Legend of Xiangjiang Tycoon

Someone asked if the Shanghai Ship Gang had signed a gentleman's agreement. Zhao Congyan explained: "It's impossible, personal friendship is personal friendship, business is business. In business, no one will make concessions on major interests. But each family's conditions and assumptions are different, and the results are also different."

Tankers are the most profitable business because of the Middle East war. Regarding this point, Zhao Shiguang, the current managing director of Huaguang Aviation Industry, explained this when answering questions from reporters:

"Anything that moves has the chance to have an accident, but since the establishment of our company, the fleet has never had an accident, because we carefully manage to avoid risks. Among them, the risks involved in oil tankers are greater, in the event of a collision or Stranding incidents, the leakage of crude oil from ships, the problem is not simple. If there is an accident in the United States, oil pollution compensation will easily cost millions of dollars, so I think it may be considered to operate small oil tankers, such as 30,000 to 50,000 tons of manufactured products Oil tankers; as for large tankers, you have to be careful. Smaller tankers are not too difficult to clean if they have an accident.”

The Zhao family kept buying ships, and by the 1970s, it owned 60 seagoing ships.

At that time, the Hong Kong stock market was hot and transactions were active. Controlling big money with small money, Zhao Congyan, a lawyer, knows the meaning.

In January, Zhao Congyan established Huaguang Aviation Group Company, which was finally successfully listed in January of the following year. Zhao Congyan injected part of the family-owned ships into Huaguang Shipping Co., Ltd.

In the mid-1970s, Zhao Congyan's career reached its peak, and the total carrying capacity of the ships he owned exceeded 3 million tons, which was more than the total carrying capacity of merchant ships in many maritime countries.

In 1973, the total deadweight of inland ocean-going ships was 2.7 million tons.

He went to Congyan to become famous, handed over the family business to his son, and indulged in searching, buying, and enjoying antiques.

A friend asked Zhao Congyan jokingly, "Is it possible to use funds to buy so many antiques?" Zhao Congyan smiled and said, "I like it."

No one would have thought that Zhao Congyan's hobby would become the "savior" to save Huaguang from overturning in the future.

In the early 1970s, real estate in Hong Kong was in full swing, and the son of the Zhao family was eager to try, but was discouraged by his father, "If the property cannot be moved, the boat is the most reliable" - this is the experience and lessons learned by Zhao Congyan for decades.

In the late 1970s, the Mainland reformed and opened up. Zhao Congyan was extremely pleased, but also extremely regretful.

He complained that he should not always be too wary of zz, otherwise, the Zhao family is both the king of ships and the king of real estate.

Zhao Congyan, in 1983, when the world shipping industry was slumping, ordered the family company Huaguang Shipping to mobilize a huge investment of HK$700 million to buy six large ships. For a time, people in the shipping industry were stunned.

Nowadays, the prospect of negotiation is uncertain, and many businessmen have taken capital and sold their properties to move overseas.

One of Huaguang's executive heads said that putting funds on board is the most flexible and can be transferred out of Hong Kong at any time. This activity is exactly the same as Zhao Congyan's famous saying in the 1950s - "A boat is an asset that can move."

The leader also said in an authoritative tone that the world shipping industry will be prosperous every year. Due to the increase in the number of ship demolition, the supply and demand of ships will tend to balance. After self-adjustment, ship rental and freight rates will rise to the level of the late 1970s. .

In 1985, the world shipping industry did not see a ray of light, but became more and more bleak, and the disaster was unprecedented. Huaguang Aviation was listed in 1973 and has been in the water for nearly ten years. Now its market value has plummeted and it is on the verge of bankruptcy. The nearly four million-ton ships of the Zhao family have been suspended, and the profits that have not been suspended are pitiful.

Huaguang has many ships leased to the Swedish Sharon Company, the British Scottish Shipping Company, and the state-run Irish Shipping Company.

These companies closed down one after another, and Huaguang suffered a lot. Zhao Shipeng, the eldest son of Zhao Congyan and director of Huaguang, said in the newspaper: "The company will lose 30 million Hong Kong dollars due to the liquidation of Irish Shipping."

In 1986, Huaguang Aviation was heavily indebted, with a debt of US$860 million.

Zhao Congyan is an internationally renowned antique collector. In order to save the company, he had to reluctantly give up his love. At the end of 1986 and 1987, he auctioned nearly 300 antiques twice, cashing out more than 300 million Hong Kong dollars.

The Zhao family also sold real estate and hotels to cash out. With the support of the bank, Huaguang restructured its share capital, and the Zhao family still has a 49% stake.

After completing the reorganization, Huaguang resumed listing on the stock market in 1987. After four dismal years, the debt was reduced to $250 million.

Zhao Shipeng does not think that Huaguang suffered this disaster because the decision-makers misunderstood the market.

