The Miss Hong Kong event has entered its traditional low ebb, and it will take some time to attract and find the right people to participate in the finals.
When he was sure that this year's Miss Hong Kong election would definitely be a success, Chen Zhiwen once again entered into work mode with peace of mind.
Construction of Whampoa Gardens, the largest real estate project in Hong Kong's history, has begun. Almost most of the funds of the entire Hutchison Whampoa Group have been invested in this project. Other business departments are basically in a low-key period and can maintain normal operations.
If you have the ability, you can make breakthroughs yourself. Chen Zhiwen is not opposed to some capable teams expanding their business. However, considering that this is Hong Kong, apart from real estate, there are basically no unforeseen opportunities.
Similarly, the slimming down movement in non-real estate businesses continues. In less than a year, Hutchison Company, which once had 360 different businesses, has sold 300 businesses today, and the company's staff has been reduced by tens of thousands. From an outsider's perspective, the company has shrunk a lot.
What remains is the business that has the potential to become a giant.
The remaining core businesses have also been reorganized several times. Hutchison Real Estate, which is responsible for the real estate business, was originally Hutchison Real Estate Company, a subsidiary of Hutchison Group. Subsequently, it merged the real estate properties of Capital Real Estate and Whampoa Group to become the largest real estate company in Hong Kong. One of the real estate companies.
Although Hutchison Whampoa has slowly emerged from the debt crisis, its cooperation with Li Jiacheng continues. Hutchison Whampoa has internal data on previous cooperation. Cooperation with Li Jiacheng has the highest returns and a high turnover rate.
The second largest business is the port. Currently, there are 1.5 berth terminals in Hong Kong belonging to Hutchison Whampoa, half of which is a joint venture with Modern International Container Terminals under Wharf. This one and a half berth terminal was acquired only last year. With a turnover of HK$600 million, the gross profit is as high as HK$280 million. However, the initial investment in the terminal was all borrowed money. Now Hutchison Whampoa Terminal is only using profits to repay the loan. It will only be able to repay the loan after the debt is cleared in a few years. It’s time to make money while lying down.
The third business, of course, is retail, but it is still in its infancy. It is mainly developed in Hong Kong. PARKnSHOP has opened 30 new stores in the past six months, and Watsons cosmetics store has also opened 13 new stores in Central. Although the home looks pretty good, compared to Hutchison Whampoa as a whole, it is just testing the waters.
The fourth business is trade within and outside Hong Kong. The main direction is building materials. Although the transaction amount is large, the profit is only a few points.
At present, these four businesses are considered the main ones. There are several other businesses that Chen Zhiwen is optimistic about, but they have not started yet, such as telecommunications and infrastructure. These need to wait for the opportunity, and more importantly, require a lot of funds. Now Hutchison Whampoa It is not yet a period of rapid expansion.
In addition to Hutchison Whampoa, the industrial park in Yuen Long has begun formal construction. A large number of construction teams have entered the site to level the land and will soon build all the factories.
Although this is the largest and most advanced industrial park in Hong Kong's history, most of it is still basic assembly, and the requirements for building facilities are not high. Therefore, as long as Party A has the money, it can be built very quickly.
For Midea and Red Bull, if they complete the construction of this industrial park as soon as possible, the production capacity of their many businesses will be greatly increased, and even the cost will be reduced, which will be more conducive to gaining more markets overseas. .
Yuen Long, in a corner northeast of Midea Industrial Park, inside an 8-story building with an area of 50,000 square feet:
"Sheng Chen, these are the first batch of sports shoes we made with the help of Nike engineers." A Chinese man about 40 years old handed over a new set of shoes in his hand.
"Gong Wang, thank you for your hard work." Chen Zhiwen said politely. This engineer's name is Wang Hualong. He is a well-known master in the Hong Kong shoemaking industry. It is not because he works the longest, but because his ability is real. In his previous job, he designed new shoes many times, which were also praised by the customers of the company where he worked.
After signing a supply agreement and a shareholding agreement with Nike, Chen Zhiwen established ANTA Shoes in Hong Kong. The initial purpose was to purely supply Nike.
In this way, capable and experienced shoemaking talents are naturally poached with high salaries. In just two months, Anta Shoes has hired more than 40 engineers at one go.
Although it sounds like a lot of people, the wages here in Hong Kong are still very low. Even the most powerful Wang Hualong only earns HK$2,500 a month, and many of these engineers can also speak English, so they can communicate with Nike engineers. very convenient.
Because time was the most urgent, Chen Zhiwen specially arranged for the industrial park to build Nike's factory first, and then the equipment disassembled from the United States was put in place in batches. At the same time, Chinese engineers studied and studied with Nike engineers.
With the equipment available, Nike shoes of good quality were made as early as the end of March, but sample production and mass production are obviously two different things, which require a lot of production experience, a lot of skilled workers, a lot of cooperation, etc. Therefore, even if they worked day and night, it took more than two months before the factory officially produced the first batch of 300 shoes.
"Find me a pair of size 43, and I'll try it on." Chen Zhiwen looked at the light shoes in his hands and suddenly became interested, "Okay." Wang Hualong nodded, and then gave instructions to the people around him. After a while, , a pair of size 43 shoes was delivered.
