Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 895 The Beginning of Investing in Japanese Real Estate

Zheng Zhijie thought for a moment and said, "The best way is to find a way to convert it into commercial land. Otherwise, with the relocation of my group's industries, industrial land will no longer have the value it had before."

However, given the sheer size of the area, the Hong Kong government will certainly not agree. This isn't just a price issue; converting so much land into commercial use will inevitably have a severe impact on the market and affect the Hong Kong government's own bidding process.

"Yes, that's what I think too. It's not just in Hung Hom; existing factories in other towns will face this problem in the future," Yang Wendong nodded and said.
In fact, when he was building factories on a large scale in various towns and cities in Hong Kong, he knew that it would not be easy to convert these factories into commercial land in the future.
But no matter what, we used it first. And even if we only looked at the pure industrial needs at the time, it was necessary. Plus, it was something that would happen in the next ten or even several decades, so we didn't think too much about it.
But now, this problem is gradually emerging.

Cheng Chi-kit added, “The recent upward trend in Hong Kong property prices has been interrupted and is even gradually declining. If a real estate crisis like that of 73 or 67 were to occur, and the Hong Kong government’s fiscal revenue were to decline, we might have an opportunity.”

However, currently only the textile factories in Hung Hom are starting to vacate; other areas are unlikely to be able to undergo radical relocation. Therefore, even if a real estate crisis occurs, it would be considered good if the problems in Hung Hom could be resolved.

"Haha, the real estate crisis is here. The Hong Kong government can't possibly convert all our industrial land into commercial land all at once." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "It's enough to handle Hung Hom. We'll talk about other places later."

As long as the location remains, given enough time, with Hong Kong's rapid economic development and population growth, there will always be opportunities. At worst, it will take many years for things to gradually change.

The future Hong Kong real estate market will be extremely crowded, with a large population and limited land. Of course, this is also a result of human control.
Many of its own factories are located on large tracts of flat land, which will inevitably be developed in the future.

A one-off shift from industrial to commercial would have a huge impact on the market, but if it's done in stages over ten or twenty years, both the Hong Kong government and the market can accept it.

Furthermore, even if the Hong Kong government converts these lands from industrial to commercial use in one go, it is impossible to develop them all at once. They will need to develop them piece by piece. So, apart from the fact that the price of converting industrial land to commercial use in batches will be more expensive than that of converting it all at once because it is impossible to take advantage of the low price, there is no other impact.
However, compared to the enormous future value of the real estate, the cost of converting industrial properties to commercial ones is negligible.

Zheng Zhijie agreed, "Okay, then let's wait and see when the real estate crisis arrives. Our group is already prepared. We've already sold off most of our existing non-core properties. As for the rest, we're currently negotiating, and Hongkong Land is very interested."

"Haha, Jardine Matheson has solved a lot of problems for us. Many people in the Hong Kong real estate market should be grateful to them," Yang Wendong said happily.
If Changxing Real Estate were to sell off a large number of properties amid a sluggish real estate market, it would inevitably lead to increased investor pessimism and price declines.
However, Hongkong Land negotiated the purchase directly, which gave them a lot of convenience.

Zheng Zhijie continued, "Hong Kong Land has already purchased over HK$30 billion worth of properties from us. If this trend continues, in another six months, I will have over HK$70 billion in cash on hand. When we buy at the bottom, I can hardly imagine the future value."

“Actually, with so much capital, there aren’t many options left for bottom-fishing. After all, although the Hong Kong property market is huge, most of it isn’t traded.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “Our target is still Hongkong Land itself. Taking Hongkong Land during the property crisis is the real bottom-fishing.”

Today, Cheung Hing Properties Group is the largest property company in Hong Kong, having repeatedly taken advantage of property market fluctuations to accumulate a large number of high-quality properties and cash.

If this continues to be hoarded, then we'll really become like Yang Bancheng (a character from a Chinese novel known for his ruthlessness).

