The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 156 [Buy, buy, buy]

Lin Zhichao and Hu Zhaoxu came to Yau Ma Tei Public Square Street, which was later called "Zhongfang Street".

When the Hong Kong British government built this street in 1887, it named it "Public Square Street" based on this square, which meant "public square", but the Chinese name was mistranslated as "public square street".

After arriving at the site, Lin Zhichao took a detailed look at the land in front of him and evaluated the development prospects of this 17-square-foot land.

According to Lin Zhichao's speculation, after the adoption of the "New Residential Development Regulations" in 1955, the "lot ratio" of this land can reach about 6 to 8 times, that is, a minimum residential floor of 100 million square feet can be built. A unit of 800~1000 square feet can build about 1200 residential units.

The average price of a unit is more than 2.5 Hong Kong dollars, which is a sales price of 3000 million.The land is currently about 20 yuan per square foot, the land price is about 350 million Hong Kong dollars, and the construction cost plus taxes is 800 million to 1000 million; then, the profit of only one project is more than 1500 million Hong Kong dollars, which may be far more than that.

Take it, you can take it!
Lin Zhichao quickly judged that the east side of the public Sifang Street is a large park and square, which is very close to the Yau Ma Tei Police Station, and the west side is the public pier.In addition, this piece of land is large enough to build real private housing estates, which became the first shot to stir up property prices in Hong Kong after the "New Residential Development Ordinance" was passed.

On the contrary, the land on Paterson Street in Causeway Bay can be used as the focus of the "sale of uncompleted flats" in 1956.Among them, the commercial part is naturally reserved for Changjiang Real Estate to collect rent.

"Who is the owner of this land?" Lin Zhichao asked.

"The Kadoorie family," Hu Zhaoxu said.

Lin Zhichao was a little surprised. The Kadoorie family owns quite a lot of land properties. The commercial land of the "Hong Kong Hotel" on Pedder Street is also owned by the Kadoorie family.The land in the hands of these old families and foreign firms is really enviable.

Of course, Lin Zhichao will soon become a big landlord in Hong Kong, because he has decided to buy land at a large scale this year.

Recently, he calculated: when the rent is collected in July this year, Global Shipping is theoretically free of debt; in the remaining five months, there will be a monthly profit of 140 to 150 million US dollars, which is a full 700 million US dollars. profit.Global Shipping's expansion target for this year is only 5 tons, and the capital needs to be about 350 million US dollars.

Therefore, Lin Zhichao will spend 300 million US dollars to buy land this year, which is nearly 1700 million Hong Kong dollars.

The sooner he buys it in his hand, the sooner he can rest assured.

"I don't have much contact with the Kadoorie family, so I will leave this matter to you and the lawyer to discuss. In short, this land is good. It must be very good to buy it to develop a large private housing estate."

"Okay, I'll get in touch right away."

The Kadoorie family currently operates CLP Power, the Peak Tramway, and the Grand Hotel Group. It is the largest Jewish family in Hong Kong, with strong financial resources and assets of hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars.

Although his wealth is strong, Lin Zhichao is not worried about not selling it. These old-fashioned families are not good at real estate development, and their land is gradually sold; only in the 80s and [-]s did they wake up. People cooperate to develop, at least the land will not be sold.

The piece of land that Lin Zhichao is looking at seems to have been bought by Airship Tai in his previous life, and then 100 five-storey tenement buildings were built, which is really a bit wasteful.

Now that he has taken a fancy to him, let's take the first step, anyway, Hong Kong has a lot of land.

After winning this piece of land first, continue to look for the next target. In short, we must vigorously store land this year, and we must not let it go next year.

"Boss, there was an official land auction recently, and there was a piece of land at No. 10 Ice Factory Street, a commercial land with an area of ​​about 9800 square feet." Hu Zhaoxu added.

A map suddenly appeared in Lin Zhichao's mind. He was very familiar with Hong Kong's geographical location and properties, so he quickly asked, "Is it surrounded by Landmark properties?"

"Yes, the Gloucester Building and the Imperial Household Building are nearby, and the Bank of East Asia is right next to Des Voeux Road." Hu Zhaoxu was very well prepared.

The main reason is that Lin Zhichao communicated with him that this year he will buy a large amount of residential land and commercial land, and the residential land will buy a larger area.

"There, I understand. When the time comes, I will go to the auction house and try to get it."

"Um"

This piece of land is small, and it is estimated that the building will not be too high in the future. It can have [-] or [-] floors, and the floor area is only about [-] square feet.

