Legend of Xiangjiang Tycoon

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Zheng Yutong proudly announced in 1985 that the average occupancy rate of New World Hotel was 94%, with a turnover of HK$147 million; the occupancy rate of Regent Hotel was 90%, with a turnover of HK$347 million. In addition, the annual rental income of commercial units exceeds HK$100 million.

Putting all these aside, the value of this land alone has increased by more than 10 times in 10 years!

In the same year when he purchased the Blue Chimney site, Cheng Yu-kan invited his friends He Shanheng, He Tian, ​​Guo Desheng, Yang Zhiyun and others to jointly establish New World Development Co., Ltd.

Zheng Yutong is the chairman of the board of directors. In 1972, the stock market was in the best bull market since the opening of the port. Zheng Yutong "borrowed bull" to go public and raised 160 million Hong Kong dollars.

In 1976, Xinshixun acquired Kai Tak Building and AIA Building, and gained a great reputation in the real estate industry.

After the New World Center, Zheng built the high-end residential area of ​​Baguio Bay on Hong Kong Island. There are 50 exquisitely shaped buildings in the area, covering an area of ​​800,000 square feet. The area is equipped with swimming pools, tennis courts, children's Amusement parks and other recreational facilities.

In 1984, Zheng Yutong reached an agreement with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to invest HK$1.8 billion to build the Hong Kong International Convention and Exhibition Center in Wan Chai.

In 1986, Elizabeth herself laid the foundation stone for the center.

Three years later, the center was inaugurated by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Zheng Yutong was hailed by the media as "the darling of the British royal family".

The entire building complex, in addition to the 7-story conference and exhibition center, also has the 31-story New World Seaview Hotel, the 25-story Grand Hyatt Hotel, the 39-story office building, and the 37-story luxury residence. unit building.

The facilities of the center are magnificent, elegant and luxurious, especially the world's largest glass wall on the front, covering an area of ​​20,000 square feet and eight stories high, which is amazing.

The International Convention and Exhibition Center, together with Exchange Square, HSBC Tower, Bank of China Tower, and Benda Center, were listed as the five most outstanding representative buildings in Hong Kong in the 1980s. The Convention and Exhibition Center is also a fine art of similar buildings in the Asia-Pacific region.

Zheng Yutong has a nickname in the business world - Sha Dantong. Zheng Shi is very happy, but not reckless, and almost never made a mistake.

The He family in Lisboa is also known for its boldness. He and Zheng are old friends.

Naturally, the He family didn't think it was enough to make money from the Chinese blocking customers, so he set his sights on the pockets of the Arabs.

Arabia is rich in oil and rich in oil. However, there are many religious taboos in many Arab countries, and foreign fashionable entertainment is prohibited.

The ideal country is Iran, where Pahlavi carried out the "White Revolution" and vigorously advocated the Western way of life.

So He Shi invited Sha Dantong, went to Iran, and finally obtained the patent right to operate horse racing for 30 years from the Pahlavi government.

He's and Zheng Yutong jointly invested 50 million US dollars to build a modern racecourse.

The successful opening of the racecourse not only attracted Iranian citizens, but horse racing became popular throughout the Arab world.

Arab high-rollers from all over the world rushed to Tehran to block horses, and the huge amount of spinach was astounding. He and Zheng Ergong smiled with joy.

The king of Pahlavi also often came to watch the games. Out of interest, he planned to reward He and Zheng Ergong.

He Shi and Zheng Shi received the good news that His Majesty the King had awarded them an honor, so they made special dresses in Hong Kong and flew to Tehran.

Unfortunately, the revolutionary revolution broke out in Iran, and the honors were stranded. The national workers were busy quelling the turmoil, but unexpectedly it became more and more difficult to control the situation.

In January 1971, King Pahlavi went into exile, and the religious leader Khomeini returned to take over the regime.

