The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 142 [Shocking HSBC]

Hong Kong Club.

Old Madden is hosting a banquet for HSBC Vice Chairman John Pao. He has always been wary of Lin Zhichao's rise. Thinking of the "bet" between the two, he has a mentality of paying attention to the growth of global shipping.

Recently he has received some information that Global Shipping is already the leader of the Chinese shipping company, and Lin Zhichao has surpassed Xu Aizhou to become the "new shipping king" of the Chinese.

This shocked him very much!
It is obviously unimaginable that a person who has been in the shipping business for less than two years has grown to the size of Xu Aizhou's fleet.It can also be inferred that if this trend continues, it is very possible that global shipping will surpass Wheelock Shipping.

Is he going to lose?
Old Madden was certainly not reconciled.

Once Lin Zhichao stood in front of him, he looked at Lin Zhichao with the eyes of a beggar, how could he admit that the beggar would surpass him or be equal to him now!
Through a general understanding, Old Madden knew that Lin Zhichao had a background in HSBC Bank, that is, Sandas, the deputy manager of import and export, and had already obtained a loan from HSBC Bank.

For a while, Old Madden just wanted to ask 'Why? '

So he invited the senior executive of HSBC Bank, John Pao, who he knew, to learn more about the matter before making plans.

"Vice Chairman John Pao, Deputy Manager of Sanders at HSBC, can you decide on the loan?" Old Madden asked.

John Bao looked at Old Madden, and said formally: "He is the deputy manager of import and export, and is mainly responsible for bill transfer and other businesses. As for loan matters, it is the project department's business. Of course, things may not be absolute."

Although he knew that Sanders was the manager of the inland project department, he would not disclose the news to outsiders, as this was an internal secret.What's more, he and old Madden are just casual acquaintances, why tell him these things, so as to curry favor with Sandas in advance?
Old Madden immediately said: "So, the deputy manager of Sanders can't decide to give loans to the shipping industry?"

John Bao looked at Old Madden questioningly, and said in his heart that you are not mistaken!

"Mr. Madden, there are too many mistakes in your sentence. First, Sundas is an importer and exporter, and is not responsible for loans; second, HSBC will not lend to the shipping industry. This is the black book of the industry."

Old Madden smiled, and then said: "I actually know this too. It's just that I heard that HSBC Bank loaned a large amount to Global Shipping. This is a Chinese shipping company. That's why I asked you to consult. If possible, We also hope to get a loan from HSBC.”

John Pao froze immediately, and then said: "This is unlikely! I need to find out, but HSBC will not give your shipping company a loan, at least I will not agree."

Old Madden said with a smile: "That's strange, why the Chinese can get it, but I can't. Is HSBC a bank opened by the Chinese?"

John Bao said unhappily: "Mr. Madden, our bank only looks at risks and nothing else. As for what you said, I will talk about it later after I understand it!"

Old Ma Deng immediately ignored it, and chatted with John Bao about other things. He knew that no matter what the outcome of the matter was, he could at least know whether Lin Zhichao had the support of HSBC through John Bao.If HSBC checks the accounts, it can even question the loan. At that time, not only the global shipping will be in trouble, but even Lin Zhichao's backer, Sandas, will be in trouble.

It's not once or twice that he and Lin Zhichao have confronted each other, this time he must win!
At the high-level meeting of HSBC Bank, John Pao took the opportunity to ask: "Manager Charlie, does your project department have a shipping loan of US$[-], and the borrower is Chinese?"

For a while, many HSBC executives looked at Charlie, the project manager, in surprise, meaning to explain.

Charlie was a little guilty about the loan, and he would not have agreed to it if Sanders hadn't guaranteed it.

So, he quickly carried out Sanders.

"That's right! The boss of Global Shipping is a Chinese named Lin Zhichao. I believe everyone has heard that he is the boss of Cheung Kong Properties and CK Assets. He is a young man with great potential. And his Global Shipping comes from HSBC. Before the loan, I already owned four [-]-ton freighters, and there was no debt.”

"Of course, this situation is not enough for me to decide to give him a loan. The real reason is: first, he leased the three ships to a Japanese shipping company for a five-year lease, and he can get 300 million US dollars for each of the first three years Theoretically, the profit can reach about 200 million U.S. dollars a year."

"Secondly, he has obtained a letter of credit from the Bank of Japan, which guarantees that the contract is guaranteed."