To be honest, this kind of building is not considered a beautiful building, but the location is good. It is the commercial center of Central, and the future prospects are very good.

Importantly, Lin Zhichao planned to build a 'Uniqlo' building in the late 50s to serve as the headquarters of the clothing industry, which is enough.

Of course, although it is the headquarters of a certain company, most of the office buildings must be rented out.

In such a short period of time, Lin Zhichao also felt very satisfied to have two land purchase directions.

He doesn’t have to worry about the funds, the two lands add up to about 600 million Hong Kong dollars, and the global shipping can pay more than half of the money this month (April); and the residential land on the public Square Street must be paid in installments. Even if you don’t pay in installments, the crocodile shirt has nearly one million Hong Kong dollars in the account, and the Yangtze River zipper has 4 million Hong Kong dollars, so it’s okay to borrow it for the time being.

A week later, the Hong Kong government's auction.

Lin Zhichao participated in the auction with two subordinates in a low-key way. He has never shown his skills in the auction.At this time, Hong Kong’s income from land sales is not high, only about 2000 million Hong Kong dollars a year. This is because Hong Kong’s fiscal revenue does not currently mainly rely on real estate.At the same time, the land market is not very good.

Of course, even so, the Hong Kong government will take out several pieces of land for auction every year, but almost all of them are foreign firms and compradors of foreign firms showing their skills.There were many foreign firms in Hong Kong at this time, but they were gradually annexed by their own people in later generations, and then by Chinese capital; ', the former comprador of Jardine Matheson, the 'Ho Tung Family', etc., are all wealthy, and there is more than one comprador in a foreign firm.

Generally speaking, after these foreign firms and compradors buy the land, they generally collect rent after construction.If the Chinese hadn't developed the "stratification and installment sale", I am afraid that these people would still rule the real estate in Hong Kong.

With "stratification and installment", there will be wealthy Chinese businessmen in later generations. Otherwise, how can we catch up with foreign firms, compradors, and old-fashioned families!Because these people's thinking cannot be changed, and they dare not take risks, they can only watch the younger generation grow up.

Entering the auction, Lin Zhichao and his party found a seat in a low-key manner, and there were many foreigners inside, but they hardly knew each other; even if they met, they were still unfamiliar, so they didn't say hello.

Soon, they arrived at No. [-] Snow Factory Street.

Auctioneer: "This is a piece of land located at No. 10 Ice Factory Street. The current low price is 170 million Hong Kong dollars, and the price increase is no less than 1 Hong Kong dollars. Let's start!"

Lin Zhichao didn't join in the first time, but observed the situation in the field. Time passed by, and soon there were only three or four teams left to compete.

Huh, unexpectedly there was a person Lin Zhichao happened to know in the bidding, named Liang Xianli, a comprador of Jardine Matheson and a member of the Shunde Chamber of Commerce, but he didn't have a high sense of existence, and he didn't seem to care about the Chamber of Commerce.

Seeing this, Lin Zhichao began to raise his placard.

"200 million Hong Kong dollars"

For a while, many people looked at Lin Zhichao and the others, and it turned out to be a new face.

The auction continues.

Soon, the price had risen to 230 million Hong Kong dollars, and only Liang Xianli and Lin Zhichao were left at the auction.

Lin Zhichao has a price in mind, that is, it cannot exceed 260 million Hong Kong dollars, so he is very calm.

On the other side, Liang Xianli also noticed that Lin Zhichao was competing with him, and muttered, "Why is it him!"

Lin Zhichao's name, there is no reason why he does not know, he is Hong Kong's new ship king. So in terms of strength, Liang Xianli is already guilty.

"240"

"242"

"250"

"255"

"No. 16, congratulations, deal"

Just when Lin Zhichao was about to give up, he did not expect Liang Xianli to withdraw voluntarily, obviously he was even less confident.

Lin Zhichao, on the other hand, believes that there are more choices, and this is only the early 50s.

Of course, he also had to admit that the territory of Hong Kong at this time should be higher than that of the same period in his previous life.Because the staging has already appeared (the stratification in the previous life appeared in 1948, and the staging appeared in 1954), if it weren't for the Peninsular War, Hong Kong real estate should have been much better.

Of course, if you can't build high-rise buildings, everything is restricted.

However, if the government approves the building of high-rise buildings, land prices in Hong Kong will skyrocket before the plan is finally passed.So don't look at the current land price of just over 20 Hong Kong dollars, I am afraid that in five years' time, the residential land price will be at least 100 Hong Kong dollars per square foot.

