money to their boss, they send 100,000, we will send 200,000!"

"It's not that there is no money, is it true that we are here to play?"

Miao Shengjin was at ease with the big boss's wealth, nodded and said, "I understand, He Dong." ”

He Dingxian picked up the cigarette butt, snorted, and said arrogantly: "Although, I can't find the money that I smashed out, whether I can earn it back, but what the opponent wants to rob, we must not let it." Why was the Yau Ma Tei Ferry preparing to bid early, but the Star Ferry Company was indifferent? ”

"Oh, they may think that the franchise license of dangerous goods may not be able to make money, or they may feel that sooner or later they can squeeze into the Yau Ma Tei ferry, and then the license plate will be acquired together with the route, and it will make more money."

"Now, they are in a hurry and panicked, jumping up to fight for the license, obviously surprised!"

"Amazing our strength."

Miao Shengjin lifted his glasses and smiled politely: "The big boss is wise." ”

Although Ho Dingxian's speech was direct and straightforward, he had to admit that he was strategically correct.

In business, as long as the capital is enough, sometimes you really don't have to think too much, and every field that the opponent wants to grab can sooner or later squeeze the opponent's development space to zero. Rival companies are crushed everywhere, and there is no prospect at all, isn't it a matter of time before the acquisition is made?

"By the way, make some more pretenses and find a junior officer of the Development Agency and ask him to propose the construction of a cross-sea tunnel in Hung Hom." He Dingxian thought of a bad move, and chuckled: "Let the business newspaper write a front-page headline again, and see if the Star Ferry Company dares to spend a lot of money to fight." ”

The advent of the Hung Hom Cross Harbour Tunnel will end the dividend period for the ferry industry. Of course, this does not mean that the ferry industry will be unprofitable, whether it is the usual transportation and passenger transportation, or the tourism that can be carried out later. The benefits are still impressive.

After all, Hong Kong Island's population is growing so rapidly that a few years after the completion of the Hung Hom Tunnel, there was a major traffic jam. Sometimes it's not as fast as a boat.

"Bao Sheng, I would like to order two new ferries to be used as the operation of the ferry company." Three days later, He Dingxian found a new coquettish son in the shipping industry, the famous Bao Yugang. In less than two years, Bao Yugang developed the Jinan Shipping Company, which had only one cargo ship, into a company with ten cargo ships and a total displacement of 200,000 tons.

Among the new generation of shipowners on Hong Kong Island, Pao Yu-gang has seen the most rapid growth in tonnage.

Bao Yugang said with a smile: "He Sheng, how much is a ferry?" With Mr. Ho's financial resources, it would be no problem to replace all the ferries of the Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company. ”

Ho Ting-yin knew that in order to improve the competitiveness of the Yau Ma Tei Ferry, it was useless to just stare at a license, and dangerous brand photos were the icing on the cake. It can help the Yau Ma Tei Ferry make money, but it cannot help the Yau Ma Tei Ferry annex the Star Ferry.

The shipping industry has to get back to its roots.

Those who transport goods must transport goods well, and those who transport people must transport people well. The reason why the Star Ferry can dominate Hong Kong Island is due to sufficient funds and rapid development, and another reason is that the service is good! As a ferry company with an independent wharf, the Star Ferry has the most ships and the most convenient routes, so there are naturally more people patronizing it.

In the past, the Yau Ma Tei Ferry did not have the money to buy new passenger ferries, nor did it have the money to build a wharf and provide good services. Now Ho Ting-yin wants to give the Yau Ma Tei ferry a new look and directly compete with the Tianxing ferry in passenger service, so he naturally wants to change the ferry.

"I'm not going to ask for an ordinary ferry." He Dingxian smiled: "I want to customize two double-decker ferries, five ferries with a capacity of 500 passengers, and each ferry must be equipped with air conditioning. ”

Bao Yugang's face was stunned, and he said suspiciously: "He Sheng, how much does it cost to pay the ticket price for the ferry to get it back?" ”

"It's a loss to make money." He Dingxian took out a cigarette case in his pocket, took out one and handed it over to the money: "It's okay for the boat to be expensive, as long as the passenger flow is there, you will make money." After all, the price of air conditioning is dead, tens of thousands of dollars for a unit, water and people are alive. ”

In this year, air conditioning is the top luxury in electrical appliances, in an era when ordinary people are reluctant to use electric lights, who is willing to spend electricity to blow air conditioners? Send an air conditioner to ordinary citizens, who can't afford electricity.

If Ho Ting-yin could have operated an air-conditioned ferry while keeping the fares unchanged, the Yau Ma Tei ferry would definitely have become a hit.

Of course, there is an advantage of on-board air conditioning, which is that it is powered by the engine, which can burn oil instead of electricity. Although it will lead to an increase in fuel consumption costs, it is acceptable to dilute the cost by turning on the air conditioner only in summer. Through a season of enjoyment, customers can naturally experience the sincerity of Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company.

In addition, the current mainstream small ferry on Hong Kong Island has a passenger capacity of between 200 and 300, the small ferry with a capacity of 500 passengers has not yet been launched, and the double-decker ferry is a new product in the 80s.

Bao Yugang saw that Boss He was going to make a big deal in the ferry industry, so he weighed it in his heart and said loudly: "In this case, I will contact the shipbuilding company on Ridao for you." ”

In recent years, the shipbuilding industry has been reborn with the dividends of maritime trade, and has the best shipbuilding level in Asia, as well as the largest shipyard. From small ferries to tens of thousands of tons of large cruise ships, everything is picked up and all ships are built.

With today's shipbuilding technology, it is actually very simple to build an air-conditioned boat, a double-decker ferry. It's just that the ferry industry has not developed to the point of pursuing service before, so there is naturally no need to actively increase costs. He Dingxian took the initiative to enter the ferry industry with a huge amount of money, so that the industry can enter full competition in advance, which will naturally push up the service level of the industry.

Bao Yugang has business dealings with Hijima Mitsui Shipyard, and has two large cruise ships with a displacement of 30,000 tons, which are being prepared for construction. In the end, Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company signed a contract with the commercial representative of Mitsui Shipyard to sign a shipbuilding contract at the price of HK$200,000 for a single-decker air-conditioned ferry and HK$370,000 for a double-decker air-conditioned ferry. In addition, Mitsui Shipyard will guarantee delivery within two years and undertake five years of free maintenance.

(End of chapter)