As the biggest news in Hong Kong, Land King in Central will naturally be the finale of this auction, that is, the last auction. Before the auction, the order of the entire auction and the list of plots for each auction have been announced. After all, these lands range from hundreds of millions to one billion Hong Kong dollars. Any company or consortium needs to prepare in advance whether or which piece of land to purchase. However, the pre-sale price will remain confidential.
The first piece of land to be auctioned was a 60,000-square-foot commercial land in Tsim Sha Tsui. The Hong Kong government requires the construction of a commercial office building with a floor area ratio of no more than 5. Half of the area must be held by the bidder for 5 years. , before it can be sold.
The Hong Kong government generally has some restrictions on the land it bids for, such as the maximum development time, floor area ratio, what kind of houses to build, height, number of parking spaces, public building requirements, etc. These are also planning requirements for urban development. Otherwise, many people would buy the land and probably just stock it there, or build a very short building to show off, and then wait for the value to increase. This kind of thing actually happened a lot in the mainland in later generations.
Of course, the mainland government actually has many restrictions on the land after bidding. Generally speaking, domestic real estate developers do not dare to mess around, but some real estate developers from Hong Kong often do this, and many local governments are also afraid of trouble with Hong Kong businessmen. It's not good if it's too stiff, and it may end up being nothing, like someone like Li.
However, these are things that the government needs to consider when the real estate market is more profitable and has greater potential for appreciation. But now, on the contrary, the Hong Kong government is limiting the speed at which bidders can sell properties. This is actually a way to avoid When house prices are not so good, a large number of new areas are listed.
Of course, the land value in Tsim Sha Tsui is not as good as that in Central, but it is also one of the few commercial and prosperous areas in Hong Kong. In addition, the location of this land is not bad in Tsim Sha Tsui. This immediately aroused the interest of some consortiums, and the auction will regard this land as For the first shot, I probably wanted to get a good start.
It's just that for large companies such as Land, Cheung Kong Holdings and Swire, this land is not a must-win. If they can buy this land on weekdays, they will work hard to get it, but at the auction, it must be There are trade-offs, because there are too many good pieces of land, and if everyone wants it, they will only fight to the death, and the auctioneer will make a profit in the end.
Soon, several smaller real estate companies got involved, and finally, Eagle Industrial won the land, with a transaction price of HK$980 million.
Chen Zhiwen glanced at the boss of Eagle Industrial, Luo Yingshi. Boss Luo can be said to be one of the most influential figures in Hong Kong. He started his business in the 1940s, specializing in real estate. Today, Eagle Industrial has become one of the top ten real estate companies in Hong Kong. First, the foundation of its great rise is that it accumulated a large amount of industrial real estate in 1973/74. Like Chen Zhiwen, he sold it in 1978 and made hundreds of millions. Later, he took advantage of the real estate bull market to make Eagle Industrial The market value exceeds HK$3 billion.
The investment of close to HK$1 billion is already the limit of Great Eagle, which also determines that subsequent land is basically out of reach for him.
Next, several more pieces of land were sold. Although the transaction price was not as high as before, the atmosphere at the scene had been enlivened. Many media reporters were targeting the real estate developers at the scene, intending to capture those who were most suitable for reporting or Pictures on the news.
After an hour, the last piece of Land King land finally came on stage.
"What is being auctioned now is a piece of seaside land located on the west side of Connaught Place in Central, between Connaught Road and Harbor View Road, with a total area of 144,000 square feet. This land was originally the terminus of minibuses and minibuses in Central. According to According to the requirements of the Hong Kong government, three buildings will be built on this land, and the space on the first and second floors will still be used by CMB as the new terminal.
At the same time, the trading hall of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will also be moved here. We hope that the winning bidder will consider all of this before bidding. The above two factors must be considered in the design of the future building.
Because this piece of land is close to the sea, the floor area ratio is required to be less than 15, and a higher-floor building can be built.
The auction has officially begun, with a starting price of HK$5.5 billion, and each bid increase shall not be less than HK$50 million. Now please raise your placard to bid. "
Just the starting price exceeds the total amount of all previous transactions, 5.5 billion Hong Kong dollars. At the current exchange rate, it is 1.2 billion US dollars. This price for selling a piece of land, not to mention the subsequent quotation, this data alone can become the world's largest. Finally, in the future, only Ginza in Tokyo, Japan, in the late 1980s can break this record.
"5.5 billion Hong Kong dollars!" Although the news had been released in the media for a long time, Zhao Lilin couldn't help but take a breath when he heard this number. This number was higher than the market value of Wharf.
At the scene, in addition to the Hong Kong consortium, there were also some representatives from the Japanese consortium. They were also interested in the land and were the first to quote their price: "5.6 billion Hong Kong dollars."
