The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 255 [King of Industry]

Years later, Lin Zhichao inspected Zhongtian Shipbreaking Yard and Zhongtian Iron and Steel Works.

Zhongtian Shipbreaking Yard has started a large-scale shipbreaking business in Zuijiu Bay, Ngau Tau Kok and Tseung Kwan O. Since then, an average of 4 to 5 merchant ships have been dismantled every month.

The dismantled steel is sent to Zhongtian Iron and Steel Works in Tseung Kwan O for re-forging, and then rolled steel and rebar are produced to supply the Hong Kong local market; if there is no time for forging, the scrap steel is shipped to Japan for sale, where it is very popular.

"How much rolled steel and rebar can be produced here in a year?" Lin Zhichao asked in the workshop of Zhongtian Iron and Steel Works.

The reason why the steel can be produced within a year is because the factory building is ready-made. It was originally planned to smelt aluminum alloy, but it failed due to various reasons, so it has been vacant.Just a year ago when preparations were made for steelmaking, equipment was quickly purchased and workers trained, and now the first batch of steel was produced in mid-February.

Cheng Yuanxiong, the general manager of Zhongtian Iron and Steel, immediately reported: "It is estimated that the annual production of [-] tons of steel can be produced, and the production capacity can be continued to increase in the later stage."

Lin Zhichao said: "At present, Hong Kong consumes less than 20 tons of steel a year, and it will increase to 60 tons in the 25s. Therefore, this production capacity should not be rushed to increase. The important thing is to accumulate experience and introduce advanced management technology."

He does not intend to become Hong Kong's "Steel King", but he will definitely become one of the three major steel factories in Hong Kong.The Hong Kong market is so small that it is not as good as Lin Zhichao's foresight. Lin Zhichao is thinking about the future.

We have our own steel factory, and we will be able to enter the overseas steel business in the future.

Cheng Yuanxiong said: "Yes. But in this way, the scrap steel production capacity of Zhongtian Shipbreaking Plant is far greater than our factory's demand."

According to the current situation of Zhongtian Shipbreaking Factory, 50 merchant ships can be dismantled a year, and several warships and aircraft carriers can also be dismantled.Therefore, the second-hand steel produced is at least 15 tons.

Lin Zhichao said: "Sell it to the Japanese!"

He will not go after production. After all, even if it is hundreds of thousands of tons a year, Hong Kong’s steel demand in the 80s was only 70 tons. This output is a joke in a big steel country; at this time, the US steel output was 7000 million tons, Japan is also approaching 2000 million tons.

Zhongtian Iron & Steel took advantage of this shipbreaking opportunity to develop, and the future output can reach more than 20 tons; the important thing is to absorb management experience and improve the technical level to prepare for the future expansion of overseas business.

The Hang Seng Bank Building at No. 163 Queen's Road is a small nine-story building. The lower six floors are large and the upper three floors are small. It is a unique office building.

On the second floor is the headquarters of the "Dachang Trading Company" jointly established by the families of He Shanheng, He Tim, Liang Kaiju, and Lin Bingyan. The first floor is naturally the office hall of the head office of Hang Seng Bank.

The founding team of Hang Seng Bank is very united. The banking and trading businesses have been "progressing all the way". Everyone works together and unites its employees.

In the office of Dachang Trading Co., Ltd., Liang Kaiju, general manager of Dachang Trading, He Shanheng, chairman of Hang Seng Bank, He Tian, ​​general manager of Hang Seng Bank, and Li Guowei, deputy general manager, were having a meeting.

Liang Kaiju said: "In the past six months, a 'Zhongtian Shipbreaking Yard' has appeared in Hong Kong. Now it dismantles several ships every month. Guess who is its owner?"

He Tian said with a smile: "When you talk about overseas affairs, you, the general manager of Dachang Trading, must be more informed than us, but we can't compare with you about what happened in Hong Kong! The parent company of Zhongtian Shipbreaking Plant is The boss of Changjiang Industrial Group is Lin Zhichao, your fellow countryman."

Everyone laughed!

Liang Kaiju was not annoyed, and continued, "Do you know where they dismantled so many ships?"

For a while, everyone looked serious.

Several ships are dismantled every month, and it is certainly not eliminated by global shipping.

