“Every time the property at the subway station entrance in Hong Kong is auctioned, I don’t know how many large consortiums are coveting it. Even Land, which has not completely annexed Dairy Farm International, will not be absent. If we want to participate, it will be difficult to compete for funds. To pass these companies, unless your Hutchison or Galaxy are with me?" Chen Tianfu said.
"Not in the short term. Maybe we can consider it in half a year. And dad, you don't have to think too much. There are so many subway stations and there are so many plots of land near each station. It is impossible for Land and Swire to acquire them all. As long as we find the right time, there is still a chance." Chen Zhiwen said: "And British-funded consortiums basically like to buy land and hold it for a long time, especially Land, which acquired Dairy Milk International and is still developing its own properties, while Hong Kong The MTR Corporation in Hong Kong is different from those in other places. The Hong Kong government does not provide subsidies and can only rely on selling land to recycle funds. This self-owned method of British capital is completely inconsistent with the interests of the MTR Corporation. In a short period of time, they We can still rely on our own funds to support it, but it will definitely not work in the long run. Relatively speaking, I think the threat from Chinese capital is greater."
Subway construction in most places around the world is invested by the government, and future operations are generally subsidized by the government, because drilling subway tunnels, purchasing subways, and future maintenance and operations are all very expensive. That kind of revenue of a few dollars per person is simply impossible to make back.
But the price of the subway cannot be increased. If the price increases, people will go to take the bus or take a taxi. Besides, the purpose of the subway itself is to ease the traffic on the ground. From the perspective of the entire society, it is still profitable, so it must be To pay subsidies, in later generations in the mainland, a city will receive billions of subsidies every year.
But Hong Kong is strange. Perhaps in order to comply with the so-called "free economy", the Hong Kong government will not allocate funds to build subways, but will hand over the land near the subway stations to the Hong Kong MTR Corporation for operation. This strategy is to use the land to support the subway. core logic.
The original Hong Kong subway was supposed to start construction in 1973, but it happened to be hit by the real estate crisis and the global oil crisis. The land could not be sold at a high price, so it had to be postponed. In 1975, construction began slowly, but it was just the beginning. Large-scale projects require at least a year of preliminary preparation. In the second half of 1976, large-scale auctions of land parcels owned by the Hong Kong MTR Corporation began. Before, it was just a child's play, just to raise the cost of starting the project.
For this reason, some British investors were able to advance money to obtain MTR land, but after a long time they simply couldn't afford it. In the original history, since 1977, many properties in the MTR station were basically composed of various Chinese-owned properties. Acquired by the consortium, including Cheung Kong Holdings, Hang Lung Properties, Great Eagle Properties, etc., the housing prices of subway station properties are growing faster than elsewhere, and these Chinese investors are also making a lot of money.
"Forget it, just get a share of the pie. Even you can't win too much land. Being too greedy will only cause other real estate companies to form a group to fight." Chen Tianfu said with a smile.
"I know, we don't have that much financial resources. Next, Hutchison Whampoa's main focus will be on developing the land in Hung Hom and the subway area. Dad, if you participate, I won't care. If you are short of money, we can discuss it later. ." Chen Zhiwen said.
Since his father wants to build Hengyi into one of the top five real estate companies in the future, Chen Zhiwen is still willing to give him a push. It can also save him the energy to worry about too much real estate. Chen Tianfu's ability may be Not as good as Li Jiacheng, but they have been in the real estate market, so they still know the basic rules, and they are much better than British companies. With sufficient funds and a clear direction, there is no reason why they can't beat several other Chinese real estate companies.
Besides, the Chinese real estate companies in Hong Kong are not currently monopolizing Hong Kong in the 1990s. They basically restrain each other and will not engage in internal friction. This is not because of unity, but because there are too many places to make money. Even if it is true, If we are eyeing the same project, if the negotiation fails, 90% of the time it will be a joint venture.
"The piece of land in Hung Hom has been reported in some news recently. Are you sure you can get it from the Hong Kong government?" Chen Tianfu asked.
"I'm absolutely sure, it's just a matter of how much money I invest." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Hutchison Whampoa started trying to communicate with the Land Bureau of the Hong Kong Government a few months ago about the "industrial conversion" of the 2 million square feet of land at Hung Hom Port, but the Hong Kong government opened the door and demanded a price of HK$580 million. The Zhou family Yang Ziran did not agree, so he postponed it for a while. Since it was difficult to keep the news completely secret, it was natural that some media also knew about it.
"Okay, you can figure it out, okay? If you have any funding problems, I can still get two to three hundred million Hong Kong dollars." Chen Tianfu said.
