Year: I had a good time when I was young

Chapter 768: The Road to the Shipping King - 30 Victory Ships
After agreeing with McDonald on an asset exchange of 500 million pounds, the rest was left to Morgan Jr.

What little Morgan said was actually quite tempting.

A 6-acre estate on Long Island, New York, according to J.P. Morgan, is worth at least $800 million.

In addition, there is a duplex on the fifth and sixth floors of Manhattan's Central Park, covering a total of 380 square meters, and a 7000-acre farm in California.

If Chu Xiangqian feels that it is not enough, he will give him a big villa in Los Angeles.

Once Chu Xiangqian agreed, he and Margaret would have a new residence in New York.

But upon closer inspection, these assets are all second-rate or even third-rate assets.

Even because of property taxes, villas and manors are not good investment projects.

Chu Xiangqian hesitated for a moment, and when he was about to agree, he suddenly remembered that this was the most xenophobic decade in Magnesium.

Just a few years after the McCarthyism of the 50s, xenophobia was extremely strong throughout American society, even to the point of being abnormal.

In addition, the Vietnam War had actually already begun, and at this time, the richer the foreigners were, the more low-key they had to be in Magnesium.

And from the perspective of investment returns, even properties in Long Island, Los Angeles and Manhattan's Central Park have great potential for appreciation in the next few decades.

But compared with the properties in Hong Kong Island, it's child's play.

The 16-story building in Central that Chu Xiangqian had just negotiated with MacDonald is currently worth about 10 million Hong Kong dollars, but in just 2 years, the building will be worth at least million Hong Kong dollars.

Thirty or fifty years later, don't ask for anything less than 50 or 60 billion.

Not to mention the 30% stake in HK Electric, which will be worth at least tens of billions in the future.

As for the five 5-ton Victory ships, Chu Xiangqian had previously thought about purchasing cargo ships to enter the shipping industry.

So even though the average price of these five ships was US$5, and McDonald guaranteed a comprehensive overhaul and provided three years of maintenance, Chu Xiangqian agreed without even thinking twice.

Just by transporting coal from Tianzhu to Neon, you can earn the total market value of five cargo ships in two years at most.

If coal is transported from Tianjin in China to Neon, not only will the price of coal be lower than that of coal in India, but the transportation distance can also be shortened tenfold.

Just from the reduced tolls, each ship could earn an extra hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Not to mention that the distance is shortened tenfold, which means that the total amount of coal transported each year can be increased by at least seven or eight times.

Chu Xiangqian alone could rely on these five Victory ships to squeeze the profits and orders of the charter ship king who was also transporting coal between Tianzhu and Neon.

So Chu Xiangqian quickly figured it out and rejected J.P. Morgan's idea of ​​using real estate and ranches to offset the 500 million pounds. Instead, he took the initiative to ask him to help him acquire 30% of HK Electric's shares.

This part is valued at HK$4 million, and the remaining HK$4 million will provide 25 victory rounds.

Morgan Jr. frowned after hearing this. He did not have any shares in HK Electric, but as one of the shareholders of Standard Chartered, it would not be difficult for him to use his connections to buy it from the British.

But he was definitely at a disadvantage with 25 victory rounds, so he whispered a few words to the assistant beside him, who quickly picked up a pen and paper to help him do the math.

In the late 40s and early 50s, the Victory ship, which was upgraded from the Liberty ship, began production from the 44 model, and its production scale reached its peak in just five or six years.

However, due to the end of World War II, at least dozens of Victory ships were still in the dock without buyers.

The more than 500 Victory ships that have been launched have also been left idle due to the sharp drop in military cargo volume.

While 2751 Liberty ships were produced, there were even more that were idle.

The Victory ships were originally priced at US$140 million to US$180 million each, but in 51 a European shipping company bought 80 of them at a price of US$21 each.

More than a decade later, in the 50s the Panama Canal could accommodate a maximum load of 5.25 tons.

The rise of 3-ton, 5-ton cargo ships and even 7-ton cargo ships began to appear.

From a cost perspective, the Victory is indeed facing the inevitable elimination, but for Southeast Asian shipping companies, this type of ship is still very suitable for short-distance shipping.

4000 million Hong Kong dollars to buy 25 Victory ships is equivalent to 40 US dollars per ship.

Compared with the 70-ton cargo ship with a history of more than ten years that the charter king bought from Europe for more than 1.35 US dollars a few years ago, it is still 30 US dollars lower.

When young Morgan heard the assistant's report, he almost couldn't help cursing.

But he just argued with Chu Xiangqian for a few words, and Chu Xiangqian said that if he was willing to spend 1000 million US dollars to purchase Victory ships from major shipyards in Magnesium.

