The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

In the first quarter of 1997, Cheung Kong Group sold two shopping malls (Laguna City and Hui Jing Garden) and frequently launched sales of luxury homes in Mid-Levels, which attracted some people's close attention.

At the same time, Cheung Kong Group frequently sold its long-term equity holdings in listed companies. These listed companies were all enterprises that were supported or favored by Changshi Group at that time. From 1989 to 1992, they invested a total of 8 billion Hong Kong dollars, and their value has now increased at least three times.

“What is the purpose of Cheung Kong Group’s massive cash-out?”

Some media reported that Cheung Kong Group had just changed its leadership: Mr. Lin Ruihuan had only taken over as chairman of the board of directors of Cheung Kong Group for more than three months, and he could not wait to sell the business built by his father, Mr. Lin Zhichao. This is beyond imagination.

As soon as this news came out, it aroused heated discussion among citizens.

"Have you made a mistake? Didn't I tell you that stock speculation, dancing, and horse racing? Cheung Kong Group's big moves are incompatible with market behavior!"

"This is called the emperor's order. Lin Ruihuan was almost 50 years old (48 years old) before he took up the role of emperor's guard. It would be strange not to overthrow his father's approach!"

Everyone knows that in Lin Zhichao's era, he was very fond of rent-collecting properties.

But now, Lin Ruihuan has sold off shopping malls and luxury homes since he came to power, which is obviously a policy to follow.

"It makes sense! If I were the prince for so many years, I would have to do something to prove my ability once I got the position!"

"Yes! But in this case, it is obviously done for the sake of 'vindictiveness'. Now the stocks are rising so well, and the property prices are also rising sharply, it is too early to sell!"

"Why do I feel that this is a dangerous signal? Should we also clear the warehouse?"

"What nonsense are you talking about! A hero's son may not necessarily be a hero. Uncle Tong was preparing to retire, but later he had to come back to the world!"

Facing the suspicion from the outside, Lin Ruihuan, who was sitting in the office of Changshi Group, also paid attention to the public opinion outside.

However, it did not affect his mood.

Although he has been growing up under his father's wings, he doesn't feel there is anything wrong with this in his heart. He also understands that even if his father is in such good health, he may not be able to outlive his father, so even if he is always the CEO, he will not have other ideas. After all, it is not too comfortable for a god-like businessman to give him guidance.

So even though he is now the chairman and president of the board of directors, as long as his father gives orders, he will carry them out.

And a arbitrage behavior was his father's plan, he was just executing it.

But in the eyes of outsiders, it all became his orders.

So Lin Ruihuan is looking forward to it - let's see, he is sure that his father's analysis is correct.

Lin Ruihuan called Li Minghui, the first female general of Changshi, and said: "Manager Li, I want to sell the Chinese Bank Building, please let the news out!"

Li Minghui was surprised and said: "Sheng Lin, the area of ​​the Chinese Bank Building is 280,000 square feet. According to the current market price, the unit price is at least 22,000 Hong Kong dollars per square foot, which means it is worth about 6 billion."

Lin Ruihuan smiled and said: "Don't worry, there are many people who can afford this building!"

Li Minghui nodded and said, "I understand!"

Lin Ruihuan had asked Lin Zhichao for instructions yesterday and received approval for this move.

Cheung Kong Group is a listed company, not Lin Zhichao's Victoria Harbor Real Estate, so it doesn't need to pay too much attention to a building. He also understands his son's idea, which is to use this kind of selling high and buying low to get the first shot after taking over.

Selling high and buying low is not necessarily ‘speculation’, but more of ‘discerning’ in the eyes of outsiders. Lin Ruihuan needs a little bit of this kind of leadership.

During this period of trough, which lasted for almost six or seven years, there was no problem in selling a Chinese Bank building.

After the completion of the HSBC Building, Cheung Kong Group took over 50% of the shares of the Chinese Bank from HSBC in 1986, so it is now full equity.

In the office of the chairman of Hysan Real Estate, Li Rongliang, the sixth son of Li Hysan, is talking with Li Dingchang, the third-generation successor.

