Mid-July.

In the office of Cheung Kong, Lin Zhichao, Tang Caiyun, Huang Changhong, Zhou Fuzhao, Hu Zhaoxu, Liang Guangchang and Li Paul attended the meeting, and five of their subordinates were tentatively designated as the 'Five Tigers' of Cheung Kong and future board members.

The eldest, Huang Changhong, is only 50 years old this year, and there is no problem at all in working for another ten years, maybe 15 years.

"I'm going to talk about two things today: first, I'm going to go abroad, but not to avoid anything, because as you may know, with the closure of the Suez Canal, the freight has risen sharply; It just so happens that I built 10 226,000-ton oil tankers last year, and they will be launched in August, so I have to go to Europe and the United States to contact customers and reach cooperation intentions. ”

At this time, the outside has spread to the whole of Hong Kong, and it has reached an extremely dangerous point, and there are even rumors that the army is going to come to support.

Lin Zhichao's explanation of his subordinates is also a role in stabilizing the morale of the military. After all, many rich people have already run away, and Dai Lintoe also said that he was sick and returned to the UK for a holiday at the end of last month.

"Congratulations to the boss" several people congratulated happily.

The boss has a large fleet, and they suddenly feel confident, the boss is strong, and as soon as the fleet opens, they are all guests there; Even if they follow the boss to a foreign country in the future, with the benevolence of the boss, they will still give everyone a job.

Lin Zhichao nodded, and then said: "Second, the company plans to start buying the bottom of the real estate, and the matter will be discussed by the five of you, and you will buy those high-quality properties, sites, land, and land exchange rights and interests." Assistant Tang will stay in Hong Kong, and I will also contact you by phone, so you can communicate with you if you have anything. ”

A single-family house in Mid-Levels is only sold for 600,000 Hong Kong dollars. And a bungalow like this will be worth 600 million Hong Kong dollars in the future. Real estate has no market, and a large number of completed commercial buildings, office buildings, and residential buildings are not cared for. The wealthy sold their properties one after another, and the property market collapsed.

That's what this time is all about!

Cheung Kong buys a property, it is a comprehensive purchase, you can buy anything, as long as the price is cheap. Of course, if it is like a unit-by-unit dwelling, it is not necessary, you have to buy it on a per-floor basis.

"Okay, boss!"

The five of them couldn't help but admire Lin Zhichao's boldness, and he dared to commit a crime against the wind at this time. To put it simply, even if there are Hong Kong tycoons who dare to buy the bottom, they basically have to wait for the situation to improve a little before they dare to start, so that they are already real estate developers with a quick response and unlimited future.

Lin Zhichao will not explain too much to everyone, nor will he persuade everyone to copy the bottom, but these high-level executives follow Lin Zhichao's side, as long as they are not stupid, they will also make a tentative gamble. With their net worth, buying some shops or residential units as an investment, the problem is that there is no problem at all.

After making some arrangements, Lin Zhichao finally put his mind at ease.

In fact, he also knows that many high-level subordinates have arranged for their children to go abroad for temporary refuge; But this kind of thing doesn't affect anything, who doesn't have a two-handed plan, his high-level net worth is at least a million net worth, or even millions of net worth, and it's not that he doesn't have strength.

Back in the office, Lin Zhichao told Tang Caiyun, who followed up: "Tell my father-in-law that he can buy the land exchange interest and the land in the New Territories, the development prospects of the New Territories are great, especially Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung, because they are connected to Kowloon, they will definitely be the most promising satellite cities in the New Territories in the future." ”

Tang Caiyun was immediately very moved, Lin Zhichao took care of her mother's family, naturally because she loved the house and Wu, and she was very fond of herself and her sister. Otherwise, I am afraid that my dear brothers will not take care of such a major event in business.

"Well, I'll tell you. It's just that Cheung Kong will also develop the New Territories." The implication is that it will not affect your own business.

"It's a drizzle of money to the market, and although your father is keen to invest in real estate, the core is textiles and ready-to-wear. Speaking of which, I suggested investing in real estate back then. Of course, all I can help with is a reminder and get out of the way! ”

Tang Zhongyuan entered the real estate industry, and the scale was about the same as that of the Six Tigers at this time; However, since he has just entered the real estate industry, he still has a long way to learn.