"5.7 billion." New World's Zheng Yutong's second quotation made many people look at him in surprise. You must know that although New World is also one of today's real estate giants, with 5.7 billion Hong Kong dollars, New World can get it even with loans. If it comes out, the entire New World Company will be heavily in debt. Being able to follow suit like this must be optimistic about the future of Hong Kong's real estate.
"5.8 billion." Lee Shau Kee quickly followed, causing a "buzzing" discussion on the scene.
Lee Shau Kee's Henderson Properties ranks among the top five real estate companies in Hong Kong, but its development model is completely different from others. Over the years, Henderson has basically not participated in auctions, but has relied on collecting old buildings, demolishing them, and then building new ones. building. That is to say, he proposed a transaction method in which after the new building is built, the original owner will obtain the new property in proportion to the area of the old property.
Before this, real estate companies basically provided money for acquisitions, but in this way, the capital requirements were too high. Although Lee Shau-kee's method reduced the salable area of the new building by about half, the cost of demolishing the building The cost was reduced to 30% of the original value, which greatly increased efficiency and made Henderson one of the earliest real estate five tigers. It has been strong to this day.
And this demolition boss can't help but come to bid for land, which can stimulate Hong Kong's property market.
"6 billion." Li Jiacheng raised his finger and said, while the people around him held up signs. This is his favorite bidding mode.
The bidding price was increased by 300 million at one time, which shocked everyone. The price rushed to 6 billion. How many people dare to continue at this moment?
Lee Shau Kee glanced at Li Jiacheng, then raised his sign and said: "6.2 billion."
Another number stimulated everyone at the scene. Even the cameramen shooting around began to feel overwhelmed and unable to concentrate. Although this amount had nothing to do with them, this was probably the only time in their lives that they had been exposed to such a number. Opportunity for a big deal.
"HK$6.3 billion." Kwok Desheng of Sun Hung Kai held up a sign.
Among the five real estate giants, except for Hu Yingxiang, who has obviously planned to invest heavily in the mainland, the other four have all appeared.
A cameraman not far away was also watching everything in front of him, and his heartbeat couldn't help but beat faster.
"Master?" The apprentice next to him looked at the master who was in a daze and reminded him.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just keep your eyes on the camera and don't miss the highlights." The master said after he came to his senses.
"Okay, there won't be any problems here. It's just, master, more than 6 billion, just to buy a piece of land?" the apprentice asked incredulously.
"You may think it's incredible, but for the big guys, it's just normal." The master said softly: "After the houses are built on this land, it will have an area of at least 2 million square feet. The current housing prices of Grade A office buildings in Central, Hong Kong, are one Ten thousand Hong Kong dollars per square foot is normal, but the rent for one square foot of area is more than 300 Hong Kong dollars a year. What do you think 6 billion to buy land is?"
"That's right." The land suddenly understood. Buildings in Central, Hong Kong are very valuable. The number of transactions in the past few years has been very few. Basically, large consortiums just sit back and wait to collect rents after holding them, because they rely on You can make a lot of money by collecting rent. Let’s say that after the building is built on this land, based on the current rent, it can collect rent of HK$600 million a year. No wonder so many big guys are crazy about it.
"HKD 6.5 billion." At Chen Zhiwen's signal, Zhao Lilin raised the sign.
Seeing Chen Zhiwen take action, the scene was even more heated. The participation of the Hong Kong God of Wealth was enough to bring the bidding to a climax.
"This is the first time for HK$6.5 billion. I don't know if there is a higher price." The bidder was also very happy to see Chen Zhiwen take action. Although he did not get any commission, it was enough to complete such a large transaction in his hands. It has become the highest achievement in life.
Everyone's eyes turned to the few people sitting on the right side of the center, representatives of Land and Swire Properties.
Bao Fuda glanced at Niubijian. After the latter nodded, Bao Fuda raised his sign and said: "6.6 billion Hong Kong dollars."
"6.7 billion." Chen Zhiwen said without hesitation.
"6.8 billion."
"6.9 billion."
"7.15 billion." Chen Zhiwen reported a number, and the people present were shocked again. It's not that the amount was too big. The difference between 7.15 billion and the previous 7.1 billion was only HK$50 million. But before, everyone had reported, at least one One level is HKD 100 million, but this time, it is the lowest amount of 50 million, which seems to have dropped a lot in terms of confidence.
Bao Fuda glanced at Chen Zhiwen who was not far away, then quickly said a few words to Niubijian, then raised his sign and said: 7.3 billion Hong Kong dollars.
With a one-time increase of HK$150 million, the oppression is obvious.
Many people focused their attention on Chen Zhiwen again, but obviously, Chen Zhiwen stopped moving and had no intention of following.
"7.3 billion, the first time." The auctioneer looked at Chen Zhiwen. Obviously, the others present no longer had the ability to compete with the land.
