Started from Hong Kong Island

Chapter 408 406 [Price 7.1 billion yuan]

"Why? Doesn't Mr. Zhuang have confidence in Hang Lung Bank?" Li Wendi asked with a smile.

Zhuang Rongkun had already prepared for this, and responded with a smile, "The Zhuang family is the Zhuang family. They have never been tied to Hang Lung Bank. They are not tied to it now, and they will not be tied to it in the future. This is the family's rule of conduct. Please forgive me, Mr. Li!"

"Okay, let's change it. If Hang Lung Bank encounters a major crisis, such as facing bankruptcy and liquidation and needs to be taken over by the Hong Kong government, then this debt should be treated as a bad debt. How about that?" said Li Wendi.

Zhuang Rongkun still shook his head. "If Xie Liyuan Gold Shop is managed properly, how could it become a bad debt? If I really agreed to Mr. Li, my brother and I would probably be held legally responsible and even have to spend a few years in Stanley Prison."

"Okay, I won't force you, Mr. Zhuang. I can only extend the repayment period of the debt and pay it off in 10 years. How about that?" Li Wendi continued his attack.

Zhuang Rongkun still refused to agree, so Li Wendi sneered and said, "In that case, let Xie Liyuan Gold Shop go bankrupt. This is in the interests of both of us."

"Don't worry, Mr. Li!" Zhuang Rongkun quickly comforted Li Wendi and said, "Since Hang Lung Bank holds 20% of the shares of Xie Liyuan Gold Shop, it has a certain responsibility to bear the debt, so I will try my best to persuade the shareholders to forgive 25% of Xie Liyuan Gold Shop's debt, which means reducing the debt by 1 million yuan. Xie Liyuan Gold Shop only needs to repay the remaining 3.3 million yuan, which will be paid off in three years."

"But I have a condition. This matter only exists in our agreement and cannot be leaked to the outside world. I can also promise Mr. Li that even if Hang Lung Bank changes its owner, this agreement will continue to be implemented."

It was only then that Li Wendi saw the sincerity of the Zhuang family. "Let's waive 3%. Xie Liyuan Gold Shop only needs to repay 3 million yuan, 1 million yuan per year."

"Okay!" Zhuang Rongkun nodded immediately. He had already seen a hint of anger in Li Wendi.

In fact, 3 million yuan is an excessive amount. After all, a large part of the gold in the vault of Xie Liyuan Gold Shop belongs to other customers. However, in Li Wendi's eyes, the name of Xie Liyuan Gold Shop is worth the price.

"Da Zhuangsheng, please discuss it with the shareholders as soon as possible. I think everyone is in a hurry. If Xie Liyuan Gold Shop really goes bankrupt, our verbal agreement today will be useless." Li Wendi reminded in a deep voice.

"Don't worry, Mr. Li. I know this very well."

Qi Nian Newspaper Company
"Now that we have acquired Xie Liyuan Gold Shop Company, can we be qualified to compete with Chow Tai Fook Jewellery?" He Qijun asked excitedly.

"After Junfu Jewelry swallowed up Xie Liyuan Gold Shop, its scale is only 7% to 8% of Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Company, not even comparable." Li Wendi shook his head. "The important thing now is to help Xie Liyuan Gold Shop get out of the crisis. It is unlikely to inject capital, but we can persuade Hang Lung Bank to sell the properties under Xie Liyuan Gold Shop to our family company in exchange for some working capital to buy the gold that customers have deposited in the vault."

He Qijun thought for a moment and said, "Gold in troubled times, jewels in prosperous times! I don't think those customers will agree to this."

Today's Hong Kong dollars are not as valuable as before, and gold is more cost-effective than banknotes.

"If it's exchanged into Hong Kong dollars, they certainly won't be willing to do so. What if it's exchanged into US dollars? Or British pounds?" Li Wendi smiled.

He Qijun paused for a moment and said, "You can try."

"The sales of newsprint should be very good recently. So many people are always paying attention to the developments in Hong Kong and the mainland, as well as some news from abroad." Li Wendi smiled faintly.

