Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 208 208 [It is inevitable]

With Luo Qihong's instigation, the situation caused by this incident became increasingly worse.

Although many companies know that this is a rumor, they have to believe it. What if it is true?

Therefore, many companies that want to acquire the Central Bus Terminal land use the 48 billion yuan as a reference. If they want to acquire this piece of land, they must pay a price higher than this.

Hong Kong Land Company Meeting Room

This was a board meeting convened by the chairman of the Hong Kong Land Group, Mr Newby.

Newby is a genuine Englishman, wearing a black and white suit and a floral tie. He sits in the first seat and looks at the directors.

Although he lost the Wharf Holdings, Newby helped Jardine Matheson and Hong Kong Land Development to acquire the Hong Kong Telephone Company and the Hong Kong Electric Company, which made up for the mistake. However, it increased the debt of the Jardine Matheson Group, especially the debt of Hong Kong Land Development.

Bao Fuda, who is Newbijian's deputy in the land company, is not as handsome as Newbijian in appearance and figure, but the aura of a superior between his eyebrows is much stronger than that of Newbijian, and he looks intimidating without even being angry.

"Everyone, I believe you have also heard the news circulating in the market. Our Hong Kong Land Company's bid price for the Central Bus Terminal project is 48 billion yuan. Although this price is slightly different from the price we actually set, the difference is very small, only a few tens of millions of yuan, so it can be said that our price has been leaked." Newby paid attention to the expressions on the faces of the directors, as if intending to find the traitor.

"Does the boss suspect that there is a traitor in our board of directors?" asked a British director unhappily.

Although Newby-Ken does not hold any shares in Hong Kong Land, he controls the entire company and is certainly not afraid of a small director. "It's not a suspicion, it must exist. Otherwise, how could there be data leaked with little difference? Our bid price is so different from the bottom line price of the Hong Kong government."

"That doesn't prove there's a traitor in the board of directors. What if it's just a coincidence?" the British guy continued to refute.

"If there are so many coincidences, does it mean that many responsibilities can be shirked by coincidence? Then can the loss of Wharf Holdings last time be said to be a coincidence?" Newby was not poking at his own sore spot, but wanted the British director to shut up. As long as this man insisted on coincidence, he could also have less responsibility in the acquisition of Wharf Holdings, which would also be beneficial in the future.

Suddenly the British director looked confused and didn't know how to explain himself.

"Okay, whether there is a traitor or not is not the key point at the moment. The key is the leakage of pricing information. We must renegotiate a new price." Seeing that things were almost done, Bao Fuda spoke to smooth things over.

"I suggest that the bidding price this time be handled by a special group, and that the bidding price not be disclosed to the board of directors." Newbyjian made a new suggestion.

The directors started to make trouble again and were unwilling to let Newbijian have the final say on these matters. It would be difficult to take back these powers in the future.

However, Newbijian and his faction of directors passed the resolution with a slight advantage. As for other matters, Newbijian did not use his power, and they were either shelved or passed by both parties.

Back to the office

Newbyjian and Bao Fuda sat on the sofa, each drinking a cup of coffee to refresh themselves.

"We are under increasing pressure at the board meeting. We cannot allow any more mistakes to occur in this bidding process, otherwise we will lose our position." New Bijian said solemnly.

Bao Fuda said, "The Keswick family has made a comeback. Although Simon Keswick did not speak out at the board meeting, many directors have colluded with Simon in an attempt to seize control of the board."

"Those directors who support us are only on our side temporarily. If anything were to harm their interests, they would probably immediately turn against Ximen."

"It's all Li Jiacheng and Pao Yue-kong's fault. If they hadn't joined forces to take away the Wharf Group, how could we have lost our advantage? The Keswick family should have stayed in the local area." Newbyjian didn't think the main fault was on him.

"Boss Newbijian, things have come to this point today. You should quickly find a way to consolidate your position. You can deal with Li Jiacheng and Pao Yue-kong later." Bao Fuda advised.

"Well, have you found the source of the news?" asked Newbijian.

Bao Fuda sighed and said, "No, many newspapers in Hong Kong have received this news, and it was anonymously placed in their company mailboxes. It is impossible to find out who did it."

“Forget it, let’s call the people back. Finding that guy won’t help. We still have to get the Central Bus Terminal project first.” Newby waved his hands and said dejectedly.

"So what do you think is a suitable price now?" asked Bao Fuda.

Niu Bijian hesitated for a moment and said, "I want to raise it by 3 million yuan, with a total price of 50.55 billion yuan. This is already higher than the market value of many companies. Even Li Jiacheng, who specifically opposes us, may not dare to offer such a price."

"What about the big foreign companies? They are our main competitors," said Bao Fuda.

Niubijian shook his head. "The Sino-British negotiations are imminent, and no one knows the outcome. Foreign investors dare not leave their tens of billions of yuan of investment in Hong Kong."

Bao Fuda thought about it and agreed with Newby's statement. The Hong Kong Swire Group is a native Hong Kong company and it is somewhat worried about these things, let alone foreign-funded companies.

"Okay, then let's set the bid price at 50.55 billion yuan. But the team's work won't be spared."

"Do it as soon as possible. The bids will be due in a few days and there is not much time left." New Bijian said.

Frightened by Luo Qihong, the real estate company decided to pay an additional 3 million yuan in cash.

Thursday, May 4

The bidding result for the Central Bus Terminal project has not yet come out, but the news of the death of the old shipping magnate Tung Chao-Yen has spread throughout Hong Kong.

