Lin Zhichao came to Yangtze River Industrial Group and stopped by Midea Electric Appliances.
"Boss" general manager Xu Shaoan happened to be in the factory and came forward to say hello.
Lin Zhichao nodded and looked at the busy assembly workers, feeling in a good mood. Assembling radios and electric fans is just his 'first level' in the electronics field, so it can also be considered introductory training, which is very important.
“How have sales been lately?”
Xu Shaoan immediately said: "Americans like Midea radios which are 'high-quality and low-price' very much, and orders have been growing steadily."
The ex-factory price of the 'Midea' brand radio is 22 US dollars, and the cost of shipping it to the United States is only 24 US dollars, so the market price is 30 to 32 US dollars; this price is 6 to 8 US dollars cheaper than Sony's price.
And Sony is not a well-known brand now, and there is no need to buy famous brand radios. The quality is definitely the same, because the core parts inside are all produced in Japan.
Lin Zhichao said: "Well. How many radio factories are there in Hong Kong now?"
Xu Shaoan said: "There should be five. But the other four are all cooperating with Japanese companies and have not developed their own brands. For example, Ding Houzhao of Kaida Industrial Co., Ltd. cooperates with Japan's Sanyo Electric to produce radios."
Ding Houzhao is also a leader in the plastics industry, toy industry, plastic flower industry, and battery industry. He is an early pioneer of Hong Kong industry and has made many contributions. The 'Dawei' batteries produced in Shanghai in the 1930s were even used by those with Japanese military backing at the time. Japanese battery manufacturers cannot defeat 'Fearless'.
Ding Houzhao came to Hong Kong in 1948 and borrowed 3 million Hong Kong dollars from the bank to develop plastics, ice-making and other industries. At that time, Lin Zhichao only invested hundreds of thousands in industry.
Of course, in the later period, Lin Zhichao quickly relied on the zipper industry to overtake the company; by the time Yangtze River Industries was engaged in plastics, its strength had been reversed.
Nowadays, almost all of Kaida Industrial's products are competing with Yangtze River Industrial, such as 'motor toys', 'wind-up toys', 'plastic flowers', etc., and almost all of them crash.
In toy products such as motor toys and wind-up toys, Kaida Industrial is not inferior to Yangtze River Industry. As for the Yangtze Toy Factory, 90% of its output value now comes from 'Barbie dolls'.
Lin Zhichao said: "What products does Sanyo Electric sell in Hong Kong?"
Xu Shaoan said: "Floor fans of various sizes, particle radios, portable radios, stand radios, rice cookers, that's it. The boss of Sanyo Electric is the brother-in-law of the boss of Matsushita Electric. It is said that he was imprisoned for Matsushita Konosuke (World War II) (producing arms), so he received the help of his brother-in-law Matsushita Konosuke and handed over the bicycle lighting business to him, thus developing Sanyo Electric."
Lin Zhichao heard this and said: "That's very smart! Without him as a scapegoat, Matsushita Konosuke would not be able to return to Matsushita and take power."
At that time, the Americans had absolute say over Japanese companies, and they eliminated the chaebol power inside, eradicated the family power of the companies, and then handed them over to the Japanese. It is said that Matsushita Konosuke returned to Matsushita and took power. It can be said that there were twists and turns. First, his wife and brother took the blame, and then the workers wrote to the US military. Finally, they finally got what they wanted.
Then, Lin Zhichao asked: "Hu Xiaoqing is still cooperating with Sony?"
Xu Shaoan nodded and said: "Yes, we are cooperating with Sony. The monthly output is about 4,000 units, and then shipped to Commonwealth countries."
Not worth mentioning and ignorant of good and evil, Lin Zhichao thought.
Now that he has entered this industry, how can Hu Xiaoqing still become the overlord of Hong Kong radio?
After chatting for a while, Lin Zhichao encouraged Xu Shaoan and asked him to prepare for the production of electric fans while developing the radio business.
The other side.
Hu Xiaoqing is in trouble. Sony officially informed him this month that it was terminating the cooperation because Sony was building a factory in Ireland.
The reason why Sony is looking for people to cooperate in Hong Kong is because Hong Kong's 'Commonwealth' status allows it to sell products to Commonwealth countries at low taxes. In order to protect their own industries, Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada imposed heavy taxes on Japanese radios. .
