In early March, Lin Zhichao and his eldest son were invited to Beijing to participate in the appointment ceremony of his appointment as a consultant for Hong Kong affairs by the Executive Yuan; After that, Lin Zhichao's father and son met with several important people one after another.

Now.

The 'No. 2 document' has been issued for more than a week, and the 'reopening' has been unveiled.

At this time, inviting Lin Zhichao to the capital was obviously to release a lot of information; To sum up, Hong Kong's unique status and Lin Zhichao's unique status are the reasons for this trip.

After the state affairs were completed, Lin Zhichao quickly started his business journey.

Shanghai.

Lin Zhichao, together with Lin Ruihuan and the management of Cheung Kong, accompanied by municipal staff, came to Nanjing West Road for inspection.

Nanjing West Road, later known as the 'First Commercial Street in China', has the "Golden Triangle" formed by Hang Lung Plaza, CITIC Pacific and Westgate and the "Golden Five Stars" composed of Wheelock Plaza, Transoceanic Plaza and Kerry Phase II. At the same time, there are also many famous shops, which gather the essence of the business in the whole area.

Even now, there are the Shanghai Exhibition Center and Portman, which are now the benchmark properties in Shanghai.

"This is this treasure land, the first stop of Raffles City Mall, you should choose here!" Lin Zhichao said with a smile.

This place is so easy to find, Nanjing West Road Merchants, Portman East, Shanghai Exhibition Center diagonally opposite, this is the later Hang Lung Plaza; It is also the first shopping center in the mainland with a monthly profit of more than 100 million yuan, and the first shopping center with a monthly profit of 200 million.

The two companies under Lin Zhichao have a number of 'shopping center brands', and Lin Zhichao values Raffles City the most. So this project was handed over to Cheung Kong Group.

This time I will talk about at least 7~8 projects. Of course, it is not said that it will be negotiated at one time, but I believe that with his connections and influence, all contracts can be signed within 3~6 months.

Deputy Zhao, who accompanied him, said: "Mr. Lin, this piece of land is not small, how big do you plan to invest in this shopping center?" ”

Lin Zhichao said: "There is no limit to investment, I just want to build a first-class modern shopping center, according to this idea, I am afraid it will be at least about 300 million US dollars." ”

The people around were surprised, after all, this was just the beginning, how much knowledge did everyone have.

Deputy Zhao said: "Mr. Lin came to Shanghai for inspection this time, and there are still many projects, right?" ”

They already knew in the city that Lin Zhichao had sent his two sons to inspect everywhere in Shanghai and were interested in investing in a number of projects.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "Yes, Shanghai used to be the Pearl of the Orient, better than the prosperity of Hong Kong; Now that the country has reopened, I believe that the Shanghai Stock Exchange will be able to regain its role as the Pearl of the Orient. For me personally, and I hope to join the construction of the motherland and the prosperity of the country, and we overseas Chinese have confidence in our hearts! ”

There was a round of applause at the scene!

Zhao Fu said: "Mr. Lin is a patriotic businessman, a business leader of overseas Chinese, and now you can come to the Shanghai Stock Exchange to invest in a big way, we are very welcome to do so." ”

Everyone is talking about the scene, after all, Lin Zhichao is here to see the project, not to talk about the project.

The project is handed over to both sides to negotiate, and the big guy only needs to make a decision.

Lin Zhichao then said to Lin Ruihuan: "How big can this piece of land be?" ”

Lin Ruihuan said: "More than 300,000 square feet, which is similar to the area of Hong Kong's Yangtze River Plaza, and the construction area is expected to be more than 2 million square feet."

Lin Zhichao nodded, the Yangtze River Central Plaza (Admiralty, Hong Kong) covers an area of more than 300,000 square feet, but the property has 5 million square feet; Of course, there is no need for such a high density in the Shanghai market, after all, it will not be beautiful.

The second project of Cheung Kong is the cooperation with Shanghai Port of Shanghai 'Shanghai Container Terminal Company'.

This time, in the name of 'Hutchison Whampoa', but it branched out Ma Shimin, and Lin Zhichao will not bring Ma Shimin to participate in all the mainland projects of Hutchison Whampoa, but will bring a group of Chinese senior staff such as Huo Jianning to participate.

The leader of the Football Association in later generations was still a shrewd and capable powerhouse at this time.

