The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Time flies, and it's mid-May in a blink of an eye.

In the morning, Lin Zhichao was walking in the garden of No. 79 Deep Water Bay. He couldn't help but look up at the sky. It was cloudless and there was no sign of rain.From October last year to May this year, Hong Kong has not had a drop of rain for seven months. It seems that the drought in Hong Kong is unavoidable.

Of course, for wealthy people, the impact of drought is not that great.Except for the suspension of the swimming pool, the Lin family has little impact at present. The domestic water is imported bottled water directly. It does not compete with ordinary citizens' water resources, and it will not save water too much and cause inconvenience.

After a while, Lin Zhichao returned to the villa and had breakfast with his family.

"When will it rain? The drought has been going on for seven months!" Tang Caiyun said worriedly.

Her natal family runs a textile factory, but now they are forced to reduce production!

Now not only residents are in short supply of water, but industrial water is also very short. Many factories need to reduce production or even stop production.

Lin Zhichao said: "Hong Kong has never experienced any storms and waves. This drought is just one, and it will pass. I guess, the only emergency is to get water from the Pearl River estuary in the mainland!"

Hong Kong has just added 40 new refugees, which is already in a state of load, and now it is in drought, and the only way to turn to the mainland is for help.

The water transportation project (Dongshen) is far away and cannot quench the near thirst. After all, it takes about two years from design to construction. The most urgent task is to use boats to fetch water from the Pearl River Estuary to solve the current difficulties.

In fact, as early as the early 50s, some Hong Kong entrepreneurs wrote letters to high-level officials, hoping to solve the problem of water shortage in Hong Kong; but at that time, the mainland was willing to build a water supply project from eastern Guangdong to Hong Kong, but the Hong Kong government was unwilling because It involves political issues and construction costs.

In 1960, when the water shortage problem in Hong Kong became more and more serious, the newly appointed Governor of Hong Kong, Robert Parker, signed an agreement with the Guangdong Provincial Government: the British Hong Kong authorities purchased 50 billion gallons of fresh water from Eastern Guangdong every year.

This amount of water, on average, is only 7.5 cubic meters per year in the hands of every Hong Kong person, which is not even enough for living security; and don't forget, Hong Kong's textile industry is a big draw.

It seems like a simple 'water supply', but it involves a contest between the British Hong Kong government and the mainland government. One side does not want Hong Kong to be too dependent on the other side and affect the colonial rule;

Therefore, the British Hong Kong government also overhauled multiple reservoirs and launched a seawater desalination project - Wanyi Reservoir.But people are not as good as God, who knew that the drought has been so dry since 1962!
On the other hand, as long as Hong Kong comes to ask for help, they will naturally not ignore it. After all, 95% of Hong Kong is Chinese; and Hong Kong has contributed a lot to the country during the peninsular war and modernization process, so how can we not help.

"If we draw water from the Pearl River Estuary, we will need a lot of ships, right?" Xu Caiying asked.

If the Hong Kong government needs to rent a ship, it will definitely not avoid Global Shipping. After all, this is the largest ship owner in Hong Kong.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "That's natural! I just ordered the eight second-hand oil tankers that were knocked out to be cleaned up some time ago, and they haven't had time to sell them yet. If the Hong Kong government needs them, they can be sold at the cost price of fuel and labor costs." , Lease it to them! At this time, Hong Kong people should show solidarity and overcome difficulties together."

After all, it is a government project, and generally speaking, the profit will not be too high. After all, it needs to have a good relationship with the Hong Kong government.Lin Zhichao only wanted fuel and labor costs, and it was also his idea to establish a good relationship with the Hong Kong government. Originally, these ships were planned to be eliminated, but now they come in handy.

Hearing Lin Zhichao's words, his wife and children immediately looked at her husband and Laodou with admiration.

After breakfast, Lin Zhichao went to work by car.

He had just returned to Hong Kong from overseas and did not expect that the drought would become more serious, but he was mentally prepared.

After another two days.

Sure enough, a Hong Kong government official came to Global Shipping to inquire about chartering a ship.Lin Zhichao happened to be in the office, so he personally interviewed the group of three people.

