A month later.

Lin Zhichao came to the mainland again. It was still the reception of the official high-level first; Subsequently, he was conferred an 'Honorary Doctorate' by Jingcheng University and delivered a lecture - "The Age of Chinese and Asians"; Finally, he participated in the ceremony of the master's authorization unit of Foshan University.

After completing these official activities, Lin Zhichao won a number of investment projects with lightning speed, including: joint venture participation in the renovation and reconstruction of Dong'an Market in Beijing, investment in Shangri-La Hotel, renovation of the old city, participation in the joint venture development of 6,000 acres of land in the new urban area of Shunde City, buyout of the Wanglaoji brand, joint development of Yantian Port, and the establishment of Shenzhen Town Changhe Industrial Co., Ltd. (Cheung Kong, Hutchison)

The speed at which Lin Zhichao's companies take projects can be called fast.

Basically, before others reacted, more than 20 major investment projects had been negotiated.

Moreover, the subsidiaries continue to look for investment projects, and it is expected that 1992 will be the year with the largest investment in the mainland. The investment is not all 'slow to return on investment' commercial projects, and there are many 'development real estate projects', but at present, they are all joint ventures.

In fact, many projects are found by relevant departments and enterprises in the mainland, and even have a promise of no less than 10% annual return, such as a major renovation project in Beijing.

The projects invested by Lin Zhichao will basically consider some 'uncontrollable factors' (related to politics and ancient buildings), and he will definitely not invest in any such projects.

Lin Zhichao returned to Hong Kong, it was already mid-May, and the economy in Hong Kong was also very gratifying:

By the end of the first quarter, the major large private housing estates in various districts of Hong Kong and Kowloon were already more than HK$4,000 per square foot (equivalent to 40,001 square meters); However, in the second quarter, the Hong Kong government's series of measures to crack down on property speculation, especially the effect of the mortgage policy of 70% of buildings, began to play a role, speculation began to converge, transactions began to decrease, and prices began to fall.

However, while the prices of ordinary homes are weakening, the prices of large luxury homes have begun to rise sharply, such as another bedroom in Kowloon Tong (a low-density luxury property developed by Wharf), which is already close to HK$5,000 per square foot.

At the same time, the vacancy rate of office buildings in Hong Kong is already only 2%, so the selling prices and rents of office buildings are starting to rise. Taking Exchange Square as an example, the price of office buildings without square feet is expected to reach more than 15,000 square feet, while the rent is 70~75 Hong Kong dollars per square foot per month, and the stock price of the entire Exchange Square can reach more than 30 billion.

Hong Kong's shopping malls and shops are also performing very well, with Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, North Point and Tsim Sha Tsui performing the most well. The monthly rent of a shop in Russell Street, Causeway Bay, has exceeded HK$2,000 per square foot; It is equivalent to a 1,000-square-foot shop, and the monthly rent needs to be 2 million, which is 24 million Hong Kong dollars a year. The rent of Times Square has exceeded 900 million Hong Kong dollars per year, and the rent will definitely exceed 1 billion Hong Kong dollars next year.

There is a reason why the rents of shopping malls and shops are so gratifying, and that is that the rise of Hong Kong culture has added fuel to the already prosperous tourism industry in Hong Kong. In addition to the huge sensation of the Gangliu groups HOT, SES, and Shinhwa in Asia, there are also Gangliu dramas such as "Blue Life and Death Love" and "Full House of Romance", which have been watched by the whole of Asia through satellite TV and export, and have achieved great success.

Why is property in Hong Kong so valuable?

First, Hong Kong's geographical location, which is the link between the West and the East, so many overseas enterprises and mainland enterprises will choose to use Hong Kong as a springboard to enter the Western and Eastern markets.

Second, the tourist mecca, it is a shopping paradise, because it is a free trade port, the tax rate is very low, and some products are even cheaper than the place of origin; The second is the influence of Hong Kong entertainment, Hong Kong comics, and Hong Kong culture, Hong Kong's cultural industry is now more developed than Japan (per capita cultural industry GDP), which has greatly driven the development of tourism, which has also driven Hong Kong's economy. Hong Kong has a population of more than 5 million, but it can receive 22 million tourists every year (1991 statistics).

