Chapter 272 The sky is high and birds can fly

At the end of November, the Hong Kong government launched two plots of land at the official land auction.

The first piece of land is located in Sha Tin, with a reserve price of approximately HK$19 billion. The media predicts that the transaction price of this land will not be lower than HK$29 billion.

The second piece of land is located in Tsuen Wan. The auction reserve price is about HK$23 billion. The media expects the transaction price to be no less than HK$32 billion.

The estimated transaction price of the land is predicted by the media based on past auction results, and is usually pretty accurate.

Although the media reported an increase of over 50% which is a bit exaggerated, industry insiders expect the increase to be around 30%.

However, the auction scene was shocking, and the auction results revealed a big scandal. There were only a few companies participating in the entire auction and bidding.

For example, Huangpu Group only sent one senior manager to attend the event. The two plots of land were sold at a price slightly higher than the reserve price.

At the auction that day, after the auction of the Sha Tin land plot started, no real estate developer made a bid for several minutes.

No matter how much the auctioneer swore on the stage, the real estate developers present did not move at all.

This is a new situation that has never occurred in the history of Hong Kong real estate auctions.

Although Nan Fung Real Estate made the first bid, two other companies also participated in the bidding, but they only followed for one round.

Throughout the entire bidding process, it seemed as if everyone had reached a consensus, and in the end Nan Fung Properties won the bid with HK$20.1 billion.

The Tsuen Wan plot was a replica of the Sha Tin plot, and the bidding was also very quiet. After only three bids, the auctioneer finally had to announce the failure of the plot auction.

As we all know, the Hong Kong government's auction of official land is a barometer of Hong Kong real estate.

After the news came out, the media was in an uproar, reporting the details of the auction in detail and began to follow up with reports.

Liu Zhicheng, however, had no intention of caring about the real estate in Hong Kong. He knew that the land and housing prices in Hong Kong would soar in the next two years anyway.

…………

YG Entertainment's new round of selection for debut candidates has officially begun. This time, three groups will be formed at one time, namely: Shinhwa (six men), SES (three women), and Ko Yoo Tae (two men and one woman. Ko Yoo Tae's name means 'the sun shining high', not Korean).

Of course, we are just selecting team members. After the team is formed, we will continue to practice and then prepare for our debut.

Liu Zhicheng has given general planning directions for the development of these three groups, and also briefly mentioned the music and dance styles.

This is probably the last wave of 'Hong Kong idol' production that Liu Zhicheng participated in. The follow-up really depends on the continuation and development of the team.

During the selection process, Liu Zhicheng auditioned the singing voices of many girls and was not satisfied with any of them.

"Manager Yu, Gao Yaotai's lead singer is not sure yet, and these trainees are not qualified. I want a girl with a bright and high-pitched voice, and a fresh and cheerful dance music.
You need a group style that many people will never forget. Look for it on ATV, or if that doesn’t work, look for it on campus!”

Yu Xiaoming nodded and said, "Well, it's indeed a little small. Our trainees are basically selected from thousands of people, not as wide as ATV's selection!"

When asked about the scope, Liu Zhicheng immediately said, "You reminded me that in the future, trainees can be selected in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and even in the Mainland.

It can promote YG Entertainment and introduce foreign trainees. It is also necessary to have foreign members in future groups.

For example, dancing, appearance, rap, it's all fine!"

Yu Xiaoming had to admire his boss's brain. Although YG Entertainment currently had overseas trainees, they were all introduced by scouts and were all Chinese.

"Okay, next year we will try to have scouts conduct experiments in this area, and then consider overseas open selection when it is mature enough."

Liu Zhicheng nodded, knowing what Yu Xiaoming was thinking. For now, YG Entertainment had some fame overseas, but it was not that big and was far behind the fame of Lee Jung Hyun and T Group.

Therefore, if the selection is open, not many people may respond.

If three more groups debut next year and achieve good results overseas, YG Entertainment's reputation as a "star-making factory" will be well-deserved.

"Well, you've been learning 'Hong Kong idol culture' from me for more than two years, so I can almost let go!

In short, we have only explored the beginning of the experience here, and there is still a lot of potential to be tapped.