"Thirdly, this loan was discovered by Sanders, and it was also guaranteed and facilitated by him. Sanders gave Lin Zhichao enough praise when he first entered the shipping industry, saying that his business is stable."

After Charlie finished speaking, all the top executives looked at each other and discussed. Obviously, the loan from the shipping industry surprised them very much.

John Pao questioned again: "Shipping is called a 'black book' by banks because the sea is ruthless. No matter how stable you say it may be swallowed by the sea."

His remarks were supported by some, so everyone criticized Charlie for not granting this loan.

Charlie was instantly annoyed!

Fortunately, half of the top executives did not speak, they were thinking about the reliability of the loan.

In the end, it was Douglas, the chairman of HSBC, who said: "Go and see if the manager of Sanders is in the company, and ask him to come."

"Okay, Mr. Chairman."

After a while, Sandas walked into the meeting room, and then sat next to Saipan, the import and export manager, to attend the meeting.

Big Glass then said: "Manager Sanders, please tell me about the situation of global shipping, and why it is worth risking your future to guarantee and support it?"

Sandas nodded. He had appointed a project manager by default. In the eyes of senior management, this status still exists.

Afterwards, he confessed and analyzed the situation of global shipping one by one, and made no secret of his admiration for Lin Zhichao's management methods, and soon the meeting room of HSBC was silent.

"Today, Global Shipping has a load capacity of 12.8 tons, a total of 12 large ships of about 10 tons. They have 10 captains leased to two major Japanese shipping companies-Yamaguchi Steamship and Nippon Shipping. Only these 75 ships are The monthly rent is as high as about [-] US dollars. So there is no problem in repaying the loan, not to mention the letter of credit issued by the Bank of Japan, and the risk is shared by the Kobe Bank of Japan.”

In the conference room, everyone was impressed by the strength and steady development of Global Shipping, and there were few voices of opposition.

At this time, John Pao was the proposer, so he naturally had to deal with the aftermath.

So, he said: "Since it has become a fact, the accounting department should be sent to audit the finances of Global Shipping, determine its risk, and then discuss it in the company."

What he said was very procedural, and he couldn't give people the feeling of finding fault.

Douglas nodded, and said: "It should be so! To be honest, I am very interested in global shipping. If the risk is really low, then this global shipping is worth our support. After all, as far as I know, other shipowners are It is precisely because of this that there is no such long-term lease operation, and it is not trusted by the bank."

A senior executive said: "In any case, shipping is still a black book for banks, and we must treat it with caution in the future."

His point of view was immediately agreed by most of the top leaders, including Douglas and John Paul.

The next day, Lin Zhichao received the audit team of HSBC Bank and handed over all the account books to them.

If shipping wants to develop, it must have the support of banks. The previous ship charter king had the support of HSBC, Dong Haoyun had the support of the United States and Taiwan Island, and Zhao Congyan and Cao Wenjin also had the support of the Bank of Japan and shipyards.

Otherwise, if you want to use your own funds to develop shipping, it is undoubtedly a trivial matter.

The audit team was led by John Pao, vice chairman of HSBC. Lin Zhichao didn't know that there was John Pao in all of this.Fortunately, John Bao was just doing business, and he had no intention of making things difficult for Lin Zhichao.

What's more, the audit team has been stunned!
Even Bao Yuehan was shocked and said: "Mr. Lin, your profits in February and March have reached more than 70 US dollars?"

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "That's right! Although we signed a long-term contract, the price is very high because the market is very good."

In fact, Lin Zhichao discovered a problem. When the shipping price is high, the corresponding cost rate is also greatly reduced.Because the cost is mainly fuel, maintenance, ports, labor, etc., these are not too fluctuating.

A batch of cargo ships with a capacity of 3.6 tons has a monthly rent of about 25 US dollars, but the monthly expenditure is only 5 US dollars, so the gross profit is 20 US dollars.

Of course, this gross profit is not the final profit. If any major repairs or accidents occur midway, a part of it will be deducted.However, as long as the management is proper, Lin Zhichao thinks that the profit of 300 million to 200 million US dollars for a yearly rent of three or four ships (a group) of 240 million US dollars is still the same, that is, the return of capital in one year (second-hand ships).This is a few years when the market has been very good, and this rate of return is the only one.

