Lin Zhichao came to the site at 141~143 Des Voeux Road. There are three five-storey tenement buildings that need to be demolished and rebuilt. This building can still be built as a 32-storey first-class Grade A office building, which is about the same value as the Midea Building at 71 Des Voeux Road Central.
In this way, Lin Zhichao owns three buildings in Des Voeux Road Central and six buildings in the entire Central. Although these buildings are not considered "famous buildings" in later generations, they are still valuable. Maybe the "Poly Building" is better, after all, it is the famous "Doctors' Building" in the previous life.
"Deputy General Manager Huang, please ask Zeshi Building to design this site well and build a first-class building with a height of more than 30 stories. As for the progress, it will be normal!" Lin Zhichao told Huang Changhong beside him.
Huang Changhong nodded happily and said, "No problem! Our company is already very familiar with commercial buildings, and we will definitely be able to build a first-class building in Hong Kong."
He was happy for the company. In just five or six years, a large number of commercial buildings had been built, which was very impressive. Although the boss is relatively low-key, there are always people who know that Cheung Kong Industrial has several commercial buildings and is the well-deserved leader among Chinese-owned real estate developers.
In fact, Lin Zhichao felt a little headache looking at the site at Nos. 141-143 Des Voeux Road Central.
Because when this building was built, it was really during the bank run crisis, or after, that is, after 1965; and at that time, Hong Kong real estate had plummeted, and rents would naturally plummet.
Therefore, this building was destined to make little money from 1965 to 1968.
But it doesn’t matter, long-term development is the priority.
Overall, Lin Zhichao was very satisfied with his quick response and quick strike this time.
Not surprisingly, it’s time for the Zhang Yuliang family!
The strength in this life should be half that of the previous life. Even if you can become the major shareholder of Wheelock Group, the Zhang family will not have many other assets.
You know, in the 1980s, the Zhang family sold at least several billion in assets and immigrated to Australia. These assets are all buildings, including residential buildings and commercial buildings; but these assets do not include the sale of Wheelock's stock.
In late April, Lin Zhichao embarked on an overseas trip. His itinerary was London - Paris - New York - Tokyo. Accompanying him was Xu Caiying, who treated him as traveling with her.
With the popularity of jet aircraft, it only takes less than two days to travel from Hong Kong to London, which is mainly a waste of time due to transfers. Of course, compared to the previous three days or even longer, the situation has been much better.
Maybe in a few years, direct flights from Hong Kong to London, Hong Kong to New York, and Hong Kong to San Francisco will be opened, and the flight can be completed in just thirty hours, which will undoubtedly save Lin Zhichao a lot of time.
After traveling all the way, when she arrived at the London Airport, Audrey Hepburn personally came to greet her at the airport.
"Husband, second sister"
The call was quite sweet. This foreign girl has been with everyone for a long time and is already a Chinese expert.
"Three Sisters"
Xu Caiying also smiled as brightly as a flower, and then the two women walked arm in arm towards the garage.
In the car, Audrey Hepburn vividly introduced a London manor she had purchased, which made Xu Caiying's eyes sparkle.
Of course, Xu Caiying is not jealous. After all, a London manor, in Lin Zhichao's words, is enough to buy several houses.
The motorcade drove smoothly towards the estate purchased by Audrey Hepburn.
This year, Audrey Hepburn established her own investment company, but did not buy hotels and office buildings in the United States because Lin Zhichao found that they were too expensive. It's not a good deal at all if you buy it now.
Therefore, let Audrey use part of this year's toy company dividends to buy a London manor, which is regarded as a property investment. As for office buildings and hotels, wait until IBM is done selling before investing.
Less than an hour later, the car began to drive onto country roads. At this time, the environment in London had been greatly improved; and these places were in the suburbs, so the environment was still very good.
Soon, the car drove in and out of the manor gate, and then entered the manor.
According to Audrey Hepburn, this estate has 150 acres and a large castle.
Of course, it's not actually too fancy, it's just a farm in the countryside, nothing more.
After Audrey bought it, Lin Zhichao no longer planned to buy it, and he would just live here in the future. If you buy too much, you also need to hire someone to live in it for free, and you also have to pay wages, which is not cost-effective even if you think about it.
There are housekeepers and servants in the manor. These people live and eat for free and receive wages.
