Hong Kong Island's New Rich Era

Chapter 295 The only one

1994 years.

In the past year, Liu Zhicheng's wealth has increased significantly. His net worth based on stock market wealth alone is already 1500 billion.

He should be able to remain the richest man for another two years.

If nothing unexpected happens, Bill Gates will have a chance to reach the top in 1996.

The biggest contributor, of course, is the Whampoa Group.

The Hang Seng Index closed at 12100 points last year, and the market value of Whampoa Group was as high as HK$2180 billion, only HK$300 billion less than HSBC, which is incredible.

In the eyes of professionals, HSBC's asset value is much higher than that of Whampoa Group and is completely not in the same league.

However, Whampoa Group is popular among stockholders, and its profit level is indeed impressive (estimated at HK$1993 billion in 160, with non-recurring profit increasing to HK$20 billion, excluding dividends and book value appreciation from investment in US stocks).
Liu Zhicheng is well-deserved to be the No. 3300 chaebol in Hong Kong, with the market value of the entire group of companies he controls reaching NT$12.2 billion, accounting for % of the total market value. (HSBC is not a family company and is not included in the chaebol list, otherwise the market value of HSBC and Hang Seng would still exceed the entire group of companies controlled by Liu Zhicheng)

Liu Zhicheng's hidden wealth also exceeded 100 billion yuan, and these assets were real cash flow;

Including funds invested in US stocks, they can be cashed out at any time without causing book depreciation.

Monday, April 1th.

The work of the new year officially started, and Liu Zhicheng arrived at Huangpu Group on time. Generally, as long as he was in Hong Kong, he would arrive at the company office on time on weekdays.

Of course, as a boss, how can he be in the office all the time? So he is often not in the company; he may be out accompanying guests, or on inspections, or even skipping work to go slacking off.

In the morning, Liu Zhicheng held a meeting with all the senior executives.

Liu Zhicheng said: "Goldman Sachs has already found a company for us to acquire. Hao Qingwen, you will lead the team to start the work later.

It is important to remember to keep as many of the original management and staff as possible to avoid talent loss during the handover period."

Goldman Sachs acted quickly and found a US real estate company with 19 shopping malls for the Whampoa Group. The price was also ideal, just over US$10 billion.

The problem now is that other people’s shopping malls are doing well, and we must not cause staff turmoil during the acquisition, thus affecting development.

After the acquisition, not all 19 shopping centers were renovated at once, but carried out in batches.

Hao Qingwen nodded and said, "Boss, rest assured, I will do a good job. Lane Crawford's management team has been almost recruited, and Goldman Sachs has also introduced us to a president-level talent."

Speaking of this, Liu Zhicheng had to admire Goldman Sachs' attitude towards work, which really cared about its clients.

In fact, they not only participated in the acquisition issues, but also provided a lot of business advice and assistance.

Of course, there is no need to doubt the strength of Huangpu Commercial Management, a subsidiary of Huangpu Group. After all, it is a large commercial real estate company with rich management experience.

Liu Zhicheng went on to say: “If it is an acquisition fund of 80 billion Hong Kong dollars, how can the company pay for it without much impact?”

Hao Qingwen immediately said: "After cashing out the stocks in the Hong Kong stock market, we have about 110 billion Hong Kong dollars in cash.

I suggest making the acquisition with HK$60 billion in cash plus a HK$20 billion loan.

This way, the company still has enough cash to cope with expansion in the new year.”

The bigger the company, the more the Huangpu Group controls its debt. This has become an unspoken rule.

Liu Zhicheng adopted this suggestion!

Although there is only 50 billion Hong Kong dollars left in the account, the interest from the building will continue to roll in for about 3 to 5 months, bringing huge cash flow to the company.

Of course, this does not mean that Huangpu Group’s revenue will decrease a lot during the adjustment period.

This is definitely impossible. After all, the Whampoa Group also has to pay attention to the "rotation of goods". If the real estate market is not good, then the house price must be reduced, packaged, and sold.

Therefore, the 1994 house interest rate will definitely not be lower than that of 1993;

The profit in 1995 must be similar to that in 1994.

Time flies, and half a month passes in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Liu Zhicheng was active in Europe and the United States.

