The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Hong Kong Association.

The old Madden is hosting a banquet for John Pao, the vice chairman of HSBC. He has always been wary of Lin Zhichao's rise. Thinking of the "bet" between the two back then, he has a mentality of paying attention to the growth of global shipping.

Recently, he received some information, all saying that Global Shipping is already the leader of Chinese shipping companies, and Lin Zhichao has surpassed Xu Aizhou to become the "new shipping king" of Chinese.

This shocked him!

It is obviously unimaginable that a person who has been in the shipping business for less than two years has developed to the size of Xu Aizhou's fleet. It can also be inferred that if this trend continues, it is very possible for Global Shipping to surpass Wheelock Shipping.

Is he going to lose?

Of course Old Madden was not willing to give in.

Once Lin Zhichao stood in front of him, he looked at Lin Zhichao with the eyes of a beggar, how could he admit that the beggar would surpass him or be equal to him now!

Through a general understanding, Old Madden knew that Lin Zhichao had a background in HSBC Bank, that is, Sandas, the deputy manager of import and export, and had already obtained a loan from HSBC Bank.

For a moment, Old Madden just wanted to ask, ‘Why? '

So he invited John Bao, a senior executive of HSBC Bank whom he knew, to understand the matter and make plans.

"Vice Chairman John Bao, Deputy Manager of HSBC Sandus, can you decide on the loan?" Old Madden asked.

John Bao looked at Old Madden, and said formally: "He is the deputy manager of import and export, and is mainly responsible for bill transfer and other businesses. As for loan matters, it is the project department's business. Of course, things may not be absolute."

Although he knew that Sandus was already the manager of the Mainland Project Department, he naturally would not reveal the information to outsiders. This was an internal secret. What's more, he and Old Madden were only casual acquaintances, so why did he tell him these things so that he could curry favor with Sandus in advance?

Old Madden immediately said: "So, Deputy Manager Sandus cannot decide to provide loans to the shipping industry?"

John Bao looked at Old Madden questioningly, thinking to himself, you are not mistaken!

"Mr. Madden, there are too many mistakes in your sentence. First, Sundas is an importer and exporter, and is not responsible for loans; second, HSBC will not lend to the shipping industry. This is the black book of the industry."

Old Madden smiled, and then said: "I actually know this too. It's just that I heard that HSBC Bank loaned a large amount to Global Shipping. This is a Chinese shipping company. That's why I asked you to consult. If possible, We also hope to get a loan from HSBC."

John Bao froze immediately, and then said: "This is impossible! I need to find out, but HSBC will not give a loan to your shipping company, at least I will not agree."

Old Madden said with a smile: "That's strange, why the Chinese can get it but I can't. Is HSBC a bank run by Chinese?"

John Bao said unhappily: "Mr. Madden, our bank only looks at risk and nothing else. As for what you said, I'll find out more about it later!"

Old Madden immediately ignored it and started talking to John Bao about other things. He knew that no matter what the outcome was, he could at least find out through John Bao whether Lin Zhichao had received support from HSBC. If HSBC audits the accounts, it may even question the loan. Not only will Global Shipping be in trouble, but Lin Chi-chao's backer Sundashi may also be in trouble.

It's not once or twice that he and Lin Zhichao have confronted each other, this time he must win!

At the high-level meeting of HSBC, John Bao took the opportunity to ask: "Manager Charlie, does your project department have a shipping loan of US$300, and the borrower is still Chinese?"

For a while, many HSBC executives looked at Charlie, the project manager, in surprise, meaning to explain.

Charlie was a little guilty about the loan, and he would not have agreed to it if Sanders hadn't guaranteed it.

So, he quickly carried out Sandus.

"That's right! The boss of Global Shipping is a Chinese named Lin Zhichao. I believe everyone has heard that he is the boss of Yangtze Real Estate and Cheung Kong Holdings. He is a young man with great potential. And his Global Shipping is from HSBC Before the loan, I already owned four 10,000-ton freighters, and there was no debt.”

"Of course, this situation is not enough for me to decide to lend him money. The real reasons are: First, he leased three ships to a Japanese shipping company for a five-year lease, and he can get 3 million US dollars in each of the first three years. Theoretically, the profit can reach about 2 million U.S. dollars a year."

