I want to be a giant of Hong Kong Island

Chapter 432 [Transformation in Tsim Sha Tsui]

In the mid-60s, the shipping method on Hong Kong Island was revolutionized, and the appearance of the coast of the Kowloon Peninsula began to undergo drastic changes.

Before the 60s, the coast of the Kowloon Peninsula was mainly wharves, warehouses, and docks;
At that time, the area around Tsim Sha Tsui was the old wharf warehouse of Wharf. Along the coast, there were many berths between Tsim Sha Tsui and Tai Kok Tsui for supply ships and barges;
Extending eastward from Tsim Sha Tsui along the coastline is the warehouse of the famous Blue Chimney Steamship Company;

Continuing to extend eastward along the coastline, there is the huge Whampoa Dockyard (Hung Hom), which is far away from the Taikoo Dockyard in Quarry Bay on the island.

Along the coast of these places, there are various shops serving shipping, full of hemp rope, machinery and various ship supplies;

In addition, there are bars, restaurants, and hotels exclusively for sailors.

However, after the mid-60s, Hong Kong shipping entered the era of containerization;
Universal Group's Kwai Chung No. [-], [-], and [-] containers seized a lot of business;

The original functions of Wharf and Blue Chimney declined, and the business was sluggish.

In 1967, Cheung Kong acquired the most beautiful blue chimney in East Tsim Sha Tsui for only 7500 million Hong Kong dollars, which marked the beginning of the transformation of Tsim Sha Tsui.

At the beginning of May 1968, Cheung Kong Industrial Co., Ltd. officially issued a notice that it would build a "New World Center" on the former site of Blue Chimney to revitalize the real estate industry in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

(PS: Zheng Yutong is the New World Development Company established in 1970, so the New World Center will not have the same name.)
As for the design blueprint of the New World Center, after 5 months, it gathered the hard work of dozens of famous designers from all over the world, and finally it was freshly released in May.

The architectural design of the entire New World Center is quite different from Wu Guangyao's first draft. Of course, Wu Guangyao also provided some ideas of his own;

After all, Wu Guangyao is not a professional designer and planner, so he didn't think too carefully;

If Wu Guangyao's original design was followed, more than 30% of the land would be wasted, as Li Xing said;
Wu Guangyao admitted his mistake at that time, wasting 30% of the land, wouldn't it be a loss of tens of billions?

Even Wu Guangyao has a rich family, but he has to feel heartbroken.

Cheung Kong feels that although the central business district is full of commercial buildings and extremely prosperous, it turns into a deserted block after work at dusk; therefore, the design concept of Cheung Kong is: to continue the design concept of Changjiang Center and build a high-end residential, A 'small city-state' integrating shopping malls, office buildings, hotels and recreation centers.

The construction plan of the entire New World Center is: on a land of 50 square feet in the east of Tsim Sha Tsui, it is planned to build 3 luxury residences, 3 high-end office buildings, an ultra-luxury sailing hotel, a three-storey large shopping mall and a complete recreational facility. Facilities (amusement park).

Due to the control of the Hong Kong Airport Ordinance, the building height cannot exceed 61 meters, so the site area and building height are not very symmetrical.

In order to solve this appearance problem, the designers decided to divide the entire site of Blue Chimney into three groups of buildings of different shapes;

First of all, the sailing hotel is built on the west side of the blue chimney (near the Hong Kong Arts Center), with an exclusive land of 15 square feet;
Then, 3 high-end residential buildings, 3 Grade A office buildings, a total of 6 buildings; use a huge 3-storey podium (shopping center) to connect together.

The six buildings are all 6 stories high and are located above the huge podium. Each building is independent and actually connected to each other;
Moreover, the 6 buildings are divided into two groups of shapes, forming the letters C and Z.

