Hong Kong Island's New Rich Era

Chapter 77 Cooperation with Taikoo

During the oil crisis that lasted for more than a decade, among the shipowners in Hong Kong, only the charter king relied on his rich experience and insight to make the strategic decision to reduce cabin capacity and land, and safely survived the crisis.

The Whampoa Group owns the wharf land of Kwai Chung Port. After much thought, Liu Zhicheng decided that he needed to wait for a few years.

Only after the oil crisis is over and the mainland continues to reform and open up will it reapply to the Hong Kong government.

It is enough to have the currently operating Pier 4, no special major actions are needed.

But since John Shi came to him today on his own initiative, it definitely wouldn't be that simple, so he spoke slowly and tentatively.

“I don’t know what the Hong Kong government is thinking. Since they don’t approve it, we can only give up for the time being.”

When John Shi heard what Liu Zhicheng said, he started to play Tai Chi with him and said with a smile: "Kwai Chung Pier is now a gathering place for wealth. Our two families are far less financially capable than Jardine Matheson, so we should stop all kinds of internal friction and concentrate on gaining the benefits of this area."

Now, Jardine Matheson has actually become a paper tiger. Due to the repeated failures of its overseas projects, it has been plagued by internal and external troubles.

Not to mention compared with Liu Zhicheng, even compared with Swire, there is already a huge gap. At least Swire's controlling stake is absolutely safe.

"What does Taigu mean?" Liu Zhicheng already understood what the old man meant, so he asked deliberately.

"To be honest with you, Mr. Liu, Swire has always wanted to own a wharf in Kwai Chung. Previously, in order to compete for the fourth berth, Qi Dezun's Hutchison and Swire had a fierce internal conflict. In the end, although Qi Dezun won, he also spent hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars more."

John Shi looked at Liu Zhicheng and continued with a faint smile, "We are partners and jointly own the Tsing Yi Island Pier. The Hong Kong government will definitely approve new pier construction in the future. I don't want to have an internal fight with Mr. Liu again. I suggest that our two companies continue to merge, and please consider it."

John Shi spoke sincerely, without any arrogance, and Liu Zhicheng admired his self-cultivation.

But there is a word like this: smiling tiger. Liu Zhicheng is not sure about Shi John's true face yet, so he dare not agree casually.

If Hong Kong International Terminals Company wants to achieve further development, it must go global and invest in terminal construction around the world.

It is definitely difficult to gain weight by eating alone. If you do this, you will definitely be targeted in the future.

Moreover, Liu Zhicheng also knew that once the negotiations were finalized, if you did not invest in British Empire, you would be targeted even more.

Of course, Liu Zhicheng will definitely invest, but he would rather invest in ports and terminals, as well as the telecommunications industry. If he cooperates with Swire, the benefits will definitely outweigh the disadvantages.

I just don't know what Shi John's conditions are. If he wants to force Liu Zhicheng to do it, he will definitely refuse on the spot. So I smiled and asked, "Then how is Mr. Shi John going to cooperate?"

Seeing Liu Zhicheng's question, John Shi knew that he must be interested in cooperation, so he stated the conditions he had prepared: "Hong Kong International and Hong Kong United Dockyard will merge to form a new Hong Kong International Container Terminal Company. In the future, we will own the construction land for Piers 6, 7, and . With Swire's connections, we can ensure that the Hong Kong government approves the construction rights of the new terminal."

This condition is indeed tempting. Even though we now own the land for dock construction, if Liu Zhicheng applies to build a dock on his own, the Hong Kong government may not agree in the future, and we must introduce a strategic partner.

This strategic partner must be introduced sooner or later, and Swire is certainly the right one. In the future, mainland investors must also be introduced.

Moreover, such a merger would form a small-scale monopoly. Liu Zhicheng was very supportive of this monopoly, which would help to increase Hong Kong International's voice in Kwai Chung.

