"This has nothing to do with me!" Chen Zhiwen said elegantly while drinking coffee.
"Well, I have another proposal. Is Mr. Chen interested in the land in the North Point of Hong Kong Island? I, Swire, have a commercial land area of 600,000 square feet there." John Shi said after being silent for a moment.
"Sai West Lake? 600,000 square feet?" Chen Zhiwen thought. This is a rare piece of high-quality land. Although it is far inferior to Taikoo Shing, which the Swire Group is currently preparing to develop, considering the size, it is basically difficult to see it again in Hong Kong. Such an opportunity.
Moreover, he knew that Cheung Kong Industries was preparing to acquire this land. In the original history, after Li Jiacheng acquired this land, he developed it quickly. It only took two years to complete the development, with a net profit of more than 100 million Hong Kong dollars. So The high profits have also laid a certain foundation for Yangtze River Industrial's future expansion.
How could Li Jiacheng get such a good piece of land at a bargain price?
Anyway, Cheung Kong Holdings is expected to make a lot of money in the next one or two years through its cooperation with Hutchison Whampoa during this period. Although everyone gets what they need, if Li Jiacheng's income can be taken away from other aspects, then I still feel that It will be much more comfortable.
"Sheng Chen must be very excited about this prime location. In addition to the land in Admiralty, I can transfer it to you at the market price. The condition is that Hutchison Whampoa gives up participating in the bidding for the No. 5 berth pier. How about that?" John Shi laughed. said.
"The total of these two pieces of land is close to 200 million Hong Kong dollars. There are not many people in Hong Kong who can come up with such a large amount of money. Otherwise, if you give me a 10% discount, I will take it all." Although Chen Zhiwen is very interested. , but did not show it. Buying this kind of land at the original price is already a profit, but the price must be lowered. No matter what, the British ghost guy must make less, even if he does not hate the Swire Group.
Who makes these British ghosts so timid as to not dare to invest heavily in debt in Hong Kong? But speaking of words, Hutchison was the best example of those who dared to invest in debt in Hong Kong. Without the ability, they expanded blindly and almost died miserably. This may be one of the reasons for Swire's conservative management.
"Chen Sheng is really good at doing business. How about this, a 15% discount and a one-time transaction of funds?" Shi John thought for a while and said.
"At most 9.2." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. He is very interested in the real estate market that is bound to appreciate on a large scale in the future. Moreover, Swire, a conservative-run businessman, can take advantage of someone with one knife.
"It seems that under the leadership of Chen Sheng, Hutchison Whampoa's financial situation has returned to normal?" Shi Huaiya said with a smile, but there was a bit of haze in his heart. Although the Swire family controls more than 50% of the shares of the Swire Group, it has not been The crisis of acquisition, but the strong rise of a Chinese-funded company, especially in terms of funding, is impossible to predict, and it has a good relationship with HSBC. This phenomenon is not good news for all British giants.
"This is not a deal with Hutchison Whampoa, it is Galaxy Real Estate owned by me." Chen Zhiwen said.
As his own son, Galaxy Real Estate has always focused on purchasing industrial real estate. It may be said that it is a real estate company, but in fact it is a property management company. So far, Galaxy Real Estate has not developed a site, whether it is an office building, a community, a shopping mall or even an industrial site. Real estate projects are mainly for holding and selling in the future.
In the past, the real estate market was sluggish, coupled with his lack of experience, and Chen Zhiwen's main focus was on other places, but now basically all parties have entered the prepared track, and the Hong Kong real estate market has begun to slowly recover. Naturally, he needs to work for Galaxy Real Estate. Carry out certain business.
"Okay, I forgot, Hutchison Whampoa is just a company under Chen Sheng." Shi Huaiya nodded and said: "In this way, I will arrange for our lawyers and businessmen to go to Galaxy Real Estate to discuss the details. .”
"Okay, I also hope that we can reach a cooperation as soon as possible." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. A large piece of land on Hong Kong Island and a piece of office building land in Admiralty Commercial Street can be said to be high-quality assets. If it were not for the conservative business strategy of the Swire Group , it is very difficult to obtain such land. This can be regarded as a very good development opportunity for Galaxy Real Estate, and the headquarters land in Jinzhong can help Midea and Red Bull build an office building with rigid demand.
"Okay, then we have a pleasant cooperation." Shi John nodded, and after drinking a cup of coffee, he asked: "Sheng Chen, I heard that you are going to make Coke?"
"Yes, we have this plan. The Swire Group won't have any ideas, right?" Chen Zhiwen said lightly.
There is no way to hide the news that Red Bull is preparing to make Coke. Unlike Red Bull drinks, the demand for Coke is very large. Even if the market is seriously competitive, in terms of production, it is still far more than Red Bull. Red Bull is in the United States The current sales volume has just exceeded one million a day. Regardless of the growth trend, almost 400-500 million bottles of Red Bull are consumed a year, while the number of Cokes is hundreds of times that number.
Even if it only relies on the market of Costco and some Wal-Marts, the output of Very Coke will far exceed that of high-end drinks such as Red Bull. Not to mention, the main market of Very Coke in the future may still be Asia, because at this time, Liangle does not have A complete market has been arranged in Southeast Asia.