However, in terms of truly prime locations in Hong Kong, Cheung Hing Properties is not as good as Hongkong Land. After all, Hongkong Land is a century-old company that started by cultivating the Central district. However, the area in Central is limited, and without transactions, no matter how rich Yang Wendong is, he cannot buy much.
Therefore, only by acquiring Zhidi can Changxing Real Estate Group achieve an upgrade.
“This will be a tough battle. We can’t do anything unless the cross-control agreement with Yizhi is lifted,” Zheng Zhijie said, frowning.

Yang Wendong said, "Then we can only increase their debt. When will the land for the trading building be auctioned off?"

The Hong Kong government has already decided that the old fire station next to the Connaught Building will be called the Exchange Building after any auction, because the future Hong Kong Stock Exchange will be located there.

Zheng Zhijie said, "It will be in August this year, which is about two and a half months from now."

"Jiudi must be determined to win, right?" Yang Wendong asked again;
“Yes, they are determined to win, but…” Zheng Zhijie hesitated for a moment, then said, “There is something I was originally going to report to you, Mr. Yang.”
Hongkong Land knew about the Transaction Center site, and we were their only competitor. So, they hinted to me that if Cheung Hing Properties withdrew from the bidding or ultimately gave up, they would give me a huge private benefit.

I've also hinted that I'll consider this. I won't make the money from it, but I think we can take advantage of this opportunity.

"Haha, such a good thing exists," Yang Wendong said. "So, how do you plan to do it?"

This is normal. After all, Zheng Zhijie is an employee, so theoretically he can be bribed, unlike company bosses like Li Ka-shing, who would never be interested in so-called "benefits".
In the business world, this kind of corruption is all too common.

But for Hongkong Land to try to bribe Adrian Cheng is a bit too presumptuous. Cheng and others follow him not only to receive salaries, but also to invest in real estate according to the company's strategies. Over the past ten years, after several economic crises, each of them has easily amassed a fortune of hundreds of millions. The reason they still work for him is probably because they have come to love this supreme power.

If you only consider them as ordinary managers with an annual salary of one million, then you are underestimating them. If you were to actually pay them hundreds of millions, I estimate that even Landsea would be reluctant to do so.

Zheng Zhijie said, "We agreed to let them give up in the end, and during the auction, we drove up the bidding price so that Hongkong Land could get it at a high price."

“You’ve already accepted bribes, they might not agree, right?” Yang Wendong retorted.

Zheng Zhijie said, "That's simple. Just say you set a bottom price, and they can't do anything about it." "Okay, that's settled then," Yang Wendong nodded in agreement.

Zheng Zhijie added, "Jungland has agreed to give me 800 million. I will accept the funds and then transfer them to the company's account. What do you say?"

“No need. This extra income has no official name, and it’s difficult for the finance department to handle.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “Just donate it to the Changxing Charity Foundation. They’ve been building primary schools in the mainland recently. Although I’ve already allocated a considerable amount, more is always welcome. And the charity foundation’s money doesn’t need to be questioned about its origin.”

The mainland is so vast that it needs far too many primary schools. Even with Yang Wendong's wealth, it would be difficult to meet the demand. He can only do his best and do as much as he can.
“Okay,” Zheng Zhijie agreed.

Yang Wendong added, “You have too much cash on hand. How about this, continue investing in Shenhai, Zhuhai, and the Xiamen Special Economic Zone to build office buildings, hotels, business facilities, etc. If you still can’t use it all, you can buy office buildings in Japan. I’m optimistic about the future real estate market in Japan.”

Given his current net worth, it wouldn't be very cost-effective for him to continue hoarding land in Hong Kong on a large scale, and it would easily attract the blame for future soaring Hong Kong property prices. Looking at the return on investment in the real estate sector alone, many cities in mainland China are much better than Hong Kong.
For example, the land price in Shenzhen is currently lower than that in the northernmost part of the New Territories, and its future value is only slightly lower than that of Hong Kong.
As for Japan, after 85, both real estate and foreign exchange took off. Although it is only 81 now, it has already begun to make preparations in advance. After all, by 85, a large amount of international capital had entered the country. Entering the country now is not too late, but it is definitely not as easy as it is now.

