Chapter 128 Huangpu's Overseas Strategy

Now the profitability of Liu Zhicheng's companies can be said to be ranked first in Hong Kong. It is impossible for HSBC to give up cooperating with such companies.

Therefore, Shen Bi was willing to provide funding for any project of Liu Zhicheng's companies.

According to the information Shen Bi had, Liu Zhicheng's companies basically had no losses and were all profitable.

If HSBC's funds can flow in, not only will the profits continue to grow steadily, but there will also be no need to worry about bad debts.

As a lending institution, the bank certainly hopes to have as many such customers as possible. As the head of HSBC, Shen Bi hopes to establish a long-term strategic partnership with Liu Zhicheng.

The longer the loan period, the more beneficial it is for HSBC.

After Shen Bi finished discussing the cooperation intention, he continued to look for Liu Zhicheng to discuss new projects that the two could work on. He then said, "Recently, Mr. Liu's Whampoa Group won the property development rights for two subway stations in Mong Kok and Yuen Long. Does it have any funding needs?"

Huangpu Group has won two plots of land to build large-scale properties for sale, which is public knowledge. In addition, the Sailboat Hotel will soon be built in Huangpu City, which will also be announced to the public.

Huangpu Group will definitely have a need for a loan, but now, Liu Zhicheng cannot take the initiative to ask Shen Bi for it.

"The value of these two pieces of land is quite high." Shen Bi glanced at Liu Zhicheng and said.

But at the same time, Shen Bi was keenly aware that Huangpu Group's large-scale acquisition of land was likely to lead to big moves. He took the opportunity to ask, "Mr. Liu, have you made any big moves in real estate recently?"

Liu Zhicheng smiled slightly and said, "In a few days, Huangpu Group will hold an internal seminar to discuss engineering matters. If you have time, Mr. Shen Bi, and are interested in understanding the situation, you may as well come in person. I will let Huangpu Group explain it to you in person."

Shen Bi readily agreed: "I will make time for Huangpu Group. I am also very interested and I will attend the meeting on time."

Shen Bi hoped to establish a deep credit relationship with the Whampoa Group, while Liu Zhicheng hoped to make a major inroad into the British Empire through him.

Liu Zhicheng needed HSBC to lobby business owners in the British Empire to sell some projects to him, and at the same time provide acquisition funds to the Whampoa Group.

Of course, the first thing is to hope that HSBC can provide loan support for the construction of the Sail Hotel by the Whampoa Group, because the investment in this project may reach hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars.

The investment in skyscrapers is extremely large, and there won’t be much benefit within three to five years. The profit cycle is delayed too long, so it is most appropriate to use bank loans to build them all.

In short, in the operation of such a large project as a landmark building, Liu Zhicheng and Shen Bi both had the willingness and reasons to cooperate with each other, and they also got what they needed.

When the party ended, Liu Zhicheng looked at his watch and saw that it was already past five in the afternoon. He didn't expect that they had been chatting for several hours.

Coming out of the cafe on the third floor of the Peninsula Hotel, Liu Zhicheng took the initiative to accompany Shen Bi to the parking lot, as a goodwill response to him.

…………

At the Orient Overseas Container Line headquarters on the 31st floor of the Ocean Shipping Centre on Wan Chai Road, Mr. Dong is processing company documents.

Recently, due to the oil crisis, the shipping market has been in a state of sighing and prices in the shipping market have plummeted.

Mr. Dong believes that this is a good opportunity to buy at the bottom. Orient Overseas plans to purchase a large number of container ships, but its funds are a bit tight now.

At this moment, the assistant came in to report that the director's office of Huangpu Group called and Liu Zhicheng wanted to make an appointment to visit Mr. Dong.

Mr. Dong put down his writing, thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed to meet.

On Wednesday, Liu Zhicheng came to the Ocean Terminal to visit Mr. Dong as agreed.

When Liu Zhicheng's motorcade arrived at the Ocean Terminal, OOCL staff were already waiting there.

"Hello, Mr. Liu, I am Mr. Dong's assistant. Please follow me."

"Thank you." Liu Zhicheng said politely, and then, under the guidance of the staff, he took the special elevator directly to Mr. Dong's office on the 31st floor.

He saw a middle-aged man waiting for him outside the reception door. Liu Zhicheng took a closer look and found that it was Brother Dong.

Although Liu Zhicheng didn't have much interaction with him, he often saw him on TV in his previous life.

He didn't dare to neglect it, and hurriedly took a few steps, saying with a smile: "Brother Dong is too polite."

"Welcome Mr. Liu, my father is waiting for you."

Then the two men shook hands and walked into the reception room. Mr. Dong looked a little sad now, but when he saw Liu Zhicheng, a smile appeared on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Liu."

"Hello, Mr. Dong."

After both parties sat down, they talked about the economic situation in Hong Kong and the cooperation between the two companies in the Hong Kong port business.

Liu Zhicheng's mind was not here, and after a while, he took the initiative to talk about business.

"Mr. Dong, how much equity does your OOCL own in the British Port of Felixstowe?"

Mr. Dong suddenly realized that it was no wonder that this young man came to visit him. It turned out that he had his eyes on the largest and busiest port in the UK. "We own 25% of the shares, and the UK Iron and Steel Shipping Company has 75% of the shares. Mr. Liu, are you interested in entering the overseas container terminal market?"

