Chapter 127 Shen Bi's Initiative

Although it was Hao Qingwen who made the final decision, the price of the first piece of land reached 100 million Hong Kong dollars, which seriously irritated everyone.

Not only is there no pressure, but it is even more positive. This is the case with the real estate industry. The more money that flows in, the higher the housing prices will be, and ultimately the real estate companies will make higher profits.

However, this piece of land was just a warm-up for the venue. Some small plots of land would be auctioned next. Liu Zhicheng didn't care about this at all. He didn't let Hao Qingwen bid for these small plots of land again.

"Next, we will auction the plot numbered 23, which is located in Mong Kok, with a total area of ​​7.6 square feet. The starting price is HK$2.6 million, and the minimum bid increment for each auction is HK$500 million!"

Liu Zhicheng heard the auction introduction of the Mong Kok subway station property, which was the prey he had to hunt for today, so he turned around and glanced at Hao Qingwen.

Hao Qingwen nodded to indicate that he understood and must win the bid.

As soon as the starting price of HK$2.6 million was announced, 7% of the real estate developers at the auction were instantly killed off, because the total value of their companies might not be that high.

Although we can band together for warmth and obtain leveraged financing, even if we get the land, all our assets will be invested in it. Once a mistake is made, the consequences will be disastrous.

Chen Zengxi looked at Liu Zhicheng and couldn't help but sigh. Just now, the young man had scared his opponent by raising the sign.

Will it be finalized in one fell swoop? And what is his reserve price? Chen Zengxi couldn't help asking twice in his heart.

He took the lead in this auction and formed a consortium with Cheung Kong Holdings, Henderson Land Development and New World Development to jointly bid for this land. With their strength, they are not afraid of any opponents.

Originally, I wanted to bring Liu Zhicheng in to form a team together, but unexpectedly, not only was he rejected, but he also became interested in this piece of land.

He was a little worried. Not only was Liu Zhicheng rich, but he now found that he was also a little stupid. What if he relied on his wealth to raise the price regardless of the cost, then this plan would be ruined.

He felt a little regretful for his behavior that day, as he had created an enemy for nothing.

The auction has begun!

Although 2.6 million is a lot, it is just that for several major real estate developers in Hong Kong!

After all, this piece of land is in a prime location in the Mong Kok commercial district, and a future subway station will be built underneath it. According to the current real estate market, at least there will be no loss.

For real estate developers, the main consideration is whether the plan is cost-effective, and they must strive to maximize profits with funds.

The first bidder was Swire Properties, which made a direct offer of HK$2.8 million.

The representative of Hong Kong Land was not panicked at all. He held up a sign and said: "2.9 million Hong Kong dollars"

Seeing this, Chen Zengxi also raised his sign and said, "3 million Hong Kong dollars!"

"3.2 million Hong Kong dollars." Hao Qingwen directly shouted out another high price.

Chen Zengxi's expression remained unchanged, but he was in a very depressed mood: this rich young man had directly raised the offer by 20 million!

A representative of Wheelock Properties held up a sign saying: “3.3 million Hong Kong dollars.”

The auctioneer said in high spirits, "3.3 million, is there a higher price?"

Hao Qingwen raised his sign and called out his price: "3.4 million Hong Kong dollars."

Anyway, the boss had already told him before he came that he could make the decision within the 4 million Hong Kong dollars. Just when Chen Zengxi was still hesitating whether to join in, the representative of Hong Kong Land raised a sign and said, "3.5 million Hong Kong dollars."

Hang Lung's Chen Zengxi was disrupted by Hao Qingwen's roar at the beginning, and began to hesitate. Li Chaoren, who was standing next to him, saw this and quickly reminded him: "Mr. Chen, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Either give up or continue!"

Because the joint venture company was led by Hang Lung, there had been an agreement before coming that Chen Zengxi would be responsible for raising the bid in this area, and he could not make any more moves, otherwise it would disrupt the rules.

At this time, Hao Qingwen and several major British real estate companies were still bidding, and the price had reached 3.8 million Hong Kong dollars.

The auctioneer called out, "Number 37, 3.8 million Hong Kong dollars, is there a higher price?"

Now the price of Huangpu Group has reached a sky-high level. Hao Qingwen's performance just now has made several leading real estate developers begin to lose control of the market.

Undecided, Chen Zengxi decided to take a chance and suddenly said, "3.9 million Hong Kong dollars!"

Hao Qingwen didn't think twice and continued, "4 million Hong Kong dollars."

After saying that, he turned around and looked at Liu Zhicheng, only to see him nodding to him.

Li Zhaoji stopped Chen Zengxi who was about to bid again and shook his head, saying, "If we continue bidding, we will not please either side. The only one who will get the bargain is the subway company. Even if we finally get the land at a high price, there will be no profit."

"If you raise the price so that Huangpu Group can acquire it, your actions will offend this new Chinese upstart. It's better to save the funds and invest them elsewhere."

Although Chen Zengxi was angry, he also understood the meaning of these words, because getting angry now would not solve the problem, and he had to stay calm.

He nodded and said angrily, "I was determined to get this piece of land, but I didn't expect to run into this fool."