At this time, the size of Tung's fleet was unprecedented, with 149 ships and a total tonnage of over 1 million tons. According to media reports, the tonnage of Tung's ships had surpassed that of Pao's, making him the number one shipping king in Hong Kong.

在81年，董氏旗下的旗舰公司东方海外货柜航业业务盈利1亿7千4百万元，非经常性项目盈利1220万元，外汇折算差额溢利4120万元。

However, compared with the first quarter of 82, profits fell by nearly 5%, and many customers requested adjustments to ship charters.

A storm was brewing in the shipping industry. Unfortunately, the shipping tycoon did not think that the shipping recession would last long. He thought it would recover in a year or two. However, he never got to wait.

Due to the rapid shipbuilding in the early stage, Orient Overseas Container Line is now facing huge challenges and will sink in this storm if it is not careful.

The third largest shipping tycoon Zhao Congyan also had the same idea as him, but Zhao Congyan was more interested in cheap ships in the crisis, so he still had some spare energy, unlike the Dong family who devoted all their efforts to building new ships.

Luo Qihong looked at the news and wondered why it was the Dong family who was unlucky instead of the Zhao Congyan family?

You have to know that the Dong family focuses on shipping and does not have any priceless properties. Even if you take action against the Dong family, you will only be asking for trouble.

It was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon when the Hong Kong government finally announced the winning result, with Swire Properties winning the bid with a bid of HK$51.55 billion.

When questioned by reporters, Hong Kong government officials said that the second place was Cheung Kong Holdings, with a bid price of 48 billion yuan, and the third place was New World Development, with a bid price of 1 billion yuan.
On the morning of the next day, the news was published in the newsprint of major newspapers, causing a sensation in the market.

Some major newspapers attached some expert comments and analysis to the report on the Central Bus Terminal tender. They all sounded bad about Hong Kong's local market, saying that the local market in 82 was quite different from that in last year, and had dropped by nearly 35%.
If the previous rumors about the downturn in the real estate market were ambiguous, then the fact that the Central Bus Terminal project bid was awarded at HK$51.55 billion has confirmed that the downturn in Hong Kong's real estate market is irreversible.

As a result, the prices of properties in Central stopped rising, and many speculators began to sell their properties in Central, hoping to cash out.

Dehe Real Estate Company Office

Chen Shanru, the employee who was recruited when the company was first established, became Luo Qihong's secretary and was pouring tea for the guest Yang Mingkun at this time.

"Aju, go get that Hong Kong real estate market research report and show it to Mr. Yang." Luo Qihong instructed Chen Shanru.

"Yes, I'll find it right away." Chen Shanru has already taken on the role of secretary.

Luo Qihong walked over slowly and sat down on the sofa not far from Yang Mingkun. He smiled and said, "I'm sorry to have kept Mr. Yang waiting for so long."

"Mr. Luo, you're too polite!" Yang Mingkun didn't dare to be arrogant.

Soon, Chen Shanru brought the document over and said, "Mr. Yang, this is the investigation report. Please take a look at it first."

"Thank you, Miss Chen!" Yang Mingkun did not forget to be polite just because the other party was a secretary.

Luo Qihong waved his hand and Chen Shanru left the office.

"This report shows that Hong Kong's real estate market is declining. We need to reduce the scale of Fengtu Construction Company as much as possible." Luo Qihong said, "We need to prepare for the coming cold winter."

Closing the file, Yang Mingkun asked, "Is this the situation that Luo Sheng described before? Or is it more serious than what this report describes?"

"Mr. Yang, it's only autumn now, and winter has not yet come." Luo Qihong answered seriously.

Yang Mingkun's face changed slightly. It was not that he did not believe Luo Qihong's judgment, but he was unwilling to believe it. With so many people under him relying on this job to support their families, it would be a difficult task to find a place for them all.

Although the plan of only paying basic salary was mentioned before, Fengtu Construction Company is not yet so fat. According to the current situation, Fengtu Construction Company can only support these workers for 9 months at most.

After nine months, I'm afraid Fengtu Construction Company will be on the verge of bankruptcy.

"Mr. Luo, you are well aware of the company's situation. It won't last long. What should we do?" Yang Mingkun asked in a panic.

Luo Qihong smiled bitterly and said, "Now is the best time to reduce the number of personnel. Slowly reduce the number of personnel in the newly established engineering teams. We still have some time to adjust."

Yang Mingkun still didn't want to abandon those workers and wanted to tide over the difficulties with them. After all, the situation was such that the workers might not be able to find jobs again if they were laid off.

"Is there any other solution?"

"Mr. Yang, I remember we discussed this a few months ago. If there was a solution, you wouldn't be asking this question." Luo Qihong said seriously, "We are a company. Simply talking about personal relationships will only bankrupt the company and we won't be able to protect the remaining workers."

Yang Mingkun was silent for 2 minutes, then asked, "Can we give you more compensation?"

"Okay, but this needs the approval of the accountant. I will ask them to calculate the most appropriate compensation amount, which can not only allow the company to tide over the difficulties, but also ensure that the workers do not suffer losses." Luo Qihong received a lot of dividends from Fengtu Construction Company. Now there is nothing wrong with clearing the funds in Fengtu Construction Company's account.

"Well. What about the project for the difficult period that you mentioned before, Luo Sheng? Can we let the accountant take these factors into account and see how many workers should be fired?" Yang Mingkun stared at Luo Qihong and asked.

"Okay, but Mr. Yang, don't hold your hopes too high. Some workers will have to be fired eventually," Luo Qihong reminded.

(End of this chapter)