Chapter 244: Land King Acquired and Met Huo Yingdong

Chapter 244: Land King Acquired and Met Huo Yingdong

Chapter 244: Land King Acquired and Met Huo Yingdong
"No wonder the Hong Kong government requires that this piece of land must be used to build a hotel." After arriving at the Peninsula Hotel, Yang Wendong said with a smile: "In Hong Kong, there is only one Peninsula Hotel that can be shown off. The others are always not up to par. Now even real estate auctions are held in the conference hall here."

Zheng Zhijie next to him said: "Yes, Hong Kong is in great need of luxury hotels now. It is said that the Hong Kong government has asked several British giants to invest in hotels in Hong Kong, and is also trying to introduce overseas international hotel chain brands."

"Yeah, I've heard about this news too." Yang Wendong nodded.

The Hong Kong Culture Oriental Hotel, which was quite famous in the past life, belonged to the Jardine Matheson Group. However, it has not appeared yet. It is estimated that it is a hotel brand established by Jardine Matheson in accordance with the requirements of the Hong Kong government.

There are even fewer hotels of other international brands. Many international hotels in Hong Kong in the past also began to move in during this era.

Zheng Zhijie added: "I heard that it is also because of the request from the UK. They want Hong Kong to become the crown of the UK in Asia. This is good news for our real estate company."

"Indeed it is." Yang Wendong smiled and said nothing more.

The British government really does want to develop Hong Kong. After all, the United States has been trying to undermine the Commonwealth's trade protectionism. If there is a bad economy in any part of the alliance, it will naturally be prone to internal disintegration.

From the perspective of interests, although the UK has authorized Hong Kong to be financially independent and not to pay taxes, it actually gave up this policy due to international pressure. And not collecting taxes directly does not mean that there is no way to benefit. A lot of British capital controls the entire Hong Kong.

In fact, everything is for profit. Only when Hong Kong's economy becomes stronger can British capital obtain higher returns.

In this process, in order to maintain "fairness", the Chinese community can benefit greatly as long as they seize the opportunity, especially in the real estate market.

Under the guidance of the auction site staff, Yang Wendong and his companions successfully avoided the reporters' interviews and then arrived at the auction site.

At first glance, most of them are foreigners, with only a few Chinese.

"Mr. Yang, that's Ichiro Yagyu, the head of the Hong Kong office of Japan's Sumitomo Real Estate Company."

Zheng Zhijie pointed in a direction and introduced.

"Japanese? I thought they were Chinese." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

Just now he was looking for Chinese faces at the scene and almost made a mistake.

Zheng Zhijie pointed in another direction and said, "Mr. Yang, let me introduce you to the taller guy over there. He is Mr. John Keswick of the Hong Kong Land Group. He is from the Keswick family and is responsible for the real estate business in Hong Kong.

That side is the ancient one......"

Zheng Zhijie introduced several foreigners from large conglomerates present at the scene one by one.

After listening, Yang Wendong said: "The heads of several major foreign companies in Hong Kong are all here."

"Yes." Zheng Zhijie continued: "There are also several medium-sized foreign companies and consortiums. That one must be from the Anda Stone Group...; this one is Qi Dezun, the boss of the Hutchison Group..., and that one is..."

"Qi Dezun?" Yang Wendong looked at this person.

In the early 60s, Hutchison was not one of the four major trading companies in Hong Kong, and there was still a certain gap compared with Jardine Matheson, Swire and Wheelock. It was this Qi Dezun who turned Hutchison into a future British giant.

He is just too ambitious, but he is still very capable.

Afterwards, Zheng Zhijie introduced other people. After introducing the British foreigners in Hong Kong, he turned to the Chinese, including the He family, which was once the richest Chinese family, and several other local families that became famous in the 30s.

In addition, there is another person who is very special.

Zheng Zhijie said: "Mr. Yang, that is Mr. Huo Yingdong. He was also the one who invented pre-sale and stratified sales, stimulating the entire Hong Kong real estate market.

Strictly speaking, if it weren’t for his invention, our Changxing Real Estate wouldn’t have developed so fast.”

"Yes." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "It's a pity that this business method has no patent, otherwise he would have become the richest man in the world long ago."

In fact, many people had wronged Li Huanggua in his previous life. Although this guy was a black-hearted person, he did not invent pre-sale properties and shared areas.

Before the 50s, houses in Hong Kong were sold by the building, and the basic operating method of the real estate market was that real estate developers sold the properties to wealthy landlords, one building at a time, and the landlords then rented them out to a large number of ordinary people.

But a building was too expensive and not many people could afford it, and the real estate market had been mediocre. However, Huo Yingdong invented the layered sales method, selling one floor at a time, and persuaded the Hong Kong government to issue property rights certificates by floor, so the market became more popular by an order of magnitude.