Third, the 'gambler' mentality of the locals, Hong Kong people are good at gambling, so property speculation is the occupation of many people, and these people have been a factor in the rise of housing prices in Hong Kong. Even the real estate of Cheung Kong Group has to 'rely on' these agents and speculators.

Weekend.

Tang Zhongyuan, Lin Zhichao, and Li Gaofu came to the Discovery Bay Golf Club, sat together and drank tea, and some female relatives also chatted and gathered in the club.

Lin Zhichao returned to Hong Kong in March this year, and at a party, he suggested that Tang Zhongyuan's family and Li Gaofu's family invest in the mainland; Subsequently, these two families also entered the mainland in a big way, and some progress has been made.

"Over the years, my son-in-law's vision has not missed once, and this time I also appointed Xianqian to go to the mainland to investigate, and I have already invested in 4 projects in Shanghai and Beijing," Tang Zhongyuan said happily.

In recent years, the development of the Oriental Group can be described as very good, just the acquisition of the Harbour Building, the Royal Building, is already a lot of money on the books - the purchase of these two buildings is 2.38 billion Hong Kong dollars, and now the valuation is at least about 6 billion; and the Discovery Bay project has also been a great success, after all, the airport plan has been introduced five years ago, Discovery Bay has become a treasure, and the price of ordinary residential buildings is relatively close to Tsuen Wan; the Oriental Group also has several commercial buildings in the urban area of Hong Kong and Kowloon, as well as some small and medium-sized development real estate projects.

The Tang family has always been one of the top ten chaebols in Hong Kong (Hu Chen Tinghua, Zha Jimin, Liu Nuanxiong, etc.), and this first batch of entry into the mainland can make the Tang family continue to be stable.

Oriental Group has moved its clothing OEM business to the mainland, and at the same time, it has its own casual clothing brand, Shi Baolong, and also acts as an agent for many foreign brands, which is still the 'garment king' in Hong Kong.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "Xianqian is the best at this kind of market development, and the Oriental Group is expected to go to a higher level!" ”

Tang Xianqian is his eldest brother-in-law, who made great contributions to the development of the textile market in Nigeria and has been in charge of the textile and garment business of the Oriental Group; However, in the past ten years, due to the twilight of the textile industry, Tang Xianqian has also participated in the affairs of HKRI.

Tang Xianqian and Tang Youqian, two brothers, under the leadership of Tang Zhongyuan, have always gotten along harmoniously and worked together.

Li Gaofu said: "With Uncle Tang in charge, it is even more foolproof!" ”

Tang Zhongyuan waved his hand and said modestly: "I'm not in good health now, and I leave everything to them!" ”

He is 87 years old, but he is still not retired, and he sits in the office of the 'Oriental Group Tower' in Central every day. This is the norm for big families in Hong Kong, for example, Kadoorie Sr. is 93 years old and still goes to the CLP office to sit.

Subsequently, Li Gaofu also exchanged the situation of investment in the mainland, since he became Lin Zhichao's in-laws, he also followed the Lin family to be optimistic about the mainland, so in recent years, the 'Fuhe Group' has also developed very well. Although it can't squeeze into the top ten chaebols, it can be regarded as the top 20 chaebols.

Some of the Group's classic investments include a five-star hotel building in Tsim Sha Tsui East in the late 70s, a bottom-up during Sino-British negotiations, a bid for the 'China Hong Kong City' project on the north side of Harbour City in 1985, and a HK$1.7 billion takeover of the Causeway Bay World Trade Centre from Hongkong Land in 1990.

These projects have made Fuhe Group (a listed company) also squeeze into the top 20 real estate companies, and Li Gaofu himself is also worth a lot of money.

Of course, Li Gaofu has today, of course, it is inseparable from the support of Lin Zhichao's in-laws. When he returned to Hong Kong in 1968, Hong Kong's assets were only about 30 million Hong Kong dollars (cash and property), but now they are as high as nearly 10 billion. Fuhe Group is not only engaged in real estate, but also trade, shipping, manufacturing, and has a wide range of investments.

Li Gaofu's daughter married Lin Zhichao's fourth son Lin Ruikai and gave birth to two sons and two daughters, which can be regarded as a great contribution, which is also a reason for the long-term close relationship between the two families.

