Chapter 456 Overseas Cooperation with Huo Yingdong
The next day, the Presidential Suite of Four Seasons Hotel:
"Huo Sheng." Yang Wendong greeted with a smile.
"Haha, Yang Sheng." Huo Yingdong said in a hearty voice: "Yang Sheng, your investment in Singapore is a big bomb. The Hong Kong real estate market has dropped by several percentage points because of this incident. "
Yang Wendong said: "My matter is just a catalyst. The problem of the Hong Kong real estate market itself is the most important. If it was this time last year, I would not invest in Singapore. There is no impact.”
"That's true." Huo Yingdong nodded. After they both sat down, he asked again: "Yang Sheng, why did you ask me out this time?"
"That's it. The Hong Kong government recently sent people to find Changxing Real Estate Company." Yang Wendong told the story while drinking tea.
"So that's it, Yang Sheng, you are so polite. This is a deal between you and the Hong Kong government. There is no need to tell me." Huo Yingdong smiled and shook his head.
Yang Wendong said: "That's true, but you originally got it through bidding, and now I've got it. Even if I didn't take it directly from you, I still have to tell you. I don't want anything to happen. Misunderstanding.”
"Haha, okay, I have no problem." Huo Yingdong sighed and said: "Since the land has been taken back and the Hong Kong government is short of money, it will definitely be given to others. Even if you don't want it, other people in Hong Kong may Wanted.”
Yang Wendong said: "Yes, but the Hong Kong government also asked several other companies, but none of them wanted it, so I was a little interested."
"Yang Sheng, seeing how you have invested in Singapore on such a large scale, now Why are you buying land in Hong Kong again? "Huo Yingdong asked again: "Or does Yang Sheng also think that the decline in Hong Kong real estate is coming to an end?"
Yang Wendong asked with a smile: "Huo Sheng has it. There are also many needs Properties to be cashed out? "
Huo Yingdong shook his head and said: "That's not true. I do have some properties in my hands, but I am not in a hurry to cash them out. Hong Kong's real estate market will recover sooner or later. I have experienced two This is the first time this has happened;
But if Hong Kong’s real estate does not recover, both the purchase of materials needed for real estate and the consumption of people in society will be very poor.”
"Is Huo Sheng worried about the export from the mainland?" Yang Wendong finally understood.
In this era, except for minerals, it is difficult for the mainland to export anything else. Although Hong Kong is only a city, it carries a large number of tasks of earning foreign exchange.
When Hong Kong’s economy was strong before, the demand for real estate and construction alone was huge. All basic materials for houses basically came from the mainland, and almost half of daily necessities, food, etc. also came from the mainland. Imported from the mainland.
Once the economy declines and no one buys or builds houses, then the exports in this area will plummet, and the basic necessities of life will also drop.
Huo Yingdong nodded and said: "Yes, the domestic economy is not very good. Many things need to be imported, which requires foreign exchange. Once there is a lack of foreign exchange, the consequences will be serious."
"I also purchase a lot of things from the mainland, but the total amount is not very large." Yang Wendong also said.
Although Changxing Group is very large and a small order is a huge sum of money for an ordinary company, it is not enough for a country with a population of 7 to 8 billion.
But there is no other way. Even if Yang Wendong wants to purchase many things from the mainland, the mainland may not have them. In this era, the mainland industry is very poor, and many things cannot meet the market demand.
Huo Yingdong said again: "As long as everyone can cooperate appropriately within their own scope, there is no need to think too big. In fact, even if we can really help, it will not be of much use to a country as big as the United States. Big."
"Yes." Yang Wendong agreed.
Before the Internet, the rise of traditional enterprises and wealthy people was very slow, because everything had to be done step by step. Even with bank funding or investor participation, they would only see the current progress, so support was limited. Only Internet companies are betting on the future, so investors dare to make big bets. In addition, the expansion of Internet users is also exponential, so they can obtain tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of valuations in a few years. This is impossible for traditional companies. appeared.
In other words, Yang Wendong is a time traveler. He has mastered many popular products in the past life, and also knows some things in the future, so he dares to increase financial leverage investment. This has created a large group with an output value of hundreds of millions in 7 years. , comparable to Jardine Swire.
But this wealth is just a drop in the bucket for the mainland with a population of hundreds of millions, and even if we want to expand cooperation, it will not work, because the country is still an agricultural country and is still too weak in industrial production.
