A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

at the same time.

Chen Guangcong, the second-in-command of Global Group, is discussing ship chartering with Niu Deng, the shipping manager of Esso Petroleum Company.

“Mr. Niu Deng, our Global Shipping can lease one 5.6-ton and two 2.8-ton new oil tankers to Esso Oil Company on a long-term three-year contract.”

Niu Deng laughed and said, "Mr. Chen, I'm afraid you're worried about the current downturn in shipping, so you're planning to lease it for three years!"

The implication is that when the market was good, you didn't mention long-term leasing; now that the market is bad, you're thinking about such a good thing as long-term leasing.

Chen Guangcong frankly stated, "There is such a concern! However, Mr. Niu Deng, a three-year lease contract can save Esso Oil a lot of transportation costs."

Niu Deng was tempted!
The global shipping situation is deteriorating, which is good for Esso; if this Asian shipping company can lease at a lower price, it will indeed save more costs.

Moreover, after years of cooperation, Esso Petroleum Company is very satisfied with all aspects of Global Shipping. These Chinese are hardworking people, unlike the seamen of European and American fleets.

"I haven't seen any really low prices yet."

Chen Guangcong immediately took out the offer and handed it to Niu Deng.

This time, the big brother hopes to sign three-year long-term contracts for all of his oil tankers. He's not worried about these oil companies refusing to sign, because the price advantage is undeniable.

At this time, the labor costs in the global shipping industry in Greece and Japan were already very high, two to three times that of Hong Kong, making Hong Kong's shipping industry destined to rise.

Niu Deng glanced at the price and was immediately tempted.

Although the shipping situation is not good, he believes that it may only take one year, or at most two years, to get out of the slump; secondly, the price of this long-term contract means that the freight cost is only 7% of that of the European and American fleet.

“Alright, since you’ve shown your sincerity, we’ll continue to deepen our cooperation. Long-term contracts for these three ships can be signed, and if we need more ships, we’ll give you priority.”

"Thank you very much"

Chen Guangcong was overjoyed; his mission had been a success.

Currently, Global Shipping owns 52 tons of oil tankers. Apart from four 4-ton tankers, most of the rest are 5.6-2-ton tankers, of which only two are second-hand tankers.

Of course, the eldest brother has already started building four 10-ton oil tankers in Japan, which will be launched one after another next year.

Therefore, by signing long-term contracts for the existing oil tankers at this time, the business pressure of launching new ships next year will not be so great!
Moreover, as my elder brother said, this shipping slump is very likely to last until 1961, which is about three years.

In April, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Planning Committee was officially established, with Sir Chan Kwong-leung serving as its chairman.

The committee members also include Tang Bingyuan (textile entrepreneur), Jian Yueqiang (lawyer and municipal councilor), Zhou Xinian (two councilors), and others.

The committee held its first meeting immediately after its establishment.

Chen Guangliang said with great pleasure, “Everyone, the fact that we can all gather here today fully demonstrates that Hong Kong urgently needs a university specializing in science and engineering. Furthermore, the British Hong Kong government was, after all, a 'colonial government,' and it wasn't as focused on the development of science and technology in Hong Kong, placing more emphasis on liberal arts universities like the University of Hong Kong. But as Chinese people, we must consider the long-term needs of Hong Kong's economic development. Therefore, Hong Kong's industry cannot forever remain in light industry and rudimentary technology sectors; we must begin accumulating scientific and technological talent from now on.”

“Take our radio manufacturing as an example. We can only buy transistors from Japan, but Japan itself is focusing on developing radios, and sooner or later it may restrict transistor exports to Hong Kong. At that time, Hong Kong will only be able to import transistors from the UK.”

"Therefore, Hong Kong cannot rely solely on trade and finance; it must also have a strong industrial sector. And this industrial sector must evolve towards higher technological content."

Everyone applauded. If someone else had said these words, people would have thought it was 'wishful thinking'.

However, as the "Father of Hong Kong Industry," Chan Kwong-leung's words resonated with many.

More importantly, since its establishment, Yangtze River Industrial Group has repeatedly obtained product patents, including a series of world-renowned inventions such as plastic flowers, trolley suitcases, and instant noodles.

Later, Tang Bingyuan said, "The Hong Kong government has already allocated land in Hung Hom for the Polytechnic Institute, but the financial support is still insufficient. This is very important. The Polytechnic Institute is not a specialized college; it is a university-type tertiary institution, and it needs to meet various criteria to be eligible. The site, buildings, and faculty are all very important standards."

