Chapter 264: The Hong Kong Museum Project Achieves Multiple Achievements

Chapter 264: The Hong Kong Museum Project Achieves Multiple Achievements

Chapter 264: Hong Kong Museum Project: A Multi-Purpose Project

The seventh day of the first lunar month, February 2, Sunday.

Yang Wendong came to Geely Building again, stayed in his office, read the newspaper, and thought about some issues.

It was almost noon when Zheng Yuhua knocked on the door again. Yang Wendong put down the newspaper and asked, "How did the talk go?"

"It's done." Zheng Yuhua said, "The price we offer is the same as the normal price of goods returning from Europe and the United States to Hong Kong. It is at least 20% cheaper than other companies. There is no reason for China Resources to disagree."

"That's good." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "How many orders can we expect to receive?"

"It's hard to say, but China Resources verbally replied that if the price is right, they can give us at least 50 tons of grain transportation orders." Zheng Yuhua added: "I calculated it and it's about the same. Our ships to the United States and Europe can only return to Hong Kong once every two months, and can only bring back about 10 tons of goods each time."

"That's fine. This should account for about 10 percentage points of the country's total imports," said Yang Wendong.

Our own transportation capacity is indeed limited. Although we are called the shipping king, it is also a qualifier. In terms of shipping transportation capacity, we are still far behind some large shipping companies in Hong Kong, let alone world-class ones.

Zheng Yuhua replied: "Yes, at least 10% of last year's import volume."

"Okay, let's settle it like this." Yang Wendong said, "In the future, our ships will transport our own goods from Hong Kong to the United States, and bring back food when they return;

You should negotiate with China Resources and coordinate the time. This way, it will be much easier for us in the future and we won’t have to worry about a lot of different bulk orders.”

Before containers, transporting goods across the sea was extremely troublesome. After receiving thousands of orders, we had to decide where to put them on the ship based on the type and size of the goods, and then we needed the cooperation of the dock to enter the warehouse.
All these tedious tasks require cost calculation. Although the cargo owner will bear the cost in the end, it will also delay the ship's transportation.

Now that they have stable grain orders, even if the freight is a little lower, as long as they can save time and allow their ships to return to Hong Kong earlier, Changxing Industrial's exports will make more profits.

It can be said that we kill two birds with one stone.

"Yes, for us, orders for mass-market products are more cost-effective." Zheng Yuhua nodded, and then said, "It's just that I'm not sure how long this kind of business can last."

"Probably a few years." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Actually, I'd rather not do this business."

"Yes." Zheng Yuhua also understood what the boss meant, and said, "There is one more thing. China Resources asked us if we can accept gold bars and antiques as settlement."

"Gold bars and antiques?" Yang Wendong was surprised: "Is the mainland short of foreign exchange so bad?"

"Yes, there is a severe shortage." Zheng Yuhua said: "People from China Resources told me that they would not raise the prices of food, meat and vegetables in Hong Kong unless they had no other choice, but they have no choice because foreign exchange is too scarce.

There is also a serious lack of funds for domestic grain imports. I heard that the 75 tons of wheat imported from Canada last year was borrowed from the Canadian government for 5000 million Canadian dollars.

"Gold is eternal in value, so that's fine." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and asked, "But this antique, I remember, is not allowed to be exported from China?"

For a period of time after the reform and opening up, antiques could still be exported to earn foreign exchange, but now it is not allowed. Mainland laws clearly prohibit the export of antiques.

Zheng Yuhua said: "I also asked about this. Huarun said that some of them can still be exported, especially antiques from ancient times, which are not strictly controlled;

And right now, there is a serious food shortage in the mainland, so during this period, we may have to take emergency measures.”

"Well, that can be discussed." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Go look up more information on this. I'll meet with Mr. Huo to discuss it first."

The matter of antiques gave him a new idea.

The next day, Yang Wendong invited Ho Ying-tung to the Changxing Building in the core area of ​​Central.

"Mr. Yang, your building is really magnificent." Huo Yingdong stood in front of the French window, looking at the pedestrians and cars below, as well as the Victoria Harbour not far away, and said with emotion: "It would be great if I could have a building in Central."

Yang Wendong said with a smile: "With Mr. Huo's financial resources, it shouldn't be a big problem to buy a house in Central, right?"

Huo Yingdong said: "I want to build or buy a building in the core area of ​​Central. There is no point in me buying those ordinary places."

"That's true." Yang Wendong nodded.

