Started from Hong Kong Island

Chapter 236 [Making a Big Profit from a Small-Scale Bargain Hunt]

After several months of preparation, the corruption case of Chinese detectives such as Xu Shoukun became public knowledge. Although they used their power to stop it, it could only be stopped temporarily as the offensive of the ICAC was unstoppable.

Xu Shoukun already knew about Li Wendi's report to the ICAC, but he did not have the energy to deal with the matter because he was busy selling his property assets in order to raise more money to live abroad.

Of course, this was not the work of Xu Shoukun alone. The same was true for other inspectors. The ICAC blocked the sale of some assets, but it was difficult to block all transactions.

In today's depressed real estate market, there are not many people who can take over the properties in the hands of these inspectors. Most of them are rich and powerful people. They are also worried that these properties may easily cause trouble, or they want to lower the property prices.

So the inspector's property was very tricky and there were many problems in actually selling it.

Xu Shoukun naturally thought of the option of Li Wendi. Li Wendi had refused to meet him many times and had not even fulfilled the promised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Xu Shoukun had no way to deal with this. He couldn't hold Li Wendi hostage at gunpoint, and the bodyguards around Li Wendi were not easy to deal with.

Therefore, Xu Shoukun had no choice but to choose a very embarrassing method, which was to block Li Wendi on the path that Li Wendi had to take.

Li Wendi was very afraid that Xu Shoukun would become desperate, so he took out his gun and aimed at him on the spot. He had no choice but to let the bodyguard search Xu Shoukun and take away his gun, but Xu Shoukun didn't care.

Who is not afraid of death? Especially the rich!

In the office, two bodyguards stood behind Li Wendi, and Xu Shoukun sat opposite him.

"Mr. Li is really cautious. You can't see his former nickname of Black Wolf anymore." Xu Shoukun was mocking Li Wendi for being afraid of death. Perhaps it was because of what happened just now that Xu Shoukun felt very embarrassed.

Li Wendi smiled and didn't care too much. He was not the original owner. Aren't people afraid of death? This is a normal thing.

"Inspector Xu, are you here specifically to mock me? I believe you must be very busy recently."

Hearing this, Xu Shoukun's face darkened. He knew that Li Wendi was talking about the bunch of losers from the ICAC, but he still had some reason. "Why hasn't the money that Mr. Li promised arrived yet? Did he forget about it?"

Li Wendi shook his head. "It's not that I forgot, but I'm afraid that the ICAC will find evidence against me and say that I bribed you and there was an improper transaction between us. That would be a serious matter."

The friendship between the two is so shallow that if Li Wendi takes the risk to help, wouldn’t he be a fool?

The corners of Xu Shoukun's mouth twitched, and his eyes couldn't help but move up to the two bodyguards, who seemed to be about to attack.

"Mr. Li is right!" Xu Shoukun calmed down. "I have a lot of properties. Mr. Li can buy and sell them. This is aboveboard and the ICAC won't have any problems."

Li Wendi still shook his head. Properties bought through corruption and bribery are also within the scope of investigation by the ICAC and may become stolen property. "Inspector Xu, I know you are in a difficult situation, but I am just a businessman and don't want to get into trouble. Please forgive me for not being able to help you."

"The inspector has so many friends. It shouldn't be a big problem to find some people to take over the property."

Xu Shoukun had expected this. Li Wendi was always shrewd and could not be fooled with just a few words. "I have many friends, but few of them are sincere. If Mr. Li doesn't help me, I'm afraid I have nowhere to go."

With no other options, the next natural step is to take a risk.

This is an implicit threat!

Li Wendi paused and smiled, "It seems that Inspector Xu is determined to drag me down! I am busy, so I definitely can't help you, but I can give you a reminder. According to the news I received, the Independent Commission Against Corruption is applying to the Governor of Hong Kong for a batch of arrest warrants, and your name is on it. If the Governor of Hong Kong was not busy with the expiration of the New Territories lease, this arrest warrant would be issued soon."

Li Wendi was telling the truth. There were indeed rumors that the Governor of Hong Kong was considering approving the arrest, but he was worried that the impact would be too great and wanted to be well prepared before taking action.

Xu Shoukun's eyes widened, "Are you telling the truth?"

"I don't know whether it's true or not, but if I were you, Inspector Xu, I would definitely rather believe it. As for those properties and assets, they are not as important as your life." Li Wendi still smiled slightly.

Even if Xu Shoukun spread the news, he was not worried because he heard it from someone else. Whether he sneaked into the Governor's office or the Independent Commission Against Corruption and eavesdropped on it, he would not be guilty if he was discovered.

The right thing to do now is to get rid of Xu Shoukun.

Just as Li Wendi expected, Xu Shoukun no longer discussed the sale of the property, but turned around and left Changxin Real Estate Company.