When inspecting the port of Shanghai, Chen Yuan heard that Hutchison Whampoa was interested in cooperating, and said very shrewdly: "Mr. Lin, the port of Shanghai has an outstanding position in the whole of China, so if you want to cooperate, we have to occupy 51% of the equity!" ”

Lin Zhichao suddenly laughed, and said in front of everyone: "Investing in the Shanghai Container Terminal is actually a great resistance for our company Hutchison Whampoa. Many of my colleagues objected, saying that Hong Kong is now the busiest container terminal in the world, and that we occupy 70% of the business of the Hong Kong container terminal. Suppose investing in a container terminal in the mainland is actually competing for business with yourself. ”

There are two meanings in his words: first, Hong Kong is the world's busiest container terminal, with top-notch technology and rich experience in all aspects; Second: Now that you are competitors, and now he is here to help you develop, you should be grateful to Dade.

After all, Chen Yuan was born as a worker, not that Lin Zhichao looked down on him, but that he was shrewd, but his knowledge was limited.

First of all, it has now been reformed, and it is no longer the past, and many cooperation must be dominated by the mainland. If this is the case, then what is the change to open, the current situation is that five or five shares are already the maximum limit, after all, sole proprietorship companies can be opened casually.

Secondly, Hutchison Whampoa's International Container Terminal Company has too many advantages.

Chen Yuan said: "Why did Mr. Lin choose to come to the mainland to develop a container terminal? ”

Lin Zhichao said: "It's just sad to see the country's container terminals so backward. If such facilities and services are to be a serious hindrance to the modernization of the entire Chinese country, and the infrastructure construction cannot be carried out, what can we talk about developing the economy? ”

Chen Yuan and the others immediately blushed!

Deputy Zhao's municipal official hurriedly said: "Mr. Lin is completely reasonable, without the introduction of advanced technology and management, we will not be able to integrate with international standards." Director Chen, you have to be humble! ”

The official university crushed people to death, but Lin Zhichao did not embarrass Chen Yuan, but said: "Director Chen, no matter how much I say, it is not true to see it, so I would like to invite you to come to Hong Kong to inspect the Kwai Chung container terminal, as well as the UK's largest container terminal invested in Europe." Seeing is believing and hearing is false, to investigate these places, we know how the international standard container terminal operates, I will ask our staff later, leave you a contact information,"

Chen Yuan also bowed his head and said, "No problem, thank you Mr. Lin for your invitation!" ”

Lin Zhichao nodded, the negotiation is step-by-step, and I believe that this cooperation will be negotiated soon.

He is now investing in the mainland, and to put it bluntly, he is a VIP among VIPs, and he may be able to reach a preliminary agreement on a project in three months.

Lin Zhichao's third stop in Shanghai came to Pudong, which is 'Lujiazui'.

'I'd rather have a bed in Puxi than a room in Pudong.' This was a popular phrase in the Shanghai market in the 80s.

At this time, Lujiazui is still a muddy land, and the construction of the Oriental Pearl Tower began last year. It's still a wasteland, but it's the best time to invest.

The Wharf Group wants to invest in the World Financial Center, the 'world's tallest building' in Lujiazui, the Shangri-La Hotels Group wants to invest in a five-star hotel in Lujiazui, the Cheung Kong Group wants to take a luxury residential plot by the Lujiazui River, and Hengfeng Bank wants to build a Hengfeng Bank Building.

With the memories of his previous life, Lin Zhichao quickly identified four Feng Shui treasures.

Seeing that Lin Zhichao had already invested in six projects in just two days, Deputy Zhao and other staff members were taken aback.

"Mr. Lin is worthy of being a patriotic businessman, in just two days, you have six investment intentions!" Deputy Zhao said happily.

Among Lin Zhichao's six investments, including shopping malls, container terminals, luxury residential projects, hotel projects, world-class skyscrapers and bank buildings, Lin Zhichao's achievements in the commercial field are just confirmed.

Lin Zhichao said: "Deputy Zhao, I have come to the mainland to invest more than ten years ago, at that time the country needs foreign exchange and manufacturing, so I invested in manufacturing; Now that the country wants to modernize the city, I will invest in these comprehensive real estate projects. In short, I am very optimistic about the future prospects of the country! ”

Vice President Zhao said happily: "Mr. Lin's spirit is worthy of being a model for overseas Chinese, and we in Shanghai very much welcome you to invest." We must take the projects you talked about seriously, so that we can be worthy of your patriotism. ”

Lin Zhichao is humble!