"Butler Ramsay, this is my family. They will also be the owners of this place from now on!" Audrey Hepburn introduced to a housekeeper in his fifties.
Lin Zhichao observed the butler named Ramsey. Whenever the butler showed any expression that made him unhappy, he would be dismissed. As someone close to the Lin family, there must be no dissent.
Ramsey smiled like a gentleman and stretched out his hand, and said: "Welcome Mr. Lin home. If you have any orders from now on, you can always give me your orders!" Then, he called Xu Caiying 'Ms. Xu', without any overstep.
This is because he has seen Audrey Hepburn's two children, both of whom are mixed race, which means that the child's father is an Asian; now that he sees Lin Zhichao again, he is fully prepared.
As for more things, he felt that as a housekeeper, he could not inquire without permission. After all, trust has not yet been established between the two parties.
Afterwards, everyone officially settled in the villa.
After dinner, there was inevitably a movement of one dragon and two phoenixes, east and west, and finally the three of them lay down very satisfied.
"Audrey, are you familiar with the investment company?" Lin Zhichao was lying in the middle. At this time, he was already a saint on earth.
Audrey Hepburn rested her head on Lin Zhichao's arm, her blush faded slightly, and said: "I am already familiar with it, and I have also learned a lot of investment knowledge. Husband, you are so amazing. The U.S. stock market has really fallen sharply, and IBM's stock has also fallen sharply. It’s falling, now it’s only $580 per share.”
For the first time, she felt how powerful Lin Zhichao's financial skills were. After all, his ability to rise after buying stocks was mostly due to good luck; but to be able to escape before the stock market plummeted, it was obvious that he was the 'stock god'.
Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "It's just good luck, but I have been frightened by the increase, and I think I should be careful!"
Audrey Hepburn asked: "When will you go in and buy the bottom again?"
Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "Don't rush, just wait! By the way, Audrey, I plan to put 40 million US dollars in your investment company, and buy IBM like you, which is borrowing your channels."
Audrey Hepburn smiled and said: "No problem!"
All three of them believed that they would not fall out over a mere US$40 million, including Xu Caiying. She probably knew her husband's net worth, and the value of Global Shipping alone was close to US$400 million.
Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "Okay, you are an American anyway, so you should make money by trading in U.S. stocks! I will allocate the funds to you later, and you will transfer them to your investment company account. As for when to buy at the bottom, I think it's okay We have to wait until the second half of the year, and it is even possible for IBM to fall to the US$400 price at the beginning of last year."
If it fell to 400 US dollars per share, the market value would be 32 to 35 billion US dollars. This market value is far from 190 billion, a full five-fold increase. In other words, during the period from 1962.10 to 1968.5, IBM increased more than five times.
The cost of US$80 million only accounts for less than 0.3% of the equity. It is completely feasible to buy the company at the bottom in October and take three months.
After spending four days in London, Lin Zhichao ordered an 18,000-ton bulk carrier at a British shipyard. This ship is semi-automated and has advanced performance.
Of course, the purpose of Lin Zhichao's shipbuilding couldn't be simpler, that is, to make good friends with the British political forces. Anyway, it is only a little more than 2 million US dollars, so he should pay regular protection fees.
In addition to shipbuilding, I naturally also visited some friends from the British political and business circles, and the schedule was very hurried.
After the trip to London, Lin Zhichao, Vice President Bobby Blair, and his two women came to Paris to attend the meeting of the International Tanker Association.
He is already an important member of this association, and this time he is competing for the position of chairman of the association, so this trip is very important.
Paris.
Paris in May is extremely charming, and every corner exudes romance. The towering Eiffel Tower, the majestic Arc de Triomphe, the poetic Seine River, and the passionate Parisian girls... This dreamlike and picturesque city attracts thousands of people every day Tourists and business travelers linger here, mesmerized.
For such a tourist city, it’s no wonder that later generations of ‘Disneys’ all stumbled here.
After playing with the two girls for two days, Lin Zhichao finally recovered and prepared to join the International Tanker Association. This is an international organization that brings together global oil companies, shipping companies, shipyards, etc.
The meeting was held in a five-star hotel. Hundreds of people attended the meeting, all of whom are people who can influence global oil tanker transportation. In addition to Lin Zhichao, Hong Kong shipowners attending the meeting also included Dong Haoyun, but he was only an ordinary member.
