Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 61 [Yuen Long Tai Po Land]

Star King Restaurant, 31 Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei
This is the property of the Paramount Restaurant Company, and the tea restaurant property also belongs to the Paramount Company.

Luo Qihong called and made an appointment for the best private room. The guest was Wen Jiantao, the department manager of Xiangjiang Jianian Real Estate Company.

In the early 70s, Jia Nian Real Estate Company was quite famous in Hong Kong. It was one of the old real estate companies, not much worse than the five tigers of Chinese real estate.

Jia Nian Property Company was listed in the second half of 1972. Although it did not suffer much loss in the real estate crash in 73, it shifted its development focus to overseas and developed Subang Jaya in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

However, a few months later, the oil crisis broke out and the world economy was in recession. Malaysia's main industries, rubber and rice exports, plummeted, real estate sales in Subang Jaya were unsatisfactory, and development plans were seriously delayed, resulting in a continuous decline in the profits of Jia Nian Real Estate, which reached only 1977 million yuan in 440.

By the late 70s, Jianian Real Estate Company made a comeback and returned to Hong Kong to make a big splash. However, the strength of Jianian Real Estate Company was far behind that of companies of the same period. Due to lack of funds, Jianian Real Estate Company could only operate some smaller sites. However, it began to expand rapidly and, following the example of the Five Tigers of Chinese Capital, reserved land.

"Hello, Wensheng!" Luo Qihong stood up with a smile and stretched out his hand to shake hands with the burly Wen Jiantao.

"Hello, Mr. Luo! I didn't expect that Mr. Luo, so young, is already the boss of a listed company." Wen Jiantao said flatteringly.

Luo Qihong smiled slightly and said, "Vincent, you are too kind! The business condition of Paramount Company is very poor, otherwise it would not have fallen into my hands."

"It is precisely because of the poor business conditions that Luo Sheng's ability can be demonstrated." Wen Jiantao spoke very nicely.

It seems that it will be difficult to gain an advantage today. Luo Qihong glanced at Wen Jiantao and sighed in his heart.

"What strength do I have? Otherwise, I wouldn't have sold Paramount's original assets." Luo Qihong said with a wry smile.

After chatting with Wen Jiantao for more than ten minutes, we gradually turned the topic to the main topic.

"Paramount Company owns two plots of land of considerable size in Yuen Long New Town and Tai Po respectively. Although the progress of the new towns in these two places is slow, they have great development prospects. Moreover, both plots are residential in nature and can build residential buildings of more than 30 square feet." Luo Qihong exaggerated the advantages of the land.

Wen Jiantao retorted, "What Luo Sheng said is true, but if we hold these lands for a long time, our funds will be locked up. In addition, the Type B official land exchange certificates on the market are much cheaper than these lands. Jianian Real Estate Company can absorb the land in this way without spending a lot of money to buy the land."

Luo Qihong shot back, "Type B official land exchange certificates are indeed very cheap, but the disadvantages are also very obvious. The location of the land cannot be determined, and most of the land is in remote areas. Even the land near the new town is rare, which is quite different from the land held by Paramount Company."

"130 yuan per square foot is really a bit expensive, higher than the market price. Our price of 80 yuan per square foot is more appropriate. Besides, Paramount Company is in a hurry to get rid of it, so it will not offer a high price." Wen Jiantao told the truth.

"The current market price of land in Yuen Long New Town is HK$110 per square foot, and HK$80 is only 7% of the market price. Even if Paramount is in a hurry, it will not lose so much." Luo Qihong continued, "Paramount can still hold on for some time, there is no reason for it to lose so much."

Wen Jiantao looked down and thought for a while. He didn't want to miss the opportunity. The company's base price was indeed higher than 80 yuan. "In this case, I will raise the price on behalf of the company to 85 yuan per square foot."

Luo Qihong still shook his head. "130 yuan is only an 18% premium, and 85 yuan is less than 80% of the market price. I will also make concessions and offer a 1% premium."

