A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 502 The Stock Market Bull
The science fiction mecha animation "Transformers," produced by Mattel, directed by John Gibbs, written by George Arthur Bloom, and featuring the voices of Michael Bell, Corey Burton, Victor Caroli, and others, has been released, consisting of 16 episodes.

The Transformers animated series is primarily intended to complement the sales of Transformers toys, which were first unveiled at the New York Toy Fair in March of this year and subsequently received widespread acclaim across the United States.

Naturally, Mattel's stock soared again, and its total market capitalization has exceeded $10 billion.

Today, Mattel, with its three major IPs—Barbie, My Little Pony, and Transformers—is arguably the world's only toy giant. Meanwhile, Hasbro, strictly speaking, only had one notable product at that time: a "special forces" franchise.

After the gathering with his second wife, Chen Guangliang met with Audrey Hepburn and Chen Wen'ou in New York. Chen Wen'ou was studying at a university in the United States because Chen Guangliang preferred American university education, although Cambridge and Oxford in England were also good.

Today, Audrey Hepburn's net worth has surged to approximately $8 million, including a 40% stake in Mattel worth over $4 million. In addition, Audrey Hepburn holds a large number of high-quality shares in countries such as the UK, Switzerland, Germany, and France, as well as a significant amount of real estate assets, with a total value approaching $4 million.

"After you graduate from university next year, you will take over a beverage under Cheung Kong Holdings – Red Bull, and then develop it in Europe. My expectation for you is that you can create a beverage similar to Coca-Cola. Of course, I will provide you with a lot of useful advice. Also, you will not only manage this one product, but the premise is that you can get it on the right track and let me see your abilities."

Chen Wen'ou studied business administration at Harvard. After hearing his father's words, he said with great interest and confidence, "Red Bull is a functional beverage. There doesn't seem to be such a product in Europe and America. It must have a great market prospect."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "This kind of product mainly relies on two advantages: advertising and supply chain. Of course, the product itself must also be excellent. As for advertising, drinks like Red Bull are very suitable for sponsoring extreme sports. Supply chain is naturally not difficult for our family. Okay, let's not talk too much. In your last year, you should focus your energy on your studies. Of course, you can consider future development appropriately."

"Okay, Father"

Chen Wenou's appearance is a perfect blend of Chinese and Western features, but it's not just about handsome looks; he exudes a refined, British elegance. In terms of personality, he possesses both Chinese introversion and Western extroversion, and he acts with measured restraint.

The second generation of the Chen family are all very competitive. The eldest son, Chen Wenjie, always wants to set an example as the "elder brother," while his younger brothers are not to be outdone and want to be the best successors.

After a short get-together with Chen Wenou, he returned to England to reunite with his younger siblings.

Audrey Hepburn and Chen Guangliang had just spent a day together when Jiang Meiying arrived, and the three of them spent the holiday together. While Jiang Meiying and Audrey Hepburn were together, Chen Guangliang was irresistibly drawn to them, and soon they were all getting along famously.

Time flies and it’s August in a blink of an eye.

CK Asset Holdings Limited spun off Hong Kong Resorts International for a public listing, raising HK$1.5 million, making it the largest real estate IPO in Hong Kong. In its prospectus, Hong Kong Resorts International described itself as a low-density community capable of accommodating over 2 people, with infrastructure already under construction, connected by a regular ferry service (similar to the former Star Ferry) and the Central Ferry Pier.

In reality, although the Hong Kong Ping An Index was still only slightly above 600 at that time, it had already risen by 50% for the year, indicating a very hot stock market. Under these circumstances, the fact that Hong Kong Resorts was listed simply as a 'subsidiary' of CK Asset Holdings was already attractive enough.

As a result, the subscription was more than 10 times, and Hong Kong-listed HKR surged by more than 40% on the first day, with its market value exceeding HK$8 million, reaching HK$8.5 million.

Hong Kong Resorts raised HK$1.5 million, but in reality, the total investment in this round was just over HK$3 million (infrastructure + golf club + yacht club), and he was still losing money; even if he sells dozens of low-density villas next, he still won't be able to recoup much money.

"Dad, the second and third phases are expected to go on sale in the first quarter of next year, and the fourth phase is expected to go on sale in the second quarter. Currently, Discovery Bay is still very popular. The phone lines for the more than 80 villas in the first phase have been ringing off the hook. This is mainly because everyone is very positive about our investment in infrastructure." Chen Wenjie reported to Chen Guangliang.

After listening, Chen Guangliang said, "Yes, selling phases one through four is a very wise choice. It will also serve as a reference for our future development and sales."