Li Rongliang is the successor to Li Mingze and has been in charge of Hysan Real Estate for more than ten years. Li Dingchang is the eldest son of Li Hysan's fifth son and is currently the executive director of Hysan Real Estate.

Hysan Real Estate is a typical ‘family-owned company’. It has been a real estate company in Hong Kong since the first generation founder, ‘Opium King’ Hysan Leigh, began to purchase land in Causeway Bay. No matter which house the children of the Lee family come from, as long as they have the ability, they can work in Hysan Real Estate, or they can develop on their own.

Therefore, after Li Mingze died, his sixth brother took over, and now it is Li Dingchang, the eldest son who trained his fifth brother.

Li Rongliang said to Li Dingchang: "Cheung Kong Group intends to sell the Chinese People's Bank Building in Central. I plan to buy it. Dingchang, what do you think?"

Under his leadership, Hysan Land has fully developed its own land in Causeway Bay over the years and has also acquired some land for development. Today, Hysan Land has 4.75 million square feet of rent-collecting properties and is the overlord of Causeway Bay and Central. The Cheung Kong Group and the Wharf Group in Tsim Sha Tsui can be considered rivals.

Of course, it can only be said that they are fighting against each other. The important thing is that they are divided. After all, the rent collection area of ​​Cheung Kong Group and Wharf Group is more than 10 million square feet, and their value is much higher than that of Hysan Land.

Li Dingchang said: "Uncle Wu, the Chinese People's Bank of China Building is a famous building, and its value is estimated to be around 6 billion Hong Kong dollars. Hysan Real Estate may be a little tight on funds!"

Li Rongliang said: "Now the interest rate is low, we can borrow part of it, and later we can raise funds through rights issues to reduce some of the debt. In short, it is a rare opportunity. If we buy this building, we can count as entering Central. You know, although we are considered a Causeway Bay The overlord of rent collection, but Wharf owns the 2 million square feet Times Square in Causeway Bay, and Cheung Kong Holdings also owns Daimaru Department Store and Suntiandi Tower in Causeway Bay, why don’t we enter Central!”

Li Dingchang nodded and said: "Generally speaking, our debt at Hysan Real Estate is not high, so buying such a famous building is not a big problem. Uncle Wu, I support you!"

Li Rongliang said happily: "Okay, I will convene the board of directors immediately!"

Whether to buy or not will ultimately have to be reached by the board of directors.

Li Dingchang finally said: "I just don't understand why Lin Ruihuan sold Hong Kong assets on a large scale after he took office. Is it because he wanted to run away?"

Li Rongliang smiled and said: "It's unlikely to be an escape. The Lin family has huge investments in the mainland, so how can they escape? But the Lin family has always been keen on investing overseas. I think it may be to withdraw funds and move to Europe and the United States to diversify investments!"

Li Dingchang nodded!

Everyone in Hong Kong understands the style of the Lin Chi-chao family, that is, they do not care about public opinion about "relocating capital" and have always invested in the world.

Hong Kong's economy is booming, and the British Hong Kong government, which is facing retreat, has sold two pieces of land on Jute Road in Stanley and Wan Hai Street in Kowloon for HK$5.65 billion and HK$6.22 billion respectively.

At the same time, large-scale property transactions are also very strong, with Lai Sun Development spending HK$7 billion to acquire the Furama Hotel, and Hysan Land acquiring the China Bank Building for HK$6.05 billion.

The sale of assets by Cheung Kong Group was just a small fuss for a company with huge assets in Hong Kong. It was quickly forgotten and continued to speculate in stocks, dance and run.

‘Stocks are trading, dancing is dancing, and horses are running’ is the current portrayal of Hong Kong, but behind it is actually collective panic and anxiety.

There are quarrels between couples about whether to immigrate or not. The woman has infinite attachment to the British and is afraid of the unknown of the new government, while the man believes that the motherland and Hong Kong will have a bright future. It is difficult for both parties to convince each other, and they even get divorced. Degree.