In this process, the concept of common area emerged.

Later, Huo found that the capital flow back was too slow, so he invented the property project. For a property worth 300 million yuan, he only paid 13 yuan himself, and the rest was the money from the property project or the bank. He could make one million yuan after the project was completed.

As a result, the real estate market is booming...

Zheng Zhijie smiled and said, "Yes, it is said that many other countries have also started to learn how to sell pre-sale properties."

"Yeah." Yang Wendong nodded, but didn't go over to greet him. There was no need to be so deliberate.

……

At this moment, the auction had not started yet, and everyone was greeting people they knew. Yang Wendong also found an acquaintance from Standard Chartered Bank and chatted with him.

After a while, Huo Yingdong came over and said, "Hello, Mr. Smith."

"Hello, Mr. Huo." Smith from Standard Chartered Bank said with a smile, "I think you two know each other. Do you need me to introduce you?"

Yang Wendong replied: "Yes, Mr. Huo's name is well-known in the real estate market!"

"Haha, Mr. Yang is too modest." Huo Yingdong said with a smile: "Mr. Yang is now a role model for the Chinese in Hong Kong. He started from scratch and now spans three major industries: industry, real estate, and shipping. He is really enviable."

"Mr. Huo, thank you for your compliment." Yang Wendong then asked, "Mr. Huo, are you here for the land at Queen's Road No. 2?"

"No." Huo Yingdong shook his head and said, "My goal is the residential plots in front. The land on Queen's Road can only be used to build a hotel. I am not very interested in it. Is Mr. Yang here for this piece of land?"

"Yes." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Then we don't have any conflict of interest."

In this real estate auction, it is naturally impossible for the Hong Kong government to launch only one piece of land at the highest price. There are many other pieces of land before the highest price.

It includes seven or eight residential sites in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula, as well as small commercial sites in Happy Valley, Causeway Bay and Wan Chai, and even industrial land.

However, when Yang Wendong came here, he only had his eyes on the king of land. Although the other plots of land were also good, they were not unique. There would be plenty of opportunities to acquire them at low prices in the next 66 years. Now his funds were limited, so naturally he wanted to acquire a large piece of land like Queen's Road.

"Mr. Yang, many financial groups are interested in this piece of land. You are under a lot of pressure," Huo Yingdong reminded.

"I know." Yang Wendong nodded. Everyone is not a fool, and everyone knows the value of this land.

If he had not been restricted to building hotels, Yang Wendong would not have been sure that he could defeat the local British conglomerate. Compared with the market value of Jardine Matheson, which is close to HK$18 billion, Yang Wendong's current market value is not even a fraction of that...

However, in history, it was the American consortium that won the bid and brought in Hilton, which means that even if the local consortium is interested, it is not very big, which gives me this opportunity.

"That's good." Huo Yingdong nodded and said, "Then I wish Mr. Yang a successful bid."

"Mr. Huo is the same." Yang Wendong said with a smile. Afterwards, Huo Yingdong and Smith said goodbye and left. Zheng Zhijie beside him said, "Mr. Huo's investment in recent years has been mainly residential. Even if he occasionally built commercial buildings, he would sell them all. He rarely holds any properties."

"I guess they are no longer confident in the British Hong Kong government." Yang Wendong also made a guess.

In the early 50s, Huo Yingdong's actions had actually offended the British Hong Kong government. However, there were many people who did the same thing at that time, and even the British Hong Kong government deliberately turned a blind eye, so there was no deliberate suppression.

But a few years later, when the struggle between the left and right factions in Hong Kong became serious, Huo openly opposed the British Hong Kong government, and then he was madly suppressed.

Huo Yingdong probably also knows the risks, so he invests less in real estate. This is the opposite of many people who worry about the future.

……

After more than ten minutes, the auction officially began.

Yang Wendong was just an observer, watching many consortiums compete for land in different places.

The real estate downturn in the first half of the year has now disappeared, and everyone is scrambling for various good positions, because as long as they get them, it means millions of profits may have been obtained.

"Mr. Yang," Zheng Zhijie said, "The current offer price has exceeded the normal land price by a lot. I guess many people have taken into account the potential for future appreciation."

"That's normal. Real estate itself is all about playing with expectations." Yang Wendong nodded slightly.

It is obviously impossible for you to buy a piece of land that is originally worth 11,000 yuan per square meter at this price, so you have to calculate how much it may appreciate in value in the next year.

For example, if you are sure that it can be appreciated to 15000, then the extra 5000 should also be taken into consideration, because if you don’t consider it, others will…

This will lead to further increases in housing and land prices, and the Hong Kong government will welcome this!
……

Another hour passed, and nine plots of land were auctioned in succession. The transaction prices of five of them set new highs for nearby land prices.

