The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Early October.

Lin Zhichao and other Hong Kong and Macau tycoons have finished their trips to the capital and started their "root-seeking journeys". Lin Zhichao is from Shunde, but he only visited Yangcheng.

Accompanying him were Wang She, who was stationed in Hong Kong, and Tai, who had found his roots two years ago. They were puzzled as to why Lin Zhichao didn't go to Shunde to find his roots.

"Mr. Lin, would you like to arrange for you to go to Shunde to worship your ancestors to express your homesickness after being a wanderer for many years?" Wang She suggested.

This is the most important figure among overseas Chinese, bar none. If we can win over Lin Zhichao and inspire his patriotic enthusiasm, then the country's modernization drive will have the strongest boost.

Lin Zhichao said with a disappointed look on his face: "I heard that someone dug up my ancestral grave eleven years ago. This meant pulling out my roots. If the roots no longer exist, why would I go back?"

Originally, he wanted to use his influence and industrial chain to unite with several wealthy people in Shunde to jointly support Shunde into a prefecture-level city, and an influential prefecture-level city.

But now, is he still from Shunde?

His heart felt so cold!

It’s not that he will have any resentment against the country because of this kind of thing. There is no doubt that he will invest and donate money in the future. After all, they are all his compatriots, how can he not help!

It was just the hurdle in his hometown that made it difficult for him to get over it.

Wang She and Airship Tai were immediately surprised, and there was even some anger on their faces. What Shunde did to this rich man was simply extremely stupid.

"Lin Sheng, how did you get the news? Are there any misunderstandings?"

"The news is correct. I have relatives who fled to Hong Kong in the 1970s, so I know a little bit about it. In short, if I can't worship my ancestors, I won't go back to Shunde."

Lin Zhichao puts down his harsh words!

It also means that his original plan to invest billions and countless resources in Shunde will come to nothing.

Wang She and Airship Tai could only feel very sorry. After all, no one else would forgive this easily.

After that, Lin Zhichao stayed in Yangcheng for three days, and it was hard to describe everything. Even in the provincial capital, the place he lived in was in a mess - no hot water, old and dirty in every way. Of course, Lin Zhichao is not unable to overcome these problems. He also suffered hardships back then.

Overall, this inspection was very fruitful. He felt the different mental outlook of the leaders. China is like a plant that is about to break ground and will be full of vitality.

Shortly after returning to Hong Kong, Lin attended a board meeting of Hutchison Whampoa.

In fact, although Lin Zhichao is only an executive director, according to convention, the major shareholders can completely override the salary-paying chairman of the board of directors, which means that his actual power is higher than that of Wei Li.

But Lin Zhichao has not done this for more than half a year, and has never shown the meaning of "substantial boss" in front of Wei Li. As the largest shareholder, Lin Zhichao can fully exercise the equity he controls to serve as chairman of the board of directors.

There are actually three purposes for doing this:

First, Lin Zhichao temporarily gave the position of chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer to Wei Li. He was actually relying on Wei Li to carry out Hutchison Whampoa's restructuring plan, which has been basically completed;

Second, Lin Zhichao is very familiar with Hutchison Whampoa's business. Over the past six months, he has insisted on attending Hutchison Whampoa meetings as much as possible. Although he listened more and spoke less, he was already quite familiar with Hutchison Whampoa.

Third, Lin Zhichao’s humility caused the directors and management to relax their vigilance and won their respect, especially the respect of some shareholders. In this way, at the general meeting of shareholders on New Year's Day next year, even if Lin Zhichao does not exercise the rights of the major shareholder, he will most likely become the chairman of the board of directors.

After the meeting starts.

Wei Li smiled and said: "Sir Sir Lin, the board of directors has decided to give you the executive director's fee in recognition of your contribution to Hutchison Whampoa's affairs in the past six months."

His words were sincere and had no other meaning.

Other shareholders also nodded in approval. In the past six months, Sir Lin has been running and planning Hutchison Whampoa's real estate-related affairs, and he has contributed a lot, such as:

Hutchison Properties, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, developed Aberdeen Center (the original site was Aberdeen Dockyard) from the end of 1977, with a total investment of HK$800 million. After Sir Lam became the executive director, he quickly formulated a more perfect plan for Aberdeen Center.