After the coup, the racecourse was still lively for 3 months. But the good times didn't last long. One day, the new government sent people to attack the racetrack, smashed the computer, and the horse race died.

In order to make up for the loss of his old friend, in the 1980s, when the He family forced Ye Han to leave, he "persuaded" Ye Han to transfer the equity under his name to Zheng Yutong, and Ye Han cashed out 300 million Hong Kong dollars.

Zheng Yutong has since become one of the major shareholders of Lisboa Entertainment Company. The other three major shareholders are still He Shi, Huo Yingdong, and Ye Deli.

Blocking profits are extremely high, Zheng does not participate in the operation, and enjoys the benefits every year.

Zheng's tasted the sweetness. In 1987, he cooperated with Du Wang for the third time, investing 600 million Australian dollars, equivalent to 3 billion Hong Kong dollars, to Sydney, Australia.

The whole set of projects includes the largest market in the Asia-Pacific region that can accommodate more than 20 sets and 1,500 machines, and a five-star hotel with 600 suites. If the third phase of the project is completed, it will cost more than four billion Hong Kong dollars .

In the 1990s, Vietnam opened up in all directions and encouraged foreign businessmen to go to Vietnam.

The Ho family also pulled the Cheng's alliance and took the lead. The first phase invested 200 million Hong Kong dollars to build shopping malls and hotels in Haiphong City.

Haiphong was originally a holiday resort for French colonial officers. The Vietnamese government decided to rebuild it into a seaside city for tourism in the Far East. Due to the lack of domestic funds, it had to rely on the financial resources of wealthy foreign men.

Zheng Yutong himself never played, but frequently intervened. Some people joked that if the shark is so red, He should pull off a corner of the laurel crown and cover Zheng's head.

Zheng Yutong once explained his behavior in this way: "This world is fundamentally 'big and big, and small and small'. Doing business is a kind of blocking, and even the decision to buy a piece of land every time has its own The ingredient of spinach."

If the real estate industry is a gold mine of the Zheng family, then Zhuzhu is his gold basin.

Zheng's first pot of gold was found in the jewelry industry, which laid the foundation for him to develop his talents in real estate, so Zheng has a special love for jewelry.

Zheng Yutong said: "In my life's career, I am most interested in two aspects, one is jewelry and the other is real estate."

From a profit point of view, jewelry loses to real estate. However, the income of jewelry is stable, unlike the ups and downs of real estate.

In the 1980s, the jewelry industry in Hong Kong was divided into four parts, and the competition became increasingly fierce. Despite this, Cheng still held on to jewelry and never gave up.

There are currently more than 3,000 gold shops in Hong Kong, the largest of which are Chow Tai Fook, Chow Sang Sang, Tse Sui Lin, and King Fook.

The founder of Chow Tai Fook is Zheng Yutong's father-in-law Zhou Zhiyuan, and the founder of Zhou Shengsheng is Zhou Fangpu, Zhou Zhiyuan's relative.

Tse Rui Phosphate is a rising star in the jewelry industry in Hong Kong. In the early 1960s, Xie Ruilin was still a young boy in a goldsmithing workshop. He was diligent and studious. Soon after completing his teacher, he opened a goldsmithing workshop independently to undertake orders from major pearl merchants in Hong Kong and overseas.

In 1967, when the real estate market was bad, Xie found a shop in Jiulonghong at a low price and opened the first store.

At the end of the 1980s, Xie Ruilin's annual turnover reached two billion Hong Kong dollars, and he had many branches in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

The bunk decoration imitates Chow Tai Fook, the shop is large and magnificent. Xie Ruilin is in a wealthy year. He is different from other jewelry tycoons. He is not only exquisite in production, but also good at sales.

King Fook Gold Bank was founded in the 1950s by Yang Zhiyun of the Miramar Hotel Group.

Backed by other businesses in the family, King Fook has relatively strong strength. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was a tripartite rivalry with Chow Tai Fook and Chow Sang.

