A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Oriental Daily News: As of November, there are 70 to 80 plastic flower factories in Hong Kong, with an annual output value of tens of millions. Plastic flowers from Hong Kong have entered European and American homes and become a major highlight.

Sing Tao Daily: First wigs, then plastic flowers. In just over a year, two new industrial categories have emerged in Hong Kong, supporting thousands of workers.

The Hong Kong Commercial Daily reported that trade has stopped declining and industrial output has surged, which is expected to be the situation in Hong Kong in 1955.

With the rise of plastic flowers, Hong Kong's industry is showing a trend of "blooming in multiple places".

Of course, the main industry in Hong Kong is still textiles.

However, the plastic flower and wig industry is still in its development stage, and its growth rate will be very fast in the later stage, especially for plastic flowers.

Victoria Harbour Plastics.

Looking at the new plastic flower factory, Li Jiacheng couldn't hide his joy.

Today, Victoria Harbour Plastics divides its products into two main categories: plastic flowers and toys and other products.

Li Jiacheng called a gathering of employees.

He first bowed three times to the employees to thank them for their cooperation.

Then, with barely suppressed joy, he announced:
"Our factory has basically paid off all its debts, with only a 500,000 yuan loan from Ping An Bank remaining. However, this portion of the funds is now used for the plastic flower production line. This shows that Victoria Harbour Plastics Factory has emerged from the crisis and is about to enter a bright future!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the employees erupted in excitement.

Before the meeting ended, each employee received a red envelope, which was personally distributed by Li Jiacheng.

During this crisis, he was most grateful to his benefactor, Mr. Chen Guangliang.

Because news of Victoria Harbour Plastics Factory receiving a 500,000 loan from Ping An Bank spread quickly, their partners immediately quieted down and gave Li Jiacheng enough time to make corrections.

Otherwise, his investments in plastic toys and other products, coupled with his recent investment in plastic flowers, would exacerbate his already dire financial situation, potentially leading to bankruptcy. (Investing in plastic flowers has actually worsened the crisis.)
After receiving the loan from Ping An Bank, the attitude of his partners improved, which prompted Li Jiacheng to immediately rectify the situation and rebuild a decent plastic flower production line.

Now, Li Jiacheng has calculated that he estimates he should be able to repay the loan in just two years.

At the Wah Tai Toys factory in Hung Hom, Chan Kwong-leung and Audrey Hepburn were visiting, while Chan Man-kam, who was in the United States, returned to Hong Kong to study the production process of 'Barbie dolls'. Su Tung-sang and engineers from Wah Tai Plastics Factory were explaining to them.

Su Dongsheng explained, "Polyvinyl chloride, this new type of vinyl material, has many advantages, but it requires a special process called 'centrifugal casting' to manufacture exquisite toys like Barbie dolls. In fact, Barbie's final choice of this material was thanks to the boss's reminder."

The engineers couldn't help but look at Chen Guangliang with admiration. Back then, they thought the process of making Barbie dolls was very simple—the molding equipment for producing low-cost dolls was quite rudimentary, and the workers were used to casting hard plastics. They would melt the hard granular polymer material used to make plastic into a liquid, pour it into a mold, and after all the gaps were filled, cool it to restore it to a solid state. Then, they could easily remove the finished product from the mold. However, the problem was that the slightly less hard vinyl sometimes couldn't fill all the tiny gaps during the pouring process.

But Barbie's requirements are obviously different; she needs very sophisticated techniques.

Chen Guangliang only remembered PVC material, so he decisively asked Chen Wenjin from the United States to find this material to cooperate with Huatai Toy Factory's production.

Chen Wenjin then asked, "What problems still exist with the current Barbie doll manufacturing process?"

Su Dongsheng immediately said, "The problems that have arisen have all been resolved. The main issue was during the casting process. When we removed the toy's hand from the mold, the fingers would break off... There were also air bubbles remaining on the doll's nose. We have improved the casting process and resolved these problems."

Then, everyone received a sample of a Barbie doll.

The entire facial lines become rounded and vivid, with a naturally beautiful hairline, a soft and full forehead, pink and luscious lips that are dignified, two arched eyebrows with slanted sideburns, and a hairline that exudes more traditional charm. The hair is rooted and fixed on the small head, and can be styled into various hairstyles.

To be honest, the samples that Huatai Toy Factory initially produced were somewhat different from what we have now.

Although it was a very subtle difference, Chen Guangliang could tell at a glance that the original Barbie doll had a "Killer" look, so he often gave Huatai Toy Factory advice.

Huatai Toy Factory even produced two Barbie dolls with 'protruding dots' at the beginning, which Chen Guangliang corrected in time.

Audrey Hepburn looked at the Barbie doll in her hands. She was the apparent owner of 'Audrey Toys' and had also been involved in the design of this doll.

