Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 241 [Not Yet the Time]

Luo Qihong smiled slightly. The high-priced residential properties in Weishan Garden in the Mid-Levels have been greatly reduced in price, falling to about 7% of the peak period. The current value is only barely 5 million yuan, and there is still no one willing to take it at this price. After all, everyone can see that property prices will continue to fall.

There are a lot of properties for sale on the market, and the supply exceeds the demand. It can be said that they cannot be sold at all. Even if the price is reduced by 1% or 2%, no one may be interested.

However, Luo Qihong would not say these words to Lin Ya, because there was no need, and purchasing a villa now could be considered a kind of investment. You could live in it first and then make money, but the money you made would be a little less.

"It's not that townhouses are bad, they just don't have good protection measures for privacy. Why don't we buy single-family villas? The prices are cheap now anyway, and the difference between the two is not much." Luo Qihong said.

"." Lin Ya was stunned for a moment, and responded, "The price of a single-family villa is a bit expensive. It may cost several million now. A townhouse is more suitable for us."

Lin Ya wanted her younger son to take care of her older son, but she didn't want to go too far. After all, she didn't like pretending to be rich. She just hoped that she could stand up straight in front of her in-laws and the gap wouldn't seem too big.

The in-laws all live in villas, and their family still lives in a high-end luxury house. Although the location in the Mid-Levels is better than that in Deep Water Bay, a villa is still a villa, and outsiders will still gossip about it.

"It is rare for properties to drop in price so much now. The price of a villa will at least double in the future. Buying one now can be considered an investment, and it will save you a lot of money in the future." Luo Qihong said lightly.

According to Lin Ya, she probably bought a townhouse and would not buy a single-family house in the future.

But Luo Qihong believes that no one is satisfied. Lin Ya previously said that she would not buy a villa, but now she has changed her mind.

Luo Qixing didn't dare to interrupt. He had no personal money, and Shengyun Printing Company couldn't come up with so much money either. It would all depend on Luo Qihong to pay for the villa. Once he spoke, it would be like piercing through the last layer of sandpaper, and everyone would be embarrassed.

Luo Zegui said in a low voice, "Wait a little longer. I think the property prices will continue to fall. If you can save tens of thousands, then save them. You don't have to spend money that easily."

Luo Qihong also agreed with what Luo Zegui said. If you don't take advantage of a good deal, you're a bastard. However, Luo Qixing and Chen Yusan's wedding date is approaching, and it seems too late not to buy it now.

"How about this, I have some connections and can rent a villa first, and then I'll find a way to buy it later. What do you think?" Luo Qihong suggested.

Lin Ya was a little reluctant and asked, "Will others know that we rented this?"

There is a certain amount of face involved here. After all, Luo Zegui and Lin Ya wanted to buy the villa just for face.

Luo Qihong laughed and said, "With your son here and so many companies under his control, even if they know that the villa is rented, so what? Will they say that our Luo family can't afford a villa? The annual dividend of China Gas Company alone is enough to buy several villas."

"." Lin Ya was speechless again, as if what her youngest son said made sense. For a moment, she forgot the fact that the two sons' properties were separate.

"When Jingmou Electronics distributes dividends at the end of the year, my brother and sister-in-law will also be able to get hundreds of thousands of dollars, which will be enough to buy a single-family villa." Luo Qihong glanced at Luo Qixing and spoke to take Luo Qixing's feelings into consideration.

"Okay, then we'll rent it first, but you have to always keep an eye on the villa and make sure it's not bought by anyone else. We won't move out." Lin Ya still hoped that others would always look up to their Luo family.

What does it mean to be kicked out of the villa? If outsiders knew about this, they would think the Luo family was going bankrupt.

It is impossible to explain to each person one by one, and it is also impossible to publish an explanation in the newspaper.

"Don't worry, I'll have someone follow up." Luo Qihong said with a smile, thinking it was a trivial matter.

So, Luo Qixing’s wedding house was decided.

In fact, Chen Yusan and the Chen family would not mind whether the Luo family had a villa or not, because Luo Qihong's strength was there, and he was many levels higher than the Chen family, so how could they dare to despise him.

Luo Qihong was very concerned about the villa matter, so he handed the matter over to Chen Zhilong in person and asked him to get it done as soon as possible.

"Boss, Manager Cheng recently purchased a batch of cheap villas at auction, including a single-family villa in Deep Water Bay. How about renting it to you in the name of the company?" Chen Zhilong immediately gave a solution.

