A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

In late October, the autumn sea breeze in Osaka Bay carried a salty, damp scent as it swept over the shipyard's gantry cranes.

The massive steel boom, like the arm of a giant, steadily supported the "Toba" VLCC oil tanker on the edge of the slipway. This 22.7-ton behemoth is entirely silver-white, and the blue "Global Shipping" emblem on the side of the hull is particularly eye-catching in the sunlight. It will soon become the 15th oil tanker over 20 tons launched by Global Shipping in Japan this year.

At the dock, a red carpet stretched from the entrance to the slipway, where Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kazutaro Kanno, dressed in a dark suit, was already waiting with a group of officials. When Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei walked in side by side, Kanno immediately stepped forward and said in a respectful tone, "Mr. Chen, Ms. Yan, welcome to Osaka! It is an honor for our Japanese shipbuilding industry to have you, the 'Shipping King', here to our attention."

Chen Guangliang smiled and shook hands with him, his gaze sweeping over the media reporters around him—photographers from Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun were taking pictures non-stop, while reporters from European and American media were crowded in the front row, clearly curious about the feat of "launching 15 VLCCs in one year" by Global Shipping.

"Minister Sugano, you're too kind. The scale of Worldwide Shipping today is inseparable from the support of Japanese shipyards." He paused, his tone filled with emotion, "From ordering 360 million tons of capacity last year to adding another 400 million tons this year, Mitsubishi and Kawasaki's efficiency has never disappointed me."

Yan Renmei stood beside her husband, dressed in a dark green cheongsam, exuding elegance. Looking at the massive steel ship before her, she recalled her husband's unwavering determination last year to expand the fleet despite opposition—at that time, Global Shipping's debt had soared, and the group's senior management had tried to dissuade them, but Chen Guangliang firmly believed in his prediction of the Suez Canal's closure. Now, it seemed that his foresight had finally paid off.

The launching ceremony began promptly at 10:00 AM.

Kazutaro Kanno's wife, dressed in a traditional kimono and holding a champagne glass, slowly walked to the dock. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she smashed the champagne glass against the bow of the "Toba," a crisp cracking sound echoing as confetti erupted from both sides of the dock. With the roar of the dock's machinery, the "Toba" slowly glided into Osaka Bay, stirring up huge waves, and enthusiastic applause erupted from the pier.

After its launch, the "Dongbo" will sail directly to the Persian Gulf to load crude oil, skipping even the "testing" stage. With the closure of the Suez Canal, global crude oil shipping routes have become longer, and there is a huge demand gap for oil tankers. Every extra day of delay means losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in freight revenue.

At the banquet following the ceremony, Kazutaro Kanno approached Chen Guangliang, raised his glass of sake, and said, “Mr. Chen, there’s something I’d like to tell you—although Japanese shipyards have orders booked until 1969, the number of customers inquiring about shipbuilding has recently started to decrease. Many shipowners feel that the Suez Canal will only be closed for a year or two at most, so there’s no need to rush into building ships now.”

Chen Guangliang's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained expressionless. He simply smiled and raised his glass, saying, "Oh? Is that so? I thought everyone was optimistic about the prospects of crude oil transportation."

“Sigh, it’s all short-sightedness.” Sugano sighed. “Some shipowners in Europe have suspended their shipbuilding plans, American tanker companies are also watching and waiting, and even shipowners in Hong Kong are starting to be cautious.”

Chen Guangliang took a sip of sake, his mind already racing with plans.

He knew that the Suez Canal closure would last eight years, not the one or two years speculated by outsiders—during these eight years, the pattern of crude oil shipping routes circling the Cape of Good Hope would not change, and tanker demand would remain high for a long time. Now, other shipowners slowing down shipbuilding has given global shipping an opportunity to "monopolize the market."

"Don't worry, Minister, I will reconsider early next year," Chen Guangliang said, feigning modesty. "Global Shipping's current fleet size is only 1200 million tons, which is far from my target. If the Japanese shipyard can guarantee the construction period, I may place additional orders."

Sugano's eyes lit up and he immediately said, "Mr. Chen, don't worry! As long as you order the ship, we will definitely prioritize production capacity, and Sumitomo Metal's special steel can also be supplied on a priority basis. The Development Bank of Japan can even provide low-interest loans!"

For Japan, the shipbuilding orders from Worldwide Shipping not only drive the development of the shipbuilding and steel industries, but also stimulate related industries such as ports and logistics. Such a "major customer" must be retained no matter what.

Moreover, after the Suez Canal was closed, Japanese shipping urgently needed ships, and this world shipping magnate chartered his main VLCCs to Japan, which is a matter of goodwill.

During a break at the dinner, Yan Renmei walked up to Chen Guangliang and whispered, "Are you really going to place another shipbuilding order? Our debt is already quite high."

Chen Guangliang held his wife's hand, his tone resolute: "Now is the best time. Other ship owners are watching and waiting, while we seize the opportunity to expand. By the time they realize what's happening, we will have already monopolized nearly one-third of the world's VLCC capacity. Just think about it, 50 VLCC tankers, each of which was equivalent to a building in Central in the 1970s. Once all these ships are in operation, how much annual revenue will Global Shipping achieve?"

Yan Renmei quickly realized her husband's ambition.

Based on current freight rates of $25-30 per ton, a 20-ton VLCC can earn over $200 million on a single trip from the Persian Gulf to Europe. Such profits would allow the company to recoup the cost of a new ship in just two years. Even if freight rates drop after one year, it wouldn't take three years.