Recently, under the leadership of Sir Lin, an "out-of-court settlement" was reached with Dachang Real Estate, ending a year of litigation. The contents of the out-of-court settlement include: Dah Chong Properties purchased back the remaining 55% stake in Capital Real Estate from Hutchison Whampoa for HK$310 million, and at the same time, Dah Chong Properties sold 25% of the equity in Hutchison Building to Hutchison Whampoa for HK$110 million. This ended many years of collaboration.

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "Thank you, Chairman Wei Li, and all my colleagues for their kindness! However, I have not paid any dividends in any of my listed companies. This is because I think that since I am enjoying dividends, I can use it to make and do my best." A job. So I don’t have to receive Hutchison Whampoa’s salary.”

For a moment, everyone showed expressions of admiration.

It is reasonable and legal for directors to receive fees. In particular, Lin Zhichao, as the major shareholder, chairman of the board of directors, and executive director, can receive very high fees. Nowadays, Lin Zhichao does not want the salary of a listed company, which is obviously very admirable.

When Wei Li saw this, he could only say: "Sir Lin has a noble character, I admire him."

Although he suspected that Lin Zhichao was acting out, he still had nothing to say, because others had already said that he did not receive a director's fee, which was obviously not false.

Next, the meeting continues.

Lin Zhichao suggested: "Everyone, I would like to make a business suggestion today!"

Wei Li and others immediately said: "Sir Sir Lin, please speak."

In the past six months, Lin Zhichao has participated in Hutchison Whampoa affairs in the form of suggestions, which everyone is happy to listen to. After all, if you use your status as a major shareholder to pressure others from the beginning, people will think that you are not familiar with the business and are eager to participate in the affairs, which is a good thing?

Lin Zhichao said: "Everyone knows that the paging business has grown rapidly in recent years, and Motorola has used cordless phones, that is, mobile phones, to make calls in 1973. Therefore, I think the future of the telecommunications business is promising, and Hutchison Whampoa should To establish Hutchison Telecommunications, we will first acquire the pager license and business to lay a solid foundation for entering a broader mobile phone business in the future."

His confident speech quickly won the recognition of some senior officials.

However, some of Wei Li's senior management didn't want Lin Zhichao to get involved in the specific business so quickly.

Therefore, Weili said: "Hutchison Whampoa has just consolidated some businesses and hastily entered new businesses. It is afraid that the pressure on financial expenditure will increase."

Lin Zhichao said: "The telecommunications industry has great prospects, and now it only needs to be gradually deployed, and the expenditure pressure will not be too great. What's more, in the process of corporate asset restructuring, it is to sell non-performing assets and strengthen investment in high-quality assets. For example, Hutchison Whampoa As it stands now, there’s actually no real escape from the predicament.”

Seeing what Lin Zhichao said, Wei Li blushed immediately. His family knew about his family affairs, even though he was called a 'company doctor'. But Hutchison Whampoa did not perform very well as Lin Zhichao said.

But Wei Li was still unconvinced and said, "Does Sir Lin have any better suggestions?"

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "There are many suggestions. For example, the loss-making harbor project should be sold, and then companies with good profits such as Watsons, Hutchison Real Estate, Junyicang, and Hebao should be privatized."

Wei Li immediately said: "I also know these suggestions from Mr. Lin, but how to achieve these goals requires huge financial support, so we can only do it step by step."

Lin Zhichao did not comment, and Wei Li also withdrew his troops.

At this time, Richard said: "Since Sir Lin suggested that there is great potential for investing in the telecommunications industry, you might as well investigate and then consider establishing Hutchison Telecommunications and adopt a cyclical and gradual approach to development."

He is Hutchison Whampoa's second-in-command and Wei Li's deputy, but he understands that Cheung Kong Group is secretly purchasing Hutchison Whampoa's shares, and it is inevitable that Lin Zhichao will serve as chairman of the board of directors. At this time, the conflict between Lin Zhichao and Wei Li will come out. Can he also replace Wei Li and become CEO?

Therefore, Richard Xin felt that he should give Lin Zhichao some face and support in exchange for Lin Zhichao's support in the future.