On July 1st, Hong Kong officially returned to the motherland. More than 4,000 guests from home and abroad witnessed the historical moment at the Convention and Exhibition Center. Hong Kong has since opened a new chapter. Most of the guests at the scene were reluctant to leave and reluctant to leave. Lin Zhichao was in the heart of the scene. There was no trouble, because he already knew the future of Xiangjiang.

On July 2, Thailand was forced to announce that it would abandon its fixed exchange rate system and implement a managed floating exchange rate system. The Thai baht plummeted 20% that day, causing chaos in Thailand's foreign exchange, financial and other markets.

On July 12, the Philippine central bank failed to maintain the exchange rate and allowed the Philippine peso to fluctuate freely. The peso devalued by 6% within a few hours, and interest rates rose to 25% overnight.

An Asian financial crisis is coming, but the citizens of distant Xiangjiang are completely unaware. Their mentality at this time is complicated and numb, and they are just intoxicated by the atmosphere of soaring real estate and stock markets.

Li He is from Xiangjiang, and his monthly income is more than 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, plus his wife's salary income, so the family's income is quite considerable, and it is an upper-middle-class family in Xiangjiang.

They have two children at home. Because their income is good, they also hired a Filipino maid with a salary of more than 4,000 Hong Kong dollars. They live a very comfortable life.

Under such loose economic conditions, they bought their first home with a monthly payment of more than HK$40,000, which was very easy. This expenditure was about 1/3 of Li He's monthly income.

In the past year or so, housing prices in Hong Kong have been soaring, and the property market has been extremely hot. Li He suddenly became cautious.

He and his wife discussed: "Now that Xiangjiang has returned, the stock market and local markets are still booming. It seems that Xiangjiang's economy will continue to grow at a high speed, and it will definitely continue to drive the rise of real estate and stock markets."

Li's wife was immediately moved and said, "Husband, do you mean we can buy another apartment?"

Li He immediately said proudly: "Yes, Sun Hung Kai has a real estate project that will open on the weekend. I saw on the flyer that there is a 900-square-foot apartment that only costs 8.5 million Hong Kong dollars. I did the math, assuming a down payment of 30%, that's 2.55 million, the loan is nearly 6 million, and the monthly payment is 50,000.”

Li's wife immediately calculated: "The monthly payment is 50,000, plus the first monthly payment of 40,000, the monthly payment will reach 90,000. Your salary is about 120,000, plus my salary is more than 20,000, we We still have 50,000 free funds every month. That’s enough, this money is enough for our expenses! Husband, buy it!”

Li He nodded and said: "Once the house price rises by 30%, we will make a net profit of more than 2 million, which is easy. You know, it has risen by 50% in the past year, and housing prices in Xiangjiang have risen by 1990." Six or seven times.”

Li's wife suddenly felt itchy and echoed: "Let's just say that the value of the apartment we live in has almost doubled!"

Li He nodded and said, "That's right! On weekends, let's go queue together!"

Li’s wife: “Yeah”

The two couldn't help but fall into the fantasy of making money, but they didn't know that a disaster had already come!

The middle class will bear the brunt of this disaster.

On August 7, the Hang Seng Index climbed to a record high of 18,625 points.

From 14055 points on April 3 to 18625 points on August 7, the Hang Seng Index rose by 4630 points in 4 months, a cumulative appreciation of 33%.

"The rain is coming!" Lin Zhichao sighed.

Hong Kong's economy is about 20% better than in the previous life, causing the Hang Seng Index to be more than 10% higher than in the previous life. This is because Lin Zhichao's family cashed out more than 70 billion from the Hong Kong stock market in half a year.

Lin Ruihuan said: "Dad, Changshi Group's cash flow has reached 10 billion U.S. dollars, and its debt has been reduced to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, which is enough to cope with the opportunities in the crisis. Hutchison's cash flow is also very sufficient. This year we will gradually transfer Husky , Orange company was listed, with a total cash-out capital of 18 billion Hong Kong dollars."

At this time, Lin Zhichao and his five sons were sitting on the lawn of No. 79 Deep Water Bay, discussing.

