With the arrival of the new year (1968), Hong Kong was still in a state of 'nervous tension', but at the same time it began to radiate hope.

At a gathering after New Year's Day, Lin Zhichao, Ho Shanheng, Ho Tian, Zheng Yutong, Lee Shau Kee and others gathered.

Lin Zhichao rarely puts on a show, so he has always been a corporal of Lixian, and he has a very good relationship with the future Chinese billionaires; Otherwise, with his status as the 'world ship king' and 'knight', how many friends can Hong Kong have?

In fact, he has a lot of friends in Hong Kong, but he has few enemies.

It stands to reason that he has robbed too many people, but there are very few enemies.

Why is that?

Naturally, because he grabbed the opportunity one step in advance, how could he offend people!

Everyone was eating snacks and talking about business things in Lu Yu Teahouse, which was very pleasant; This is the joy that comes from friends, after all, it is important to be a businessman and learn about relationships.

Ho Sin Heng took a sip of tea and said: "Despite the turmoil in Hong Kong last year, Hong Kong's economy has not completely collapsed, and it still continues to grow rapidly, with the total import and export trade of Hong Kong reaching 19.95 billion Hong Kong dollars last year, an increase of nearly 2 billion Hong Kong dollars from 18.02 billion Hong Kong dollars in the previous year (1966). Last year's GDP was HK$16.217 billion, compared with HK$15.218 billion the year before. Exports of Hong Kong products increased by 1 billion, from HK$6.2 billion to HK$7.2 billion last year. ”

When he had finished, he did not say anything else; He's a banker, and he's talking about data.

Smart people will make their own judgments.

Lin Zhichao saw that the people attending the gathering today were all smart people, so he also pushed the boat and said: "What the good guy means is that the world economy has maintained good economic growth, and Hong Kong's economy is still growing, and the property market is not climbing to a peak that is out of reality and plummeting, but out of people's fear." The Chinese government has stated that it will maintain the status quo in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong government has firmly controlled the situation, and the confidence of Hong Kong citizens will be restored relatively quickly. ”

He Shanheng was stunned for a moment, and when he saw Lin Zhichao so obviously promoting Zheng Yutong and Li Shaoji, he was suddenly a little puzzled, although everyone is from Shunde, there is no need to be so obvious!

Then, he said with a smile: "Sir Lin's vision is unparalleled in the world!" Everyone is saying that Cheung Kong has acquired a lot of properties last year, which is really admirable! ”

Lin Zhichao said lightly: "My idea at the time was also very simple, if I lost the bet, I would drive the fleet to Singapore or London, and it would not be a complete loss." I'm not a good eye, but I dare to bet! ”

Everyone immediately believed in Lin Zhichao's confession, and of course admired Lin Zhichao's strong strength.

In fact, Lee Shau Kee and Cheng Yutong also tentatively bought some bargains last year, but they did not fully intervene in the bottom hunt; However, if He Shanheng makes such an analysis today, I am afraid that he will have to gamble on all the family property.

And this year (1968) the fear is still there, there are still a large number of rich people selling their properties and preparing to emigrate, so there is no shortage of bargains in the market; Of course, Lin Zhichao's assets of nearly 200 million yuan have come down, and the property has been raised a little, but it is still very cheap.

Lee Shau Kee has always listened silently at the party, but sometimes he has very clever remarks: "At the peak of 1966, Hong Kong was 30,000 units, and the number of units completed in 1967~1969 is estimated to be very few; In fact, the sales of residential buildings have always existed, and they are greater than those completed, so when this wave of properties is almost digested, there should be an improvement. ”

Although there were tens of thousands of residential units in surplus that year, no one dared to open new projects since the bank run crisis, and due to the sharp drop in housing prices, in fact, there were many people who bought them, almost all of them were just in need or bought the bottom.

Lin Zhichao also analyzed that at the turn of the spring and summer of 1969, the middle and low-end housing should be able to recover to 55~70 yuan, that is, the level of 1964.

"Makes sense!"