Although a stock market crash may occur in the second quarter of next year, it has not yet completely eroded confidence, and the real estate market is not expected to turn around so quickly.

This cycle of sales for four phases is only one-tenth of the total forty phases of Discovery Bay.

Chen Wenjie added, “In December, CK Asset Holdings will issue one share for every ten shares held, raising approximately HK$300 million. I believe everyone will be very happy to participate in the rights issue, given that CK Asset Holdings is a star stock in Hong Kong. Of course, if we do not participate in the rights issue, our shareholding will drop to 67.5%.”

“It’s alright,” Chen Guangliang said casually. “When there’s an opportunity to increase my holdings in the future, I won’t even need cash. I can just exchange the land I have for new shares of Cheung Kong.”

"Ok"

Stock trading has become a popular pastime in Hong Kong, much like betting on horse races in Happy Valley – it's become a form of gambling. The continuous stream of new company listings indicates Hong Kong people's enthusiasm for stock trading; 10% of conversations among patrons of teahouses and pubs revolve around buying and selling stocks. Which stocks will rise or which will just stagnate are common topics of conversation – Oriental Daily News, October 15th.

Hong Kong's stock market is unusually active, with everyone from wealthy businessmen to laborers and domestic helpers enthusiastically buying and selling stocks… Unfortunately, only a minority of these transactions are considered long-term investors. The majority are speculative, hoping to profit handsomely from market fluctuations… Once the stock market experiences a downturn, it will immediately trigger a chain reaction. Not only will the stock market itself face a crisis, but the entire economic and financial system will suffer a severe impact – Oriental Daily News, October 22.

The financial section of the Oriental Daily News published two news articles urging citizens to be wary of irrational speculation in the Hong Kong stock market. However, Hong Kong citizens paid no attention to these news articles; even those who did read them carefully saw them as good opportunities to enter the market and increase their investments.

The speculation in the Hong Kong stock market has officially entered its climax!

The frenzy of "everyone investing in stocks" swept through the streets and alleys. The Far East Stock Exchange was packed every day with investors holding cash, hoping to "get rich quick" by riding the wave of the stock market boom. Amid this fervor, Li Jiacheng, carrying his Victoria Harbour Properties documents, quietly walked into the exchange. For him, this was not about "chasing the trend," but about seeking a "key springboard" for the survival and development of his still-inexperienced real estate company.

At that time, Victoria Harbour Properties was vastly different from the "Cheung Kong" that Li Ka-shing had built in his previous life. In his previous life, Li Ka-shing, as the "first person in Hong Kong to make plastic flowers," amassed tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars in profits annually during his peak period from 1959 to 1961. Between 1957 and 1966, his accumulated profits exceeded fifty million. When the real estate market bottomed out in 1968, he could easily come up with ten to twenty million dollars. Before its listing in 1972, Cheung Kong's assets had already exceeded one hundred million, raising 3200 million Hong Kong dollars. Although a medium-sized real estate company, it was already a rising force in the industry that could not be ignored. Moreover, Li Ka-shing must have had considerable personal assets at that time, not all of which were listed on the stock exchange.

In this life, the "cake" of the plastic flower market has long been firmly occupied by Huatai Group. As the inventor and pioneer of plastic flowers in the world, Huatai has monopolized the mainstream European and American markets with its technological and scale advantages. Li Jiacheng's plastic factory is just one of many "followers". At its peak, its annual profit was only in the millions, which is completely different from the "tens of millions of profits" in the previous life.

The difference in capital directly determines the scale of real estate development. During the downturn of Hong Kong's real estate market in 1968, Li Ka-shing poured all his resources into buying properties, but only managed to acquire about HK$300 million, enough to purchase just a few small industrial properties. By the time Victoria Harbour Properties was preparing for its IPO in 1972, its total assets were still less than HK$3000 million, and it owned only one industrial building, a few residential plots, and scattered properties. In the Hong Kong real estate industry, it could only be considered an "insignificant player."

Fortunately, the Hong Kong stock market at that time was in a special period of "four associations coexisting" (Hong Kong Association, Far East Association, Gold and Silver Association, and Kowloon Association). In order to attract companies to list, the exchange significantly lowered the threshold - as long as the assets reached HK$2000 million, even if the business was a restaurant or a small factory, they could apply for listing. This "low threshold" door became Victoria Harbour Properties' only listing opportunity.

Upon entering the office of Li Fuzhao, chairman of the Far Eastern Stock Exchange, Li Jiacheng immediately sensed the other party's undisguised arrogance as soon as he sat down.