Wen Jiantao pondered over Luo Qihong's bottom price and said, "Let's make it 90 yuan. This price is already 8% of the market price. Besides, Jia Nian Real Estate is acquiring two plots of land at the same time. If Paramount Company is willing, we can acquire the other two plots of land at 8% of the market price of Tai Po New Town, saving Mr. Luo the trouble of looking for buyers everywhere."

"The market price is the lowest price I can accept. 8% is impossible. Land is not cabbage in the market, so it is not so cheap." Luo Qihong said seriously. His lowest price is 85% of the market price. Luo Qihong had no choice. His peers knew that Paramount's business was not in good condition and needed to sell assets to settle debts and maintain normal operations. If he didn't lower the price now, when would he do so?

"Luo Sheng, let alone a premium, it's unlikely that you can get the market price. Which of our colleagues doesn't know the situation of Paramount Company?" Wen Jiantao said, "I don't want you to suffer too much. How about this, 9% of the market price, 100 yuan per square foot, how about that?"

Luo Qihong felt that it was about right. A few more dollars per square foot would not be much of a hope. "Okay, then 100 dollars per square foot. The two Jia Nian properties in Tai Po will also be purchased at 9% of the market price, which is 81 dollars per square foot."

"Okay! Let's reach a preliminary agreement first. I'll report to the company later. I'll let you know when the contract is signed before I get off work tomorrow." Wen Jiantao laughed. He helped the company acquire more than 9 square feet of land at % of the market price. This was a great achievement.

"No problem!" Luo Qihong finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the funds were recovered, Paramount Company could at least solve 30% of its debts. It was only a matter of time before the company would be revitalized.

"Come, have some tea!" Luo Qihong turned around and called the waiter, "Bring all the restaurant's signature dishes."

"Mr. Luo, there are two of us and we can't finish all these dishes. There's no need to order more. It will be wasted." Wen Jiantao pressed his hand to stop the waiter from placing the order.

"Okay, call me when you need it later." Luo Qihong waved his hand, signaling the waiter to leave.

"I heard that Paramount is also going to sell its tea restaurant?" Wen Jiantao asked with a smile.

Luo Qihong smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, is Jia Nian Real Estate interested?"

Wen Jiantao shook his head and said, "Jian Nian Real Estate is currently focusing on developing residential buildings, and is not very interested in real estate. But I can help Paramount Company contact buyers."

Luo Qihong felt that the funds recovered from the sale of the land had greatly improved the operating conditions of Paramount, and there was no need to rush to sell the tea restaurant.

"Thank you very much, Wensheng. If Wensheng can help Paramount negotiate the market price, Wensheng's commission will be indispensable. I will definitely pay it according to the highest market standard." Luo Qihong smiled meaningfully. All the people in the world come for profit.

"Haha!! That's easy. Then Luo Sheng, wait for my good news." Wen Jiantao laughed heartily. This was a legitimate way to make extra money. Jianian Real Estate Company had no plan to acquire tea restaurant properties and industries. This was not a case of cheating.

After the serious business was finished, the rest was just some casual chats about what they had seen and heard. Fortunately, Luo Qihong had made up a lot of foreign historical knowledge since he traveled through time, otherwise he might not have been able to keep up the topic.

Inside the office of Dehe Real Estate Company

Lin Luoqi sat on the chair without any attitude, ignoring the pile of documents in front of him. These were the documents that Luo Qihong wanted his partner to review, but unfortunately he only agreed to look at them verbally.

"Is Dehe's business good recently?" Lin Luoqi asked lazily. He was certainly not as ignorant about Dehe Real Estate as he appeared to be.

Luo Qihong shook his head. "It's sometimes good and sometimes bad! Many of our peers copied us and started the partitioned store business. The market had been declining, but a group of speculators started pouring in from industrial buildings. They needed a lot of stores, especially small stores. They were popular with them, so business picked up again."

"Speaking of this, my eldest brother is in trouble now. The price of industrial land has begun to fall. Jide Real Estate Company still holds a large number of industrial properties. Now it is busy selling them quickly to recover funds to repay previous loans. I think Jide Real Estate Company is going to lose a lot of money." Lin Luoqi said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)