At this time, everyone is not a very strong competitor, and the usual gathering will also discuss the real estate situation, and everyone will express their opinions. But there is a common belief that sooner or later real estate will have to return to normal.

As for whether you are willing to buy the bottom or not, that's a personal matter!

At this time, although Lee Shau Kee was a member of Sun Hung Kai, he actually had his own real estate company, and he could use private money to buy the bottom. As for Zheng Yutong, he has relatively strong funds.

After the party.

On the way back, Zheng Yutong immediately decided to take action and buy a large number of cheap urban sites.

Lee Shau Kee also made up his mind to use up all his funds and buy a large amount of cheap land.

Huo Xingtang Enterprise.

Airship Tai came to the office and immediately called his executive Ling Hanwei.

"Ah Wei, has there been any progress in the leasing of 'Kowloon Commercial Building'?"

Kowloon Commercial Building, which is the 'Starlight Line' of later generations, is a joint venture between Airship Thai Group and three other groups to form Kowloon Land Company, which began to invest in construction in 1961.

A total investment of 30 million Hong Kong dollars was invested in the whole building, which was a very large real estate project at that time. Among them, Airship Tai personally bears 7.5 million, that is, a quarter of the total investment, and the other three consortiums also account for a quarter each. However, Kowloon Land borrowed $10 million from HSBC, which was guaranteed in the name of Fok Ying-tung.

Completed in 1964, the building is located on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, and was initially rented by many tenants, one of the larger tenants being Wah Yee. 'Huayi' is mainly engaged in Chinese handicrafts and has a Chinese-funded background.

"Boss, the situation is not good, you have been banned by the British and American governments!"

The airship stood up violently and said puzzledly: "It doesn't make sense! I hid abroad for more than half a year, and I didn't get involved, why are they still chasing me! ”

He knew it would be difficult to be caught between two sides (he didn't approve of violence, both sides), so he flew to England the day after the accident to avoid trouble.

After that, he traveled to France, the United States, Canada, etc.; At this point, Airship Tai is very confident that it is very safe to go to these countries by himself and will not be targeted, after all, these countries are based on the rule of law. If you are really wanted, then Hong Kong will not be safe.

Ling Hanwei said: "It seems that because of the fact that the Kowloon Commercial Building was leased to 'Huayi', you are still regarded as a pro-domestic performance. And now the Yankees are talking about the past, and the US consul in Hong Kong has put the Kowloon Commercial Building on the 'blacklist', clearly declaring that all tenants of the Kowloon Commercial Building are not allowed to buy and sell American goods, even those cash registers made in the United States are also banned. As a result, it is extremely inconvenient for the tenants of the Kowloon commercial building, and the most affected is the bowling alley and the top department store, including Chan Chak-fu's bowling alley, which will be converted to Australian equipment. ”

Airship Tyck was pacing back and forth in the office in annoyance, thinking that the matter had been avoided, but he didn't expect it to be more serious. Now Britain and the United States regard him as a pro-insider, and the blow has been put on the table.

In particular, Zuo Lengchan is being liquidated outside, and thousands of people are in prison, and he is glad to have left Hong Kong for more than half a year, otherwise he would not have been able to go in.

Ling Hanwei saw that his boss had a sad face, so he could only report another piece of news: "Now the leasing merchants are asking for price reductions, saying that they have caused them a lot of trouble. And customers who were originally interested in leasing have been discouraged. ”

Airship Tai grabbed a key word and immediately said: "Then rent it at a reduced price, only 9 millimeters per square foot, this price is very tempting." ”

He calculated that if the entire Kowloon commercial building was rented out at this price, he would be able to earn back all his investment after eight or nine years.

Ling Hanwei nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do it right away!" ”

Airship Tai nodded, he thought that in this way, things should be solved.

Cheung Kong Asset's conference room.

Lin Zhichao is holding a meeting with senior executives to summarize last year's work and formulate this year's plan.

"This year, we have two big commercial projects to prepare! The first one was Raffles City in Singapore, and I decided to formally assemble the team and start planning. Second, it is the planning of the naval dockyard, which must finalize the general plan, especially the communication with the government."

