The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Worldwide Shipping, Radio Communications Room.

Lin Zhichao and a dozen core senior executives and technical engineers are holding daily technical meetings with captains sailing around the world.

At the headquarters of Global Shipping, there is a direct circuit for telegraph users. Ships from all over the world can use this circuit to promptly report various problems encountered, such as unexpected delays, unfortunate accidents to sailors, machine failures, insufficient berths at the dock, and For other natural and man-made disasters, the headquarters of Universal Corporation in Hong Kong can be informed of these situations immediately.

The length of each day's meeting varies, but each ship must report on the problems encountered in the past twenty-four hours, as well as the weather conditions in the sailing area. Global Shipping already has 31 ships, and also has offices in Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Americas, realizing a global information instant communication strategy. Of course, there are occasionally a few ships that cannot receive the signal, but they may be back on the channel after a day or two.

Lin Zhichao once wanted to use all 26 English letters, and this has been achieved; so the prefix "金" has been used up, and the prefix "东" is currently used instead, such as "Dongan Hao" and "Dongshan Hao".

The captains reported the situation in turn, while the management and technical engineers took notes, analyzed the various problems encountered, and took timely remedial measures.

Seeing that the 'technical meeting' was on track, Lin Zhichao was also very pleased. As the saying goes, 'don't ask for money if you can't do it.' He warned himself that there will never be pie falling from the sky. If you want to succeed and get rich, you have to give up. Hard work, hands-on work.

Of course, Lin Zhichao's first pot of gold was indeed pie in the sky, but if he didn't work hard, he would be at the level of a moderately rich man. He couldn't even surpass Li Jiacheng and Bao Yugang in his previous life, so how could he join the world's hidden richest family? .

After the technical meeting, Lin Zhichao returned to the office.

The rent this month (July) has been paid, and the loan and installments have also been allocated.

Currently, there are only three debts left by Global Shipping:

The first one was a loan from HSBC in August last year. Currently, there are only two installments (months) left, totaling US$560,000 (including interest);

The second loan is from HSBC in March this year. Currently, there are only eight installments (months) left, totaling US$2.24 million (including interest);

The third installment is the European shipping company's installment payment. There are currently eight installments (months) left, totaling US$1.32 million (including interest).

The total debt is $4.12 million.

However, Global Shipping not only supported Cheung Kong Holdings with US$2.2 million (this year's property purchases were all spent), but also had US$1.85 million in cash flow on its account.

In fact, if it were not for the expenditure of funds to purchase, Global Shipping would already have "extremely low debt", just tens of thousands of dollars.

In any case, it’s time to consider purchasing a freighter to achieve this year’s goal of increasing the load capacity by 150,000 tons. At present, there is still a shortfall of 50,000 tons, which is about six or seven ships, and the price needs to be about 3.5 million US dollars.

There is still a shortfall of US$1.7 million, which is about 9.5 million Hong Kong dollars. Of course, it can be paid in installments. However, to be on the safe side, it is better to borrow US$2 million from HSBC.

With Global Shipping's current strength, HSBC will not be stingy with this US$2 million loan. There is only one situation in which HSBC may be "timid", and that is if shipping falls into a low ebb, but obviously even in 1954-1955, the market situation will not be much worse, and it can only be said to be ordinary at best.

Lin Zhichao came to the HSBC headquarters building and walked towards the Sandus office without any obstruction. Many employees here knew Lin Zhichao because Lin Zhichao was the first person to get a loan from HSBC Bank to buy a boat. Everyone was very curious about Lin Zhichao's method to get the senior management of HSBC to agree.

Of course, the senior management of HSBC is not a chatterbox. Everyone tells everyone that Lin Zhichao's successful loan is because of long-term contracts, letters of credit, and strong strength, which means that the risk is greatly reduced.

Lin Zhichao came to the office of the import department by familiar means and found a strange scene: Sandus put his two feet on the desk, as if he were a rich man facing a beggar.

Of course, this beggar is not Lin Zhichao, but a Chinese about thirty years old.

