Chapter 734 Taikoo City Project

Chapter 734 Taikoo City Project

Chapter 734 Taikoo City Project

On July 7, after Yang Wendong finished arranging various matters in the United States, he returned to Hong Kong on a private plane.

On his own private plane, he had plenty of rest time. However, after all, he had a jet lag, so Yang Wendong still took an extra day or two to rest. For him now, health was more important than anything else, and wealth was nothing but a passing cloud.
If you didn't want to accomplish something great, you could have retired ten years ago. This is the same for countless businessmen in Hong Kong and around the world. When you have enough wealth, what remains is your life goal.

On July 7, Yang Wendong arrived at the Kangle Building. Zheng Zhijie and Fang Xianming, who were in charge of real estate and finance, were already waiting there.

"What has happened in Hong Kong in the past half month?" Yang Wendong asked calmly;
In fact, when he was in the United States, he would also pay appropriate attention to the situation in Hong Kong, but after all, there was no Internet, and many things were transmitted manually, so unless it was a big deal, Yang Wendong would not pay much attention to it in the United States; and it would not take him long to return to Hong Kong.

Zheng Zhijie said: "Mr. Yang, the biggest thing recently is the preparation and planning for the establishment of the Hong Kong MTR Corporation. This is a company established by the Hong Kong government with a separate investment, which is specifically responsible for the future construction of the subway in Hong Kong."

"MTR? Well, considering the population density of Hong Kong, it should be about the same." Yang Wendong nodded, and then said, "But the economy has not yet recovered, and the Hong Kong government has taken such action. Murray MacLehose is quite courageous."

In the original history, the Hong Kong MTR Corporation was established in 1975. At that time, the Hong Kong economy had emerged from the crisis and the future was promising. In addition, the population increased and the traffic was congested. Under such circumstances, it was normal to establish a subway company.

But the economy has not yet bottomed out and rebounded, and it is surprising that MacLehose actually set up the subway company a year ahead of schedule;
However, this may also be due to its own influence. After all, the existence of Changxing Group has actually increased employment in Hong Kong by tens of thousands of people. Even in an economic crisis, so many stable income groups, accounting for more than 1% of the total population, have made Hong Kong's economy more stable.

Zheng Zhijie replied: "Yes, it is said that there is a lot of opposition within the Hong Kong government. MacLehose pushed it hard, but because of the strong resistance, it is only a plan at present. I guess it will only be implemented after the economy improves."

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "That's probably about the same. The Hang Seng Index is almost at 170, so it should be about the same. It's unlikely to fall further."

Due to my own influence, the economic crisis in 73 started half a year earlier, and it has been more than a year and a half today. The timing and economic indicators are also similar.

Fang Xianming also agreed: "Yes, I also feel that the economy is about to recover, and many people are still very hopeful about the future."

When the Hang Seng Index was high, no one had much confidence, but now the index has become so low that many people naturally believe that it is about to bottom out;

The lower the economic index is, the more people will regain their confidence and intend to buy at the bottom. Once the number of this group is sufficient and they take action, a large amount of funds will be injected and the economy will truly recover.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "We are almost done with bottom hunting, so let's wait and see. We need to pay more attention to the MTR Corporation and understand the situation of the first subway station first. We should also take the opportunity to acquire some high-quality properties next to the subway station."

In any city, apart from the most developed commercial center, the areas around the subway are also the most favored by capital;

Even in the past, if tenants in many big cities rented out houses close to a subway station, the rent could even double. This is also a huge advantage brought by transportation.

Zheng Zhijie said: "I understand, but according to the opinion letter released by the Hong Kong government, the Hong Kong MTR Corporation will be operated independently in the future, and the initial capital will be the auction of properties around the subway stations. At that time, we will have to compete in a real way."

"Let's compete. We are not afraid of anyone." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

The Hong Kong MTR Corporation is one of the few profitable companies in the world. Its core business is property sales, leasing, and subway ticket prices. This model has freed the Hong Kong government from the huge annual subsidies of normal countries and regions, but it has also made Hong Kong subway tickets very expensive, which has prevented the "subway" from fully playing its role.
However, this kind of thing is decided by the Hong Kong government, and outsiders cannot interfere. All he can do is go with the flow.

Zheng Zhijie added: “In addition to the MTR Corporation, the Independent Commission Against Corruption has also started a large-scale investigation of the society and JC during this period, which has led to the recent social chaos;
From an economic perspective, the impact on us is not significant, but because it is so chaotic, I would like to ask Mr. Yang to pay attention to this aspect when he is in Hong Kong.”

