Hong Kong Island Old Events

"Sir, the Police Fund has rejected the project to invest in the Yau Ma Tei Ferry two days ago."

Half a month later.

Oriental Bank.

CEO's office.

"The foundation accepted the proposal and invested in the Star Ferry Company instead." Qiu De even placed a document in front of the big boss, clasped his hands, and sat upright, waiting for the big boss's opinion. After opening the file and looking at it carefully for ten minutes, the big boss put it down and said with a smile, "How is Star Ferry going?"

"Devastated."

eight years ago.

When Ho Ting-hsien acquired the Yau Ma Tei Ferry, he valued the monopoly of the ferry company. Not only did he spend millions to buy the license, he also spent millions to replace the passenger ships of the Yau Ma Tei Ferry. Within half a year, the original investment had already been repaid.

The Star Ferry has also been engaged in a price war with Yau Ma Tei Ferry for eight years. During this period, it launched "Spring Festival Free Pass", "Holiday Family Ticket" and other activities. Against the background of diesel prices rising every year and the Hong Kong dollar depreciating every year, the ticket price has actually Not a cent higher.

Almost all of this was done by the Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company. The Star Ferry was passively beaten for plagiarism activities. Fortunately, the population of Hong Kong Island is growing rapidly, and the two ferry companies are the only channels from the New Territories and Kowloon to Central.

It's hard to make a profit.

"But the good times are coming to an end."

Holding a cigarette in his hand, Ho Ting-yin said in a deep voice: "The Urban Development Department formally formulated the undersea tunnel plan half a year ago to build a 1.86-kilometer-long, four-lane undersea tunnel in Hung Hom to connect Kowloon and Hong Kong Island."

"This package will undoubtedly significantly reduce the profits of ferry companies."

Qiu Degen nodded: "Yes."

"After losing its monopoly, the ferry company's transportation attributes will be reduced, and the future may not be easy."

Who wants to take a boat when there is a car?

What's more, the tunnel is there, open to traffic day and night, and the transportation volume greatly exceeds that of small ferries. It is a big bonus for the development of the Kowloon Peninsula. In fact, the Kowloon Peninsula was officially developed and integrated into the urban area only after the Cross-Central Tunnel was connected. of ranks.

If you want to be rich, build the road first, wise saying. The inland sea is impassable to large cargo ships. But who is willing to give up the cake in his hands if he has already gained something? The Star Ferry Company strongly opposed the tunnel plan, but could not withstand the Governor's determination to boost the economy.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that investing in the Star Ferry Company is a loss-making business. However, before the Star Ferry was put into service, the annual report of the Star Ferry was still very good. No one dared to say that the Star Ferry would fail. Ho Dingxian asked the Police Fund Board to take action to pass the investment project, just to drag Barton, the then chairman of the fund, into the fire. Of course the Star Ferry will not fail, but it will definitely be reduced from a monopoly to a supplementary position. The police fund entering the market at a high level will only give the Chinese police fund an opportunity to harvest.

With the sickle in hand, you can cut whatever you want.

He Dingxian nodded: "Don't look at the Star Ferry's net profit, which is increasing month by month. In fact, it is already its last glory. Once the tunnel is opened to traffic in a few years, the passenger flow will be sucked away by the bus lines. On the contrary, the bus company will make a lot of money. "

"Unfortunately, Kowloon Bus is operating very well. All three license plates have already been issued, and there is no possibility of intervention in the short term." The completion of Hongsui is indeed a turning point for the bus industry on Hong Kong Island, allowing the bus routes that were divided into blocks to be connected together. Wire.

He Dingxian had no chance to take action on the license plate that had been shining before World War II, so he had to watch helplessly. However, Huoxiantang Real Estate was already planning to bid for the Hongsui project, hoping to get a share of the Hongsui incident.

Seeing that the cash cow is about to be squeezed out, the Star Ferry Company must step up its efforts to make money.

"As far as I know, the Star Ferry board of directors is very nervous, and there are strong internal calls to increase fares." Qiu Degen said: "Including Yau Ma Tei Ferry Company, many management members also hope to increase fares."

"In the past, the two ferry companies refused to increase prices. It was not because the capital had become conscientious, but because there was a competitive relationship, which actually benefited the public. Now that the Star Ferry sees poor industry prospects, it has to give up the price war with Yau Ma Tei Ferry. .”

"The entire industry is going to lose half its life, so what's the point of a price war? Of course the ghost guys want to make an extra fortune before the Hongsui opens to traffic. It will take at least seven or eight years for the Redsui to open to traffic, and the price will rise by one cent. (cents) How much can you earn from the fare? After all, the route from East Tsim Sha Tsui to Central is good, and those in a hurry must accept it. Otherwise, taking the Yau Ma Tei Ferry to North Point is also called taking a rickshaw, and the price will be slightly more expensive. "

“With good lines on hand, I have more confidence to raise prices.”

"Besides, the Star Ferry Company also believes that the Yau Ma Tei Ferry will follow suit, so it doesn't have to worry about losing passenger traffic." A Hung Hom tunnel project can immediately create a basis for cooperation and mutual trust between the two competing companies.

Sure enough, enemies are important, otherwise, it is the nature of animals to fight each other. Ho Ting-hsien said nothing, looking thoughtful, and said after a while: "Tell the management of Yau Ma Tei Ferry that we must wait until the Star Ferry increases the fare first, and then we will increase it."

