The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 159 [Weak underbelly breaking defense]

In mid-August, Lin Zhichao returned to Hong Kong from abroad, and soon flew to Japan to sell the purchased ships in person.From buying ships to selling ships, Lin Zhichao has always insisted on doing it himself, because it is a business worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This round-the-world shipping has purchased seven more ships in Europe, six of which are cargo ships of 7500-8600 tons, and one of which is 11000 tons, with a total load of 5.9 tons and a cost of 400 million US dollars, exceeding the standard again.

In addition to the 200 million US dollars loaned by HSBC, the shipping company gave another 100 million US dollars in installments, so the actual payment was only 100 million US dollars.

At the same time, the net debt of Global Shipping has reached more than 520 million US dollars (including interest), and the remaining four months are enough to earn back the excess.After all, there is currently a monthly profit of more than 140 million US dollars. If new ships are added to the operation, the monthly profit will increase to even higher.

After arriving in Japan, Lin Zhichao went straight to Sanko Steamship. Hearing that this shipping company was a bit unlucky.

And as far as Lin Zhichao knows, this shipping company had a deadweight of more than 2000 million tons at its peak in the previous life. ending.

The bloody lessons told Lin Zhichao that in the late 70s, ships should be gradually reduced, because there was a 80-year shipping cold winter in the mid-15s.Reducing ships does not mean quitting shipping, and it is still necessary to retain a small number of oil tankers and container ships.

After coming to Sanko Steamship, under the leadership of the staff, Lin Zhichao met the president of Sanko Steamship Toshio Kawamoto and other executives.

Sanko Steamship was established in 1933. At that time, there were only two ships. Toshio Kawamoto served as the president in 1937. At present, the strength of Sanko Steamship is not strong, far inferior to the million-ton class of Yamaguchi Steamship and Nippon Steamship. With a deadweight of 20 tons, there are three ships of the [-]-ton class that are chartered for global shipping.

However, Lin Zhichao knew that Toshio Kawamoto was very fond of "good luck", so first of all, he came to sell ships and strive to win big orders.

Why did he know that Toshio Kawamoto likes to make great achievements? It is mainly due to the feedback from the early contact, and the sudden explosive growth of Sanko Steamboat in later generations, and Toshio Kawamoto is still a political celebrity.

Grasp the character of the negotiating opponent, which is conducive to the success of sales.

"Mr. Lin, welcome to Sanguang Steamship."

"President Kawamoto, you welcome me, I'm relieved!"

"Haha, please take a seat."

In the conference room, the two sides sat together to communicate.

Toshio Kawamoto first brought Lin Zhichao into the army, and said: "Although we welcome Mr. Lin and everyone to come to Sanko Steamship as guests, in fact we don't have much demand for freighters." After finishing speaking, he looked at Lin Zhichao shrewdly.

The unspoken meaning of this is that now is the renter's market, and the initiative is in the hands of Sanguang Steamboat.

Lin Zhichao is in no hurry, the market is obviously still there, it's just that the opponent wants to lower the price.

"President Kawamoto, as far as I know, the world's major ports are full of goods destined for Japan, such as Atlanta in the United States, Boston in Europe, and London ports in Europe. Moreover, You also continue to accept a large number of new orders, and a large number of Japanese products are also dumped overseas. So the market is very good, President Kawamoto is too humble."

Toshio Kawamoto immediately scolded Lin Zhichao as a "little fox". Of course, he wanted to rent the freighter and put it into transportation to earn more money.Originally, he was still conservative in the development of shipping, but with the cheaper ships leased to Sanguang Steamship by Global Shipping, this made him see a way to develop shipping without spending too much money.

Chartering ships for global shipping only needs to pay 75% of the current market price every month, and it is paid once a month; Sanguang Steamship uses the rented ships to undertake transportation orders from Japan, and the profits are very high.He is optimistic about this development model, and there is no need to worry too much about foreign exchange.

Of course, Toshio Kawamoto also knew that he should bargain again.

"If the price is reasonable, we certainly don't mind taking the risk of leasing a few boats," Kawamoto said with a smile.

It would be nice to say this earlier and get straight to the point.

Lin Zhichao said: "One 1-ton cargo ship, three 1.1-ton cargo ships. What do you think?"

Although Sanko Steamship is not as good as Yamaguchi Steamship and Nippon Steamship, it still has strength, so it is best to sell them to them.Lin Zhichao is also worried about bankruptcy and reputation when renting to other Japanese shipping companies.