Huo Yingdong continued: "If Hong Kong's real estate market can recover and the economy recovers a little bit, it will be of great help to the mainland, but I am not sure when Hong Kong's real estate market will recover;< br>
Yang Sheng, you are also very good at economics, so I just want to ask your opinion. ”
For many wealthy people in Hong Kong, Yang Wendong's rise seems to have relied on industry, which is true. However, he has been able to grow to this point and has a very strong vision, seizing almost every special opportunity and industry. , and they were also bold and invested very radically, but they succeeded in the end.
After thinking for a while, Yang Wendong said: "Generally speaking, the real estate crisis lasts for one or two years. When housing prices fall by about half, and the market can gradually bear it, that's about it;
And also It depends on the development of other fields, such as industry, tourism, trade, finance, etc. This is a very comprehensive issue that cannot be predicted.”
Few people dare to say that they can predict the crisis or say so. When it comes to predicting when recovery will begin, economic problems cannot be calculated even by supercalculation in previous lives.
"House prices have dropped by almost half now, and perhaps the economy is about to recover." Huo Yingdong continued.
"Maybe." Yang Wendong didn't say much.
In fact, the decline in real estate this year is indeed very high. From the beginning to the end of the year, house prices in many places have really halved. Coupled with the growth of industry, trade and other economic factors, by next year, the decline will be almost the same. Historically, In 1966, Hong Kong housing prices were still in a period of recovery, with prices rising slowly.
It is just because of other reasons that a more terrifying plunge occurs, which cannot be predicted by a normal economy.
In fact, many Chinese-funded consortiums in the 1960s, after seeing the gradual recovery of real estate next year, entered the market to buy lows, and then never did it again. This is why many real estate families in the 1980s in the previous life , the real rise was only after 1968, because before that, there were heavy casualties!
Huo Yingdong asked: "Yang Sheng, your investment in Singapore also involves the local container terminal. Are you optimistic about this area as well?"
"Of course." Yang Wendong nodded and said: "I am also in the shipping industry. The emergence of containers can significantly reduce shipping costs. This must be the future trend;
Last year, the Hong Kong government also proposed container reform Plan, just encountered this year Due to the economic crisis, we have to stop.”
“I’m optimistic about it too,” Huo Yingdong said, “But what I want to say is, does Yang Sheng also want to participate in the terminal operation industry?”
After Yang Wendong thought for a moment, he replied: "There is this Thoughts, but you also know that terminals are generally the core industry of a country, especially the container terminals that have just emerged; even if they are not state-owned enterprises, they are usually controlled by domestic consortiums. This time I invested in Singapore’s container terminals, and the proportion was not Not much, just economic investment. "The infrastructure of this era is far less than what it will be a few decades later. Except for Europe and the United States, most countries have very few terminals, so this core asset will basically not be operated by others. Even if it is given, it will be European and American capital, so it will be difficult for him to develop overseas terminals.
Hutchison Whampoa was able to succeed in the previous life, firstly, because of decades of gradual operation, taking advantage of the other party's business crisis to take shares or acquisitions, secondly, because listing financing introduced capital from many countries, and thirdly, because there were more terminals at that time , many countries don’t pay much attention to it; there may be other exchanges and so on.
Huo Yingdong said: "Yes, but it is not impossible. Yang Sheng should know about Brunei, right?"
"Yes, it is a small country in Southeast Asia." Yang Wendong nodded and said.
There are many Southeast Asian countries, some of which he didn't care about in his previous life. Even in the Internet era, there is probably only one mainlander in ten thousand who can directly name all Southeast Asian countries without checking the information.
However, after arriving in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia is also one of the main shipping areas of Changxing Industrial. Therefore, all countries in Southeast Asia are also described in the financial report. He naturally knows a lot. Brunei is One of them, a very small country with less population than Hong Kong.
Huo Yingdong said: "Brunei is also planning to build a medium-sized port. They are a small country and do not have the ability to build it themselves, so I am going to try it. Is Yang Sheng interested?"
"Container terminal? ?" Yang Wendong asked.
Huo Yingdong said: "Yes, Brunei only had some small terminals for transporting goods before, so we are planning to directly build terminals that can accept containers. However, considering that there are still many places that use traditional cargo ships, we will also Consider the commonality of both vessels.
But Brunei is only a small country, so it mainly focuses on container terminals, because this is the trend.”
“It is much more convenient for such a small country to build container terminals than other countries. Internal resistance." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
Although the investment in container terminals is high, for cities or countries that need it, the future benefits alone are enough for many banks to be willing to support it.