Entertainment comes first, we are a factory that makes stars, and the entire company must be systematic, just like spreading oil stains!"

"Boss, rest assured, we will definitely carry forward Hong Kong culture!"

Liu Zhicheng felt relieved, but he did not completely let things go. He would occasionally give everyone some advice and contribute his opinions.

The second group has many new features, such as non-mainstream and Shamatte styles, which have already appeared in the team members' looks.

At this time, Lee Jung-hyun and T group can be said to be quite successful. Although their album promotion period has passed recently, they still have many concerts, commercial performances, and announcements.

Moreover, the company is already helping them prepare for the second album, which is expected to be released in the first half of next year.

Everyone in the entire YG company is very busy, and more and more colleagues are joining the team. It seems that the "Hong Kong Wave" has become perfect.

Maybe next year’s level will be equivalent to that of the Korean Wave in the late 1990s.

This is probably because Hong Kong has always been a place with a developed entertainment industry. At least from the 1970s to the 1990s, places like South Korea and Japan could not be compared with Hong Kong's entertainment industry.

And now, Liu Zhicheng has directly extended the life of Hong Kong Entertainment for more than 20 years, and its influence will be even greater, much greater!

In this way, he himself still has a sense of accomplishment, of course only in his own heart!

Kowloon, China Merchants Bank Building.

Liu Zhicheng was meeting with his financial advisory team, which was quite powerful, including Hongli Investment, China Merchants Bank, and Far Eastern Bank.

Of course, Hongli Investment is only Liu Zhicheng's personal consultant and cannot actually interfere with his banking business.

At the meeting, He Changhong gave a detailed introduction to the recent situation of China Merchants Bank (Hong Kong).

"At present, our deposits are rising steadily. In more than five months, we have attracted deposits of 25.2 billion Hong Kong dollars, including 10 billion deposited by the boss. Overall, the situation is very encouraging.

In terms of loans, we have already issued HK$10.1 billion, % of which are in the real estate sector. We have recovered % of bad debts, and we are expected to achieve % of our expectations, or even exceed them.
Currently, the net asset value of Guoshang Bank (Xiangjiang) is HK$11 billion, deposits are HK$70.2 billion, there are 33 branches, loans are HK$14.6 billion (bad debts are HK$4.5 million), and the accumulated losses are HK$39 billion! "

所谓累计亏损39亿港币，就是原来的欠存户46亿港币、港府20亿港币、海外债权人18亿港币，总计84亿的负债。

Because the assets appreciated to HK$45 billion (originally HK$42 billion), the accumulated losses were reduced.

Liu Zhicheng invested 50 billion Hong Kong dollars, so the current asset value is a positive 11 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Liu Zhicheng said with satisfaction: "Well, the development is good. Don't increase the loan ratio too much. Our first priority now is stability and then steady development."

He Changhong said seriously: "Well, our loan ratio is very low among banks."

He Changhong couldn't help but admire his boss's strength. He had invested 50 billion Hong Kong dollars to develop the bank. This was definitely the strongest among the Chinese.

Most people wouldn't play like this. In business terms, there is no danger in this situation, so the money of the depositors of the China Merchants Bank must be used to expand the scale.

At that time, the two banks will have the same owner. If one bank encounters a deposit crisis, the other one will be dismantled.

Of course, the risk of a bank run by both companies is also very high!
Liu Zhicheng didn't think so. Although 50 billion Hong Kong dollars was a lot, it could make his bank one of the top five local banks in Hong Kong, which was a remarkable achievement.

He is a newbie, and this is already a dream start!
Take the example of Hong Kong Bank (the predecessor of Sun Hung Kai Properties), which is backed by Arab Bank and currently has only 18 branches and deposits of about HK$60 billion.

Then Liu Zhicheng said: "Recently, I plan to set up the 'Octopus Financial Group'. In the future, the IC cards issued by banks will be called 'Octopus Bank Cards', which means that depositors can travel freely around the world with our Octopus Bank Cards."

Everyone was impressed by the boss's ambition. Although it was a bit difficult, the goal was very ambitious.

"I think the name is very good. 'Ba' also means 'Fa'. 'Da' and 'Tong' are also very meaningful. The boss has chosen a good name!" He Changhong said first.