At the same time, the ICAC personnel who were following Xu Shoukun reported the news of Xu Shoukun's visit to Li Wendi and received an order to continue monitoring Xu Shoukun.

After Xu Shoukun left, Li Wendi took a sip of tea and sneered, "I thought this guy valued money over his life, but he is still a coward. It is unlikely that he will escape. The food in Stanley Prison should be good."

In fact, Li Wendi did not really want to remind Xu Shoukun, he just wanted to destroy Xu Shoukun's sanity. As long as he lost his composure, the ICAC could do a better job, and at the same time, Li Wendi could get a small revenge.

End of march
The West German Ministry of Finance officially announced that the mark would appreciate again, with an appreciation of 23%.

This news shocked the entire Western world because there was the shadow of the Americans in it and the appreciation rate was also very large.

Those financial speculators immediately started buying marks, but unfortunately the opportunity was lost and they could only get a sip of soup at best.

The investment department of Changxin Real Estate Company made great contributions this time. Not only did it borrow 6 million from the bank in advance, but it also used ten times leverage to buy Mark currency with a total value of 1 million Hong Kong dollars. It is estimated that the profit this time is no less than 20%.

With such exciting news, all opinions about the investment department within Changxin Real Estate completely disappeared, and the few people in the investment department also raised their heads.

Of course, the income of Changxin Real Estate Company cannot compare to Li Wendi’s personal profit in any way. The leveraged funds are as high as 5 million, and the rate of return exceeds 20%, which is a profit of 1 million.

Li Wendi didn't want to wait, so he went to HSBC immediately and asked Wu Xiong to start selling Mark currency to recover funds.

It’s not that they are worried about the depreciation of the mark, but they don’t want to pay more interest. The interest on a 5 million loan is more than yuan a day, which is quite high.

Wu Xiong looked at Li Wendi with admiration, and made up his mind to follow Li Wendi as his guiding light in investment in the future.

In early September, Mark completed the sale of all his shares, and Li Wendi made a profit of nearly 1 million yuan (after tax deduction), so Li Wendi's personal funds exceeded 2 million yuan.

Li Wendi wanted to make a big move at this time, "Mr. Wu, what is the current share price of Wharf Holdings?"

That's right, Li Wendi wanted to attack Wharf Holdings, a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson, but now he was lying in wait and buying stocks at a low price, which might save him a lot of money in the future. Wu Xiong lowered his head and thought, then replied, "3.6 yuan!"

The total share value of Wharf Holdings now does not exceed 1 million shares, which means the market value is only 3.6 million yuan. This is really a seriously underestimated market value. The land of Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui alone is worth several hundred million yuan. Add to that the tram companies and other businesses under Wharf Holdings, the actual market value is several times of 3.6 million yuan.

Li Wendi touched his chin and said, "Take out 6000 million from my account and help me slowly absorb the shares of Wharf Holdings. Let's follow the old rules. Don't let others find out and don't arouse the market's vigilance."

Wu Xiong thought of Li Wendi's intention to acquire Wharf Holdings, but the idea flashed through his mind. Although Wharf Holdings had a low market value and a low stock price, it was backed by the huge company Jardine Matheson. It was not so easy to successfully acquire the company, and it was also easy to offend Jardine Matheson.

It is a towering mountain in Hong Kong's business community and has an extraordinary influence on businessmen.

Therefore, Wu Xiong felt that Li Wendi wanted to invest in Wharf Holdings and even use it to establish a relationship with Jardine Matheson.

"Okay! This will take some time. We will be able to buy all of them within half a month." Wu Xiong promised.

Li Wendi knew that this stock acquisition would definitely alert the enemy, but when he thought about how the charter king could not successfully acquire the company in a short period of time relying on HSBC and its own strong cash flow, and it took nearly two years, Li Wendi was ready for a protracted war. So Li Wendi needed to spread the message: I, Li Wendi, have already set my sights on Wharf Holdings, and the rest of you should not come and grab it.

After all, Baochuan Wang and Li Jiacheng were also coveting Kowloon Wharf. Acting early would help them gain a firm foothold morally. Besides, Baochuan Wang was a moral man and would not seize the property by force.

Metropolitan Real Estate Company Office

According to the plan, Gao Yi should have completed the acquisition of all interests in Liancheng Building in April 74. However, Gao Yi met a stubborn boss. Fortunately, Gao Yi was very patient and waited for several months before the boss of that company finally gave in.

The reason for the relenting was that the company needed funds to turn over, otherwise it would face bankruptcy.

Gao Yi also thought about acquiring that company, but was worried that the heavy debt would affect the development of Ducheng Real Estate Company.

The company is called Chaoyang Land Development Co., Ltd. It was established in 53 and has been established in Hong Kong for 21 years. However, it is not very strong and can only meet the threshold of a medium-sized real estate company.