Luo Qihong didn't remember there was such a property. "Okay, then you can help with the formalities."

It is the property of our own company, so the rent can be cheaper, and we can sell it to our eldest brother Luo Qixing at a lower price later.

In the minds of Hong Kong Chinese, parents should live with their eldest son, and rarely with their second son. This may be the influence of the patriarchal system. After all, the eldest son is the first choice to inherit the family business.

"Yes!" Chen Zhilong nodded happily. Being able to participate in the boss's private affairs was a sign of a core confidant. "A lot of things have happened in Wheelock Company recently. This is a detailed report."

"Tell me about it." Luo Qihong put the report aside and had no intention of reading it.

"Zhang Yuliang has firmly controlled Wheelock's real estate and real estate-related companies such as Real Estate Trust, Federal Realty, and Harriman Development, while the Madden family controls the remaining companies. The two families seem to be at loggerheads and cannot reconcile, and people within Wheelock are in a state of panic."

"John Madden is actively trying to raise the balance for the delivery of new ships. Many banks are unwilling to lend money, and some bank executives even refuse to meet with John. According to rumors, Madden wants to abandon the new ships and stop paying the balance."

Chen Zhilong described the current situation of Wheelock with a serious expression, and the current problems of Wheelock can be described as "about to be liquidated".

However, John Madden has been in Hong Kong for many years, and Wheelock is a well-known large company, so it can still last for a while. It is just a superficial bankruptcy, and in fact it is still quite far from bankruptcy.

In Hong Kong, everyone in the business community knows that John Madden values ​​face the most. Now that banks are unwilling to give John this face, it is conceivable that Wheelock & Company has reached a point of desperation.

Zhang Yuliang controls his real estate companies and is clearly worried that John will use these assets to fill the gap, with the intention of cutting off Henderson Land Development.

"What about the shareholders? Are they willing to sell their shares at a low price?" Luo Qihong asked thoughtfully, as he was worried about being intercepted. Although it was difficult for him to swallow up the entire Wheelock Group, he still wanted to give it a try. After all, someone would definitely take over, and he wouldn't have to worry about making a loss.

Chen Zhilong shook his head dejectedly. "Not long ago, someone proposed to Zhang Yuliang that he buy out their shares, but Zhang Yuliang refused. It might be because 35% of the shares would involve a full acquisition, and Zhang Yuliang didn't want to take over Wheelock, which was so indebted."

"Moreover, Zhang Yuliang also hinted to those shareholders to wait and see for a while. If things don't work out, he will help them solve the equity problem, so those shareholders are not in a hurry to sell their shares now."

"Alas! They are all old foxes. They probably think that shipping will have a chance to pick up in 85, so they all want to wait and see." Luo Qihong conducted some investigations and research on world shipping and found that shipping seemed to have a real chance of picking up in 85. No wonder those Chinese shipping tycoons thought their judgment was accurate.

If it weren't for the memories of his previous life, Luo Qihong would not have ambushed so early and waited for the collapse of these shipping kings.

"Will shipping really recover in 85?" Chen Zhilong asked in shock.

"Whether it really recovers or not, we can still make a profit." Luo Qihong waved his hand and said confidently that even if he couldn't swallow up Henderson Land Development, he wanted to emulate Zhang Yuliang.

"Well. There is another piece of news. Zhang Yuliang is aggressively selling off family properties, a large portion of which are in the Causeway Bay area. Can we take a piece of it?" Chen Zhilong suggested carefully.

Luo Qihong thought for a moment and said, "No, there are so many good properties on the market. We don't need to buy these high-priced Dongxu. We need to spend very little money to get more properties. These properties must also have great potential. Let's focus on the things in the auction."

"The situation of the Hang Lung Properties group of companies is also very bad. According to the information we have received, Hong Kong Land is known as the debt king among Hong Kong real estate companies, with a debt of HK$165 billion. However, the debt of the Hang Lung Properties group of companies also exceeds HK$24 billion, while the peak market value of Hang Lung Properties is only more than HK$30 billion. The debt ratio is not much lower than that of Hong Kong Land," said Chen Zhilong in the report.

"At present, Luo Xurui has left the family. I heard that Luo Yingshi called back his fourth son Luo Jiarui to take over everything in Eagle Properties, including solving the current financial crisis."