He Shanheng said: "Could it be that they were purchased abroad? As far as I know, although Jiehe Group also participates in ship breaking, but the ships are sent overseas to Hong Kong for dismantling, and the business is far less busy."

Liang Kaiju said with some excitement: "As you know, in order to expand trade, I often go overseas for inspections. Recently, I found that all major ports in the world are full of second-hand ships for sale, and there are one or two hundred ships in the Gulf of Aden port alone. Merchant ships. A [-]-ton merchant ship only needs [-] U.S. dollars, and a loan of [-] U.S. dollars is allowed. It turns out that European and American shipping has entered a slump, and coupled with the development of the shipbuilding industry, a large number of second-hand ships have begun to be phased out.”

Everyone's spirits were shaken immediately. The threshold of the ship breaking industry was low, and Dachang Trading Co., Ltd. could get a piece of the pie, and it was the first player to enter the market.

He Shanheng said: "Dachang Trading Co., Ltd. enters the ship breaking industry. It is feasible. We should act immediately! The scrap steel from ship breaking happens to be sold to steel factories. There is a shortage of steel in all countries in the world, so scrap steel is very popular."

It can be said that the scrap iron and steel from ship dismantling only needs to be forged a little before it can be put into use.Nowadays, steel is very scarce in many countries, because steel is needed for economic development.

After some discussion, they were ready to take action immediately. While arranging to buy a second-hand ship, they prepared a ship breaking yard in Hong Kong.

In the end, He Shanheng did not forget to sigh: "I don't know when, a piece of land in Des Voeux Road Central will be released, and Hang Seng Bank is still short of a decent headquarters building!"

The current Hang Seng Bank headquarters building was built in 1953, with a height of only nine floors (non-residential buildings, not limited to five floors), but now that Hang Seng Bank is developing rapidly, a new headquarters building is needed.

He Tian said: "In the past two years, real estate has recovered, and there will be opportunities. The land purchased by Lin Zhichao is very suitable, but it is a pity that he cannot sell it to us."

He Shanheng said with a smile: "If there is real land in Central released, he is the biggest competitor himself, and he still wants to take the land from him, how can it be possible!"

pressure!

When it comes to Lin Zhichao, everyone feels the pressure from wealth.

Worldwide shipping.

Lin Zhichao didn't know that the 'ship breaking business' had been targeted. Of course, even if he knew, he didn't care.His original intention was also to promote the development of Hong Kong's shipbreaking industry while making money for himself.

After all, the "second-hand ships" in the world's major ports will not only attract people from Hong Kong, but also people from other countries; if not, in a year or two, all Asian countries will rush to grab "scrap ships", and the price will rise at that time , and eventually become thin margins.

It is precisely because of these considerations that Lin Zhichao intervened in this industry for the first time, so that Hong Kong people can eat more.

It's not about how great he is, it's just that he affects the development of Hong Kong within the scope of his ability.The important thing is that he can't finish such a big cake in one go.

"Boss, a total of 30 ships have sailed back to Hong Kong one after another, and about eight of them can continue to operate, with a total deadweight of 7.25 tons." Feng Yongfahui reported.

At the end of last year, he personally went to the port of Aden to organize a large-scale purchase of second-hand ships, and now he finally got the statistical information.

Lin Zhichao raised his head and said with satisfaction: "It seems that there are quite a lot of ships that can be operated! I think so, we are not engaged in the 'pension system', we just sell these ships to this system, and then set up a separate company shipping company, to operate independently."

Feng Yongfa said: "The 'pension system' will only officially deduct fees in April, and there will be insufficient funds at the beginning."

Lin Zhichao immediately said generously: "It was borrowed by Global Shipping, and we will return it later! We will strive to build a scale of 20 ships for this company in two or three years."

Feng Yongfa said in admiration: "With this move of the boss, our staff and senior seamen may never lose a single person again."

The pension system will eventually become the welfare of the staff and senior seafarers of the global seafarers. Ordinary seafarers cannot implement it for the time being because of the relatively large liquidity.

After the three-year contract expires for some ordinary seafarers, the first thing they think about is not to be a seafarer anymore, because it is difficult to go ashore.After all, air tickets are expensive in this era, and traveling by ship is a waste of time, so it is normal to return to Hong Kong once every three years.