Singapore's Raffles City will be used as a 'shopping mall' brand of Cheung Kong Asset Group in the future. Singapore's first Raffles City will start construction this year and is expected to start its official operation in 1971.

At this time, Orchard Road has been designated as a shopping street by the new government, but it has not been made public. At the same time, there are now two department stores on Orchard Road, the first is the 'Damaru Department Store' of Cheung Kong Asset Group, and the second is the 'Tung's Department Store' followed by a Chaoshan businessman named Dong Junjing, so on this road, it has begun to have the potential of a retail street.

As for the planning of the naval dockyard, it has been going on, but due to the complexity of the project, the core area connecting Central and Wan Chai, and the impact of events in the past year, the general planning has not yet been finalized.

Of course, the government did not stipulate when Cheung Kong would complete the project of the naval dockyard, so it was impossible to impose a fine. Coupled with Lin Zhichao's close relationship with the Hong Kong government now, it is even more impossible to make things difficult.

Lin Zhichao's idea is to complete the plan this year and start construction of two office towers along the sea, Blocks A and B of the Far East Financial Center, next year, while the Shangri-La Hotel (Burj Al Arab) on the beach is planned to start construction in 1970 and open in 1975.

The above three towers are the first phase of the project, which was completed in the mid-70s. As for the second phase of the project, the two towers and a shopping mall were completed in the late 70s or early 80s. The third phase of the project, 'Yangtze River Plaza', was completed in 1985.

The entire project is planned to take 20 years.

After listening to Lin Zhichao's arrangement, Huang Changhong asked: "Is the development of real estate projects arranged this year?" ”

Lin Zhichao said: "It should be arranged, but it is more reasonable to start arranging in the middle of the year!" According to the current situation, the market is expected to recover confidence and inventory depletion, and the situation is expected to improve greatly in 1969. ”

Huang Changhong and others nodded one after another, the boss analyzed very convincingly, market confidence, inventory consumption is a crucial factor. If the site is developed in the middle of the year, it will be possible to sell off-plan properties next year.

Huang Changhong then suggested: "Boss, I suggest that Cheung Kong Asset Group can invest more in the development of 'high-end and luxury residential' projects in the future, which can enhance the influence of the brand." ”

Lin Zhichao thought for a while, and then said: "This is okay, you can pay attention to the site suitable for construction in the later stage, and take pictures or buy it." Mid-levels, Kowloon Tong, Deep Water Bay, Repulse Bay, etc., are all very good high-end residential projects. ”

Hu Zhaoxu also echoed: "The opening of luxury residences can not only enhance the brand of Cheung Kong Industrial, but also enhance the company's technical strength, and the rate of return will be higher." ”

It can also be regarded as a sublimation of a real estate company, and being a real estate company is also equivalent to making a brand, which is conducive to the public's recognition of 'Cheung Kong Industrial' in the later stage.

Kowloon Commercial Building (Starlight Shop) released a monthly rent of HK$0.9 per square foot per square foot, and once the news was released, it really attracted many merchants to visit and rent.

But the next scene made Airship Tai, He Tian, He Gambler, Kwan Qiming and others dumbfounded - the Hong Kong Telephone Company called everyone who was interested in renting a Kowloon commercial building, and 'advised' them that it was better not to rent a Kowloon commercial building; if they were rented, the phone connection might be far away.

Clear-eyed people can see at a glance that this is the government's second authorization to the Hong Kong Telephone Company.

Therefore, how can a person who does business be against the government, and how can he do business without a telephone; As a result, those who were interested in leasing a commercial building in Kowloon did not dare to rent it due to pressure from the government.

Even, some customers who have already rented out have quit the lease without even wanting the deposit.

The huge Kowloon commercial building was deserted for a while.

Airship Tai, who has been rolling in the mall for many years and is accustomed to the wind and waves, has nothing to do in the face of the 'persecution' of Britain and the United States. So, Airship Tai convened his partners and discussed the plan in Lu Yu's tearoom.

He Gambler, He Tian, Guan Qiming, Zhong Minghui and others sat together, naturally in a bad mood, they didn't expect things to be so big.

