The Industrial Giant Reborn

"Book directly?" Chen Zengxi was stunned for a moment, and then took a serious look at Chen Zhiwen, and then he was convinced that Chen Zhiwen was more optimistic about the future of Hong Kong real estate than he was, otherwise he would not be able to take the initiative now.

"Yes, I can make reservations in advance, but I can only make reservations at the current price. I can directly pay the funds first to reduce the financial pressure and subsequent risks of the entire project? How about that?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

Throughout Hong Kong, there are many people like Li Jiacheng who hold a relatively optimistic attitude towards the future real estate market, but no one could have imagined that in the future, in just 12 years, Hong Kong's housing prices will increase more than ten times. The rent will also rise. In other words, if you spend 100 million to buy a property today, in the next few years, you can recover the investment cost just by relying on rent, and you will earn a property worth 1 billion Hong Kong dollars in vain, plus every year Rental income of at least 70 to 80 million.

However, with the Hutchison Whampoa and Land he currently owns, he would not be too interested in ordinary properties. However, the one held by Hang Lung is located next to 9 subway stations. Although the value is not as good as that in Central, it is still worth it. It can be regarded as the second level of Hong Kong’s real estate market.

"Book at the current price, Chen Sheng, isn't this a bit too low?" Chen Zengxi said with some embarrassment. Everyone knows that land prices will rise sooner or later in the future, but he doesn't know when, and he is currently short of funds. After going through a difficult period, he was a little reluctant to purchase the property in his hands at the current price. However, he did not dare to offend Chen Zhiwen, otherwise the other party would not invest. If Hang Lung could not survive, he would die.

"If I book now and pay now, of course it must be at the current price? Do you think the price is low now? If the price is lower in the future, are you prepared to make up the difference to me?" Chen Zhiwen said lightly: "In that case, The prices of the houses you Hang Lung sold before are now halved, and you are also going to provide supplements to those who buy houses?"

"Of course it's not." Chen Zengxi said quickly. If it was a normal situation, he could choose not to buy it, but it is definitely not possible now.

"Let's do this. I will send someone to your company to get all the information on these nine property projects. Later I will decide which properties I will acquire in advance. After that, we will discuss it, how about it?" Chen Zhiwen said nonchalantly.

In the original history, Hang Lung Properties was unable to come up with funds to pay for the third phase of the Hong Kong government. As a result, all the land was taken back by the Hong Kong government. In other words, Chen Zengxi had no choice, and he did not want to annex this project. , It's just about acquiring some high-quality properties. Chen Zhiwen doesn't like ordinary residential projects either.

"Okay, let's discuss it after all our cooperation intentions come out." Chen Zengxi nodded and said. The other party is obviously willing to invest in him, so naturally he has to follow Chen Zhiwen and wait for the follow-up details to come out. If the other party doesn't want many properties, , then you can sell it to him first at the current house price. At least you can recover part of the funds first and reduce your financial pressure. If it is more, then we can discuss it later.

"Well, one more thing. I am also optimistic about Hang Lung Properties, so I want to invest in your company again, which will be between 16-20%. In this way, I can also get a director seat. But don't worry, I will not force the acquisition. Your company." Chen Zhiwen said again.

In the original history, Hang Lung was severely damaged by this failed subway property project in the 1980s and fell out of the top five real estate companies. In the late 1980s, it became cautious about investment due to problems with funds and courage, and missed out on the gold in Hong Kong real estate. period.

Now that I have invested in this project and can profit from it, it is impossible for this project to fail. Maybe part of the future profits of Hang Lung Group will be taken away by myself, but at least I can still make money. Compared with the original history, it is a Plus and minus, if we seize the golden development period after 1985, it may not become the second Cheung Kong Holdings in the future. Such a company is naturally worth investing in, but there is no need to acquire it and let it be rolled out in the Hong Kong real estate market. It is most cost-effective for a king to work for him.

"As for directors, it's not a problem. We welcome Chen Sheng very much, but if Chen Sheng owns more than 16% of Hang Lung's shares, Hisense Bank will not be able to cooperate with Hang Lung. How about this, Chen Sheng's shares are reduced to 15.9%, and the director's rights are mine." The same is given to you, and in this case, Hisense can also cooperate with us, and Chen Sheng can earn higher profits through Hisense, wouldn't it be better?" Chen Zengxi said quickly.

"Good method, I didn't think too much about it, so let's do it this way." Chen Zhiwen smiled and nodded. There is indeed not much difference between 15.9% and 16% or a little more, but if Hisense can cooperate with Hang Lung, it will involve I am afraid that the funds will be tens of billions in the future. I can not only profit from Hang Lung projects through Hisense Bank. If Hang Lung Real Estate develops better, then my 15.9% shares may be able to make more profits. many.

Another point is that just like HSBC cultivating Cheung Kong Holdings, Hisense also needs several large real estate partners in Hong Kong. The members of Taishan Club are already very good, but Hu Yingxiang’s focus will still be on the mainland, and the mainland will not necessarily be the same in the future. We no longer need loans from Hong Kong. As for the Bao Yugang and Bao family, it is not feasible to focus on generating electricity without engaging in shipping. Another Robert Kuok's main business will still be abroad.