Finally, Lin Zhichao said: "Cheung Kong Group plans to set up a real estate trust REITs, mainly to buy commercial real estate in the United States, and if you are interested, you can come to invest." ”

Cheung Kong Group established a REITs in 1984, raising US$300 million to invest in the Japanese market. As a result, everything that invests has made nearly ten times the profit. More than 30 Hong Kong tycoons and officials participated in the investment.

Now, Cheung Kong Group plans to raise another $1 billion to set up a REITs to purchase commercial real estate in New York and Los Angeles. At the same time, Cheung Kong Group itself will also spend more than 3 billion US dollars (about half of the loan) to enter the commercial real estate in the United States.

As for the previous year or so, it can only be regarded as a tentative investment, and this year and next year will be the highlight of the investment.

Li Gaofu said curiously: "In recent years, commercial real estate in the United States has fallen very sharply, especially in California, do you think it is a good opportunity to buy the bottom?" ”

He also has property investment in the United States, so he won't be ignorant of the market!

Including the Tang Zhongyuan family, there is also a property of nearly 1 billion Hong Kong dollars in the United States.

In response to Li Gaofu's question, Lin Zhi said generously: "In a politically stable country like the United States, the economic trough is the best opportunity to buy the bottom. ”

Tang Zhongyuan and Li Gaofu nodded one after another, their overseas investment is not like this, it can be regarded as part of diversification.

It is undeniable that the return rate of commercial real estate in the United States is small, and the normal situation is 6~8%; However, if you buy the bottom when the real estate is at a low point, coupled with the effect of leverage, the profit will increase significantly.

Just like Warren Buffett in his previous life, he bought the commercial properties around New York University in 1993, and the return rate in 1994 was as high as 35%.

Lin Zhichao also made a classic investment, buying securities for nine Manhattan office buildings for $350 million that year, and the result was that six or seven years later, the value was as high as $2.1 billion. Of these nine office buildings, four were sold before 1989, and only five are currently owned by the Global Group.

The Hang Seng Index has risen from 4,400 points at the beginning of the year to 6,600 points in late May, an increase of 50% in five months. The main reason is that because of the political clarity of the mainland, Hong Kong will naturally benefit.

Last year (1991), the Hang Seng Index rose by 4,400 points from 3,100 points, which is not much longer than in the five months of this year.

Morning.

Lin Zhichao came to the office of the Yangtze River Group Center, sat and drank tea and read the newspaper, which was very relaxed.

"Dad, Kowloon T&F Plaza is ready to attract investment, and the rent is expected to reach more than 400 million Hong Kong dollars in the first year!" Lin Ruihuan came to the office and reported.

Taifu Place, Kowloon is the original Miramar Hotel and shopping mall, which has been redeveloped into 'Taifu Place', with a commercial area of 1 million square feet (350,000 square feet for shopping malls and 650,000 square feet for offices). As for the Miramar Hotel, it is opposite Campari Road.

Miramar Hotel has not been closed and still has a place in the hotel industry in Hong Kong. In addition, Miramar Hotel has also invested in the Nanhai Hotel in the mainland.

Just robbing the Miramar Hotel of the Yang Zhiyun family has actually developed into tens of billions of assets.

Lin Zhichao said with satisfaction: "According to this trend, this year's profit of Cheung Kong today can be close to 10 billion!" ”

Lin Ruihuan said with a smile: "Almost! Hengfeng Plaza will soon be able to attract investment, just when there is a shortage of office buildings, many financial institutions have inquired about leasing news. ”

50% of the equity of Hengfeng Plaza is in the hands of Cheung Kong, and the management right is also in Cheung Kong.

Thinking that the profit of Cheung Kong Group this year exceeded 10 billion, Lin Zhichao was still very happy, this scale should be nearly double that of Li Jiacheng's previous life in the same period of 'Cheung Kong' (in the previous life, Cheung Kong's profit in 1992 was 6 billion).

Of course, the extra billions of profits cannot be increased by 'real estate (residential)' and 'infrastructure', after all, Hong Kong is so big, and can only be increased by commercial real estate and retail, food and beverages, catering, etc.

In commercial real estate, the rate of return is not high, and the development of real estate is completely incomparable; However, there are too many commercial properties that cannot stand up to Cheung Kong Group, and they are all over Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and other regions.