"Speaking of this, should we also make some preparations? In case the worst thing really happens, we won't suffer such a huge loss." He Qijun's face was full of worry.

It seems that this round of negotiations will have far-reaching influence, but anyone with some assets will be worried because the British propaganda is so powerful.

"No, our family's headquarters will always be in Hong Kong, and this will never change." Li Wendi turned around and comforted him, "Don't worry, I still have nearly $10 billion invested in the United States, and I also have a lot of investment in Singapore."

He Qijun still feels reluctant to lose so many assets.

"If you are interested in industrial buildings, Qi Nian Newspaper Company can buy industrial buildings in Kowloon Bay. The price has dropped to 7% of the peak, which is too cheap." Li Wendi changed the subject. "Will it drop below 5%?" He Qijun was still greedy.

Li Wendi shook his head and said, "No, even if it drops to 5%, you won't lose money."

Qinian Newspaper Company has recovered a lot of funds from the real estate industry, plus the profits from newsprint in the past two months, it can buy 10 industrial buildings without taking out a loan.

"Okay, then I'll arrange someone to do it." He Qijun responded.

Back to Admiralty Admiralty Centre Office

Zhang Wentao immediately walked in to report his work. "Boss, the Hong Kong government announced the launch of a piece of land in the Victorian Army Building on Admiralty Road, covering an area of ​​11.5 square feet and estimated to be worth 5.5 million yuan. Should we sign up to participate?"

The value of 5.5 million yuan is naturally calculated based on the current land price. Compared with the land price in Admiralty in the previous two years, it is nearly 8% cheaper.

In the past, when this piece of land was launched, only three consortiums submitted bids, including Cheung Kong Holdings which bid HK$3 million and New World Development Company which bid HK$6 million. In the end, the Hong Kong government took it back on the grounds that the bid was too low.

This piece of land is close to Admiralty Section 2 MTR station, but the price is very different.

According to Li Wendi's idea, this piece of land would be cheap even if it was offered at 10 billion yuan, but he would not offer such a high price at this time.

"Of course I will participate! Let's set the price at 7.1 million yuan." Li Wendi immediately determined the price.

Zhang Wentao was slightly surprised that the boss actually added an extra 1.6 million yuan. This price must be a sky-high one.

"Boss, the current real estate market has fallen sharply. The Hong Kong government is launching this piece of land to stimulate the real estate market. There is no need for us to bid so high, right?"

Li Wendi waved his hand and said, "It's only 7.1 million. The group's funds should be enough, right? If not, we can work with my private company to get it."

Seeing that Li Wendi had made up his mind, Zhang Wentao said nothing more.

A super shopping mall and a five-star hotel can be built on this 11.5 square feet of land, with a floor area of ​​up to 5 million square feet. One shopping mall is larger than the two shopping malls built on the Admiralty Section 190 land, and can generate an annual profit of 3 million yuan for the Changxin Group.

By the 90s, this shopping mall and hotel could generate an annual profit of no less than 15 billion yuan, and the value of the two buildings would exceed billion yuan.

Therefore, the current 7.1 million yuan is just a snack. When the time comes, we will get all the remaining land of the barracks from the auction. The floor area of ​​the entire land will exceed 480 million square feet, creating a profit of 8 million yuan. By the 90s, the rental and hotel income will reach an annual profit of 40 billion yuan.

At that time, the Cheung Kong Group would be a veritable landlord in the Admiralty area of ​​Hong Kong, earning 100 billion yuan a year from rental income alone.

As expected, the Hong Kong government's launch of the Admiralty Real Estate King did not attract much attention. After all, many real estate developers are trembling and desperately seeking funds to maintain the operation of their companies in order to survive the cold winter.

Even New World Development, which has always been as steady as an old dog, dares not spend too much money. No one knows whether the winter will get even colder.

There were almost no real estate businessmen like Li Wendi who sold properties before the disaster to recover a large amount of funds, because no one thought that the impact would be so serious, comparable to the stock market crash in 73, but the real estate industry was even worse.

(End of this chapter)