Now, Sony no longer has those problems when it builds a factory in Ireland.
"I didn't expect that Midea would start making electrical appliances. I heard that more than 4,000 units can be shipped to the United States every month!" Hu Xiaoqing suddenly regretted it.
He cooperated with Sony for two years to manufacture more than 200,000 radios, with a profit of only HK$8 per unit and a total profit of 1.6 million. However, if Sony wanted to take away the 1 million profit, he could only get 600,000 profit.
In reality, he didn’t make much money!
The reason why I rejected Lin Zhichao's invitation to cooperate was because I was worried about offending Sony and not even being able to keep the profits; I was also worried that if I cooperated with Lin Zhichao, I would eventually be eaten up again.
He spent a lot of the 600,000 yuan on his family, so he only had less than 500,000 Hong Kong dollars in hand.
“You must seek a loan and create your own radio brand right away!”
"It's a pity that Midea Electric Appliances is one step ahead. I originally valued the US market the most, but now I can only get a piece of the pie."
The market in the United States is the largest. As a large number of new people grew up after the war, American people are extremely young, with an average age of only 29 years old.
The lower the average age, the higher the society’s consumption power.
The next day.
Hu Xiaoqing found James, the bank manager of Wan Guo Baotong, whom he had met before, and told him the reason.
James thought about it and then said: "Your idea is very good, and with two years of experience, I think this project is very feasible. How much do you plan to borrow?"
Hu Xiaoqing said quickly: "We need to borrow 600,000 Hong Kong dollars and repay the principal and interest in three years."
James nodded and said: "As far as I know, there is already a radio brand in Hong Kong that exports to the United States and has achieved success, but this brand is backed by a large consortium. However, the U.S. market is huge, and the radios assembled in Hong Kong are very Advantages, you also have a great chance.”
Hu Xiaoqing said: "Manager James, I can rest assured that although Midea Electric Appliances you mentioned is rich and powerful, I have only been in the industry for less than a year. And I have been in this industry for more than ten years and am familiar with production and sales. I will definitely be able to repay your loan."
James thought to himself that he had no more doubts and agreed to the loan.
After receiving this loan, Hu Xiaoqing was ignited with passion. He was not afraid of Lin Zhichao's wealth. He wanted to defeat Lin Zhichao in the field of radio.
It was time to break ground on Friday, April 1, 1960.
On the site of No. 80 Deep Water Bay, offerings were placed, firecrackers were hung, and Feng Shui masters were busy at the scene.
Hong Kong people believe in this, and Lin Chi-chao is no exception. All his properties have been seen by Feng Shui masters. But the management around Lin Zhichao all know that the boss's so-called belief in Feng Shui masters is not really a 'belief'.
For example, if the Feng Shui master and Lin Zhichao have different opinions, then Lin Zhichao will order the Feng Shui master to make changes and find ways to make changes; if the changes are still unsatisfactory, then Lin Zhichao will fire the Feng Shui master and hire another Feng Shui master. Until Lin Zhichao is satisfied.
In Lin Zhichao's own words - it is these people who cater to the powerful, rather than the powerful catering to these people.
If Lin Zhichao often sees "dazzling" places for the sake of Feng Shui and is always in a bad mood, then he thinks this Feng Shui is fake. He doesn't completely disbelieve in Feng Shui, but he hopes to achieve a balance.
The land area of No. 80 Deep Water Bay is relatively large, with 16,000 square feet, so the outdoor swimming pool, lawn, and villas are all separate and not above a large podium.
Moreover, No. 80 Deep Water Bay is about 50 meters away from "Deep Water Bay Road", so the private road is very long. This way, it is more private, and outsiders can hardly see anything. This villa is secluded among the lush trees. among.
The reason why No. 79 Deep Water Bay built a high-rise podium is that the site area is small at 12,000 square feet. The second reason is that it is close to Deep Water Bay Road. Building a podium can avoid the sight of pedestrians who pass by Deep Water Bay Road. So tall!
"Lin Sheng, the auspicious time has come, please!" Chen Lang, a Sichuan Feng Shui master, came to Lin Zhichao and said gracefully.