"Business must be stable. Besides, we have a dangerous goods transport license. If we don't do passenger transport and focus on energy transport, the company's profits will not fall. It's not like the Star Ferry. If we don't do passenger ships, we can only do cruise ships." .”

"Haha, if you lay out your chess pieces in advance, you will be much more calm when encountering problems."

He Dingxian smiled easily. No wonder the big guys always talk about foresight. The ability to be forward-looking in business is not about small profits that will be effective in one or two years, but about five, ten, or twenty years later. great benefits gained.

"I understand, He Sheng." Qiu Degen, as the head of Oriental Bank, earned the nickname "Huadaban" in the business world. Although he did not start his own business like in history, his reputation was more famous than in history. HSBC, Citigroup, and Standard Chartered are equally famous.

"Remember to give the Star Ferry some air and say we will follow suit." He Dingxian said lightly when he saw Qiu Degen getting up and leaving.

Qiu De bowed and said, "Yes."

In recent years, the main investment directions of the Police Fund and the China Police Fund have actually been in the real estate industry. Since the 1960s, the real estate industry has entered its first wave of growth, resulting in very impressive income for the two funds, which has brought great benefits to all police officers. Received a substantial wage subsidy.

Police officers with the ability to judge, regardless of their position, have basically purchased properties in Kowloon, Hong Kong Island and other places. Although the income of low-level police officers is not enough to join the real estate speculators, buying a home is not a big problem.

All the hot money from foreign banks and Chinese-owned banks has also poured into the real estate industry, and houses in good locations have more than tripled in price. Huo Xiantang Real Estate Company intends to launch pre-construction properties, that is, pre-sale properties in advance. Firstly, it can lengthen the sales period of the new project and collect funds faster. Secondly, if the pre-sales volume is sufficient, it can even use the owner's funds to build the building, which can reach 100,000 yuan. High turnover of more than 100%. It can be said that once the off-plan property system is launched, it will not take three to five years for Huoxingtang Real Estate to become the leading real estate company.

However, after several negotiations with Fok Guantai, He Dingxian finally suppressed the "off-the-plan" system by relying on affection. It was not because he felt that financializing the property market was wrong. Because the financialization of the property market is the direction of the Hong Kong government. Although the "off-the-plan property" system is sharp, it does not mean that others will not think of it. Sooner or later, other financial means will appear on the market. For example, "installment loan", "house ticket" system, etc., Huo Xiantang does not engage in pre-construction projects, other people do so.

The key is that Chinese banks such as Bank of East Asia, Eastern Bank, and Hang Seng Bank are all pouring funds into the real estate industry, not to mention HSBC, Standard Chartered, etc.

Foreign banks have the right to print money, huge customers, a large number of corporate shares, and parent company support. Do Chinese-owned banks have it? Now the reserve capital pool of Chinese-owned banks has dropped to a low point. Except for Eastern Bank, which consciously controls it above the safety line, HSBC and East Asia are all going crazy.

Crazy in a booming market!

Every project makes money, who would put money in the treasury, why not take it out to make money? However, the radical investment strategy of Chinese-funded banks means that all Chinese-owned factories lose their financial protection. Once something goes wrong, the Chinese-owned banking industry will suffer heavy losses.

He Dingxian did not want to further stimulate the property market, and of course he could not change the direction of the property market. He could only reach an agreement with Fok Guantai and release the "off-the-plan" property two years later. Huo Guantai himself was actually a little unhappy, so he reluctantly agreed for the sake of brotherhood. After all, he would have to earn tens of millions less in two years.

It is difficult for the Police Fund to accept investment failure when its income continues to rise. Therefore, if the performance of the newly appointed Sir Barton is not good, he may have to give up the position of fund chairman.

Naturally, I sat in the position of deputy director for a short time.

October.

The Star Ferry Company has officially submitted a fare increase application to the Hong Kong government, intending to increase the price of first-class tickets from 2 cents a piece to 2 cents 5 cents, while third-class fares will remain unchanged. As soon as this news was announced, the entire Hong Kong public was in an uproar. Although the Star Ferry's fare increase plan is very cautious, it does not make a fuss about the third-class tickets that are the most purchased by the public. Instead, it increases the price of first-class tickets in an attempt to avoid most customers and target those with spending power first.

However, they underestimated the sensitivity of Hong Kong Island citizens to livelihood industries. Although Hong Kong Island's economy developed rapidly in the two decades after the war, many bosses were enriched and many citizens' food and clothing problems were solved. However, Hong Kong Island continues to receive new immigrants, and the population has increased by hundreds of thousands in five years. However, they have not reaped the previous dividends, and have become other people's dividends, and have to work hard with bare hands. It is impossible for them to accept a price increase of 1 cent, let alone a price increase of 5 cents.

"Wen Wei Po", "Ta Kung Pao" and "Oriental Daily" all published editorials on this, hoping that the Hong Kong government could control the fares, but the Star Ferry's stock price rose in response. It can be seen that capital is well prepared and Star Ferry Company cannot easily give up its application for price increase.

Citizens have no resistance to capital. If no one takes the lead, they can only passively accept price increases. In the history of Hong Kong Island, the "Star Ferry fare increase incident" kicked off. This time there was only one large-scale riot caused by rising prices among citizens, also known as the "Kowloon Riots".

At the end of the year, the Hong Kong government announced personnel appointments.