"Luo Jiarui has been practicing medicine in the United States for many years. He has his own clinic and earns a good income. It is impossible to evaluate his business ability at present, but considering Luo Yingshi's vision, Luo Jiarui must have outstanding qualities and may be able to save Great Eagle Properties."

Hearing this, a mocking smile appeared on Luo Qihong's lips. If we were to say who knew the situation of Eagle Properties best, it would be Luo Yingshi and Luo Xurui, and Luo Xurui knew the situation of Regal Hotel best.

Since Luo Xurui has determined that the Eagle Properties Group must be cut off in order to be reborn, it would be difficult for Luo Jiarui to find any other way to keep the Eagle Properties Group of companies intact.

"What happens to Eagle Properties has nothing to do with us. We are just investing to make a profit. If Luo Xurui and Wei Li fail, we will just get less profit. There is no need to worry." Luo Qihong was sitting on the Diaoyutai.

"Should we further drive down the share prices of Regal Hotels and Paliburg Investments?" asked Chen Zhilong.

Luo Qihong thought about it and said with a smile, "Okay, but don't let anyone know about our actions."

"Okay!" Chen Zhilong said with a smile.

"Do you think Luo Yingshek is willing to sell the Eagle Center site in Wan Chai? If we can acquire this property, it will be a good improvement for Zhaoan Real Estate." Chen Zhilong has greater ambitions.

Luo Qihong waved his hand and said, "What are you thinking? Great Eagle Center is the core industry of Great Eagle Real Estate Company. Luo Yingshi would rather sell the Regal Hotel than the Great Eagle Center."

"Then can we target other high-quality properties?" Chen Zhilong still did not give up.

"Go get a detailed list and we can hold a meeting to discuss it." Luo Qihong gave Chen Zhilong an idea. Of course, he knew that it would be difficult to get the core properties of Eagle Properties.

The beginning of April

Hong Leong Group announced that it had acquired 24.5% of the shares of Marswood at a price of HK$70 per share, and at the request of the Securities and Futures Commission, it launched a full acquisition of Marswood at a price of HK$24.5 per share.

Dean Securities Investment Company, which holds a 20% stake in Marswood, said it would not respond to the full acquisition. Hong Leong Group then announced that it would inject 100% of Dao Heng Bank's shares at a price of HK$6 million and Hong Leong Enterprise at a price of HK$1.8 million into Marswood, and had applied to change the name of Marswood to Hong Leong Investment Company Limited.

When this news spread, it caused a great shock.

It should be noted that there are some problems in Hong Kong's financial sector at present. Hong Leong Group is the only one that dares to make such a huge investment, especially when many foreign companies have already withdrawn from Hong Kong.

In order to avoid attracting too much attention from the SFC, Hong Leong Investment Company did not issue too many new shares. It only doubled its share capital, offering 1 million shares to the public at HK$3 per share, raising HK$3 million. At the same time, it issued an equal amount of certified shares to Hong Leong Group and De'an Securities Investment Company, raising HK$2 million, of which De'an Securities Investment Company paid HK$5 million.

In this way, Hong Leong Group can obtain all the funds raised, including HK$2 million in cash, and the rest will be used to offset the valuation. At this point, Hong Leong Investment Company still owes its parent company Hong Leong Group HK$4 million.

Investors were naturally eager to buy such profitable stocks. On that day, the share price of Hong Leong Investment Company rose from 1 yuan to 110 yuan, a 10% increase, with a market value of 6 million yuan.

Dean Securities Investment Company Office

Bai Jinyan was wearing a white dress, and she looked nothing like her usual capable temperament. She was not much different from an ordinary female employee, but she was very happy, so Luo Qihong looked at her many times.

She smiled charmingly, "Guo Lingcan of Hong Leong Group understands the role of publicity very well. He has bribed many newspapers. The newsprint is full of news about your cooperation with Hong Leong Group, and there are also many speculations and comments."

"Those who work in banking investment know this. Starting tomorrow, the amount of deposits accepted by Daoheng Bank will increase significantly." Luo Qihong laughed.

"According to the estimates made based on the data, we can more than double our profits from Feng Long Investment Company this year alone." Bai Jinyan's red lips were moving, and he couldn't hide the smile at the corners of his mouth.

"In cooperation with the actions of Hong Leong Investment Company, we will always be the second largest shareholder of Hong Leong Investment Company in the future." Luo Qihong did not want to make a profit and leave in a short period of time, but wanted to continue investing in Hong Leong Investment Company.

(End of this chapter)