Next, two more senior executives, Xia Boyin and Wei Peter, made contributions, and they quickly gained everyone's approval.

Wei Li did not object, but said: "Since my colleagues think this business is good, we might as well investigate it first before making a decision."

He didn't necessarily want to go against Lin Zhichao, but he just didn't want Lin Zhichao to interfere too easily in Hutchison Whampoa affairs, especially the development of new industries.

After the board meeting, Lin Zhichao deliberately communicated privately with Hutchison Whampoa's senior executives, which made Wei Li panic. He was just a migrant worker, and senior executives such as Richard Chasin, Xia Boyin, and Peter Wei had entered Hutchison a few years earlier than him, and were senior executives in the Qi Dezun era, so everyone was not of the same mind.

Now, as a major shareholder, Lin Zhichao can easily get inside. It is no longer realistic for him to keep Lin Zhichao out. More importantly, the shareholders' meeting is about to be held, and it is still unknown whether he can be re-elected as chairman of the board of directors.

This way.

When Lin Zhichao then chatted with senior executives, he also released some information. His position as the major shareholder became more secure, and the chairman of the board of directors was also waving to him. At this time, everyone should know who is most likely to become chairman of the board of directors, between him and Wei Li, and who will stay.

Once Weili leaves, won't everyone be able to take a step up?

But Lin Zhichao couldn't leave, because how could the major shareholder leave?

All of a sudden, Richard Richard and other senior officials released a signal that everyone knew well.

After chatting for a while, Lin Zhichao left Hutchison Building with a smile. This is a high-quality Central building, close to Victoria Harbour.

This time he proposed to establish Hutchison Telecommunications, which was just a test!

Now it seems that it is certain that he will become the chairman of the board of directors. As a person without equity, Wei Li is not qualified to serve as both the chairman of the board of directors and the chief executive officer. This is something that neither the board of directors nor the general meeting of shareholders will allow.

As for Cheung Kong Group, it has been secretly purchasing Hutchison Whampoa's equity this year. It is currently close to 40%. The price is not high, because Hutchison Whampoa's market value is still more than 2 billion Hong Kong dollars.

As for his proposed privatization of Watsons, Hutchison Real Estate, Hebao and Junyicang, they are indeed very beneficial. At present, the Hang Seng Index is only 700 points, and the cost of privatization is not high. But in the next few years, these companies can have a large amount of cash flow income without risking their shareholders.

However, Hutchison Whampoa's cash flow is insufficient.

Of course, it would be very easy to privatize it after 1982!

As for its loss-making seaport enterprises, Lin Zhichao plans to arrange the sale of Hutchison Whampoa to Poly Construction of Cheung Kong Group next year to enhance the strength of construction infrastructure.

Although the seaport enterprise is in a loss-making state, it does not mean that it will continue to lose money in the future. It is still a "high-quality asset" in nature, and it just has problems in a short period of time.

Cheung Kong Group.

Lin Zhichao looked at the financial information for a while and found that the profit of Cheung Kong Group this year will exceed HK$500 million. Among them, the profit of just two "subway station buildings" was as high as 180 million.

At present, HSBC has paid HK$300 million of the 600 million acquisition price; it purchased 10% of Hutchison Whampoa's individual shares from the market for only HK$280 million.

Cheung Kong Group's cash flow by the end of 1978 is expected to reach HK$600 million, and its debt will be HK$800 million (including unpaid payments from HSBC).

Unlike other Chinese-owned real estate companies, Cheung Kong Group's asset value is very high, mainly due to its large number of commercial real estate projects. Therefore, its return on assets is still not as high as that of Sun Hung Kai, Hang Lung, and CK Hutchison Properties.

This is because the development of real estate (residential) is "asset-light". As long as you have a piece of land, you can start it with a loan, and then sell the property to get the money back. It only takes two or three years to get all the capital back, and the profit is huge.

The initial investment in commercial real estate is huge, and the return will take more than seven or eight years, so it will drag down the 'return on assets'. Of course, there are also advantages, that is, the company is stable and after long-term accumulation, the results are very good.

