Lin Zhichao was sitting on the sofa in Jian Dongpu's office, sipping tea made by Jian Dongpu himself, and felt a bit like he was in his own office; of course, his office was very simple, and it was not the same as the general manager's office of the largest Chinese bank.
The deposits of Bank of East Asia have reached HK$60 million, making it a giant Chinese bank.
If Bank of East Asia had not been too conservative in later generations, it would not have been caught up by Hang Seng Bank (Hang Seng had already surpassed Bank of East Asia before it was acquired by HSBC).
"Come here for a loan from Cheung Kong Holdings?"
Jian Dongpu was the first to intervene in the topic. He finally discovered that this young man was more able to sit still than he was, as if he was sure of the Bank of East Asia.
"Yeah. The first loan that Cheung Kong owes to Bank of East Asia is 400,000 Hong Kong dollars, which will be paid off soon. So, I want to borrow another 1 million Hong Kong dollars, with a two-year term."
In this era, bank lending was relatively risky, but the annual interest rate was around 15%, which was a huge profit.
Of course, even with such huge profits, most Chinese bankers are not satisfied. They think they can earn more by simply lending to themselves.
'The bank's money is your own money', they probably thought so, so all the Chinese-owned banks were later wiped out, leaving only the stable Bank of East Asia.
Jian Dongpu suddenly became serious and said: "What is the use of the funds? As far as I know, you buy the machines by installment, so you don't need so much money, right?"
Lin Zhichao then explained clearly one by one his four plans to develop Cheung Kong Holdings - building a factory in Tsuen Wan, building land in Tsuen Wan, building a factory in Sing Tao, and purchasing machinery.
"Why did you go to Xingdao to build a factory?" Jian Dongpu immediately grasped the biggest question.
In this era when information is not very popular, who among small and medium-sized enterprises would invest in factories across borders? Although Hong Kong and Singapore are only a few hours flight away, they are both British colonies.
Lin Zhichao had already prepared his words and analyzed: "Cheung Kong Industrial's zipper products will eventually be involved in direct competition with RB, the United States, and Europe. In order to prevent them from setting up trade fortresses one day, then Yangtze River Industrial can give full play to overseas The advantages of the factory. Although this step is still far away, I have to make arrangements in advance."
Jian Dongpu immediately admired Lin Zhichao's far-sighted vision. He did not doubt Lin Zhichao's ability. After all, he had solved such 'high-tech' matters as improving automatic zipper machines and developing slider stamping machines.
Let me ask, can’t such a business genius go further in the manufacturing industry?
"Is a loan of 1 million Hong Kong dollars enough? The land in Tsuen Wan is worth millions, right?" Jian Dongpu asked proactively.
Lin Zhichao said sincerely: "The land in Tsuen Wan is not a must-invest project, although I am optimistic that Tsuen Wan will become a factory paradise for entrepreneurs from the mainland to Hong Kong, so it can be absorbed slowly. If a new loan of 1 million Hong Kong dollars starts to be repaid in installments after one year , the funding aspect should still be possible.”
Jian Dongpu said at this time: "The Bank of East Asia can lend you 1.5 million, which will also be repaid in installments after one year. But according to the old rules, the entire Yangtze River Industry is mortgaged with us, including your land, factories, and machinery."
Lin Zhichao immediately agreed: "No problem!"
He is not afraid of having too many debts, but he is afraid of not being able to borrow them.
Jian Dongpu nodded and said, "The main thing is that I am thinking that if your new machines are put into use, it is not impossible to earn 3 million a year and double the profit. Why should I be stingy."
This is the fundamental reason. Just imagine that Lin Zhichao can earn 1.5 million a year by using six automatic zipper machines. Now that more advanced machines are used and the number of machines has more than doubled, it is not impossible to earn 3 million.
Even if you earn 2 million, it is still worth a loan of 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars.
"With the opening of the zipper market in Europe and the United States, I think there is great hope of doubling profits." Lin Zhichao said seriously.
At this time, there should still be two full years before the United States announces its blockade of Hong Kong trade.
During this period, it was enough for Yangtze River Industries to make a lot of money.
At the same time, Lin Zhichao seemed to remember that RB did not block any trade in Hong Kong. On the contrary, it also provided many preferential treatment.
The reason couldn't be simpler. During the Peninsular War, RB undertook a large number of orders from the United States, so the economy began to take off. After World War II, RB suffered from a large shortage of ships, coupled with its inherent lack of resources, so Hong Kong, a trading port, could not be bypassed.
Based on these analyses, Lin Zhichao even feels that the RB government may not conduct a trade fortress and boycott of Hong Kong zipper products.
In this way, everyone will follow the principle of fair competition.
.........
Lin Zhichao brought Wang Liang, Bao Chunlai, and Huang Changhong to Singapore.
After visiting Bukit Road, Lin Zhichao also saw a familiar signboard, which was 'Yang Hiap Seng Soy Sauce Factory'.
"Is this Yang Xiecheng soy sauce factory quite big?" He pointed to a factory and said.
Wang Liang has traveled back and forth between Singapore and Hong Kong many times, and he is already familiar with this place, so he replied: "Yes, it was the land purchased last year, covering an area of 10 acres (60 acres)."
Lin Zhichao nodded. This Yang Xiecheng soy sauce factory is the property of the Yang Tianen family, and will open a factory in Hong Kong in the future. Because it owns so much land, it was later coveted by real estate developers, and was under the influence of the Huang Tingfang family and the Guo Lingcan family. acquisition.
Of course, family property is often spied upon by others, and often occurs after internal strife within the family. Otherwise, how could outsiders easily defeat it?
After inspecting the surroundings, Lin Zhichao returned to the site selected by Wang Liang and others.
"We have limited funds, so buying 2 acres (12 acres, 72,000 square feet) is enough!" Lin Zhichao said with a smile.
Wang Liang immediately said: "Well, the price is almost 250,000 Hong Kong dollars, and the land here is cheaper than Tsuen Wan. Of course, Singapore's economic development is far behind that of Hong Kong."
Hong Kong still had industry at this time, but Singapore almost relied on trade. Therefore, even if Bukit Road in later generations is a high-end residential area, it is currently only in a remote area, and the prices are not as good as those in rural Tsuen Wan.
"Okay, this is the land!" Lin Zhichao did not hesitate for too long.
During this trip, Lin Zhichao mainly inspected two places in Singapore, one is Bukit Road and the other is Orchard Road.
Bukit Road plans to open a factory, while Orchard Road plans to purchase a large amount of land in the future for commercial real estate investment.
Next, Lin Zhichao made arrangements: "Let's rent an office building here to use as an office! The first is to supervise the construction progress of the factory, and the second is to serve as a zipper sales office. Manager Huang is in charge of construction and occasionally flies to Singapore to supervise; Manager Bao is in charge We sell zippers in Southeast Asia and are also involved in factory construction, operating in both Hong Kong and Singapore.”
Huang Changhong and Bao Chunlai immediately said in unison: "Okay, boss."
Subsequently, the group formally signed a factory land purchase agreement with the new colonial government.
We had communicated many times beforehand, so we just had to pay directly. The total cost was HK$238,000, which was quite cheap.
