A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Li Shengquan is a white-collar worker in Central, Hong Kong, earning two hundred dollars a month, and his life is considered quite ordinary.

However, he has recently encountered a 'small problem': for social occasions and networking, he usually chooses the 'Lacoste' brand for his clothing.

Because Hong Kong's 'Crocodile' shirts have the quality of European and American shirts, but the price is lower than imported European and American shirts; moreover, the cuts of Crocodile shirts are very suitable for the body shape of Hong Kong people - at the beginning, Crocodile shirts specially provided free measurement services for customers at Crocodile shirt stores and Hong Kong International Industrial Products Exhibition, which helped Crocodile shirts collect a lot of data.

Like Lee Sing-chuen, many Hong Kong people wear the 'Crocodile' brand, but Lee Sing-chuen's recent little trouble is that a Crocodile shirt is not cheap, after all, the fabric is mainly from Europe and America, and he is just a white-collar worker.

The collar of one of his crocodile shirts was worn out, which he felt affected his image, so he decided to get a new one.

"Another expense, sigh!"

Upon arriving at the Lacoste store in Central, Li Shengquan immediately noticed the advertisement at the entrance: "Lacoste proudly launches its 'Redeem and Redeem' service."

This is easy to understand; it means that the collar and cuffs of a shirt can be changed.

Li Shengquan then approached a shop assistant and asked, "How much does the exchange service cost?"

The sales clerk smiled and said, "Sir, our 'collar replacement' service is free. If a customer's shirt has worn-out collar or cuffs after a period of wear, Lacoste will replace the collar for free, making the shirt more durable."

Upon hearing this, Li Shengquan immediately inquired about the timeframe and was overjoyed to learn that his shirt was still within the redemption period.

That saved me some money!
"You Lacoste really know how to do business! I'll continue to wear this brand from now on!"

"Thank you for your kind words, sir. You can bring it over anytime; it should be ready to be picked up within three days."

"it is good"

Crocodile Garments quickly gained the support and recognition of a large number of customers, and in fact, this service was not a loss at all!
First, shirts can only have their collars and cuffs replaced within a certain period of wear;
Secondly, if the shirt is torn in other places, the customer is unlikely to exchange it.

Finally, shirts are just one category of Lacoste's products; Lacoste also offers a range of other products such as leather shoes, belts, and trousers.

On this day, Chen Guangliang brought Yan Renmei and Jiang Meiying to 71-77 Des Voeux Road, which is the 'Shangri-La Hotel'.

After four years of construction, the Shangri-La Hotel Tower is now complete, becoming the most eye-catching landmark building on both sides of Victoria Harbour.

It has 15 floors above ground and two basement floors.

The three floors above ground form a large base, each with an area of ​​over 2 square feet. Each floor of this three-story base has a higher ceiling than a normal floor, and the exterior walls are decorated in a marble style, giving it an elegant and substantial feel.

Above the base is a twelve-story building with an aluminum alloy glass curtain wall, which is currently the most modern exterior design and the first glass curtain wall building in the Far East. Even in the United States, glass curtain wall buildings only appeared last year.

The building's overall design emphasizes the concept of a modern hotel, and the interior features a large number of modern facilities, including a fresh air system, an air conditioning system (called a refrigerated cabinet at that time), and so on.

Stepping into the Shangri-La Hotel, it was not yet open for business; the interior decoration and preparations for the opening had already begun.

"Mr. Chen, Miss Yan, Miss Jiang!"

General Manager Du Zhijie and his team immediately received the three.

"Zhijie, show us around and show us the progress of the preparations!"

"Okay, Mr. Chen!"

Then, led by Du Zhijie, everyone took the elevator to the suites on the upper floors.

Floors 13-15 are suites, including the Presidential Suite, the Supreme Suite, and the Executive Suite; floor 12 is a restaurant, a high-end Chinese restaurant overlooking Victoria Harbour; floors 4-11 are guest rooms; floors 2-3 are restaurants, lobbies, bars, ballrooms, etc.; and floor 1 is a lobby and other functional halls.

"These mattresses are all imported Simmons. Our suites all feature a mini-bar service, a world first."

A minibar is simply a refrigerator stocked with wine, beverages, and snacks. While it's become quite common in modern five-star hotels, it was indeed invented by the Shangri-La Hotel.

Currently, Shangri-La Hotels are only piloting this in suites, and it's a paid service.

As Yan Renmei and Jiang Meiying listened to the introduction, although they had already enjoyed the luxurious life of the superyacht "British American", they all had a different feeling about the Shangri-La Hotel, which was a memory of Shanghai in the 1930s.

Although the Shangri-La hotels have a different style now, they are still captivating!
"Has the guest list for the opening been finalized?"