"It feels pretty good." After Chen Zhiwen put on the shoes, he took a few steps to feel them. They seemed to be similar to the thousands-yuan sports shoes he bought from Nike and Adidas in later generations.
The development of history actually has little to do with shoes. In many aspects, today’s shoes are no worse than they were 50 years ago. This is a purely useless industry, but by virtue of its early investment in Nike, I became their supplier, and I There are also opportunities to enter the shoemaking industry.
"The quality of these shoes is no less than that of Adidas. One of my previous companies also supplied goods to Adidas." Wang Hualong said with a smile.
"Is there any Adidas supplier in Hong Kong?" Chen Zhiwen asked curiously. Hong Kong's shoemaking industry is far less developed than the garment industry, and shoes are mainly cloth shoes, slippers and other products. Galaxy Trading has also purchased them for Costco and Wal-Mart many times. These are the simplest shoes.
"Yes, but it only lasted for two years. Then the orders disappeared. I don't know why." Wang Hualong said.
Chen Zhiwen did not ask any more questions and said, "Okay, let's follow this. Once production is complete, we will be ready to supply to the United States. Now is the early stage of production. We must attach great importance to quality, otherwise, the company may go bankrupt at any time."
This is not to scare employees, but even if you are already a major shareholder of Nike, if the quality of your own shoes is not good, how can you have the nerve to continue to place orders?
"Okay, no problem. We will only produce in the day shift at the beginning. Everyone, including Nike engineers, will follow the factory. Only when the quality is stable and enough talents have been trained, we will start the night shift." Wang Hualong nodded and said .
"Okay, then I'm waiting for your good news." Chen Zhiwen said. Chen Zhiwen attaches great importance to his strategic investment. This is a powerful tool that can control the employment of hundreds of thousands of people in the future.
Anta's samples were successfully completed, which made Chen Zhiwen very satisfied. When the quality becomes stable in the future and he has enough funds, he can start to deploy footwear brands in Asia.
As soon as he returned to the office, he saw Zhou Jiayang walking over with a cautious face and saying, "Sheng Chen, something happened in the north. It was a big earthquake."
There are too many things that cannot be changed by human power. Natural disasters are one of them. Gods cannot change them even if they come.
Although he knew the outcome, Chen Zhiwen still made an appointment with Liang Weilin, then president of Xinhua News Agency, and met in a coffee shop on the Kowloon Peninsula.
"Hello, President Liang, I'm very happy to meet you." Chen Zhiwen met the white-haired president of Xinhua News Agency.
President Liang shook hands with a smile and said: "Sheng Chen, I have admired him for a long time. In all these years in Hong Kong, Mr. Chen is the only businessman I admire. The acquisition of Hutchison Group has really enhanced my prestige as a Hong Kong Chinese."
Faced with the invitation from this potential star in Hong Kong's business community, President Liang naturally had to come to meet him in person. This kind of entrepreneur, who controls the fate of tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong, has always been the target of Xinhua News Agency's efforts to make friends. Once again, he must be stable. The other person, put the other person in the middle.
"Where." Chen Zhiwen said modestly: "Then the other one must be the shipping king Bao Yugang?"
Facing people in Europe and the United States, especially partners, Chen Zhiwen has always been very confident and arrogant. This is because in Western culture, you must be tough when you should be tough and show your abilities. Otherwise, others will look down on you. , but in Chinese culture, it's the other way around. You can be humble when appropriate, but you can't go too far.
"Yes, Mr. Bao has always been the pride of the Chinese people." President Liang said with a smile.
"Please take a seat." Chen Zhiwen extended his hand to signal. Naturally, he, a capitalist, was the one to treat us today.
"Thank you." President Liang nodded and said.
"President Liang, this is my kindness, please accept it." After sitting down, Chen Zhiwen took out a check from his pocket and handed it to President Liang.
"Sheng Chen, thank you very much for your support, but I can't accept it." President Liang glanced at the last few zeros on the check, and felt ripples in his heart.
Ten million, or US dollars, who can not be tempted?
After being suddenly approached by Chen Zhiwen, a top entrepreneur in the Chinese community in Hong Kong, President Liang knew that the other party must be for that matter, but he was still surprised to receive so many donations.
But he was still very happy in his heart. Although he couldn't accept the check, having this intention was enough to explain the other party's attitude.
You know, Xinhua News Agency was established as early as 1947. The main purpose of its establishment was to unite the Chinese people in Hong Kong. Business superstars like Pao Yugang and Chen Zhiwen were the core targets. If we can receive such a large donation this time, then The other party is at least a centrist.
"I don't have any demands and I won't make any demands in the future. Isn't that okay?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"This is a rule, Chen Sheng, there's nothing I can do about it," President Liang said helplessly.
"How about this, as a Hong Kong citizen, I donate to the country, not for this earthquake? The mainland government can use this fund for other places, such as agriculture, industrial development, and urban reconstruction." Chen Zhiwen continued.
