A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Time flies, and it is already 1972.

On the first day after New Year's Day, Chen Guangliang was in his office at Cheung Kong Holdings. His eldest son, Chen Wenjie, was already quite capable and had no problem managing the massive Cheung Kong Holdings. Apart from occasionally attending high-level meetings, he didn't have much other work to do.

Newspaper reports indicated that in the past year, the Ping An Index broke through 400 points, closing at 402 points, with an annual increase of over 60%; in the past year (1971), the trading volume of Hong Kong securities reached HK$175 billion, an increase of 150% over the previous year, more than doubling.

Looking at this news, Chen Guangliang seemed thoughtful: If nothing unexpected happened, US President Nixon should visit China in the early part of this year (1972) to improve the long-standing tense relations between China and the United States. And the underlying reason for Hong Kong's success was its comprehensive economic take-off.

With both internal and external conditions being very favorable, the Hong Kong stock market – Ping An Index – is likely to at least double this year, and breaking through 1000 points is also quite possible.

The real estate market has also performed exceptionally well, with mid- to low-end residential properties rising to HK$200-250 per square foot. A 500-square-foot house now costs over HK$10. In 1968, an average house in Shau Kei Wan cost just over HK$2.2. In just over three years, the price has quadrupled.

"Dad, this is the real estate development plan for your personal company. Please take a look!" Chen Wenjie handed a document to his father.

Chen Guangliang's original investment in a thousand tenement buildings was planned to be consolidated into one-tenth of the buildings at the end of last year, and then 1000 residential units would be sold.

As for the remaining nine-tenths: naturally, five-tenths are planned to be rebuilt and resold from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s; the remaining four-tenths are planned to be rebuilt and sold from the mid-1980s to the late 1980s.

There are roughly 10,000 residential units, but they are mostly located in the city center.

He looked at the information and found that Chen Wenjie had planned to start sales in March of this year and finish sales in March of next year (1973).

"Yes, this plan suits my taste perfectly, let's proceed with it. Also, this batch of residential properties from Cheung Kong Holdings is expected to be sold out by the second half of next year, you should also make plans accordingly."

Chen Wenjie had already figured it out in his mind—his father probably meant that the real estate boom of the second half of 1973 had ended, but he didn't know why. In the minds of most people in Hong Kong, with the Hong Kong economy booming, real estate prices should only rise and never fall, and there were countless speculators in real estate and stocks.

Of course, Chen Wenjie trusted his father's words completely and immediately said, "Yes, we will develop a more detailed plan."

Later, Chan Man-kit added, "The Hong Kong government is preparing to auction the 'Admiralty land king,' which is the waterfront plot 5261, next to the Fu family's site. Should we try to invest in it?"

The Fu family's territory was the Furama Hotel in their previous life, and they are planning to build another hotel there in this life; while the 5261 plot was the 'Golden Gate Building' in their previous life. In their previous life, Jardine Matheson and Golden Gate Construction competed for this plot of land, and Golden Gate Construction won. In a fit of anger, Jardine Matheson acquired Golden Gate Construction in the late 1970s.

In this instance, Jardine Matheson lost 'Landmark Plaza' (not exactly losing land, but the Jardine House and Gloucester House across the street could no longer be combined to build a shopping mall; the property still exists, just cannot be merged), and lost Connaught House (now the new site of the Shangri-La Hotel); therefore, Jardine Matheson's strength was weakened, but compared to losing the 'Central Land King', it certainly wouldn't lose the 'Admiralty Land King'. (Admiralty is also part of the Central District.)

After thinking for a moment, Chen Guangliang said, "Our investments in Shangri-La Hotel and Discovery Bay have already stretched our resources quite far. Moreover, we need to ensure that we have enough funds to buy at rock-bottom prices in the next cycle. So this project can be auctioned, but a price that is too high is obviously not acceptable, as it would raise questions about whether our competitors are determined to win."

The implication is that a lower price is worth considering.

"I understand what my father means."

Chen Guangliang nodded, but he had a deeper meaning: the Chen family couldn't completely eradicate British capital. British capital represented Hong Kong's international status (as a free port). If British capital were completely eliminated, it would mean Hong Kong wasn't international enough, unsuitable for investment, and its business environment would be problematic. This was also why, in his previous life, when Chinese-owned real estate groups jointly acquired Jardine Matheson, the mainland government ultimately advised them to give up. Similarly, from the Chen family's perspective, they wanted their Hong Kong foundation to be as solid as possible, with British capital, Southeast Asian capital, and Australian and American capital; therefore, they couldn't monopolize the market.