The price is 40% likely to be less than $.

Of course, if Chu Xiangqian really did this, issues such as cargo ship maintenance, subsequent quality assurance, and insurance would be very troublesome, but these things would not be a problem for Morgan Jr.

And just as Chu Xiangqian said, Morgan Jr. himself knew that the shipping and shipbuilding companies within the consortium had many obsolete or idle cargo ships.

The largest number of these are the Liberty Wheel and the Victory Wheel.

If Chu Xiangqian wanted a Liberty Ship, Morgan would agree immediately. Although the Victory Ship would also be eliminated, the capitalists thought that since the Victory Ship was an upgraded version of the Liberty Ship, they would definitely have to bargain.

But Morgan Jr. also understood that in this era when containers were beginning to rise, the Victory and Liberty were indeed unable to keep up with the development of the times.

Therefore, Chu Xiangqian had no plan to use the Victory, which was about to be acquired, to take the ocean route.

If you are only transporting bulk commodities such as coal and grain, the Victory Wheel is very suitable.

The purpose of building and designing this type of ship was to transport large quantities of food, weapons, ammunition and other goods in bulk to Europe.

Moreover, because hundreds of ships have been built, as long as they were built in the late 40s and early 50s, they are not only technologically mature but also of very strong quality.

There will be no problem if we use it for another ten or twenty years.

Of course, the longer it is used, the higher the maintenance cost.

But Chu Xiangqian could have completely handed over the maintenance task to the South Korean shipbuilding industry, which had been slowly rising since the 60s.

In order to compete with Japan for orders, South Korean shipbuilding companies may be willing to make only 10% or even lower profits to snatch maintenance orders from Chu Xiangqian's shipping company.

Moreover, since the 60s, coal and low-end steel have also been major exports for South Korea.

Chu Xiangqian's shipping company can easily transport coal from China to the island country, and then transport electrical appliances, cars and motorcycles from the island country to South Korea.

Then transport the steel from South Korea to China, forming a closed loop, with all three parties making money.

If the Magnesium Country or the British Country causes trouble for China because of China's coal, then we will give up China's coal.

Specializes in routes to South Korea, island countries, Hong Kong Island and India.

With the 30 winning wheels in hand, earning millions of dollars a year, or even tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, is like a piece of cake.

So Chu Xiangqian directly hinted to Morgan that if he felt that 4000 ships for HK$25 million were not worth it.

Then I can sign an additional contract with him, exchanging 3 purebred horses eligible for auction for 20 Victory ships within three years.

Now not only Morgan Jr. was tempted, but even McDonald said that he could also do this business.

At this time, the price of the second batch of 10 thoroughbred horses has been quoted at US$730 million, which means that the unit price of a thoroughbred horse is 73.

One horse for 1.5 Victory ships, which means the price of a Victory ship is about $49. While Morgan was still calculating, another buyer bid up to $750 million, which means that one ship is worth $50.

Little Morgan didn't hesitate any longer and agreed immediately.

As for McDonald, Chu Xiangqian also agreed to exchange 20 thoroughbred horses for 30 victory wheels.

In the aid that Magnesium provided to Britain, in addition to a large amount of weapons, equipment, food and other supplies, it also sold a number of cargo ships to British ship owners at prices almost at cost price.

If the cargo ships of these ship owners were sunk by German submarines, the victims would not be the Chinese.

But the profits from shipping across the Atlantic were really high back then. Some ship owners could make back the money for an entire ship after just two round trips.

Of course, this was a special period when the German submarine blockade of the Atlantic Ocean reached its peak.

But even if the blockade of the wolf pack tactics was broken later and the shipping profit was reduced, it would still take half a year or a year to make back the profit of a ship.

With such a great temptation, many people are willing to take the risk.

So for McDonald, let alone 30 Victory ships, as long as he was willing to bid $50, he could buy seventy or eighty of them in three years.

Then make money from the 20 thoroughbred horses every year.

However, he and Morgan Jr. were not stupid either. They directly asked Chu Xiangqian to cancel the auction of purebred horses for the next three years.

Chu Xiangqian was not going to do it anymore. He had said before that he would hold two auctions every year.

Although it was not held last year, you have to decide for yourself whether to hold one or two events, or not hold it for a whole year.

After some bargaining, Chu Xiangqian quickly promised that in the future, the number of purebred horses to be auctioned in each of the two auctions each year would not exceed 20.

Now Morgan Jr. and McDonald had no objection.

As for private transactions, even if the two of them wanted to intervene, they couldn't.

