A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 419 Second Generation

The Shangri-La Hotel was exceptionally lively that day, with celebrities from all over the world gathering there, so much so that police had to be deployed to maintain order in the vicinity of Des Voeux Road and Conduit Road.

"What important event is happening today that warrants such a large-scale mobilization?"

"Haven't you heard? Today is the wedding of Mr. Chen Guangliang's eldest son, so he has invited celebrities from all over the world to the Shangri-La Hotel to attend the wedding."

"So it was Chen Guangliang's eldest son getting married, that makes sense!"

"That's right! I heard that the Prince and Princess of Monaco, a prince from the Middle East, a general from Thailand, a minister from Japan, and a wealthy businessman from the United States have all come to Hong Kong. Recently, security measures in Hong Kong have been upgraded!"

Amidst a chorus of blessings, Chen Wenjie and Zhuang Yuanzhen's wedding was held in grand style. At this time, Zhuang Yuanzhen was actually more than three months pregnant, and if they didn't get married soon, the truth would be revealed.

Chen Guangliang and his wife Yan Renmei warmly welcomed the distinguished guests from home and abroad, trying their best not to neglect them, since they came from overseas to attend the event, which was a show of respect for him as the "World Shipping King".

Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Princess Grace also showed great respect this time, as they haven't fallen out yet and maintain a close working relationship.

John Davis Rockefeller III also came to Hong Kong to attend the Chan family's wedding, and he had another important reason for doing so—to learn more about the Chan family.

Upon learning this, he discovered that the family had risen to prominence in Shanghai in the 1930s and had been around for thirty years; more importantly, the family was thriving and, while establishing itself in Hong Kong, was also making great strides in the world.

For example, during this shipping crisis, the Chen family's fleet made a fortune, becoming a giant in oil transportation; they also control businesses such as beaches in Monaco, practically controlling the city's economy; and they reportedly have investments in the United States and the United Kingdom, making them very wealthy.

So at the wedding, Rockefeller III said, "Mr. Chen, in just thirty years you have created a wealth legend and built a powerful family."

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "I wouldn't call it a powerful family. My children have only been working for a short time. In terms of family succession, we still need to learn from the Rockefeller family."

It is said that the Rockefeller family is extremely united; if any outsider bullies them, all the adult men stand together to fight. This family not only enjoys a great reputation in the business world but also wields significant influence in politics.

"I think our two families can exchange ideas on issues related to succession."

"it is good"

"Left and right" is just polite talk, and besides, it's also something we can discuss.

He wasn't afraid of the Rockefeller family knowing his secrets, because he had his own trump cards, and he was now essentially a 'four-marriage family'.

Moreover, he believed that the children of the Chen family would be even more united than those of the Rockefeller family.

After Chen Wenjie and Zhuang Yuanzhen got married, they lived in Villa No. 79, Deep Water Bay, with Chen Wenjie's parents.

After a busy day of wedding preparations, the young couple embraced in their bedroom on the second floor.

After they got married, the third floor was occupied by Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei, along with their grandmother Yang Hui; their younger brother and sister lived on the first floor.

"Brother Wenjie, I've finally married you. This is my childhood dream! But I always felt that you might not like me, and I was afraid that it was just unrequited love." Zhuang Yuanzhen said affectionately from the bed.

Chen Wenjie embraced his beautiful wife and laughed, "Silly girl, we grew up together. But before you turn 18, I must adhere to gentlemanly conduct and hope that you will get into a good university. But in my heart, you have always been the ideal wife."

From a young age, the couple played together in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Chongqing.

Chan Man-kit regarded Chong Yuen-ching as his younger sister, which to some extent led Chong Yuen-ching to believe that Chan Man-kit did not see her as a romantic partner. Chan Man-kit went abroad to study at the age of 14 and did not return to Hong Kong for the summers of the past few years, which was when Chong Yuen-ching missed him the most.

When Chan Man-kit was 17, he would return to Hong Kong during summer vacation and the two would meet. However, during those two years, Chan Man-kit did not reveal his feelings and treated Chuang Yuen-chen as a 'younger sister'.

When Zhuang Yuanzhen turned 18, Chen Wenjie changed his gentlemanly ways and immediately established a relationship with her, even having sex with her.

"Brother Wenjie, be gentle, you're carrying the Chen family's eldest son!"

Soon, applause of love rang out in the bedroom. Although Chen Wenjie was not as brave as his father, he was still a formidable human being.

"Maybe it's a daughter!"

"I hope it's a son."

"Haha, both the children are good, anyway we're young."

The next day, the eldest son's family had breakfast together.

The eldest son, Chen Wenjie, and his wife, Zhuang Yuanzhen; the second son, Chen Wenming; the youngest son, Chen Wensheng; and the daughter, Chen Mengyi.

