Chapter 279 Cooperation with the Hong Kong Government
Yang Wendong smiled and replied: "Mr. Governor, don't worry, everything at the Hong Kong Museum is normal. At present, the tripartite team has roughly decided to choose a suitable one near the Admiralty. Address.”
During this period, a tripartite team from the Mainland, the United Kingdom and the Changxing Group inspected various places in Hong Kong to find a suitable museum location.
Although it is not a big undertaking, Yang Wendong is also paying close attention to it and often gets news of progress in this area.
Originally, the mainland team wanted to build the museum on the Kowloon Peninsula, mainly considering the convenience of transportation. Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula need to change ships, which brings a lot of trouble to the transportation of some antiques.
Later, Yang Wendong directly vetoed this proposal. He knew that once the Hung Hom Tunnel was opened, this problem would not be a problem, and even if there were no tunnels or bridges, shipping in the middle would only be a troublesome point.
Finally recently, the team decided to build a museum near Admiralty, but the specific address has not yet been confirmed.
"Haha, okay, the location of Admiralty is very good and the population is large." Bai Liji said with a smile: "Please confirm the location as soon as possible. I will promote the subsequent land transactions to be completed as soon as possible."< br>
Even though he wanted to build this museum during his term of office, he also knew that this kind of project would definitely require time to investigate in advance.
"Okay, I also hope to build this museum as soon as possible." Yang Wendong nodded in agreement.
At this time, various coincidences have come together. Otherwise, if you want to build a public project museum, even if you propose it yourself, even if the Hong Kong government agrees, there will not be enough cultural relics.
Once completed, with the scale of a city in Hong Kong, it is unlikely that there will be a second museum.
"Okay." Bai Liji nodded.
Yang Wendong said: "Mr. Governor of Hong Kong, I am here to discuss with you the issues of water transportation from the mainland and the drought in Hong Kong."
"Well, this will indeed be a problem. Big problem." Bai Liji also became worried and said: "I never thought the drought would become so serious."
In the last one or two years of his term, everyone wanted to live a normal and stable life, but they did not expect that such a drought would occur in Hong Kong.
In comparison, he even hopes that what will happen is an economic crisis, because the emergence of an economic crisis is normal in itself, and the Hong Kong government does not need to intervene too much. It can just wait for the market to return to normal, as long as it does not happen like last year. Just a bank run.
But the drought involves the survival of a large number of ordinary people, and the Hong Kong government cannot ignore it. If this happens, not only will the position under the British Hong Kong be lost, but problems may also arise in other parts of the Commonwealth.
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Yes, so I am going to invest more money again to buy more second-hand freighters overseas so that they can be used to transport water to the mainland."
" Thank you Yang Sheng for your kindness. On behalf of myself, the Hong Kong government and the three million citizens of Hong Kong, I would like to thank Yang Sheng." Bai Liji said very sincerely.
If we can get the full help of a shipping king, it will be much easier to alleviate the drought. At least, with enough ships, hundreds of thousands of tons of water can be transported to Hong Kong in a month. Not to mention the industry, at least the survival of ordinary people The problem will be alleviated a lot.
Yang Wendong said with a smile: "This is what I should do. I made my fortune relying on the people of Hong Kong. Now that Hong Kong is encountering such difficulties, I should naturally help."
" Well, okay. Personally, I admire Yang Sheng's approach very much." Bai Liji paused and said, "In this way, I can give you a promise. If the drought eases in the future, you will suffer a loss if you buy too many boats. Then I will ask the tax department to provide appropriate tax reductions for your shipping company.
This policy will be released when I am in office. The reason will be because it helps solve the drought. I think, no matter. Whoever the next governor is will probably not overturn this policy. "
The Hong Kong government also needs to win over local Chinese, especially those who can help themselves or society, so it is normal for them to give certain preferential treatment.
"Thank you, Mr. Hong Kong Governor." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
The Hong Kong government’s low tax does not mean there is no tax. It would be good if it could be lower;
Blicki added: “Perhaps the Hong Kong government can also compensate you in other aspects, such as real estate. , this is much simpler. When this matter is over, we will negotiate in detail.”