"7.3 billion, the second time."
"7.3 billion, the third time, the transaction was completed." With the sound of the hammer falling, Land acquired this piece of land with the most expensive transaction amount and unit price in human history.
HK$7.3 billion is equivalent to US$1.6 billion, which is an astronomical figure in any country.
In the mainland next door, the current foreign exchange reserves only fluctuate between 2 billion and 4 billion US dollars, and the annual import and export volume is only 40 to 50 billion US dollars. In other words, the value of a piece of land is equivalent to half of the entire mainland. The monthly import and export quota is a country with a population of one billion and a large amount of mineral imports and exports.
In the most powerful United States, General Electric, as an industrial giant in the United States, has a net profit of just over 1 billion US dollars a year. It is not as good as this piece of land. In the entire United States, the net profit of the entire United States can exceed this piece of land, and it is estimated that it does not exceed 20 billion US dollars. indivual.
However, according to the current housing prices in Hong Kong, the price of this land is not outrageous. After all, after the house is built, the income will be hundreds of millions a year just from rent collection. And Chen Zhiwen, who is well aware of history, also knows that when the land prices rise again in 1985 After entering the bull market, housing prices in Central will hit new highs.
Although he did not get the land, Chen Zhiwen was still very happy because Land got it. The price was too high and Land would have to pay a huge debt for it in the future. When real estate prices collapsed next year, he was the one who made the move against Land. The best chance.
Although the future Exchange Building is very valuable and its location is unique, compared with Land's century-old accumulation, the dozen or so buildings in Central are nothing. Besides, once Land has acquired it, the land will not be able to escape either. Lose.
After the auction, Niubijian brought Bao Fuda and several people from Taikoo to Chen Zhiwen and said with a smile: "Sheng Chen, long time no see, you are a rare guest at the Hong Kong government auction."
"Just come and take a look. I still want to congratulate the Jardine Group for acquiring a treasure land like Central. With this piece of land, Land Land's title of land king in Central is indestructible." Chen Zhiwen came to find him only after winning the auction. Chen Zhiwen naturally knew this. The thinking of a few people is probably that they are worried that if there is any conflict with the previous contact, the competition will become more intense in the end, which will not be good.
"Thanks to Chen Sheng for letting me go." Niu Bijian said with a smile. After completing the mutual control of Yizhi, Niu Bijian believed that this holding model must be unbreakable. Therefore, facing Chen Zhiwen, who has stronger financial resources, He has nothing to fear. This is also the reason for Land's aggressive expansion in the past two years. As long as it is not forcibly acquired, he is not afraid of any risks.
"Haha, it's still not as wealthy as Land. When a building is built on this land, I have to leave a good place for it." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"No problem." Niubijian nodded and said.
Although Wharf was robbed by Chen Zhiwen, the shopping mall only has profits and no friends or enemies. What is lost has been lost, so what else can be done? If there is cooperation, there will still be cooperation. Jardine Matheson was the number one consortium in Hong Kong before, but it is obviously not the case now. If you want to do well in Hong Kong, you cannot go against Chen Zhiwen no matter what. Therefore, it is better to cooperate if you can.
"Then I'm waiting for another landmark building in Hong Kong." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. The future Exchange Building will indeed be regarded as a landmark after it is completed, but it will not be so after the 21st century. The top buildings in Hong Kong basically last three to five years. will be replaced with new ones.
After returning home, his father, Chen Tianfu, saw his son sitting on the sofa and came over and asked, "What's wrong? The bidding failed and you feel uncomfortable?"
"How is that possible? I'm so happy." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "Landmark has fallen into a trap. The current housing prices in Hong Kong may soon be unbearable in Central. In fact, if it weren't for major companies such as Landmark and Carnegie I’m afraid I’ll die soon if I try my best to support the market.”
Not to mention when the real estate crisis broke out in September next year, even by the beginning of next year, land prices in Central could no longer bear it. The original land king in history only sold 4.755 billion, because land prices had already plummeted at that time. In just six months, , Land will have to lose nearly 3 billion Hong Kong dollars, which is enough to make a fortune for Land.
However, this kind of loss is not considered to be a serious injury to the opponent, it is just the loss of one finger at most.
"How do you plan to resolve the mutual control between Land and Jardine?" Chen Tianfu asked.
"Mutual control means living together and dying together. Once one company is captured, the other company cannot escape," Chen Zhiwen said.
"So, are you planning to attack Yihe?" Chen Tianfu said.
"Absolutely." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
"It's still a bit troublesome, but if you succeed, you will have to sell me one of the many Central buildings. I also want to experience what it's like to own a Central building." Chen Tianfu said with a smile.
"No problem." Chen Zhiwen agreed readily.
(End of chapter)