Taken together, the loan funds that these three companies can use are not a small amount, but they are still not as good as a real estate company that has been developing in Hong Kong for a long time and is getting better and better. At present, Hang Lung is a good choice.

"Everyone cooperates for mutual benefit. I also believe that sooner or later, Hisense will surpass HSBC and become the largest bank in Hong Kong." Chen Zengxi said with a smile. This time he came to Chen Zhiwen and basically achieved his goal, although there will still be more There are some other issues, but this is also normal. How can a large-scale cooperation go smoothly from beginning to end?

"HSBC? It's not that easy." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile and shook his head.

If it were just a "central bank" in Hong Kong, then as long as it was slightly more successful in overseas deployment, such as acquiring Standard Chartered, it would be able to surpass HSBC in scale. However, HSBC in the 1980s also started to grow by leaps and bounds. Under the plan designated by Shen Bi, The following executives are implementing the strategies he left behind, eventually making HSBC one of the top ten banks in the world.

It will be difficult for Hisense to reach this level in the future. After all, the European and American markets can be open to HSBC, but it may not be open to a Chinese bank.

Of course, Chen Zhiwen also admires Shen Bi's ability. After all, the European and American markets are open to many Western banks, but only HSBC can succeed.

Compared with several acquisitions in Europe, investing in Hang Lung and cooperating with Hang Lung is much simpler. When the bosses of both parties are willing, their professional business teams quickly established communication.

After Chen Zhiwen obtained the information on all the subway station properties, he finally selected 7 commercial buildings as his future self-owned properties, including the Kapok Building on Murray Road in Central District and the Fragrant Hill Building in Admiralty 2 Section. The other 5 buildings are slightly worse, but they are all at the upper-middle level. There are 7 buildings with a total construction area of ​​4.1 million square feet.

These 7 buildings are all at the entrance of the subway station, and the surrounding commercial environment is good. The others are basically residential, and a few office buildings are average.

Chen Zengxi naturally knew that these seven properties were the most valuable, but the main focus of his project was originally residences. After all, compared to residences, office buildings do not have to be next to the subway. The residences next to the subway are for rent collection. In the most suitable place, when the normal real estate market is good, no matter how wealthy people are, they will grab this residence and rent it out. This is the majority of Hang Lung Properties’ interests in these 9 property projects.

Subsequently, there were negotiations on the value of the seven properties and the price of the entire project. However, Hang Lung Real Estate Company's own shareholding was relatively simple. The shares of the listed company were there. However, after the market learned that Chen Zhiwen had taken a stake, Hang Lung's shares increased sharply. It has risen once, but this has nothing to do with Chen Zhiwen. The price of his shares is based on the previous price.

In the end, Chen Zhiwen bought these 7 buildings at a price of HK$2.16 billion and put them under the name of Land Company. Considering that the entire project was currently short of money, he directly gave half of the deposit first, and then waited for the completion of the building. But this will not affect Hang Lung. As long as there is a contract, you can borrow money from other banks based on the contract.

At the same time, Chen Zhiwen also acquired 18.9% of the shares from other shareholders of the project for HK$1.06 billion. He also contacted Standard Chartered, Bank of China, and Sumitomo Bank of Japan, and the three companies worked together to conduct a new evaluation of the entire project, and also Approximately HK$3 billion in borrowing is required.

"Sheng Chen, it's a pleasure to work with you." In the headquarters building of Hang Lung Real Estate Group, Chen Zengxi opened a bottle of valuable red wine, poured two glasses of it himself, handed one to Chen Zhiwen, and then raised his glass.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate. The entire subway station project can be started. I estimate that by next year, Hong Kong's economy will begin to recover." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. The cooperation has been reached and he has also obtained the high-quality property he wanted. With shares, it doesn't matter if you speak out your predictions for the future.

"Yes, we can finally start construction. In the past year or so, my heart has almost stopped several times." Chen Zengxi shook his head and said with a bitter smile. What seemed to be a simple thing to Chen Zhiwen, but to him it was It is super difficult. There is no bank loan, money owed to the Hong Kong government, the project cannot be started, and many suppliers are involved in breach of contract. If one cannot control it, Hang Lung Properties will be disabled.

Although some of the best buildings have been lost, at least the entire company's projects are progressing normally. Moreover, those 7 buildings were not given away to others for free. Land still paid for them. Compared with the current housing prices, It's almost the same, that is, when I bought the land, it was much higher than it is now, but if someone buys it now, it's naturally impossible for them to pay the previous price.

The most important thing is that Chen Zhiwen has invested in his own company and projects, so among various banks, Hang Lung Real Estate Company has become a high-quality partner. As long as the loan requirements are not outrageous, it will be much more convenient in the future. Not to mention, there is also a Hisense Bank with sufficient funds.