In this era, the Central and fringe areas are not outrageously expensive, and there are even many old buildings that can be bought as long as you have money.

After coming to his senses, Huo Yingdong asked, "Mr. Yang asked me to come here because of what happened the day before yesterday?"

"Yes, my ship can be used to carry food." Yang Wendong said, "It's just that the mainland has made a request."

After listening to this, Huo Yingdong said with emotion: "Yes, this is the case. As far as I know, the country is now collecting a lot of gold ornaments, and then melting them into gold bars to buy food.

As for the sale of antiques, I also know that it was because Zhao Congyan asked Huarun to buy antiques, and I guess the people from Huarun also mentioned this to you. "

"Zhao Congyan?" Yang Wendong also understood and said with a smile: "So that's what happened."

In the late 70s, there were four Chinese shipping tycoons in Hong Kong, namely, Pao Yue-kong, Tung Chao-Yen, Cao Wen-kam and Zhao Cong-yen.

Zhao Congyan has a special hobby, which is that he is extremely fond of antiques. When others become rich, they either invest in buying houses or stocks, or continue to invest in their own industries, but he likes to purchase antiques.

Rumor has it that at his peak, he alone owned half of all antiques in Hong Kong.

When a ship disaster struck in the 80s, in order to save his family business, Zhao Congyan began to sell his private collection of antiques and eventually raised 3 million Hong Kong dollars, successfully avoiding the company's fate of bankruptcy.

You know, antiques are not real estate, and there is no uniform standard for their prices. When they are urgently sold to save money, buyers from all sides will inevitably bargain down the price. But even so, he still sold them for hundreds of millions. This is enough to show how terrifying the quantity and quality of Shipping King Zhao's antique collection are.

"Mr. Zhao likes antiques, and everyone in Hong Kong knows it." Huo Yingdong smiled and said, "If Mr. Yang is not interested in antiques, he can just tell the people from China Resources. It's no big deal."

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "I have no interest in antiques, but this incident gave me an idea that may be able to help the mainland."

"Oh, what do you mean?" Huo Yingdong asked.

Yang Wendong said: “The domestic antiques were actually very valuable during the heyday, and it would be a pity if they were sold due to lack of foreign exchange;
So my idea is to build a history museum in Hong Kong, and then I will invest in buying some antiques from the mainland and put them in the museum. Tourists from Hong Kong or other overseas can come to visit, and I will charge them. Wouldn’t that form a virtuous circle?"

Originally, Yang Wendong didn’t care about antiques, but when Zheng Yuhua mentioned it yesterday, he realized that there is only one small museum in Hong Kong that describes the history of Hong Kong.
But there is nothing about Chinese civilization. This immediately gave him the idea of ​​building a large museum. Not to mention the benefits to Hong Kong and the mainland, it would bring great benefits to himself in terms of "name".

For any country or city, museums are symbols of culture. Unless there is a large-scale war, they will be passed down for hundreds of years or even longer. If we build the first large-scale international museum in Hong Kong, it will definitely be recorded in history books hundreds of years or even longer.

From an economic perspective, it is also possible to charge fees. First, introduce domestic antiques, and then when Hong Kong's economy takes off, cooperate with foreign museums. With the development of Hong Kong's economy and the number of overseas tourists in the future, it is not a problem to support a large museum.

"Museum?" Huo Yingdong immediately became interested. After thinking for a moment, he exclaimed, "Mr. Yang's idea is really great. I have always wanted to help solve some economic problems in China, but I never thought of this."

"Haha, Mr. Huo is too modest." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I just thought of it by chance."

In his previous life, he had visited museums in some big cities such as Shanghai and Yanjing, and he was aware of the flow of people in these places. Hong Kong will also have such flow of people in the next few decades, and the economic consumption capacity will be higher.

Huo Yingdong asked again: "Mr. Yang, the investment in a museum like this is not a small amount, right?"

Yang Wendong said: "It is indeed not small, but it is not a lot either. Compared with the construction cost, I estimate that the land price may be higher.

But these are not big problems. As long as the museum itself can make a profit, we can get a bank loan to build the entire project and repay it with ticket sales later."

"Mr. Yang, are you sure such a project can make money?" Huo Yingdong was also a little uncertain.

There has never been such a project in Hong Kong's history, and there is nothing to refer to. It is a completely different business.