Therefore, if you can't enter the ranks of the top ten real estate developers, you can only say that you are the top 20 real estate industry; Originally, the diversification of Real Estate Knowledge Oriental Group was not that Tang Zhongyuan wanted to change his career to real estate.

At this time, the price of land in Hong Kong is about 60~90 Hong Kong dollars per square foot in Hong Kong and Kowloon urban areas, and about 20~40 Hong Kong dollars per square foot in the New Territories.

Very cheap!

Long Beach Villas, New York.

Lin Zhichao saw his family, and everyone gathered together again, except for Tang Caiyun who was in Hong Kong. When the two wives saw Lin Zhichao, their eyes revealed worry and attachment, the eyes of the mother Wu Wenying were full of worry, the eyes of the eldest son Lin Ruihuan were full of admiration and strength, and the rest of the children were also full of care and joy.

After chatting with everyone for a while, I said that Hong Kong is no problem, and there is no need to worry about safety. As for Lin Zhichao's visit to New York this time, he can only stay with everyone for one day, and he has to go to work.

Lying on a chair by the pool, drinking cold red wine while chatting with his two wives, Lin Zhichao's mood was rarely relaxed. Although I am very happy to buy the bottom, there is always some vague excitement.

In fact, the profits of buying real estate are far less than the shipping profits brought to him by the closure of the Suez Canal, but I don't know what's going on, Lin Zhichao always prefers to do real estate in his heart.

"Husband, IBM's market capitalization has reached $130 billion, and we have quadrupled." Audrey Hepburn preached excitedly.

Her $40 million has become $160 million, how can she not be happy!

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "No hurry! When the market value of 160 billion is reached, you will sell slowly, and there is no problem in selling short for a month or two, but you will not be alerted to the market. ”

This year, IBM can increase its market value to 190 billion yuan, and Audrey Jialin Zhichao has invested a total of 80 million US dollars, almost 400 million US dollars in cash, and everyone will share half of it.

Audrey Hepburn said without hesitation: "Okay! It's just that I have cashed out $200 million, how can I invest it? ”

She already vaguely understood Lin Zhichao's thoughts, that is, to support the two of them's two sons.

"You can choose to invest in an office building in Manhattan and then invest in a hotel. The rest of the funds should be kept in hand for the time being, and should not be touched. ”

"Okay, I see what you mean!"

Audrey Hepburn has her own investment company, and these things are left to her subordinates to invest, and she only needs to make a decision.

And Lin Zhichao will give her reference advice:

For example, if the U.S. stock market plummeted in 1968, then you can buy the bottom appropriately in 1970 and then cash out before the oil crisis (1973.10), which should be able to get a good rate of return.

For example, the office buildings in Manhattan must have had a good rate of return before 1973, and when the oil crisis came, it was naturally over; Therefore, you can also do a low-suction and high-throw operation.

For example, a three- or four-star hotel will not have a bad rate of return during this time period, and it can also be done low and high selling.

In this way, before the oil crisis, Audrey Hepburn's funds will not be idle, and it may be doubled in five years. During the oil crisis, it was natural that the bottom could be bought in 1974, office buildings, hotels, and the stock market.

She has two sons, and one son later took over Audrey Toy Company and developed the media by homeopathy; One son entered the investment industry, office buildings, hotels, stocks, etc.

easily, let the wealth of these two sons reach the level of 100 billion.

Xu Caiying talked about the two of them in terms of 'US dollars' and '100 million', which was not surprising at all, she just didn't understand business anymore, and she also knew that the net worth of global shipping was more than 700 million US dollars.

The next day, the New York Worldwide Shipping Division.

"Boss"

Bobby Blair respectfully greeted the boss at the door of the office building with other high-level executives.

"Bobby's VP, Ben Jason's Manager"

Lin Zhichao responded.

Subsequently, Lin Zhichao inspected the office building, there were only about a dozen employees in it, but the working environment was really good.

Back to the meeting room.