"We felt helpless with the failure in 1985. We also saw problems with global shipping, but our ships were all leased out, and many of our customers were state-owned companies, but they had difficulties and went into liquidation, and the state guarantees did not pay, then What can we do? The banks are constantly collecting debts from us, and we really have no other way but to restructure our finances.”

Zhao Shiguang, Zhao Congyan's third son, said: "In 1986, because we were owed $200 million to $300 million in bills, some tenants even closed their doors, and we had no way to recover the bills."

Huaguang slowly got out of the predicament after 1991. In March 1992, Huaguang obtained a syndicated loan of US$120 million to repay old debts. From then on, Huaguang's actions were no longer restricted by creditor banks.

"A boat is an asset that can move." This famous saying of the Zhao family not only brought a lot of money to the Zhao family, but also damaged the huge wealth of the Zhao family.

In order to learn the painful lesson of "putting eggs in one basket", Huaguang's business has become increasingly diversified since the 1990s.

In 2000, the Zhao family property was valued at HK$1.5 billion, of which the family owned 49% of Huaguang Shipping, and Zhao Congyan’s second son, Zhao Shizeng, held more than 50% of Zhuoneng Group’s equity.

In the early 1970s, Zhao Shizeng had a good time at the official land auction. If since then, the whole family has devoted themselves to real estate, then the family wealth will definitely add another "zero".

The career of Cao Wenjin, the fourth largest ship king in Hong Kong, is also quite legendary.

Cao Wenjin is about 10 years younger than Zhao Congyan, and the Cao family is a real shipping family. Cao Wenjin's grandfather, Cao Huazhang, opened a Cao Baoji Shipping Company to engage in inland water transportation in the Yangtze River basin.

However, Cao Wenjin's father, Cao Yinyun, did not inherit his father's business, mainly because the foreign fleets of Taikoo and Jardine were too powerful, and the national shipping industry was struggling.

With the help of his father, Cao Yinyun started a silver account, which later developed into Huaxia Quanye Bank.

Cao Wenjin was born in his hometown in Pudong, Shanghai in 1925. He studied in a missionary school since he was a child. After graduating from middle school, he entered the Economics Department of Shanghai St. John's University, a famous missionary university in China.

At this time, her father was a well-known banker in Shanghai, and her mother, Wu Yuxuan, opened Tianbaocheng Jewelry and Gold Jewelry Store.

Cao Wenjin only did not study the shipping industry. At that time, most of the people in the shipping industry were "rough people" with a background in sailing ships.

At the same time, the scale of the family's shipping industry is shrinking and cannot be compared with other businesses.

If nothing changes, Cao Wenjin will inherit the huge family business smoothly. However, whether Cao, who has not suffered through ups and downs, can expand his family business and become an outstanding entrepreneur remains a question mark.

People's calculations are not as good as heaven's calculations. The Cao family painstakingly let Cao Wenjin inherit the family business, but whether the family business will be surnamed Cao in the future is a question.

At the beginning of the New Year in 1949, the huge Huaihai Plain lost its hands, and the wealthy people in Shanghai, like frightened birds, abandoned their houses and fled to the harbor and the bay.

Hong Kong's "Capitalist" magazine said: "In 1949, when Shanghai was liberated, the Cao family ran away in a hurry, and only took 100,000 US dollars to the south to Hong Kong, which was roughly only 5% to 10% of the Cao family's property at that time. Cao Wenjin was not yet 24 years old. "

In addition, many Hong Kong newspapers and magazines believe that the funds brought by the Cao family are only 1% of the family property.

No matter which statement is more accurate, there are two points for sure: First, the Cao family is a very rich man in Shanghai; second, the Cao family lost a lot of money by running away.

At that time, the Cao family did not think that they suffered any losses, they just avoided the war. There have been wars such as the Northern Expedition and the Japanese occupation in the past.

Cao Wenjin recalled: "In the beginning, we only wanted to come to Hong Kong for shelter. In order to make our staff feel at ease, our company in Shanghai continued to operate as usual. We did not sell or take away real estate, pearl owners and stocks, but only took 100,000 yuan with us. U.S. dollars in cash and some jewelry, I hope the situation stabilizes before returning to Shanghai.”

The Cao family has been operating the shipping industry for half a century. Those are all river boats, which cannot be brought to Hong Kong, and even if they can be brought, they will not be of any use.

At this time, Zhao Congyan and a large group of Shanghai ship merchants have been working hard, and I believe they have made a lot of profits.

"Yes, just do the family's old business! Invest in buying a boat, if you encounter a storm, turn the bow of the boat, and all the assets will move with the boat!"

The Cao family spent their money and desperately bought the 1,200-ton Ebonol for 800,000 Hong Kong dollars.

The Cao family had no other plan, and the family only had one month's living expenses left. At that time, there was a shortage of ships, and the Cao family had no assets to mortgage in Hong Kong.