"Secondly, he has obtained a letter of credit from the Bank of Japan, which guarantees that the contract is guaranteed."

"Third, this loan was discovered by Sandus, who also guaranteed and facilitated it. Sandus gave Lin Zhichao enough praise when he first entered the shipping industry, saying that his business was stable."

After Charlie finished speaking, all the top executives looked at each other and discussed. Obviously, the loan from the shipping industry surprised them very much.

John Bao asked again: "Shipping is called a 'black book' by banks because the sea is ruthless. No matter how stable you say it is, it may be swallowed by the sea."

His remarks were supported by some, so everyone criticized Charlie for not granting this loan.

Charlie was immediately upset!

Fortunately, half of the top executives did not speak, they were thinking about the reliability of the loan.

In the end, it was Douglas, the chairman of HSBC, who said: "Go and see if the manager of Sanders is in the company, and ask him to come."

"Okay, Mr. Chairman."

After a while, Sandus walked into the conference room, then sat next to Saipan, the import and export manager, and attended the meeting.

Douglas then said: "Manager Sandus, please tell me about the situation of Global Shipping. Why is it worth risking your future to guarantee and support?"

Sandus nodded. He had already appointed a project manager. In the eyes of senior management, he still had this status.

Later, he confessed and analyzed the situation of Global Shipping one by one, and made no secret of his admiration for Lin Zhichao's management methods. Soon, the HSBC conference room was silent.

"Today, Global Shipping has a load capacity of 128,000 tons, a total of 12 large ships of about 10,000 tons. They have 10 captains leased to Japan's two major shipping companies - Yamaguchi Steamship and Nippon Steamship. Only these 10 ships each The monthly rent is as high as about US$750,000. So there is no problem in repaying the loan, not to mention the letter of credit issued by the Bank of Japan, and the risk is shared by Kobe Bank of Japan."

In the conference room, everyone was impressed by the strength and steady development of Global Shipping, and there were few objections.

At this time, John Bao was the initiator, so he naturally had to deal with the aftermath.

So, he said: "Since it has become a fact, the accounting department should be sent to audit Global Shipping's finances to determine its risks and then discuss it in the company."

What he said was very procedural, and it didn't give people the feeling of looking for trouble.

Douglas nodded and said: "It should be so! To be honest, I am very interested in global shipping. If the risk is really low, then this global shipping is worthy of our support. After all, as far as I know, other ship owners are There is no such long-term rental operation, and because of this, they cannot be trusted by banks.”

A senior executive said: "No matter what, shipping is still a black book of banks, and we must treat it with caution in the future."

His views were immediately agreed upon by most senior executives, including Douglas and John Bowen.

The next day, Lin Zhichao received the audit team of HSBC Bank and handed over all the account books to them.

If shipping wants to develop, it must be supported by banks. In the previous life, the charter king had the support of HSBC, Dong Haoyun had the support of the United States and Taiwan, and Zhao Congyan and Cao Wenjin also had the support of the Bank of Japan and shipyards.

Otherwise, if you want to develop shipping with your own funds, it will undoubtedly be a small effort.

The audit team was led by HSBC Vice Chairman John Bao. Lin Zhichao didn't know it yet, but John Bao was involved in all of this. Fortunately, John Bao was just doing business and had nothing to do to make things difficult for Lin Zhichao.

What's more, the audit team was stunned!

Even John Bao was shocked and said: "Mr. Lin, your profits in February and March reached more than 700,000 US dollars?"

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "That's right! Although we signed a long-term contract, the price is very high because the market is very good."

In fact, Lin Zhichao discovered a problem. When the shipping price is high, the corresponding cost rate is also greatly reduced. Because the cost is mainly fuel, maintenance, ports, labor, etc., these are not too fluctuating.

A batch of cargo ships with a capacity of 36,000 tons has a monthly rent of about 250,000 US dollars, but the monthly expenditure is only 50,000 US dollars, so the gross profit is 200,000 US dollars.

Of course, this gross profit is not the final profit. If any major repairs or accidents occur midway, a part of it will be deducted. However, as long as it is managed properly, Lin Zhichao feels that the profit of 2 to 2.4 million US dollars for renting three or four boats (a group) for a year of 3 million US dollars is still about the same, that is, one year's return on investment (second-hand boats). This is a few years when the market has been very good, and this rate of return is the only one.

