Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 593 Stock Exchanges and Real Estate

Xiao Wei took out a lighter and burned Xiao Liu's hair.

Xiao Liu broke down in laughter, running away and saying, "It's true, it's true! This was really the first thing to be done in Fengtian, back in 85. But back then, they were all corporate bonds, not stocks. Later, some factories wanted to issue securities in the form of stocks, and that's how the Shanghai Stock Exchange came about. Those factories were among the old eight listed companies."

The securities trading center he mentioned actually has nothing to do with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The Fengtian Securities Exchange was closed in 93. The initiating board member of the Shanghai Stock Exchange mentioned by Xiao Liu was Northern Securities, which was the Northern Bills Company established by the Fengtian branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in 87. The Fengtian Securities Exchange was established by Fengtian Trust Company under the entrustment of the Fengtian Municipal Government.

The reason why this earliest securities trading market in China was excluded from later stock exchanges and was even closed was simply because it did not originate from the financial system. The Northern Bills Company, which was born out of the financial system, grew and developed because of its prosperity. It not only became the largest securities trading center in Northeast China, but also a founder and director unit of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Later, the company also moved to Shanghai and changed its name to Northern Securities.

In fact, the Fengtian Securities Exchange was China's first professional enterprise with securities trading as its main business. It started in 1983 and was officially established in 1985. By 1987, 21 companies in five major categories were issuing bonds or stocks there, including the original eight stocks of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In 1987, the annual trading volume was close to 20 million yuan. The second one in China was the Northern Bills Company.

The third was the Shanghai Jing'an Securities Trading Department, which was also the fourth in China and the first recognized by the financial system. It was the predecessor of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and was a business institution opened in Shanghai by the Northern Bills Company.

From modern history to the beginning of the reform and opening up, Fengtian was a special and developed city, which was later replaced due to policy reasons.

……

Xiao Hong asked, "What kind of stocks can really make money?"

Xiao Liu said, "I don't know now, but anyway, everyone who bought bonds back then made money. My family bought some, but actually not many private individuals bought them back then. Most families didn't dare to. Like government bonds, most of them were bought by work units. My dad's work unit forced him to buy them, and he made money."

Xiaowei looked at Xiaohong and said, "Focus your energy on your studies. You don't need to worry about making money."

Xiao Hong pouted, looking aggrieved, and said, "Oh."

Xiao Wei said, "That stuff is like the lottery, it's all about luck. How can you be 100% guaranteed to make money? Would that even be our chance? Besides, do you have the time to watch it every day? If you really want to invest, you might as well buy some houses. At least you'll have a house in your hands, you can't lose money no matter what."

Xiao Hong blinked and thought for a moment before saying, "Okay, I'll do as you say, let's buy a house. How about I buy one in Shanghai or Beijing? That way we won't have to stay in hotels when we go out anymore, they're so expensive."

Xiao Wei smiled and said, "Okay, you decide."

Xiao Hong swung her fists and punched Xiao Wei repeatedly: "Why didn't you say so sooner? Why didn't you say so sooner? We've already been to Beijing, and we're leaving Shanghai tomorrow too. Where am I supposed to buy anything? Where am I supposed to buy anything?"

Xiao Wei chuckled, shrinking his neck, and said, "It's just a two-hour flight, what's the big deal?"

Back in 91, there weren't many restrictions on buying houses at the national and regional levels. The commercial housing policy had just been implemented, and there were no standardized laws and regulations or local regulations. As long as you had money, you could buy a house. In cities like Beijing and Shanghai, you could not only buy a house but also directly obtain residency. However, by the mid-90s, restrictions began to appear, and it became increasingly difficult as time went on.

In 1991, the average housing price in Beijing's main urban area was 1,600 yuan, and in Shanghai's central urban area it was 6,300 yuan. By 1993, influenced by Hainan Island, it had dropped to around 3,000 yuan, making it the most expensive place in the country at the time. The housing prices mentioned here refer to high-end new residential buildings at that time, excluding older houses and courtyard houses.

Xiao Hong shook Xiao Wei and said, "I don't care, I came to buy as soon as I got back from Guangzhou. How much money have I spent in just a few days? It's almost enough to buy a house."

Xiao Wei said, "Buy it, buy it! If you say buy it, then buy it!"

Xiao Liu said, "Xiao Hong, with your size and build, it feels like you're bullying Xiao Wei a bit too much." Ga Zi couldn't help but laugh out loud, and Xiao Hong laughed too, spitting at Xiao Liu.

Xiao Wei raised his arm, showing off his muscles, and said with a smile, "What can I do if it just won't grow?"

Xiao Liu said, "Houses in Shanghai are expensive. I saw in the newspaper yesterday that some garden villas cost six or seven thousand yuan per square meter."

Xiao Hong exclaimed, "Oh my god! That's so expensive! A hundred square meters would cost six or seven hundred thousand! My goodness, I can't afford it! I asked around in Beijing and it wasn't that expensive!"

Xiao Wei asked, "When did you start inquiring about housing prices in Beijing? I didn't know that."

Xiao Hong said, "I just asked casually before going shopping. The apartment is 2,100 yuan, and the big courtyard houses are only 7,000 or 8,000 yuan. I'd rather buy a courtyard house in Beijing for 6,000 or 7,000 yuan here. It would be so much more comfortable to live in Beijing."

Xiao Wei said, "They're all about the same. Houses will definitely become more and more valuable in the future, so you can't lose money no matter which one you buy."

Xiao Liu asked Xiao Hong, "Where do you get so much money?"

Xiao Hong pointed at Xiao Wei and said, "He earned this money before he started the company, but now he doesn't care about it anymore and is giving it to me as his secret stash."

Xiao Liu shook his head and sighed, "It's like some are dying of thirst while others are drowning in floods. Forget it, I can't even survive compared to you guys." There was a knock on the door, and Ga Zi ran over to open it. It was a waiter delivering plane tickets, with a 40% markup.

Xiao Wei paid the money, put away his work ID and letter of introduction, and handed the plane ticket to Xiao Hong, who was pouting. Although there were fewer people flying at the moment, there were also fewer flights, so tickets were hard to buy. You had to queue at the airline's designated sales points, and even then, you weren't guaranteed a ticket for a specific day. Hotels, while more expensive, guaranteed you could always get a flight you wanted.

Xiao Liu was looking at the map and said, "Who would have thought that what was once a barren wasteland, considered the worst place by people, would become the most prosperous area in Shanghai today? You know, the Bund area and the Huangpu District area were historically so that even if locals offered money, they wouldn't come here. The British and French occupied it with almost no cost."

Even though we won the Sino-French War, we didn't reclaim it. The magistrate of Shanghai County reported that there wasn't a single acre of land, not even half an acre, just a barren hillside and mudflats. The barbarians, unaware of their own worth, rented it out. I now seriously suspect that the magistrate at the time engaged in real estate development himself; back then, this area was actually quite valuable.

Xiao Hong asked, "Did the Qing Dynasty ever win a war against foreign countries?"

Xiao Liu said, "I won more than once, but even when I won, I still lost money to the other party, so in reality, I still lost. That spendthrift old woman! At that time, the Bund area was full of British and French people, and they all started to run away, causing house and land prices to plummet."

At that time, there was a Jewish man named Hardoon who worked as a doorman for the French. He married a courtesan, who was quite intelligent. When he wanted to run away, she said, "Let's not run. The imperial court can't take back this place; the foreigners will have to come back." Hardoon listened to her, and the two of them sold everything they owned to buy land and houses. They acquired 40% of the land on Nanjing Road, and as a result, they became incredibly wealthy.

(End of this chapter)