A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 547 is unlikely to be unsealed. The main content revolves around the protagonist's 'triumphant return home,' the establishment of Ningbo University, his tireless efforts for Ningbo's development, and ancestral worship. It probably involves high-level officials and city leaders, so it's unlikely to be released even after revisions.

After returning to Hong Kong, Chan Kwong-leung continued to go to work as usual.

Although Chen Guangliang is considered retired by the media and the public, whenever he is in Hong Kong, he often chooses to arrive at the company at 9 am and then stay until 4 or 5 pm before leaving get off work.

However, the senior executives of the four conglomerates did not report directly to him; only his four sons would occasionally come in to discuss matters with him. As a result, Chen Guangliang's work was quite easy.

Global Group.

"Father, the first two VLCC oil tankers have been sold to a Hong Kong shipowner. We handed them over along with the 'Yamaguchi Steamship' contract. In addition, the two VLCCs leased to Shell Oil have also attracted the attention of an international buyer, a Greek shipowner, and the price is currently being negotiated," Chen Wenming reported.

Starting this year, Global Group officially began reducing its fleet size, and at the beginning of the year, it also sold some bulk carriers and medium-sized oil tankers.

Even those properties with existing contracts are sold along with the contracts as long as there is a buyer.

The 1800 million-ton global shipping industry will have to reduce its capacity by at least 500 million tons this year; and will continue to reduce its capacity next year (1980).

After pondering for a moment, Chen Guangliang said, "This Yamaguchi Steamship Company probably won't survive the shipping downturn of the 1980s. Of course, we can't go too far, since we still need to continue developing the shipping industry in Japan. So you need to pay attention: if there's a contract with a bank involved, that's very good and secure; if there's no bank involved, we should try to resell it to other shipowners. You need to find the right balance!"

As far as he knew, a number of Japanese shipping companies went bankrupt in the 1980s, and Yamaguchi Steamship Company seemed to be among them.

However, in any case, these shipping companies are usually backed by Japanese banks, so they are unlikely to end up with nothing.

Of course, there is also a loss – that is, if a five-year contract is only executed for two years and the remaining three years cannot be executed due to bankruptcy, then the shipowner will not be able to get the liquidated damages, which is something that cannot be done.

But even if the shipowner got the ship back at that time, given the market conditions, it would basically be a money-losing proposition.

"OK, I see!"

Chen Wenming was very confident because his father predicted that the shipping industry would enter a cold winter starting in 1981, reaching its lowest point in 1985, and that the entire 1980s would be a cold winter.

Worldwide Shipping expects to halve its fleet size, to 900 million tons of deadweight, over the next two years.

Of these, there are 25 VLCCs remaining, with a total capacity of approximately 600 million tons; container ships, with a total capacity of approximately 250 million tons; and bulk carriers, with a total capacity of approximately 50 tons.

Of course, if conditions permit in 1981, the number of ships will continue to be reduced, but the goal will not be as strong.

After all, this shipping cycle downturn has been too long. Even if the Global Group is not short of money, ships sitting in port are just money-losing assets.

Chen Wenming asked seriously, "By the way, Father, what are your plans for the proceeds from the sale of Global Shipping?"

Today, the Global Group's portfolio is complete, with major companies including: Global Shipping, Wharf Holdings, Global Trading, Hong Kong Airlines, Global Land, and International Terminals.

Among them, Universal Properties acquired commercial real estate in Tokyo and New York for a total value of approximately US$4 million, although the value has since increased.

Chen Guangliang tapped on the table, beginning to think about the overall structure of the Global Group.

"We'll split the profits in half! My son and I will each take half of our share. You can choose how to use it as you see fit. As for my share, it will be mainly used for the charitable foundation and the family office."

Chen Wenming immediately said, "How about we donate my share to the foundation for charity? My father has already given me far too much."

Chen Guangliang waved his hand and said, "You also have four sons, so you can set up a trust fund or something, and invest the annual dividends."

Chen Wenming nodded.

Subsequently.

Chen Guangliang said, "The remaining half will remain in the account for the purpose of privatizing Wharf Holdings."

Selling 9 million tons of ships would bring in at least 700 to 800 million US dollars.

After some thought, Chen Wenming said, "If Wharf Holdings is privatized, Global Land will be merged into it. In the future, the Global Group will consist of: Global Shipping, Wharf Holdings, Global Trading, Hong Kong Airlines, and International Container Terminals."

Chen Guangliang said, "Global Shipping, Global Trading, and Wharf Holdings are the three major industries that don't need to consider other factors. However, Hong Kong Airlines needs to be listed in the 1980s, at which time it may need to introduce Chinese capital to obtain route rights in mainland China, which is one issue; in addition, International Container Terminals needs to be sold to Hutchison Whampoa, since Wharf already owns 23% of Modern Terminals (the other shareholders are three European shipping companies and HSBC, Swire, etc.)."