Later, John Bao said: "Your debt is 4.7 million U.S. dollars, plus one or two years of interest of 900,000 U.S. dollars, which is almost 5.6 million U.S. dollars. So theoretically, you can repay it in eight months. It's incredible. Already!"

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "I don't know Chairman John Pao, what is his assessment of Global Shipping?"

John Bao responded with a smile: "This needs to be discussed by the senior management of HSBC, but I am very optimistic about it. Of course, it is only limited to your current loan situation."

He still has reservations and is cautious about shipping loans, so he is business-like.

Lin Zhichao nodded, as long as he has no opinion on himself.

The debt of 3 million US dollars loaned to him by HSBC is to be repaid in two years, with an annual interest of 12%, which is almost 700,000 US dollars in interest. The installment payment of 2 million US dollars is a one-year installment, and the interest is less than 200,000 US dollars.

In fact, the rent for September can be fully paid off.

Of course, this is just a theory. If the bank loan is due, why pay it back in advance!

Therefore, in the second half of the year, Lin Zhichao will be ready to consider expanding the fleet.

The audit team made a work report at the senior level of HSBC Bank, and Sanders also attended the high-level meeting.

Undoubtedly, the audit team's report is very beneficial to global shipping.

For a while, the top executives of HSBC began to ponder. This was different from the shipping industry they had imagined.

Douglas nodded, and then said to Sanders: "Manager Sanders, tell me, how were you persuaded by that young man?"

Sandas nodded, he knew that this was his capital, as long as he passed the test today.

"This young man has fully studied the psychology of bankers. He believes that our fear of shipping comes from risks. So he chose long-term leasing, so that we bankers can see stability. This alone is This is an advantage that other shipping companies don’t have.”

Everyone nodded, it was indeed true.

Douglas said: "Everyone looks at the high returns in front of them, so how can they make long-term plans. As everyone knows, you can also make a lot of money in the long term, and it can also eliminate the shipping window."

Then, Sandus added: "Secondly, I don't know how he convinced Japanese merchants and banks to issue the letter of credit from Kobe Bank. But this letter of credit is undoubtedly very critical, so I decided to convince Charlie for him. manager."

Everyone was also very curious, but seeing that Sandas didn't know, they had to give up.

Letters of credit are not issued casually. When Kobe Bank issues this letter of credit, it is obliged to guarantee Yamaguchi Steamship's ability to pay the rent; once Yamaguchi Steamship goes bankrupt, Kobe Bank will be required to pay rent and liquidated damages. (PS: When Japanese shipping companies collapsed and were in crisis in later generations, the Bank of Japan came to Hong Kong to make financial commitments, avoiding the losses of Hong Kong shipowners and restoring the credibility of Japanese shipping)

Douglas said: "I think he may have gained the trust of Japanese merchants, and when the Japanese saw that he was renting for a long time and there was a shortage of ships, they sold this favor."

Everyone felt reasonable and thought it was like an advertisement.

In fact, everyone didn't know that Tatsuro Yamashita saw that Lin Zhichao didn't even ask for insurance premiums, and was moved by Lin Zhichao's sincerity. As for Kobe Bank, its manager agreed to open it only after Yamashita Tatsuro's persuasion and Lin Zhichao's guarantee.

Finally, Douglas said: "Okay! There is no problem with this loan. You can relax and take it seriously. After all, this amount is not small."

Charlie, the project manager, breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to retire, and he didn't want to make mistakes.

As for the three million dollar loan, the manager of his project department can naturally make the decision.

On the weekend, Lin Zhichao invited Sanders to play golf together, and asked the senior management of HSBC Bank to evaluate the global shipping.

His goal is to complete the feat of 200,000 tons of load capacity in the second half of the year. To reach this goal, Global Shipping still needs to purchase a ship with a load capacity of 70,000 to 80,000 tons, which requires about US$5 million in funds.

Fanling Golf Course.

After Lin Zhichao arrived, he happened to see Lao Madden, John Bao, and Sandus standing and chatting together, and immediately greeted them.

"Mr. Madden, I didn't expect to meet you again!" Lin Zhichao said calmly.

At this time, he did not know that Madden Sr. almost made Global Shipping become the "abandoned object" of HSBC's senior management.

As for the competition ahead, Lin Zhichao doesn't care, not to mention he is the winner.