First, we flew to the United States and signed an 80 billion Hong Kong dollar acquisition deal for a non-listed company that owns 19 shopping malls.

When the Whampoa Group once again made a large-scale purchase of assets in the United States and announced its entry into the European and American shopping mall field with the Lane Crawford brand, Hong Kong public opinion gave it a very positive evaluation.

After three consecutive years of large-scale overseas acquisitions, Huangpu Group's annual profit has not only not decreased, but has increased significantly. This is a remarkable achievement.

Moreover, with the economic recovery in Europe and the United States, Huangpu Group's overseas acquisitions of assets have also seen hope.

Moreover, Huangpu Group's stock investment in the United States has generated considerable profits on paper, which also provides the confidence for its overseas expansion.

Thursday, March 1th.

In the morning, senior executives came to Liu Zhicheng's office one after another to report to him on their recent work.

Through this outline-like understanding, Liu Zhicheng can firmly grasp the company and prevent it from going in the wrong direction.

Yuan Tianfan came to Liu Zhicheng's office and handed him a document.

"Boss, this is the contract signed with Thai Tiansi."

Liu Zhicheng picked up the English contract, read it carefully, and quickly confirmed that there would be no problems, after all, there was a lawyer there.

"At present, if we want to produce and sell Red Bull in the mainland, we must solve two problems: one is the licensing issue, and the other is the trademark registration issue.

To solve these problems, the most important thing is our sincerity, which means giving up some shares to mainland state-owned enterprises;

At the same time, we also have to improve the formula according to the official guidance requirements of the mainland, and finally invite a group of experts to evaluate and review it. Once it passes, the official will naturally give approval. "

Yuan Tianfan asked: "You have so many procedures to follow?"

He knew the power of his boss. Every year, he received private donations of two to three hundred million Hong Kong dollars, and he also controlled the public opinion and economy of Hong Kong.

Liu Zhicheng knew that Yuan Tianfan had little dealings with the mainland. Of course, if Liu Zhicheng took action, it would be much easier to obtain a license and registration than Yan Bin in his previous life.

"These are normal procedures and will not give rise to criticism in the future. When I do business in the mainland, I don't like slogans or benefits. I just want fairness."

Having said that, Liu Zhicheng actually still has many advantages, such as getting the best position and the most difficult projects.

"Well, I'll explain it to the team in charge of the beverage company. They are good at dealing with mainland government officials. I'll report back to you if there's any follow-up!"

.........

Yin started in late January.

The Octopus Bank Building located on Des Voeux Road in Central was officially opened, and Liu Zhicheng's friends, business partners, and banking colleagues came to congratulate him.

Octopus Bank Building is formed by merging the original Wang Kee Building and Chinese Bank Building. It is 28 stories high and has a floor area of ​​32.6 square feet.

The current ownership belongs to the Whampoa Group, but Liu Zhicheng plans to sell it to Octopus Bank at a reasonable price in 1995.

The land cost of this building is just over HK$10 billion, and the construction cost is HK$8 million, for a total cost of HK$18 billion.

If it is based on the current price of Grade A office buildings in Central, it would be at least HK$42 billion (unit price HK$1.3 per square foot).

The building is open on three sides, facing Des Voeux Road, Pottinger Street and Connaught Road respectively, and is in a first-class location.

If Liu Zhicheng had not come to merge the buildings, it would have been difficult for anyone else to merge the buildings successfully, and naturally no one would have had such a beautiful building.

The first thing to do when merging buildings is to find the right time, and the best time is when the real estate market is at its lowest point. Of course, finding the right time when the real estate market is at its lowest point is not enough, you also have to purchase it at a premium price; only in this way will the owner be tempted to sell to you.

When we acquired the Chinese Bank Building, it was after the real estate market crash. Not only was the market bad, but there were also risks, and immigration agencies had to line up.

Liu Zhicheng happily entertained the guests, especially the bosses/chairmen of HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and ZG Bank.

Pu Weishi smiled and said, "Mr. Liu is a banker who makes us bow down to him. Octopus Bank's development speed is incredible. I'm afraid it can make up for its 'accumulated losses' this year, right?"