Chen Guangliang was known for his leniency towards Chinese capital. For example, in 1970, Swire Properties intended to sell the "Blue Chimney Pier." At the time, HK$1.6 million wasn't a significant sum for the Chen family; however, the land was ultimately purchased by Cheng Yu-tung, along with Ho Sin-hang, Ho Tim, Yang Zhiyun, and others, even though they knew they hadn't yet repaid Swire Properties' debts. However, with New World Development's subsequent listing, the funds raised, and the profits of recent years, naturally made things much easier.

Chen Guangliang's attitude toward Chinese capital was to 'weaken' rather than suppress it, and the same was true for British capital; it could be 'weakened' but not eradicated.

He would certainly want Wharf Holdings, since it would provide a landing point for Global Shipping. But even without Wharf Holdings, Jardine Matheson still has Hongkong Land, and still owns many properties in Central.

Although Chen Guangliang wants to acquire Wharf Holdings, now is not the time: First, the situation in mainland China has not fundamentally changed; second, and most importantly, Hongkong Land currently holds a significant stake in Wharf. Because Wharf Holdings needs to build Harbour City, it will continuously issue convertible bonds and new shares in the coming years, meaning Hongkong Land's stake will be increasingly diluted, thus creating opportunities for outsiders.

Therefore, Chen Guangliang could only take action in the late 1970s.

Two days later.

Chen Guangliang, accompanied by Yan Renmei, had a small gathering with Zhuang Zhujiu and his wife Sheng Aiyi at the Shangri-La Hotel.

During the gathering, the topic of 'Times Pictures' naturally came up.

Zhuang Zhujiu said, "Li Hanxiang has rejoined Times Film Company, which at least didn't give Shaw Brothers a chance!"

In fact, over the years, especially since Bruce Lee joined Era Films in 1969, Era Films has once again shown a 'monopoly' in Hong Kong.

After 1967, Z-style films suffered a complete blow, while Y-style films were dominated by Time Pictures and Shaw Brothers; the addition of Bruce Lee further strengthened the already powerful Time Pictures, which completely defeated Shaw Brothers.

Currently, based on Hong Kong box office figures, Era Films' box office is roughly twice that of Shaw Brothers. The difference is even more pronounced overseas. Bruce Lee has already made five films (the fifth is currently showing during the Lunar New Year season), one more than in his previous life. So, how many more films Bruce Lee can make is already a huge profit. Furthermore, Bruce Lee's films are more popular overseas, especially in Southeast Asia, than Hollywood films; and in Japan and South Korea, they have the potential to compete with Hollywood.

Chen Guangliang said, "That's good. Going out and experiencing some hardship will make him cherish things more when he comes back. By the way, what kind of movie is he planning to make?"

Zhuang Zhujiu said, "He said that Times Pictures already has a tough guy like Bruce Lee, so he plans to make a humorous and satirical film about the Republic of China era, but the specifics are not yet finalized."

Chan Kwong-leung immediately said, "Hmm, I think Michael Hui from TVB is pretty good. You can introduce him to him. By the way, you can help Era Films cultivate a box office guarantee for comedies."

He never discussed TVB matters with Zhuang Zhujiu, but he mentioned it today, though not about TVB. Zhuang Zhujiu said, "That's a good candidate!"

Although Raymond Chow is now the CEO, Chuang Chu-chiu can still intervene in Times Pictures as the Chairman of the Board.

At this moment, Sheng Aiyi said, "Mengyi, you'll graduate from university in a year and a half. Then you can join Times Pictures!"

The Chen family is full of geniuses; even the girls attend prestigious universities and graduate at the age of 21.

Chen Guangliang said, "That's the plan. But I still hope she can start from the bottom, so she's still far from there."

They are still far from being qualified for senior management positions.

However, once his daughter joins Times Pictures, the Chen Guangliang family will naturally gradually consolidate their power, since Times Pictures is related to their future plans.

At the same time, in the Shaw Brothers headquarters office, Run Run Shaw and Mona Fong looked solemn.

Upon learning of Li Hanxiang's return to Times Film Company, the two knew that Shaw Brothers' situation would become even more difficult—they had been overwhelmed by Bruce Lee in recent years, and now with the addition of Li Hanxiang, Times Film Company's box office share would likely shrink further.