"I'm not 100% sure, but 7/80% is still feasible." Yang Wendong analyzed, "Hong Kong's economy has been getting better and better in recent years, and the Hong Kong government is also promoting the development of tourism, even five-star hotels are promoting it. I still believe in Hong Kong's future;
After Hong Kong's economy improves, as a museum with a large number of Chinese antiques, or a museum that records Chinese civilization, there will definitely be no shortage of guests, especially children."

Before the 80s, Britain sincerely wanted to build Hong Kong into the Oriental Pearl of Asia. Its special location, high-quality port, and the development of a large number of local elite groups also made Hong Kong a golden age in the future.

During its peak period, Hong Kong people could be said to spend money like water, so that museum would definitely be profitable.

Of course, there will definitely be losses in 66 and 67, but they are only two years. Once you can get through them, everything will be fine.

"Is Mr. Yang so confident?" Huo Yingdong asked with a smile.

"Of course." Yang Wendong smiled.

The last step is, if the museum is really not doing well, then move it to another location and build a building on the original site. If we only look at the economic benefits, we estimate that the profit will be much more than if the museum is run well for a long time and not demolished.
However, Yang Wendong doesn't mind just having a building. If the museum can be successful, it will be of greater significance.

"Okay, I'll discuss this with the people from China Resources." Seeing Yang Wendong's insistence, Huo Yingdong agreed and said, "They should discuss it with the relevant departments in the mainland. If they can sell you a large number of antiques, then the museum can be built.

But some valuable antiques may not be sold.”

Yang Wendong added: "In fact, they don't necessarily have to be sold to me. There are many national treasures that I don't want to buy, and I can't afford to buy. You might as well consider renting them. Many museums around the world will also rent national treasure-level antiques from the country."

Even after the reform and opening up, there are limits on the antiques that can be sold, and if a museum wants to continue to thrive, the exhibits inside should preferably be changed regularly.

This is why, even though antiques are very expensive and the cost of transporting them is high, museums around the world still frequently transport antiques.

"Rent?" Huo Yingdong thought for a moment and said, "This way, it would be more beneficial to both parties."

He was so smart that he understood the benefits of it as soon as he heard it.

Firstly, Yang Wendong did not need to spend a lot of money to buy antiques. After all, he was not that antique madman Zhao Congyan.

Secondly, the mainland government does not need to worry about whether national treasures should be sold;
Thirdly, the mainland can obtain more foreign exchange through leasing, and Yang Wendong can attract customers repeatedly because of the frequently changing antiques.

It's like killing two birds with one stone.

"Yes, I think Mr. Huo understands this." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Exhibiting antiques in Hong Kong will not be considered lost. It can also allow Hong Kong Chinese to see the history of China and bring foreign exchange to both sides."

Huo Yingdong nodded and said, "Okay, I will do my best to promote this matter."

He also didn't find anything wrong with this cooperation. The antiques would just gather dust in China, so it would be better to bring them to Hong Kong for exhibition.

It is meaningful and generates foreign exchange.

"Thank you, Mr. Huo." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "As for the grain transportation, there is no problem. As long as my ship reaches Hong Kong, we can cooperate with China Resources."

"Mr. Yang is a righteous man." Huo Yingdong nodded and said.

He naturally knew that the profit from Yang Wendong's offer was basically not high, which was much better than other people who took advantage of the situation.

Whether it is ZZQX or simply serving hundreds of millions of people, we can all say that "Mr. is righteous".

After Huo Yingdong left, Yang Wendong called Zheng Zhijie and told him about the museum.

After listening to this, Zheng Zhijie said: "Museums come in different sizes. The investment in a small one is not that big, and even hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars may not be enough for a large one."

"It doesn't need to be super big, just one that meets Hong Kong's needs will do." Yang Wendong said: "This is not about hoarding land, I also really want to build a museum."

Some projects are less practical than hoarding land, some are dual-purpose, and some actually get things done.

Naturally, Yang Wendong wanted to build this museum well, rather than taking the opportunity to hoard land.

If you want to hoard land, there are plenty of opportunities. There is no need to do this. In fact, profit is not the main purpose of this museum.

If he could really leave his name in history, then it wouldn't matter even if he had to spend money to support him in the future. In a few years, his assets would surely double. Even if the museum could make a profit, he wouldn't care much.

"Okay, but there is no designer like this for a museum structure in Hong Kong." Zheng Zhijie thought for a moment and said, "It just so happens that Master Bei Jinming will come to Hong Kong next week to hand in the design drawings for the Four Seasons Hotel.

I will consult him later."

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)