Later, John Bao said: "Your debt is 470 million US dollars, plus one or two years of interest of 90 US dollars, which is almost 560 million US dollars. So theoretically speaking, you can pay it back in eight months. It is incredible Already!"

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "I don't know Chairman John Pao, what is his assessment of Global Shipping?"

John Bao responded with a smile: "This needs to be discussed by the senior management of HSBC, but I am very optimistic about it. Of course, it is only limited to your current loan situation."

He still has reservations and is cautious about shipping loans, so he is business-like.

Lin Zhichao nodded, as long as he has no opinion on himself.

The debt of 300 million US dollars loaned to him by HSBC is to be repaid in two years, with an annual interest of 12%, which is almost 70 US dollars in interest.The installment payment of 200 million US dollars is a one-year installment, and the interest is less than 20 US dollars.

In fact, the rent for September can be fully paid off.

Of course, this is just a theory. If the bank loan is due, why pay it back in advance!
Therefore, in the second half of the year, Lin Zhichao will be ready to consider expanding the fleet.

The audit team made a work report at the senior level of HSBC Bank, and Sanders also attended the high-level meeting.

Undoubtedly, the audit team's report is very beneficial to global shipping.

For a while, the top executives of HSBC began to ponder. This was different from the shipping industry they had imagined.

Douglas nodded, and then said to Sanders: "Manager Sanders, tell me, how were you persuaded by that young man?"

Sandas nodded, he knew that this was his capital, as long as he passed the test today.

"This young man has fully studied the psychology of bankers. He believes that our fear of shipping comes from risks. So he chooses long-term leases, so that we bankers can see stability. This alone is Other shipping companies have no advantages."

Everyone nodded, indeed.

Douglas said: "Everyone is looking at the high returns in front of them, so how can they make long-term plans. Little do they know that long-term profits can also be made, and the shipping window period can be smoothed out."

Then, Sandas said: "Secondly, I don't know how he convinced Japanese merchants and banks to issue the Kobe Bank letter of credit. But this letter of credit is undoubtedly very important, so I decided to convince Charlie for him. manager."

Everyone was also very curious, but seeing that Sandas didn't know, they had to give up.

The letter of credit was not issued casually. Bank of Kobe was obliged to guarantee the ability of Yamaguchi Steamship to pay the rent by issuing this letter of credit; once Yamaguchi Steamship went bankrupt, Kobe Bank would be required to pay the rent and liquidated damages. (PS: The collapse and crisis of Japanese shipping companies in later generations is the Japanese bank coming to Hong Kong to make financial commitments, avoiding the loss of Hong Kong shipowners, and restoring the reputation of Japanese shipping)
Douglas said: "I think he may have gained the trust of Japanese businessmen, and the Japanese saw that he was on a long-term lease and there was a shortage of ships, so they sold their face."

Everyone felt reasonable and thought it was like an advertisement.

In fact, everyone didn't know that Tatsuro Yamashita saw that Lin Zhichao didn't even ask for insurance premiums, and was moved by Lin Zhichao's sincerity.As for Kobe Bank, its manager agreed to open it only after Yamashita Tatsuro's persuasion and Lin Zhichao's guarantee.

In the end, Douglas said: "Okay! There is no problem with this loan, everyone can relax a bit, it is right to be serious, after all, the amount is not small."

Charlie, the project manager, breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to retire, and he didn't want to make mistakes.

As for the loan of 300 million US dollars, the manager of his project department can naturally make the decision.

On the weekend, Lin Zhichao invited Sanders to play golf together, and asked the senior management of HSBC Bank to evaluate the global shipping.

His goal is to complete the feat of 20 tons of deadweight in the second half of the year, and before this goal, Global Shipping still needs to purchase ships with a deadweight of 7 to 8 tons, and the required funds are about 500 million US dollars.

Fanling Golf Course.

After Lin Zhichao arrived, he happened to see Old Madden, John Paul, and Sanders standing and chatting together, and immediately went up to meet them.

"Mr. Madden, I didn't expect to meet you again!" Lin Zhichao said calmly.

At this time, he didn't know that the old Madden almost made Global Shipping the "abandoned object" of HSBC's top management.

As for the competition ahead, Lin Zhichao didn't take it seriously, let alone he was the winner.