At this time, Lin Zhichao's influence in the world shipping industry has far exceeded that of Dong Haoyun, a veteran shipowner.
Lin Zhichao's total tonnage of oil tankers is the largest ship owner in the world. Even if you don't know this news, you must know that Lin Zhichao is the person who owns the most "ships with the largest tonnage in the world", because every time there is a ship with the largest tonnage in the world, Records of oil tankers (70,000 to 100,000 to 130,000 tons) show that their owners are all Lin Zhichao.
"Lin Sheng, when did you come to Paris?" Dong Haoyun took the initiative to say hello when they met.
If the two are said to be in a competitive relationship, it cannot be completely correct; this is because Lin Zhichao's strength is far superior to him, and Dong Haoyun has to admit that he is not as good as Lin Zhichao; in this regard, it is different from the situation of Bao Yugang in his previous life. . In this life, Lin Zhichao's fleet was an existence that made him despair.
Secondly, there are many kinds of competitive relationships. The two of them are people who have never had direct conflicts, not to mention that their markets are overseas; in this case, they should all belong to the Hong Kong camp, and their competitors are Greek shipowners and so on.
"I have been in Europe for almost ten days. I have played everywhere, including two days in Paris!" Lin Zhichao said with a smile.
Dong Haoyun's expression suddenly froze. He knew that this man's business was huge, and he had two more industries, namely industry and real estate. Now, luckily, he was so busy that he still had time to travel around.
Then, he smiled and said: "Then after this meeting is over, should we get together alone?"
Lin Zhichao said cheerfully: "No problem! I will contact you later!"
After a brief chat, the two started chatting with other people again. This was not the time to engage in a small circle, but more to communicate with more people and get to know more friends from different countries.
"Mr. Lin, let me introduce to you, this is the Greek shipping king 'Onassis'!"
As soon as Lin Zhichao stopped, he saw Wei Long, an old acquaintance of the Clark Oil Company, who had now been promoted to vice president. He brought Onassis to Lin Zhichao's side.
"Mr. Weilong, Mr. Onassis and I are already old acquaintances! Mr. Onassis, what do you think?" Lin Zhichao said personably.
Onassis suddenly felt very complicated. Lin Zhichao, whom he looked down on at the beginning, is now recognized as the shipowner with the largest number of new and largest oil tankers in the world. In terms of strength, he is already inferior to Lin Zhichao.
He even invited President Kennedy and his wife to a party on his yacht. The young president also said, 'Mr. Onassis, do you know Mr. Lin Chichao from Hong Kong? ', in his words, he seemed to be quite familiar with Lin Zhichao.
This made Onassis jealous!
He really couldn't understand why an American president was so familiar with a Hong Kong shipowner!
Of course he would not understand that Lin Zhichao had already expressed support for Kennedy before he even ran for office.
"Of course, we have known each other for a long time!" Onassis quickly adjusted his mood and said cheerfully.
Of course Weilong was not so kind in his introduction, he was just using Lin Zhichao to suppress Onassis's price.
In fact, Onassis's fleet is already in many places and lacks sufficient competitiveness, that is, the price is expensive, because the salary of Greek seamen has risen very fast since the late 1950s.
As expected, Weilong soon said: "Mr. Lin's fleet has developed rapidly. In recent years, seven or eight 100,000-ton oil tankers have been launched every year! Mr. Lin, there should be some this year, right?"
Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "Yes, I hope President Weilong will take more care of him when the time comes."
Weilong immediately responded: "Easy to say, easy to say!"
Onassis's heart sank. He was just used to short-term rentals, so he definitely couldn't compete with Lin Zhichao in terms of price. Nowadays, Lin Zhichao and others launch so many oil tankers every year, which is a shock to the shipping industry in the entire Western countries.
Originally, the rise of Lin Zhichao, a Hong Kong shipowner, was enough to shock the Western shipping industry; but now there is a common saying that Hong Kong will be the third round of stars in shipping, and it seems that Dong Haoyun has emerged.
"Mr. Lin, are Japanese-made ships really reassuring?" Onassis said deliberately.
Lin Zhichao saw that Onassis was so ungraceful and there was something in his words. He just said in an understatement: "Many European and American shipping companies have gone to Japan to build ships. I think everyone's behavior speaks for itself. Onassis might as well go for a walk and just treat it as open air. Take a look.”
