Chapter 652: Building for oil tanker?
Chapter 652: Building for oil tanker?
On June 6, at Kwai Chung Container Terminal, a large number of trucks carrying containers were driving on the wide eight-lane road;
Yang Wendong and a group of people stood on the top floor of a 6-story building, looking at the traffic below, and asked: "Old Wei, are all the containers in Hong Kong now produced by us?"
Wei Zetao replied: "Yes, our container factory in Kwai Chung can now produce nearly 100 containers a year. % of the containers in Hong Kong are ours."
"More than 1? How many are exported?" Yang Wendong asked.
Wei Zetao said: "Currently, almost half of the goods are exported. However, we do not need to ship them out. Instead, overseas ships come directly to Hong Kong to pick up the goods. They will also arrange for the goods to be loaded into containers and then shipped directly away.
Therefore, our containers are delivered directly to a factory based on customer needs, and then, like other processes, they are used directly after being delivered to the ship.”
"That's quite convenient." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Now the container business is also one of Changxing Industrial's core businesses, right?"
Wei Zetao said: "Yes, more than 20 containers, with a total value of more than million Hong Kong dollars, and a profit margin of about points. And with the development of Hong Kong's trade and the world economy, the demand will become higher and higher."
"That's good. Containers will definitely be the future development trend. The demand will probably be dozens or even hundreds of times higher than it is now." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "You need to continue to prepare to expand the factory, especially the training of welders. Is it convenient to recruit such people now?"
Wei Zetao replied: "It's not very convenient. The real estate industry is very competitive right now. I train new people myself, but young people in Hong Kong are not willing to do this job, so we give priority to people from the mainland. We provide food and accommodation, which is quite suitable for them."
There are only a few million people in Hong Kong in total, and not many of them can be welders. At the same time, the real estate industry also needs a large number of welders. In addition, the service industry and the stock market are also competing for talent, which naturally leads to difficulties in recruiting skilled workers.
Yang Wendong said: "This is also good. People from the mainland can endure hardships and their learning ability should not be bad. In the future, we will mainly recruit these people, and focus on training those who can settle down."
There are a lot of people coming to Hong Kong these days, from the mainland on one side, Vietnam on the other, and a few people from Southeast Asia. The Hong Kong government also acquiesces. After all, the economic development of Hong Kong requires a large population. Those who can come are all young people, the labor force, and many of them even have some education.
"Okay, I understand." Wei Zetao agreed. He also knew that the boss was very considerate of the Chinese. Except in a few rare cases, his factories generally did not allow the recruitment of non-Chinese people.
"Then let's go down. The Governor of Hong Kong is here and the ceremony is about to begin." Yang Wendong said again.
The opening of the Hong Kong container terminal was a major event that affected all aspects of Hong Kong, and even directly and indirectly affected the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people. After MacLehose took office, he naturally had to come in person when he encountered such a major event.
In addition to the bosses and shareholders behind the four docks, many other people from Hong Kong's political and business circles also came. This is a major event in Hong Kong's history and needs to be recorded in Hong Kong's historical records.
"Hello, Governor of Hong Kong." After seeing Murray MacLehose, Yang Wendong shook hands with him with a smile.
MacLehose also shook hands and said with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Yang, congratulations on the opening of the Changxing Group's terminal."
"This is a great event for the whole of Hong Kong. Thanks to the leadership of the Hong Kong government, Hong Kong's economy is getting better and better." Yang Wendong also spoke politely in official language.
"Haha, well said. It is only under the leadership of the British Empire that Hong Kong can achieve such results." After all, Murray MacLehose had just taken office. He could not claim the credit as his own, but he would not say it belonged to his predecessor either.
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I hope Hong Kong will get better and better in the future and become the top city in Asia."
After the two exchanged greetings for a while, Murray MacLehose went to find other people, and Yang Wendong also gathered with other wealthy Chinese people.
"Mr. Bao, long time no see." Yang Wendong smiled when he saw Bao Yugang, "The scale of your ships has expanded rapidly recently."
Bao Yugang said with a smile: "Haha, not bad. Just after going public, you used the funds raised to order a few more ships. Mr. Yang, I noticed that you haven't expanded your shipping business recently. Are you not optimistic about it?"
Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "That's not the case. It's just that our business models are different. Your long-term lease can reduce risks, but I rent short-term or use it for my own use, so naturally I have different considerations." In fact, in some areas where he does not have the advantage of the prophetic golden finger, Yang Wendong did not expect to be the best in everything. For example, in the shipping industry, although he knows some crises, compared with real estate, he still does not understand it thoroughly enough. In addition, shipping itself has certain risks and the operating costs are much higher than real estate. There will be shipping crises in the future, and the time is very long, which is far less than real estate;
So it is naturally impossible for him to invest a large amount of money in shipping. It is enough to make a moderate profit in the years after 67. After 75, the shipping industry was not doing well, and it was even more of an avalanche around 80. Even if the shipping industry is a rigid demand in the future, the market competition is fierce and there is little profit. Changxing Shipping will continue to operate, but it will also appropriately reduce its scale.