"Boss, recently, Onassis has joined forces with some Greek shipowners and is very active in the New York shipping market, and it seems that he wants to use this opportunity to redeem the decline of Greek shipping." Bobby Blair has a piece of news.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "No matter how they connect in series, it can't change the fact that their competitiveness has declined." Our Hong Kong seafarers' salaries are much lower than those of Greek seafarers, and at the same time, we Hong Kong shipowners are the first to own our first batch of 226,000 dwt oil tankers. What does it mean to have a big ship? ”

Bobby Blair immediately said: "The cost of operating expenses is greatly reduced, employers get discounts, and we get the rate of return we want." ”

However, the price of leasing two 100,000-ton oil tankers is much greater than leasing a 226,000-ton oil tanker.

At present, the cost of a 100,000-ton oil tanker has been as high as 1300~15 million US dollars; The cost of a 226,000-ton oil tanker is only about 2300~24 million US dollars.

Lin Zhichao continued: "Exxon, Infinite Oil, they say so? ”

Bobby Blair said: "They welcome you to New York and have prepared a cocktail party for you!" Even U.S. President Lyndon has promised to meet with you to discuss shipping. ”

Lin Zhichao nodded, his itinerary in the United States was notified to Bobby Blair in advance, and then Bobby arranged some trips. The total tonnage of the ships he now owns is the best guarantee for the United States' transportation capacity in Vietnam and the energy needs of the United States.

He's critical!

Due to Lin Zhichao's construction of 20 226,000-ton oil tankers in Japan, coupled with the influx of orders from Japan in the past two months, it now takes more than 18 months to build a ship.

"Okay, you have to participate in these trips, you can make an appointment for me at a specific time!"

"No problem!"

Then, Lin Zhichao said: "My compatriot Dong Haoyun is also in New York, and he also built six 226,000-ton oil tankers last year. In fact, the 'VLCC' of global oil transportation has become an important force in Hong Kong. ”

Dong Haoyun's VLCC is expected to be launched at the end of the year or early next year. The world's VLCC is expected to be 20~25 by the end of the year, and Hong Kong occupies 70~80% of the share.

Bobby Blair was quick to say: "Then you can actually communicate in advance and fight back against the Greek shipowner." ”

Lin Zhichao's eyes lit up, this strategy is good. Of course, the goal of the so-called counterattack is definitely not to make Greek oil tankers unable to be rented, after all, the world's scarce oil tankers must be very sought-after; The real goal of the counterattack is to make the Greek oil tankers gradually lose their competitiveness, for example, after Exxon Oil Leasing for a period of time, they feel that the Greek shipowners are asking for a high price, then they will increase the charter of Hong Kong shipowners; At the same time, Greek shipowners became reluctant to build new ships, and European shipbuilding, which was already expensive, exhausted its development potential.

On the contrary, Hong Kong shipowners, gaining more trust and leases, built cheap ships in Japan and continued to charter them to Western oil companies.

"Well, I'll talk to Dong Haoyun first."

Exxon Oil Company, undoubtedly the largest oil company in the United States, was once one of the top 10 of the world's top 500 companies after the merger with Mobil, and recorded a profit of $8.5 billion in 1997.

There is a saying in the shipping industry that whoever can cooperate with Exxon can win the trust of other large oil companies in the United States.

Lin Zhichao was convinced of this sentence, and because he won the trust of Niu Deng, the manager of the 'International Chartering Department', Niu Deng introduced many oil companies such as Wubi Petroleum and Xianke Petroleum to Lin Zhichao.

So these Exxon oil companies also like to lower prices, but Lin Zhichao is quite easy to speak.

He prefers to use the shipping cycle to get the most profits; So this negotiation is very important.

Lin Zhichao asked Dong Haoyun to have dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel the next day, and the two sat by the window, enjoying the food and chatting.

The two are rivals in their careers, but they have a decent personal relationship. As for the competition in the business, it is mainly in the overseas market, which is not very fierce.

Dong Haoyun currently has an operating fleet of less than 2 million tons, most of which are second-hand ships; But he ordered six 226,000-ton tankers last year, and he really made the right move.

"Lin Sheng, what do you think about the development of things in Hong Kong?" Dong Haoyun asked seriously.

He had moved to New York since May, so he knew that things were going out of control, as if it were the end of the world; Fortunately, he is a fleet asset, even if it is registered in Hong Kong, it will not have an impact.

