In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

At this moment, the presence of Lin Haoran and Ma Shimin was enough to prove that the Jardine Matheson Group was indeed involved in the official land auction today.

“Just recently, we successfully completed the auction process for five plots of land that have been earmarked for the Crown. With its unique vision and strength, Hongkong Land Group successfully won all the plots.

Let us give the warmest applause to express our heartfelt congratulations to Hong Kong Land Group!" At the press conference, the Director of Lands sat in the center and immediately led the audience in warm applause.

When these words were spoken, all the reporters at the scene were shocked.

Didn’t it say that Lin Haoran has no confidence in the future of Xiangjiang Real Estate?

How come he was so bold as to acquire so much land at once this time?
The shock of the reporters at the scene was beyond words, and flash cameras were flashing one after another, vying to capture this sudden turn of events.

Several media reporters who had previously made remarks unfavorable to Lin Haoran and the Hong Kong Land Group looked embarrassed and whispered to each other, as if they were discussing how to deal with this situation.

Lin Haoran stood up calmly with a smile on his face and nodded slightly to the media and officials present.

“Firstly, I would like to thank the Lands Department for organizing this auction and all the media friends for their attention.

The Hong Kong Land Group has been committed to the long-term development and prosperity of Hong Kong, and we are full of confidence in Hong Kong's future." Lin Haoran's voice was clear and firm, and it spread throughout the venue through the microphone.

"Some recent comments circulating in the market have indeed caused some trouble to our group and me personally, but this has also made us more determined to prove everything with practical actions."

He paused, glanced at everyone present, and continued: "Today, Hong Kong Land Group successfully won five pieces of government land. This was not an impulsive move, but the result of our in-depth market analysis and long-term planning.

We believe that as the financial center of Asia and one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, Hong Kong's real estate market still has huge potential and vitality.

Hongkong Land Group is willing to work with all its peers to jointly promote the healthy development of Hong Kong’s real estate market.”

His words were like a heavy hammer, completely shattering the gloom and negative public opinion that had been lingering in the Hong Kong real estate industry in recent days.

Who said Lin Haoran has lost confidence in Xiangjiang Real Estate?
Look at his actions today. If he wasn't confident, how could he have the courage to take over five pieces of land in one go?
Behind this, there is a huge investment of at least tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars!

Seeing this, the reporters were all very excited and rushed forward, with the microphones in their hands almost poking at the podium, trying to capture every word and record every moment of this reversal of the situation.

Many reporters in the crowd have already raised their hands impatiently, their eyes flickering with desire, eager to ask questions and express their curiosity.

However, Lin Haoran did not give them a chance.

“The successful bidding of our Hong Kong Land Group is undoubtedly the most powerful rebuttal to all the comments in the market that I, Lin Haoran, am pessimistic about the real estate industry in Hong Kong.

Here, I would also like to announce an arrangement in advance. At 7 o'clock tonight, I will deliver a special speech to all Hong Kong citizens through TVB Jade Channel. Welcome everyone to tune in to Jade Channel in advance!"

After Lin Haoran finished speaking, his eyes swept meaningfully over the journalists from several media outlets, including Sing Tao Daily, Chinese Daily, and Industrial and Commercial Daily, as if silently conveying some message.

After saying this, he said goodbye to the officials present and hurriedly left the scene with Ma Shimin.

Many reporters who wanted to interview Lin Haoran stayed behind.

A special speech?
This immediately attracted all the reporters present.

At this moment, everyone wanted to know what Lin Haoran would say?
However, if you want to know, you can only wait until seven o'clock tonight.

Reporters then turned to the officials, asking questions one after another, eager to dig out more details about the auction.

The official responded to the lively press conference calmly, but he kept his mouth shut about the special arrangement that allowed the Hong Kong Land Group to delay payment of government land for three years.

This special transaction condition is a highly confidential one. Both the internal staff of the Landmark Group and the top brass of the Governor's Office are strictly prohibited from talking about it and no disclosure is allowed.

After all, once this news leaks out, it will inevitably cause an uproar in all sectors of society, and the consequences will be disastrous.

Naturally, Lin Haoran couldn’t care less about what happened after the press conference.

After leaving the scene, he and Ma Shimin returned to Kangle Building.

"Next, the handover of the official land with the Lands Department will be left to you." Lin Haoran said with a smile while sitting in the chair in the office.

"Don't worry, boss. This is the work of our Landmark Group and it will be completed perfectly. Next, we have these five more pieces of land and five more key projects. The future of Landmark Group is promising!" Ma Shimin said confidently.

"Skyscrapers will be built on these five pieces of land, especially the two in Central. I am determined to build one of them into the tallest building in Hong Kong!" Lin Haoran continued ambitiously.

He wants to ensure that the Hong Kong Land Group maintains its position as the largest rent collector in Hong Kong.

"Boss, if you hadn't told me, I would have been planning to give you a suggestion!" Ma Shimin said with a hearty laugh.