After thinking about it for a while, he felt that Hutchison Whampoa couldn't be without container terminal assets, otherwise it would be difficult for overseas companies to take them over later.

Chen Wenming replied without hesitation to his father's suggestion, "Okay, I'll listen to you, Father!"

Chen Guangliang nodded. Chen Wenming had gained a considerable amount, equivalent to everything Bao Yugang had in his previous life, plus many more assets—such as Hong Kong Airlines, Global Trading, and numerous properties in Tokyo and New York. Even the privatization of Wharf Holdings resulted in an additional 50% of its assets.

In terms of prospects, global shipping has a wide range of investment channels, such as continuing to invest in oil transportation and acquiring industrial real estate (logistics parks) around the world.

The reason why overseas container terminals were handed over to Hutchison Whampoa is because the investment channels were opened up in the UK first, and Hutchison Whampoa still has a 20% British share, and many of its management are British.

One day in mid-April.

Chen Guangliang and Chen Wensheng inspected the underground vault of Ping An Bank in the "Chinese Bank" building, where they found a vault filled with gold.

At that time, Ping An Bank had three "four-vault areas" in Hong Kong, including the Ping An Bank Headquarters Building on Garden Road, the Global Group Building on Des Voeux Road (which was the Ping An Bank headquarters in the 1930s and 40s), the Chinese Building (newly built, which will serve as the temporary headquarters in the 1980s), and the Ping An Building in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon (Kowloon branch).

Today, all four vault areas are filled with gold purchased by the Chen family.

Of course, the Chen Guangliang family office only imported 160 tons of gold, which cost HK$2500 million per ton, but only 120 tons were kept in mainland China, while the other 40 tons were stored in banks in London and Zurich.

In addition, since 1978, Ping An Bank and Ping An Investment have also started directly importing physical gold, and the current volume has reached 100 tons. The cost here is as high as HK$3800 million per ton.

This means that the total cost of the 100 tons of gold held by Ping An Financial Group is as high as HK$38 billion.

Of the 100 tons of gold, 6% was purchased by Ping An Bank (a listed company) to preserve its value, while the remaining 4% was invested by Ping An Investment.

The Chan family began importing large quantities of gold into Hong Kong in 1976. Hong Kong originally imported only 100 tons of gold per year, but from 1976 to 1978, Hong Kong's annual gold imports reached as high as 200 tons, more than doubling.

It's quite simple. Some of these imports are from Lane Crawford Jewellery, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong Holdings, and some shrewd businessmen who followed suit. Ping An Bank, now the largest Chinese-owned bank and holding a 61% stake in Hang Seng Bank, the second largest, has surpassed Standard Chartered Bank in the 'personal retail banking' sector, even in the 'personal retail banking' area, posing a significant threat to HSBC.

The "personal retail banking" sector, to put it bluntly, is about serving "private" individuals, which is actually related to the hundreds of thousands of employees of Chen Guangliang's family business.

In business dealings with enterprises, HSBC certainly has an unparalleled reputation. Ping An Bank initially supported many small and medium-sized factory owners, but later HSBC entered the market and snatched away many customers.

But in any case, in this generation of Hong Kong's banking industry, Chinese-owned banks can still be considered to have a say.

However, a few years ago, Ping An Bank had the right to issue banknotes, which it wanted to compete for, but HSBC ultimately snatched it away. Ping An Bank failed to obtain even this 1% right to issue banknotes, which undoubtedly involved the power of the state and also the reason why HSBC could suppress it.

Just as important as the right to issue banknotes was Hong Kong Airlines, but the company was nearly bankrupt back then, and Chen Guangliang's younger brother, Chen Guangcong, was a British citizen, and HSBC also held a 50% stake, which is why they were able to acquire it successfully.

“Sir Chen, Mr. Chen, the gold here is all invested by Ping An Bank. This month, gold has risen to $245 per ounce, so Ping An Bank’s investment has increased by more than 20%,” reported Li Dehua, CEO of Ping An Bank.

He is considered a member of the management team cultivated by Ping An Bank, having joined the bank for 25 years.

Chen Guangliang calmly said, "No rush, we plan to hold it for the long term!"

"Ok"

In fact, for more than half of 1980, gold was priced above $600 per ounce, which meant that Ping An Bank would have made twice the profit, equivalent to more than 3 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Those shareholders of Ping An Bank must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Chen Guangliang and Chen Wensheng, who own 75% of the shares, will naturally make a fortune. Of course, not all of this money will be distributed as dividends; rather, it will be used as capital for Ping An Bank's overseas expansion. Even when establishing a real estate trust department, it will need to acquire some overseas assets.

In late April, just as the Chen family was making great strides around the world, the family's matriarch, Yang Hui, passed away at the age of 89.

Originally, this was quite a long life for an old lady from the old society who was only thirty-eight years old when she began to enjoy her retirement; you should know that Chen Guangliang's second uncle and his wife had passed away one after another in the mid-1960s, and their lifespan was only over seventy years.