Lin Zhichao continued: "I also plan to start investing heavily in commercial real estate in the United States, and I expect to complete billions of dollars in one and a half years. ”

"A lot of institutions are moving out of Manhattan, and if you want to buy the bottom, next year should be the best, because some people predict that the U.S. commercial real estate will be worse next year," Lin said. ”

Lin Zhichao said: "Well, you can cut in slowly!" The United States now has an agency that specializes in dealing with those bad assets, and if there is a suitable one, we will take it! ”

Lin Ruihuan nodded and said, "Okay, we already have a local management team in the United States, with rich management experience. The three shopping malls that have been renovated have also achieved good results"

Under the guidance of his father, the development strategy and direction of Cheung Kong Group will not go wrong. What they only need to do is to work hard to improve their management and operation level.

After some communication, Lin Ruihuan left soon, he is the busiest at work now, after all, he is managing Cheung Kong Group.

He is also 43 years old this year, at the peak of his career, and in the eyes of outsiders, he is in real power.

After all, Lin Zhichao is semi-retired.

Lin Zhichao's two real estate integrated groups, Cheung Kong and Wharf, have good news. Harbour City, a subsidiary of The Wharf Group, has converted two high-end residential towers into two 36-storey Gateway Commercial Towers, adding 1.15 million square feet of commercial space. Redevelopment of three other residential towers (originally high-end residential buildings for rent) has also begun, with an additional 2.7 million square feet of commercial space expected to be completed by the end of 1996.

In other words, in the field of commercial real estate, Cheung Kong Group is the boss, Wharf Group is the second, and the latter is Rolls-Royce - Hongkong Land lost Exchange Square and its vitality was greatly damaged, and Swire Properties lost Pacific Place and was overshadowed; The rest of the Chinese-funded real estate companies can only be ranked first, Sun Hung Kai and Hysan Land, New World Development, Sun Hung Kai has more shopping malls in new towns, Hysan Land has more commercial real estate in Causeway Bay, and New World Development plays the role of New World Center and Convention and Exhibition Center.

Of course, the commercial real estate of these enterprises cannot be compared with Wharf and Changshi.

As for Wharf and Cheung Kong Group in the field of commercial real estate, who is better?

Wharf owns 9.5 million square feet of commercial area in Hong Kong: Harbour City, Times Square, Starlight Shop, etc. (including three office towers under construction);

In Hong Kong, Cheung Kong Group owns Cheung Kong Plaza (5 million sq ft), Exchange Square (2 million sq ft), Raffles City (200,000 sq ft), Cheung Kong Centre (1.25 million sq ft), Hilton Tsim Sha Tsui East and Tsim Sha Tsui Centre (800,000 sq ft), Tylfull Plaza (1 million sq ft), Daimaru Department Store and Xintiandi Shopping Centre (500,000 sq ft), and China Walk Building 50%

In Hong Kong, of course, Cheung Kong Group is better!

The Wharf Group's real estate sector in Southeast Asia is the real giant:

First of all, it holds a 52% stake in Singapore's largest commercial real estate company, Singapore Land, which has not only strengthened its commercial real estate development in Singapore after being acquired by Wharf Group, but also expanded its assets in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and other places.

Secondly, it has a 78% stake in Marco Polo Hotels in Singapore, which includes three four-star Marco Polo hotels in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bali, and also invests in Lane Crawford Tower on Orchard Road in Singapore.

Finally, the Wharf Group directly owns the Paragon Building and its back-end land in Singapore worth more than HK$3 billion, as well as property assets worth more than HK$13 billion in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries.

Of course.

The value of assets owned by Cheung Kong Group in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States is also not owned by Wharf Group, and the value is at least six or seven billion US dollars.

More importantly, Cheung Kong Group is essentially a developer and a conglomerate.

Today, Cheung Kong Group is not only entering the mainland, but also trying to take the United States, which can be described as a two-front battle; Therefore, after this wave, Cheung Kong Group already has the strength of the world's top 500 companies (excluding Hutchison Whampoa), and it is still at the top of the strength.

It can even be said that the next 30 years will be worry-free!

Of course, in the case of having a strong cash flow, Cheung Kong Group will continue to invest. (End of chapter)