Fortunately, the cost of training ordinary seafarers for a period of time is not high.

In the future, Global Shipping will consider adding more benefits to ordinary seafarers.

Zhao Congyan led his men to Zuijiuwan to visit the shipbreaking yard unannounced.

When he saw several merchant ships parked on the sea, he couldn't help but bleed. If these ships belonged to him and could still be operated, how wonderful it would be!

Since being listed as a target of sanctions by the U.S. Department of Commerce, his few ships have been greatly restricted, so he still only has three ships (the Guoxing was eliminated) in these years, and has not developed.

Fortunately, because his "involvement" was very shallow and he only ran a short dangerous journey, so after his hard work, he was finally allowed to cross out his name by the US Department of Commerce last year.

That night, he almost cried!
Over the years, he has never given up his shipping business, even if he cannot use the United States to do business, cannot call at American ports, cannot use American banks, etc., even if the three ships do not make much money, this is because he always believes that—ship It is a walkable asset.

That is to say, Zhao Congyan is also wary of the opposite party, which can be said to be frowned upon.

"Have you found out, who owns the Zhongtian Shipbreaking Factory?" Zhao Congyan asked seriously.

He recently discovered a situation that in drunken bay, Ngau Tau Kok, and Tseung Kwan O, there are a large number of merchant ships moored on the sea, and these cargo ships are waiting to be dismantled.

It was obviously unusual for so many cargo ships to be dismantled, so he asked his eldest son Zhao Shipeng, who was far away in the UK, to find out the situation.

When Zhao Shipeng was a university student in the UK, he majored in shipbuilding and marine engineering. After graduation, he worked in a Norwegian shipyard. This year he went to the UK as a ship surveyor.

All of this is the arrangement of Zhao Congyan, a "naut in shipping".It's true that Zhao Congyan still lacks experience in shipping over the years, and because of being sanctioned, several of his ships have been handed over to Hua Lun for management.

The subordinate said: "It is a subsidiary of the Yangtze River Industry Group, which is Lin Zhichao's industry!"

"Lin Zhichao?"

"Yes"

Zhao Congyan immediately thought about it seriously in his mind. According to his son in the UK, the sailing situation in Europe and the United States has declined since last year, and a large number of second-hand ships have been sold.

"I understand!" Zhao Congyan said in surprise.

He guessed that these second-hand ships may have been bought from major ports in the world, and the important thing is that they are cheap enough.

"What did the boss think of?" the subordinate asked.

Because Zhao Congyan likes to use people from Wuxi, all his subordinates are from the same hometown.

Zhao Congyan said: "Shi Peng found out in the UK that the current shipping situation in Europe and America is not good, and a large number of second-hand ships are for sale. And these ships are docked at major ports in the world, such as the Gulf of Aden port. I think Lin Zhichao discovered this situation, so he Send people to buy a large number of ships, and use them for operation if they are better, and dismantle them directly." The subordinate asked: "Will you lose money if you dismantle them?"

Zhao Congyan asked back: "Do you know how to do business at a loss?"

The men shook their heads!
Zhao Congyan immediately said pleasantly: "You can't, and Lin Zhichao can't! So to explain a problem, these ships are sold as 'to be disassembled' ships, and they must be very cheap!"

The subordinate immediately said happily: "We can also do this business, it just so happens that the eldest son is the surveyor!"

Zhao Congyan nodded and said, "God is helping me! I will go abroad for inspection later, and you are optimistic about the company at home. If we can buy enough second-hand boats, the fleet size will increase greatly. It just so happens that I was also removed from the restricted list."

Although the current shipping situation is not very good, the labor wages in Hong Kong are low, and the competitiveness is still there.If the price of the ship is cheap, it will be profitable no matter what. Once the shipping situation changes, these second-hand ships will definitely be able to operate, and they will definitely make a lot of money.

"Okay, boss!"

Zhao Congyan left the scene satisfied!

He never doubted that he was sanctioned because someone reported it. After all, there were so many agents in the United States at that time, and many of them were on the sanction list afterwards.

On this day, Lin Zhichao and Wang Liang came to a residential unit in Sham Shui Po, but there were densely packed workers assembling pocket-sized atomic radios.

