The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 243 [New official takes office]

After the Spring Festival.

Lin Zhichao came to the Yangtze River Industry Group and read the financial statements in the office.In 1957, the profit of the Yangtze River Industries Group was 8600 million Hong Kong dollars, the investment quota was 2800 million Hong Kong dollars, and the net inflow account was 5800 million Hong Kong dollars; together with the previous working capital, the Yangtze River Industries Group already had a deposit of 1.2 million Hong Kong dollars.

Money has no place to spend!
This is Lin Zhichao's current troubles, including global shipping, which can only be stored in the account to earn interest.

Global Shipping and Yangtze River Industries Group, these two groups make money in foreign exchange, which makes Lin Zhichao proud.

In the previous life, Li Jiacheng was the only one of the four major families in Hong Kong who made his fortune through industry, so his final achievements and vision were also high, and he was not limited to the real estate business.

And in this life, Lin Zhichao's Changjiang Industrial Group is enough to add to his heritage.

"Boss, Manager Tao has gained a lot in the United States. Some distributors have chosen our Changjiang Plastic Factory as a partner after hearing the report from Qi Ai Company. It is estimated that we can increase orders by several million dollars." Deputy General Manager Wang Liang Reported the latest good news.

Of course, Lin Zhichao said calmly: "It's best if there is a harvest from this matter. If there is no harvest, it can also promote the welfare of Hong Kong workers. Don't worry too much! Moreover, this matter will not really affect Qi Ai Company, so we also Stop paying attention, and focus on your own quality and technology."

Wang Liang nodded and said, "That makes sense! There are currently 500 plastic flower factories in Hong Kong, and the number is still increasing. The competition in this industry is really fierce." There was already some worry in his words.

Lin Zhichao also understands this. In the peak period of the previous life, there were said to be 3000 plastic flower factories in Hong Kong. As a result, as soon as a large number of factories were born, the plastic flower industry declined, and a large number of factories had to close down.

"The machinery and equipment of the plastic flower can also produce some parts of the toy, and this part of the investment is not a loss."

Wang Liang thought for a while and asked a question: "Boss, according to the scale of Changjiang Plastic Flower, theoretically we need a lot of workers, but our labor costs are relatively high; and if we adopt a large number of OEMs, we will also lose part of our profits; With the establishment of a large number of small plastic factories, the profit margin is gradually decreasing. Therefore, I think it is better to gradually increase the number of permanent workers to 6000. Maybe 8000 to 10000 people are needed. Although the cost of workers is higher, at least it is cheaper than the generation You can earn more money.”

Lin Zhichao thought for a while, and then said: "It is feasible, and there is nothing wrong with adjusting the strategy according to the specific situation!"

From time to time, he still underestimated the scale of the plastic flower industry. At first he thought that 3000 formal workers would be enough, and the part that was not enough could seek OEM.

Now it seems that in two or three years, even 6000 people will be unstoppable. I am afraid that the OEM factories will need to be dozens of large, and a total of five to six thousand workers will be used.

Calculated in this way, the Yangtze River Plastic Factory may be able to support tens of thousands of workers, and it is easy to support 6000 people.

At present, Changjiang Plastic Factory implements the 'two shifts' working mode, otherwise the cost of the machine will be high.

"Okay, I'll have a meeting with Manager Tao and others to discuss it later."

"Um"

After Wang Liang left, Lin Zhichao thought about it.

The popularity of the plastic flower industry will fade in 1967, because the Suez Canal was closed at that time, and the cost of freight increased greatly (the cost of oil freight increased, and the cost of raw materials increased; when the plastic flower was exported, the freight also increased); until the oil crisis in 1973 , Plastic flower products are almost destroyed, because the raw materials of plastic flowers are petroleum derivatives.

Combining this information, Changjiang Plastics Factory could consider the "main OEM model" in 1963 and gradually reduce the investment in labor and equipment.

So there are still seven or eight years to 'make money', and it is expected to earn about 2 million.With the addition of the 'wig industry', a profit of 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars has been booked in the future.

As for the zipper industry and the toy industry, these are long-term businesses that can be transferred to mainland China to invest in factories in the future.

The suitcase and instant noodle industries will be handed over to Cheung Kong Industries.

At the end of February, Hong Kong ushered in a new Governor of Hong Kong, Robert Parker. This is the original Governor of Sing Tao. He also served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong in the early 2s and served as acting Governor three times.