The boat is a moving fund - based on this, the Cao family dared to take such a big risk.

Fortunately, as soon as the ship arrives, there is cargo to be shipped. The Cao family saved money and immediately bought the old ship, the 1,300-ton Eastern Trader, which was undocked in 1918, for HK$980,000.

Cao Wenjin recalled that during the annual inspection at the end of the year, the official British surveyor made every effort to make things difficult, saying that our two ships were scrap iron and refused to issue certificates.

Our family was so anxious that we couldn't afford to eat. We thought the boat was the money to move, but now we don't even have the right to go! Fortunately, I learned a good command of English at St. John's University, and I went to the ship inspection agency to plead for mercy, and I was allowed to sail.

When the Korean War broke out, the Cao family's wealth was prosperous, and the two piles of "scrap iron" became a cornucopia. The imperialists put a total embargo on China, as long as there is courage, there is a chance to make a fortune. Whenever Cao Wenjin recalled the golden years of shipping, he could not restrain his inner joy:

"The turning point of my career was at that time, when one ton of goods was shipped for $150, and we carried a large number of special-needs materials to the north, and also did import business, and the business grew rapidly."

At that time, the Gulf Army deployed mines in the Gulf Strait in order to prevent the inland crossing the sea to liberate the Gulf.

If you bypass Taiwan Island, not only will the ship travel long, but also the wind and waves will be strong, and the small sea-going ship of a thousand tons is very unsafe. The Ebonol, the father of Cao's fleet, passed through the Gulf Strait and sank due to mines.

Cao Wenjin said solemnly: "What's even worse is that the insurance company used the risk of war as an excuse to not pay a penny. This blow can't be said to be a big blow. However, my first reaction was 'must survive', what is the plan to make a fortune Putting it aside for the time being, the first thing to solve is to keep the old capital, work hard step by step, and wait for opportunities to develop again.”

This tragic lesson made Cao Wenjin no longer bet everything on the shipping industry even though the shipping industry was doing well in the 1950s.

"Although a boat is a movable fund, it is safer not to put all your eggs in one basket."

Cao did not give up the shipping industry until the 1990s, but since 1954, he has taken the road of diversification and cross-regional development.

In 1955, Cao Wenjin cooperated with a Japanese pharmaceutical company to sell pharmaceuticals and chemical products in Hong Kong.

Cao Wenjin's investment focuses on foreign countries, and he has always been optimistic about Hong Kong's prospects.

After the end of the Korean War, Cao Wenjin moved to Southeast Asia to develop.

Coincidentally, a friend from Shanghai started a textile factory in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, but the cash flow was not working, so he borrowed money from Cao Wenjin.

Cao Wenjin gave him 300,000 yuan as a stock investment. But in the end, the textile factory still did not improve and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

This friend had to ask Cao Wenjin to take over. Cao Wenjin had business dealings with the mainland during the Korean War and was refused entry by Malaysia. After several setbacks, Cao Wenjin was allowed to enter.

He came to Johor Bahru. Johor Bahru is a barren land with only a few tin houses in the textile factory. Cao Wenjin understood the difficulties of his friends and tried his best to maintain the textile factory and turn losses into profits.

In the 1960s, the Cao family invested in two other textile factories in Malaysia.

During his stay in Malaysia, Mr Cho got to know Dr Mahathir, who later became the Prime Minister of Malaysia. There must be many conveniences for Mr. Cao to show his strength in Malaysia.

In addition, Cao has a number of investments in Thailand and Singapore.

"Diversify investment, diversify risk" - this is the concrete embodiment of Cao's egg philosophy.

Cao Wenjin established the airline industry in 1966 and listed in Hong Kong in 1972.

From the meaning of the word "Wanbang", it can be seen that the base of Cao's fleet is not located in Hong Kong~www.readwn.com~ In 2008, Cao Wenjin and the Malaysian government founded the National Shipping Company, and Cao's family accounted for 3.2% of its shares.

The company is listed in Malaysia with a market capitalisation of RM4.5 billion.

In addition, Mr. Cao also invested in the construction of a Malaysian shipyard, and initiated the establishment of the first sailing school in Malaysia, the Malacca Sailing School.

In Thailand, Cao owns 70% of the Thai National Shipping Company and 25% of the Thai United Dockyard.

In addition, Mr. Cao participated in the construction of the Thailand Container Terminal, which handles 200,000 containers per year. Thai media said: Hong Kong ship king Cao Man Kam, controlled Thailand's shipping business.

The Cao family wholly owns 44 vessels with a gross tonnage of 1.57 million tons.

The Cao family holds 40% of the shares of Wanbang Shipping, which are listed in Hong Kong and Singapore, and has 20 ships with a total tonnage of 750,000 tons. According to Cao's shareholding, Cao's owns 300,000 tons of them. In this way, the tonnage of the ships wholly owned by the Cao family is 1.85 million tons.

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