Recalling that a few months ago, the title of "Hong Kong's tallest building" was taken away by Hopewell Centre in Wan Chai from Connaught Building, everyone in the Hong Kong Land Group was unwilling to accept it.

Therefore, after successfully bidding for these plots of land, not only Lin Haoran, but also Ma Shimin had the same ambition in their hearts.

"That's decided!" Lin Haoran waved his hand and made the decision.

The acquisition of these five plots of land this time saved tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars, and these tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars are enough to build the building.

"I understand, boss. Regarding the issue of building the tallest building in Hong Kong, I will arrange for the group to have in-depth discussions internally as soon as possible. In addition, boss, you mentioned that you will give a special speech to all Hong Kong citizens tonight. Can you reveal the general content of the speech?" Ma Shimin couldn't help but ask, unable to suppress his curiosity.

Not only the reporters were full of doubts, but even Ma Shimin was full of curiosity. But Lin Haoran just smiled mysteriously and replied: "You will know tonight!"

Seeing that the boss was unwilling to disclose the information in advance, Ma Shimin tactfully stopped asking further questions.

After chatting with Ma Shimin for half an hour, Lin Haoran said goodbye to him.

After leaving Kang Le Building, Lin Haoran went directly to the TVB headquarters building on Broadcast Avenue.

When we arrived at Broadcast Drive in Kowloon Tong, it was already past five in the afternoon, not far from seven in the evening.

It has been several months since the last time I visited here.

However, TVB employees are very clear that Lin Haoran is also their boss.

Therefore, from the moment he stepped into the TVB headquarters building, many employees greeted him enthusiastically.

Unlike many other companies that choose to take holidays during the New Year's Day, TVB is particularly special.

There is no sense of loneliness here, but it is very lively.

Most of the employees were busy working overtime. At the same time, many actors who were going to participate in the New Year's Eve party tonight also gathered here.

Although Lin Haoran has not been here many times, he still remembers it vividly.

So, he quickly arrived at the TVB chairman's office as if he was familiar with the place.

Normally, Run Run Shaw would travel between Shaw Brothers Film Company and TVB headquarters.

But today, most people at Shaw Brothers Film Studio are on holiday, while TVB is the complete opposite.

Therefore, Run Run Shaw is naturally at the TVB headquarters at this moment.

"Haoran, you are finally here. You have such an easy life as the vice chairman of TVB. You have been missing for several months!" Run Run Shaw said half-jokingly.

In fact, Shao Yifu knew in his heart that he did not want Lin Haoran to interfere too much in the company's operations, so that he could have full control over the company's affairs.

"Sixth Uncle, with you in charge of TVB, I am naturally 100% assured. Just look at TVB's recent ratings, which have been far ahead of ATV. This is enough to prove that with you at the helm, TVB is good enough. As the vice chairman, I am just here to join in the fun!" Lin Haoran responded with a smile.

"You haven't been to the company for a long time. Let me tell you about the recent situation of TVB!" Run Run Shaw naturally understood that what Lin Haoran said was just a polite remark, and he didn't talk too much about it.

"Then I'll have to trouble Sixth Uncle!" Lin Haoran nodded.

Shao Yifu then took out several account books and file books and handed them to Lin Haoran.

Then, he also started talking.

Lin Haoran was flipping through the capital and information books while listening to Shao Yifu's words.

Last time, after Lam Ho-ran acquired Lee’s TVB shares, he also gave Run Run Shaw some suggestions about TVB.

And Run Run Shaw also applied most of these suggestions to business operations.

As a result, it goes without saying that TVB's ratings have increased significantly since Run Run Shaw took over. In the past few months, its ratings have remained ahead of another TV station, ATV.

In addition, as ratings increase, advertising revenue will naturally increase as well.

Although the financial statements for 1980 have not yet come out, as expected, they are definitely much better than previous years.

In other words, when the dividends are distributed, Lin Haoran should be able to get a lot of money, although he may not think highly of this amount of money.

So, although Lin Haoran has not been to the company in the past few months, he actually still has some contributions.

Lin Haoran looked at the data book, which was a book specifically used to record the ratings of Hong Kong TV stations.

Not only does it include the daily ratings of each TV station under TVB, but also those of ATV.

In this era, TV stations usually entrust professional survey agencies to conduct ratings surveys.

These survey agencies will use random sampling to select a certain number of households as samples, and use specific equipment to record the TV viewing habits of these households to obtain ratings data.

Although the accuracy may not be very precise, it is very authoritative in this era.

The data above shows that when Lin Haoran first acquired shares in TVB, TVB's total ratings were only comparable to those of ATV, and sometimes ATV even led in ratings.

But after Run Run Shaw became the chairman of TVB, the ratings began to rise steadily. By September, TVB's ratings had even stabilized between 9% and 60%.

This means that the ratings of TVB's competitor, ATV, have been compressed to between 30% and 40%.

If we only look at the ratings of the past few months, TVB has undoubtedly become the largest TV station in Hong Kong. (End of this chapter)