The others also agreed. As for several foreign consultants, they also thought that the English name "Octopus" was not bad. The American Bank liked to call it "Chase" or something like that.

Liu Zhicheng said: "Okay, I will start to register soon! After we integrate the bank, we will start to seek development and open branches overseas, so everyone should work hard."

"Yes, Boss!" Everyone said excitedly. Since he wanted to do banking, Liu Zhicheng would definitely expand its scale, and developing banks overseas would help him make money using finance.

It will be much more convenient to have a bank for investments in gold spot futures, futures, foreign exchange, etc.

Octopus Financial Group, with an 'Octopus Financial Holdings' above it, as the holding company of the Liu family;
Octopus Financial Group consists of: Octopus Bank, Securities, Finance, Insurance, and Financial Consulting.
In the future, Hongli Investment will definitely be brought under the management of Octopus Financial Group.

As for the issue of succession, Liu Zhicheng hopes that Yang Minli's son will inherit his business, the eldest son's children will inherit the industrial company, and the family children will share the dividends of the financial group.

After all, his business is much bigger than that of most people. There is no need to separate the other second son from the direct line. He can just set up a media communication business.

As for Crocodile Shirt Group, it is Yang Minli's business and the decision is hers.

.........

Monday.

Liu Zhicheng's office welcomed a guest, Fu Yinzhao from the Fu Laorong family.

In Hong Kong, wealth lists will always underestimate the wealth of the rich and will also miss out on a large number of wealthy people.

The Fu Yinzhao family is the group of people that were missed. Before the 90s, the Fu Yinzhao family's net worth was estimated to be between HK$50 billion and HK$100 billion.

Because as far as Liu Zhicheng knew, the Furama Hotel was only one-tenth of the assets of the Fu Yinzhao family.

Having said that, it is difficult for ordinary people to understand how such a small city like Hong Kong can accommodate so many wealthy people.

Some media conservatively estimate that there are about 10 wealthy people in Hong Kong with assets of more than HK$2000 billion, and this is the result without counting overseas assets.

In fact, there are historical and geographical reasons behind this. At that time, many wealthy people from the mainland moved their gold jewelry and even factories to Hong Kong.

Warlords and people who made money through illegal means also came to Hong Kong. These people were almost the richest group in the Republic of China.

After they came to Hong Kong, they were not ordinary people and their minds were naturally active. They invested in properties and factories, and their assets appreciated again.

This is a historical factor!

As for the geographical factors, it is naturally because of Hong Kong’s geographical environment. Here, Chinese and Western cultures meet, and tourism, trade, manufacturing, finance, etc. make it a paradise for making money.

There are almost no taxes in Hong Kong (except for real estate), which also leads to Asian tourists coming to Hong Kong to buy gold, diamonds, luxury goods, etc.

"Mr. Fu, long time no see!" Liu Zhicheng greeted him with a smile, shook Fu Yinzhao's hand, and said enthusiastically.

"Mr. Liu, you're right. Every time I see you, your strength becomes stronger. I really admire you!" Fu Yinzhao said happily.

Liu Zhicheng said: "You are too modest!"

Just a few simple words revealed that the financial strength of Fu Yinzhao's family should not be underestimated.

After some politeness, both sides sat on the sofa.

After making the tea, the two chatted for a while. Liu Zhicheng was not in a hurry to find out what Fu Yinzhao wanted to talk to him about.

Until Fu Yinzhao took the initiative to talk about it: "Mr. Liu, I asked you to come here this time because I want to cooperate with you on a project. You have a close relationship with the Hong Kong government, so I thought of you first!"

Liu Zhicheng knew that it must be a real estate project. In Hong Kong, you can't build a house just by having land.

For example, this year Qiu Degen plans to transform his land in Litchi Garden, called "Songcheng", into three commercial and residential buildings.

He knew that it was unlikely that he would get approval from the Hong Kong government (due to nearby planning and various complicated reasons), and then invited "Land Minister" Lee Shau-kee and Lam Pak-yan to work together.

The result was recently rejected by the Planning Department again, as it did not conform to the overall scale concept of the Town Planning Board.