Even so, the passing of the old lady was a solemn event for the Chen family, with family members from all over the world rushing to Hong Kong to participate in the memorial service.

As for the old lady's coffin, it is planned to be buried next to the grave of Chen Guangliang's father in Zhenhai, according to her wishes. As for Hong Kong, a cenotaph will also be arranged so that her descendants can pay their respects from time to time.

"Father, things have been coordinated on the mainland. Special permission has been granted for your private plane to land at Hangzhou Airport so that Grandma's coffin can be moved," Chen Wenjie said with a heavy heart.

Seeing his son's reaction, Chen Guangliang said, "Your grandmother is 90 years old according to the traditional Chinese age reckoning. For an old woman in the old society, that's already a blessing from heaven. Tell your younger siblings not to be too sad and to treat it as a happy funeral!"

It's understandable that he was initially heartbroken, but after two days of calming down, Chen Guangliang came to terms with it.

The old lady had lived a life of luxury; she hadn't suffered any hardship since 1928. She was far better off than her husband, Chen Guangliang's father.

"Yes, Father. Also, as you wished, the obituary should be labeled in Chinese for the second, third, and fourth mothers and the third wife."

Chen Guangliang nodded. The obituary is a very important document. If the second, third, and fourth branches of the family are not allowed to publish it, not only will Chen Guangliang feel guilty, but they will also have their own thoughts when they understand the significance of it in the future.

"We just need to make sure the obituary isn't photographed by the media. In short, we need to take this funeral seriously, but we can't be too high-profile in the media."

Okay, I understand.

Even if we take a step back and assume the worst, the Chinese names of the third and fourth wives are essentially just 'code names', because they use their local names in Europe, America, and Japan.

As for the second wife, she also uses an English name in the United States, but her Chinese name is more commonly used.

Next.

The funeral proceeded smoothly. After family members from all over the world paid their respects and friends and relatives came to pay their respects, the remains of Chen Guangliang's mother, Yang Hui, were taken on his private jet and flown directly to Hangzhou Airport.

For a time, both Hong Kong and mainland media outlets gave it extensive coverage.

It's important to understand that for a private jet to enter mainland China's airspace is undoubtedly a huge honor, something that would be impossible without special approval from higher authorities. Of course, this is also an honor for Chen Guangliang.

The Chan family villa area in Discovery Bay.

In an underground conference room, Chen Guangliang was convening a meeting with his second and third wives.

“Audrey, you will take Wen Ou and Wen Xi back to England immediately to attend Margaret Thatcher’s inauguration. This is a very important political mission, expected to bring ten years of prosperity to Britain. We’ve made a big bet on this, and now it’s time to share the spoils. In my estimation, privatization in Britain will soon be on the agenda, so get ready.”

Audrey Hepburn nodded. She was actually quite relaxed now because her two sons had grown up.

Chen Wenxi said, "Father, we are ready at any time."

Next, Chen Guangliang said to Chen Wenjin, "Wenjin, our family is betting on Reagan in the United States. You happen to be very familiar with him. I hope to lead the family to have a ten-year opportunity in American politics."

"Yes, Father, I have always been his supporter."

The second branch of the family is truly powerful. Chen Wenjie is now the head of the world's largest commercial real estate company, his eldest daughter Chen Leyi and her husband Tang Wensheng are the actual controllers of a newly emerging American biopharmaceutical giant, Chen Wenhua is a Wall Street tycoon, and Chen Wenhai is an American tech mogul. It is a well-established Chinese American family.

Of course, not only did the second wife consistently bet correctly on US presidential candidates, but all three of her sons also married white women with influential backgrounds. On the other hand, they all maintained a low profile. For example, Chen Wenjin rarely gave interviews, and his Amazon Group was not publicly listed; Chen Wenhua, although controlling the publicly listed company United Madison, only held a 46% stake, yet it brought substantial returns to American investors; Chen Wenhai, although a 'tech tycoon,' essentially only developed the Atari 2600 game console, which sold extremely well. He then sold the company in the 1980s and disappeared from the public eye, for example, he is now one of Apple's major shareholders.

Their daughter, Chen Leyi, and son-in-law, Tang Wensheng, are quite well-known in the United States. Their company, Amgen Biopharmaceuticals, already has two top-selling drugs on the market, making it a new giant in the American biopharmaceutical industry. However, Tang Wensheng's father, Tang Feifan, is the inventor of penicillin and holds a very high position in the world, so Tang Wensheng and Chen Leyi have extensive connections.

"Alright, you all go back tomorrow. Your grandmother's matter is over. We need to focus on making money!"

"Yes, father"

They only stayed in Hong Kong for three days before being driven away by Chan Kwong-leung, also because it was a crucial moment for the family. Chan Kwong-leung went into hiding, and the second generation officially took power. As long as the Chan family remained stable until the third generation grew up, their power would be very secure.

The eldest grandson of the third generation, Chen Zerui, happens to be graduating from university this year and will be interning at a real estate company in the United States. (End of Chapter)