"A blessing in disguise," Li Chaoren said, "We'll keep the funds. Maybe there will be better projects later. Let's forget about this piece of land."

"Okay." Chen Zengxi has decided to give up. After all, the price is too high and not cost-effective.

"4 million Hong Kong dollars, once." "4 million Hong Kong dollars, twice."

The auctioneer had been observing every move on the field, expecting someone to raise their sign. After waiting for a long time, the auctioneer could only drop the hammer: "4 million, third time, deal!"

Then, most of the Chinese real estate developers came to express their congratulations, including Li Chaoren and Li Ka-shing.

Liu Zhicheng also greeted them politely, pretending to be calm, and then left with Hao Qingwen and several assistants.

On the way back, Liu Zhicheng kept thinking that he should keep a closer eye on Hao Qingwen in the future.

…………

HSBC Building.

Today, as soon as the boss Shen Bi got to work, he saw a piece of news in the newspaper that the Whampoa Group spent 4 million Hong Kong dollars to buy the property development rights of Yuen Long and Mong Kok subway stations.

When Shen Bi saw the news, he couldn't help but sigh, as Liu Zhicheng had not cooperated with HSBC for so many years.

This is very abnormal, and we must find a way to get back on normal track. Liu Zhicheng is a businessman, and even if he dislikes me, he can't have a prejudice against HSBC.

The reason is simple: Liu Zhicheng is a capitalist with too much wealth, and ensuring the safety of his wealth is his top priority.

In order to ensure the stable inheritance of wealth, Liu Zhicheng needed to choose a developed capital region for wealth layout, and HSBC is a first-class expert in this type of layout.

Of course, this is also for HSBC's long-term development and for HSBC's interests.

As Hong Kong is going to relax its financial control, more foreign banks will enter Hong Kong, which will inevitably affect HSBC's business.

There are no permanent enemies, only permanent benefits.

After thinking it over again and again, Shen Bi decided to invite Liu Zhicheng to meet and have a heart-to-heart talk.

In early July, Liu Zhicheng received an invitation from Shen Bi, which surprised him greatly. He had to think about it seriously and take it seriously.

A few days later, they met in a private room of the Peninsula Hotel as scheduled. What she didn't expect was that Shen Bi was standing at the door to greet her.

Liu Zhicheng was flattered by Shen Bi's humble attitude. Who doesn't care about face?

Since Shen Bi had given him enough face, Liu Zhicheng could not take advantage of it. He quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Mr. Shen is here to greet me. I don't deserve it."

"Haha, it's my honor to have the opportunity to drink tea with Mr. Liu today." Shen Bi said with a smile, then stretched out his hand and shook hands tightly with Liu Zhicheng.

After the two of them sat down in the private room one by one, someone served them tea.

Liu Zhicheng was surprised to see that the tea served today was Kung Fu tea. It seemed that the foreigner came here today to have a long chat.

Kung Fu tea is not only for the purpose of quenching thirst, but also mainly for building relationships or exchanging information during the tea tasting process.

Liu Zhicheng has received a lot of information from this cup of tea today, and the two began to chat about tea culture.

But Shen Bi might not be very proficient in the tea ceremony. After a while, Shen Bi said directly: "HSBC very much hopes to reach a comprehensive financial services cooperation with Mr. Liu. I know there may be misunderstandings between us. It is difficult to win your trust in a short time. HSBC can start with the basic remittance business of one of Mr. Liu's companies."

Shen Bi asked for very little. He had learned from his previous lessons and had to take one step at a time.

Looking throughout Hong Kong, only HSBC can quickly handle the efficient flow of Liu Zhicheng's global funds.

This is of course all Shen Bi's personal opinion. Shen Bi would never know what Liu Zhicheng was thinking.

"If it's just a money transfer business for one company, I'm happy to work with HSBC, there's no problem with that."

Liu Zhicheng agreed immediately. Suddenly, a new plan came into his mind. This year, Huangpu Group will definitely launch the Sail Hotel, and the total investment will be a huge number.

Moreover, Huangpu Group has started many real estate projects this year, which has put it under great financial pressure.

In addition, taking advantage of the oil crisis, a plan to acquire the British port of Felixstowe may be launched. HSBC can provide support for these projects.

To be honest, Liu Zhicheng did not want to invest huge amounts of money in such a hotel and port project, so using a loan became the best option.

Unfortunately, ordinary banks simply cannot afford the construction funds, and only giants like HSBC have the financial strength to lend.

Of course, Liu Zhicheng also took a fancy to his strength in the British Empire, so would HSBC fully support him?

This depends on HSBC's current situation. The Hong Kong government wants to relax financial controls and allow foreign banks to open offices in Hong Kong. This policy will affect the business of all local banks in Hong Kong.

Likewise, HSBC is no exception and will certainly face strong impact from overseas banks. If Shen Bi was not worried about the future, he would not have been so anxious to meet with Liu Zhicheng.

As soon as they met, he directly stated his intention to cooperate with Liu Zhicheng and tried to open his heart to talk to him about cooperation.

Shen Bi obviously wanted to curb HSBC's impending profit decline by cooperating with Liu Zhicheng.

(End of this chapter)