The drought is not over yet, and it is still unknown how much help Yang Wendong can provide;
This matter can only be discussed after the matter is over.
"No problem." Yang Wendong nodded and added: "But this is also a matter for the future. Now we need to purchase a large number of second-hand freighters, which also requires a lot of funds;
Mr. Hong Kong Governor may not know this. Second-hand freighters are generally not favored by banks, so I may need to use a large amount of funds directly, which will put a lot of economic pressure."
"You want HSBC or Standard Chartered. Give you a loan for this?" Bai Liji is naturally a smart man and knew Yang Wendong's intention as soon as he heard it.
But this is normal. In normal cooperation between businessmen and the Hong Kong government, especially for public projects, the Hong Kong government will come forward to ask big banks to provide support.
Now that Yang Wendong is buying a boat, the apparent reason is to help solve the water shortage problem, which is also considered a "public project."
"Yes, with their help, it will be much easier. I can double the size of the freighter in a short period of time." Yang Wendong said again.
Although he can use his own mortgage to obtain support from HSBC or Standard Chartered, this will consume his credit limit, and if it is used too much, HSBC may not dare to continue to accept mortgages on second-hand freighters.
But with the Hong Kong government's request, HSBC has to give face. After all, HSBC can become a "quasi central bank" and make huge profits in Hong Kong because of the support of the Hong Kong government. This is a little bit of face. Still have to give.
More importantly, the interest rate will definitely be much lower. You must know that one of the main reasons why HSBC was able to agree to lend money was the high interest rate.
Boliji nodded and said: "Okay, I will discuss it with HSBC and Standard Chartered. There should be no problem.
However, through the loan provided by the Hong Kong government this time, the boats you purchase here will be used to transport water, and the cost will be the same as now. ”
“No problem. Yang Wendong readily agreed.
Getting preferential loans from others must come at a price. Anyway, the short-term purpose of buying a boat is to transport water, but now there is just an additional agreement restriction.
As for making real money, when the Dongjiang water is introduced to Hong Kong in 65 years, all these ships will be free, and it will not be too late to operate normally by then.
"Well, OK. "Bai Liji added: "It would be great if the Chinese rich in Hong Kong were like Yang Sheng, thinking about people's livelihood.
You don't know, the demand for water transportation has increased significantly in recent times, and many fleets have taken the opportunity to increase prices, or they say they don't have ships. I have no choice but to agree to them when there is a real shortage. "
"This is normal, they are also talking about business. "Yang Wendong said. This kind of thing is not easy to evaluate. After all, people have no obligation to help.
Especially because many Hong Kong shipowners are still British-owned, let alone ordinary people in Hong Kong. Seriously, this is normal. If this kind of problem occurs in other countries, Yang Wendong will definitely discuss business.
As for the Chinese shipowners in Hong Kong, they may not be able to help even if they want to. Most of them rent out their boats, and they have no autonomy before the lease period is over.
"Yeah, it's just that I think that at this time, we shouldn't just think about business." Bai Liji shook his head and said.
"Yes, I agree too." Yang Wendong added: "Mr. Governor of Hong Kong, I will do my best to help the Hong Kong government with water transportation, but there are also some things on my side that need your help."
"What's the matter?" Bai Liji asked.
“That’s right, I established a charitable foundation.” Yang Wendong explained: “The first thing my foundation does is to help the poorest citizens in Hong Kong obtain basic survival supplies, including basic
The poorest people in Hong Kong, apart from some refugees, are the squatters in Hong Kong.”
There are also refugees in Hong Kong at this time, but these people are scattered. Not to mention Yang Wendong, even the Hong Kong government cannot figure out their situation and it is difficult to help them.
The squatters were actually early refugees, but after living in Hong Kong for many years, they had their own "houses" and then settled down, which was relatively better.
"Yang Sheng's idea is very good." Bai Liji nodded and said: "Then I don't know what I can do?"