Old Madden saw Lin Zhichao coming and knew that Lin Zhichao had found a backer like Sandus, but he didn't understand why Sandus had the right to give Lin Zhichao a loan?

"Mr. Lin, congratulations on getting a loan from HSBC. This makes HSBC break the industry's black record!"

There was no change on the faces of John Bao and Sandus, they looked like they were watching a good show.

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "No, I don't have such a big reputation. Naturally, I have a very reputable collateral. I believe that if Mr. Madden proposes it, maybe HSBC will consider it."

Old Madden was dubious, and then he had no intention of talking nonsense with Lin Zhichao, and walked to golf with John Bao.

Sandus looked at the back of old Madden and said to Lin Zhichao: "Have you ever had any trouble with Madden?"

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "If you are willing to listen to some small things, I will tell you in detail later!"

Sandus nodded, and then he and Lin Zhichao walked into the club. It can be said that he has gained a lot of points among the senior management of HSBC recently. Many senior executives believe that he has discovered a very powerful businessman this time, and he has already made contributions before taking up the project department.

The other side.

John Bao and Old Madden sat together, and Old Madden immediately asked: "Chairman John Bao, if I want a loan from HSBC to purchase a ship, will it really be approved? Could it be that HSBC has already decided to invest in shipping?"

John Bao shook his head without hesitation and said: "No matter what, we at HSBC still insist on not giving shipping loans, not even to Mr. Madden. Unless your collateral is not a shipping asset."

Old Madden's expression suddenly changed and he asked again: "Then why did you give the Chinese a loan?"

John Bao could only say: "He is different. He leased the captain to a Japanese shipping company. The lease period of a ship is at least three years; moreover, a Japanese bank issued a letter of credit for him; in addition, Sanda The manager used his own future as a guarantee, and for various reasons, HSBC loaned money to Global Shipping."

Old Madden was stunned. He could not fulfill any of the three conditions.

After signing the contract for three years, wouldn't it mean that profits were greatly reduced? Why would the Bank of Japan issue him a letter of credit?

"How many ships does Global Shipping have?"

"A lot, I can only tell you this! By the way, does Mr. Madden have anything to do with Mr. Lin?"

When Old Madden heard "many", he knew that Global Shipping might really have many ships. Could it be that it was 70,000 to 80,000 tons?

This is too fast!

"No big deal! It's just that this young man is very arrogant. He once boasted in front of me that he would surpass Wheelock's fleet within ten years. I think it's a little funny!"

John Bao said seriously: "I'm afraid it won't take ten years! Maybe five years will be enough!"

"What? Chairman John Bao, are you kidding me?"

John Bao said with a smile: "Haha, maybe it's a joke! But there are really many benefits to leasing with Japan for a long time, which helps reduce risks."

Old Madden didn't know what to say for a while. This John Bao respected long-term contracts so much. It was obvious that Lin Zhichao had gained the trust of HSBC by virtue of this.

Next, Old Madden tried many times, but John Bao only revealed some rough information. As for Old Madden's request for a loan, John Bao refused.

Obviously, HSBC treats them differently.

Old Madden knows that if Lin Zhichao joins HSBC, then surpassing Wheelock is not an empty talk.

John Bao finally said with a smile: "Actually, we are not really supporting Global Shipping, it is just a normal form of loan. Their collateral is very stable, so we will lend money. Long-term lease is part of the stability, Mr. Madden can learn from Learn from others.”

Old Madden could only say: "Okay! Maybe, he is really good, I admit it!"

Although he admitted that Lin Zhichao had gained the trust of HSBC by relying on long-term rental, it did not mean that he would choose long-term rental. Now that one trip is so profitable, why should we rent it for a long term at 75% of the price? What's more, if it is rented to the mainland, the shipping price will be higher.

Before leaving, the two groups of people happened to bump into each other again.

Old Madden saw that Lin Zhichao's expression had changed, because he had received a certain signal that Lin Zhichao's fleet was already very large.

After greeting everyone, everyone dispersed.

On the way, Lin Zhichao thought about Old Madden's attitude and knew that he had used his strength to win the respect of others.

Madden may not necessarily know how many ships he owns, but he must have understood that he owned many ships and was backed by HSBC.

In this way, there will be a lot less trouble in the future.

Of course, in business, competition is still necessary.