"Almost all of them are young people aged 15~25, with enthusiasm. When they have endured hardships and no one appeases them, they will naturally stop. Lin Zhichao said simply.

"So, Hong Kong can keep it?"

"I'm going to have to pay it back in the future, but it doesn't seem to mean that right now. Of course, this is just the word of the family. ”

Dong Haoyun nodded and said, "It's just that it's just a matter of how long this trouble will take to make a head!" ”

This Lin Zhichao didn't answer, and he wasn't an immortal.

Next, Lin Zhichao took the initiative to speak: "Dong Sheng, you have been in New York for so long, have you heard that Greek shipowners have been active recently? ”

Dong Haoyun nodded and said, "They are indeed quite active, after all, in the current market, they will definitely not miss the opportunity to develop and grow." The one-way short-term charter they implement is now very high, and the annual return rate of a new ship is as high as 45%~50%. ”

Before this, the rate of return of new shipping ships was generally 15~25%; In fact, it is very difficult to reach 25%, and it seems that a one-way short-term rental can achieve this annual rate of return, but the business needs may not be connected.

But now, he doesn't have to worry about business, and he can naturally double it by 45~50%.

Lin Zhichao suggested: "Dong Sheng, although we are competitors, we are both Hong Kong shipowners. Is there any interest in cooperating once and giving Greek shipowners a blow. As long as the seventies arrived, there was no further potential for Greek shipowners. ”

Onassis's current total tonnage is only about 2 million tons, because he will also face the crisis of eliminating old ships, coupled with diversified investment, the growth has been very slow in recent years.

Onassis at the peak of his previous life had a carrying capacity of four or five million tons, and in this life, he was set at 3 million tons!

"How to cooperate?" Dong Haoyun said with interest.

Lin Zhichao is right, if they compete with Greek shipowners, they can join forces.

"I built 10 at the beginning of August last year. At the beginning of April this year, 10 ships were built. You built 6 ships in November and December last year. We can collude and use these ships to talk to oil companies like Exxon. Choose a long-term charter of more than three years, so that Exxon Oil must give priority to the two of us, then the orders of Greek shipowners will gradually decrease, they are one-way short-term charters, which can be canceled at any time. If this continues, they will not dare to build ships on a large scale, and if we dare to build ships like this, Greek shipping will surely decline in the early seventies. ”

To put it bluntly, I hope that Dong Haoyun's ship will also come as a bargaining chip in Lin Zhichao's hands.

"At this time, is Exxon willing to sign a three-year contract?" Dong Haoyun asked.

Lin Zhichao talked about Japan's negotiation plan, of course, the rate of return on the US side is slightly higher, which can reach 35~40%.

"In this case, even if Exxon asks for a new contract because of the opening of the Suez Canal. We didn't lose the same, but tied up Exxon. ”

To put it simply, Lin Zhichao is completely at an advantage in this VAM agreement. What's more, this kind of VAM agreement can greatly increase the goodwill of Exxon, and they do not have to worry about paying excessively high rents later.

Dong Haoyun said: "I have always admired Mr. Lin's long-term chartering method, and I really intend to charter large oil tankers for a long time, after all, this development is very beneficial." This time, I am willing to cooperate with you to negotiate with Exxon Petroleum Company and advance and retreat together. ”

Many of his vessels are long-term charters, which is one of the advantages of Hong Kong's shipping development. At the same time, his fleet is mainly a number of fixed-route transports, which have a larger share than the Universal Group.

The two quickly came to an agreement! Represented Hong Kong Shipping and declared war on Greek Shipping.

Of course, this declaration of war is not a direct war, but a contest, even a covert contest.

As for whether the two will compete fiercely in the future, Lin Zhichao feels that there will be competition, but it will not be fierce. Because Lin Zhichao plans to develop a deadweight of 20 million tons, he is ready to retreat bravely.

That is, from 1972 onwards, he will not be able to build ships, and he will sell some ships that cannot be leased for a long time.

At present, he has a total deadweight of 12 million tons (including under construction), so in the four years of 1968~1971, he needs to order about 2.5 million tons of ships every year. Some of the reasons why they came out were because some of the smaller tankers should also be sold before 1973.

(End of chapter)