The core problem is still "one million workers can't lose the big tail", and areas that did not have large traditional terminals before can easily move. Norway in Europe took advantage of the fact that the United Kingdom was tired of dealing with traditional terminals. Large container terminals were built, and London's trade collapsed.
Huo Yingdong said: "Yes, in the scientific and technological revolution, traditionalists are the resistance. The British automobile industry was very developed at that time, but in order to take care of hundreds of thousands of horsemen, they issued policies to restrict the development of automobiles. As a result, they were overtaken by Germany. , Today, the British automobile industry can only be said to be okay, far behind Germany and the United States."
"Yes, the biggest enemy of reform is ourselves," Yang Wendong agreed.
The German automobile industry is already very strong in this era. Many people in previous lives know that Japanese cars dominated the American market in the 1980s, but in fact, in the 1950s and 1960s, German cars almost overturned The American market tables, especially Volkswagen, are second only to the American Big Three.
Later, when the oil crisis broke out, Japanese cars were the first to kill the German brands in the United States, and then engulfed American domestic brands.
Then he asked: "Huo Sheng, can you get the operating rights of this terminal?"
Huo Yingdong shook his head and said: "I can't get it. This is Brunei's official With the government's investment, I just tried to get the project to build this wharf.
However, although I couldn't get the operating rights, I was able to participate in the whole process. And construction is also a challenge and opportunity for my construction company. For Yang Sheng, with this experience, it may also be helpful to future terminal operations."
"You said. It makes sense, okay, I will participate." Yang Wendong nodded and asked: "What do you mean by share ratio?"
When participating in project construction, the profits are generally not very high, unless it is a very special building, which is also normal. After all, as long as the construction company can collect payment in time, there is almost no risk, so how can it be possible to have high profits?
In the past life, many Hong Kong builders complained that they could not compare to others who speculated houses for one or two years after a lifetime of hard work. However, anyone can participate in real estate speculation. You are not willing to take risks yourself and see others succeed. What right do you have to complain after that?
Huo Yingdong said: "I am 6 and you are 4, how about it?"
"Okay." Yang Wendong didn't care much about the proportion. He just wanted to participate and let the team learn some experience. Then he asked Said: "Huo Sheng, what are you doing for such a project?" Why do you want to bring me in?"
Huo Yingdong replied: "It's very simple. This is first of all a funding issue. This kind of project also requires advance funding at the beginning, so it needs the help of banks. With Yang Sheng's participation, , it is much easier to lend money from the bank;
The second is my current situation in Hong Kong, as you know, so in the future I am planning to invest mainly overseas, and Yang Sheng also has plans to invest overseas, so we also want to cooperate more with you, whether it is my project or Project on your side. ”
“That’s it. Yang Wendong nodded and said: "I will indeed invest overseas in the future, but in the short term it will only be on a small scale, mainly in Singapore. If Huo Sheng is interested, you can also try it." "
"Singapore is better to forget it. Huo Yingdong shook his head and said, "Although the country has been established over there, the influence of British capital is still very great. I'd better not bother with it." ”
“That’s true. "Yang Wendong thought for a while and said.
Singapore did not start to have good relations with the mainland until around the 1990s. Before, it could only be said that it was average. For Huo Yingdong, it was indeed too risky to invest there.< br>
Huo Yingdong added: "I originally planned to invest in shipping like Yang Sheng, but I was also worried that the Hong Kong government would target me and prevent me from docking, which would be troublesome. It would not be feasible to develop real estate overseas. Most countries do not There are too many foreign investors involved;
So I stick to my old profession and undertake some construction projects. I just take the money and leave after I finish the work.”
“It seems like it’s just a matter of time. That's it." Yang Wendong nodded.
The 1950s can be said to be the peak period of Huo Yingdong's business empire. The pre-sale of off-the-plan properties he created activated the entire real estate economy. It can be said that this is an invention that affects billions of people around the world. Among them, Huo Yingdong also gained huge wealth.
It was only because of the suppression by the British in Hong Kong that investing overseas was risky, so the Huo family had to gradually enter a low-key state. This led to the rise of the four major real estate families in history. Otherwise, the Huo family would At least one can occupy one seat.
"So if there are any suitable projects in the future, Yang Sheng should take more care of them." Huo Yingdong said with a smile.
"Okay, I will notify Huo Sheng if necessary." Yang Wendong nodded and agreed.
There is endless money to be made in this world. Even if you know that a project is bound to make money, you can sometimes win over other people because you may also need to use other people's influence, etc.; not only Huo Yingdong, as well as other Chinese and even European and American consortiums, etc.
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(End of this chapter)