Large and medium-sized shipping companies like Sanko Steamship will not go bankrupt because of cargo ships of tens of thousands of tons, not to mention that Japan's economy has developed so fast in recent years that there is no shortage of goods to be shipped.

Toshio Kawamoto communicated with the executives, and then he said, "How many years do you want to rent?"

Lin Zhichao said: "Four years!"

Toshio Kawamoto immediately said: "If this is a long-term contract, I need to consider the risks!"

Lin Zhichao immediately said flatteringly: "Based on Japan's economic situation, not to mention four years, even ten years is due to a period of rapid development. Japanese products are now being dumped all over the world, and you don't have enough resources. The required capacity is huge. So President Kawamoto, don’t worry about the risk.”

For a while, several Japanese could no longer control their emotions and showed complacent expressions.

Lin Zhichao said the facts, but he deliberately missed one thing, that is, the increase in shipping capacity will lead to a drop in shipping prices.Of course, if it is a long-term lease, Sanguang Steamship will not be at a disadvantage, because the price is cheap enough, even in 1955, it may be the same price as a short-term lease.

What global shipping wants is "the ship keeps sailing, never stops". Only in this point, it can earn a lot more money than those short-term one-way charters.Under normal market conditions, those short distances may have to stay in the port for a week or even longer after transportation, which is too much time wasted in a year.

After some communication, Toshio Kawamoto and others said, "Okay, we can rent your four ships, but the rent can only be 220 million US dollars a year."

This price is considered low for this market, only about 70%.

These four ships were purchased by Global Shipping at a price of 225 million US dollars, excluding interest.

The lower the price and the more ships, the higher the operating cost. Therefore, if calculated based on the rent of 220 million US dollars, the gross profit margin is almost less than 150 million US dollars.It cannot be considered as major repair and major insurance, otherwise it cannot be calculated.

It took a full year and a half to pay back!

This is true for old ships, but if it is a new ship, it will take five years to pay back the cost, and it must be under the condition of good shipping conditions.

Of course, before the mid-80s, shipping was indeed very good, even if there was a "Small Cold Winter (1958~1961)", it would not bankrupt the shipping company.After World War II, shipping will usher in 40 years of shipping business, and it is precisely because of this that so many shipping kings have emerged.

Lin Zhichao said in embarrassment: "President Kawamoto, the gap between 220 million US dollars a year and the market price is too big. Last time, the three ships were also 220 million US dollars. This time, there are not only four ships, but also 2 tons more in total tonnage. .Add some more, how about 240 million dollars a year?"

Even with the same tonnage, if there is one more ship, the price will be much higher; the reason is simple, the price of a 1-ton freighter is the sum of the prices of two much smaller 5000-ton ships.

One more ship means that tasks can be performed more flexibly.

As for the cost of oil and coal, I'm sorry, the Americans control Saudi Arabia tightly, and oil prices are very cheap in this era.Saudi Arabia does not have the right to extract oil at this time, and European and American oil companies are extracting oil from the Middle East, and they just pay the Saudi royal family a certain "royalty mining fee".But that little money is no different from sending beggars.

There are also benefits, because the world's oil is relatively cheap, which is conducive to the development of the global economy.

The price between the two parties was discussed back and forth, and finally reached a price of 230 million to 235 US dollars a year, but Lin Zhichao was a little embarrassed.

Seeing that Lin Zhichao, who has always been decisive in making profits, hesitated, Toshio Kawamoto also knew that they were 'taking advantage' this time, so he took the initiative to say: "Everyone has worked hard for a long time, why don't we have a party at night and formally sign the contract tomorrow?"

Seeing this, Lin Zhichao also said, "Okay, thank you President Kawamoto for your hospitality."

In fact, he is already very satisfied with the price, so what if it takes a year and a half to pay back. After another year, other short-term renters may have to pay back more than two years.Compared with them, his long-term lease is already very profitable.

Moreover, the timing of this long-term contract is the most appropriate, because when it expires, it is the time when Suez is closed.At that time, Toshio Kawamoto may take the initiative to offer 500 to 600 million US dollars a year. If he rents for three years, he will make a lot of money.

It doesn't matter if you don't have enough US dollars. Global shipping can all accept Japanese yen. I'm afraid everyone will be happy at that time.

Therefore, Lin Zhichao's embarrassment at this time was just intentional.Toshio Kawamoto bargained fiercely, so he naturally had to put on a show, but in fact he was smiling.