It is said that he was born in a Taoist temple in Sichuan, but he is not very famous at present, but he will be very famous in later generations.
Lin Zhichao did not have a feng shui master for his use. His subordinates found them for him, and his subordinates knew Lin Zhichao's character, so he used several relatively good feng shui masters in turn to avoid rumors that the boss was cultivating these people or promoting these people.
Lin Zhichao nodded, and then started some operations, lighting incense, pouring wine, worshiping gods, and finally remembering firecrackers, dancing lions and dragons, beating gongs and drums, and announced the arrival of the construction team.
There were not many guests, they were all relatives and executives of Lin Zhichao, not even friends. Naturally, there are only three relatives: Tang Zhongyuan, Lin Yunchu, and Li Gaofu.
While everyone was chatting happily, Chen Lang, who had not yet left, came to Lin Zhichao and said, "Mr. Lin, I have a question to ask!"
Lin Zhichao said politely: "Master Chen, please speak!"
Everyone became curious, because they were all close to Lin Zhichao, and they were not worried about spreading the news. Everyone watched the excitement.
Chen Lang was thinking that if Lin Zhichao, the number one business person in Hong Kong, could be praised by him, it would naturally be beneficial to his reputation in the Feng Shui world.
Therefore, he immediately said in a joking manner: "Mr. Lin, how much wealth do you hope to have in the future to be satisfied?"
His idea is that if Lin Zhichao is humble, he will use "your wealth will not only be full, but also overflow." ' to respond.
In this way, he will retain the trust and admiration of Mei Tan and Lin Zhichao!
Just when Chen Lang was looking forward to it, others were also looking forward to it.
Lin Zhichao exuded a righteous and elegant temperament, and said with a smile: "Wealth has never been my pursuit! What I pursue is to become a world-class entrepreneur, give back to the society, and assume greater social responsibilities. responsibility."
Chen Lang immediately swallowed his words and smiled unnaturally: "Mr. Lin's wealth will naturally overflow!"
The words have changed their flavor and the master has become vulgar.
In the confrontation between the two, the upright Chen Lang became full of vulgarity; on the contrary, Lin Zhichao, who should have been full of copper odor, became upright and elegant, and his elegant temperament was clearly visible.
However, Lin Zhichao did not continue to be serious and just said a few words;
Chen Lang also knew Lin Zhichao's work style, so he took the initiative to say goodbye.
Lin Zhichao did not tell lies. He will indeed work hard to give back to the society. This was the promise he made when he got his first pot of gold.
What he most hopes to do is that in the 1980s and 1990s, when the country was really in trouble, he would do a lot of charity to his compatriots, because that was when they were most needed.
As for being infamy in the future or being criticized by netizens, he doesn't care at all! There is no way that he, a businessman with a high reputation in the world, would care about the thoughts of a group of people at the bottom of society who are not well educated and live a very hard life. Obviously this is the biggest joke.
To be honest, as someone who has been there, Lin Zhichao will never go online in the mainland in the future.
In the restaurant of the Hong Kong Club, Lin Zhichao and Xiao Maden sat together drinking coffee.
Although some unpleasant things happened between Lin Zhichao and Madden Lao back then, they did not become enemies; more importantly, Wheelock was not an asset that Lin Zhichao coveted, so there was no need to be resentful.
So later on, Lin Zhichao had a lot of interactions with Lao Madden. They were not good friends, but they could still be considered friends.
"How is your father's health?"
"It's very good. He enjoys his retirement time. He usually plays golf, goes to some friends' gatherings and watches horse racing."
Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "Because you are in charge of Wheelock, he no longer has to worry about the family business."
Madden Jr. smiled and said: "Mr. Lin, thank you! My father once said that if I want to do business with the Chinese in Hong Kong, I must do it with you. You are the business representative."
To be modest, Lin Zhichao is actually three years younger than Maden.
Madden became the official chairman of Wheelock last year. Only one year later, it can be seen that Madden is much more enterprising than his father.
The main manifestation is to shrink the overseas front and increase investment in Hong Kong. For example, the recent listing of "Towngas", Xiao Maden is the chairman of its board of directors.
Of course, Towngas was not considered an industry under Wheelock. It was more like a publicly listed company. Later, Li Mingze succeeded him as chairman of the board of directors. It has never had a strong family flavor.