Now investing is ostensibly 'patriotic', but in fact it is all about profit. The sooner he gets the land, the cheaper the price will be, and the conditions will be more favorable.

Of course, most of these projects are to be opened after the turn of the millennium.

The fourth station of Lin Zhichao's inspection is the top of Xuhui Station of Shanghai Metro Line 1.

In this area, Wharf Group intends to build a 'Times Square', which includes a large shopping mall of about 7.8 million square feet, a 'twin towers' of about 1.5 million square feet, as well as a large integrated commercial and residential project of serviced apartment projects and high-end residential projects.

In this way, he finalized the investment intention of seven projects in Shanghai in one go:

They are:

Raffles City on Nanjing West Road is expected to invest $300 million;

Shanghai Container Terminal (joint venture project), with an estimated investment of 500 million US dollars;

Lujiazui's luxury residential project, Binjiang No. 1, is expected to cost $100 million;

Lujiazui's World Financial Center is expected to be 6~800 million US dollars (the higher the building, the higher the construction cost);

the Shangri-La Hotel in Lujiazui, which is expected to cost $150 million;

The Hengfeng Bank Building in Lujiazui is estimated to cost $100 million;

Times Square in District XH, with an estimated investment of $350 million;

In total, about 2.3 billion US dollars!

Of course, the $2.3 billion can not only be loaned, nor is it a one-time expenditure, so for Lin Zhichao's company, it is a sprinkling of water.

And the magic capital is only the first stop in the mainland this year, and there will be a lot of investment in the future. It's Shanghai, and maybe it will come again this year to finalize the project.

A lot of the investments were finalized this year and were the lowest cost cases.

On March 26, Cheung Kong Group held its annual financial report in Hong Kong, and Lin Zhichao attended this annual 'grand occasion'.

"In the past year (1991), Cheung Kong Group's recurring profit was HK$7.28 billion, non-recurring profit was HK$8.22 billion, and the total profit was HK$15.5 billion."

As soon as the words fell, the scene was in an uproar!

Non-recurring profit of HK$8 billion for three consecutive years, while HSBC's profit for one year was only HK$8 billion; In other words, Cheung Kong Group's profit is nearly twice that of HSBC.

At this time, Hong Kong public opinion actually knows that Cheung Kong Group has made more than 20 billion Hong Kong dollars in Japan's 'speculation', after all, Cheung Kong is a listed company, and it is difficult not to be known.

"The board of directors of Cheung Kong Group has decided to pay a dividend of HK$1 for each Cheung Kong stock, involving a capital of HK$2.06 billion, and at the same time, one bonus share for every five shares."

At present, the market value of Cheung Kong Group has been more than 130 billion Hong Kong dollars, and the stock price per share has been more than 60 Hong Kong dollars, so the distribution of bonus shares is equivalent to reducing the stock price, which is conducive to circulation.

After the financial report was announced, it was quickly time to enter the question and answer session.

Reporter: "Mr. Lin, may I ask how much Cheung Kong Group has made by investing in real estate in Japan?" ”

Lin Zhichao: "This can't be counted, in short, the non-recurring profits basically come from the contribution of the Japanese real estate market!" ”

There are also three Raffles City malls in Japan, and Cheung Kong Group holds a 30% stake, which is also very valuable.

The so-called bursting of the bubble crisis in Japan is not due to the fact that real estate has fallen to 'cabbage prices'. For example, if the price of a house in Japan started at $500,000 in 1986 and peaked at $2 million in 1990, then even if it falls by 70%, it will still be worth $600,000, a little higher than in 1986. In fact, in 1986, Japan's housing prices were already quite expensive, after all, Japan's economy has been developing for so many years.

For example, the value of Raffles City will definitely not fall by 70%, and it is estimated that it will fall by 50%; In this way, in fact, in any case, there is still a large profit on the books; Not to mention that the profitability of the three Raffles City Plazas is still quite objective and can be used as a long-term investment.

Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts in Japan has not sold its ownership of its hotel towers in Japan, and it is currently operating very well.

Reporter: "Mr. Lin, is it because of your proposition that Cheung Kong Group can retreat?" ”

Lin Zhichao: "It was a joint decision between me and my colleagues to avoid losses. So, they've won a lot of bonuses over the years! ”

The scene burst into laughter!

It is rumored that the annual salary of the senior management of the Cheung Kong Department is all at the level of tens of millions; The bonus of some core executives is to buy the shares of Cheung Kong Group at a low price, and one opportunity to win is two or three years of salary.

