Started from Hong Kong Island

Chapter 294 292 [Digging a Hole]

Changxin Real Estate Company
Zhang Wentao and Zhao Hongcheng came to report that all aspects of Changxin Real Estate Company's business were targeted by the Jardine Matheson Group. Although Changxin Real Estate Company had shrunk its operations due to financial reasons, it also suffered some losses, such as the loss of some high-quality tenants.

Large corporate tenants are more stable than small tenants. They also rent out several floors, which makes it easier for the property company to manage and reduces labor costs, etc. Small tenants only rent a very small office and need to look for tenants of the same type, wasting a lot of rental income. Sometimes, an office even has no tenants for a long time.

Therefore, real estate developers prefer large corporate tenants and tend to ignore small tenants.

"In what way are the conditions offered by Jardine Matheson better than ours?" Li Wendi asked expressionlessly. The Jardine Matheson family has always been retaliating, it's just that it's now the turn of the property leasing.

Jardine Land not only owns Prince's Building, Landmark Atrium and other extremely high-quality properties, but also some slightly inferior properties, which are of the same grade as Cornwall Building, but these properties are overshadowed by the reputation of the superior properties.

Zhang Wentao said, "Jardine Matheson's rent is comparable to ours, but the building's location is more advantageous than ours, and Jardine Matheson is willing to sign a long-term contract of more than three years."

The lease contracts of Changxin Real Estate Company are all signed for one year. After all, property prices are soaring. For example, the rental price of Central properties was 74 yuan per square foot in 6, and now it has risen to 7 yuan per square foot. If Changxin Real Estate Company rents out the properties at 6 yuan per square foot for the next three years, it will lose a lot of profits.

“Isn’t Jardine Matheson afraid of causing dissatisfaction among other companies in the same industry by doing this?” Li Wendi asked with a frown. This is a tactic that kills one thousand enemies but injures eight hundred of your own, harming others as well as yourself.

"The Hong Kong Land Development has many properties in Central, so they are not afraid at all. Although some real estate developers have complained to the Hong Kong government, it is a pity that the Hong Kong government is just 'loud talk but little action' and has not taken any measures to stop the Hong Kong Land Development." Zhang Wentao continued, "Now many real estate developers and property owners want to follow the Hong Kong Land Development's approach so that they can keep some rent."

It is not a good idea to keep the office empty. If it is rented out at a low price, at least there will be a certain amount of rental income. Some owners need to rely on rent to repay bank loans.

Li Wendi thought for a moment and said, "The rent can be slightly reduced, but the lease term is still one year. We can give the original tenant the right to rent for the next year first, or even give priority to other vacant offices."

"If the tenant can bring in new tenants for us, we can not only give them a discount, but also give them an appropriate referral fee. You can discuss similar offers. The only thing that remains unchanged is that the lease contract can only be signed for one year."

Li Wendi is also worried that the rental income is too low, which will affect the repayment of bank loans by Changxin Real Estate Company. After all, there are some loans that cannot be repaid for the time being, such as the Changxin New Village project, the Sai Sai Lake project, and the Sheung Wan warehouse demolition and reconstruction project. The loans of many projects rely on rental income to repay.

It has to be said that this move by Jardine Matheson was quite ruthless. Even if it could not put Changxin Real Estate Company into trouble, it could at least prevent Changxin Real Estate Company from attacking again in a short period of time, making it hide in a corner and lick its wounds like a wounded beast.

It seems that there is not much impact, but in fact it is not small. This is a good time to buy at the bottom and grow bigger, but Changxin Real Estate Company does not have the funds to expand effectively. If this continues, it will be left behind by companies of the same level.

"Okay, we will think about it carefully according to this idea." Zhang Wentao said.

"We need to speed up the development of real estate and recover funds faster. It's okay to make less money." Li Wendi turned his attention to Zhao Hongcheng again.

"Yes, I will do my best." Zhao Hongcheng continued, "The Hong Kong Land Company has acquired a number of warehouses next to the warehouse construction site in Sheung Wan. They are now demolishing them and are preparing to build a similar commercial building next to us. I'm afraid they are also planning to retaliate against us."

Li Wendi pondered for a moment and said, "Don't worry about him. Let's speed up and finish the project before the Landmark Company. The only one who will suffer is the Landmark Company. Our project progress is two steps faster than theirs. As long as we keep the same speed as theirs, the Landmark Company has already lost half the battle."

Some construction processes can be shortened, such as demolition and bricklaying, but steps such as compacting the soil cannot be accelerated. After all, this is related to the stability of the foundation and the service life of the building.

In fact, Li Wendi also wanted to fight back against Jardine Matheson from all aspects, but he did not have the power for the time being, so he could only "retreat". The most important thing is that this is a very good time. Instead of fighting with Jardine Matheson, it is better to carry out mergers and acquisitions, bottom-fishing, and strengthen himself. This is the truth.

"Boss, the Hong Kong government has increased the area of ​​land that can be exchanged for title deeds to 30 square feet per month. However, there are not many companies doing this. Even Henderson Land Development and Sun Hung Kai Properties have stopped exchanging land. Should we follow suit?" Zhao Hongcheng asked.

"Where do most of those lands belong to?" Li Wendi looked at Zhao Hongcheng.

"The land being exchanged now is no longer in Kwai Chung and Sha Tin, but in Tsuen Wan West, Tai Wo Hau, Kwai Fong and Tai Po Market," Zhao Hongcheng replied.

Li Wendi's face became more serious. "The land in Tsuen Wan West, Tai Wo Hau, Kwai Fong, etc. can be exchanged. The Hong Kong government will not exchange the good land, so we have to have a long-term vision. Some places will definitely be developed, so we might as well take them first. In any case, the title deeds are used to exchange the land."

