Chapter 188 You fight for it
On November 11 last year, the auction of a plot of land on Connaught Road Central in Central failed due to the market's cold reception.

After a postponement of 100 days, the Hong Kong government restarted the auction again, and its intention to save the market is self-evident.

All the well-known real estate companies in Hong Kong have received invitations to the auction, but whether they have the ability to participate is another matter.

After all, many small companies are currently caught in an awkward situation with high bank interest rates, reduced corporate profits and unstable capital chains.

The reason why the Hong Kong government has the confidence to issue invitations to heroes is because this land has an excellent location and can be regarded as a "land king" rarely seen in recent years.

Next to it are Jardine House and Jardine Plaza, which is the headquarters of the Jardine Matheson Group, the oldest British-owned company in Hong Kong.

If there had been no subsequent land reclamation, any building constructed on this piece of land in Connaught Road Central would have been one of the most beautiful scenery lines on Victoria Harbour.

Although its area is only 14.4 square feet, it is not large, but if it is built into a skyscraper several hundred meters high, the rent alone can bring in a lot of money every year. It is no exaggeration to say that every inch of land is worth a lot of money.

This is also the consensus of many real estate companies participating in the auction.

If you want to acquire this piece of land but your pockets are not deep enough, you can only watch it fall into the hands of others.

Many real estate companies participated in the auction, including Wanda Real Estate, Hong Kong Land, Cheung Kong Holdings, Sun Hung Kai Properties, New World Development, Henderson Land Development, Swire Properties, Hysan Property, Hang Lung Properties, Sino Land, and Dachang Development, all of which are regarded as leaders in the Hong Kong real estate industry.

The auction was held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and there were already many people gathered in groups of three or four, chatting or discussing business.

Four real estate tycoons, Li Huanggua, Guo Desheng, Li Zhaoji and Cheng Yutong, also got together to exchange their views on this year's property market trends.

Cheng Yutong suddenly asked:
"Who do you think can take over this piece of land today?"

“Of course Wanda and Swire are the most powerful, but until the last moment, each of us has a chance.” Huanggua said a panacea.

"Forget about our New World. We can't come up with billions to fight for the time being."

Li Zhaoji, who is a good person, joked:
"Ah Tong, everyone in Hong Kong knows that your Chow Tai Fook is worth a fortune. Just a few billion, just a little bit!"

"Brother Ji, please stop making fun of me. Mr. Fang is really rich, but I can't get so much money even if I mortgage all my Chow Tai Fook properties to the bank."

"Haha!" The other three laughed.

Guo Desheng laughed and then said seriously:

"I'm afraid Fang Hexuan is determined to get this piece of land, but I also heard that Jardine Matheson and Landsea are also determined to get it."

"The Hong Kong government has calculated that there will be a fight between the two families, so they are full of confidence this time."

Huanggua analyzed that, in fact, he did have some ideas in his heart, but the strength gap was too big this time.

"Or, this time we can work together like we did in Shatin First City?"

Li Zhaoji suggested.

After saying this, the four of them looked at each other, fell silent, and began to think about whether it was feasible.

Fang Hexuan personally brought a group of Wanda executives to the auction site. Everyone nodded to him, and the richest man Fang was also very polite and shook hands with them one by one to express his gratitude.

The auction officially began, with the starting price set at HK$28 billion and 999 million, and each bid increase starting at at least HK$500 million.

This initial starting price surprised many real estate companies at the scene and also aroused the interest of many people in wanting to participate.

Before HK$40 billion, Fang Hexuan and Wanda's team sat quietly and listened to the bidding between weaker companies such as New World Development, Swire Properties, Hysan Property, Hang Lung Properties, Sino Land, and Dachang Properties.

Like Wanda, Hongkong Land, Cheung Kong Holdings, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Henderson Land Development all seem to be confident and composed.

When the amount reached HK$39 billion, only Swire Properties and Hang Lung Properties were still competing with each other.

Swire Properties fired the first shot. They shouted out HK$40 billion, which brought the atmosphere at the scene to a high point.

Fang Hexuan personally raised the sign: "40 billion Hong Kong dollars!" "Good fellow, the richest man is extraordinary. He raised the price by 5000 million Hong Kong dollars right after he opened his mouth, which made the momentum of Hong Kong Land disappear into thin air."

A reporter at the scene boasted to his colleague nearby.

Of course, Hong Kong Land was not scared, and they responded sharply: "41 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

The scene erupted into lively discussion again.

"It seems that the two families are really arguing with each other. I wonder how much this piece of land will be worth today?"

"Who cares? There's something exciting to watch!"

The Hong Kong government officials in the background were all smiling, but the wrinkles on their faces could not be hidden.

Fang Hexuan was not angry, and still looked calm and composed: "42 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Seeing that the other party was not impatient, Hong Kong Land also slowed down the price increase: "42 billion Hong Kong dollars."

The people watching the excitement were just terrified. Each time the price increase started at 5000 million Hong Kong dollars, which was still very exciting for Hong Kong in the 80s.

Li Huanggua and Li Zhaoji looked at each other from a distance and nodded in tacit understanding.

"44 billion Hong Kong dollars, Cheung Kong Holdings, Sun Hung Kai Properties, and Henderson Land Development jointly bid!"

Fang Hexuan looked back at Li Huanggua who was bidding with some surprise, and then searched for Guo Desheng and Li Zhaoji who were sitting in other seats.

He didn't expect that the three companies would unite. This would create another powerful competitor.

However, it is impossible to ask him to give up.

"44 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Swire was also a little angry. The sudden emergence of a consortium of three companies was so shameless!

"44 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Li Huanggua's palms were sweating, but he still raised the sign: "45 billion!"

This time, Fang Hexuan didn't even raise his sign. He was too lazy to play this three-person game, so he let the two families fight it out first. He then directly offered a flash sale price!
Fang Hexuan of Zhidi was a little confused. Did he give up or did he just want to sit on the mountain and watch the fight?

"46 million Hong Kong dollars!"

At this moment, the tense atmosphere on the scene was raised to its maximum!
"Anyone else want to raise the price? 46 billion once. 46 billion twice."

Cucumber finally raised the sign again: "46 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Hong Kong Land decided to strike back with one strike: "47 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Huanggua looked at the other two again with some uncertainty. Seeing that they didn't respond, he gritted his teeth and said, "47 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Hong Kong Land didn't give him any chance and decided to keep up the pressure: "47 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Cucumber wanted to continue bidding, but any further increase would exceed the highest price agreed upon by the three parties before the auction.

“47亿6000万一次，47亿6000万两次，47亿6000万三”

"Wait! 49 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Fang Hexuan finally took action at this time, and a buzzing sound was heard at the scene!
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　Thanks to book friend 20170709165316873, Just Try It, book friend 20230318044509636, and book friend 20171029004947168 for their recommendation votes!

(End of this chapter)