The listing of Husky and Orange was due to Huo Jianning's financial skills, but it was also due to Lin Zhichao's grasp of the general direction. Originally, these two companies were preparing to go public last year, but Lin Zhichao delayed it for a year and did not go public until this year while taking advantage of the high price.

Because it is a spin-off and listing, the parent company will withdraw a profit, so Hutchison Whampoa cashed out 13 billion in Husky and 5 billion in Orange.

Even so, Hutchison Whampoa still holds more than 60% of the shares of these two companies.

The other four sons also reported on the situation of the company one by one.

Lin Zhichao said with satisfaction: "Well, they are all very good!"

"It was my father who laid a solid foundation!"

The brothers also gave all the credit to their father.

Lin Zhichao then said seriously: "Hong Kong is the foundation of our Lin family, so if a crisis breaks out in Hong Kong, we will be unshirkable. Rui Jiang, you are engaged in the technology industry, and you should formulate a general policy of 'revitalizing Hong Kong through science and technology'. For example, in We will prepare a 'Cyberport' at Steel Wire Bay in the south of Hong Kong Island and introduce the concept of Silicon Valley. Later, we will inject this Cyberport into a shell company and complete the backdoor listing. In the future, we will plan for Hong Kong Telecom."

Unlike Li Zekai in his previous life, Lin Ruijiang is a true technology tycoon, involved in games, VCDs, PHS, mobile phones, and home appliances. He is involved in the development of almost all home appliances and electronic industries. The strength of the Yangtze River Industrial Group is its solid background in technology. Not to mention, Yangtze River Industrial Fund is also the major shareholder of Yahoo.

Therefore, if Lin Ruijiang invests in Hong Kong Telecom, there will not be much problem.

In fact, this business was a loss-making business. Hong Kong Telecom was sold by British Dadong during its peak period. With Hong Kong Telecom's profits, it would be difficult to pay off its debts.

But the accounts cannot be calculated like this. First of all: Hong Kong Telecom cannot fall into the hands of foreign capital, otherwise where will Lin's face be? Secondly: Hong Kong Telecom is also a platform, which is conducive to the development of other industries in the future, such as the Internet.

Lin Ruijiang said happily: "Thank you for your father's advice. If this is the plan, it will be more promising to merge the mainland PHS business into a huge telecommunications group in the future."

PHS is not only a mobile phone device, but also a telecommunications network. This technology comes from Japan. However, because the Japanese are relatively wealthy, they look down upon this kind of telecommunications network for local calls.

But it is different in mainland China and Southeast Asia. This is a very promising industry.

So as early as 1994, Xiaomi Technology bought Japanese patents and sought cooperative development in the mainland.

Lin Zhichao said: "It's feasible. You and Yuan Tianfan should plan this carefully. If there is any situation, you can communicate with me!"

Lin Ruijiang nodded and said, "Okay, father!"

He now also understands why his father kindly invited Yuan Tianfan to help him, because to be rich in science and technology, you have to learn excellent financial skills.

How difficult it is to acquire Hong Kong Telecom. You must know that this company has 15,000 employees and is one of the five largest listed companies in Hong Kong. Its annual profits are around tens of billions.

Next, Lin Zhichao said to Lin Ruikai: "Ruikai, you should also formulate a general policy of 'revitalizing Hong Kong through culture' and strive to become a pillar industry of Hong Kong's economy in the face of adversity."

Lin Ruikai said happily: "I understand!"

Since the British Hong Kong government has reached its final stage, even though Hong Kong culture has taken shape in recent years, there is still no official policy. Now Hong Kong is about to experience a bubble economy like Japan, which just allows the "Hong Kong culture" to form the government's grand strategy.

Finally, Lin Zhichao also formulated some strategies for his second wife's two sons, Lin Ruihai and Lin Ruicheng.

Last year, the Global Group led by Lin Ruicheng acquired South African shipping, and now it is eyeing the United States' sea-land combined transportation, creating a shipping empire spanning Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States in one fell swoop.

The Wharf Group led by Lin Ruihai is a top commercial real estate kingdom in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Now it has shifted its investment direction to Europe and the United States, so it is naturally going very steadily. (End of chapter)