Chapter 577 Conspiracy to Acquire 9 Dragon Warehouse
Chapter 577 Conspiracy to Acquire Wharf
After reaching a verbal agreement with Li Zhaoji, Yang Wendong left;
Although the four major families will be large in scale in the future, that is a matter for the future. The most important thing right now is the construction of buildings on reclaimed land, especially this Kangle Building, which is intended to be used as their headquarters.
The next day, Yang Wendong also received a reply from Zheng Zhijie, and all the procedures were ready;
Zheng Zhijie said: "Mr. Yang, the 5000 million Hong Kong dollars from the Bank of East Asia has been given to the Hong Kong government. This piece of land will soon enter the handover process, and it is estimated that the property certificate will be obtained in a week."
"Okay, contact Bei Jinming immediately and ask him to design a building with the lowest cost, the highest cost-effectiveness, and a good appearance." Yang Wendong said with a smile: "I need to see the model in three months."
The taller the building, the higher the construction cost per unit area, because the whole building is too heavy, the structure must be strong, and the mass should be as light as possible. In addition, a house that is too tall will have higher requirements for storms and underground foundations, and even future energy utilization needs to be considered.
Therefore, it takes time to design, and you must find a professional designer to do the design;
Bei Jinming is naturally the king among them. In history, the building he designed for the Bank of China in the 80s was simply a stroke of genius. It was not only beautiful, but also low in cost and of good quality. At least there was no problem before the 2020s.
Changxing Group had cooperated with him in the early years, but at that time Hong Kong only had small buildings. Now there is finally a large building, a building with fifty or sixty floors, which is actually not very short in the United States.
Although there are many construction companies in Hong Kong that can design ordinary buildings, they are not able to design super-high-rise buildings. Even Golden Gate Construction does not have any experience in construction, let alone design.
"Okay, I'll contact him right away." Zheng Zhijie said with a smile, "But do we need to send letters to other design companies and ask them to come up with a plan? At least we can use it to lower the price for Bei Jinming."
Yang Wendong agreed, "Yes, and I can't tell Bei Jinming that I'm only looking for you, or I'll definitely get ripped off."
Bei Jinming is the top private architect in the United States, but he is also a businessman at heart. If someone is determined to do business with him, I would be unworthy of the word "capitalist" if I don't take advantage of him.
Zheng Zhijie said: "Okay, that's no problem. As for the time, I will confirm with Bei Jinming. He should come to Hong Kong."
"If you come to Hong Kong, arrange the best hotel for you," Yang Wendong added.
Even if the supplier is a supplier, as long as the cooperation is large-scale and can bring profits to himself, he will treat the supplier with courtesy. After all, hotels don't cost much money and the property is still his.
"Okay." Zheng Zhijie said with a smile, "Then we can discuss it in detail when Bei Jinming comes to Hong Kong."
"Well, let's leave it at that for now regarding Kangle Building." Yang Wendong said again.
The land has been acquired, and the next step is to build the building according to the agreement with the Hong Kong government. As long as it is completed on time and the money from the Hong Kong government is paid, this future piece of land king in Central will completely belong to us.
Whether you use it yourself or rent it out, it is a huge cash cow;
The future land price in Central is only tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars per square foot. The total value of this 70 square foot building is tens of billions, and the rent is more than ten or twenty billion a year.
Of course, when it comes to rent, the strongest in Hong Kong is still the future Harbour City of Hutchison Whampoa. However, Jardine Matheson has just acquired Kwai Chung Pier and the old port has not been demolished yet, so there is naturally no Harbour City property.
Then he added: "Let Fang Xianming come over, it's a good opportunity to discuss financial matters."
"Yes, I'll contact him," Zheng Zhijie agreed.
After a while, Fang Xianming arrived, and Yang Wendong asked directly: "How much stock did you buy from Wharf Holdings?"
As early as 67, Yang Wendong began to arrange for the gradual acquisition of shares in several companies under the Jardine Matheson Group, especially in that year when stock prices in Hong Kong were very low;
After the next 68 years, it was a steady and cautious approach. Anyway, this time was not suitable for launching a takeover war against the British giants. It would be time to wait until a sufficient share was acquired.
Fang Xianming replied: "Mr. Yang, I have acquired about 9.7% of Wharf Holdings' shares so far, and about 2% this year."
"Only 2% a year? Is it because we are approaching the limit of tradable shares?" Yang Wendong asked in return.
There is a limit to secretly purchasing a company's stock, which is limited by the circulating shares. The more circulating shares there are, the more you can purchase, and vice versa.
In history, Li Jiacheng bought Wharf Holdings' shares in 1978. When he acquired 20% of the shares, it attracted the attention of the whole of Hong Kong. Wharf Holdings' share price tripled, forcing Li Jiacheng to stop.
It is still 70 years old now, and Hutchison Whampoa has not undergone multiple rounds of financing, and the number of shares circulating in the market is very limited.
