Chapter 564: "Legal" Transaction with the Governor
Chapter 564: "Legal" Transaction with the Governor
"Public charity? What kind of charity?" Yang Wendong asked curiously.
Whether in the West or the East, when capitalists become prosperous, they will inevitably need to do some charity, whether for fame, profit or even sincerely. Even the ancient landlords would build bridges and roads appropriately and become great philanthropists in the local area.
This is also a form of self-protection. If you do this kind of thing more often and become famous enough among the people, many people will protect you. Even if it is not sincere charity, it's fine as long as you do it.
False kindness is much better than sincere inaction.
Over the years, Changxing Group itself has also been doing charity work. At the same time, local governments sometimes come to beg for alms, such as local libraries, schools, hospitals, and even private charitable funds. The Changxing Charity Foundation will also conduct appropriate inspections and then provide certain assistance.
However, Yang Wendong was somewhat surprised that the Hong Kong government actually came to "beg for alms" in person today.
Trench said: "Mr. Yang, I have been in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. I started as a government employee, then gradually grew up and eventually became the Governor of Hong Kong.
But over the years, I have also found that many people in Hong Kong are still too poor. Even though the economy has improved and ordinary people are not starving to death, there are still many people who are in financial difficulty. There are too many people, and the Hong Kong government's funds alone are far from enough. You also know that the Hong Kong government's budget is very tight, and some surpluses are only tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars.
Therefore, the best way is to use social forces to help the lower-class people in Hong Kong get out of poverty. I also want to do this well during my last year in office. I can’t say I’ll finish it, but at least I’ll have a start. What do you think, Mr. Yang? "
"It's a very good policy." Yang Wendong smiled, but he complained in his heart: "I don't believe you~"
Trench has been the Governor of Hong Kong for almost ten years. If he really wanted to help alleviate poverty, he should have done it long ago, especially in the early 60s, when the Hong Kong economy was completely different from what it is today, and there were too many poor people who really needed help;
Now that the economy is much better, you are going to come up with a poverty alleviation policy? Most likely, he wants to implement a benevolent policy before leaving Hong Kong, and then leave a good reputation here, which may be helpful for his future.
But this is normal. If a person does not care about himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. It is really impossible to expect anyone to truly care about others. Being able to help others appropriately while caring for yourself is already a great kindness.
Trench smiled and said, "So I hope the Hong Kong government can reach cooperation with some big financial groups in Hong Kong. For example, the Hong Kong government provides land, and the financial groups provide funds to jointly build some schools, hospitals, libraries, roads, etc.
As long as the project is convenient for the people, everyone can participate. If it does not cost money, the Hong Kong government will promote it very quickly. "
"Then what benefits will it bring to us investors?" Yang Wendong asked.
The Hong Kong government is always very slow in launching various infrastructure projects, and the core reason is that it needs to use the public budget;
The Hong Kong government is not a monolithic entity. The annual budget is set according to a certain proportion. If more projects are added, the interests of some existing projects must be cut. This will inevitably cause disputes and lead to slow project progress.
In previous years, special emergency projects were financed by selling more land, but this behavior is actually affecting the real estate market and will also arouse opposition from many people.
But if you only provide the land and not the money, the approval process will be much faster.
Trench smiled and said, "The naming of these projects can be handed over to the investors. For example, if you build a library, you can name it after yourself. In this way, the name will continue to exist decades or even a hundred years later."
"Naming rights?" Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "This is indeed a bit tempting, and appropriate investment is not a problem, but if that's all, I won't invest too much."
The naming rights of top-level buildings are indeed very attractive to the super-rich who have been financially independent for ten lifetimes, but generally speaking, a moderate number of buildings is enough. If there are too many, it will not be meaningful.
Besides, if you build your own building, you can also give it a name, but this is only applicable to skyscrapers and hotels at most. It cannot be implemented in schools, hospitals or even libraries. This requires government authority.
Dai Linzhi nodded and said, "Yes, I know, so Yang Sheng can make many choices freely."
After that, Trench took out a map and handed it to Yang Wendong. Yang Wendong took it and saw that there were a lot of marks on it, including at least 6 hospitals, several middle schools, and dozens of primary schools.
It is spread across many places in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula, and there is even a large park in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Yang Wendong said with a smile: "Governor, you are too ambitious. If you really want to spend money on so many public institutions, the investment price will be hundreds of millions."
Trench said: "Not necessarily. Apart from the expensive equipment in the hospital, the biggest cost for other institutions is the land, which the Hong Kong government will bear. The rest together, tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars will be enough.
Even for hospitals, I think the core is still to have enough doctors and treatment for basic diseases. Expensive equipment and treatment for terminal illnesses are not very meaningful. Rich people in Hong Kong can go abroad for treatment. In this way, the investment in a hospital is only a few million. "
"Mr. Governor of Hong Kong, you are not expecting me to invest in all these projects, right?" Yang Wendong asked.