The country is still a planned economy, and each place has its own spending plan. If something like this happens suddenly, funds must be raised from other places. If donations can be made in other directions, it can be regarded as indirect help, and a large amount of funds will be withdrawn. Under such circumstances, there must be many places that are seriously short of funds. Most importantly, it doesn't seem to violate the rules.
"This" President Liang was a little embarrassed. Although it seemed okay, anyone with a discerning eye knew what was going on. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Sheng Chen, if you are really serious, we can't accept this money, especially now. In a few days, It may be possible for a month, but it’s better to switch to other supplies, such as agricultural products, industrial products, etc.”
"Okay, in a few months, I will switch to food." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. Before the change, it was really not suitable to give money directly. Even after the change, Bao Yugang wanted to donate a hotel in Yanjing. Many people are afraid to take over.
Food is still hard currency in the country, and it happens to be winter in a few months, so food is needed even more.
When the coffee came, President Liang took a few sips, chatted with Chen Zhiwen for a while, then said goodbye and left.
With such a big thing happening in the mainland, it was not just Chen Zhiwen who came to see him, but also reporters from countless newspapers. They wanted to surround him. If he could come out to see Chen Zhiwen, they also ran out in disguise.
After returning home.
Chen Tianfu, who had been waiting anxiously, saw his son coming back and asked hurriedly: "How is it?"
"Not accepted." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.
"Why is this?" Wu Xiuling asked with some confusion.
"Those of us probably don't know the specific situation, so we won't discuss it." Chen Tianfu continued: "But thinking about so many people, I still feel uncomfortable?"
"Dad, don't worry too much. China's disaster relief capabilities are definitely the best in the world. You have to believe this." Chen Zhiwen said firmly. Maybe the country is a little poorer now, but every time the Chinese nation's disaster relief capabilities are definitely second to none. .
"Well, actually, having said that, we can't help much." Chen Tianfu shook his head and said.
"Actually, that's right. It mainly depends on the country." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. This kind of super disaster requires hundreds of thousands of people and a large number of professional teams for rescue alone. The cost of later recovery requires the support of the entire country. Although there are a lot of donations from domestic and foreign countries, the main body still relies on state support.
In fact, Chen Zhiwen also knows that his donation will definitely not be accepted. He just hopes to help, because at this time, too many people are indeed in need of help. Even indirect assistance may be able to save many people. life.
Chen Tianfu also came to his senses and said: "That can only be like this, Awen, don't your companies have a lot of purchases? Maybe we can also focus more on the mainland. There will always be more foreign exchange in the country. With a little ability to save people, a little more, and a better economy, many people will benefit."
"No problem. During the Canton Fair this fall, I will ask Midea to go to the mainland to find suppliers of some simple industrial products. Industrial exports are of greater significance to the mainland." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
The mainland and the Gulf have actually been competing for many years, including the development of Hong Kong's market and export industry. Before the 1970s, the mainland basically gave priority, because the large amount of basic food that Hong Kong needs every day is astronomical. , China Resources Group in the Mainland is mainly responsible for supplying people's livelihood products to Hong Kong. At its peak, export earnings accounted for one-third of the entire Mainland's foreign exchange.
However, starting from the late 1960s, Bayan introduced large-scale foreign investment and developed the processing industry. As a result, in less than ten years, the export value exceeded that of the mainland.
This has actually shocked the mainland. Although they have provided basic living supplies for more than 4 million people in Hong Kong, the amount of exports to Hong Kong has been exceeded by Wanwan. The reason is very simple. Hong Kong's industry requires a lot of processing, but many Hong Kong is not suitable for opening factories, so most of them are found in Wanwan. Although it seems that the quantity of processed products is not much, the value far exceeds the daily necessities.
"That's okay. I heard that the domestic injection molding industry is okay. They should have no problem making casings like electric fans and radios." Chen Tianfu nodded and said.
"It doesn't matter if it doesn't work. As long as we have enough orders, they will improve. Isn't this how Hong Kong's industry develops?" Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
No company can do well when it first starts. The development of any country also develops from low to high. With sufficient orders and an attitude of wanting to develop, the quality and cost-effectiveness can be gradually improved.
Besides, the mainland is so big, there is always something that can be done well, and it is definitely much cheaper than suppliers in Hong Kong, which is also good for Midea.
"Okay, just help as much as you can, as long as you have a clear conscience." Chen Tianfu nodded and said.
His construction company, and even those owned by Hutchison Whampoa and Galaxy, also need to purchase a large amount of construction materials from outside every year, many of which come from the mainland. However, this is not considered help, because these have always come from the mainland, especially It's river sand, which can only be imported from the mainland.
But industrial products are the mainland's weak point. Only this kind of order can make them feel meaningful. Obviously, only Chen Zhiwen has this ability.
"There will be opportunities in the future." Chen Zhiwen said.
There is no way to change what has happened. We can only find ways to help in the future. Anyway, change is coming soon!
PS: This topic is quite sensitive, so I ended the chapter. If I write too much, I will get a 404, but I have to write it. After all, it is not a fantasy article.
It’s the end of the month, please give me a monthly ticket. I hope you can help me get 1,000 monthly tickets this month!
(End of chapter)