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "In terms of funding, the Hong Kong government will have the Hong Kong Jockey Club contribute part of the funds, and the Hong Kong Manufacturers Association will also contribute part of the funds; the remainder will be raised through donations from various charities and individuals. Of course, I am also willing to contribute US$200 million and invite renowned professors from Europe and America to teach in Hong Kong."

Everyone was shocked; 200 million US dollars was a huge sum of money, equivalent to 1100 million Hong Kong dollars.

In Hong Kong, this is a charitable sum that probably no wealthy individual could afford. For example, donating HK$100 million annually to Po Leung Kuk or Tung Wah Group of Hospitals could secure a position as 'Premier' or 'Chairman'.

Zhou Xinian laughed on the spot: "With Mr. Chen's strong support, the establishment of Hong Kong Polytechnic University has gone much more smoothly. No other celebrity or tycoon in Hong Kong has the courage and expertise in this field that Mr. Chen possesses."

He's not a 'jazz' yet, but he'll be pretty much next year.

Chan Kwong-leung said, "Supporting the Hong Kong Polytechnic is supporting Hong Kong's development. As a Hong Konger, I should give it my full support. Next, we need to consider which majors to offer."

What he values ​​most is, of course, the establishment of majors in electronics and chemical engineering.

Of course, among the others, those who valued textiles, architecture, etc., were all short-sighted.

The preparatory committee of the Polytechnic Institute needs to submit a complete report to the Hong Kong government, which was also a key topic of discussion at the meeting that day.

Once the report is adopted by the Hong Kong government, the next step will be the formal preparation stage.

It was anticipated that the Hong Kong Polytechnic would be formally established in 1962, and that students would be recruited from secondary school graduates that year.

This was a full ten years earlier than in the previous life, clearly a result of Chen Guangliang's efforts.

Otherwise, even if Hong Kong's industry was three or four years ahead of the previous era, it wouldn't have been born so quickly.

Kowloon, San Po Kong.

A building called 'Global Auto Service Center' has sprung up. This is a 'auto service center' that Global Trade just invested in. It has ten floors, each with an area of ​​1 square feet, for a total area of ​​10 square feet.

Once operational, this facility will provide services such as car repair and maintenance for Hong Kong residents.

On the opening day of the car service center in San Po Kong, Chen Wenming came to cut the ribbon, along with Wu Hao, general manager of Global Trade.

"Uncle Hao, have you secured the BMW dealership in Germany yet?" Chen Wenming asked, trying to find out more about the situation.

"We've secured them! We now represent 28 car brands. These include American brands like Cadillac, Buick, and Chevrolet, as well as Japanese brands like Honda, Nissan, and Isuzu, and various well-known brands from the UK, Italy, France, and Germany," Wu Hao enthusiastically introduced.

He wanted this young master to understand that their global trading business was also quite large. They not only controlled the trade in Hong Kong's oil, rice, delicacies, and seafood, but also the automobile, electrical appliance, cosmetics, and building materials industries.

Chen Wenming immediately said, "Global Trade owns eight car companies in Hong Kong, selling 50% of Hong Kong's cars every year. One car service center is not enough!"

Wu Hao nodded and said, "That's right. We've also invested in a car service center in Cheung Sha Wan, which is expected to be completed in a year. It will have twelve floors and a total area of ​​120,000 square feet. Once these two car service centers are operational, our dominance in the Hong Kong car sales sector will be unshakeable."

The two discussed a lot about global trade business. Chen Wenming is the 'heir' of the Global Group, and Chen Guangliang intends for him to appear in various fields to familiarize himself with his own business.

At this moment, Chen Wenming took the initiative to say, "Uncle Hao, Global Trade's business is so large, it's quite inconvenient for its headquarters building to be located with Global Shipping. I suggest that Global Trade purchase land in Central and build its headquarters building—the Global Trade Centre."

He knew that Global Trade was different from Global Shipping. Global Trade was an 'employee stock ownership' company, with his father owning 70% of the shares and the remaining 30% held by about 1000 employees.

Today, Global Trade has nearly 2000 employees, spread across the globe.

Wu Hao was immediately interested. He was also a shareholder of Global Trade, holding 0.3% of the shares. The company's assets were already worth 60 to 70 million Hong Kong dollars, and its business was booming. It had the strength to achieve such a goal.

"Wenming, I think this is feasible. I think you should take charge of the preparations. I'll talk to the boss about it later."

"it is good"

The two hit it off immediately and decided to make it happen.

Global shipping and global trade are two separate systems.

When Chen Wenming reported to Chen Guangliang that Global Trade intended to build a headquarters building, Chen Guangliang readily agreed to the idea.

"There's a site for sale right at the intersection of Ice House Street and Des Voeux Road. The site is 1.41 square feet, and the owner is the Fu family. You can go and talk to them!"