It’s fine to let him do charity, whether for his own fame or to appropriately help ordinary people in Hong Kong, but if I have to do it all, wouldn’t that be equivalent to making myself a sucker?
Even if I have money, I won't spend it like this. Even if I give it all to charity, I have to be the one who takes the lead, unless there are other benefits when doing so much charity. Dai Linzhi said: "That's not the case. I said that Yang Sheng can choose freely. From my point of view, the more the better, but I also know that it is not good for you, so there will naturally be some compensation;
As far as I know, Changxing Real Estate Group has a lot of industrial land under its umbrella, and is trying to convert it into commercial properties? "
"Yes, the former industrial land has a general location. With the development of the economy, it is no longer suitable for industrial development, so it naturally needs to be converted into commercial or residential areas." Yang Wendong asked calmly, "Mr. Governor, you won't give me a discount on this, right?"
The conversion of industrial land into commercial land is one of the core tax revenues of the Hong Kong government, and it also affects normal real estate auctions. After all, if industrial land can be converted into commercial land at a low price, who would be willing to bid for the Hong Kong government’s land?
Therefore, this is also the top priority of the Hong Kong government's business. Not to mention Chinese capital, even top British capital such as Jardine Swire should do what it has to do on this issue and not think about getting a cheaper price.
In the past, the Hong Kong government only made concessions in very rare cases. For example, in early 1985, when Hong Kong's real estate market was sluggish, the Hong Kong government, in order to stimulate the real estate market and take advantage of Li Jiacheng's relationship with the mainland, converted the Whampoa Port land under the Hutchison Whampoa Group into commercial land at a very low price. This incident also made Li Jiacheng earn nearly billion Hong Kong dollars in the next few years.
Trench smiled and said, "Of course not. I don't have the right to do so. The price of industrial to commercial conversion will not change. There is no room for negotiation. But I can give you the maximum plot ratio so that you can build a larger building.
The value of this may not be as great as giving you the land directly, but it is also very high. As an elite in the real estate industry, Mr. Yang should know this.”
"This is indeed very attractive." Yang Wendong nodded calmly, and then said: "In this case, it can indeed be considered."
There are two important data for land in the real estate industry: land area and plot ratio;
Many ordinary people only pay attention to the land area and often ignore the plot ratio;
The plot ratio refers to how much building area can be built on a piece of land. For example, if a piece of land is 1 square meters and the plot ratio is 5, then only a 5 square meter building can be built. If it is 8, then 8 square meters can be built. If it is 12, then it is 12 square meters.
It can be said that in the long-term benefits of the final building area, the importance of floor area ratio is no less than that of land area.
But in general, the floor area ratio is fixed long ago and difficult to change. However, when industrial property is converted to commercial property, the floor area ratio does need to be reformulated, which leaves room for maneuver.
Trembling added: "But Mr. Yang, this is a verbal agreement between us. There is no document. You know the reason. Otherwise, it would not be a good thing for both you and me."
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Of course, I don't want to leave any written records."
Some things are not illegal, but they are against regulations, just like this transaction. If it succeeds, Yang Wendong will not give Dai Linzhi a penny, but it would not be good if it is exposed.
There were only verbal descriptions from both parties, and even the meeting place was outdoors, without any electronic equipment to record it, which is something that will be taken seriously when it comes to such matters;
The previous governor, Robert Black, also made a similar deal with Yang Wendong in his last few years. Yang Wendong built a museum and left his name on it, and Robert Black gave Yang Wendong benefits in other aspects.
The execution of the agreement by both parties depends on verbal promises. If one party breaches the contract, the other party can do nothing about it and it will definitely not be announced. But generally speaking, they will definitely not do such a thing.
Trembling smiled and said, "Mr. Yang, which of these projects do you think are of interest to you?"
"Mr. Governor, will these hospitals be private hospitals or public hospitals after they are built?" Yang Wendong asked again.
If it is a private hospital, then you will make money. If you want to build a hospital in Hong Kong, money is not a problem, the problem is the license. There is nothing you can do if the Hong Kong government does not give it to you.
Dai Linzhi said: "Of course it is a public hospital. A hospital that serves ordinary people cannot be private. Mr. Yang wants to invest in a private hospital?"
“If you can invest, that’s fine. If not, forget it.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said.
Private hospitals can definitely make money, but if they cannot be turned into a large-scale industry, then they will be meaningless to the Yang family.
Trench added: "If Mr. Yang wants to invest in a private hospital, that's fine, but it's not within the scope of today's discussion. In the second half of the year, I'll have a chance to discuss with the councillors and maybe we can add some private hospitals."
"Let's talk about it later." Yang Wendong didn't care much about it.
Trelinzhi then asked, "Mr. Yang, what do you think about other aspects?"
Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "I won't get involved in roads or anything like that, but I can invest in schools, whether it's elementary or middle school, but I'll be responsible for the project, and the Hong Kong government will just supervise it."
"Okay." Dai Linzhi nodded and agreed.
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(End of this chapter)