The banquet was held in a geisha hall. In fact, Lin Zhichao was very opposed to this kind of banquet. First, he did not appreciate the geisha who came to Japan. Second, he believed that going to a geisha hall was a kind of indulgence. own behavior.

In particular, Lin Zhichao pays great attention to the company's clean and honest image, but if he refuses this kind of banquet, it is inevitable that the relationship with customers will not be good; in fact, when overseas customers come to Hong Kong, important customers will also make Lin Zhichao move. Accompanied by drinks and now golf.

So sometimes, he can only maintain his image at a minimum. During this kind of business banquet, Lin Zhichao will check whether his subordinates are carried away and whether they are unruly.If the subordinates are greedy for enjoyment and do not seduce women, it means that this person cannot be cultivated.

After all, he already has a weakness and can be easily targeted.Although Lin Zhichao is currently doing global shipping by himself, sooner or later Lin Zhichao will reduce his workload. Naturally, what he needs is someone he trusts.

During the banquet.

Everyone sat on the ground, Toshio Kawamoto clapped his hands, and a mother-san came to him, and then he muttered a few words, and mother-san nodded quickly.

After a while, girls in kimonos came to the room one after another and sat in front of everyone.

What made Lin Zhichao frown a little was that the two kimono girls beside him didn't seem to be. Anyway, they felt so young, like students studying.

He was targeted!
Toshio Hemoto said with a smile: "Mr. Lin is really the youngest of all of us. I think that although you are a person who has made a big business, you must be someone who understands these two ladies better. It is just right for them to serve Mr. Lin for dinner."

Mom Sang did not forget to recommend: "Maki and Maki are part-time jobs. They are still studying and earning tuition fees. If you can't serve the adults well, you two sisters will have no tuition fees!"

"le"

KAO!
Lin Zhichao almost didn't go berserk, this group of people had bad intentions, they wanted to see their boss embarrassing in front of Lin Zhichao's subordinates.

This is Chi Guoguo's framing!

Attacking Lin Zhichao's weakness, he really likes younger, good sisters or something.

However, he is a gentleman.

"It's okay, it's just a meal. The important thing is that President Kawamoto and I are good friends, so you don't need to see each other too much!" Lin Zhichao is a person who has seen the world after all, first nodded to Maki and Maki lightly, and then Said to Toshio Kawamoto friendly.

During this process, he was not chaotic at all, showing that a gentleman is magnanimous, and he did not offend his partners.

Toshio Kawamoto said with a smile: "Of course, then let's start!"

After he separated from Lin Zhichao and others today, he began to make arrangements for the familiar geisha hall to prepare 'dishes'.After all, if he can successfully complete the contract with 230 million US dollars, he can also save 5 US dollars.

And the 'tuition fee' is only a few dollars, enough to support one thousand dollars.

Maki and Maki were really young, and they were very nervous about pouring wine and picking up vegetables, so that Toshio Kawamoto once showed a displeased expression, his eyes seemed to be blaming the two girls for not serving his guests well.

As a result, Maki and Maki became even more nervous.

"It's okay, my younger sister is about the same age as you, but she is happier than you and doesn't need to worry about tuition fees." Lin Zhichao made a rescue in time.

Seeing this, Toshio Hemoto no longer murdered the two women.

Maki and Maki were very grateful immediately, and relaxed a little bit. Both of them were forced by life to come to this geisha hall to work. The mother who recruited them said that they only need to accompany the guests to eat, and then they can get Sufficient salary, tuition fee is nothing more than a small problem.The two daughters were raised by their mothers since they were young. Baba died in the war, and life was relatively difficult.

Fortunately, the meal was finished without any risk, and Lin Zhichao returned to the hotel with his staff satisfied.

"dong dong"

Not long after returning to the hotel, there was a knock on the door of Lin Zhichao's room.

"who is it?"

"Boss, the two Japanese ladies came to see you at the banquet today."

Xue Junshan's words sounded at the door, which gave Lin Zhichao a headache. This Toshio Kawamoto is not giving up!

Open the door.

Inviting Maki and Maki into the room, Lin Zhichao instantly saw the panic of the two women, obviously he had been threatened beforehand.

The two are not tall, and they still wear JK clothes. Although they are sisters, one has a sweet appearance and the other has a cute appearance. They belong to two styles of Japanese female high schools.

"Someone forced you to come to my room?"

"No no"

"That's weird, what are you doing in my room?"

"We need money, and they said they would give us $1000 just to come to your place. So, Mr. Lim, please don't drive us away. Please!"