Liu Zhicheng pretended not to know and asked He Changhong, "President He, can we turn the accumulated losses into profits this year?" He Changhong smiled and said to Pu Weishi, "I'm afraid it's still a little short, but our business development is in a good momentum, so we are not in a hurry to achieve success. For us at Octopus Bank, stability is the most important thing."

Everyone couldn't help but complain in their hearts, stability is the most important, then why are you still speculating in spot gold?
In fact, what Pu Weishi is most worried about is not that Octopus Bank threatens HSBC, but that Octopus Bank threatens Hang Seng Bank (a subsidiary), because both banks focus on "personal retail business".

Pu Weishi said: "With the help of such a talented person as President He, it's no wonder that Mr. Liu has managed Octopus Bank so well!"

He Changhong said quickly, "Boss Pu Weishi, thank you for the compliment. Octopus Bank has achieved what it has today because of the trust the boss has placed in us, coupled with the solidarity of our colleagues."

He did not mention the boss's contribution, which is also what Liu Zhicheng always meant.

Liu Zhicheng’s idea is very simple. Running a bank is not running a company. If he is involved in too many things and is not a full-time banker, it will be disadvantageous to the bank itself.

The bank’s money is the bank’s money, not private money. This is what Liu Zhicheng told himself.

So, Octopus Bank will go public at the end of 1996 and then expand overseas.

After chatting with a group of bankers for a while, everyone realized that Liu Zhicheng really knew very little about Octopus Bank, and they couldn't help but marvel at it.

It is clearly a wholly-owned bank, but it runs its manager system like a listed company.

After chatting with everyone for a while, Liu Zhicheng held a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The guests invited were the big bosses of HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and ZG Bank, who cut the ribbon with him, which surprised the media.

Everyone finally realized how big of a figure Liu Zhicheng was. Even though they were competitors, they all came to support him and advertise for him.

Octopus Bank, finally a good headquarters!
When Liu Zhicheng set up a bank, he didn't intend to make it too big. He just wanted it to be a part of his financial group so that it could facilitate some financial investments for him in the future.

After the event, Liu Zhicheng came to the office on the top floor and sat down to think.

Octopus Bank will definitely go overseas and acquire foreign banks or set up local branches. This is permitted by policies in almost all countries.

Important banks must definitely obtain approval at the national level, but small banks should not face too many obstacles.

Of course, Liu Zhicheng did not intend to expand his business too much. His main goal was to establish a banking network around the world to support the business activities of Octopus Financial Group.

With him as their golden finger, Octopus Bank’s development strategy for the next 30 years will not go wrong.

As for thirty years from now, the bank's asset value will be strong enough and its operations can become conservative by then.

Therefore, after Octopus Bank goes public, it will be time to launch an all-out attack.

Octopus Financial Group currently has three businesses: banking, securities, and insurance. Securities and insurance are currently just experiments and have not been seriously developed.

Liu Zhicheng always felt that Octopus Financial Group was still missing a core, yes, a core.

To put it bluntly, banks, securities, and insurance are all service-oriented businesses and cannot give Liu Zhicheng any sense of accomplishment.

He is a man with a golden finger. If this is the case, even if he develops and expands these three industries, he feels that the upper limit is not high and there is nothing to be happy about.

Correct!
The United States has Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, so why doesn’t it do investment banking?

Liu Zhicheng has always been somewhat reluctant to engage in "venture capital" because he has enough funds to buy stocks from the secondary market after those companies go public. This will reduce his "prophetic" risk and avoid creating an image of being omnipotent.

After all, SoftBank was so powerful in its previous life, betting on Yahoo and Alibaba, but it almost went bankrupt in the end;

The reason is simple, because SoftBank has invested in hundreds of companies, some of which have even lost billions or tens of billions of dollars.

Regardless of what he said, Liu Zhicheng felt that working in investment banking was absolutely awesome.

For example, Goldman Sachs recently bought a 28% stake in a clothing company, and then they directly replaced the president with a professional manager of their choice.

In this way, Goldman Sachs does not have to directly intervene in the management, but due to their connections, the president they choose is likely to take the clothing company to a new height.

Liu Zhicheng still remembers this transaction. Goldman Sachs invested more than one billion US dollars, which seemed to have increased nearly tenfold in three years.