Therefore, in the early days, he invested heavily in the shipping industry, and at one point his scale surpassed that of Pao Yu-kang and Tung Chao-Yen. However, after the 70s, he began to change his strategy and focus on stability.
"If a long-term lease encounters a major problem, there will also be risks." Bao Yugang smiled and said, "Mr. Yang, are you worried about the Suez Canal?"
"Yes, there are considerations in this regard. The war has been going on for several years and it seems that no one can win. According to international practice, it is very likely that there will be mediation. Once the canal is opened, the value of our ships will be greatly reduced." Yang Wendong did not hide it;
For a successful person like Bao Yugang, it is impossible that he is not aware of the problems involved, but he just doesn't know when the canal will be open.
Bao Yugang nodded and said, "Yes, I am worried too, but I still think that global trade is growing stronger and stronger nowadays. The Suez Canal only affects Europe, but the economies of Asia, America and even Africa are developing. The opening of the canal may have an impact on the shipping industry, but it should only be short-term."
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Maybe, it may be just like Hong Kong real estate, sometimes high and sometimes low."
In fact, many of Hong Kong's shipping tycoons are right, because from historical experience, the shipping industry also has regularity, rising for seven or eight years and falling for two or three years, just like Hong Kong real estate;
So around the 80s, it was not just Bao Yugang, several other shipping tycoons also saw the problem early, but they thought they could just get through it. However, they did not expect that because of the oil crisis, they would have to endure for more than ten years and eventually almost all of them collapsed.
Bao Yugang probably hasn't seen the oil crisis yet, so his judgment is not accurate.
Bao Yugang continued, "However, the cargo ships I purchased are mainly container ships. Container ports are being built all over the world. The development of this field will surely continue for a long time. Companies that lease container cargo ships should also have much lower risks."
"Haha, that's right." Yang Wendong added, "Mr. Bao, now that you have a dock, you might as well consider investing your capital in the dock. The risk of a dock is smaller than that of a cargo ship. You should be aware of this."
Bao Yugang agreed: "I know, but the profits can't be compared."
"It depends on the business model. Hong Kong properties are also fine." Yang Wendong smiled. The docks can only be said to have stable income. It is difficult to make huge profits because they are all controlled by the government and the prices are too high. Many factories may bypass them and go to other docks. Hong Kong is an exception. There is no way to bypass them.
Bao Yugang added: "Speaking of real estate, there is another incident recently. Henry Keswick approached me and wanted to exchange two buildings in Central, Hong Kong for one of my 20-ton tankers, but I refused.
Mr. Yang, I see that you seem to like investing in real estate in Central, maybe you can ask them. "
"A building for an oil tanker?" Yang Wendong was surprised. He seemed to remember that there was such a thing in history, so he asked curiously, "I also have a 20-ton oil tanker. Why didn't Jardine Matheson Group come to me?"
Although Changxing Shipping is not as aggressive as Bao Yugang in buying ships, it also has 20-ton tankers.
In this era, the price of oil is not expensive. The selling price in the Middle East is less than 3 US dollars a barrel. This is also one of the reasons why the subsequent oil crisis broke out. It is really because the Seven Oil Sisters of the West have exploited the Middle Eastern countries too much.
However, the transportation of oil is extremely expensive. Currently, the world's oil refining capacity is basically in Europe and the east coast of the United States. Under normal circumstances, it has to go through the Suez Canal, but if the canal is blocked, it can only take a detour, and the transportation cost has risen sharply;
In this case, the larger the tanker, the lower the unit transportation cost and the more popular it is. Shipping companies around the world build larger tankers so that they can earn the highest profits. Changxing Shipping also has five 5-ton tankers that are active on the Middle East and European routes, earning more than one million US dollars or even more for a round trip.
This may also be the reason why Jardine Matheson Group is jealous. It is really too profitable. When shipping was the most profitable, even the rent of Central Building could not compare with it.
Bao Yugang shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. You have to ask them. Maybe it's because you already have a lot of buildings in Hong Kong. They are worried that you have too many properties and will surpass Hong Kong Land?"
"It's possible." Yang Wendong thought about it and felt that it made sense.
However, now that Swire has acquired Dairy Farm International, it has obtained a large amount of high-quality land. As long as it builds buildings on these lands, it is estimated that Swire’s First Property Company will still be able to maintain its position.
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(End of this chapter)