"It's already been drafted; besides Hong Kong celebrities, there are quite a few from overseas as well."

"Give me the list of people who will be delayed, I'll add some more!"

"Ok"

With Chen Guangliang's current network of connections, he naturally has many friends and clients overseas, including even a number of politicians.

The Shangri-La Hotel will open in late December this year (1953), which will surely be a major event in Hong Kong!
On the way back, Yan Renmei and Jiang Meiying were both very happy in the car.

This gave Chen Guangliang a sense of realization: in this era, a five-star hotel symbolizes the strength of a family, not just a money-making business.

Furthermore, Hong Kong should not only have five-star hotels owned by foreigners; Chinese people should also have five-star hotels.

The Six Nations Hotel is a Chinese-owned property, but it is only a four-star hotel in Wan Chai.

The Chen family had a natural advantage in running hotels, having already operated one of the top three hotels in China in the 1930s, with an influence comparable to that of the foreign-owned Cathay Hotel.

On November 9, 1953, the old king of the desert kingdom, Saud, passed away, and his son succeeded to the throne.

Later, Chen Guangliang's yacht returned to Jeddah Port to attend the funeral of the old Saudi.

With so many guests present, Chen Guangliang naturally didn't mention the oil tanker. He planned to make another trip to Saudi Arabia later to reach a deal with the new king.

To Chen Guangliang's delight, the young king was much braver and more enthusiastic than his father. During this time, he informed Chen Guangliang through a confidant that he hoped Chen Guangliang would visit Saudi Arabia again in a month, and the two had another long talk.

Chen Guangliang readily agreed!
After attending the funeral, Chen Guangliang hosted German banker Yamalschacht on his yacht.

Yamalshakht said excitedly, "Mr. Chen, the young king seems very enthusiastic about that matter, and I think it can be arranged soon!"

He was naturally excited, as he had no fondness for the United States to begin with. More importantly, once Chen Guangliang reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia, German shipyards and the German financial industry would reap substantial profits.

A fleet of 50-ton oil tankers would require approximately US$1.2 million or more, and a loan from a German bank would likely need to be US$6000 million.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "The young king has already arranged a meeting with me next month, and I believe this matter will be handled by a special plane. Mr. Shacht, I'm just thinking about how much pressure I will face if this succeeds!"

Yamalshacht said with amusement, "Mr. Chen, you were the one who proposed this in the first place. Are you really afraid?"

Chen Guangliang calmly said, "Then let the storm rage even more fiercely!"

"Ha ha"

Subsequently, Chen Guangliang invited Yamarshakht to visit the young king even earlier than him the following month, so that the young king could have a better understanding of the situation.

When Chen Guangliang arrives in Saudi Arabia, we can prepare to sign the contract.

A month later.

That is, December 20, 1953.

A piece of news shocked the global business community—Chen Guangliang and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed the "Jeddah Agreement." The agreement stipulates that the two parties will jointly establish "Saudi Arabia Shipping Company Limited," which will own a fleet of 50-ton oil tankers, fly the Saudi Arabian flag, and have a monopoly on oil transportation from Saudi Arabian oil fields.

The news spread to all parts of the world through the media.

new York.

When John Davidson Rockefeller III of Esso Oil Company saw the front page of that day's New York Times, which featured a story of Chen Guangliang and Abdulaziz shaking hands, he immediately sensed something was wrong—Chen Guangliang's trip to Jeddah Port was indeed for oil.

Upon seeing the impending world-famous 'Jeddah Agreement,' Rockefeller was so enraged that he tore the New York Times to shreds.

"Madmen, both of them are madmen! How dare they offend the shipowners of the entire Western world!"

"This agreement is invalid!"

Rockefeller was furious!
The price of oil was less than $3 per ton, while the transportation cost was far higher than the price of the oil itself. In other words, Saudi Arabia and Chen Guangliang 'stole' the huge profits.

"BOSS"

"Book me a plane ticket to Saudi Arabia immediately, I need to see the King!"

"Yes"

After calming down, Rockefeller hurriedly decided to go to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in person to verify the truth of the matter.

Chen Guangliang achieved unprecedented success, and Aramco's interests suffered a heavy blow. People marveled at the courage of this Hong Kong shipping magnate and held their breath to see how this thrilling business battle would unfold.

The press was abuzz with discussion, with some even asserting that Chen Guangliang's goal was not Arab Oil itself, but rather Aramco's stock, which he believed would make him invincible once he owned it.

Aramco was jolted awake from its dream, but the die was cast; the agreement had been signed and made public.

It was only then that the company's leaders realized they shouldn't have underestimated the luxury yacht moored in Jeddah.

