The so-called suitable price naturally refers to the area near the Kowloon Peninsula. Even if it is farther from the sea, the total distance is only a few kilometers. In addition, there is a large population nearby. It is easy to recruit people by yourself, and you can basically enter a new development state quickly. , and more importantly, the value is higher in this location. Even industrial land will be worth a lot of money after more than ten years.
As for Yuen Long, in fact, under the management of MacLehose, it did achieve considerable development in the late 1970s. The main reason was that housing prices on both sides of Victoria Harbor rose too much. Under the long-term guidance of the government , coupled with the opening of highways and subways, the popularity of Yuen Long also reached a very high level in the 1980s, and if the Midea Industrial Park plan is added, it may be better than in history.
But it’s really not going well there now. It can’t be said that there are no people there, but the number is not large. They are just some indigenous people, or a small number of migrant workers. There is no industry, no economy, and only a little industrial industry. It is completely supported by the government. model.
MacLehose was well prepared and said with a smile: "Don't worry about infrastructure. Since the Hong Kong government is planning to build a new town, the investment in this area will naturally not be small. We will build a direct link to Kwai Chung Pier and Kowloon in Yuen Long." There will also be a certain amount of investment in the town's roads, including people's livelihood, including hospitals, fire services, and schools, to ensure that a large number of people can live and work in peace and contentment in Yuen Long. And if Chen Sheng's industrial park is added, it can Providing tens of thousands of jobs, I think Yuen Long Town will definitely succeed. Once it succeeds, Chen Sheng’s personnel needs will naturally not be a problem.”
Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said: "Mr. Governor, there is a certain sequence relationship here. Any international enterprise will focus on the existing supporting measures before investing, rather than developing together after investment and completing the supporting facilities. No enterprise We have an obligation to cooperate with the development of the underworld.”
Except for later generations of state-owned enterprises in the mainland, this is basically true. When large enterprises invest in building a factory in a certain place, they must look at the industrial chain and related logistics, water and electricity supporting measures. These things are not available. You can expect large enterprises to help you when they invest. Get it, that's basically a pipe dream.
There are also a few special investments with this situation, such as German Volkswagen investing in China, but there are certain ZZ reasons behind this, and even so, the localization of the industrial chain took many years. Even in the 21st century, many of Volkswagen’s core Parts still enter the country using the CKD (overseas import) model, which is even far less localized than Tesla.
"As a Hong Konger, Mr. Chen, don't you want to make a contribution to the economic development of Hong Kong? Besides, Mr. Chen also knows that you are about to become a justice of the peace next year." MacLehose said with a smile.
"It is natural to make a contribution. There are many ways to contribute. My charity fund invests in the field of education. If necessary, it can also invest in other areas. My industries still provide tens of thousands of jobs in Hong Kong, but Contribution is contribution, and business is business. If for this reason, I choose to invest more money to build a factory in Hong Kong, it will only cause my products to be at a disadvantage in international competition. Over time, they may be used by others. If defeated, the gain will outweigh the loss." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.
In fact, Chen Zhiwen's investments are basically products such as assembly plants. The technical content is a bit higher, and the profits are quite high. There are actually no hard requirements on where to put it, but no matter what, the British ghost guy has to give some blood. Just fine.
"Then Mr. Chen, just tell me directly, how can we be willing to put this industrial park in Yuen Long?" MacLehose asked directly.
Chen Zhiwen said: "Well, Mr. Governor, if it is placed in Yuen Long, I need a larger area, about 6 million square feet, all free of charge."
"This is impossible. There has never been such a thing in the history of Hong Kong." MacLehose said quickly: "Such a large area is free of charge. Don't tell me, the Lands Department will not agree."
"Mr. Governor, I can guarantee that none of this land will be wasted. Factories will be built on all of it. Every piece of free land will create jobs and bring stable tax revenue to the future of the Hong Kong government. This piece of land is free, then The price of nearby land will double, and the Lands Department will have higher income. This most basic cooperation model is common all over the world." Chen Zhiwen said lightly: "And I said, I compared , compared with other places, there is free land in Wanwan, and here in Hong Kong, if it is placed in Kowloon, I can consider purchasing the land at a certain price, but in Yuen Long, this is my condition."