Therefore, Very Coke's base in Hong Kong is very large. In order to maximize production capacity, the equipment of Very Coke's factory is purchased directly from Germany. Although the price is expensive, the production efficiency is also very high.
Taking into account the future appreciation of land in Hong Kong, Chen Zhiwen did not hesitate to buy a large piece of land in Yuen Long and build a large factory. The first phase had not yet been built, and he also bought the second phase of the land.
The reason why such a large piece of land was obtained was also the result of negotiations between the business team and the Hong Kong government. Today's MacLehose government still supports industry. However, there are no absolute secrets within the government, and leaks are normal. , especially for the Swire Group.
The earliest history of beverage development in Hong Kong belongs to Watsons. In the early 20th century, Watsons monopolized the Hong Kong water industry with distilled water. Later, Western soda was introduced to Hong Kong. The United Soda Factory owned by Li Xiaohe's family relied on soda to defeat distilled water and then monopolized it. market.
But not long after, Coca-Cola entered Hong Kong and chose to cooperate with the Swire Group, which produced Coca-Cola in Hong Kong. The cooperation between Qianglong and local snakes naturally easily defeated the United Soda Water Factory. This was why Chen Zhiwen was able to easily acquire the United Soda Water Factory. one of the reasons.
Swire Group is the absolute king of Hong Kong's beverage market. Swire's factory in Hong Kong is also one of Coca-Cola's largest production bases in Asia.
"I don't dare. Chen Sheng's Red Bull has achieved such great success in the United States. I naturally admire it. It's just that the Coca-Cola market is easy to enter, but it is too difficult to succeed. With the strength of Coca-Cola, all the consortiums in Hong Kong combined He is not a rival, so why should Chen Sheng do this business within the scope of other people's strengths?" Shi John said with a smile.
When they first learned that Chen Zhiwen was planning to enter the Coca-Cola field, the Swire family was also shocked. Although they had confidence in Coca-Cola behind them, they couldn't resist the fact that the other party was rich. As a veteran family in the beverage industry, they could roughly calculate Red Bull's profits. How terrible it is.
If Chen Zhiwen chooses to spend money to make Coke in Hong Kong, they don't know the final outcome, but life will definitely be difficult for Swire Beverages in a few years. Beverages are also one of the main businesses of the Swire Group, and there are no competitors.
"This is an internal matter of Red Bull. The plan to enter the Coca-Cola market was made long ago. Besides, Swire now spans ports, real estate, and monopolizes Hong Kong Airlines. Does it still care about Coca-Cola's profit?" Chen Zhiwen said lightly.
"Coke is indeed far inferior to real estate and aviation, but the victory lies in stability. Real estate and aviation are different. The price of oil in the past two years has made Cathay Pacific's life difficult." John Shi shook his head and said with a smile: " Since Chen Sheng has already made plans, I won’t ask any more questions, but Chen Sheng’s Coke factory hasn’t chosen a sugar supplier yet. What do you think of Taikoo Sugar?”
"As long as the price is right, it's not a problem." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. He understood that the old fox had spent a long time to find customers for his sugar industry.
Since time travel, Chen Zhiwen has also spent a lot of time doing some research on the history of Hong Kong's old banks and large companies. Swire Pacific, one of the four major foreign banks, is naturally one of the focus. As early as 1880, the Swire Group entered the financial industry. The sugar industry has become one of the largest sugar factories in Asia in just a few years, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of sugar. It is the UK's largest sugar supply base in the Far East.
In the 1950s, Coca-Cola chose its cooperation targets in Hong Kong, and the Swire Group also relied on its position in the sugar industry to obtain cooperation relationships.
In the past, Red Bull did not have a large demand for sugar compared to Coke. In addition, its volume was small and its sales volume was not large, so the demand for sugar was not very high. But now making Coke is a different matter. If Red Bull Its Coca-Cola also purchases sugar from Swire Sugar, so the Swire family is taking it all, and it doesn't matter who wins or loses.
"Okay, Mr. Chen, don't worry. In terms of price, there is no one in Hong Kong that is better and cheaper than Swire. Moreover, we at Swire are very experienced in the types of sugar used to make cola." John Shi said with a smile.
"Boss, how's the negotiation with John Shi going?" As soon as they left the Hilton Building, Zhou Jiayang, An Qi and others approached and asked with a smile.
"It was quite successful. The land in Admiralty was secured. John Shi also gave me a piece of land in North Point, with 600,000 square feet. It is the most suitable for developing a community." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
At this time, the driver drove over and several people got in.
"The land in North Point? Is it a piece of land on the west side of Saixi Lake? It used to be a large warehouse of the Swire Group." After hearing the land information, Zhou Jiayang guessed it in less than a moment. As the current real estate project manager of Hutchison Whampoa He has spent a lot of energy in recent months understanding the real estate market conditions in Hong Kong.
