The Industrial Giant Reborn

June 22, summer solstice.

Chen Zhiwen and his party left the mainland, where they had stayed for more than a month, and returned to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's main economy is still such a stagnant water. After being kidnapped by real estate, all economic data are linked to real estate. Strong real estate means a strong economy, and weak real estate means a weak economy. Although a small group of people seem to have seen the future. In addition, several real estate companies, including Hang Lung Properties, also received investment from Chen Zhiwen or the support of Hisense Bank, and some of the businesses that had to start construction have also started. However, compared with the entire Hong Kong The real estate market is still too small and has almost no impact. Just like when the real estate bull market was at its peak, even if a small number of people evacuated or even publicly declared that there would be problems in the real estate market, no one believed it.

Most people follow the trend. Even if they think the future may be different, they dare not take a gamble. Only those who have vision and dare to take a gamble can rise against the trend. Of course, there are actually many people who lost their bets like Hang Lung Properties.

After two days of rest, on June 25, Chen Zhiwen came to the Hutchison Building in Central. Hutchison Whampoa is currently one of the most important companies under his umbrella, no less than Midea, because many heavy asset investments are made by Hutchison Whampoa. Come take charge.

"How's the negotiation going with the power station project in Guangdong City?" Chen Zhiwen asked after drinking a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Because Hong Kong Electric is a public service, it cannot be a sole proprietorship. It must be listed, otherwise the Hong Kong government will revoke its exclusive operating rights. Although it is unlikely that others will enter the power generation business without this power, there is no need to negotiate with the Hong Kong government. On the contrary, besides, the power station business is asset-heavy, and the rate of return can only be said to be stable. There is no huge profit at all, and there is no need to be a sole proprietorship. It is better to remain listed, which will be convenient when financing.

However, although every power generation business is asset-heavy, there may not be many new projects in the next few years. Especially in the past, HK Electric has been focusing on Hong Kong. Only recently has it begun to enter the mainland. Even in the future, it will be able to participate in The projects will not reach a large number unless Chen Zhiwen injects additional funds, but such a low-return heavy-asset project is obviously impossible at least for now.

Therefore, Hong Kong Electric is a second-tier enterprise within the entire group. It is directly managed by Hutchison Whampoa and is not as good as Wharf. The latter can still report directly to Chen Zhiwen, because although Wharf is currently not as large as Hong Kong Electric, it can The potential in the future is much greater. As long as you have capital, you can directly build shopping malls in many countries and cities, but power plants cannot. Although the latter may have greater influence, it is true that it is difficult to grow to a very large scale. scale.

Chen Zhiwen doesn't need to visit this kind of subsidiary that rarely makes any big noise, so he can just leave it to Hutchison Whampoa. However, in terms of pure operations, Hong Kong Electric is still responsible for it, except for capital investment. , Hutchison Whampoa is responsible.

Therefore, Hutchison Whampoa is responsible for Hong Kong Electric's investment in Guangdong City. Furthermore, after Chen Zhiwen acquired Hong Kong Electric, he had little interference with Hong Kong Electric's management due to professional issues. This group of people started to engage in power generation. The business is naturally very good, but the rest is not so good. In the original history, HK Electric had a lot of land, but it was unable to develop it. In the end, it all came to Li Jiacheng's advantage. Such a management does not even know how to play real estate. , if they are allowed to conduct investment negotiations involving billions of Hong Kong dollars, the project will probably be scrapped. However, Hutchison Whampoa has cooperated with the mainland many times over the years and knows how to operate.

"The address has basically been selected. Guangdong City gave us 6 places and asked us to choose 3. Because it involves environmental pollution, we did not consider the location too much. This map shows the alternative locations. ." Zhou Jiayang handed a map to the boss and said: "What follows is the issue of investment amount, power generation, and tax incentives for future operations."

"Well, you can decide the location according to your own needs. These are very remote places. Just consider the water source and transportation problems." Chen Zhiwen took a quick glance at the map and didn't care.

Power plants are highly polluting industries. Especially in this era, ultra-high-altitude emission and carbon recovery technologies are not yet mature, and the coal used now is not high-quality coal. Therefore, the pollution to nearby areas is very heavy, so it is certainly impossible to release Near the city.

Of course, if the urban area expands too much in the future, it may spread to the vicinity of the power plant. In other words, the current fringe areas may become urban suburbs in the future, but that is too far away, and I will not You may know the future development plan of a Guangdong city, so there is no need to care about the location.