When it’s time to be tough, naturally you still have to be tough. Although I don’t look down on Yuen Long, MacLehose and others don’t know that the free land policy in Wanwan Korea is very attractive to capitalists. Naturally, this can put some pressure on the Hong Kong government.
"I have seen the list of industries proposed by Midea, which also includes the shoemaking industry. In the next five years, more than 1 million pairs of sports shoes will be exported? Can Chen Sheng guarantee this?" MacLehose suddenly asked.
"Of course. As long as the new industrial park is approved, I will immediately build a factory with a production capacity of more than 2 million pairs." Chen Zhiwen said confidently.
Nike's development speed is even faster than that of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart needs to actually build its own stores, but Nike does not need that. They only need to find franchisees. In the next ten years, Wal-Mart's annual turnover will grow at an annual rate of about 40%. %, while Nike’s is 80%. It seems that the difference is not very big, but looking at the gap of five years, Wal-Mart has increased by 5 times and Nike has increased by 18 times. Dual production capacity of millions is actually an underestimate.
Therefore, the Nike foundry in Hong Kong naturally needs to be fully prepared and set its production capacity to the maximum. However, it is estimated that in just four or five years, it may be necessary to build a new factory.
But this can be discussed later. After all, even if we know the future, we can’t build the peak production capacity in the future at once, right? Planning for the next 5-7 years is almost enough, and it is impossible to meet the personnel requirements alone.
"In that case, I need some time to discuss it with others. Chen Sheng, what you said makes sense. Enterprise investment depends on horizontal comparison, but Hong Kong's situation also has its own special features. This is the first time to get land for free. I still need to judge what the impact will be, so how about I give you an answer after New Year's Day next year?" said MacLehose.
"Okay, then I will wait for the good news from Mr. Hong Kong Governor." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. In Hong Kong, getting land for free is indeed a taboo. After all, the main source of Hong Kong's fiscal revenue is the sale of land. That is to say, MacLehose cares more about the economy and industry, so he has a certain basis for discussion.
But having said that, Chen Zhiwen’s request is actually not too much. Which country wouldn’t welcome an enterprise that produces high-quality output, provides stable tax revenue, creates a large number of jobs, and does not cause any pollution? If the scale were larger or the technology content was higher, such as the automobile industry, many countries would pay people to invest.
In later generations, when Foxconn invests in China, which province will not give away land and a large number of tax incentives, etc. Considering that the culture and language of Hong Kong people are similar to those in southern mainland provinces, when industries are transferred in the future, there will be a large number of mature workers here. and engineers can be easily sent to the mainland to serve as the backbone of the entire industrial chain. At the same time, as a Hong Konger, I naturally hope that Hong Kong will be better.
"Mr. Governor, there is one more thing I would like to discuss with you. That is the piece of land owned by Hutchison Whampoa in Hung Hom. I want to convert it from industrial to commercial. The Hong Kong government has been negotiating with us for several months. How about Let’s decide today.” Chen Zhiwen continued.
"I have heard about this matter. The price given by the Lands Department is HK$480 million. This price is actually the market price." MacLehose thought for a while and said: "There have been dozens of industrial-to-commercial conversions in Hong Kong. With a history of more than 10 years, it can be regarded as an important policy to maintain Hong Kong’s real estate prices. Compared with the approval of industrial land, I am even less likely to compromise on this.”
"It's not that concessions, appropriate discounts, should be no problem." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "The economy in Hong Kong is not good now, and the real estate market is also a little better. Many people are still waiting and watching, and a large number of young people are also In the face of unemployment, even if my Midea Industrial Park can start construction immediately, it will take at least half a year to stabilize production. Moreover, an industrial park cannot absorb many jobs. The main employment in Hong Kong is still the construction industry.