Lin Zhichao understood the reason of the matter, first let Xue Junshan leave, and then invited Maki and Maki to sit on the sofa.

He first took out 1000 U.S. dollars and handed them to the two, saying: "Here is 1000 U.S. dollars, you can leave immediately!"

Maki and Maki immediately panicked and said, "No, we can't leave!"

Their originally sweet and lovely faces became a little panicked.

Lin Zhichao hesitated!
The two sisters are only seven or eight similar in growth, but they are twins. Could it be that they have telepathy.

But soon, he stabilized his mind.

You can't make mistakes!

However, they cannot be driven away. After all, this is an irresponsible behavior. Ordinary Japanese people in this era cannot afford to offend the rich and powerful.

"Why did your parents ask you to come out to earn tuition fees? Don't they know how to go to work?" Lin Zhichao sat across from each other on the sofa, intending to understand the situation and take it as a relief from embarrassment.

"Our Baba died in the war, and there is a younger brother in the family, so..."

"What? Your Baba died in the war, so your Baba is a soldier?"

Seeing Lin Zhichao's unkind expression, Maki and Maki suddenly panicked again, and suddenly felt that they shouldn't have made this mistake.

But it's too late now!

Under Lin Zhichao's angry eyes, they could only nod their heads and said, "I'm sorry!"

Then, the sisters Qiqi knelt in front of Lin Zhichao, bowed their heads and admitted their mistake.

Lin Zhichao said angrily: "Since you committed a crime, you have to bear the consequences!"

After finishing speaking, Lin Zhichao packed up Maki and Maki angrily. It was not until two hours later that he realized whether he had overreacted.

So, he pretended to be a good guy again, comforted Maki and Maki, and finally the three of them fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, morning.

Lin Zhichao took out 3000 US dollars in cash, handed them to Maki and Maki, and said, "This money should be enough for you to complete your studies, and as long as you reveal that I will support you to finish college, then no one will come to you again." Trouble, you can no longer be threatened. Do you understand?"

To be honest, due to the short time we spent together, he didn't know the two girls well, but since it was already a bloody reality, he continued to be a good person.

Sister Zhenji immediately said boldly: "Is it because they are afraid of you?"

Lin Zhichao shook his head with a smile and said, "It's not that I'm afraid of me, it's because we are partners, and they won't offend me for the two of you. In fact, you are insignificant in the eyes of big shots. They have used you and achieved their goal But without my signature, you may continue to fall into the abyss, with more people, there are ugly big fat people, there are old men with sores on their faces."

"do not want!"

Maki and Maki were suddenly scared and hugged each other, trembling.

"So, you have to learn to use me! If someone pesters you again, just say that I have promised to sponsor you to complete your studies, so that they won't bother you anymore."

Zhenji let go of his sister at this time, came to Lin Zhichao, took his arm, and said, "Mr. Lin, can we see you next time?"

Lin Zhichao took a look at Maki, she was really sweet, and she was so cute; and then she looked at Maki, she was so cute, and she had little rabbit teeth, so cute.

"Not necessarily, you can give me a contact address and method, if there is fate, I will come to see you!"

Both women know that Lin Zhichao is a big ship owner in Hong Kong and has very strong capital. In addition, Lin Zhichao is young and handsome, so they already have a heart of dependence.

However, Lin Zhichao didn't think about it, so he kept it as a spare.

Zhen Ji saw that Lin Zhichao might not necessarily look for them, but felt reluctant. A few thousand dollars might be enough for them to study, but she also wanted to know such a big man as Lin Zhichao, not to mention that this man took away her most precious things.

So, Zhen Ji hugged him even tighter, and said coquettishly: "Mr. Lin, please come to us, you have helped us so much, we want to thank you. If... If you don't come to us, I am worried about those people Will come and threaten us. So, please!"

Lin Zhichao frowned, this real story is not simple, it is a bit scheming.

Instead, Maki just blushed and remained silent.

"Yes! But you must draw a clear line with them. If you go to the geisha hall again, I will look down on you in the future."

"Hah, it hurts!"

Lin Zhichao looked at Zhenji, maybe it was really painful, but it was obviously a little pretended.

Afterwards, Lin Zhichao simply arranged for the two of them, and he tidied up his clothes and prepared to sign a contract.

The two women should not be seen by his subordinates, so as not to affect his image.

As for the Sanguang Steamship, 230 million US dollars a year is not bad, just go down this slope.

(End of this chapter)