The power plant, this project, is purely for generating electricity. First, it can generate enough profits. Second, with electricity, it will be easier to transfer your future industries to the mainland. Otherwise, you can only stay in Hong Kong and enjoy the huge wealth. As for the labor cost, it is better to prepare early. As for the possible increase in land prices in the future, it depends on luck. It doesn't matter whether it is better or not.

"Okay." Zhou Jiayang nodded and said, "There is another issue that Chen Sheng needs to decide, whether to purchase our generator sets from abroad or domestically."

"The technology in China is not very good, right?" Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and asked.

Although power generation is the foundation of the country, research on power generation technology has definitely not stopped since the era of planned economy. However, it is definitely not as good as the results of so many overseas countries and longer historical research. In his memory, , the mainland only improved its thermal power generation technology to the international cutting-edge level around 2010, that is, supercritical power generation technology, and then locked up exports.

"Yes, the combustion efficiency and stability are not as good as those abroad, but they are cheaper. For long-term use, the cost of purchasing coal alone will be very high. When buying overseas, although the one-time payment is a bit more expensive, the efficiency will be much higher in the future. ." Zhou Jiayang said.

"Of course I choose imported ones. What I care about is efficiency, and the higher the power generation, the better." Chen Zhiwen said without any hesitation.

If it is a factory like Master Kong's in Shanghai, choosing low-end equipment can create more jobs, and the efficiency can also be compensated by adding more people and enlarging the factory. In this case, it doesn't matter. Anyway, a general food production line may In ten years, there will be a big change. It will be better to make new decisions based on the actual situation in the future.

But the power station is different. This thing basically lasts for 30 years once it is used. Unless there is explosive growth in new technologies in the future, it will be impossible to replace it. For long-term operation, it needs to be prepared in the early stage, and Guangdong City’s future The expansion speed must be very fast. The power plant is too polluting and is not in line with urban development. Although Chen Zhiwen also wants to maximize profits, the bottom line is not to harm anyone's health, whether it is his own workers, customers, or irrelevant Important people.

"Okay, then I will contact several overseas companies and wait for them to submit quotations. However, such a project will take a long time because it requires multiple parties to discuss together. The mainland also needs to prepare infrastructure facilities according to different conditions. It may take about half a year to draw a preliminary conclusion," Zhou Jiayang said.

"Well, I can understand that. Just do whatever you want." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. The process of large-scale infrastructure projects will definitely be slower, involving urban needs, environmental needs, reporting to the central government, infrastructure preparation, etc. Security issues, etc. will also be involved in the follow-up, each of which has its own process to ensure that no problems occur. Unlike light industrial factories, if the efficiency is high, it may only take three months from the beginning to the completion of the factory.

"Okay, Chen Sheng." Zhou Jiayang agreed.

"How is Hutchison Whampoa's real estate investment in Japan going?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.

Nowadays, in the real estate market, Japan is the most suitable place for layout.

In Hong Kong, he currently owns Land, Hutchison Whampoa, and Wharf. At the same time, through capital investment, he has invested in future Chinese giants such as Cheung Kong Holdings, Hang Lung Properties, Sun Hung Kai Properties, etc. Basically, in the city of Hong Kong, he has reached The limit of real estate scale has been reached. Investing more, especially continuing to invest, will be counterproductive. First, it will easily bind yourself too deeply to Hong Kong. Although you know the future and Hong Kong real estate will always be good, But there is no need to eat up all the meat in one city, and the second is that being too involved in real estate is not good for one's reputation, especially residential buildings. In addition to his own land, he is not prepared to compete with other people. Real estate companies have competed, but they have already obtained the interests of other Chinese giants through investment.

At most, in the future, Hutchison Whampoa, Wharf and Land can participate in some large-scale office building or shopping mall projects, or acquire ready-made office buildings, etc. Otherwise, real estate investment in Hong Kong should be basically the same.

Japan is currently the best market. When the Plaza Accord is launched next year, the yen will appreciate and real estate prices will appreciate. Current investments can increase exponentially in a short period of time, and the market is large enough to accommodate massive amounts of funds. , it is also convenient when withdrawing.

"Hutchison Whampoa has invested more than US$3 billion in the Japanese market since 1982, mainly investing in office properties and some high-end commercial residences in big cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Yokohama. However, the progress in Ginza has been very slow. So far, We haven't acquired a complete office building either." Zhou Jiayang said with some regret.