Hutchison Whampoa intends to build a large residential complex in Hung Hom, which can accommodate at least 50,000 people. This will not only solve the employment problem of a large number of construction workers, but also reduce the housing problems in Kowloon. After all, the housing prices in Hung Hom are definitely higher than those in Hong Kong Island. It is much lower, and with the cross-sea tunnel and future subway, many people will definitely move there from Hong Kong Island. Doesn’t this get the best of both worlds?
However, there is too much investment involved. The price of industrial-to-commercial conversion, subsequent construction costs, and the total investment are estimated to be HK$2 billion. This is a bit too much pressure for Hutchison Whampoa. "
In the original history, MacLehose solved the employment problem in Hong Kong through Daxing Real Estate. Although jobs in the construction industry were not as stable as factories, it could at least solve the problem in the short term. It can also be said that after 1976, land prices in Hong Kong soared. , also has a certain relationship with MacLehose. It was he who promoted the great recovery of the entire real estate industry.
In fact, it is also because Hong Kong’s economy is so bad now that only a few companies are doing well, such as those Chinese real estate, shipping giants or companies owned by Chen Zhiwen. Others are not doing well. Except for Swire and Jardine Matheson, the major foreign banks are not doing well. Wheelock and Wheelock are getting weaker and weaker, and ordinary real estate companies have suffered too much in the past few years. Even if they see a slight recovery trend in the real estate market, they dare not enter the market, or they have no money to enter the market, let alone Importantly, banks have generally not regained confidence in the real estate market.
There is no way. When there is no economic growth point, pushing up housing prices is the simplest solution.
"Two billion?" MacLehose was a little moved, but then said: "Sheng Chen has invested 2 billion, and he still cares about such a small discount? You know that no matter how much I offer, it won't be much."
"In the real estate market, even a little discount can leverage more funds." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
MacLehose thought for a while, nodded and said: "Okay, let's do this. I can promise to give you a 10% discount to convert the Hung Hom land project into a business. However, Hutchison Whampoa must start construction of this project before March next year and try to recruit as many people as possible. For more workers, I don’t care about your cooperation with the construction company, but I must ensure that these workers can get their basic living expenses at least every month. As for how many workers there are, I need to ask professionals to come up with them based on the project plan you submitted. Let’s decide.”
"Okay, no problem." Chen Zhiwen agreed.
In Hong Kong, it is common for real estate companies to default on contract payments to construction companies, and construction companies also default on employee wages. When the real estate market was growing well in the past, real estate companies at the source readily gave money. When it came to employees, even if it was late. If you do it, you can usually get a salary.
But after 1973, the market plummeted, and the Yuan Yuan Real Estate Company either went bankrupt, ran away, or really had no money. The same was true for the construction company or the boss. When it was passed on to the workers, they might not have paid their wages for a long time, but it happened later. The entire construction industry will be in ruins in two or three years.
This has also resulted in a large number of people being unemployed throughout Hong Kong, and many people are living without a place to live. Naturally, these people have also become a headache for MacLehose.
This is why MacLehose urgently needs economic recovery, whether through industry or the construction industry, first solve the employment problem, otherwise Hong Kong will never get better.
Chen Zhiwen had actually known about this for a long time, but there was nothing he could do about this kind of thing. At most, after acquiring Hutchison, he could help his own internal companies or related companies that had served him. There were too many others, and the government There is nothing he can do, let alone him.
Now that I am personally responsible for a large-scale project for the first time, I can also mobilize thousands or even tens of thousands of construction workers. Even if I only provide a part of the living expenses first, it can be said to have a certain social stabilizing effect.
He would not have to pay a very high price to help such ordinary people, and he was naturally willing to help. Besides, he would only be able to obtain higher benefits if Hong Kong's economy recovers as soon as possible. .
PS: Let me briefly talk about a contradiction that has always existed in business. Things like negotiation take a long, long time in reality. It is impossible to really write it like this, so sometimes it succeeds in one try. Please understand. , otherwise what should we do? I wrote seven or eight times in a year in the book, and you would all be vomiting blood when reading it, and the plot would be chaotic. But some of them also need to be staggered. For example, we will appropriately space it out for a few months, and then talk about success and cooperation. ,etc
(End of chapter)