"Mr. Xu, the Hong Kong government has suddenly increased the number of water transport ships. Does the mainland increase the supply of fresh water?" Lin Zhichao asked curiously.

Section Chief Xu is a high-level Chinese official in the Hong Kong government. He is a 40-year-old middle-aged man with a pair of glasses and a very educated appearance.

Of course, for a person of Lin Zhichao's status, he naturally respected him.

"Yes, Lin Sheng! This month, the Huaxia General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong-Kowloon Trade Union went to the mainland to ask for help, so now we are allowed to send boats to the Pearl River to fetch water for free. Difficulty."

When they said this, Chief Xu and the others, who were colonial officials, couldn't help being moved.

This is the truth of drinking water and thinking of its source!
Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "Good! With this water, Hong Kong's factories will not shut down and affect Hong Kong's economy; Hong Kong citizens will not be inconvenient in life."

Section Chief Xu immediately said: "Lin Sheng, Hong Kong's fresh water resources are only reserved for more than 40 days, so even with these water resources, Hong Kong is still short of water. Therefore, the Hong Kong government has prepared a 'four-day water restriction' system. The land is supplied with drinking water every four days."

Lin Zhichao nodded heavily, and said, "It seems that if we want to solve Hong Kong's fresh water problem once and for all, we have to build a pipeline to supply water from the mainland to Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong government has to invest in its own water system."

Chief Xu said: "Yes, what Mr. Lin said, if the mainland and British Hong Kong governments put aside their prejudices, it will be a blessing to the people of Hong Kong."

Lin Zhichao immediately took a high look at Section Chief Xu. He was indeed a man of culture, and he saw the trickiness of the water supply at a glance.And the angle of standing is exactly what Hong Kong citizens think.

Later, Lin Zhichao said: "We happen to have 8 eliminated oil tankers, with a total tonnage of 13 tons, and they have been cleaned up. We planned to sell them. Since the Hong Kong government urgently needs water tankers, these tankers can be handed over to you for free. We only need to provide fuel and labor costs, and we don’t make any money.”

When Section Chief Xu heard this, he was immediately overjoyed and said quickly: "Do you really mean what Mr. Lin said?"

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "These ships were originally the products of the elimination of old ships by Global Shipping. They were either sold or prepared to be dismantled. Now they can be said to be used for waste. Let our management communicate with you later, and promise not to earn a penny from the Hong Kong government. .”

Chief Xu was overjoyed. This saved millions of Hong Kong dollars!
But it's normal for him to think about it. Lin Zhichao is famous for his charity in Hong Kong, supporting the establishment and operation of 'Oxfam', serving as the chairman of the preparatory committee for 'Hong Kong Polytechnic' and other public welfare activities.

After Section Chief Xu and others left, Lin Zhichao sighed: "Moonlight shines on Hong Kong, there is no water in the mountains and ponds, and there is no food. My sister carries water, and my mother goes to the Buddhist hall. I don't know when there will be no water shortage."

Of course, although Hong Kong is short of water, it still has little impact on commerce and industry.

After all, as factory owners, they have better access to water than ordinary people.After all, once a large-scale shutdown is really carried out, the impact on Hong Kong's economy will be fatal. Sometimes orders go away and they will never come back.

In fact, Hong Kong's economy has continued to grow by leaps and bounds in recent years, with an annual growth rate of more than 9%.

Last year, the GDP reached 80 billion Hong Kong dollars, with per capita income reaching over 2400 Hong Kong dollars; total foreign trade reached 115 billion Hong Kong dollars, the Hong Kong government’s fiscal revenue was 10.5 billion, expenditures were 9.5 million, and there was still 1 million left.

"Boss, the British insurance company has announced that the insurance premiums for second-hand ships will be increased by 30%!" Feng Yongfa hurried to Lin Zhichao's office and reported.

There are 50 second-hand ships in global shipping, and the annual insurance premiums are expensive. Now that the increase is 30%, that means a lot of profit reduction; because the rent has already been finalized.

Lin Zhichao had expected it earlier, so he naturally didn't panic.

"It's expected. Anyway, we plan to replace all the ships with new ones. We don't need to care about the increase in insurance premiums in the next three to five years. What's more, their size, why bother about this premium!" Lin Zhichao said relaxedly.

