People in Hong Kong create super chaebols

Chapter 339 The purpose of the invitation
After everyone was polite to each other, a staff member from the Governor's Mansion came up and asked them what they wanted to drink. Su Cheng asked for a cup of hot coffee.

"I wonder why Mr. Governor called me here this time?" Su Cheng said, sitting on the sofa, facing Mailihao.

"Don't worry, Mr. Su. There are still three people who haven't come yet. We'll talk about it when they come." Mailihao said with a smile.

There are three more?

Su Cheng was a little surprised.

Originally, he thought it was due to Jardine's side this time, so Mailihao helped invite Su Cheng to come over to talk about selling Wharf stocks.

Now it seems that it shouldn’t be that thing!

"Yes, in addition to Mr. Su and Mr. Tie Bijian, I also invited Swire Bank's senior manager Shi Yoke, Huifeng Bank's senior manager Shen Bi, and Mr. Bao from Global Shipping Group." Mailihao nodded.

Su Cheng was even more surprised after hearing this.

The people invited by Mai Lihao are all very important people in the business community of Xiangjiang.

Now it seems that there should be something very important to discuss!
However, since Mailihao said he would wait until everyone arrived before talking, Su Cheng was not in a hurry.

Soon, Charter King, Shen Bi, and Shi York also arrived at the Governor's Mansion within 10 minutes.

Seeing Su Cheng here, everyone's eyes changed when they looked at Su Cheng.

In the past, Su Cheng was a junior in their eyes.

Later, after Sioux City captured Hutchison Whampoa, Sioux City was barely equal in their eyes.

Now, Su Cheng has become recognized as the richest man in the world, which makes them feel inferior to Su Cheng.

Therefore, when talking to Su Cheng, there was a hint of respect without realizing it, even for Shen Bi.

In the office of the Governor's Mansion, several people shook hands and greeted each other before sitting down and waiting for Governor Mailihao to speak.

Shen Bi obviously had no curiosity about this invitation, so he should have already known the purpose of his visit.

As for the Charter King, judging from his expression, he must have been invited here unexpectedly, and he had no idea what was going on.

"You are all representatives of the business community in Hong Kong. I invite you this time to discuss a very important matter. With the increase in the population of Hong Kong, the flow of people between the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island is getting closer and closer. Now the entire Hong Kong , there is only one cross-sea tunnel, and it is very congested during peak hours. This has seriously affected the economic development of Hong Kong. Therefore, it is necessary for us to build a second cross-sea tunnel as soon as possible. The investment in such a cross-sea tunnel is very large. It will certainly not be possible to rely solely on the government, so I invite you all to come over today, firstly, to discuss the construction plan for the cross-sea tunnel, and secondly, to discuss the possibility of cooperation." After seeing that everyone was seated, Mailihao didn't talk much. He said, directly stating the purpose of inviting everyone here today.

After hearing Mailihao's words, Su Cheng finally knew the reason for coming here this time.

Why didn't MacLehose talk about the cross-sea bridge but directly said the cross-sea tunnel?
Because everyone knows that Victoria Harbor is a world-famous waterway and it is impossible to build a bridge.

If the bridge is built, it will have a serious impact on Hong Kong, the world's largest port, and it will have a devastating blow to the economy of Hong Kong. In addition, Hong Kong is famous for the urban landscape on both sides of Victoria Harbor. If the bridge is built, it will also be very serious. Affecting the landscape of Hong Kong.

This is why MacLehose did not talk about cross-sea bridges at all but directly talked about cross-sea tunnels.

Since its completion in 1972, the first cross-sea tunnel in Hong Kong, the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel, it has played an important role in the economic development of Hong Kong over the years.

Now, after so many years, it is time to study the second cross-sea tunnel.

"Mr. Governor, I personally strongly support the construction of the second cross-sea tunnel. I wonder what the government's plans are?" Swire Pacific's chief executive, Shiyok, asked first.

Su Cheng glanced at the chief executive of Swire Pacific, thinking deeply in his heart.

Su Cheng and Shi York were not familiar with each other, and there was almost no contact between them.

However, Su Cheng did not underestimate this building whose presence was not high among the top bosses at all.

His company, Taikoo & Co., has businesses including real estate, aviation, beverages and food chains, marine services, trade and industry. Its position in Hong Kong is no worse than that of Jardine Matheson.

The most important one is Hong Kong’s airline, Cathay Pacific, which is owned by Swire Pacific.After crude oil funds gradually return, Sioux City will also consider Cathay Pacific in the future.

During the time when Su City was out of the limelight, Li Yihui successively sold more than 1000 million tons of crude oil.

Therefore, Sioux City’s current funds are very sufficient.

It is already fully capable of snatching over Cathay Pacific Airways from the Swire Group.

However, before that, Sioux City plans to take over Hong Kong Electric Group.

The road must be walked step by step, and we must not offend too many people at once.

Otherwise, no matter how rich Su Cheng is, if the British consortium in Xiangjiang unites to deal with him, he will not be able to live in poverty.

"Mr. Governor, I also very much support the closer connection between the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island. It is necessary to start construction of the second undersea tunnel as soon as possible! If the Governor's Office needs support, I will give my full support on behalf of Huifeng Bank!" Shen Biye expressed his stance.

"Mr. Governor, if you need financial support for this second undersea tunnel project, I can participate!" Su Cheng also expressed his position directly.

Afterwards, Charter King and Twisted Bijian successively represented the forces behind MacLehose’s second tunnel project.

After all, this is a good investment project.

After the completion of the first undersea tunnel, the Hung Hom Undersea Tunnel, it has already made a lot of money.

Therefore, since the government wants them to participate in the second undersea tunnel, they will not miss such a good opportunity.

The construction cost of an undersea tunnel will indeed be high, but compared to the profits, that investment is nothing.

In 1972, the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel was completed and opened to traffic, with a total investment of HK$3.2 million.

Now only a few years have passed, but the money has already been recovered.

After that, it’s time to make money.

Of course, nowadays, with the rising prices of various commodities, if it is built today, the investment will at least double.

But [-] to [-] billion is nothing to the big guys here.

Why doesn’t the Governor-General do it himself?

Although the Xiangjiang government has great undertakings, it still needs to spend a lot of money. It would be great if the city's finances do not suffer a deficit every year.

The construction of undersea tunnels will take at least several years, and it will take several more years to recover the cost.

Therefore, it is basically impossible for the Xiangjiang government to provide this money on its own.

Moreover, if some profits are given to these Hong Kong businessmen, their stickiness to Hong Kong will be even higher.

In recent years, British-funded consortiums have gradually withdrawn from Hong Kong and returned to Europe. As a result, the annual business investment in Hong Kong has declined instead of increasing.

If all the evacuated funds flow back to the UK, that would be fine. As a British person, MacLehose is even very supportive.

However, these people not only withdrew their property to the UK, but many British-owned companies also withdrew their companies to other European countries or the Americas.

This is also the reason why Mai Lihao asked all the big guys to come over.

By retaining these most important people in Xiangjiang's business community, Xiangjiang will not be afraid of anything.

(End of this chapter)