It is conceivable that once the news here spreads, the local land prices will rise again.

Even some real estate tycoons who own a large number of properties in a certain place may maliciously raise the local land price through auctions...

"Next, the land to be auctioned is located at 2 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong Island, with an area of ​​3.8 square feet." The auctioneer above said:
“Because this piece of land must be used to build a hotel, the only companies that can participate in the auction are Jardine Matheson, Swire, Japan’s Sumitomo Real Estate, and the American Wing Gao Group…

The starting price is 2800 million, and each increase in price must not be less than 50. "

"Wow~" A low discussion sound came from below. Although everyone knew the approximate price of the land and was mentally prepared, they were still shocked when they heard this number.

You should know that the Hong Kong government’s revenue from land sales last year was less than HK$100 million.

"2850 million!" Japan's Sumitomo Real Estate was the first to raise his hand.

"2900 million!" The Jardine Matheson Group didn't want to give up either.

……

The giants in various companies also started to fight for it one after another, while Yang Wendong continued to wait, as he did not need to intervene at this time.

After a few minutes, the scene became completely lively, and many people were excited. As long as the price of the land king reached a new high, it would drive up the housing prices in Central. Similarly, the increase in housing prices in Central would also drive up the surrounding areas and even the more distant Kowloon Peninsula.

This is the charm of real estate, it can bring “common prosperity” to everyone!
"3600 million." The American Yonggao Group raised the sign again, and the scene suddenly became quiet.

Everyone is looking at Hutchison Whampoa and Sumitomo, which are the protagonists of this auction. Swire, Wheelock and a local British hotel company have already given up.

After a while, there was no movement from the two families. The auctioneer watched from above as the two families were still whispering to each other, but due to the rules, he had to bang the gavel and said, "3600 million for the first time."

There was still no movement from below, so he said again: "3600 million for the second time."

At this time, at Yang Wendong's signal, Zheng Zhijie raised his sign and said, "3650 million!"

"Wow~" The people at the scene suddenly heard the sound of someone holding up a sign from another direction and quickly turned around to look.

"Yang Wendong? He also wants to take over this piece of land?" The people here are almost all the top tycoons in Hong Kong real estate, so naturally they know Yang Wendong.

"It's been less than half a year since this young man acquired 7 buildings in Hong Kong Island? He actually wants to buy this piece of land again?" Many people were shocked.

Several bidders from overseas did not know who this person was, so they quickly asked the Chinese people around them.

"What? This is the person who invented Post-it Notes and trolley cases? You Hong Kong people invented them?" The two partner bosses of Yonggao Group were even more shocked after hearing this.

As they are from the United States, they know how popular these two products are in the United States.

They have used them before, but never paid attention to the fact that these two products were actually from Hong Kong.

……

"The young are really promising. Yang Wendong will definitely be the overlord of Hong Kong's business world in the future." Huo Yingdong said to the people around him with emotion.

Although I already knew that Yang Wendong wanted this piece of land, I thought he would give up when the price reached 3600 million, but I didn’t expect him to rush in.

The people around him nodded and said, "Yes, although the land is valuable, such a huge financial pressure is not something that ordinary consortiums can withstand."

"His industry is really profitable. I know about it." Huo Yingdong said with a smile.

……

Around the auction, more than a dozen reporters immediately called out to the photographers around them: "Quickly turn the camera to Yang Wendong, he may be the protagonist of this auction today."

Every land auction is a competition between Hong Kong's top real estate companies, and usually only a few of them will win.
Changxing Real Estate Company is also well-known in the industry, but it is far behind traditional British giants such as Hong Kong Land.
Especially since the land king is located in the prime location of Central, if Changxing Real Estate wins the bid, it will definitely become more famous, and even the "sticky note king" behind it will become a new real estate tycoon.
Yang Wendong, who attracted everyone's attention, didn't care at all. This was also expected. His wealth now qualified him to participate in Hong Kong's most cutting-edge wealth competition, whether it was real estate or shipping.

Such behavior is bound to attract attention, which is normal. If you want to become a tycoon in Hong Kong, how can you not be famous?

"3700 million." The American Yonggao Group made another offer.

"3750 million." Yang Wendong showed no sign of weakness.

"3800 million." After a long while, Yonggao made another offer.

"3850 million." Zheng Zhijie raised the sign again, and the scene suddenly became quiet.

The two foreigners from Yonggao Group turned pale at this moment, and seemed to be hesitating whether to follow.

On the stage, the auctioneer looked at Yonggao's people with expectant eyes, but in the end he called out three times professionally: "3850 million for the first time," "3850 million for the second time," "3850 million for the third time," and "deal."

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(End of this chapter)