Chapter 591: Swire Group's Request
Chapter 591: Swire Group's Request
Originally, of the four future Hong Kong families, only Zheng Yutong's New World Group has not been invested in by himself;
This is also because the Zheng family’s foundation is much stronger than the other families and has achieved great success in the jewelry industry. Therefore, the well-developed New World does not need Yang Wendong’s help, and Yang Wendong will not forcibly acquire the other party’s shares, so the matter was left unresolved.
Anyway, he doesn't need to invest in every future giant company. Even if he supports the companies he invests in, it is not certain whether New World can become the top family in the future.
The most important core industry of New World Group in Hong Kong in the future is the "New World Centre" located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, and this land comes from the former site of the "Blue Chimney" of Swire Group.
Zheng Zhijie smiled and said, "Okay, then I will communicate with the Swire Group to see if we can directly acquire this land."
"I guess Swire Group will definitely choose multiple companies. The value of this land is still very good." Yang Wendong said again.
In the past, wherever a port was built, the location would not be bad. Even if the location was bad, within a few decades, the large number of people and supporting facilities surrounding the port's needs could turn it into a decent town.
Fang Xianming asked, "Why does Swire want to sell the Blue Chimney land?"
Zheng Zhijie smiled and said: "Swire is preparing to enter the real estate business, but does not want to invest its own funds in Hong Kong, so it plans to sell some land in Hong Kong and use the funds to develop other land."
"Why don't you just go to the bank for a loan?" Fang Xianming asked in confusion.
The real estate market is so good now that as long as you have land, you can basically get a loan, and you can even pre-sell it eight months before it is built;
There are countless people who don’t even have enough money to buy land, but as long as they make good use of bank funds, they can operate their business smoothly, and even with an investment of HK$100 million, they can eventually make tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars.
Zheng Zhijie shook his head and said, “Many British companies are like this. I don’t quite understand their train of thought. I heard that they don’t want other businesses to guarantee the real estate business, so they can only sell the land;
Even if it is the century-old real estate company, when building new houses, it does not take out loans even if it has land, but instead uses the rent from other properties to build new houses.”
Fang Xianming was speechless for a while, shook his head and said: "No wonder the British capital is not doing well, they are all a bunch of idiots. If they didn't have a strong foundation, they would have died long ago. "
“You can’t say they are stupid. It’s just that their principle is to only make money in Hong Kong and not take risky investments, so they only dare to use their existing funds.” Yang Wendong said with a smile.
British capital is not very smart, but it is not that stupid either. After all, Europe and the United States also have real estate markets, and many Hong Kong Chinese real estate developers may have learned their tricks from Europe and the United States.
The most fundamental reason is that they still do not believe in the future of Hong Kong. The British government boasts that it will build Hong Kong into the Pearl of the Orient of the Empire, but the problem is that it is uncertain how Hong Kong’s north will deal with Hong Kong in the future.
Not to mention British capital, even some pro-British Chinese capital is like this. The reason why several shipping tycoons refused to invest in real estate is also due to this reason.
Zheng Zhijie said: "Yes, they are still not reassured."
"It's better if you don't worry." Yang Wendong said with a smile: "When negotiating with Taikoo, tell the other party that as long as it is land, I basically want it, as long as it is not too bad;
If Swire Properties wants to find Chinese capital for cooperation, they can also look for us.”
Real estate companies in Hong Kong cooperate with each other, especially British and Chinese companies. One side has land but no capabilities, while the other side has capabilities but no land. Naturally, the best outcome is for both sides to combine.
However, there will be regrets in cooperation;
Originally, in order to develop Taikoo Shing, the Swire Group cooperated with a Chinese-funded enterprise. As a result, housing prices skyrocketed and the value of Taikoo Shing doubled. The Swire Group then regretted the cooperation, and China Yingtai Corporation eventually went to court. Swire paid an additional compensation of HK$100 million to put an end to the matter.
Yang Wendong also knew the value of the land in Taikoo Shing, which was no less than Li Jiacheng's Whampoa Garden in history. However, it was hard to say whether he could cooperate now.
Zheng Zhijie also smiled and said: "Okay, in fact, for Swire, cooperating with us to develop their land is indeed their best choice."
"That's right. At least I can consider cooperating with Swire in the long term," Yang Wendong said again.
Although he had the desire to acquire many British companies, Swire was an exception. It was not that he did not want to, nor was it that Swire was inferior, but that it was not listed, and the Swire family controlled more than 50% of Swire's shares, so others had no chance at all;
In addition, the people in the Swire Group really knew how to adapt to the times. After 85, they used various means to show goodwill to the mainland, which ultimately led to the failure of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, which wanted to challenge Cathay Pacific.
Furthermore, as an international city, it would be difficult for Hong Kong to drive away all the large British companies. It would be fine to leave only Swire.
Two days later, Zheng Zhijie came to Yang Wendong's office again and said, "Mr. Yang, I have talked to John Swire of Swire. He said that he can discuss the transaction of the Blue Chimney Site with us, but in addition to the price, he has another condition."
"What conditions?" Yang Wendong asked.
A lot of times, big business isn't just about price, but other factors as well, which may even have nothing to do with the matter.
Zheng Zhijie said: "It's about the dock. He hopes to talk to you in person."