Onassis could only say a few words and then left.
When Weilong left, he said: "Mr. Lin, we may need two ships this year. You can talk to me later!"
After entering the 1960s, the demand for oil tankers increased, and he now paid more attention to Lin Zhichao as a ship owner. The first was good strength, the second was cheap prices, and the third was good reputation.
"no problem!"
Lin Zhichao advanced and retreated at the scene in a controlled manner, and there was an endless stream of people looking for him. His subordinate Bobby Blair took the initiative to attack everywhere without falling behind at all.
As the vice president of a shipping company with a capacity of 4 million tons, he naturally has enough confidence and pride.
The conference officially started soon.
There is an important agenda at this conference, which is to elect a new chairman of the association, and the nominees are Onassis and Lin Zhichao.
For a time, the showdown between the shipping kings of the 1950s and the shipping kings of the 1960s attracted everyone's attention. Generally speaking, both parties have their own advantages and disadvantages. Who can be elected will of course depend on the election of the member units.
When it was Lin Zhichao's turn to give a speech, he first thanked the French organizers in fluent French, and then switched to English:
"Since the 1960s, a large amount of oil has been exploited in the Middle East, and energy demand has developed rapidly. Currently, oil tankers account for 32% of merchant ships, but this is not the end. Oil will be a product in increasing demand for the development of the world economy. "
"At the same time, after the Suez Crisis in the mid-1950s, it has become inevitable for oil tankers to move towards large and super-large sizes. In just six years, the world's oil tankers have exceeded 70,000 tons, 100,000 tons, and 130,000 tons. . I believe that 150,000-ton and 200,000-ton oil tankers will also appear in the next few years."
"The standards of classification societies should also develop accordingly. I suggest that oil tankers be temporarily divided into four ship types: Panamax, Aframax, Suezmax, and VLCC. Among them, Panamax VLCC, Very Large Crude Oil Carrier, and VLCC Ships with a deadweight tonnage of more than 200,000 tons.”
"Finally, I want to talk about a word here, and that is 'integrity'. In this international society, lifestyles and actions are different from before, but dancing from disco to disco is not a problem; when it comes to business ethics, it is still the same. Tradition is good. You have to have credibility and credit, which has a lot to do with it."
"Reputation is a 'contract signed in the heart'. Signing a contract is an indispensable routine. A contract on paper can be torn up, but a contract signed in the heart cannot be torn up. Friendship between people is established On top of mutual trust.”
"I have credibility and a good record!"
Lin Zhichao's speech received warm applause.
His English speaking ability did not come from an ordinary English teacher at the beginning. He later hired a teacher from the University of Hong Kong for tutoring. He no longer pursued new words and grammar, but pursued reading aloud and perfect pronunciation. He learned how to speak correctly. , read the prepared 'speech' fluently.
Speeches should naturally be provocative.
As the world's shipping king, Lin Zhichao will have more and more overseas speaking opportunities, so he specially studied speech grammar.
Onassis's subsequent speech was slightly inferior. Although he was very funny, it was obvious that Lin Zhichao's speech was more professional and was of great help to the entire association.
In the end, Lin Zhichao won the position of chairman of the International Oil Tanker Association. At only 34 years old, he shined on the international stage.
The 'International Tanker Association' is actually the later 'International Independent Tanker Owners Association'. It was founded in 1790 and is headquartered in Norway. The association regularly provides members with comprehensive information services, international regulations, port information and expert opinions on issues related to the tanker industry, and organizes a series of seminars, exhibitions and other activities.
It is one of the top three important shipping associations in the world. It can be seen that Lin Zhichao has indeed initially demonstrated his strength this time.
After his trip to Paris, Lin Zhichao went to the United States and Japan, and finally returned to Hong Kong in late May.
At present, Lin Zhichao's family does not invest much overseas. They only have some factories and commercial real estate in Sing Tao, and their investments in the United States are in the stock market.
Although Lin Zhichao has some cash flow, he does not want to deploy global industries at this time. After all, Hong Kong has not yet established itself, so why rush it.
At the same time, various countries in this era may not be as friendly to foreign investment as they were after the 1970s, so it is better to stay put.
By the 1970s, when Lin Zhichao's children graduated from college and started working, it would not be too late for Lin Zhichao to show his talents overseas.
(End of chapter)