To put it bluntly, before Lee Shau Kee took over in his previous life, well-known people served as chairman of the board of directors, but their shareholdings were not high, and they were not even necessarily major shareholders.
"You invited me here this time, aren't you here to praise me?" Lin Zhichao said with a smile.
Lin Zhichao generally doesn't like doing business in partnership, not because he wants to dominate the family, but because doing business in partnership can easily lead to conflicts; they were still friends at first, but in the end they couldn't even be friends anymore.
Of course, it also depends on the specific matter. If it is a cooperation on a real estate project, this kind of temporary cooperation is still possible.
Madden Jr. said: "This is the case. I want to strengthen investment in Hong Kong. I am a little tight on money, so I want to sell 15% of the shares of Asia Shipping. If Mr. Lin buys it, I will introduce you to be the director of Asia Shipping. I also look forward to working with you.”
This kind of cooperation is quite normal. Introducing friends into the company to serve as directors is considered a true partnership in business.
But under normal circumstances, Lin Zhichao does not want to serve as a director of other companies, except HSBC.
Lin Zhichao said: "What is the current specific situation of Asian shipping?"
After Xiao Maden gave a brief introduction, Lin Zhichao probably knew what he was talking about.
This is a shipping company listed in 1956. It currently has 15 ships with a total of 120,000 tons, as well as some agency ships and other agency businesses, with a market value of more than 70 million Hong Kong dollars.
If it was just like this, Lin Zhishan was dismissive, but he learned from Xiao Maden's tone that the Chairman of Wheelock was planning to reduce his investment in shipping and invest in other industries in Hong Kong.
In his previous life, Xiao Maden gradually transferred Asia Shipping to Bao Yugang, allowing Bao Yugang to obtain a listed company for nothing; originally this company was of little use, but in the final acquisition of Wharf, it shined and was regarded as a Protect against legal risks.
Young Madden's investment style is "big success", which is better than his father Madden Sr. He doesn't care how many shares he holds, but he cares about how huge the industry is under his name.
Therefore, during the period from 1959 to 1967, Madden did not focus on the development of shipping, but on the development of Hong Kong's local industries-real estate, retail, trade, etc. Therefore, before the Suez Canal Crisis (1967), the fleet was not large, and at its peak, it had a carrying capacity of less than 1.5 million tons, missing out on the shipping industry.
"Okay, I'll go back and do some research and give you an answer." Lin Zhichao agreed easily.
15% of the shares, which is more than 10 million, can buy Dangdang as a director of a listed company; after a while, Xiao Maden will be short of money, and maybe he will continue to sell it to him. Slowly, Asia Shipping will belong to Lin Zhichao.
An empty listed company is worth a lot of money!
Nowadays, it is more difficult for Chinese companies to go public because Hong Kong is a British-dominated exchange.
What's more, if Lin Zhichao had a listed company, he would play a huge role!
Little Madden said happily: "Okay, I'll wait for your message."
He is happy to cooperate with Lin Zhichao to repair the relationship between his father and Lin Zhichao. After all, Lin Zhichao's strength is no longer weaker than that of the British-owned foreign banks - Jardine Matheson and Swire.
(PS: No one knows Lin Zhichao’s true strength; in the eyes of business people, more than half of his net worth is probably undercalculated; in the eyes of ordinary citizens, it is only one-tenth. After all, without a listing, there is no data released)
On the way back, Lin Zhichao was still thinking about Asia Shipping.
If Xiao Maden’s investment requires a lot of money, it is estimated that within one or two years, Lin Zhichao’s shares will exceed 40% and he will become a real major shareholder.
He needed to make good use of the only listed company in his hands, so he could take advantage of the opportunity to issue new shares multiple times from 1962 to 1964 to raise funds to build new ships.
In this way, the shares of other major shareholders can be continued to be diluted, and the public's funds can be used to develop ships, and then make huge profits during the Suez Canal Crisis in 1967. As for stocks, you can take advantage of the plunge and continue to increase your holdings until you reach 70~75%.
To put it bluntly, it is to enter the securities market in advance to practice and have some fun, so as to facilitate future operations. (End of chapter)