With a fleet of 50 VCLLs, Worldwide Shipping is well-positioned to solidify its position as the world's leading tanker company.

three days later.

Upon returning to the superyacht "British American" in Hong Kong waters, Chen Guangliang immediately convened a meeting with the core team of Global Shipping.

The conference room was brightly lit, and a world shipping map on the wall marked in red with global shipping routes, stretching from the Persian Gulf to Europe, the Americas, and then to Asia—a dense network of routes covering almost all major global crude oil transport corridors. "The situation is clear now. Other shipowners are starting to wait and see, and Japanese shipyards will have spare capacity in a year. This is our best opportunity to place additional orders," Chen Guangliang said, pointing to the Persian Gulf region on the map. "I've decided to order another 10 26-ton VLCCs and 15 22.7-ton VLCCs from Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, and others, increasing our total capacity by 570 million tons, aiming to have them all launched by the end of 1970."

“But boss, this will put our debt above 50%, far exceeding the 40% warning line we set before!” the CFO couldn’t help but remind us.

“Debt is not the problem; the key is whether the revenue can cover the costs,” Chen Guangliang said firmly. “The longer the Suez Canal is closed, the faster we can repay the loans. Even if tanker freight rates drop, they will still be more than 30% higher than normal. Based on current freight rates, these new ships can break even in less than three to five years after they are put into operation. Moreover, we can use the rental income of our existing fleet as collateral to apply for low-interest loans from Japanese banks, which will reduce our financial pressure.”

At this point, Chen Guangcong asked, "Should we build these 25 VCLLs in batches? After all, the later we build them, the more cautious other shipowners will be. More importantly, it is said that Japanese VCLLs can already exceed 30 tons, so we can also try building a few."

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangliang immediately said, "We can consider it. What I'm saying is just a general plan. In short, we need to invest heavily in VCLLs in 1969-1970. We don't need to worry about our finances. Although our debt is high in the short term, our profits are also high, so there's no need to fret."

"Understood!" The management team nodded in unison, their concerns gradually fading.

They were already used to Chen Guangliang's "radical" approach, but behind each "radical" move was a precise prediction and a meticulous plan, which was the key to the rapid rise of Global Shipping.

In the dead of night, the sea breeze still caressed the pier in the waters off Hong Kong.

“Once these new ships are launched, Global Shipping’s fleet will exceed 2000 million tons, far surpassing Bao Yugang’s peak in his previous life,” Chen Guangliang muttered to himself. “Neither Greek shipowners nor Japanese tanker companies can compete with us anymore.”

The target of 2000 million tons was achieved by the end of 1970, and the debt was expected to be paid off in 1973-1974.

The fifty-odd VCLLs were already quite valuable, not to mention they were profitable between 1974 and 1979. When he started reducing fleet size in 1979, he couldn't sell them all; he needed to maintain at least 20 VCLLs and a considerable number of container ships.

In early November, Chan Kwong-leung returned to Hong Kong after nearly six months.

At Villa No. 79 Deep Water Bay, Mr. and Mrs. Chan Kwong-leung and Ms. Yim Yan-mei summoned their four sons—Chan Man-kit, Chan Man-ming, Chan Man-kai, and Chan Man-sheng—to their study.

He mainly wanted to understand the specific layout of the four group companies. Although he could remotely direct operations from overseas, he still missed many details.

Chen Wenjie said, "Our commercial and hotel businesses have been affected to some extent. However, for a behemoth like Cheung Kong Holdings, the ability to weather difficult times is very strong, so everything is proceeding in an orderly manner. At the same time, we started buying up unwanted properties in July and August as land reserves at very low prices."

Chen Guangliang nodded. Risk resistance is a must for large enterprises. Moreover, Cheung Kong Group's risk resistance is not only reflected in its 'low debt and bank backing', but more importantly in its 'broad business scope'. Retail and food and beverage are relatively less affected, and commercial real estate and hotels are not fatal either. Only real estate development has basically come to a standstill.

Chen Wenming said, "Our Global Group will be the least affected, since our main business is shipping. Of course, we will also be impacted in aviation and trade, but these are inevitable. After this is over, everything will be back to normal."

Having confidence is certainly a good thing, and it also makes one optimistic about the future.

Chen Wenkai said, "The Yangtze River Industrial Group should have been greatly affected, but we started improving employee benefits six months in advance and laid off some risky positions. The factory basically did not stop operating for a single day. In addition, we are an export-oriented group enterprise, so the actual impact was not significant."

Chen Guangliang naturally knew something was going to happen, so he couldn't possibly not make arrangements. If employee benefits improved, their sense of belonging to the company would naturally be stronger, and they wouldn't follow the crowd blindly; while for some low-wage jobs, directly outsourcing to third parties would naturally avoid risks.

Finally, Chen Wensheng said, "The financial impact is significant, but after the storm comes the rainbow. We are well prepared and have already begun buying up securities and real estate at rock-bottom prices. We are also preparing to launch commercial banking initiatives as soon as possible to support factories through this difficult time."

All four sons gave detailed reports on the situation, their eyes filled with admiration for their father's command.

"Alright. Then I should go to the Hong Kong government!"

The four sons understood that their father was the wisest man; his visit to the Hong Kong government at this time clearly meant that things were nearing their end. (End of Chapter)