"Manager Sandus, we have guests!" Lin Zhichao greeted.

When Sandus saw Lin Zhichao's sudden visit, he put his feet back and said to Lin Zhichao: "Sheng Lin, please have a sip of tea first. I'll be ready soon!" After that, he motioned to his assistant to entertain him.

Lin Zhichao nodded, and then his assistant took him to the sofa area and made tea.

Bao Yugang looked at this scene in surprise. When he came, he was threatened by this Sang Da Shi, but this Lin Sheng was greeted by Sang Da Shi with a smile. He knew that this Lin Sheng must be from eastern Guangdong.

The reason why he took the liberty to come directly to the bank was because HSBC now only does business with compradors, and most of these compradors are from eastern Guangdong. When he first came into contact with Cantonese people, Bao Yugang found it a hundred times more difficult than when he first went to Hankou to study. He couldn't understand what they were saying at all, and they didn't understand what he meant, no matter whether he spoke Ningbo dialect or English. Pao Yugang decided to avoid these Cantonese people who were doing business at HSBC Bank and find another way, that is, to go directly to the door and enter Sandus's office by accident.

"Mr. Sandus, I used to be a banker and now we run a trading company. The American manager who originally handled the business returned to China and closed the branch, so I hope HSBC will accept our company's business." Bao Yugang He said neither humble nor arrogant.

Sandus didn't seem to take a liking to Bao Yugang at the first time, and sneered: "Your bank's trading business is strictly prohibited by the British Hong Kong government, right?"

Bao Yugang was immediately embarrassed, but soon returned to normal. He could not retreat. As a banker, he knew that with the help of the bank, it would be easier to stand firm.

"We do not trade directly with the mainland. The objects of my transactions are companies in Austria, so we do not violate the laws of the Hong Kong government and are very formal businesses." Bao Yugang said neither humble nor overbearing.

This is indeed true. Goods traded from Hong Kong to Austria are indeed not illegal.

Even ships and cargo are legal as long as they are in Hong Kong waters. Only when they go out on the high seas can the Hong Kong government departments have the right to investigate and deal with cargo ships departing from Hong Kong. But once the ship reaches the high seas, the sea is as wide as fish can leap, and the sky is as high as birds can fly.

Although Sandus is arrogant, he is serious about understanding the situation. He is not like Old Madden, who is arrogant, but also refuses and deceives others.

"How big is your company's business?"

Bao Yugang showed a hint of joy, and then said: "The annual profit is just over 1 million Hong Kong dollars, and there are only four employees!"

Sandus nodded. He thought it was remarkable that a company of four people could make an annual profit of HK$1 million.

"Okay, please leave your contact information. I hope to inspect your company."

"good"

In this way, Bao Yugang also entered Sang Da Shi's eyes, Lin Zhichao thought not far away. Of course, he knew that Bao Yugang would not enter shipping immediately, at least in three years.

After all, a 7,500-ton ocean-going cargo ship costs almost half a million US dollars, and it is a second-hand ship. Bao Yu only had 100,000 US dollars when he came to Hong Kong, so if he didn't do business for five years, he would definitely not be able to make it. What's more, he couldn't think of doing shipping, as it was now.

When Bao Yu just left, he glanced at Lin Zhichao. Lin Zhichao took the initiative to nod and give him a friendly smile.

When Bao Yugang saw this, he immediately retaliated and hugged his fists before leaving.

In his opinion, if Lin Zhichao hadn't arrived, Sandus might have been talking to him with his legs crossed, and his attitude wouldn't even have changed.

Lin Zhichao no longer regards Bao Yugang as his opponent. The reason is simple. The opportunity has been snatched by him. If Bao Yugang is engaged in shipping, he can only become a medium-level shipping company, with a load capacity of five to six million tons, or even no Must be achieved. After all, it was impossible for HSBC to support two companies in the beginning, and it was even less possible for HSBC to support Bao Yugang at the expense of the near and distant.

Lin Zhichao's attack on his competitors is not to fight to the death, but to weaken his opponents, including Li Jiacheng.