In the 1980s, Yang Zhi fainted and Jingfu began to decline. Just like "a centipede is dead but not stiff", Jingfu is still a strong force in Hong Kong and Kowloon jewelry stores.

In the early years, Zheng Yutong once dominated the coquettish "Diamond Queen". Now all major gold shops are engaged in diamond business, and they are evenly divided with Chow Tai Fook.

The fierce competition of gold shops can also be reflected in advertisements. Any kind of media can see "jewelry". According to statistics, the main bead industry in Hong Kong spends as much as 30 million Hong Kong dollars on advertising every year.

There are more gold shops than rice shops, so many that customers have no time to pay attention. But the robbers always keep their eyes on the gold shops and let them down, which makes the gold shops worse.

In the 1980s, there were as many as 80 gold shop robberies a year, and at least 20 cases; in 1991, there were as many as 100 cases, and 1992 started an unlucky year. In January, Chow Tai Fook Central Gold Shop robbed 11 million Hong Kong dollars in jewelry; , the bank’s Jordan Road branch was robbed of 5 million Hong Kong dollars of jewelry; in April, Chow Tai Fook suffered another disaster, and 4 million Hong Kong dollars of jewelry was stolen from the Causeway Bay branch. The insurance period of Chow Tai Fook's Central and Jordan Roads has just expired, and the insurance has not been renewed. The huge loss of 16 million Hong Kong dollars cannot be compensated at all.

The huge loss reflects the negligence of Chow Tai Fook's management. Since the 1970s, Zheng Yutong no longer directly managed Chow Tai Fook, and in the 1990s, he was in a semi-retired state. At the board meeting, Zheng Yutong severely criticized the head of Chow Tai Fook.

From now on, Chow Tai Fook will strictly prevent crimes. Although it cannot guarantee that the robbers will come to the door, at least there will be no major omissions in the insurance coverage. Once an accident occurs, the insurance company can be "blamed".

During the same period of the year, Xie Ruilin had five gold shops robbed, and Zhou Shengsheng and Jingfu each had one. The robbed jewels were less and all of them were insured, so the loss was minimal.

In fact, any mainland tourist who enters a gold shop in Hong Kong will receive a god-like reception, whether buying gold or accepting gold, they will receive warm and thoughtful service.

Gold shops in Hong Kong do not slaughter customers, and the color and weight are exactly in line with the marked ones. Although there are few mainland tourists who buy diamonds, due to the large number of people and the large number of gold buyers, they have gradually become the largest gold customers in Hong Kong gold shops. Gold shop owners and staff will never neglect.

The price of gold in the Mainland is 20% to 30% higher than that in Hong Kong, and the jewelry is rough in workmanship, so tourists to Hong Kong will most likely buy gold.

An article in Hong Kong's "Capital" magazine in the fifth issue of 1994 stated: "It is estimated that the total gold population in Hong Kong in 1992 reached more than 340 tons, half of which entered the mainland market in the form of jewelry, and 60% of them entered the mainland market. Tons are bought by Chinese tourists from Hong Kong and brought back to the mainland. It is estimated that among the 200 to 300 tons of gold in Hong Kong in 1994, about 90 tons of gold will be brought back to China, making the sales of gold in Hong Kong Well, half of them are tourists from mainland China."

Xie Ruilin pointed out in an interview with the US "Wall Street Journal" that half of the company's sales in Hong Kong are tourists from the mainland.

The same is true for gold firms such as Chow Tai Fook, Chow Sang Sang, and King Fook.

In the 1990s, the mainland still did not allow foreign gold merchants to enter the mainland market through sole proprietorship or joint venture.

At present, the only thing allowed is the cooperative contracting system—and only Chow Tai Fook’s family. Rumor has it that Zheng Yutong distributed charitable money in his hometown of Shunde as a pilot for reform.