As the deputy general manager, Feng Yongfa is in charge of internal management. In fact, he knows that the boss is a "frugal" boss in details, so he likes to do some small calculations.

Seeing that the boss was so relaxed, he guessed that the boss might have met him a long time ago, and eliminated many second-hand cargo ships.

"Well, that's true. Anyway, we are also replacing second-hand ships. The biggest impact this time is the ship owners of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang gangs. They have a lot of second-hand freighters in their hands."

Lin Zhichao said: "This is actually a role that forces everyone to build new ships. If we don't develop new ships, when will we be able to develop them!"

Feng Yongfa nodded. He knew that the boss had no sense of competition with the Hong Kong shipowners, and everyone was not at the same level as opponents.

He said: "Recently, there is an interesting incident about insurance in the Mainland!"

Lin Zhichao asked curiously, "What's interesting?"

He has never cared much about the affairs of the Mainland and avoided contact with the affairs of the Mainland. Anyway, he was not a person liked by the Mainland. It was not until 1978 that he stepped on the stage. After all, people's opinions are different; he was like this Capitalists also have a huge market.

Feng Yongfa said: "The mainland has built a cargo ship of more than 1 tons at a cost of 120 million pounds!"

Lin Zhichao immediately interrupted: "So expensive? It's twice as expensive as the cost in Europe, let alone Japan!"

英国造一艘1万多吨的货船，也只需要70万英镑（200万美金），而日本的造价只需要50多万英镑（150万美金）。

Feng Yongfa said: "Yes! Many things need to be imported, so the cost is very expensive."

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "Well, keep talking!"

Feng Yongfa said: "This cargo ship was carrying more than 1 tons of corn and ran aground when it was sailing to Japan! But fortunately it was insured for a total of 120 million pounds, of which the PICC shared 20 pounds, and the remaining 100 million was insured through Willis Company in London. The market carried out reinsurance. Therefore, we finally got back compensation of 104 million pounds, avoiding important losses to the country."

Lin Zhichao sighed: "Insurance has done a great job!"

Feng Yongfa said: "That's right! If there is no insurance, the loss will be nearly 2000 million Hong Kong dollars. This is a huge loss for a country that is not rich."

Generally, there are two types of insurance for insurance: shipping insurance and war insurance; although the mainland is blocked by the United States, it actually has trade with European countries such as the United Kingdom and Japan. These countries will not completely listen to the United States, so they trade privately. .

Therefore, the ships in the mainland have established reinsurance business relationships with third countries through their relationships, and their relationship with the London insurance market has not been interrupted since the establishment of New China.

It can be said that if the Yankees shot down the ship, as long as the war risk was cast, the British insurance company would also pay compensation.Therefore, some people even find it unbelievable that the British emperor will compensate the American emperor for fighting.

Lin Zhichao said: "In two or three years, we will also start to risk war. Who knows if there is anything going on in the Middle East!"

Feng Yongfa remained silent, thinking that the boss was very strange. He would take the risk of war if he remembered it, but not if he didn't.For example, starting in 1955, the boss allowed me to take out war risks, and when 1957 ended, I immediately saved this money again.

I haven't paid it for almost six years, and now I think about paying it in two or three years.

Of course Lin Zhichao had his own ideas. Why should he pay the unjust fees when he knew there was no impact from the war?

1956年发生‘第二次中东战争’，他1955年就缴纳；1967年发生‘第三次中东战争’，他就1966年缴纳；1980年发生两伊战争，他就1978年缴纳战争险。

In short, just pay one or two years in advance!

Originally, many shipowners saved this insurance premium.

The sudden increase in the insurance premiums of second-hand ships in the UK has had a great impact on Bao Yugang's fleet. He has just expanded to 40 second-hand cargo ships, barely reaching the global information communication; and now the increase in insurance premiums means that his second-hand fleet Profit is reduced a lot.

In the office, Bao Yugang paced back and forth thinking about the problem.

Last year, he wanted to build a 7500-ton new ship with a total cost of 100 million U.S. dollars. He hoped that HSBC would provide 75% of the loan, but Sundas directly rejected it; USD needs to be self-raised.