Next.

A reporter asked: "Mr. Lin, can you tell us about the Canary Wharf Group invested by Changshi in the UK!" As far as I know, the leasing of the first phase of the buildings is not good, and the subway line has not been approved by the British government for a long time, and Cheung Kong Group has invested nearly 3 billion US dollars in this project! ”

The reporters at the scene immediately paid attention, according to this statement, Canary Wharf has invested 3 billion US dollars; But now because the subway project has not been approved by the British government, and the lease situation of the previously built buildings is very bad.

If it loses money, doesn't it mean that all of Japan's earnings will be posted to the UK?

Lin Zhichao said: "First of all, the success of this project is related to the credit of the British government, after all, if it really fails, they will lose a lot; Secondly, Cheung Kong Group's investment in Canary Wharf in the United Kingdom was actually allocated $100 million at the end of the seventies, and the funds have not been transferred to London since then; Finally, Canary Wharf Group's current cash flow is relatively stable, and there are no plans to seek support from headquarters. In short, this project will be successful, but the cycle will be longer! ”

There is a lot of information in his words, but there is no doubt that he is full of confidence!

To put it more bluntly, Cheung Kong can afford to lose on this project, but can the British afford to lose?

The first impression to the world is that Britain has such a large and unfinished engineering project, which is a big blow to Britain's credibility (Thatcher promised Lin Zhichao to build a subway to Canary, but the current government should put it on hold due to lack of money). Then, in terms of the funds for this project, Cheung Kong Group took 100 million US dollars, and the rest was obtained from financial investment in London and bank loans, and Cheung Kong did not have much pressure.

The reporters immediately became bloody, such a big project, Lin Zhichao was not in a hurry at all, and it looked like a confrontation with the British government.

In fact, in the eyes of many people, this project was invited by Lin Zhichao's good friend Thatcher to invest, and it is also one of Thatcher's political achievements; Now it's not going well, and it's still from the British government, obviously I'm sorry for Lin Zhichao.

At last.

The reporter asked: "Mr. Lin, have you achieved a lot of investment projects during this trip to the mainland?" ”

Lin Zhichao: "There are some investment intentions for projects, which are still being negotiated!" ”

Reporter: "Is Cheung Kong tightening overseas investment and turning to the mainland?" ”

Lin Zhichao: "It's not tightening, there are phases to any investment, at a certain stage we invest overseas, and at a certain stage we change direction to invest in the mainland, which is a very normal capital scheduling arrangement." ”

Cheung Kong Group, as the largest enterprise in Hong Kong by market capitalization, has attracted the attention of the media at home and abroad, and everyone is also asking in turn. As the chairman of the board of directors, Lin Zhichao also introduced it to everyone.

"Cheung Kong has a bumper harvest, and the whole system earned a total of 24.9 billion Hong Kong dollars last year!"

The next day, the media in Hong Kong and even overseas media reported on the great achievements of Cheung Kong Department.

Earning more than 3 billion US dollars a year, Cheung Kong is also proud of its existence in the world.

Moreover, Cheung Kong is not only an achievement in the field of real estate:

Cheung Kong Group owns Red Bull, Doll Noodles, Master Kong, 7~11 Convenience Stores, and Café de Coral Restaurant Group, and these businesses are also all over the world, Red Bull and Doll Noodles have entered many countries in Asia, and 7~11 convenience stores are world brands.

Husky, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, not only has a large number of oil and gas resources in Canada, but also has a large number of natural gas resources in the United States, and other regions: oil wells in Limao City, Indonesia (put into production last year), and has also drilled projects in Libya, Vietnam, Australia, etc.; Hutchison Whampoa also has a mining industry and a joint venture with British minerals and mining companies that have achieved good results – good gold production in Zimbabwe, drilling in Ghana, and diamond and gold drilling in Australia. Telecom Retail. Real estate container terminals

In addition to its development in Hong Kong, HK Electric has completed the construction of the Covia power plant in India, and has invested in power plants in Iran, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as power generation projects in the mainland.

Unconsciously, Lin Zhichao has paid attention to many projects once, but in fact, Lin Zhichao may not remember them all.

However, it is certain that Cheung Kong has a large number of business investments in property, securities, shares, holdings, trade and so on: Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Mainland, Japan, many European countries, the United States, Panama, Australia, Bermuda, Singapore, Cayman Islands, etc. (End of chapter)