"No, I have already prepared the funds." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.
In this life, Hutchison Whampoa has lost weight much faster than under the control of HSBC in the previous life. Except for a few core businesses, all others were sold. Even at a bargain price, hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars in funds can be recovered. Besides, a large number of land acquisitions It is not sold, but developed together with Li Jiacheng or other Chinese investors, and a lot of funds can be obtained from it.
The most important thing is that after 75 years, the real estate market has been recovering. As a result, Hutchison Whampoa's large number of properties have more credit lines. Although there is a tendency to continue to expand liabilities, in real estate , or in other words, doing business itself is to play the capital chain to the extreme, otherwise, there is no way to win the king of Chinese capital.
"You are always so confident." Chen Tianfu said with a smile. Of course he was very happy to have such an awesome son. When meeting with poker friends and peers, Shui would not give a thumbs up to praise him.
"You will see more confidence in a few years." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. After a few years, his investment in the technology field begins to pay off, plus a very rare financial opportunity, which will be enough for him to stand out in the international competition. The basis of arm wrestling. At that time, although the profits in Hong Kong were not low, their importance was far less than that of several other companies.
"There is one more thing I want to tell you." Chen Tianfu paused and said, "You know I still have an eldest brother. We separated more than 20 years ago. I came to Hong Kong and he stayed in the mainland. These years I have been thinking about them, so I am going to arrange for someone to find out where their family is?"
"It should be very troublesome for Hong Kong people to go to the mainland now, right?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
Although the mainland is now a little more open to the outside world, not everyone can apply to enter. If you want to enter, you must have diplomatic purposes, economic purposes, or industrial purposes. Zeng Zi was fortunate that he was able to enter because of the Canton Fair and could stay for a while. The time is also because there are certain orders and there are people in the mainland who can guarantee it.
It's only December now, and the Canton Fair is still a few months away. It doesn't matter, but it's hard to get in. Admittedly, given the situation of the Chen family, it might not be difficult to get in, but it's not necessary. The mainland has not yet decided to reform and open up, so why go in? If you just want to buy something, there is no need to go there in person. Although I will definitely cooperate with the mainland in many aspects in the future, I will only abide by the principle of fairness.
"I don't need to send people in. Maybe you don't know the current trend in the mainland. Many Hong Kong people want to know the situation of their relatives in the mainland. There is already a huge demand market, and some people with vision have started to do this business. , I don’t know how it works specifically, but some people have indeed succeeded and have been contacted through letters." Chen Tianfu said with some excitement.
"But uncle and the others are probably no longer in their hometown, right? Isn't it easy to find them?" Chen Zhiwen said with a frown.
He still knew a little about the previous generation of the Chen family. Because of a locust plague, the Chen family had to leave their hometown. Fortunately, the Chen family brothers were all scholars and literate, and they did not starve to death along the way. However, some Once they were crossing a river, they were swept away by the current. There was no way to contact them. Even if they were only a few kilometers apart, the two brothers couldn't find each other, and in the end they had no choice but to go their separate ways.
Fortunately, the Chen family can swim, and the current was not strong at the time. If Chen Tianfu survived, his eldest brother Chen Tianshou should also be fine.
Subsequently, Chen Tianfu caught up with the team fleeing Hong Kong by chance, and also met his current wife Wu Xiuling, and then came to Hong Kong together.
"Your uncle was a middle school teacher at that time. Our goal before we separated was Yanjing. At that time, our thinking was that with our knowledge level, we would definitely not starve to death in a big city like Yanjing. After that separation, he It’s probably better to go to Yanjing, so I’m going to entrust someone to go to Yanjing to look for him,” Chen Tianfu said.
"Yanjing alone is very big, so it's probably not easy to find someone." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, there is no Internet, you want to find someone? It’s really like finding a needle in a haystack. And there is another possibility that if the person is not in Yanjing, then there is absolutely nothing that can be done.
"Let's give it a try first, and give priority to schools in Yanjing. You won't lose anything anyway, so just spend some money to look for them." Chen Tianfu said with a shrug.
"Yes." Chen Zhiwen nodded. This amount of money is just a drop in the bucket for the Chen family, but for Chen Tianfu, his brother is the person he is closest to. He has shared joys and sorrows with him for decades when he was a child. Now that he is prosperous in Hong Kong, he does not Do you know where your elder brother is? What kind of life are you living?
If you still can't find it, there's no need to worry. When the reform is opened in 1978, your identity will be taken seriously by the central government. As long as you entrust it to yourself, the mainland government will definitely be willing to help. In the current mainland, if you want to find someone, the government's Efficiency is the highest.
(End of chapter)