Aramco was not about to relinquish its wealth easily; it united all its forces and launched an attack on Chen Guangliang. This served as a warning to the world's oil companies: shipowners could cause them to lose everything.

Major oil companies quickly united, including many of the world's largest oil companies such as Iraqi Oil Company, Esso, Shell, and Iran Oil Company.

The United States has also invested considerable effort in its oil expediency in the Middle East, using political, diplomatic, and other means to exert pressure on both sides of the Jeddah Agreement and force them to compromise.

The Jeddah Agreement also infringed upon the interests of international trade, because if the agreement came into effect, many exporting countries would be able to monopolize the transportation rights of their goods, and this self-sufficient shipping would lead to the bankruptcy of many shipowners. Driven by competition and concern for their shared future interests, many shipowners joined the fight against the Hong Kong shipping magnate.

Public opinion was divided, and Hong Kong felt as if a bomb had been dropped on it.

So much so that the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel on December 29th was no longer such astonishing news.

On this day, there were still many distinguished guests attending, and almost all those who were invited came.

Because of this battle, Chen Guangliang has taken the lead, and they want to see how the war will unfold when Chen Guangliang is fighting alone against a united front of multiple forces.

Of course, all Hong Kong Chinese-language media outlets supported Chan Kwong-leung, viewing it as a 'legal and compliant' victory. Some media even regarded Chan Kwong-leung's actions as a 'victory in the Chinese-American battle'.

But will we really win?

unknown.

Despite facing immense pressure, Chen Guangliang still attended the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel with his two wives.

Ge Lianghong, accompanied by his wife Mu Lian, approached Chen Guangliang and his two wives.

"Mr. Chen, congratulations!"

"Thank you, Your Excellency the Governor, for your presence."

Looking at Chen Guangliang's calm and composed expression, Ge Lianghong felt that the pressure from public opinion had not had much effect on the young man.

He had no problem with Chan Kwong-leung, the entire Hong Kong government had no problem with Chan Kwong-leung, and even Britain was watching the show, since the biggest loser this time was the United States.

“Mr. Chen, there’s a lot of public opinion out there. You shouldn’t go to the United States for the time being!” Ge Lianghong jokingly probed.

After all, such a big event has shaken the business world all over the world, so he naturally had to say something about it.

Chen Guangliang said, "Of course, I'm not going anywhere recently, I'll just stay in Hong Kong. If all else fails, I can go to England."

"Ha ha"

"That's true"

Ge Lianghong believes that if Chen Guangliang succeeds in this matter, he can register the Global Group in London, which would at least reduce the pressure on him.

Soon, more and more guests arrived, and many of them chatted with Chen Guangliang about the 'Jeddah Agreement', including former Japanese Chief Economic Advisor Sankuro Ogasawara.

People are just curious; they're not really concerned about it.

On that day, the Shangri-La Hotel was packed with guests, and many overseas media outlets reported on it.

During this time, Chen Guangliang was warned by a certain force, but he still did not take it seriously.

If the young king can withstand the pressure, then Chen Guangliang can also withstand the pressure, since the greatest pressure is not on him.

The next day, Chen Guangliang invited Chen Guangcong to have breakfast at the Shangri-La Hotel.

"After New Year's Day, go to Saudi Arabia and meet with the young king to show that we will do our best to complete the Jeddah Agreement. After things are settled in Saudi Arabia, fly to Germany to inspect the construction of oil tankers. In the next three years, we will build four large oil tankers with a total tonnage of 20 tons."

Chen Guangcong was surprised and said, "Each one costs more than 40,000?"

This year alone, Germany has built and launched an oil tanker weighing 4.5 tons.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "That's right."

Chen Guangcong hesitated for a moment before saying, "Japan's shipbuilding technology is also good. Although they may not be able to build oil tankers of 40,000 or 50,000 tons, they can build 20,000-ton oil tankers. Moreover, their prices are cheaper."

Chen Guangliang said, "Japan also wants to build it, but we'll talk about it later. It won't conflict with Germany's plan."

"Ok"

He wanted to have a large fleet by October 1956, even though it would come at a high cost. But once the Suez Canal closed, the price of an oil tanker going to Europe alone could reach more than $30 per ton, roughly five times the original price.

So, within a year, this large batch of new oil tankers would have basically made a profit.

Therefore, this wave of his fleet is heading towards ships of 80 tons or more, with oil tankers and cargo ships each accounting for roughly half.

By arranging for Chen Guangcong to represent himself and the Global Group, Chen Guangliang will not need to leave Hong Kong for the time being.

After all, Chen Guangliang was also worried about unforeseen circumstances, although the matter wasn't that serious yet; but being always cautious, he decided to remain in Hong Kong to direct operations. (End of Chapter)