The places that Li Wendi mentioned were all selected based on his memories of previous lives. They can all be developed into small residential areas, but the development time will be later. For example, Tsuen Wan West will be developed in the mid-80s (which will take ten years).

However, once the city is developed, it will be very unlikely to exchange these lands from the Hong Kong government. The Hong Kong government wants to auction these lands to subsidize fiscal expenditure, so how could it possibly sell them to real estate developers at a low price?

"Yes!" Zhao Hongcheng nodded in agreement.

The beginning of April

A somewhat strange stock appeared in the stock market. Its increase exceeded that of all other company stocks. It seems more appropriate to call it an arrow piercing the clouds.

"Xi'an Pu Industrial Co., Ltd.?!" Li Wendi muttered to himself as he looked at the newsprint. He was a little shocked that industrial stocks could actually rise against the trend and break through the siege.

He suspected that someone was manipulating the stock in order to reap the "leeks" and make a quick buck.

Surprisingly, many investors believe in this stock and are chasing after it. There is a reason why Xipu Industrial Co., Ltd. is favored by investors. I heard that this company is engaged in the production of industrial products. I don’t know what kind of shit luck it got. An American company called Xiali ordered a batch of industrial products worth 1.2 million Hong Kong dollars from Xipu Industrial, and has paid a 2% deposit, clearing out Xipu Industrial’s inventory, and there will be business for the next six months.

Stimulated by such favorable news, the share price of Xipu Industrial Company soared from 0.4 yuan to 1.4 yuan, and its market value directly increased by 4600 million yuan, and the rising trend has not stopped yet.

Not to mention the stock investors, even Li Wendi was eager to buy when he saw such a rising trend, but reason told him that this was a trap, a big one.

Just as Li Wendi guessed, five days later, the boss of Xipu Industrial Company sold all his stocks within two days, swept away more than 5 million yuan in the company's account, and then disappeared without a trace.

According to media calculations, this boss embezzled no less than 5000 million yuan in stolen money.

As soon as the news came out, the share price of Xipu Industrial Company plummeted as fast as a bungee jumping machine. Many shareholders cried out in grief at the stock exchange, but to no avail.

Li Wendi stared at the newspaper for a long time without saying a word, not because he felt pity for the stock investors. After all, stock trading is like gambling. Winning or losing depends entirely on your ability, and you cannot blame others if you lose.

"This is a good opportunity. We can set a trap for the Sanqianchi Real Estate Company." Li Wendi smiled cunningly.

So, Li Wendi summoned Zhang Wentao and whispered two words into his ear.

"Yes, I will definitely do it! This 3,000-foot real estate company caused us a lot of losses last time, and now it's their turn." Zhang Wentao said with a sneer.

"Don't expose yourself. The Liu family of the 3,000-foot real estate is on good terms with He Qijun's family, so you need to give them some face." Li Wendi advised.

"Yes!" Zhang Wentao nodded in response.

Liu Xiangtian Family Villa

Liu Jingqi rushed into the room. His father, Liu Zhifei, was sitting in his pajamas, handling official business. He looked up at the impatient Liu Jingqi and sternly rebuked him, "I have taught you many times to stay calm and be steady when encountering things."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jingqi straightened his appearance and reported, "Dad, have you heard about the Xipu Industrial Company?"

Liu Zhifei nodded. "Such a big thing has been reported in all major newspapers. How could I not know about it?"

"Why? Does this matter have anything to do with you?"

Liu Jingqi's expression was stern, and he quickly said, "It has nothing to do with me, but I heard that the warehouse of Xipu Industrial Company is near the sea in Tuen Mun District, with an area of ​​14 square feet. If we take over this piece of land and build an industrial building, we can make a lot of money."

"If we can convert this land into residential land, our profits will at least double."

In the early 70s, the population of Tuen Mun District was around 50. There was certainly no shortage of wealthy people, so the sales of residential buildings were not a problem, but the prices would not go up.

"To convert industrial land into residential land, we need to pay a huge land compensation fee to the Hong Kong government," Liu Zhifei said pessimistically.

"Dad, I've inquired about it. The land premium in Tuen Mun has always been $5 per square foot. 14 square feet is only a few hundred thousand."

Liu Zhifei frowned and said, "What about the debt of Xipu Industrial Company? That's tens of millions of dollars. If we calculate it, we will lose a lot."

"What does Xipu Industrial Company's debt have to do with us? If the bank insists on collecting the debt, it can just let Xipu Industrial go bankrupt. I think the bank certainly doesn't want to not be able to collect any debt. Then we can negotiate with the bank and return one tenth of the debt to them. Moreover, Xipu Industrial has many patents and equipment, which are worth a lot of money." Liu Jingqi spoke in an enthusiastic manner, as if he was a business tycoon.

"Have you asked someone to settle the bill?" Liu Zhifei knew his son.

"Yes, Dad! I asked the company to calculate it for me. We can make 4000 million by building an industrial building and 6000 million by building a residential building." Liu Jingqi said with great excitement.

Although Liu Zhifei was tempted, he still felt a little uneasy, so he personally called someone to investigate the matter instead of making a decision based solely on Liu Jingqi's one-sided statement.

This move made Liu Jingqi a little disappointed. His father didn't even trust his own son, but believed outsiders.

Liu Zhifei hung up the phone and saw that Liu Jingqi looked a little strange, so he comforted him, "It's not that I don't trust you, but your information is incomplete. I need more complete information to avoid mistakes. The funds involved here are at least several million."

"Yeah, I know." Liu Jingqi nodded, pursed his lips, and looked a little unconvinced.

Liu Zhifei glanced at Liu Jingqi, without further explanation, and asked Liu Jingqi to leave, saying that he had to continue handling official business.

(End of this chapter)