Fang Xianming replied, "Yes, Wharf Holdings was also listed in 62. In the past few years, in 67, many shareholders sold their shares, which resulted in a lot more circulating shares. According to my estimation, there are about 25% of circulating shares on the market, and we have acquired nearly 10%. If we continue to acquire, it may alarm Jardine Matheson. However, as long as we take our time, it will still work to acquire about 2% in the next year."
"2% a year is too slow." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Does Wharf Holdings still have no plans to raise additional shares recently?"
Fang Xianming shook his head and said, “No, but I heard that Wharf Holdings is planning to develop a large amount of warehouse land in Hong Kong Island, which requires a lot of capital;
According to the general pattern of British capital, they will either sell some of the land to get cash, or raise funds on the stock market. If they have to choose between the two, it depends on which one the management of Wharf Holdings chooses. "
Zheng Zhijie laughed and said, "Haha, this choice is very beneficial to us. Some of the warehouses in Wharf Holdings are in very good locations. I can build a commercial building here. Even if I don't own it, I can sell all of it after it's built and make a lot of money."
The conservatism of British capital is incredible in the eyes of Hong Kong Chinese capital. You have to know that British capital basically has its own land, which almost reduces more than half of the risk, while Chinese capital still needs to buy land and then engage in extreme financial operations;
But that's how British capital is. Some British capital even refuses to provide loans for land development, leaving many Chinese investors confused.
However, while British capital was conservative, it also gave Chinese capital many opportunities. They could either acquire prime land or cooperate in development. Many Chinese investors could be said to be making money without doing anything.
"Indeed, you two will keep an eye on Hutchison Whampoa. No matter what they do, we will have corresponding solutions." Yang Wendong nodded and said.
If Wharf Holdings changes its operating methods because of my influence, I will first take over the land sold by Wharf Holdings, earn cash, and then slowly acquire Wharf Holdings shares. This is also a no-cost business.
"Understood." Fang Xianming and Zheng Zhijie both agreed.
Yang Wendong added: "In addition, the acquisition of Wharf Holdings is also a must. Arrange some British foreigners to represent the British consortium to come to Hong Kong for inspection, and then test some of Wharf Holdings' small shareholders to see if they can acquire some of them. Acquiring shareholders' stocks will be much faster."
The three major listed companies of the Jardine Matheson Group are Jardine Matheson Group itself, Hongkong Land Group and Wharf Group;
Although Jardine Matheson Group itself is the parent company, Yang Wendong does not really want it because Jardine Matheson Group has too many industries overseas. These industries can be said to be in a mess. For many years, it has survived by relying on transfusions from Hong Kong. If it is acquired, it will need to take responsibility for these industries. Even if it is closed one by one, involving multiple countries, it will be very cumbersome. It itself has no real core business.
Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings are what Yang Wendong wants. Relatively speaking, Hutchison Whampoa is definitely stronger, and it can even surpass Swire Group. Therefore, he needs to pick the weak ones first, and Wharf Holdings is naturally the primary target.
Moreover, some of Hutchison Whampoa’s land is just not as good as that of Swire Properties in this era. If they are really acquired and developed well, their future potential will not be much smaller than that of Swire Properties, especially the future Harbour City.
Fang Xianming said, "Mr. Yang, Jardine Matheson has a lot of connections in the UK. If we make too much noise, they will go to the UK to investigate and we may not be able to hide it.
Can we choose the United States? Relatively speaking, we have more connections in the United States, and the United States is larger. Jardine Matheson does not invest in the United States, so it is difficult to find out clearly. "
"You're right, then let's arrange for someone from the United States." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "We can cooperate with Citi and let them represent an American consortium and say they want to invest in Hong Kong;
The recent international situation also makes this a good reason.”
Fang Xianming nodded and said, "Okay, I will go to the United States right now to negotiate with Citibank. It is best not to inform Citibank in Hong Kong, so as to avoid leaking the news."
In Hong Kong, even if you are someone inside Citibank, there is no guarantee that you have no connection with Jardine Matheson. Although Hong Kong is a small place, its internal relationships are very complicated. So it is safer to go to the United States and find someone on Wall Street. This way, the operation will be easier.
Zheng Zhijie said, "Why don't we find Buffett? Doesn't Mr. Yang have a good relationship with him? He is also somewhat famous on Wall Street. If he comes forward, the people at Jardine Matheson shouldn't be suspicious."
"Forget it. Let's not meddle in other people's business. Jardine Matheson may be able to find out the relationship between Buffett and I. We are all shareholders of the same company." Yang Wendong shook his head and said.
Since they are all Berkshire shareholders, Jardine Matheson may still be able to find out;
Yang Wendong was also worried that if Buffett really studied Hong Kong seriously, would it attract his interest? If he came here to invest heavily, would it have any negative impact on his future plans?
He just needs Berkshire to invest in the textile industry, and forget about anything else. He also doesn't want the future stock god to pay attention to Hong Kong.
Of course, if he really comes to invest, it doesn’t matter. Buffett now doesn’t have that much money or influence.
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(End of this chapter)