Li Fuzhao leaned back in his leather chair, casually flipping through Victoria Harbour Properties' documents, his tone condescending and scrutinizing: "Mr. Li, if I may be frank, your Victoria Harbour Properties is at best a 'mosquito company' in the Hong Kong real estate industry, with assets of less than 3000 million. It's really making a mountain out of a molehill by listing it on our Far East Club."

These words struck Li Jiacheng like a punch to the gut, making him tense.

He knew that Li Fuzhao, as the founder of the Far East Club, had considerable influence in the Hong Kong securities industry. Especially during the current stock market frenzy, the exchange held the initiative in "listing approval" and had no shortage of high-quality corporate resources.

He suppressed his discomfort and put on a humble smile: "Chairman Li is right. Victoria Harbour Properties is still in its early stages. The opportunity to be listed on the Far East Exchange is entirely due to the support of the stock exchange and Chairman Li's cultivation."

Seeing Li Jiacheng's respectful attitude, Li Fuzhao showed a hint of satisfaction on his face, and then changed the subject: "However, our Far East Association has always been willing to give small and medium-sized enterprises opportunities, and in principle, there is no problem with going public."

Before he could finish speaking, he abruptly changed the subject, "But we have a 'rule' here, I wonder if Mr. Li is aware of it?"

Li Jiacheng's heart skipped a beat, sensing that things wouldn't go smoothly, but he still braced himself and asked, "Please enlighten me, Chairman Li."

“The listing process is complicated. From document review to roadshow presentations, our team has to spend a lot of energy.” Li Fuzhao picked up his teacup and said slowly, “We can’t let everyone’s hard work go to waste, so according to the ‘rules,’ you have to give our exchange’s core team a batch of bonus shares.”

The so-called "bonus shares" may seem like "dividends and bonus shares," but in reality, they are blatant extortion—equivalent to allowing exchange personnel to obtain original shares of Victoria Harbour Properties for free. After the stock price soars after listing, these shares can be easily doubled and cashed out.

Li Jiacheng clenched his fist instantly. He had always despised this kind of "unspoken rule," but then he thought that with four exchanges now operating in Hong Kong, the Far East Exchange was already a relatively lenient option. If he ran into a wall here, the other exchanges would probably be even more demanding.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his resistance, and nodded in agreement: "Since it is the exchange's rule, I will naturally abide by it. However, I have a request: for this listing, we hope to raise HK$1000 million. I would appreciate Chairman Li's assistance."

Li Fuzhao put down his teacup, picked up the documents again, glanced at them, and a playful smile appeared on his lips: "1000 million? Mr. Li seems to be overestimating his company. Based on assets of 25 million and a public shareholding of 2500%, the maximum financing is only 750 million. Of course," he paused, deliberately drawing out his words, "if the 'sincerity' is sufficient, it's not impossible to discuss it further."

The word "sincerity" was like a thorn in Li Jiacheng's heart. He instantly understood that Li Fuzhao's "talks" were nothing more than wanting more benefits—either increasing the number of bonus shares or lowering the company's valuation to allow exchange personnel to buy shares at a lower price.

In order to achieve the goal of listing, Li Jiacheng had no choice but to let Li Fuzhao and others fleece him.

However, Li Fuzhao and his associates were also very cunning. The equity they demanded was eventually converted into several times the value of the 'issued shares,' which were naturally cheap. In this way, they were essentially buying the shares rather than extorting them.

At this time, Chen Guangliang's brother-in-law Yan Zuhe was also listing "Dajiale Catering" and "Hesheng Real Estate" on the stock exchange, raising 2000 million and 2500 million yuan respectively.

This move allowed Yan Zuhe to rise to the ranks of Hong Kong's top businessmen, seemingly restoring the glory of his ancestors.

Of course, compared to Yan Zijun in his time, the descendants of the Yan family are far inferior today; however, it is still commendable that they have survived for four generations without declining.

Of course, those familiar with the Yan family know that having a "good son-in-law" can bring them immense benefits.

On this day, Yan Zhiduo celebrated his birthday at the Shangri-La Hotel, and Chen Guangliang and Yan Renmei offered their congratulations.

77-year-old Yan Zhiduo is in high spirits. His two sons are doing well. The eldest son has established himself in the business world, while the younger son has moved to Canada, where he has also started a small business. Although he is far behind his brother, his business is stable.

Yan Zuxiao's cleverness lies in the fact that even after he moved to Canada, his businesses in Hong Kong are still being managed by others. In fact, his "Really Delicious" fast food chain is preparing to go public, as its assets have exceeded 2000 million, making it the second largest fast food group in Hong Kong with 15 stores and some owned properties.

(End of this chapter)