He himself also hopes that Hong Kong will become the "big star" of world shipping. Everyone can make money from gringos, as long as he earns the most.

"Are you here?" Sandus came to the sofa and accompanied Lin Zhichao.

It's like two faces!

Sure enough, you have to rely on strength!

Thinking back to when Lin Zhichao came to the door, Sandus also wanted to lift his legs. However, when he heard that he was the boss of Yangtze Real Estate and Cheung Kong Holdings, he stopped his arrogant behavior. Although his tone was still a bit arrogant, it was still true. The attitude is much better.

Lin Zhichao expressed his idea, which was to take a loan of 2 million US dollars and buy six or seven ships.

"Why are you so eager to develop shipping?" Sanders asked.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "It's not that I am urgent to develop shipping, but it is possible to sign a long-term contract with a good price this year. If next year, I believe that shipping prices will fall. Although it will not be a cold winter, it will almost return to 40 The general market situation at the end of the decade. So I thought that this year I would complete the last expansion of ship owners. Wait until next year, I will no longer use loans, but will purchase ships with my own funds and develop steadily for a few years."

Sanders asked strangely: "How do you know that shipping prices will drop next year?"

Lin Zhichao said: "We in the shipping industry naturally need to analyze the international situation and the possible impact of regional conflicts. The war in the north will most likely stop next year. Even if it does not stop, Japan's shipping capacity will be almost sufficient for the time being, and the market will naturally fall. .Although these are just analysis, I think it will not be wrong to buy a small number of ships every year next year to stabilize the development.”

Sandus nodded and said: "You are very powerful! As far as I know, you have avoided losses when developing real estate. Moreover, your fleet is already one of the largest fleets in Hong Kong, and may still be the leader. , it’s time for stable development.”

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "If the market is still good next year, we will naturally need to borrow a little more. If it returns to normal, we will naturally develop steadily."

When Sandus thought about it, it was really like this. A good market means that Lin Zhichao has a way to rent the captain, and the risk is naturally low. What's more, almost all the ships of Global Shipping are on long-term charter, and the deterioration of the market will not reduce the profit too much.

"Okay, 2 million US dollars is not too much! According to the situation of global shipping, you don't actually have much debt, right?"

"Some funds have been withdrawn this year to acquire some properties and intend to diversify investment."

Sandus was stunned. After all, he was not the project department of HSBC, so he did not often audit Global Shipping's financial situation; so he was a little surprised by this matter.

"This is not bad, reduce the risk!"

Next, according to the old rules, HSBC will first audit the financial situation of Global Shipping, and then the project department will make a decision. In this process, Sandas has a great right to speak, and HSBC executives will respect his ideas.

Of course, Lin Zhichao is now equivalent to a comprador of HSBC. If he guarantees someone's loan, there will be almost no problem.

HSBC's current loans to Chinese people still require Chinese guarantees. For example, in the previous life, Li Mingze provided guarantee for the purchase of the embassy building, and the loan was HK$1.5 million. Airship Tai originally wanted to pay in full, but Lizeming told him about the importance of the bank and guaranteed it for him.

In fact, although Li Hysan was an opium seller, Li Mingze and Li Xiaohe were "patriotic businessmen." When Li Mingze died later, the leaders even sent condolences and condolences. At least there is one thing that many businessmen cannot do. In his previous life, Li Mingze sympathized with a group of people in 1967 and resigned from the Hong Kong government department angrily. Li Mingze is also the Asian Masonic Master, and the guarantor is the current British Prime Minister Qiu.

Worldwide shipping.

In the conference room, Lin Zhichao said: "The target this time is six or seven ships with a total weight of 50,000 tons. All departments must be fully prepared and not take it lightly. You may think that our global shipping has developed into a company with a load capacity of 350,000 tons. I think it is wrong for large shipping companies to be complacent. Anyone who is involved in shipping knows that shipping is extremely cyclical. If shipping is at a low ebb, it is normal to lose money, let alone make money. Therefore, an excellent management system, at least This allows us to live better than our peers; at the same time, our Global Shipping Group has to compete with European and American fleets, so you must always ask yourself, are we qualified? What advantages do we have?"