.........

The beginning of March, Tuesday.

Whampoa Group.

During this period, the Hong Kong stock market fell by more than 1500 points and is currently just over 10000 points.
Therefore, Liu Zhicheng speculated that the Hong Kong stock market would enter a long bear market, and of course this long period of time was "a year".

This is truly the best era for the Hong Kong stock market. The stock market should be the best place to reflect the comprehensive strength of a country and region. It will not deceive people, and it cannot deceive people.

What amazes Liu Zhicheng the most is that the Dow Jones is only 3900 points at present, which seems to be the beginning of a 30-year bull market.

Although there were the Internet bubble and Lehman Brothers in the middle (almost all of them rebounded strongly after a year), they were opportunities for Liu Zhicheng to make money. He sold high and bought low twice, and his income increased several times.

Sitting in his office, Liu Zhicheng casually flipped through the newspaper, absorbing news from all over the world.

After a while, Hao Qingwen came to his office and handed him a document.

"Boss, the dividend plan has been prepared and is given to you for approval."

Liu Zhicheng nodded and looked at it casually. The general plan was: dividend of HK$2 per share (total share capital is 17.5 billion shares), and one bonus share for every five shares (after expansion, the total share capital is 21 billion shares).

The total dividend payment is 35 billion, which is not a lot considering the company's profit last year was 165 billion Hong Kong dollars; but compared with other companies, it is a lot.

After the total share capital was expanded to only 21 billion shares, the share price was still more than 90 yuan, which was still relatively high;
A lot of Huangpu Group's stock is 200 shares, so the buying and selling threshold is quite high.

"Let's announce it like this!" In the end, Liu Zhicheng approved the dividend plan.

"Okay, I will release the news and start the dividend distribution work as soon as possible." Hao Qingwen said happily.

Dividends are a good thing, not to mention that these executives hold a certain amount of stock and are making long-term investments.

Although the proportion of dividends to profits of Huangpu Group is not very high, any smart person can see that Huangpu Group is expanding very fast, with many new big projects every year and its asset value soaring.

After Hao Qingwen left, Liu Zhicheng also smiled. This year, his three listed group companies distributed a total dividend of 41 billion Hong Kong dollars, which is definitely the number one among the Hong Kong tycoons.

Whampoa Group distributed dividends of HK$35 billion, Asia Television Group distributed dividends of HK$3 million, and Crocodile Group distributed dividends of HK$3 million.

Liu Zhicheng will probably receive a dividend of HK$20 billion, making him the chairman of the board of directors of a listed company that receives the most dividends in Hong Kong.

As for the second place, it should be Li Ka-shing of Henderson Land, because he holds a relatively high proportion of shares and Henderson Land focuses on real estate, so he can distribute the money when he has it.

Liu Zhicheng's income is far more than HK$30 billion, including HK$15 billion in rent from Hongli Investment.

In addition, Orange Technology, City Group and Chigo Industry have annual recurring revenues of approximately HK$100 billion, which is also unique in Hong Kong.

This is cash, not book assets.

.........

weekend.

Liu Zhicheng and Sanmei are on vacation in a luxury villa in Singapore.

The four of them sat around a table on the wide lawn. The three beauties all gave birth to his children last year, and Liu Zhicheng began to pay attention to them.

Money is nothing. What he lacks the least now is money. What he lacks is children.

Liu Zhicheng's idea is very simple. His genes are so good, so of course he should create more people and make greater contributions to mankind.

Later, he had so much money that it was not safe to keep it all in his own hands, and the "feudal system" was suitable for his family.

Liu Zhicheng's throat became knotted when he saw the three women wearing cool and sexy clothes. He arrived in the morning and hadn't eaten the meat yet!

Li Zhi was wearing a real 'SAO' style, and the blue plaid skirt she wore perfectly outlined her curves.

As for her upper body, it was even more popular. What’s more important is that she slid her skirt below her shoulders, which increased her height a lot.

Zhang Min is wearing a black deep V skirt, paired with black stockings. Her bust is also quite large. She looks charming and heroic, which is most suitable for role-playing. She has a good bone structure and looks very thin.

But he was fat where he should be, and his buttocks were big and perky, which was rare.

(End of this chapter)