Ge Lianghong resigned in December last year. The governor of Hong Kong usually has a vacuum period, and the chief secretary acts as the governor of Hong Kong. Therefore, among the three divisions in Hong Kong, the chief secretary is really under one person. Whenever the governor of Hong Kong is on vacation, the governor The Secretary of State then acted as Governor of Hong Kong.

Lin Zhichao also participated in Bai Liji's tenure activities, and he didn't have any opinions in his heart. It doesn't matter whoever is the governor.Moreover, the governor of Hong Kong has made many contributions in his previous life. For example, he took back Hong Kong's independent financial power and no longer had to report to London; Adopted a "free market"-led economic policy, which gradually developed into a "positive non-intervention policy" in the future, and was pursued by successive financial secretaries.

For businessmen, this policy is simply a 'paradise'. The Hong Kong government does not interfere with commercial activities. This is a 'survival of the fittest' business society.

To give an example: In his previous life, Li Jiacheng publicly opposed the restrictions on the 'freedom of capital entry and exit in Hong Kong', which was a rare time for him to stand up.

Similarly, for Lin Zhichao in this life, the most important thing is the 'freedom of capital access'.The reason is obvious, not to mention anything else, if there is an overseas investment project, he can get the funds in place within one day without being affected by 'foreign exchange restrictions'.

At the dinner that night, Bai Liji deliberately chatted with Lin Zhichao a few more times.Such behavior also made the guests aware of Lin Zhichao's influence.

Bai Liji said humorously: "Mr. Lin, I have only been away from Hong Kong for three years, and you have changed the fastest!"

He is down-to-earth and has a sense of humor. His more than 20 years of service in the colony has brought him a lot of experience. He knows how to manage a colony, that is, to establish a relationship with the local 'chaebol'.

Because almost all the upper echelons in Hong Kong are British. They understand the local situation in Hong Kong.

Lin Zhichao also responded humorously: "It's not that I am changing quickly, but that the Governor of Hong Kong once served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong and laid a solid foundation for Hong Kong's industry. Therefore, Hong Kong's industry has developed rapidly in recent years."

People around couldn't help sighing that Lin Zhichao's ability to "climb to relationships" is really very strong.

During the period from 1952.2 to 1955.3, Robert Black served as the Chief Secretary (Council Secretary) of Hong Kong. His main job was to assist the then Governor Sir Grantham in dealing with economic affairs.The situation at that time was very complicated. The financial burden brought by the influx of "refugees" to Hong Kong, and the blow to Hong Kong's entrepot trade caused by the embargo imposed by the United States after the outbreak of the Korean War were all complicated issues.

When Lin Zhichao said this, he undoubtedly praised Bai Liji for his contribution to Hong Kong's industry during that time, which led to the development of Hong Kong's industry today.

Sure enough, Bai Liji couldn't stop smiling, and then said: "Hong Kong's industry has achieved today's achievements, which really amazes me in Sing Tao, and I feel very gratified. Governor Ge Lianghong for this I am nothing more than"

In humility, he determined his contribution again, this is all human beings!
The industry in Hong Kong is indeed developing very fast, and it is much better than the same period in the previous life. This is because:
'Wig Industry' and 'Plastic Flower Industry' are now the fourth and third industries in Hong Kong; in the previous life, plastic flower industry started in 1957, and wigs started in 1958.

There is also the toy industry and the zipper industry. In previous lives, they did not have the current scale and there was no zipper industry at all.In the previous life, the total export value of the Hong Kong toy industry in 1957 was only 5240 million Hong Kong dollars, but last year (1957) the total export value of the Changjiang Toy Factory was as high as more than 7000 million Hong Kong dollars (profit 1650 million Hong Kong dollars, including doll clothing), the total export value of toys in Hong Kong It is 1.4 million, which is nearly three times that of the previous life.Needless to say, the zipper industry did not exist in Hong Kong in the previous life. Last year, the total export value of zippers produced in Hong Kong reached more than 2 million.

It is estimated that the industrial output value in the same period will be about 30% higher than that of the previous life.

Although only Lin Zhichao understands these statistics, he is still very proud in his heart.

And in the future, when people around the world talk about Hong Kong, they will immediately think of plastic flowers, suitcases, instant noodles, Rubik's Cube, etc., all invented by Hong Kong people, which will instantly open up Hong Kong's influence.