"Why don't we also set up a 'satellite film company' to retain some promising directors and actors?" Fang Yihua tentatively suggested. This is a common model in the Hollywood film industry, which binds core talent by giving satellite companies a certain degree of autonomy.

Run Run Shaw flatly refused: "No need. There are plenty of talented people; we can train them ourselves."

In his view, spending money to support satellite companies was too costly, and it would be better to concentrate resources on cultivating new talent. However, he did not realize that Shaw Brothers' "paternalistic" management had already caused dissatisfaction among many talents, while Era Films had already bound Raymond Chow's team together through stock incentives and flexible profit sharing. Even Bruce Lee had established his own company and become a partner with Era Films. Shaw Brothers' "cultivation model" could no longer compete with Era Films' "win-win model".

This silent contest was already destined to end—in the Hong Kong film market of 1972, Era Films' monopoly became increasingly solid, while Shaw Brothers' passive response was merely a delaying step in its decline.

On February 17, US President Nixon broke with diplomatic norms by making a surprise state visit to Beiping (Beijing), which improved the long-standing tense relations between China and the United States.

Stimulated by this news, the Hong Kong stock market also saw a surge.

On the other hand, Hongkong Land finally broke through this time, defeating many consortia, especially its rival Kinmen Construction Company, in the government land auction and winning the 'Admiralty land king'.

Unfortunately, this plot of land is not as good as the "Central Land King" auctioned in 1970 in any respect, and the price per unit is even higher because the real estate market is currently booming.

Regardless, the record-breaking price of the Admiralty land auction brought Hong Kong's real estate market to its peak.

Ping An Bank Building.

“Father, the founders of Hang Seng Bank hope to list the bank this year, so they came here specifically to test our opinion!” Chen Wensheng reported as he entered Chen Guangliang’s office.

Chen Wensheng, who turned 30 this year, is the youngest son of the first wife. He is now one of the vice presidents of Ping An Financial Group and also serves as the acting general manager of Ping An Investment starting from New Year's Day this year.

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "Do they really think that Hang Seng Bank can get rid of Ping An Bank after its listing?"

Chen Wensheng said seriously, "They probably won't think that way, after all, we are much stronger than them. Once Hang Seng Bank goes public, Ping An Bank will definitely increase its holdings, surpassing the founders of these Hang Seng companies. I think their reasons for considering going public are firstly that they feel the bank can achieve better development after going public, and secondly, it will make it easier for them to cash out in the future."

After a moment's thought, Chen Guangliang said, "I agree to the listing! However, after the listing, we will first quickly increase our stake in Hang Seng Bank to a safe level of over 40%, and eventually increase it to 51%. In addition, we should also consider listing Ping An Bank by the end of the year."

"Yes. I suggest that Ping An Bank take advantage of this listing opportunity to expand its business in Singapore, which could alleviate some of the competition between Ping An Bank and Hang Seng Bank in Hong Kong."

"Let's discuss it together later."

Ping An Bank has difficulty obtaining the right to issue banknotes, and is generally weaker than HSBC and Standard Chartered. Of course, Chen Guangliang has never paid particular attention to commercial banking business, always taking a laissez-faire attitude.

Therefore, Ping An Bank's management team is now a "professional management" team, although Ping An Financial Group still has absolute say over it.

After Chen Wensheng left, Chen Guangliang was still thinking about going public.

It is certain that Yangtze River Industrial Group does not need to go public, nor is there any need for it to; therefore, the future of its assets is naturally uncertain. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that one of Yangtze River Industrial Group's subsidiaries might go public in the future, but at least for now, this is not being considered.

Cheung Kong Holdings is listed as a whole. Although it is preparing to list Hong Kong Resorts International, it is expected to be privatized again after 1974.

There is no need for the Worldwide Group to go public. Its subsidiaries, including Worldwide Shipping, International Container Terminals, Hong Kong Airlines, and Worldwide Trading, are not currently considering listing. However, if it acquires Wharf Holdings in the future, it will soon have listed companies, and Hong Kong Airlines may consider listing in the future to mitigate some political risks.

Ping An Financial Group lists its commercial banking assets, but chooses not to list its investment banking assets.

The 'Chen Empire' that Chen Guangliang ultimately built required both companies that could enhance his social reputation and companies that could conceal his wealth through cash flow. (End of Chapter)