"I wonder what Mr. John Shi thinks about the equity structure?"

"After the two companies merged again, Swire held a 25% stake and Whampoa held a 75% stake. Then Swire used HK$1 million in cash to acquire a 25% stake," said John Shi.

Liu Zhicheng wanted to laugh after hearing what Shi Yuehan said, but he held back his laughter out of politeness. It was really a lion's mouth, but it was normal, it was just a high price and a low price.

Since John Shi had already made the offer, Liu Zhicheng had to accept it. He smiled and said, "Mr. John Shi, United Dockyard Xiangjiang International owns shares. Xiangjiang International not only owns the complete Pier 4, but also the land for Piers 6 and 7. Do you think it is only worth 2 million?" John Shi looked at Liu Zhicheng, thought for a while, and said, "Mr. Liu, I have to add my connections."

"Considering my connections with Swire, I can give up 25% of the shares, but I have to pay HK$1 million to the Whampoa Group. I can merge the Tai Kok Tsui tugboat business into the new company." Liu Zhicheng stated his terms.

In fact, Swire is very short of money now. The development of Taikoo City was funded by selling its land reserves. In addition, Swire is quite conservative and generally does not borrow from banks.

Liu Zhicheng was betting that Swire was simply trying to get an entry ticket to Kwai Tsing Pier and was unwilling to invest cash to get more shares in the new company.

As expected, I only heard John Shi say: "5000 million Hong Kong dollars, % of the shares."

"5000 million Hong Kong dollars and % of the shares." Liu Zhicheng replied with a smile.

John Shi did not answer, but just pondered for a moment, and then said: "Mr. Liu, I don't want to take cash. After the two companies merge, I only own 2% of the new company's shares. How about that?"

Liu Zhicheng was of course willing to do so. Not only did he not lose too many shares, but he also brought in a strong ally. He was just thinking about how to get more benefits.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Zhicheng slowly said, "I hope to get a promise from Taikoo?"

"Mr. Liu, please tell me, as long as Taikoo can do it." John Shi answered decisively.

"When I need Taikoo's support in the future, I hope Taikoo can come out and stand by me."

After listening to this, John Shi pondered for a moment, smiled and said, "Mr. Liu, it's a pleasure to work with you!"

"Happy cooperation!" Liu Zhicheng stood up and shook hands tightly with John Shi.

Many people would think that Liu Zhicheng suffered a great loss in this merger, but if he heard about it, he would definitely not argue. The benefits would only be known in the future.

Only a "prophet" like Liu Zhicheng can stand high and see far.

The next day, when Liu Zhicheng reported this matter to Hao Qingwen, both of his eyes lit up, as if he also understood the benefits of Taikoo's investment.

As soon as Liu Zhicheng finished his official business, Wang Xingfa came to report to him on the opening of Jingxi Electric Appliances and the listing of the Walkman.

"Are you ready for the Walkman commercials?"

"Mr. Liu, starting tomorrow we will start marketing efforts in all directions, including on TV, in newspapers, and on campus." After Wang Xingfa finished speaking, he handed a crossbody bag sample to Liu Zhicheng.

Liu Zhicheng looked at it and touched it, feeling that it had a good texture. There were leather, fabric, and various patterns, which were enough to satisfy the needs of a portable player.

Wang Xingfa asked from the side: "Mr. Liu, are you satisfied?"

"Very good, has this crossbody bag been patented? Has the appearance been patented?" Liu Zhicheng asked.

"Don't worry, we have applied for an international patent through a cooperating law firm." Wang Xingfa
"Well, how many orders have we placed for this type of bag?"

"This unisex bag is given away randomly, and 50,000 orders have been placed. In addition, there are four styles of bags for men and women, and high-end and low-end, and 10,000 orders have been placed for each style," Wang Xingfa reported.

Liu Zhicheng nodded. These were 90,000 bags, enough for initial sales.

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(End of this chapter)