"Chairman"

After a while, the two deputy managing directors, Huang Changhong and Lin Ruihuan, the older and the younger, came to Lin Zhichao's office together.

The deputy managing director actually exercises the power of 'general manager', but under the command of Lin Zhichao. After Huang Changhong steps down, Lin Zhichao plans to arrange for Mai Lisi to serve as deputy managing director.

Because Zhou Huaian is good at real estate project planning and development, he is a real estate talent, and his upper limit is destined to be deputy general manager; Hu Zhaoxu is a sales talent, and Zhou Fuzhao is a financial talent.

Only Merliss is more suitable to be elected as the "second-in-command in administration" of Cheung Kong Group, while Lam Rui-wan is qualified to be the "first-in-command in administration". As for Lin Zhichao, he will mostly perform the position of chairman of the board of directors in the future.

"Well, sit down!"

Later, Lin Zhichao asked: "What is the current land price on official land?"

He hasn't participated in the official land auction for a long time. After all, he seemed a bit "not on the same level" when he went there. Unless it is land at the king level and Lin Zhichao is bound to win it, he will take action personally.

Lin Ruihuan said: "It is already very expensive! The price of residential land in Hong Kong and Kowloon is close to HK$1,000 per square foot. The price of industrial land has risen the most, reaching as high as HK$2,300 per square foot. The average price of commercial land in Central, Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui is above Thousands of Hong Kong dollars.”

Lin Zhichao said: "This industrial land has increased by about 230 times compared with 1959; while residential land and commercial land have only increased by 70 or 80 times compared with 1959."

Lin Ruihuan said: "Hong Kong's local production output is rising day by day. This year, it is likely to exceed HK$90 billion, with an average per capita of HK$20,000. In the past five years, the production value has grown by more than 12% each year. The industry is developing rapidly, so there is a demand for factory buildings. Exuberance is what leads to the growth of industrial land.”

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "In the 1980s, industries had to move to the mainland, where the cost was lower."

Huang Changhong and Lin Ruihuan both found something unusual. The chairman went to the mainland and seemed to have changed his usual attitude and was now so optimistic.

Huang Changhong asked: "The boss is very optimistic about the mainland and is he sincerely developing the economy?"

When Lin Zhichao saw that it was Huang Changhong who was asking, he didn't hide anything and roughly recounted what he saw and heard. He knew that Huang Changhong might choose to immigrate in the future because he had a son who had already immigrated to Vancouver.

Of course, these are personal choices and Lin Zhichao will not interfere.

"If this is the case, a market with a population of one billion can bring new opportunities to Hong Kong."

"Um"

Later, Lin Zhichao expressed concern: "The price of land has been much higher, and we have to suspend purchases from official land."

Both Huang Changhong and Lin Ruihuan knew that this was the chairman's usual tactic. Once the land price was too high, they would no longer buy land from official land and wait for the land to fall back.

Of course, this is also because the Cheung Kong Group has a reserve land of 1.25 million square feet, which can build 10 million square feet of floor space, which can be developed until the mid-1980s. Moreover, there are still 20 to 30 sites for sale and under construction.

Huang Changhong nodded and said, "Okay!"

Later, Lin Ruihuan told Lin Zhichao good news: "Chairman, Kwong Sang Hong invited us to cooperate to build a commercial site at the handover of Gloucester Road, Jaffe Road and Tolo Chi Road in Wan Chai. They will pay for the land and we will pay for the construction fees. Both parties 50-50 split. But they requested that the sale be carried out immediately and no rent collection should be done.”

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "No problem! Invite others to sit down and talk later, and I will participate in person."

Although people look at Cheung Kong Group for its outstanding reputation and excellent examples of cooperation with the subway company, Lin Zhichao, as the boss of Cheung Kong Group, still has to personally contact others to show his attention. Later work can be left to subordinates.

In the future, Cheung Kong Group will have many such cooperations. These are some of the benefits of cooperating with the subway company.

Cheung Kong Group does not need to pay for the purchase of land. It only needs a sum of money for foundation projects, and it can finance its war by selling off-the-plan properties. A commercial building can earn tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars in profit.

If we are developing real estate, we don’t know how many residential buildings we need to develop to make money back.