Old Ma Deng saw Lin Zhichao coming and knew that Lin Zhichao had found a backer like Sandas, but he didn't understand why Sandas had the right to lend Lin Zhichao a loan?

"Mr. Lin, congratulations on getting a loan from HSBC Bank. This has made HSBC Bank break the black book of the industry!"

There was no change on the faces of Bao Yuehan and Sandas, and they looked like they were watching a good show.

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "Where is it? I don't have such a big face. Naturally, it has a good reputation as collateral. I believe that if the old Mr. Madden proposes it, maybe HSBC will also consider it."

Old Madden was dubious, and then he didn't have the heart to talk nonsense with Lin Zhichao, and went to golf with Bao Yuehan.

Sandas looked at the old Madden's back and said to Lin Zhichao: "Have you had any trouble with Madden?"

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "You are willing to listen to some small things, and I will explain them to you later!"

Sandas nodded, and then he and Lin Zhichao also walked into the clubhouse.It can be said that he has gained a lot of points in the senior management of HSBC Bank recently. Many senior management believe that he has discovered a very powerful businessman this time, and he has already made contributions before he took up the project department.

the other side.

John Bao and old Madden sat together, and old Madden immediately asked: "Chairman Bao John, if I want HSBC to buy a ship with a loan, will it really go through? Could it be that your HSBC has decided to invest in shipping?"

John Pao shook his head without hesitation, and said: "There is nothing, our HSBC Bank still insists on not granting shipping loans, even Mr. Madden. Unless, your collateral is not shipping assets."

Old Madden's expression changed immediately, and he asked again: "Then why did you give that Chinese a loan?"

John Pao could only say: "He is different. He leases the captain to a Japanese shipping company, and the charter period for a ship is at least three years; moreover, a Japanese bank issues a letter of credit for him; in addition, Sang Da The manager used his own future as a guarantee; for various reasons, HSBC loaned to Global Shipping."

Old Madden was stunned. He couldn't fulfill any of the three conditions.

The three-year contract period would have greatly reduced the profit; why would the Bank of Japan issue a letter of credit to him?

"How many ships are there in the global shipping?"

"A lot, that's all I can tell you! By the way, does Mr. Madden have any trouble with Mr. Lin?"

When Old Madden heard "a lot", he knew that there might be a lot of ships in global shipping. Could it be that there are [-] to [-] tons?

This is too fast!

"There is no big festival! It's just that this young man is very arrogant. He once said in front of me that he would surpass Wheelock's fleet within ten years. I just think it's a little funny!"

John Bao said seriously: "I'm afraid it won't take ten years! Maybe five years will be enough!"

"What? Chairman Bao John, are you kidding me?"

John Bao said with a smile: "Haha, maybe it's a joke! But long-term leasing with Japan really has many advantages, which will help reduce risks."

The old Madden didn't know what to say for a while. This John Pao admired the long-term contract so much. It is obvious that Lin Zhichao has gained the trust of HSBC by virtue of this.

Next, the old Madden tried many times, and John Bao only revealed some information; as for the old Madden who wanted a loan, John Bao flatly refused.

Obviously, HSBC is treating them differently.

Old Ma Deng knew that if Lin Zhichao got close to HSBC, he would surpass Wheelock, which was not empty talk.

John Bao finally said with a smile: "Actually, we don't really support global shipping. They are just normal loans. Their collateral is very stable, so we will lend money. Long-term lease is a stable part. Mr. Madden can learn from it. Learn from others."

Old Madden could only say: "Okay! Maybe, he is really good, I admit it!"

Although he admits that Lin Zhichao has won the trust of HSBC by virtue of the long-term lease, it does not mean that he will choose long-term lease.Now that one trip is so profitable, why rent it at a price of 75% for a long-term lease, not to mention that if it is rented to the mainland, the shipping price will be higher.

Before leaving, the two groups of people happened to meet again.

Old Ma Deng saw Lin Zhichao's expression has changed, because he received a positive signal that Lin Zhichao's fleet is already very large.

After greeting each other, everyone dispersed.

On the way, Lin Zhichao thought about the attitude of old Madden, knowing that he had used his strength to win the respect of others.

Madden doesn't necessarily know how many ships he owns, but he must have understood that he owns a lot of ships and is backed by HSBC.

In this way, there will be a lot less trouble in the future.

Of course, when it comes to business, what should compete is still competition.

(End of this chapter)