And on second thought, holding an auction every year is equivalent to maintaining the price of the horses in Chu Xiangqian's hands.

When the horse that he promised to win the Triple Crown really wins the Triple Crown in Magnesium, the price of the horse in Chu Xiangqian's hands will definitely increase.

This is good for both of them.

Then Morgan asked quickly, "Stark, you haven't told me and McDonald yet, is the Triple Crown horse you mentioned a purebred horse or a Arabian horse?"

Chu Xiangqian laughed when he heard it. For little Morgan, he definitely hoped that the horse was a thoroughbred.

Unfortunately, Chu Xiangqian had to maintain the market price of the Arabian horse, and among the purebred horses auctioned this time, the chestnut horse had good three-dimensional attributes.

Even if you can't win a first-level championship, it shouldn't be difficult to get into the top five.

There is this chestnut thoroughbred horse, and among the thoroughbred horses auctioned at the end of the year before last, there was one that also participated in the Grade 1 Speed ​​Championship last year.

So Chu Xiangqian was not worried at all that the price of purebred horses would fall.

When they heard it was a Arabian horse, Morgan Jr. and McDonald felt a little regretful, but then they thought about it and realized that in the past three years, it was Wuzhui who won the Triple Crown in Ying State.

Furthermore, the Arabian horse that is about to appear has won the Triple Crown this year in Magnesium. In the years to come, the market's pursuit of the Arabian horse will definitely be more eager, even crazy, than in the past two or three years.

By then, the Arabian horse in the hands of the three of them would be worth 1500 million pounds alone.

As long as you sell it, it’s like you don’t spend any money and you become the owner of a Triple Crown horse.

Gain both fame and fortune.

If you don't sell it, you only need to let the horse win a few Grade 1 events every year, and let it breed for the rest of the time.

The cost of each breeding is most likely twice as expensive as Wuzhui’s previous breeding fees.

Similarly, the breeding fee for Wuzhui will definitely increase as well.

Or simply breed the two horses separately, and the future foal might be worth millions of pounds before it's even born.

Little Morgan hurriedly continued to ask, "Stark, our precious horse, is it a stallion or a mare?"

Chu Xiangqian rolled his eyes after hearing this. Little Morgan in New York was wondering why Chu Xiangqian didn't say anything. At that moment, his assistant stepped forward and whispered something in his ear.

Little Morgan reacted immediately and laughed awkwardly.

These days stallions win speed races far more often than fillies.

It can even be said that in all Grade 10, and races, the winning rate of female horses is less than %.

This was exactly the opposite of what happened decades later.

But within this 10% proportion, there are 60 Triple Crown winners among the mares born before the 8s.

Although there were only 60 stallions before the 14s, it has been proven that in the top speed races, female horses are more likely to produce explosive breds.

Moreover, since the 90s, when mares and stallions compete in major competitions, mares often receive a 4-pound reduction.

This system did give mares a fairer treatment in the 90s and the first decade of the new millennium.

But later on, the system of reducing the pounds of mares meant that mares began to show signs of surpassing stallions in the number of championships.

What’s even more surprising is that a newly pregnant filly can actually perform better than usual on the track.

This made many horse owners have evil thoughts.

Let the female horse get pregnant first. Not only will it perform better on the track, but once it wins, the value of the foal that is about to be born will increase tenfold or even dozens of times while it is in the horse's belly.

Moreover, statistics will prove in the future that, even though both are champion horses, the probability of the offspring of champion mares producing champions is much higher than that of the offspring of stallions.

In other words, a champion stallion can ensure that the overall strength of his offspring improves, while a champion mare can easily ensure that among her offspring there will be foals as strong as herself.

Chu Xiangqian has no control over this kind of probabilistic thing, but based on the breeding situation of Champion Knight in the past three years, it can indeed prove that future statistics are correct.

So he is really only willing to upgrade and add points to the stallion now.

Not to mention that judging from the offspring of Champion Knight and Black Horse that have been upgraded, the foals born are generally good, but their three-dimensional attributes are only at the level of the foals refreshed every day in the Novice Village.

When the champion knight won the Triple Crown and got the first breeding opportunity, the foal born by the mare belonging to Elizabeth was 2 years old in the middle of last year. Chu Xiangqian personally checked it.

The three-dimensional properties are basically around 1 point.

But probably because the champion knight's strength increased by 1 point to 2.2, the foal's strength was also outstanding.

Just after turning two years old, the strength reached 1.1.

After the test, the horse immediately became Elizabeth and Philip's favorite.

We are looking forward to this foal taking part in this year's English Triple Crown competition after it turns three years old.

(End of this chapter)