March 29, 1980, sunny weather:
A Cathay Pacific business jet Boeing 737 took off from Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport and flew north to Yanjing City.
In the past few years, many media and ordinary people have paid close attention to the attitudes of some powerful people in Hong Kong. However, most of them have been wise to protect themselves and never expressed their opinions. For example, in the past year or so, many rich people in Hong Kong have actually visited In the mainland, many people have even been to Yanjing City, but only through indirect routes.
For example, flying from Hong Kong to Tokyo and then from Tokyo to Yanjing, or going to Guangdong City first and then taking a plane, etc. The Hong Kong government knows that these people have been to Yanjing City, but as long as they don't show it deliberately, they will Default.
But this time it was different. The central government of the Mainland came forward and sent President Liang of Xinhua News Agency to issue an invitation letter. Everything was done openly.
The main people who went to Yanjing this time were naturally Hong Kong's wealthy Chinese, such as Fok Ying-tung, Li Jiacheng, Pao Yugang, Wu Yingxiang, etc. There were also some people from political circles, literary and artistic circles, etc. Basically, Chen Zhiwen also We all know each other. After all, in such a small city as Hong Kong, there are only so many famous people.
After the plane stabilized, the cabin entered leisure mode. Although this business jet is not as luxurious as the 747 that Chen Zhiwen bought in the United States, it still has what it should have. A small bar can provide a variety of alcoholic drinks. However, this is obviously not suitable. Chinese people, especially those who are about to enter Beijing, how can they drink now?
After ordering a freshly squeezed orange juice, Chen Zhiwen picked some newspapers to read to kill time. These are the official newspapers of the mainland in the past month. In this era of reform and opening up, a lot of useful information can be reflected in the newspapers. come out.
"Chen Sheng, can you sit here?" Suddenly a familiar voice came from the opposite side. Chen Zhiwen put down the newspaper and saw that it was Li Jiacheng, so he said: "Li Sheng, please sit down."
After Li Jiacheng sat down across from him, he smiled and said: "Chen Sheng, my youngest son often plays this recently. After playing it for a while, I also think it's very good. No wonder Chen Sheng's electronic product is selling well overseas." ah."
"If Mr. Li is interested, I will send you some arcade machines. This small handheld machine is more convenient, but its playability is far behind." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile after seeing the game boy in Li Jiacheng's hand.
"Forget it, my eldest son is fine, but my younger son is naughty. He always likes to tinker with weird things, and he also likes electronic products." Li Jiacheng shook his head and said.
"That's not bad. In fact, you can send it to a science and technology university in the United States in the future, and maybe you can make a career in Silicon Valley." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Although Lao Li's second son's achievements in the original history are far less than those of some rich people in Silicon Valley, he is still relatively "high-tech" in Hong Kong. At least he is willing to invest in technology companies, such as the most famous Teng Xun. He invested 20%, but unfortunately he made a mistake in judgment and sold it. Otherwise, with this investment alone, his achievements would not be lower than Li Jiacheng's lifetime achievements, at least in terms of book wealth.
But after all, he was too seriously affected by Hong Kong real estate, so he finally gave up on technology and embraced real estate.
"I don't want to think about it anymore." Li Jiacheng said with a smile: "Sheng Chen, actually before you acquired Hong Kong Electric, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hong Kong Electric were about to reach a very large real estate cooperation project. I wonder if you have heard of it? "
"I know this, but no matter how good the intention is, it is just an intention. It means nothing without signing a contract." Chen Zhiwen said with a faint smile. In fact, if Li Jiacheng was not planning to cooperate with HK Electric, he would not need to be so anxious immediately. Fortunately, we are well prepared to acquire Hong Kong Electric, otherwise we might be harmed by this thing.
"There is no contract signed, but the previous agreement I had with HK Electric is also very cost-effective for HK Electric itself. Mr. Chen can consider it again." Li Jiacheng said with a smile. He had invested a lot of energy before. Finally, the negotiation with HK Electric was almost complete. Unexpectedly, Chen Zhiwen suddenly launched a takeover war against HK Electric, resulting in all the investment being in vain. Now if we can save a little bit, we still have to try.
"Galaxy Real Estate is ready to cooperate with Hong Kong Electric. In fact, Li Sheng can look for other British investors, such as Wheelock. They also have a lot of high-quality land on their hands." Chen Zhiwen said lightly, even if he has more funds, We can only select a few high-quality companies for mergers and acquisitions, and there are still too many companies with good land in Hong Kong.
"I know a little bit about the cooperation between Galaxy Real Estate and Hong Kong Electric, but it doesn't cover much. The remaining ones can definitely be cooperated with our company, Cheung Kong Holdings." Li Jiacheng said.
"That's not necessary. I plan to keep some of the land for future development, and some of it is to develop self-owned properties." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.
The next round of real estate crisis would break out in September 1982. But in fact, by the second half of 1981, the entire Hong Kong real estate market had already fallen into stagflation. House prices remained high, but the transaction volume was very low. It was obviously fast. I can’t bear it anymore, but many people are holding on.
HK Electric owns a large number of high-quality land. He is only planning to develop a small part of the small-area land and complete the development before the middle of next year. The rest will be held for a few more years and will be developed when the next round of real estate begins to enter the bull market.
And with his current asset size, he doesn't have much interest in general land development in Hong Kong. When there are enough funds, the small market of Hong Kong will no longer be able to double his funds for development. Just like a company that is too large, there will definitely be very little room for improvement once its products cover the world. Therefore, real estate in Hong Kong will slowly turn to be like Land, holding a large number of high-quality shopping malls, office buildings, hotels, etc. Just lie down and collect the rent.