As for the third son, Chen Wenkai, he is studying in the United States.

The second son, Chan Man-ming, returned to Hong Kong last year and joined the Universal Group, starting as an ordinary employee.

The youngest son, Chen Wensheng, is already 15 years old, while the only daughter, Chen Mengyi, is only 5 years old.

During the meal, Zhuang Yuanzhen said, "Dad, Mom, I'm thinking of quitting my job soon and then staying home to rest during my pregnancy!"

She joined Ping An Bank after graduation and has been working there for almost two years.

He has good work ability, doesn't put on airs, and has good character—that's Chen Guangliang's assessment.

Yan Renmei said, "Okay, your dad really approves of your work. Go through the normal resignation process later, and then stay home to take care of your pregnancy and baby!"

The previous work was an experience.

This experience is enough as long as it exists; it doesn't need to be too long.

Zhuang Yuanzhen nodded and said, "Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom!"

Her parents-in-law treated her very well, allowing her to marry into the family with dignity.

Chen Guangliang said, "No need to thank me, we're all family now."

He didn't have high requirements for his daughter-in-law. The most important thing was her character, followed by her talent and appearance, and lastly, her family background. Even family background wasn't important, since no matter how rich or powerful someone was, they couldn't surpass the Chen family.

Zhuang Yuanzhen was someone he had watched grow up, someone he knew very well, and someone he was happy with as his daughter-in-law.

In April, the Suez Canal reopened, and international shipping freight rates immediately fell.

The Suez Canal Crisis marked a decline for the old colonial powers of Britain and France. The rare alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union dealt a blow to Britain and France, symbolizing the establishment of a new world order.

Although the Suez Canal reopened and freight rates fell, global shipping was not significantly affected.

Regarding oil tankers, due to the large existing customer base, apart from freight rates falling to normal levels, there has been no other impact. American oil companies, which previously sought to suppress the shipping industry, are no longer targeting global shipping; instead, they are deepening cooperation because the price advantage and service quality have been proven. As for cargo ships, many have signed long-term contracts, and even those without can sign them at any time.

“Brother, during the five months of the Suez Canal blockade, we made a profit of $6000 million. This alone is enough to repay all the shipbuilding loans, and we still have enough funds to build more ships. Currently, Global Group has $8000 million in its account, and we still have about $3000 million left to pay for the remaining shipbuilding costs.”

After a moment's thought, Chen Guangliang said, "There's no rush to build ships. I think in another year or two, the shipping industry might enter a downturn, and we can take advantage of the cheaper shipbuilding prices then. However, the shipping industry can't stay like this forever; the Global Group needs to gradually move ashore!"

The Global Group is large enough that it doesn't need to wait until the late 1970s to consider going public; it has the funds now to gradually go public. Moreover, this will not affect the Global Group's development.

For example, the Global Group currently has a deadweight tonnage of nearly 90 tons. If the Frost Age had begun in 1959, it would have naturally needed to undertake large-scale shipbuilding from 1959 to 1961, potentially expanding to over 200 million tons.

Chen Guangcong said, "We have the funds, but Hong Kong is too small, so does that mean we can only develop overseas?"

The Universal Group has already acquired Hong Kong Airlines and has a headquarters building on Des Voeux Road Central. In addition, it has investment properties in many other areas, including Sing Tao, Japan, the United States, and London, but these are still relatively small-scale operations.

Chen Guangliang said, "You're right. In addition to investing in some properties in shipping ports around the world, we can also invest in mining in South America and container terminals in Hong Kong. In short, our Global Group will develop shipping while investing on land."

"Okay, I understand!"

"Take your time, we have plenty of time."

Chen Guangcong nodded, then said, "Brother, Wenming is quite capable. Should we mention him again?"

Chen Guangliang objected, saying, "We can't force things anymore. Let him take it slow. Don't put pressure on them. We're still young."

"Ok"

Chen Wenming joined the Global Group last year, working his way up from the bottom in the business department of Global Shipping.

Take it one step at a time!

Time flies, and it was August 1957 in the blink of an eye.

In order to curb excessive real estate speculation, the Hong Kong government has introduced measures to regulate the sale of pre-sale apartments: developers must invest a certain amount of funds in the properties under construction before they can sell pre-sale apartments; the money from selling pre-sale apartments must be used for designated purposes and cannot be used for other purposes.

The real estate market did not collapse immediately after these measures were introduced; this is because these measures actually only hit some small-scale developers and large real estate developers who invested too aggressively.

