Chapter 709 Control of the Supply of Fuel Oil in Hong Kong

Chapter 709 Control of the Supply of Fuel Oil in Hong Kong

Chapter 709 Control of the Supply of Fuel Oil in Hong Kong

Zhang Guangdou smiled and said, "No, it's the three of us together. There are some things that Huarun can't do alone. It would be too obvious."

"That means, you want Mr. Huo and I to take over the gas stations of Mobil, Shell and other companies in Hong Kong?" Yang Wendong asked.

Zhang Guangdou said: “Yes, from our perspective, we need to control some of Hong Kong’s core resources. Oil must be imported, so it is better for us to control it;
From an economic perspective, although Hong Kong is just a city, it can control all fuel supplies, so for you two, at least the profits are not bad. "

"What do you think, Mr. Yang?" Huo Yingdong asked with a smile.

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Okay, there's no problem on my end."

He could sense that both sides wanted to control Hong Kong to a greater extent. Just like more than a decade ago, in the 50s, Hong Kong had always been short of water. At that time, the easiest way was to get water from the mainland and build pipelines or canals to transport water. However, in order to avoid the water source being controlled by the mainland, the Hong Kong government refused to do so, which eventually led to the great water shortage in Hong Kong in 1963.
There are many core resources that affect a city's lifeline. Water is naturally the most important, but fuel resources are also very important. It is normal for the mainland to take this opportunity to control the Hong Kong market. The mainland is an oil exporter, and there is no harm in having one more place to export.
However, such a thing may not have happened in history. But now China Resources has this idea. It may be because Wharf Holdings was acquired by itself in advance. Everyone can see that the bottom line of British-funded enterprises and British Hong Kong has been tested, which makes China Resources and Ho Ying-tung have this idea.

Huo Yingdong smiled and said, "Well, only Mr. Yang can handle this matter. Mr. Yang also knows my identity. After we get it, how about a 433 split among the three of us? Mr. Yang, you control 4% and control the company. How about that?"

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Okay, no problem on my end."

He naturally knew that Huo Yingdong and Zhang Guangdou must have already negotiated, and he was just participating. Since it involved the strategic intentions of the mainland, he did not want to compete for it;
The oil market in Hong Kong itself is not very large. In a city with a large population and limited land, there are relatively few cars and it will mainly rely on the subway in the future. As for the industrial use of oil, naturally many factories have a high demand at this time, but in a dozen years or so, Hong Kong's industry will decline and this aspect will naturally not be able to be used.

In terms of energy, electricity and gas will be the top priorities in the future. Both are needed for civil, commercial and industrial purposes, and they have greater value.

Hutchison Whampoa has already acquired 3% of Hong Kong Electric's shares. In the future, as long as he takes over Hutchison Whampoa, Hong Kong Electric will also be in his hands. As for Hong Kong Gas, it was originally acquired by Li Shau-kee in the 80s and is now still in the hands of the Kadoorie family, which is the controlling family of China Light and Power Company.

Zhang Guangdou continued, "That's fine with me, but Mr. Yang, if the oil price is right in the future, I hope that gas stations in Hong Kong will try to use domestic oil. What do you think?"

"As long as the price and quality are OK, I will have no objection." Yang Wendong did not make a 100% commitment;

It's not that he doesn't want to, but nothing can be finalized. For something like oil, not only the price but also the quality is very important. If the oil quality is not good, then no matter how cheap the price is, it will not be appropriate. These are all subject to international standards and cannot be messed up.

Zhang Guangdou said: "Don't worry about that. We will definitely pay close attention to the quality of the oil that can be exported to Hong Kong. China Resources also has several gas stations in Hong Kong, and there have been no problems over the years."

"That's perfect." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

After the three people finished negotiating, Yang Wendong obtained a stable source of oil. No matter whether the matter could be accomplished in the end, at least his company and suppliers would not be short of oil.

This is also the benefit of having the backing of an oil exporting country. During this oil crisis, countless people were anxious to buy oil, especially some companies. Obviously, there were no problems in all links, but the raw materials could not come in and the finished products could not go out. This would very likely lead to the collapse of the capital chain and even bankruptcy. After all, bank debts still need to be repaid normally.

Soon, Yang Wendong found Luo Bishi again and said, "Mr. Governor, the mainland has promised to send some fuel to Hong Kong to ensure Hong Kong's normal social needs."

"Really?" Roberts was overjoyed. With oil, Hong Kong society would be able to function normally, and the pressure on the Hong Kong government would be much less.

As for if the rest of the world experiences an economic recession due to oil shortages, which in turn affects Hong Kong’s exports and economy, that is also beyond the control of the Hong Kong government. Even if the problem is big, it can be resolved slowly.

Yang Wendong added: "But it's not without conditions."

"What are the conditions? Is the price very expensive?" Roberts asked quickly, and then said: "As for the price, as long as it is not too high, I think many companies in Hong Kong society can still accept it."

It is good to have oil at this time, but it is not just a matter of money. No matter how high the price is in the mainland, the Hong Kong government only needs to solve the supply problem and does not need to pay for it.

Yang Wendong shook his head and smiled, “No, what the mainland means is that they will not sell any oil to British and American gas stations or related trading companies in Hong Kong;
Because these companies ship the oil originally from Hong Kong back to their own countries, how can we guarantee that these companies will not do the same thing after getting the oil from the mainland? "

"This, the supply contract between the mainland and them can restrict this kind of thing, right?" Luo Bishi thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Yang, in fact, we also don't like this very much, but the Hong Kong government's policy is a free market, and it is not convenient to interfere with their freedom. But as a seller, you can restrict it in the contract."