Chen Wenming asked curiously, "The Fu family is the gambling king of Macau, and they also own many properties in Hong Kong, including the Guangdong Bank Building and the Qiu Yi Building at No. 8 Des Voeux Road Central, as well as the former site of the Swire Group on Des Voeux Road Central. I didn't expect them to be willing to sell properties."

At this time, Fu Laorong was not dead. Later, the Guangdong Bank Building and the Qiuyi Building were sold to Hongkong Land by Fu Laorong's descendants. Hongkong Land then merged the former sites of Holland Bank and Yuli Bank on Ice House Street to build 'Nine Queen's Road Central'.

Of course, Hongkong Land later sold the property to a Chinese company, setting a record for the highest price in the early 90s.

The land Chen Guangliang mentioned was actually bought by Hengchang Trading Company in his previous life. However, Hengchang Trading Company is very small in this life. After all, with the rise of global trade, there is no room for its development.

“The competition for Macau’s gaming licenses is fierce, and this may be one of the reasons why Fu Laorong is selling properties. In short, land prices in Central are very high now, so it’s normal for the Fu Laorong family to sell.”

"Okay, Uncle Hao and I will go talk to him together."

Chen Guangliang said, "Learn more, you're still young!"

"Yes, father"

Watching Chen Wenming's departing figure, Chen Guangliang revealed a gratified smile. In any case, it was a good thing that Chen Wenming had some selfish motives.

In this matter, which appears to be about purchasing a headquarters building, Chen Guangliang actually saw through it, and Chen Wenming remembered a sentence: shipping has a strong cycle, and diversified operation is the way to survive in the long run.

Currently, Worldwide Shipping's only property in Hong Kong is the Worldwide Group Building on Des Voeux Road Central, along with a small number of warehouses; its investment in the real estate sector is minimal. Of course, Worldwide Group also holds a 50% stake in Hong Kong Airlines.

Chen Wenming's investment in Hong Kong property by purchasing the headquarters building is a good choice.

With these two buildings in hand, and the future acquisition of Wharf Holdings, the Global Group will have a solid foundation in Hong Kong.

Of course, the Global Group must continue to focus on shipping, and even after the 1980s, it must develop the container business while retaining a small amount of oil tanker transportation.

"Brother, do you think this price is reasonable?"

At the Shangri-La Hotel, Chen Wenming hosted a banquet for his elder brother, Chen Wenjie, to seek his advice on real estate matters.

After he contacted the Fu family, they asked for HK$2500 million, a price that most people wouldn't be willing to pay.

Chen Wenming also thought it was too expensive, but he didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Chen Wenjie smiled and said, "Commercial land has a certain market price reference, but ultimately you have to consider whether you want it. Our Cheung Kong Group originally wanted to buy this plot of land, but since Global Trading is interested in building its headquarters, we entrusted it to you to negotiate. So, if the price is acceptable, you should buy it. High-quality properties will not have trouble finding buyers, especially now that Southeast Asian and European and American capital is coming to Hong Kong, they may not lack the courage to do so."

“That makes sense,” Chen Wenming said happily. “Actually, I was also afraid of buying something too expensive and upsetting my dad.”

Chen Wenjie shook his head and said, "In this respect, we can't compare to Dad even if we put all our hands together. He doesn't care much about the price of the things he likes or approves of, as long as they're not too outrageous."

Chen Wenming was taken aback. He hadn't expected his elder brother to know his father so well. He truly was their elder brother.

"Um"

Afterwards, the two brothers talked about their work. They were born of the same mother, and their relationship became even closer.

Chen Wenming added, "My third son is about to graduate from MIT, and he will definitely join the Cheung Kong Group. Dad has also recently been strongly supporting the establishment of the Hong Kong Polytechnic. It would be great if Hong Kong could develop an economy like Japan's in the future."

Chen Wenjie shook his head and said, "It's very difficult! My father only tried his best to support the development of Hong Kong's industry, but Hong Kong's foundation is too weak and its area is too small, so it's hard to have an industrial system like Japan's. Of course, precisely because Hong Kong is small, it is a remarkable achievement as long as certain areas develop."

Unbeknownst to them, the two brothers had also begun to discuss the issue from the perspective of the overall situation in Hong Kong.

All four brothers understand that, currently, the eldest is with Cheung Kong Holdings, the second with Global Holdings, the third with Cheung Kong Industrial Group, and the youngest with Ping An Financial Group.

They never talk about succession.

They understood that their father's health wasn't necessarily as good as theirs. But they also had a goal: to become one of their father's best helpers and share his burden.

Therefore, this is also their main motivation for striving. (End of Chapter)