An article in "Capital" magazine stated: "Hong Kong gold merchant Chow Tai Fook cooperated with Lunjiao Town in Shunde to set up a gold jewelry factory in 1987, issued a gold jewelry factory license through the People's Bank of China, and implemented a contract system for processing with supplied materials locally...that is, Said that Hong Kong companies provide raw materials, management talents, design talents and funds, etc., while the mainland provides places and manpower for gold jewelry manufacturing.”

Although Chow Tai Fook has not entered the mainland sales market, it has finally put in a profitable golden egg.

Xie Ruilin and Chow Sang Sang were both late. The Xie family worked hand in hand with their counterparts in Heilongjiang Province, but they were still unable to obtain a license, and the licensee was still from the mainland.

Chow Sang-sang opened a showroom in Mawei, Fujian Province. He could only promote the jewelry of the line, but he could not sell gold.

In 1995, Chow Tai Fook took another step forward and opened a jewelry and gold jewelry showroom on BJ Road, the most prosperous commercial street in Guangzhou.

Gold merchants in Hong Kong should not covet the huge market in the Mainland, hoping that the Mainland will open up the gold market as soon as possible.

Gold merchants in Hong Kong have enough patience to wait. Zheng Yutong once expressed that he hopes that Chow Tai Fook will become the largest gold bank in the industry in the future.

The huge business of the Zheng family is managed by Zheng Yutong and his sons Zheng Jiachun and Zheng Jiacheng. Zheng Jiachun is nicknamed "Chun Guan" - "canonized" by a female artist of ATV.

In September 1982, Qiu Degeng, chairman of the Far East Group, purchased 50% of the shares of Li's from the Husheng Group and became the owner of Li's.

Qiu immediately changed the name of Li's to "Asian Television" and drastically reorganized the leadership organization, and became the chairman of ATV.

The Qiu family, like the Shaw family, both came from running theaters. Qiu De is also in the business of banking, real estate, and entertainment. He is an indomitable and very good at making troubles in the business world.

Both he and Shaw belong to the Shanghai Gang, but the relationship is not good. The reason is that Qiu Degeng and MP & GI's boss Lu Yuntao are close friends, and Lu is Shaw's "mortal enemy", so it is impossible for Qiu to be friendly with fellow practitioners of Shaw.

Qiu De, like other cinema operators, is determined to get involved in film production. The Qiu family and the Lu family had discussed jointly establishing a film production company, but there was an unexpected situation. In 1964, Qiu's beloved wife, Qiu Jinqiu, accompanied Lu Yuntao and his wife to Taiwan to participate in the Golden Horse Awards, and died in a plane crash. Qiu De was even more disillusioned, and gave up the idea of ​​filming~www.readwn.com~ Therefore, the battle for Hong Kong TV hegemony began in the year when the Qiu family reorganized Li.

ATV was aggressive, and Shaw Brothers did not dare to underestimate it. When the film industry was being persecuted by Jiawei, the Sixth Uncle deliberately stepped out of the film industry and diverted his energy and financial resources to TV.

With the backing of the movie studio, Run Run Shaw gathered artists from the movie theater and the Hong Kong entertainment industry to fight back against ATV with all his might.

ATV was overwhelmed and suffered a deficit year after year. Far East Group's profits are almost all invested in ATV's financial black hole. The more they invest, the more they lose money.

People in the circle say that ATV will go bankrupt, but it never fails, and it will come up with new programs from time to time to attract TVB's old viewers. Qiu De has been able to compete against Taishan-level Run Run Shaw for 6 years, and he can be called a tough guy.

The direct reason for Qiu De to fade out of ATV was that his son Qiu Dacheng was sentenced to 4 years in prison after driving drunk and killing a policeman;

The indirect reason is also the fundamental reason. ATV has lost too much money. In the two years before he sold his shares, his annual loss was as high as 200-300 million!

In 1988, a new consortium bought shares in ATV. Qiu De asked again, cleared the old account, and earned 300 million Hong Kong dollars.