Yang Wendong looked up and asked in surprise, "Wharf? The last time Swire Group failed to seize the container terminal in Hong Kong, is it trying to get someone else's terminal by using other conditions? He can't be that stupid, right?"
In the last dock auction, Yang Wendong, Pao Yugang and Qi Dezun of Hutchison Whampoa jointly won three docks, and one was successfully auctioned by Jardine Matheson;
It's not that Taikoo didn't want it, but when faced with Hutchison Whampoa, no one knew why he gave up, and now he actually wants to bring up the old matter with Yang Wendong;
Although the Blue Chimney is extremely valuable, it is just a piece of land after all. Although land of this size and location is rare, there are still some in Hong Kong, and there may be more in the future. However, the docks are different. There are only 9 in Hong Kong's history. The next time the Hong Kong government releases a new dock will be at least ten years later. The value of the two is incomparable. It can be said that only monopoly infrastructure businesses such as Hong Kong Electric and Hong Kong Telephone Company can be compared with the value of container terminals.
Zheng Zhijie also said: "That's not clear. It shouldn't be a trading dock. Maybe there is some kind of cooperation?"
"Okay, let's arrange a meeting." Yang Wendong agreed;
The boss of the Swire Group could meet by himself. Although the two of them were also competing in the field of beverage sugar production, this was normal. In a small city like Hong Kong, whoever had a big business might compete with others.
As long as the competition does not occur between monopoly enterprises, other things such as real estate, stock market, factories, hotels, etc. that do the same thing are not considered competitors;
Zheng Zhijie said: "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."
A day later, at the Four Seasons Hotel, Yang Wendong met John Swire, the head of the Swire Group;
"Hello, Mr. Shi Huaiya." Yang Wendong said politely;
The Swire Group had a good reputation in its previous life, and it is still okay in this life. At least among the major British companies in Hong Kong, it is considered to be the one focusing on industrial development. Even if it is the specialty of its ancestors, its contribution to Hong Kong's economy is much stronger than that of the other companies that only know how to do trade.
"Hello, Mr. Yang." John Shi Huaiya said with a smile: "Although we have met many times, this is the first time we have met alone, right?"
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes."
Changxing Group started out by exporting and had little contact with many local consortiums in Hong Kong. After its rise, it had its own foundation and no longer needed to rely on the trade and real estate businesses controlled by the British consortium.
Therefore, although I have met many people from the British financial group in public over the years, I have had little interaction with them in private.
John said again: "Mr. Yang, I asked you out this time because I want to discuss the Blue Chimney. As long as the price is right, I can transfer this piece of land to Changxing Real Estate, and I can even give you a discount.
But I hope we can have some cooperation in the port terminal area.”
"What cooperation?" Yang Wendong asked back.
John Swire said: "I hope to be able to buy shares in one of the marinas."
"John, do you think I will agree?" Yang Wendong asked with a smile: "The value of the blue chimney is indeed very high, but it is far inferior to the port."
John said, "I know that, so I can also make up the difference. As long as we can negotiate, the price is negotiable."
"That's out of the question. I won't sell my shares in the port." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "If Swire wants to acquire shares in the terminal, why not consider asking Jardine Matheson?"
John smiled and said, "What if I want Hutchison's share?"
"He Huang?" Yang Wendong frowned slightly and asked, "Have you negotiated with Qi Dezun?"
Although he had invested in Hutchison Whampoa, the time for harvest had not yet come. In order to reassure Qi Dezun, he basically did not ask about Hutchison Whampoa's internal business. At most, he sent a representative to attend the board of directors. The core purpose was to protect his own interests and supervise the finances.
John Shi Huaiya said: "Yes, Qi Dezun agreed to sell me 25% of the shares, but such a large transaction requires the consent of you, the major shareholder."
"What conditions did you give to Qi Dezun to make him agree?" Yang Wendong asked curiously.
John smiled and said, "This involves commercial secrets, so I cannot disclose it, but the transaction is absolutely fair, and Hutchison has also gained enough benefits."
"So you just need my consent?" Yang Wendong asked.
I am also a major shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa Pier 5. According to the agreement, any shareholder who sells shares needs to inform others; not to mention that I am also a major shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa and have meaningful voting rights.
John Snyder said, "Yes. In addition, I hope Mr. Yang can lobby for me and persuade Pao Yu-kang to sell some shares to me as well."
"You want shares in two docks, but you don't have the operating rights. Is it necessary?" Yang Wendong asked in return.
"This is my internal decision," John replied.
"Okay, I don't care about your internal affairs. I can talk to Bao Yugang, but whether he agrees or not is not something I can control." Yang Wendong nodded and said.
He would ask Qi Dezun about the Hutchison matter in a few days. It was probably because Taikoo had given him a great benefit.
As for Bao Yugang, it's okay to talk about it. There's no loss anyway. Based on his understanding of Bao Yugang, he probably won't give up this benefit.
"Okay, thank you very much." John Shi Huaiya smiled faintly, and then said: "There is one more thing, I also need Mr. Yang's help."
Yang Wendong frowned slightly and said, "John, I also paid Blue Chimney for the cooperation. Isn't this a bit too much for us?"
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(End of this chapter)