Yang Wendong said: "I need a water plant, build pipelines, and connect Go to each squatter house, you don’t need to enter the house, just stay nearby;
My people will then maintain order there and distribute water to the people nearby to ensure their basic survival needs.”
Transporting water by truck to sell it is a very stupid method in itself. This method is the most effective in the short term, but it cannot last long because the economic investment is too high and cannot keep up with demand.
One is that there are not so many idle trucks in Hong Kong, and the other is that transportation back and forth takes too much time and gasoline. These prices are much more expensive than the water itself;
The third is that once the water source changes, If there is less, the number of people coming to collect water will increase exponentially, and the efficiency of trucks transporting water is just the tip of the iceberg.
The only way is to use pipeline transportation, which is more than a hundred times more efficient than land transportation.
"Building large pipelines requires a lot of money." Bai Liji was a little embarrassed: "And there is not a lot of water at the water plant."
"Water is not a problem. I will buy water from the mainland. I will buy one of the boats myself. It is enough to use here." Yang Wendong added: "As for the funds, I can provide them, but there are technical problems. It still needs water plants to solve it.”
A very real problem is that serious uneven distribution will occur in any society.
Even during the drought of 1963, was there really not enough water? Not entirely.
Most of the water that the Hong Kong government spends to buy from the mainland is given to the prosperous areas of Hong Kong Island or Kowloon for the purpose of economic return. The result is that wealthy people in these places pay high prices to buy water. Bathing, but people in poor areas have difficulty even drinking water
The global food problem is actually similar to it.
Now that I am responsible for transporting water, I naturally have to favor this group. In fact, they only need water for drinking, cooking, and a small amount of water for washing. The consumption of dozens of people may not be as much as that of a Hong Kong Islander.
Bai Liji asked: "As for water, you can make the decision yourself. Then who does this pipeline belong to?"
"Of course it belongs to me. I can't give away my investment to others in vain." People," Yang Wendong replied: "But the tap water business is exclusively run by the Hong Kong government, and I will not participate. After this matter is over,
if the water company needs it, I can sell it to it at a certain price. Water company, how about it?”
Blicki said with a smile: “What if they don’t need it?”
Yang Wendong smiled and said: "It's unlikely. Water will be connected to the squatters in the future. Isn't it just right?"
In the 1960s, industry developed greatly, and when the economy improved, it could also drive squatters. In the future, Water will gradually be provided, and many people will even move out.
Biliji nodded and said: "Okay, I can agree to this. When the drought is over, I will also ask the water company to take over your old pipes as much as possible."
"Maybe I will You can send a piece of pipeline to the museum, which can be regarded as a historical memory of Hong Kong." Yang Wendong suddenly thought of this idea.
It seems pretty good. After all, in the previous life, how many young people in Hong Kong knew about the drought in 1963?
During this drought, he has also ordered Oriental Daily to focus on collecting news and taking photos. In addition to publishing news, these materials can also be retained as historical records into the future.
Blicki nodded and said: "This is indeed a very good idea."
Yang Wendong added: "The name of Mr. Hong Kong Governor will also be recorded in this historical event. Among them."
"Haha, thank you Yang Sheng." Bai Liji was naturally very moved.
Drought is a natural disaster and is not the responsibility of any official. If we achieve high results in fighting against natural disasters, it is also a merit.
In the past, I could only leave a name in the museum because I happened to be in this term;
But if I can leave a name in a drought, it would be a real achievement. When children review the history of Hong Kong in the museum, they will also talk about the drought and his name.
“You’re welcome, this is also something that the museum should record.” Yang Wendong said with a smile.
He and the British in Hong Kong are not mortal enemies. Even in the mainland 20 years later, normal negotiation methods are used. Although the relationship has good and bad aspects, most of them are normal.
As a businessman, he naturally needs to handle relationships well.
For a Hong Kong governor, the best way is to win over him based on his "name", and this is also legal in itself.
Boliji then said: "In this case, I will hold an internal meeting to discuss it. If there is no problem, I will reply to you."
"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded.
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(End of this chapter)