"Lin Sheng, I didn't expect to see you at the auction, congratulations!" After the auction, Liang Xianli came to the door and said.

Lin Zhichao hurriedly said politely: "I promise, Mr. Liang. To be honest, if you shout one or two more times, I will give up."

Liang Xianli immediately said: "Haha, it seems that I missed the opportunity, but it doesn't matter, I also got a piece of land I like. Although the location is not as good, it is big enough."

He really felt that he was definitely not as good as Lin Zhichao in terms of wealth, and if he continued to fight, he might not only offend others, but might not win the fight.

"Well, congratulations. To be honest, I want to build a building so that my company won't lease the property as an office. If I build it myself, I should be able to save a little."

"It makes sense. I think so too. Building a building to collect rent is a good investment."

The two were polite, so as not to hurt their peace just now, and finally both of them left the auction house with a smile.

The piece of land that Liang Xianli auctioned off was in Sheung Wan. Although it was big enough, it was already out of Central. I'm afraid he would regret it later.

At the end of April, Lin Zhichao returned to Hong Kong from Japan. During his trip to Japan, he stayed for a full week and signed contracts with three shipping companies. The nine ships had a "four-year ownership".

The full load capacity of these nine ships is 8.5 tons, which will expire in May 1956.At that time, no matter what, it is impossible to sign a long-term contract, and can only run a short distance for a few months.There is always a reason, and it won't offend anyone, at worst a little 'discount'.

When Suez was closed, the Japanese shipping company still asked him to pay a high price for a long-term lease.The "30% reduction" of ships in the world has a very large impact, and the annual rent is at least three times that of 1955, according to Lin Zhichao's guess.

Lin Zhichao, along with his lawyer and his staff, came to the conference room of CLP Power.

"Mr. Rowlands"

"Mr. Lin"

After the greeting, everyone sat at the conference table, ready to complete the signing.The price was negotiated between the lawyer and his subordinates. Originally, Lin Zhichao and Lawrence Kadoorie did not need to come forward, but they both chose to sign the contract in person.

After all, both sides are 'big shots' with heads and faces, and they give each other a face.

Lawrence Kadoorie was born in 1899. He is a figure of the last century. He is 53 years old this year and is a standard rich second generation. With 500 Hong Kong dollars, it has gained a foothold in Hong Kong.

The Jews seem to understand the principle of money making money, and Eli Kadoorie quickly invested the money he earned.In cooperation with his friends, he founded the Chunghwa Electric Power Company in 1903.Although the power of generators was very small back then, and only a few foreigners in Hong Kong could use electric lights, the clever Kadoorie had foreseen that the electric power industry was an industry with great development potential.He concentrated on focusing on China Power Corporation. In 1906, Yili Kadoorie purchased a large amount of shares in the Hong Kong Shanghai Hotel and became a major shareholder.

Eli Kadoorie established Sir Kadoorie & Sons in 1926 as the family's holding company.Before World War II, the Kadoorie family's business developed rapidly, involving industries such as electricity, real estate, trade, finance, hotels, and cable cars. Its business even expanded to major cities such as Guangdong and Shanghai in the Mainland. In the late 20s, the Kadoorie family invested US$40 to build one of the most luxurious hotels in Asia at that time - The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.When the Peninsula Hotel was completed, there were many crowns and buildings, and the grand occasion was unprecedented.The Kadoorie family became famous both at home and abroad because of this, and became a well-known prominent family in Hong Kong.

"Mr. Lin, there is a problem with this land. It is full of rotten iron, rotten objects, and there are many tenants. So if you want to develop buildings, you may need some energy." Lawrence reminded 'kindly'.

Why is he so kind? Anyway, it was Lin Zhichao who proposed the purchase, and now that the price has been negotiated, he proposed it at this time as a favor.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "We are used to this kind of trouble, and if we talk about it slowly, it will make sense."

In this era, there is no tenant court, and there are often many households living on one floor, so it is more troublesome than demolition in later generations.But obviously, everyone will use some 'third-party demolition', and naturally someone is willing to solve the trouble.

However, after all, Hong Kong is a bit smaller, so Cheung Kong has to pay attention to the influence, so at the beginning it is mainly persuasion, then "reminders", and finally there is no way to use "unique tricks" - outsourcing and temporary workers.

Fortunately, Changjiang Industrial is not in a hurry to develop, so they have time to deal with these things.

Lawrence smiled and said, "That's good! Then let's formally sign the contract!"

The price of 17.2 square meters of land is 352 million Hong Kong dollars, and the average price is only a little over 20 Hong Kong dollars per square foot.