“Japan? Okay, then I’ll go check out Ginza in Tokyo. We could buy a few office buildings there; that would be great, it’s like Central in Hong Kong,” Zheng Zhijie said with a smile.

Yang Wendong said, "Okay, we can also consider cities like Osaka. Actually, it's not just your funds; I'm also preparing to put my overseas foreign exchange into the Japanese market."

Our real estate business in Hong Kong has reached its limit, and it's still a bit early in the mainland market. Japan represents the next huge opportunity.

The huge profits from the gold market have actually begun to be introduced into the Japanese market in recent years, because only the Japanese real estate market can accommodate so much capital.

As for his overseas investments, such as investing in Disney, General Electric, Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, etc., in fact, he only contributes a small portion, while the banks contribute the majority. Utilizing financing is the best way to make investments.
Of course, the same principle applies to investing in Japan.
Whether it's the stocks of these top companies or the Japanese real estate market, they are all high-quality financial assets that are very easy to use as collateral.
This is the only way to maximize profits;

As for risks, there are basically none. Even if those banks don't know the future, their core businesses generate huge profits every year, which is enough to offset their concerns.

Zheng Zhijie smiled and said, "Okay, I understand."

Clearly, the group is preparing to focus its investment on the Japanese market.

Yang Wendong said, "Then let's do it this way. You and Hang Seng Bank should keep an eye on things. If any of our former employees experience financial difficulties after leaving the company, we should provide appropriate assistance, especially for those who are ill or have family members with serious illnesses. Our group should be more humane."

His assets are already inexhaustible. Although he would not actively help strangers, he would still be willing to help his employees in extreme difficulties in today's context.
Although Hong Kong's economy will generally get better and better, even without manufacturing, locals will have an easy life except for buying a house;

However, every change comes with a group that is considered to pay the "price," which is an inevitable consequence of social development.
"Okay." Zheng Zhijie understood what his boss meant.
June arrived quickly, and on a whim, Yang Wendong came to Shenhai City.
The relevant leaders of Shenhai City naturally dared not neglect the matter and enthusiastically offered a loan;
Immediately, Yang Wendong arrived at a large open space in the southeast of Shenhai City. At this moment, there were a large number of people and a lot of machinery on the open space. At a glance, there were at least several thousand people.
A bureau chief surnamed Chen explained: "Mr. Yang, we have mobilized several engineering teams from the Ministry of Railways to be responsible for the construction project of the Deep-Sea Science and Technology University. The demolition is now complete, and the foundation work is about to be completed."

Once the foundation is completed, all school buildings will be constructed simultaneously; you can rest assured about the speed of construction.

"When is it expected to be completed?" Yang Wendong asked.

Director Chen replied, "It is expected that most of them will be completed by May next year. Only a few more complex laboratory buildings and sports halls will be completed later. The other buildings are relatively simple in structure."

"In that case, enrollment can begin next September?" Yang Wendong asked again.
This was also part of his plan, and starting a year earlier was crucial, given the rapid development of the electronics industry today, where Moore's Law allows growth to double in just a year and a half.

Director Chen said, "Yes, the teaching building and dormitory building can definitely be completed at that time. However, the laboratory building may still need some repairs. Also, the equipment may not be complete. But the initial teaching will mainly focus on regular classes and learning theory. When students need to get hands-on experience later, our equipment will be ready."

"That's good." Yang Wendong nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "With this kind of fast-paced schedule, will there be any quality issues?"

Director Chen quickly said, "Don't worry, Mr. Yang. The Ministry of Railways' engineering team has been doing this for decades. They built many of the high-rise buildings in Shenzhen."

Although your school is very large, the individual buildings are not very tall, and we built them to top-tier standards, so there will absolutely be no problems.

“Okay, then I’m relieved,” Yang Wendong said.
In the past, Shenhai City had never experienced any major quality problems. Even when a sinkhole appeared under Shi Yuzhu's Giant Building, it was filled with huge sums of money and safety was ensured afterwards.
The university has simple accommodations, and I will have a third party inspect them later, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

If the plan is followed, the school will be able to provide itself with enough high-quality graduates by around 85.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)