At this moment, she said with satisfaction, "Perfect. Of all the Barbie dolls in the past year, today's Barbie is the most perfect."

Chen Wenjin nodded and said, "Yes, I think this Barbie doll can be launched in the US market immediately."

Chen Guangliang looked at it again and again, then asked Su Dongsheng, "Are there any problems with mass production?"

"no problem"

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "We've been preparing this toy for a year and a half, and it's finally reached a level that satisfies everyone. Audrey and Wenjin, when you two go back to the US this time, prepare to launch it on the market. Hong Kong can guarantee the production needs for Barbie, clothing, wigs, and all other aspects. Remember to participate in more exhibitions and increase Barbie's exposure. On the other hand, Audrey's American engineers at the toy company must always maintain high-quality standards. If anything produced in Hong Kong doesn't meet the requirements, it must be resolutely returned. We will always maintain this strict standard!"

"Yes, father!"

Audrey Hepburn nodded in agreement. By this time, she had also become a career woman, involved in both European seaside resorts and Barbie doll salaries.

“My dear, do you know that Prince Rainier III is planning to propose to Grace this month? He has already borrowed our superyacht, the British American, and is heading to America.”

Upon returning to the villa in Repulse Bay, Audrey Hepburn told Chen Guangliang some news.

In the past six months, Audrey Hepburn has frequently flown to Monaco to socialize as the owner of the beach resort; in addition, Chen Guangliang's younger brother, Chen Guangcong, also frequently goes to Monaco to handle business as a director of the beach resort.

Both of them are representatives of Chen Guangliang, since Chen Guangliang only went there once in October and wouldn't stay in Monaco for long.

In this way, Audrey Hepburn instantly became a 'noble' in Europe, and Chen Guangliang also faced the risk of being cuckolded. After all, it is indeed dangerous for a woman to have status, wealth, and her man to be unable to accompany her.

Of course, this only applies to the average man. If Chen Guangliang weren't confident, he wouldn't have sought out a foreign woman at all.

It's safe to say that Audrey Hepburn could never betray him in her lifetime, because Chen Guangliang had a "cheat code".

"Yes, this shows we've eased tensions with the Monaco authorities. Also, tell Brownie that we can sponsor and assist with Rainier III and Grace's wedding,"

"it is good!"

Suddenly, Chen Guangliang said, "Audrey, you often frequent gatherings of European nobles. Have you ever seen a man more outstanding than me?"

Audrey Hepburn immediately knew what this man meant!
Indeed, since she became the chairperson of the beach resort, and with the resort's business gradually improving, she has been attending more social events.

The man never referred to her as his mistress, but rather introduced her to Monaco officials and some European nobles as a business partner, treating her with ample respect. In reality, she didn't care about being called a 'mistress'.

Audrey Hepburn chuckled, "This isn't the Sir Chen I know."

Chen Guangliang hugged Audrey Hepburn and said, "I'm always worried, after all, I usually stay in Hong Kong and don't like flying all over the world!"

Although he travels overseas many times a year, Hong Kong remains his absolute focus.

The affairs of the Universal Group originally required traveling all over the world, with overseas markets being the main focus, but Chen Guangliang could delegate them to his younger brother Chen Guangcong; now, investing in Barbie toys and a beach resort by Audrey Hepburn is also pushing Audrey Hepburn to the forefront.

Audrey Hepburn lowered her hand and said, "Don't worry about it!"

Chen Guangliang was immediately pleased and thoroughly tormented Audrey Hepburn that night.

In the conference room of Cheung Kong Holdings.

When Chen Guangliang and a group of management members gathered together, it was not hard to notice that some young faces appeared in CK Asset Holdings.

The most surprising person was a young man named Lu Xiaoqing, who looked only thirty years old, yet was already a senior executive at Cheung Kong Holdings.

It turns out that Lu Xiaoqing is the eldest son of Lu Yuantai, the general manager of Poly Construction. He studied architecture in the United States from 1946 to 1950, and then joined Cheung Kong Holdings with his father. At the age of 29, he was promoted to project manager by Chen Guangliang.

This is the only case in CK Asset Holdings where both father and son hold senior management positions!
"How is the 'Mandarin Village' project in Public Square progressing?"

The person in charge of this project is Lu Xiaoqing. He immediately said, "We plan to launch two buildings on New Year's Day, with the remaining buildings to be released gradually next year. We will adopt a phased sales strategy. This project has been under construction for more than half a year, unlike other real estate companies that prepare for sales before even starting construction. Currently, it seems that the wait has been worthwhile. The average price of residential buildings in this area is around HK$36 per square foot. Our opening price is HK$33.9 to HK$38.9 per square foot, and the total sales are expected to reach over HK$3600 million."

The land was purchased from the Kadoorie family for just over three million Hong Kong dollars. According to the previous building regulations, it could only house a maximum of 500 residential units, and the price at the time was only 2.5 per square meter. The total selling price was 1250 million Hong Kong dollars.