In the office of Cheung Kong Properties (Cheung Kong Properties), Lin Zhichao is sitting with Tang Caiyun in the office, and Tang Caiyun has officially become a senior executive of Cheung Kong (casual work).

"This month is very powerful. I bought two pieces of land at once, a total of more than 600 million! Husband, what do you think?" Tang Caiyun asked curiously.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "This year, I will buy more than 1500 million Hong Kong dollars in land and properties. I want to take advantage of the cheap land and hurry up to reserve it."

Tang Caiyun got up, came behind Lin Zhichao, and rubbed his shoulders for him.

"Store up?"

Lin Zhichao was amused immediately, and joked: "What's the matter? Do you feel pressured, the second room is going to ride on top of the big room!"

Tang Caiyun blushed, thankfully Lin Zhichao didn't look back and saw her embarrassing scene.

Although she and Xu Caiying are sisters, the problem now is that the global shipping assets are far greater than the Yangtze River system.So in her heart, she was more or less anxious.It's not that I'm jealous of Xu Caiying, but I think the Yangtze River system can also develop.

"How can there be! Besides, our sisters have never been so clear since childhood, and they are not so clear now."

"Ha ha"

"It's disgusting, don't you believe it?"

"no!"

Having children is definitely different, this is Lin Zhichao's opinion.

In fact, Tang Caiyun and Xu Caiying asked Lin Zhichao not to mention those things many times. The first is that Lin Zhichao is still very young, and the second is that the relationship between the two women is very good, so there is no need to think about those things now.

However, what Lin Zhichao said is that the company will help him when he grows up, and it is not a matter of succession.

Afterwards, Lin Zhichao said: "I'll tell you today, the plan of Cheung Kong Industrial, you just keep it in your heart, remember to keep it secret!"

Tang Caiyun nodded, she knew that Lin Zhichao liked to arrange everything well.

"The land and properties we are buying now will not be developed for the time being. This is called strategic reserve land. As for when will it be developed?"

"First, the regional war ended, Hong Kong resumed its import and export, and its industry developed."

"Second and most importantly, Hong Kong now has a population of more than 250 million, and the living environment is very poor. It is certain that after the war, the Hong Kong government will consider the issue of housing. So I think that Hong Kong's housing will It is allowed to build high-rise buildings, such as 20-story residential buildings. Think about it, if you can build 5 floors, now you can build 20 floors, how much more will you earn?"

Although it is not a simple multiplication of multiples, after all, it is also related to the "lot ratio", but it is certain that at least the floor area will be doubled.

Tang Caiyun immediately asked: "You mean, once the Hong Kong government passes the 'High-rise Building Regulations', we will immediately withdraw the funds in advance through the 'sale of uncompleted properties' for construction costs?"

This is her husband's ability to start a family, and she is also familiar with it.

"That's right! It's even possible to operate like this. As long as I get the building approval, I can set up a simple sales office on the land and start selling the house immediately. I don't need to prepare a penny for the construction fee, and I can build the house."

"What's more, even the land fee can be paid as a down payment, and then directly start preparing to buy a property."

Tang Caiyun was surprised, and said: "Then everyone can come in and do real estate?"

Lin Zhichao said: "As long as you are brave enough, you can do it! But precisely because the threshold is not high, there may be a short-term sharp drop, and there will be many people who lose their fortunes. Therefore, our land is the current reserve land. Any situation can be dealt with. In short, real estate seems to be very profitable, and it is easy to lose money, so it is best to be cautious.”

Tang Caiyun clicked her tongue secretly, and said, "It seems that there is still a lot of knowledge in real estate."

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "As long as it is stable, it is almost impossible to lose money. Assuming that the loan is as small as possible, then there is no loss. Because in the next few decades, the house price will always grow, even if it suddenly drops by 50%. But it will go up again in a few years.”

Tang Caiyun secretly kept it in her heart, she would write it down when her husband said this.

Later, Lin Zhichao told Tang Caiyun about the general plan of five lands: Paterson Street, Orchard Road, Sing Tao, Kowloon Public Square Street, No. 77 Des Voeux Road Central, and No. 10 Ice House Street.

"Remember, don't tell it, as long as the two of you know it!"

"Well, my husband"

"Call the general manager"

"General manager's husband"

Lin Zhichao played Tang Caiyun mischievously, so he pulled her into his arms and stroked her slime.

In the end, it was Tang Caiyun who was thin-skinned and gave Lin Zhichao a taste of the sweetness, so she quickly avoided and straightened her clothes.

(End of this chapter)