When the real estate market was hot in 72, he frantically bought a lot of properties and land. Now the land prices have fallen sharply, and he is now insolvent and unable to repay the bank interest, and his business is in trouble.

If Chaoyang Real Estate Company insists on not selling its half interest in Liancheng Building, there is a high possibility that it will go bankrupt, and at that time it will not be able to keep its half interest in Liancheng Building.

However, Gao Yi was a very kind person and did not do anything to take advantage of others' misfortune. Of course, this was also due to Li Wendi's instructions. Li Wendi's reason was that Chaoyang Real Estate Company was not suitable for acquisition as it was burdened with too much debt, so it would be better to use the funds to purchase properties and land in the market.

If the assets of Chaoyang Real Estate Company were of high quality, Li Wendi would naturally not care about any morality. In fact, except for the interests in Liancheng Building, the other property assets of Chaoyang Real Estate Company were rubbish and nothing Li Wendi would be interested in.

"Well! It's not bad. We spent less than 10 million to acquire half of the equity of Liancheng Building. Although it took a lot longer, the price was lower, which saved the company a lot of money." Li Wendi said seriously.

"It still didn't go according to your plan." There was no joy on Gao Yi's face.

"Plans cannot keep up with market changes. As long as we can get greater benefits for the company, it's good." Li Wendi was very fond of Gao Yi's attitude. When the boss praises someone, the subordinate must not be complacent, otherwise how can the boss think that you are a stable person.

"The asset value of Capital Real Estate Company is very good. It has two commercial buildings in Central, many shops in good locations and some high-quality industrial buildings. How much funds does the company have now?" Li Wendi continued.

Gao Yi thought for a moment and said, "There are still about 1000 million."

"If I want that sum of money to buy properties at a low price without interfering with the company's operations, how much money can you give me?" Li Wendi said bluntly.

The real estate market has now reached its trough. After a while, other real estate developers will also have to make moves. At that time, it will be more difficult to acquire some high-quality properties.

"At most 800 million!" Gao Yi pondered for a while before he dared to give a definite answer.

"Okay, then 800 million! Go and find some high-quality properties. As for time, just finish it before the Spring Festival." Li Wendi said with a roll of his eyes.

800 million is just a small amount for Li Wendi. Even in the downturn of the real estate market, he may not be able to buy many high-quality properties. After all, the price drop of high-quality properties is not very serious, probably between 30% and 60%.

The decline of some industrial buildings that do not retain their value has exceeded 80%, leaving some companies in a predicament of "insolvency". Companies like Great Eagle Properties are not doing well because Luo Yingshek's strategy is to attack industrial buildings and warehouses.

Of course, acquiring low-priced industrial buildings is a good direction, but these industrial buildings need to be held for more than three years before they can generate significant returns, which is a torture for people like Li Wendi who want to quickly increase the value of their assets.

Changxin Real Estate Company Office

There was an unexpected guest visiting, and Li Wendi had to receive him personally.

"Mr. Li, why do you have time to come and sit with me today?" Li Wendi looked at Li Huanggua and asked jokingly with a smile.

Li Huanggua has always been very good at calculating. Any talk of pursuing a win-win situation is a lie. He will only choose to attack what he needs, not to make money together.

So Li Wendi was very worried that Li Huanggua would plot against him, and Li Wendi always wanted to weaken Li Huanggua's strength to avoid him becoming an opponent in the future. Li Huanggua's strength was too strong and difficult to deal with.

"To be honest, I came to Mr. Li to seek cooperation." Li Jiacheng smiled and said, "Changxin Real Estate has a Hong Kong Building in Wan Chai, and Cheung Kong Industries also has a commercial building next to it. If we can merge them, the profit will be much higher than it is now. Besides, the real estate market is in a downturn now. When the new building is completed, the market should have improved. We can sell it and make a lot of money."

This plan is certainly good, but the distribution of benefits is a difficult issue to negotiate.

"Then how does Mr. Li plan to distribute the profits and expenditures?" Li Wendi asked expressionlessly.

"The profits will be distributed according to the value of the building and the area it occupies. The construction costs will be distributed according to the profit sharing ratio." Li Huanggua did not dare to underestimate Li Wendi. He still remembered the last two events clearly. "What do you think, Mr. Li?"

Li Wendi nodded. Li Huanggua did not take advantage this time. This distribution plan was still very reasonable. "Okay, let's do as Mr. Li said. However, after it is completed, I have the priority to buy this building at the same price."

"Of course!" Li Huanggua said with a smile, "Mr. Li really has a special liking for property management."

Li Wendi just smiled at this. He also did the "goods like wheels turning" business, but being a landlord was his dream.

The income from collecting rent in the future will be not much different from that from doing business, and it is a relatively stable income. The key is that it can be a family heirloom.

(End of this chapter)