"That's such a pity." Li Jiacheng didn't press any further and asked, "Sheng Chen, what do you think of the future of Hong Kong real estate?"
"The country is reopening and the economy is beginning to develop. As a bridge connecting the mainland and overseas, Hong Kong's economy will naturally get better and better. The same will definitely be true for real estate." Chen Zhiwen said casually.
"That's good. If Mr. Chen thinks this way, then I'll feel more at ease. I won't disturb Mr. Chen. I'll go back to my seat first." Li Jiacheng nodded, then stood up and left.
The time soon reached 10:30, and the plane quickly arrived over Yanjing City. After circling for a circle, it landed on the airport runway. Then, the plane slowly drove to the designated location like a car. At the window, You can see a large red carpet outside, and a large number of people are waiting.
After the plane stopped, President Liang arranged for everyone to get out of the cabin one by one in the order he had prepared. People from the political world came first, and people from the business world came last. There was no other way. In name, politics and business came first, and people from the political world came first. There is also a ranking order when leaving the cabin, but it doesn't matter to businessmen like Chen Zhiwen.
It is estimated that even on the Xinwen Network, they mainly report on Hong Kong politicians, and businessmen like them may not have names. After all, no matter how famous Chen Zhiwen, Pao Yugang and others are in Hong Kong, not many people in China know them. .
It was already the end of March, and Yanjing City was no longer so cold. Everyone just needed to prepare some thicker coats. After leaving the cabin, the sun was shining directly on them, so they felt a little hot.
The two directors of the State Council and the State Administration of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade were responsible for picking up the plane. Chen Zhiwen and others also knew that the president of Xinhua News Agency had informed everyone when they were on the plane.
Under the continuous taking of photos by the domestic media, mainland officials shook hands with all visitors from Hong Kong, and a group of primary school students wearing red scarves held flowers and handed them to every guest from Hong Kong. There were also some group photos later. During the filming, Chen Zhiwen probably took hundreds of photos. I guess the TV station or newspaper wanted to choose the most suitable one.
After more than an hour, everyone went to the prepared accommodation in the mainland under arrangements.
Although it has only been a little more than a year since the domestic reopening, compared with the last time he came, Chen Zhiwen always felt that there seemed to be some changes. The most obvious one was the buses in Yanjing City. Many of them had been replaced with new ones. There is not as much smoke as before. Many people's clothes have also changed. Some young people began to wear jeans, and some murals began to appear on some walls.
After a while, the pick-up bus arrived at its destination. When Chen Zhiwen got off the bus, he saw that it was the State Guesthouse.
President Liang said with a smile: "Everyone, the central government attaches great importance to the visit of Hong Kong's political and business circles. Considering that you may not be used to the accommodation environment here in Yanjing, we have specially arranged for you to stay in the State Guesthouse. If you have any needs, You can also discuss this with the service staff here.”
Pao Yugang, as the representative of Hong Kong businessmen this time, said with a smile: "You are so polite. I didn't expect to be able to stay in the State Guesthouse this time. It is such an honor."
"You're welcome. Tonight, there will be a banquet to wash away the dust. Tomorrow morning, you will go to the conference hall. Please try your best to have a good rest. If you have anything you are not used to, you can come to me." President Liang said with a smile.
"Thank you very much." Many people said loudly.
Chen Zhiwen was arranged in the middle of the State Guesthouse. There was a small lake next door, with some rockeries and fountains in the middle. There were many willow trees on both sides of the lake. They had grown and sprouted now, and the scenery was very beautiful.
Chen Zhiwen brought a camera and took pictures while walking. Soon, he met an old acquaintance.
"Chen Sheng is very leisurely, isn't he?" Bao Yugang said with a smile.
"It's okay, but why does Mr. Bao look so sad?" Chen Zhiwen asked curiously.
Bao Yugang said: "Chen Sheng, do you know why we are staying in the State Guesthouse?"
"Why?" Chen Zhiwen also asked with some curiosity. Although the central government attaches great importance to them, the National Military Hall generally only serves overseas dignitaries.
"Because there is no decent five-star hotel in the whole of Yanjing." Bao Yugang said with a smile: "I have been to Yanjing a long time ago and discovered this problem at that time, so I proposed to donate 10 million US dollars. , build a five-star hotel in Yanjing.
Ten million US dollars may not be enough in Hong Kong, but it is more than enough in the mainland. For government projects, the land price is basically 0, and building materials are much cheaper in the mainland than in Hong Kong. I thought it would go smoothly, but I proposed to use my father’s name. Naming this hotel ended up being stuck. If I had known this, I wouldn't have mentioned this request more. It wouldn't be a good idea to withdraw it now. "
"So that's what happened, but don't worry about it. This kind of request is very common in the Western world, but it's still not suitable for us in China. I think it will be solved after a while." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said with a smile.
In the first few years after the reform in China, this kind of thing was actually quite common. For example, Huo Yingdong built the White Swan Hotel in eastern Guangdong Province. According to domestic law, high-rise buildings need to have anti-aircraft guns. This made Huo Yingdong dumbfounded. It took more than a year to resolve.
"I hope so, Chen Sheng, if you want to invest in China, just invest purely. Don't ask for any additional requirements, otherwise, you may be like me." Bao Yugang said with a smile.
"I have already prepared, don't worry." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
(End of chapter)