Therefore, personal connections with the Hong Kong government are very important. Not only that, one must also be good at planning and cater to the Planning Department, otherwise some problematic land will be difficult to rebuild.

"Thank you Mr. Fu for your trust. Why don't you tell me about that piece of land?" Liu Zhicheng said with a smile.

In recent years, many people have sought cooperation with Huangpu Group, and they all came with land.

The first is that Liu Zhicheng is good at controlling trends and the prime numbers of the Whampoa Group. The second is that Liu Zhicheng has a close relationship with the Hong Kong government, especially with some Hong Kong government departments.

Fu Yinzhao nodded and said, "Our Fu family owns a piece of farmland in Nanshengwei. The farmland, together with other land, has a total area of ​​about 10 million square feet. It is mainly fish ponds and is adjacent to the Mai Po Bird Sanctuary, where migratory birds stop every year.

So, I would like to invite you to work together to set aside one-tenth of the land here for low-density housing."

As soon as he heard about the bird sanctuary, Liu Zhicheng knew that there was no hope for cooperation. He knew the power of the environmentalists, and Nam Sang Wai was in Yuen Long, so it had little development prospect.

What's more, Liu Zhicheng now intends to keep a low profile. It's not that he will not be a real estate developer, but that he doesn't want to be as aggressive as before.

The company will continue to purchase land reserves, but it only needs to keep up with the times. Huangpu Group has spare money, so it is still considering globalization and integrated development.

"Mr. Fu, my personal opinion is: this project is difficult, and I don't have the confidence to shut up those environmental protection organizations.
Not to mention that the Planning Department will definitely listen to their opinions. So thank you for your trust!" Liu Zhicheng said regretfully.

Fu Yinzhao suddenly felt cold. Even this person knew to retreat when faced with difficulties. Who should he find to cooperate with him on his ideas?

"Mr. Liu is in a serious state. We can't cooperate on this project. Can we continue to cooperate in the future?"

"Of course, I love making friends, and I won't let my friends suffer any loss."

After some polite exchanges, Fu Yinzhao left Liu Zhicheng's office.

Liu Zhicheng shook his head. He had so many money-making projects on hand, so why bother getting into trouble?

Thinking of this, Liu Zhicheng called Hao Qingwen and reminded him: "The company's farmland reserves must be kept to a reasonable level and remain in the top four of Hong Kong real estate companies!"

His vision can only see until 2023. As far as he knows, these farmlands will be reclaimed by the Hong Kong government in the future.

And these real estate developers have to take the initiative to donate a portion of their funds to help the government solve the housing shortage problem in Hong Kong.

Although Liu Zhicheng could also do charity, he has been storing too much farmland, and in the end he will have to donate a lot of it. Wouldn't he be criticized for doing good deeds?

Hao Qingwen replied: "Yes, I understand!"

In this way, the Whampoa Group will have land available for development in the 21st century.

Huangpu Real Estate has recently reduced its land reserve purchases by 40%, so it will naturally have a large amount of cash flow next year.

Of course, money is not enough because there are so many investment projects.

Therefore, the company still cannot do without the support of the bank. Fortunately, many banks have recently extended olive branches to Liu Zhicheng, so there is no problem with funding.

.........

Capitalists, where are the kind people?
Then again, it’s not just the capitalists who are like this!
A house in Whampoa Garden.

Huang Sumei pulled her daughter aside and said, "My dear daughter, how are you getting along with Boss Liu recently?"

Cai Shaofen didn't understand and said honestly, "Mommy, he's so busy that he may not be able to visit me three times a month. Besides, he..."

Huang Sumei was startled and asked nervously, "Is he not capable? That doesn't make sense. He is so romantic, how could he not be capable? Did he damage his body?"

Cai Shaofen's face immediately turned red. Mommy, come on, how can you say such things so directly?

However, this concerns the man's reputation. If my mother spreads it, it might anger others.

"No way, he's very powerful! But I think there are probably a lot of women around him, and they may not like me too much!"

Huang Sumei was relieved to hear that, but she immediately retorted to her daughter: "You are Miss Hong Kong, how could he not like you? You should work hard to please others.

I'm being chased for debt now, you have to find a way to get 200 million Hong Kong dollars from him, otherwise your mother will be dead!"

(End of this chapter)