At the beginning of this year, new building regulations were implemented, and housing prices have also seen a good increase in the past two years (housing prices have grown slowly, by just over 20% in two years; land prices have grown rapidly, by over 100% in two years). Now, the total sales amount has reached as high as 3600 million.

The profit from this one project alone could reach over 2000 million.

To put it bluntly, those "Chinese-owned real estate companies" currently on the market may not have earned 2000 million during this wave (1955-1957).

"Selling it in three batches is in line with Cheung Kong Holdings' profit margin. In short, we just need to sell this project by next year!"

"Okay, Mr. Chen!"

Chen Guangliang continued, "Okay, next we'll discuss how to implement the planning and design for this 22 square foot plot of land on Paterson Street, and strive to get the project approved in the first half of next year!"

Everyone knew that this was a massive project, demonstrating the boss's ambitious plans.

Paterson Street is located in Causeway Bay, and the land owned by Cheung Kong is on one side of Paterson Street, forming a north-south rectangle, roughly 2*11 in size.

Chen Guangliang's initial idea was a commercial complex model consisting of a department store, a four-star hotel, an office building, and four residential apartment buildings.

We aim to complete the entire project within 6 years!
Given the economic development of the previous era, this area of ​​Causeway Bay might not have been able to develop such a large commercial complex.

However, Chan Kwong-leung believed that there were more wealthy people coming to Hong Kong from the late 1940s than in his previous life, and that Hong Kong's industry had developed ahead of schedule under his leadership, so Hong Kong's economy would be even better.

Furthermore, Hong Kong's shipping industry will also be developed by the Global Group.

Therefore, the Baide New Street project can be implemented next year!
At the end of the year, Cheung Kong Holdings placed sales advertisements in newspapers, causing a stir in the market.

"Cheung Kong Holdings has actually started 'selling apartments off-plan' now. Haven't they always only rented and never sold them?"

"What do you know? Tiered and phased development, isn't that something Cheung Kong Holdings invented in Shanghai in the 1930s? They are the pioneers of real estate."

"That's true! But it seems that this 'shared area' concept was invented by Fok Ying-tung!"

“These are minor issues. The Hong Kong government has allowed the sale of units separately, so the shared area naturally comes into play.”

“The ‘Wenhua New Village’ developed by Cheung Kong Group is quite interesting. It has many recreational facilities, as well as shops and other amenities. The supporting facilities are quite complete.”

"A house from Cheung Kong Holdings is definitely worth buying! Look, they've already built a third of the way up before they put it up for sale. Unlike some developers who put houses up for sale before they've even started construction!"

What surprised people the most was that, unlike before, installment payments are usually made over 1 to 2 years, with the full amount paid by the time the house is delivered; however, this time Cheung Kong Holdings is offering installment payments over five years, with loans provided by Ping An Bank.

This news shocked the entire real estate and banking industries. No one expected that banks could lend money to buyers, allowing real estate companies to recoup their funds immediately.

"My goodness, the down payment is only HK$1, and the remaining HK$2 can be paid off over five years, which means you only need to pay less than HK$400 per month."

"Exactly, this has lowered the barrier to entry by a lot."

HSBC.

Taipan Moses urgently summoned Sanders and other senior executives to discuss the recent issue of 'banks providing loans' in Hong Kong.

Ping An Bank's growth had already posed a threat to HSBC, mainly due to the strong relationships it had built with the industry, which had allowed its size to soar.

Now that Ping An Bank has once again taken the lead in entering the 'lending' business, HSBC has sensed something unusual.

As the project manager (loan business), Sanders also insightfully stated: "I've studied this approach. Homebuyers mortgage their properties to banks, and the banks first pay the real estate companies. Although this transfers the risk to the banks, they also gain loan business as a result. A 30% down payment is equivalent to the bank using 70% of the property price as collateral, so the risk isn't too high. I suggest HSBC conduct an experiment with this mortgage installment loan, finding some well-established projects to test it out."

Morse nodded and said, "In that case, we'll go with Cheung Kong Holdings. Other Chinese-owned companies are not trustworthy."

Goodness, this is blatant 'stealing business,' but it's actually quite reasonable—Currently, CK Asset Holdings is clearly the most reliable. Other property companies are too reckless, paying only 10% upfront for land before starting work.

At the same time, Hong Kong's real estate market experienced a complete boom.

Commercial land in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, with better locations, has risen to HK$250 per square foot, while land in Central has risen to HK$500 per square foot. Residential land has also risen to around HK$70 per square foot.

In 1954, prices in some areas doubled; in 1955, prices generally increased by 50%.

This is equivalent to an overall increase of over 200% compared to the end of the Korean War. For example, the average price of residential land has risen from $20-25 per square foot to over $70. (End of Chapter)