Airship Tai took the lead in speaking: "The matter is irreparable, the British and American governments are very resolute, and we are calling everyone here today to see if we want to sell this property?" ”

Kwan Qiming said: "Now the real estate market is at a historical low ebb, and the Kowloon commercial building is very huge, we have invested 30 million for so many years, how can we sell 40 million, otherwise we can't even earn back bank interest." It's so expensive, there's no way an investor would be willing to buy it. ”

It is impossible to lose money at a loss, although the real estate is at a low ebb, but the Kowloon commercial building is very advantageous after all, if it is not for the Hong Kong British government, there is no problem in recovering the capital in seven years.

He Tian said: "It is difficult to sell 40 million, about 38 million should be able to be disposed of, don't think about making money, it would be good to be able to protect the capital." ”

He gambled and said: "Yes, it's good if someone buys it!" ”

Seeing that everyone had decided to sell the Kowloon Commercial Building, and was worried that no one would buy it, Airship Tai finally said his thoughts: "Since everyone has decided to sell, I happen to have sufficient funds and am willing to buy the shares in your hands." What do you think? ”

The company cooperated by the four consortiums, called Kowloon Real Estate; Kowloon Real Estate borrowed HK$10 million from HSBC to complete the project, but the guarantor was Airship.

So if everyone sells their shares to Airship Tai, he doesn't have to pay too much money.

As soon as the words fell, Airship Tai, who thought that things would go very smoothly, found that everyone was silent and seemed reluctant.

He Tian said: "I see what everyone thinks! ”

Guan Qiming said: "I'm following the crowd! ”

Everyone looked at He Gambler, Zhong Minghui and others!

He gambled and said, "This can't be done! ”

After that, he didn't speak anymore, and he didn't explain why it didn't work!

Zhong Minghui said: "This is really not good! The British and American officials forced us to sell, and if we are disobedient, the consequences will be unimaginable! ”

Immediately, not selling the airship Thai occupied the mainstream opinion.

Airship Tai looked at He Gambler, and really couldn't understand why this person was like this.

But soon he understood that when everyone cooperates together, the shares are equal; Selling to others, regardless of profit or loss, everyone's benefits are equal. But if you sell him alone, it means that you don't have as much money as him; If he is alone, there will be a hierarchy between everyone.

He was a little disappointed, he thought that he was in business, and he was willing to think about his friends. I didn't expect these friends to always fail themselves.

Sure enough, I have to learn from Sir Lin and rarely cooperate with others to do business.

It's not that he doesn't have money, but he prefers to make friends, so they partner in business together.

At this time, after he figured it out, he was not distressed, so he proposed: "In this case, I will lend money to everyone, don't sell the Kowloon Commercial Building, after all, the value of this land is here." What do you think? ”

He has made a lot of money doing real estate over the years, and the loss is not big every time he plummets, because he is not a very aggressive person. He can take out twenty or thirty million in cash.

He thought he was well-intentioned, but he didn't expect this plan to be rejected again.

He gambled on the god of justice, since he had already come to the door in trouble, he should be decisively cut off; The British and American officials forced them to sell their properties, so they did so, which is called ruining the wealth and eliminating the disaster.

Airship Tyke suddenly felt that these people really had no feelings to talk about!

He thinks that he has always been very fair in business and has helped people develop a lot. Many people partner with him to do business, take out a little capital, and even don't take the capital out (debt), if it is difficult later, he even helps others to advance, or issue AB shares to protect the rights and interests of others. It's good now, these people have lived up to their feelings, from Dr. Tang Yuhan to today's He Gambler

The crowd fell silent!

Airship Tai also began to think that if he bought the Kowloon Commercial Building independently, the British and American sides would never let themselves have a good life. Forget it, let's get ready to sell!

"Well, this time I'm causing everyone, let's release the news of this building and see if anyone buys it!"

There are no longer any objections from the people, and as for those who are not involved, it is nothing!

After all, the investment is not much, and it is as if the project did not make any money.

(End of chapter)