First of all, the C-shaped building complex is composed of three Grade A office buildings.The three office buildings are all in the shape of three small fans, which just form a C-shaped building group (note: the three small fan-shaped buildings are several meters apart, but when viewed from a high altitude, they seem to be connected together to form a C letter; popular One point, the group of buildings in which the letter C is divided into three sections);

Secondly, the Z-shaped building group is composed of three high-end residential buildings, two flat-shaped high-end residential buildings and one oblique high-end residential building, which just form a Z-shaped building group (in popular terms, Z Alphabet trisection complex).

Finally, judging from the overall effect, it is a sailboat shape, a C letter shape, and a Z letter shape, which together form the 'New World Center'.

When this rendering came out, everyone on Hong Kong Island cheered for him!

So pretty!
In fact, there is an idea of ​​Wu Guangyao in it: the sailing hotel symbolizes riding the wind and waves, the shape of the letter C symbolizes the initial letter of China in English, and the shape of the letter Z symbolizes the initial letter of China in pinyin.

Wu Guangyao wanted to use this to express his patriotic heart for the motherland.

It's a pity, how many people can understand themselves!

I am afraid that the meaning of the New World Center will be buried for another 20 years.

Considering that various costs will gradually increase during the construction process;

Wu Guangyao estimates that the construction cost of the entire New World Center is expected to be around 5 million Hong Kong dollars (no ceiling).

You know, the construction cost of the Yangtze River Center is only more than 7000 million Hong Kong dollars;

In fact, it is easy to understand that the cost of building materials and labor will increase significantly in the past few years.

With the increase in construction costs, the real estate industry will naturally rise as well. After all, capitalists will never trade at a loss;
According to Wu Guangyao's knowledge, the monthly rent of Grade A office buildings in Central this year is HK$1.24 per square foot;

But by the end of 1972, the monthly rent of Grade A office buildings in Central will reach HK$5 per square foot;

In the past five years, the rent of Grade A office buildings in Central has increased by 400%.

The rent of the Yangtze River Center in 1968 was estimated to be 3500 million Hong Kong dollars, but by 1972, the rent may reach 1.2 million Hong Kong dollars.

It only takes one year to earn back all the costs. What a high return!

Of course, the construction of the Yangtze River Center began in the late 50s, when the land and construction costs were much lower.

Cheung Kong is building three major projects at the same time, namely Changhe Commercial Complex in Singapore, four commercial buildings in Central (Grade A office buildings), and New World Center;

In terms of funds, there are about 3 million Hong Kong dollars one after another, which is obviously not enough;

However, the expenditures for the three projects are, after all, continuous expenditures, and there is no need for a one-time expenditure close to 10 billion Hong Kong dollars.

As for the follow-up expenses, Wu Guangyao has already thought about it, that is, issuing new shares and directional increase of shares (Wu's family).

Cheung Kong’s stock price is currently 16 Hong Kong dollars per share, with a total market value of 7.7 million Hong Kong dollars, which is far lower than the actual value of Cheung Kong;
Of course, there is also a situation here, that is, after the stock market plummeted last year, Cheung Kong’s stock price was the first blue chip stock to rebound;
In August 1967, Cheung Kong’s stock price plummeted to 8 Hong Kong dollars per share. Before the real estate industry on Hong Kong Island rebounded, Cheung Kong’s stock price had risen to 12 Hong Kong dollars per share, an increase of 16%.

One can imagine how radiant Wu Guangyao's golden signboard is!

With the start of construction of the New World Center, the stock price will rise in a straight line, and it is expected to rise to the highest level in history by the end of the year-28 Hong Kong dollars per share, with a total market value of 13.5 billion Hong Kong dollars;
This is still when the stock market and real estate on Hong Kong Island have not started to rise.

It is naturally impossible for Cheung Kong to issue new shares at this time. After all, it will have to wait until 1969 before considering it.

There is no need to worry about funds. Loans are a good way. Everbright Bank brings Cheung Kong Industrial, just like the left hand and the right hand.

(End of this chapter)