"Lin Sheng, Manager Wang, come here, my place is full of splendor!" Hu Xiaoqing, the owner of this factory, greeted warmly.

It turned out that after Lin Zhichao thought about entering the radio industry, he thought about it again, and felt that radios were only a few profits, and assembly could not cultivate electronic talents, so he gave up the idea of ​​forming a team.

However, he thought that it would be good if he could partner with others, so he took the initiative to find Hu Xiaoqing who had met once.When Lin Zhichao bought a radio at the electrical appliance store on Nathan Road, he met Hu Xiaoqing, but he did not contact him afterwards.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "Hu Sheng, if you don't mind our visit!"

Hu Xiaoqing said bluntly: "Lin Sheng laughed at me. I am an assembly factory here. Why can't I visit it! I have heard the story of Lin Sheng, saying that when you made wigs and plastic flowers, you were free for colleagues to visit. This The spirit is admirable.”

"Haha, it's everyone's praise!"

Afterwards, Hu Xiaoqing led the two to visit the factory, which consisted of two residential units and about dozens of workers.

During this period, Lin Zhichao asked curiously: "Hu Sheng, how many radios can you assemble every month?"

Although Hu Xiaoqing felt a little 'thumping' in his heart, he thought that this person would not really be interested in this line of work, that would be an overkill; if he thinks about it carefully, it might be possible, after all, the 'King of Industry' is not called for nothing, and he has a lot of industries.

But he still said: "Almost 4000 units are all made for Sony!"

The implication is that it really doesn't make money.

Lin Zhichao nodded, and finally expressed his thoughts: "Hu Sheng, when I bought the radio from you, I knew that a person who graduated from Jiaotong University would never be just a small electrical appliance store owner. Now his career has really improved. One floor! But have you ever thought that Sony is already preparing to open a branch factory in the Commonwealth, and your OEM may be cancelled at any time?"

Hu Xiaoqing was startled, and immediately asked, "Any news about Lin Sheng?"

Lin Zhichao shook his head and said: "I'm just guessing like this! In short, I don't think you should pin your hopes on a foundry that may be canceled at any time. Originally, I wanted to buy transistors from Japan, produce radios, and then mainly sell For the United States; but I thought of you as a radio expert, so I wanted to talk about cooperation. What do you think?"

Hu Xiaoqing did not immediately agree, but asked: "Mainly sold to the United States? Will there be a market?"

Lin Zhichao said: "There is definitely a market! Because of the baby boom after World War II, the United States has a strong market demand; on the other hand, due to low labor and management costs, Hong Kong manufacturing can be more competitive than Japanese manufacturing."

Except for the core component - the transistor, which cannot be manufactured in Hong Kong, the radio is easy to manufacture.As for transistors, Japan can import them, but the Japanese do not sell them to Hong Kong, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States. They are not much more expensive.

Lin Zhichao's idea is to try the water first!

If there is a chance, I will be producing other electronic products!
Cooperating with Hu Xiaoqing, he will not suffer, and he can also let him work for him.

Hu Xiaoqing finally said: "If we cooperate, how should we cooperate?"

It is of course a very good thing to cooperate with such a boss, because there are many resources; however, if he is not paying attention, he will be completely reduced to a part-time job.

Lin Zhichao said: "We provide the venue and sales channels, and you provide management and technology. In terms of funds, the ratio is [-] to [-]. If you have insufficient funds, we can advance the payment, and then repay after the profit is shared."

There are factories and sales channels. Cheung Kong has many channels in the United States, and there is no problem in bringing products into the United States.

But Hu Xiaoqing only has radio experts, and his management is also good, after all, he is from the management department of Jiaotong University.

"Can I think about it for a day, and then give Lin Sheng an answer!"

"No problem, I'll wait for your message. Anyway, we're definitely going to get into the radio business!"

Hearing Lin Zhichao's last sentence, Hu Xiaoqing wanted to agree immediately.

Because if Changjiang Industry is interested in this cake, it must be a leader in the industry.

Now it seems that it is only because the cake is too small that the Yangtze River Industries Group does not want to be distracted, so it asks him to cooperate.

Hu Xiaoqing feels that this is a project that requires cooperation!

(End of this chapter)