"Yes, it is a very high-quality asset. This project belongs to Galaxy Real Estate, but they have no experience at all. I want Hutchison to develop it together. Are you sure?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
Although there is Hutchison Whampoa, it is too chaotic. Before the internal debt problem is sorted out, Chen Zhiwen will not give his investment projects to Hutchison Whampoa. On the other hand, Galaxy Real Estate’s capital is already not low, but We cannot hold industrial land for a long time and do nothing else. In two years, when the price of industrial land rises to a certain level, we will sell it all. Before that, we need some other projects. Entering into residential project development is considered A good choice. After gaining experience and having funds in the future, you can enter a period of rapid development.
"No problem. I have arranged for headhunting to recruit two teams from Cheung Kong Holdings and a team from Sun Hung Kai. They all have rich experience in real estate development." Zhou Jiayang replied.
As the vice president of Hutchison Whampoa, he naturally does not need to personally participate in real estate development. He only needs to have a suitable team. This is what Hutchison Whampoa originally lacked, but the result of previous discussions with boss Chen Zhiwen was to directly spend large amounts of money from China. Capital companies recruit talents, especially the real estate five. The real estate companies that can compete in a market like Hong Kong are very capable companies, and the high-quality teams that emerge from these companies are not to mention capable. The whole team is recruited, and then they slowly adapt and train others.
"You poached Li Jiacheng's people, does he have any objections?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"No, everything is as usual. We see each other often. There is nothing unusual at all, just as you predicted, Chen Sheng." Zhou Jiayang said.
"Then let's keep digging. I want to see how long he can stay silent?" Chen Zhiwen said lightly: "It would be a good way to let him train real estate talents for us."
"This is indeed very good." Zhou Yang said with a smile.
"The land on Baiyun Road in Jinzhong has also been acquired. This land is also held by Galaxy Real Estate and will be used as the headquarters after it is built." Chen Zhiwen continued.
"Who should we invite to design the office building in Xinghe?" Zhou Jiayang then asked. Although Qi Dezun of the previous Hutchison Group also focused on developing real estate business, he was not involved in office buildings, let alone design. Even the Land Group A large building company in Central often invites international designers.
"You send people to the United States to invite an architect named Ieoh Ming Pei. He is a top student who graduated from Harvard University in architecture and is also a world-class architect. I want to ask him to design our headquarters." Chen Zhiwenhao Said without hesitation.
In the history of global architecture, Pei Jinming can be said to be the most accomplished Chinese.
After the assassination of U.S. President Kennedy, the Kennedy family decided to build a library to commemorate this family member. At that time, countless top architects gathered at the Kennedy family to express their opinions. In the end, the winner was the humble Chinese Bei Jin. Ming, his vision conquered the entire Kennedy family.
The American people, who have always been "confident", quit. They believe that "leaving such an important building to a Chinese to design is not rigorous and responsible enough." But when this building came out, it also caused a global sensation and became one of the most famous landmarks in Boston. At the same time, the East Building of the Washington Museum of Art designed by Pei Jinming was also completed at the same time, and was rated as the most famous building in the United States in the 1970s. One of the most successful great projects. At the opening ceremony of the project, U.S. President Carter called I.M. Pei "a rare and outstanding architect."
The first time the Chinese community got to know Pei Jinming was a few years later. The Bank of China was preparing to build its own headquarters in Central, Hong Kong. However, the land area purchased was very small and the funds on hand were not much. After receiving the official invitation, , Pei Jinming personally worked on it, and finally used high-quality design to suppress the construction cost of this building to the extreme. For US$130 million, an office building with an area of over one million square feet was built, and it has also become the most famous landmark in Hong Kong. one.
"Bei Jinming? I have heard of him. His achievements in the United States are not low." Zhou Jiayang said.
"Of course, we have to invite him over and tell him that he can design all the future large office buildings of our group. The price is definitely not a problem." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, a world-class architect, Guang The design fee will account for one-tenth of the construction cost, but it is definitely cost-effective. With top-notch design, the building can be built at the minimum cost, and the usable area will be maximized. It will be very efficient in terms of beauty, environmental protection, energy saving, and post-maintenance.
"Then I will go to the United States to invite this master architect." Zhou Jiayang thought for a while and said, "We must show our sincerity."
"Okay, first complete the transaction with Swire Group as soon as possible. In terms of funds, Shen Bi promised me a loan from HSBC for the Admiralty land, and I will provide the funds for the Saixi Lake land alone." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "In this case, Galaxy Real Estate That’s it for Hutchison this year, there won’t be any big investments.”
After the acquisition of Hutchison, the privatization of Whampoa and Watsons, and the investment in these two pieces of land, his cash and credit lines are basically almost there. There are still two to three billion in funds, which are used as insurance funds to prevent Wherever there is a problem, funds are urgently needed.
Next, companies in Hong Kong need to slowly absorb and digest existing assets, gradually develop them, and then return funds to wait for the next round of investment.
By next year, that is, in 1976, Hong Kong's real estate market will see a significant recovery, as will the stock market. Hutchison Whampoa can more easily cash out its affiliated assets and businesses, allowing its own funds to enter a new cycle.
(End of chapter)