For example, the provision that "developers must invest a certain amount of funds in the properties under construction" does not have a significant impact on some large real estate companies and developers who entered the real estate industry earlier, such as Cheung Kong Holdings, Fok Ying-tung, Liu Po-shan (with bank backing), and Tai Sang Properties (with bank backing).
However, this presents a risk for large real estate developers like Li Kangjie and Chen Detai. Initially, they lacked sufficient funds and relied on "selling pre-sale apartments" for rapid development. Later, they acquired a lot of land at high prices, paying only 10% of the cost for these land plots. Once they could no longer sell pre-sale apartments, they would be unable to pay for the land, let alone the construction costs.

The clause that "money from selling pre-sale apartments must be used for its designated purpose and cannot be used for other purposes" also limits the possibility of someone using the money from selling pre-sale apartments to continue purchasing land.

For a while.

The real estate market is already teetering on the brink of collapse and could fall at any moment.

The key point is that fewer and fewer people are buying houses now, but more and more houses will be completed.

Some predicted that 2000 buildings would be completed in 1957 (including all buildings in Hong Kong, including two- or three-story tenement buildings and arcade buildings), and no fewer than 1500 buildings would be completed in 1958 (with investment increasing, expected to reach around HK$8 million).

Suddenly, a storm was brewing.

In the conference room of Cheung Kong Holdings, Chan Kwong-leung was having a meeting with his subordinates, and his eldest son, Chan Man-kit, was also eligible to attend.

"Real estate is a cyclical investment, inevitably experiencing peaks and troughs. To achieve long-term development, there are only two ways: First, control the debt ratio so that bankruptcy is avoided when real estate prices plummet; second, have other industries as sources of funding so that not only can one weather the real estate crash but also take the opportunity to buy at the bottom."

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed wholeheartedly, after all, the boss was a real estate tycoon in Shanghai in the 1920s.

Then, Deputy General Manager Yan Kuan said: "In this wave of real estate development, Cheung Kong Group sold a total of more than 2200 units, accounting for about 7% of new housing in Hong Kong. However, in commercial real estate, we have invested in Lane Crawford Building on Queen's Road Central and Miramar Hotel on Nathan Road. Overall, Cheung Kong Group is backed by financial resources and we have a lot of rental income from properties."

Everyone was quite relaxed in the meeting room.

Next.

Chan Kwong-leung said, “Next, Cheung Kong Group has two large projects to work on: the first is the Paterson Street project, which I have decided to start construction on this year. Because this is a commercial project, there is no need to consider the real estate cycle. The second is Cheung Kong Plaza, which is also a commercial project. I hope that both of these projects will lead Hong Kong's commercial real estate in the 1960s and become landmark buildings in Hong Kong.”

Paterson Street was originally a 22-square-foot plot of land, planned to house a department store, a four-star hotel, an office building, and four residential apartment buildings, forming a commercial complex that would occupy half of Paterson Street.

Then this year, a plot of land in a triangular area across the street came onto the market, and Cheung Kong Holdings spent 500 million to buy it, planning to build a shopping mall tower; later, the shopping mall tower and the department store tower will be integrated by using a pedestrian bridge.

This means the project will become eight buildings, and the entire project is expected to take six years to complete.

As for Cheung Kong Plaza, it was the site of the former Hong Kong Hotel and Lane Crawford Building in the heart of Central, and it was to be built into an office building and a shopping mall plus a tower (in the style of the later Gloucester Tower and Landmark).

The construction period for Yangtze River Plaza was four years, and it was expected to open in the early 1960s.

Then Yan Kuan said, "Just funds?"

In this wave, Cheung Kong Holdings sold 2200 buildings and made nearly HK$4000 million; however, it spent a lot of money investing in projects such as the Miramar Hotel and the Causeway Bay Triangle area.

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "Cheung Kong Holdings' debt has been reduced by half (around 2500 million), so let's take out a loan for the funds!"

"Ok"

Even if the real estate market experiences a downturn, it will only last for one year next year, and it will soon recover.

CK Asset Holdings can then adopt a "fighting to sustain fighting" approach to invest in commercial real estate.

Moreover, Chen Guangliang planned to list Cheung Kong Holdings in 1961.

Of course, the listed assets need to be divided. The main listed assets include the Shangri-La Hotel, Miramar Hotel, Yangtze Plaza, Paterson Street site, Lane Crawford Department Store, Vitasoy Group and other commercial properties; the unlisted assets are naturally all the land reserves.

The reason for going public is to raise a large sum of money for better future development.

After all, Cheung Kong Holdings will be investing in many commercial projects in the future. If it is not a listed company, it will always need to draw funds from other industries, which is something Chen Guangliang does not want to see.

At this time, Chen Guangliang's four major businesses had actually been separated, since his four sons were about to come of age or enter the workforce.

Of course, the four industries will no longer easily withdraw funds to subsidize each other, but Chen Guangliang himself can freely withdraw funds for family funds or personal expenses, and there is nothing that can restrict him in this regard.

The subsequent funding for family offices or trust funds is mainly provided by these four companies.

(End of this chapter)