After chatting for a few words, Bai Liji greeted the others, but the time spent by Lin Zhichao's side was even longer than that of some foreign executives.From this point, it can be seen that Lin Zhichao's status is no lower than that of the executive of a foreign firm in the eyes of the senior officials of the Hong Kong government.

A few days later, Lin Zhichao took several senior executives of the Yangtze River Industry Group to inspect the ship breaking site in Hong Kong.

After a lap, Lin Zhichao asked, "Do you think Tseung Kwan O, Zuijiu Bay, and Ngau Tau Kok are the most suitable places for ship breaking?"

Wang Liang then said: "How much does the boss plan to invest? If the investment is large, it will definitely use a few more shipbreaking yards. You can choose to invest in two places. Zuijiu Bay and Ngau Tau Kok are the most in line with economic interests, and the traffic in Tseung Kwan O is not good."

Everyone expressed their opinions, and it is true that Zuijiuwan and Ngau Tau Kok are the best places.Among them, Zuijiu Bay is located between Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung, and there is a pier there; Ngau Tau Kok is located in Kwun Tong, which itself is in an industrial area, and there is also a pier.

On the contrary, in Tseung Kwan O, the transportation is not very convenient.The land that Lin Zhichao bought back then has been smelting copper. As for the aluminum alloy, it is now imported from Japan.

Instead, a steel factory can be set up. After all, after dismantling the ship, there is steel that can be returned to the furnace, and then used in construction.

Lin Zhichao said: "The investment should be very large, so let's choose three places! In Tseung Kwan O, a steelmaking plant will be established later. Deputy General Manager Wang, you have recently established a subsidiary—Cheung Kong Shipbreaking Yard, and have chosen a good location. , and then I arranged for the global shipping people to join in the selection of ships to be scrapped from major ports in the world."

Wang Liang immediately said: "No problem, make sure to form a professional team as soon as possible!"

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "You really need to be professional!"

The threshold of the ship breaking industry is actually not high. In the previous life, Hong Kong flocked to a large number of ship breaking yards from the late 50s to the early 60s.Because as long as one ship breaking yard is making a lot of money, everyone will soon be flocking to it.In the previous life, it was because Hengchang Trading took the lead in entering the ship breaking industry, and everyone followed suit. In the end, the price of old ships rose, and the profit of ship breaking became unprofitable after two or three years.

Since Lin Zhichao is interested in this industry, he is afraid that he will have to buy a lot of ships at one go. Although he will not monopolize the ship breaking industry in Hong Kong, he can at least get a lot of money.

There are two good times:
First, starting from this year (1958), the world will gradually enter the "small winter period (1959~1961)" of shipping, which also coincides with the high incidence of second-hand ships being eliminated in Europe and the United States. Therefore, there are many ships for sale in major ports around the world, and some ships You can also run, and most of the ships can only be dismantled.

Second, the demand for steel in countries around the world has increased. After the war, countries have ushered in a wave of construction. In recent years, the demand for steel has been high, and the price of steel has also risen. Even in Hong Kong, the construction industry is expected to flourish by the end of this year or early next year.

In the past few years, Hong Kong ship breaking companies have no problem supporting thousands of people!
As for environmental pollution, Hong Kong is not qualified to talk about it.In places where there is not enough to eat, there is no need to consider the issue of environmental pollution at all, not to mention that the sea water is flowing, even if it is a little polluted, it will have no effect.

Originally, the United Kingdom and the United States have brought some aircraft carriers and warships to Hong Kong for dismantling in recent years. Hong Kong's ship dismantling industry has developed for many years.

It’s just that people who are engaged in this industry don’t know that the world’s major ports are about to be full of second-hand ships, and they are more waiting for British and American warships and aircraft carriers to come to their door for disassembly.

Lin Zhichao was the first to know this kind of information, so he can naturally make more profits.

No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. It is easy to make a profit of more than [-] million in a few years.

After returning to the Yangtze River Industries Group, Lin Zhichao still convened all the management of the group to systematically arrange the combination of shipbreaking yards and steelmaking plants.

He does not necessarily invest a lot in steelmaking plants, nor does he have to fight for the 'Steel King', everything depends on the situation.

Over the years, the Yangtze River Industry Group has had many skilled workers, so investing in these industries is not a big problem.

At the same time, the University of Hong Kong has already had a mechanical major, and Taikoo Dockyard has been building ships, but it has used many graduates.

(End of this chapter)