"ICAC? It will be a bit confusing. I will pay attention to this." Yang Wendong nodded.

The establishment of the ICAC was actually a game between the old and new forces. In order to protect themselves, the old forces began to fight back desperately. Even though they lost in the end, they also caused a little chaos in Hong Kong society.

However, this is the darkness before dawn. After enduring this period, Hong Kong's public security will be further improved, thus preparing Hong Kong for its transformation into a new international metropolis.

Of course, the ICAC is not so "fair" and has its own purpose, but in any case, it is still beneficial in the long run. Fang Xianming continued: "Other aspects are not a big deal. I have already invested a lot of funds in real estate listed companies in the Hang Seng Index. Now I just wait for the economic recovery."

"It's similar here. I've also accumulated a lot of land." Zheng Zhijie also said: "But recently some of our cooperation with Swire Group has been temporarily suspended because Swire is not very enthusiastic about capital investment and seems to be waiting and watching."

"Swire?" Yang Wendong thought for a moment and asked, "Does the Swire Group have any plans to develop the site where the Swire Pier used to be?"

Hong Kong has three traditional docks in history, which are controlled by Wharf Holdings, Swire Group and Whampoa Group. After the emergence of container terminals, these three docks were developed into Harbour City, Taikoo City and Whampoa Garden respectively.

The former is the largest rental collection agency in Hong Kong. Although the latter two were developed into residential buildings and have no long-term returns, they also brought huge profits to the companies behind them.
Now I have Harbour City. Whampoa Dock currently still belongs to Hutchison Whampoa, so there is nothing I can do for now. The only thing left is Taikoo Shing.

Zheng Zhijie shook his head and said, "No, that piece of land has been vacant there for a long time. The location is also very good. It would be a pity not to develop it."

Yang Wendong said, "Well, let's make an appointment with John Snyder and tell him that I want to invite him for tea."

"Okay, Mr. Yang." Zheng Zhijie agreed immediately.

Day 3, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong:

"Hello, Mr. Yang." John Shi Huaiya, the head of the Taikoo family, immediately smiled and shook hands with Yang Wendong when he saw him.

Yang Wendong also shook hands and said, "Hello, Mr. Shi Huaiya, please take a seat."

After the two sat down, they exchanged some pleasantries and then got straight to the point. Yang Wendong asked, "Mr. Shi Huaiya, what do you think of the future economic trend of Hong Kong?"

"I am naturally full of confidence in Hong Kong's economy. The current situation is just a normal fluctuation." John Swire smiled and asked, "Mr. Yang acquired Wharf Holdings, so he must have the same view on Hong Kong's future. I wonder why he asked me out this time?"

Yang Wendong said: "I am thinking about having more cooperation with Swire Group in real estate."

"What kind of cooperation method?" John Swire asked back.

Yang Wendong said directly: "I want to buy the land of Taikoo Port. The price is negotiable."

"Mr. Yang, this piece of land is not for sale." John Shuaiya refused: "Other pieces of land can be negotiated, but this piece is absolutely not allowed."

Yang Wendong said, "How about we cooperate in development? Swire Group has the land, and I have a professional development team. You and I can work together to quickly develop the land and cash it out. This will be a good thing for Swire Group, right? I heard that the oil crisis had a great impact on Swire Group."

If he wanted to buy it just now, it would be a huge price to ask for. He also knew that the Swire Group would not sell such a piece of prime land, and no one would sell it, unless it was like the situation in 67, when some people wanted to leave Hong Kong, then there would be a chance;

Although the Swire Group is a British-owned company, it is the one that has the most confidence in Hong Kong's future. Its core industries also rely heavily on Hong Kong and it is absolutely impossible for it to leave.
"Cooperative development?" John S. Huaiya hesitated and asked, "Mr. Yang, do you think this economic crisis will soon be over?"

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "I'm not sure about this, but I think the timing should be about right. When the economy recovers, the real estate industry will surely do the same. If we develop early now, we can sell the pre-sale properties by then. The timing is absolutely perfect."

"I need to think about this and discuss it internally." John Shi Huaiya naturally would not agree immediately.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Of course, it's just that such a large-scale cooperation also requires a long time to prepare, so please hurry up, whether it works or not."

In fact, in the original history, the Taikoo City project, the Taikoo Group found a Chinese company to cooperate because of its lack of development capabilities. In the end, because the benefits were too great, Taikoo wanted to regret it, but it was too late, and it still cost more than 100 million to succeed;
This is also a common problem of British real estate companies. They have no real estate development capabilities and can only let Chinese capital take advantage of them in the end.
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(End of this chapter)