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said calmly: "Huangpu Group has sufficient funds, so it plans to expand its port business in other cities."

Sufficient funds? This word deeply hurt Mr. Dong's heart. The oil crisis had already started for more than half a year, and he was preparing to buy the shipping industry at a low price.

In the past life, because Orient Overseas Container Line had made a lot of bottom-fishing layouts in the shipping industry, it did not expect that the oil crisis would be endless, causing Orient Overseas Container Line to be deeply involved in it.

Mr. Dong said, "Mr. Liu, the Hong Kong Container Terminal is not as good as the Kwai Chung Container Terminal in Hong Kong. First of all, the business is not as busy as Kwai Chung, and secondly, the charges are also subject to multiple controls. At the current level, the annual return rate of Felixsto Port cannot be compared with that of Hong Kong."

First, he was reluctant to sell it, and second, he didn't want to cheat Liu Zhicheng, so he said it very bluntly.

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said seriously: "We are interested in investing in Felixsto Port. The most important thing is to take the first step into the European container terminal industry, which is of great significance. As for the rate of return, I believe that 8% is still possible."

Mr. Dong shook his head and said, "The European and American economies have been bad in the past two years, and the return rate of that project is about 7% at best!"

It's OK. When shipping resumes in the 10s, the rate of return can rise by more than %. The important thing is that it is of extraordinary significance, symbolizing that Huangpu Group has entered the European container business and officially started its internationalization journey.

However, seeing that Mr. Dong was still reluctant to sell, Liu Zhicheng opened his roaring ability and said, "Mr. Dong, I am willing to buy it at a premium based on the price before the oil crisis."

Mr. Dong was shocked, but immediately overjoyed. As a young Chinese brand, making friends with this young man would definitely be beneficial to Orient Overseas in the future.

Moreover, now that the oil crisis has occurred for so long, it is a good opportunity to gather funds and realize my ambition of buying at the bottom.

After thinking about it, he said, "Okay, I can sell my shares to you!"

"Thank you, Mr. Dong, for your help."

"You're welcome. My small stake won't affect your plans. As long as you take over the shares of British Railways, you can still be the controlling shareholder!"

"I can't say that, but thank you anyway."

Seeing that the matter was settled, Liu Zhicheng prepared to leave.

Because he felt that by acquiring the shares of Orient Overseas, he could easily take over Felixstowe Port.

In fact, this port is not worth much. Liu Zhicheng seemed to remember that in his previous life, Li Chaoren only spent 11 billion Hong Kong dollars to get 75% of the shares.

But he had to consider some political factors. After all, Port of Felixsdu was the first port on which the sun never sets.

The port has considerable RoRo and general cargo handling facilities and warehouse equipment, and has a berth for ocean-going tankers.

Last year, it handled 1550 million tonnes of cargo, 140 million TEUs and 350 million passengers.

Hutchison Whampoa was able to obtain it in the past because it had a large proportion of British capital.

Therefore, if Hong Kong International Container Terminals Company, a subsidiary of Whampoa Group, wants to successfully complete the acquisition, it must utilize the power of Swire and HSBC.

This was one of the reasons why Liu Zhicheng agreed to Swire's investment in Hong Kong International Container. He then came to the Swire Group again and took the initiative to find John Swire.

Liu Zhicheng smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. Shi John. I came here this time to tell you a good news."

John Shi was immediately curious and asked, "What good news?"

Liu Zhicheng said: "Hong Kong International Container is ready to go global, investing day and night, and is preparing to acquire the equity of Port of Felixsto from OOCL."

When John Shi heard that Hong Kong International Investment was booming, he immediately became excited.

"Mr. Liu, this is a good thing. Diversified asset allocation is conducive to wealth security, and the investment day never sets, so it will definitely be very popular."

"But it is not in our interest to only acquire 25% now. I hope Swire can play a role and find the P&O Shipping Company to acquire the shares they hold." Liu Zhicheng said directly.

Although Liu Zhicheng said it very directly, Shi John also understood that this was a good thing for both parties, so he nodded and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Liu, Taikoo will do its best."

Liu Zhicheng also told John Shi about the preliminary financial cooperation intention he had reached with HSBC, so that he would not have to worry about the funds.

After Liu Zhicheng dealt with the matter at Felixsdu Port, it was already December and Liu Zhicheng felt that he had violated his original intention.

It was previously agreed that the development would be in the manufacturing and electronic technology sectors, but unexpectedly, the opposite has happened and he has now become the real estate tycoon of Hong Kong.

The international gold price has also been in a soaring phase recently, approaching US$800 per ounce, and is not far from US$1 per ounce in January next year.

It is better to put the gold in the bag and not make the last penny. Liu Zhicheng decided to fly to the United States to dispose of the gold.

Because, the closer it gets to the end, the crazier things tend to be, and the more dangerous they tend to be. Besides, it takes time to deal with hundreds of millions of US dollars in gold.

Therefore, it is a wise choice to deal with it in advance, which is equivalent to removing the landmine in advance. Moreover, this kind of speculative money can only be safe when it is in your pocket.

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(End of this chapter)