If the companies behind these gas stations were not so powerful, the Hong Kong government would probably have dealt with them indirectly from other aspects.

Yang Wendong said: "It is true that there are contractual restrictions, but this is still helping them. The mainland means that these people will not be able to get away with this kind of thing. They will only sell oil to gas stations with local capital in Hong Kong."

"A gas station owned by Hong Kong local capital?" Roberts understood immediately and said, "I know China Resources also has gas stations in Hong Kong, but there are too few of them, and they are all in the New Territories, which is too far from Hong Kong Island."

China Resources started operating in Hong Kong in the 40s, but it did not operate in the fuel industry until the 60s, so it naturally did not have a good position. The Hong Kong government also instinctively rejected China Resources, and would deliberately restrict it from doing business unless it had to.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I know. So, I want to talk to the heads of these companies in Hong Kong. This is a private matter between us. After the discussion is completed, I will inform the Hong Kong government. How about that?"

"Okay, the market is free, and our Hong Kong government will not interfere." Luo Bishi also understood what Yang Wendong meant;

It was not easy for them to intervene in this matter. After all, they turned a blind eye to Yang Wendong's attack on Hutchison Whampoa before, let alone now. As long as the current oil shortage problem could be alleviated quickly, everything would be fine.

Two days later, inside the Hong Kong Leisure Building, Fang Xianming invited several foreigners from different countries to come here, some were from the United States, some were from the United Kingdom, and one was from Norway.

"Everyone, you all know the purpose of our Changxing Group. In terms of price, we will definitely give you a fair price." Fang Xianming stood at the front of the conference room and said very proudly.

For ordinary people, the gas station industry in Hong Kong is worth millions of dollars each, but for Changxing Group, even if dozens of them in Hong Kong are added together, it is nothing;
The acquisition of such a small industry naturally does not require the boss Yang Wendong to come forward, only Fang Xianming needs to make the contact.

"You are taking advantage of others' misfortune." The Norwegian man immediately refused and said, "We don't have oil, but you don't have a gas station either. It's the best thing for us to cooperate. Don't you Chinese always say mutual benefit and win-win?"

"Give you oil? I guess you will ship it back to your own country?" Fang Xianming said disdainfully.

He was also very unhappy with the behavior of these foreigners. They made money in Hong Kong on weekdays, but when Hong Kong was short of oil, they transported the oil away as soon as possible. If their group had not been prepared, the larger the scale, the greater the impact would have been.

The person in charge of Shell Oil in Hong Kong said: "Mr. Fang, we will not sell our gas station. Why don't we discuss cooperation? We can also promise that the oil we get from you will only be sold in Hong Kong."

Hong Kong is in urgent need of oil now. No matter how much the mainland offers, they can make a profit from it. As for the overseas headquarters, as long as the matter is made clear, they will not say much. After all, whoever has oil is the boss at this time. There is nothing they can do about the mainland's restrictions on exports.

If you don't do this business, you will miss out on huge profits and the loss will outweigh the gain.

"That won't do. Please consider the price." Fang Xianming was too lazy to waste words and said, "If you don't agree, we will immediately apply to the Hong Kong government to build gas stations in Hong Kong Island and several towns in Kowloon;
Even if it is too late in the first few months, we will provide sufficient fuel for the Hong Kong market in the future, which will not be good for you.”

"Are you threatening me?" the head of Mobil Oil frowned.

If this is true, once the other party's gas station is built, it will be a long-term competition for decades. Although the oil giants behind them are as wealthy as a country, their industries are also spread all over the world. It is impossible for Hong Kong, a city alone, to suppress the strongest Cheung Hsing Group.

Fang Xianming smiled faintly and said, "So you guys better think it over carefully. We don't have much time, and the price we offer you is not low, so please think it over as soon as possible, otherwise if you miss the opportunity, I will have no choice."

"Then you have to give us a few days to negotiate with the overseas headquarters, right?" said a blond foreigner.

Fang Xianming said: "Okay, then I will give you 5 days. This amount of time should be enough, right?"

After hearing this, several foreigners fell silent. In this matter, whether to sell or not, they had no say.

Five days later, Fang Xianming came to Yang Wendong's office and said, "Mr. Yang, Mobil and Shell have agreed to sell us a total of 32 gas stations, but there is one requirement: we cannot build new gas stations around some of the gas stations they own in the future."

"32, where are they located?" Yang Wendong asked, "I remember they have about 60 in total, right?"

"Yes, they have sold almost half of them." Fang Xianming then spread out a map and said, "These are the gas stations they are willing to sell."

After Yang Wendong looked at the location, he said, "Okay, buy it first, and we can talk about the rest later. Half of the quantity can also guarantee the fuel supply of Hong Kong."

Things will happen step by step. Now we have oil and half of the gas stations, so we can control the fuel supply in Hong Kong. As for after the oil crisis, as long as we maintain a cooperative relationship with the mainland, we will still have the advantage.

Fang Xianming agreed, "Okay. In addition, I think we can also build gas stations in some developing urban areas. With Hong Kong's future economy, the demand for private cars will inevitably increase. In addition, buses also require a lot of oil."

"Yes, any town on the Kowloon Peninsula can be built." Yang Wendong nodded;
In the future, Hong Kong’s oil market will indeed not be able to compete with gas and electricity. However, for us, it is better to control it than not to control it. After all, it will be one of the most basic infrastructures.

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(End of this chapter)