In Sanders' opinion, there is no need for him to fully support the two 'ship owners' because:
First of all, HSBC is now personally involved in investing in shipping (Worldwide Shipping), and its investment is very large;

Secondly, Bao Yugang's business model is almost the same as Lin Zhichao's. Although he admits that this model is very good, he knows that the Japanese shipping industry now only recognizes Lin Zhichao, not the rising star Bao Yugang.

In the end, it is enough for HSBC to support a 'ship king' in the shipping industry.

As a result, Bao Yugang returned disappointed, and the matter of building a new ship has been delayed again and again, and no action has been taken until now.After all, a 7500-ton second-hand ship only costs US$15 to US$40 (depending on the age of the ship), which is much cheaper.In the case of insufficient funds, he still gave priority to investment in second-hand ships.

Bao Yugang calculated his family property. There are currently 40 second-hand ships with a total deadweight of 42 tons. Although there are still 300 million US dollars in debt, the annual profit is also 500 million US dollars.

"New ships must be built! From now on, freighters must build new ships!" Bao Yugang said through gritted teeth.

He quickly remembered what Lin Zhichao said last year, "How can we develop without building new ships!" '.

Thinking of this, he no longer backed down and decided to ask Sandus to discuss cooperation again.

At the same time, he remembered a "tripartite agreement" shipbuilding method invented by Lin Zhichao, allowing Japanese tenants to repay 80% of the shipbuilding costs of Japanese shipyards on their behalf.

The two modes are carried out at the same time, and the loading capacity can exceed 100 million tons within five years.

The next day.

Sandas met Bao Yugang in the office. The two knew each other very early, so they had a certain personal relationship.

Bao Yugang put forward his idea again, and added: "Chairman Sanders, if I get the letter of credit from the Bank of Japan, it means that the contract can be guaranteed, and there is almost no risk of repaying the debt. Therefore, I want to build a new ship , your bank will provide us with a 75% loan.”

Sandas picked up the tea cup in a leisurely manner, took a sip, and then slowly said: "I understood this truth a long time ago, you should understand! The reason why we don't grant 75% of the loan is because our bank's funds The investment in shipping is very large. I personally participated in the shipping investment, so the funds for investing in shipping are limited. After all, eggs cannot be put in one basket. So, again, if you want to build a ship, all the conditions must be met. We still can only provide 40% of the loan, and you need to solve the rest of the funds yourself. And, for the time being, it is limited to one ship.”

Participating in the investment personally broke Bao Yugang's defense in an instant!

Others have personally invested, so why do they need to lend a lot to the shipowner?
The reason is self-evident!

Bao Yugang said unwillingly: "Since you are optimistic about shipping, why don't you support one more shipowner!"

His eyes were full of begging and unwillingness!

Sandas is essentially sympathetic, he is a banker, and his relationship with Lin Zhichao is more of a bundle of interests.

Therefore, Bao Yugang's words did not impress him, but Sanders said in a heavy blow: "It's very simple! Your model is just an imitation. With several major shipping customers in Japan trusting Global Shipping, you have lost the opportunity. In other words, the risk has increased a lot. At the same time, if our HSBC Bank supports you vigorously, we are also worried that you will compete for customers at a low price, which will eventually affect the shipping industry that our HSBC Bank invests in. Therefore, I can give it to you in a business-like manner. loan!"

Bao Yugang also had no temper, and said, "Then thank you for taking care of me!"

Sandas nodded, and said: "Stable development is not necessarily a bad thing. You can develop from a second-hand ship to 40 second-hand ships in seven years, which is already very impressive! I am optimistic about your shipping business, you don't want to be discouraged!"

Bao Yugang nodded and said: "Thank you Sandus for your encouragement!" Then he asked curiously: "How many years did it take Mr. Lin to develop shipping to 40 ships?"

Sanders thought about it for a while, and said: "It should be three or four years! He is different from you. When he invested in shipping, he started with three large ships, and it coincided with the ship shortage in the Far East, so it developed very fast at that time. !"

Bao Yugang was shocked immediately. The time was doubled. The important thing is that he actually had a considerable number of ships, which were purchased between 1959 and 1961. Those ships were all "to be scrapped" ships, and the price ranged from 6 to 20 US dollars. wait. (end of this chapter)