For a moment, everyone's expressions were serious and solemn. The boss's words were warning everyone that Global Shipping is just a corner. Currently, second-hand ships such as Global Shipping really don't have much competitiveness in Europe and the United States.

The important thing is that Global Shipping has little credibility in Europe and the United States, so why should others entrust you with transportation?

Seeing that everyone had listened, Lin Zhichao stopped and continued: "Maybe half of the captains can't rent this time. What business methods do you have?"

It’s not necessarily that long-term rentals are impossible. The key is that Lin Zhichao doesn’t want to rent them all long-term. He needs to enrich the company’s business methods, including fixed lines and one-way short-term rentals. This is conducive to the healthy growth of the company.

There is even a leasing method, that is, Global Shipping only rents the ship and does not care about anything else, including any expenses of the ship, crew, insurance premiums, etc. However, this leasing method is likely to be very slow to recover costs, and is probably only suitable for a very small number of individual cases.

Gao Qiqiang said: "You can add two new fixed routes. If there are one or two ships, they can only be rented on a one-way short-term basis. Huaguang Shipping often accepts one-way short-term charters from Japanese customers, so the profits seem to be quite high."

Why is it so high? Once it reaches 1954-1955, as long as it is short for a period of time, profits will be greatly reduced.

However, Lin Zhichao asked: "How do Japanese customers come to Hong Kong to charter ships? How do they find partners?"

Gao Qiqiang said: "We took the initiative to come looking for help. Many Japanese customers have contacted us, but we only have fixed lines and short-term rentals, otherwise we are quite popular. It is said that they all come here to talk about our ships. The team is very good.”

Lin Zhichao didn't care about those flattery, but said: "I understand, but if we have one-way short-term rental business, of course we can't just wait for the business to come to our door."

Gao Qiqiang immediately nodded and said, "Our department must take the initiative!"

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "If you take the initiative, I'm afraid you don't have a clear plan! Let me ask you, if Japanese businessmen renting ships in Hong Kong, do they need to fly?"

Gao Qiqiang knew that Lin Zhichao would not say this for no reason, so he had an idea and said: "What do you mean, boss, to promote at the airport?"

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "Just like a water source, it is best to intercept it at the source. After the ship arrives in Hong Kong, if you really want to open a one-way short-term rental, I will personally take you to the airport to sell it."

Japan's flights are fixed, and Japanese people can tell them at a glance, so they can be sure of them at the airport. Of course, it may also be other businessmen, who naturally need to inquire quickly.

"OK"

As we all know, the boss always claims that he is a salesman, so in fact, Lin Zhichao has always been personally involved in the global shipping business, and people like Gao Qiqiang can only be assistants.

Lin Zhichao has always attached great importance to the relationship with customers. The three Japanese partners communicate directly. If there is any dissatisfaction, Lin Zhichao must solve the problem as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the senior seamen and sailors started preparing very early, so there was no problem.

In the evening, Lin Zhichao went home to have dinner.

"In the second half of this month, I will go on a business trip to buy a ship and inspect it. So in about 15 to 20 days, Caiyun will go to Yangtze River Industry and Yangtze River Industries to spend more time."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Caiying said: "It took so long this time?"

In May, Lin Zhichao took Xu Caiying to travel to San Francisco, but they only stayed briefly for three days before returning to Hong Kong.

"It will naturally take a little longer to investigate the shipping market." Lin Zhichao said with a smile.

In fact, this trip to Europe will only last for four or five days. After that, he plans to go to the United States for inspection and to visit Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn has already appeared in stage plays in the United States, and it seems that she is not far away from taking on the role of "Roman Holiday".

"oh"

The whole family has become accustomed to Lin Zhichao going abroad four or five times a year, each time lasting about 15 days. In fact, it is mainly time-consuming on the road, but Lin Zhichao regards it as study time every time and reads books on the plane.

This time when he goes to Europe, he will pay special attention to the model of the plane. If it is a comet, he will say nothing.