A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

5 month.

Lane Crawford Group has officially split up, with Wellcome supermarkets, 7-Eleven convenience stores, and Lane Crawford cosmetics being injected into Watsons Retail (i.e., Hutchison Whampoa), while the remaining Lane Crawford department store business and jewelry business have been retained under CK Asset Holdings Limited.

This move made Watson Retail the undisputed largest retail and manufacturing group in Hong Kong, and also allowed CK Asset Holdings to increase its stake in Hutchison Whampoa to 51.5%.

At the same time, Hutchison Whampoa issued new shares to acquire 'International Terminals Limited', including the ownership of Terminals 2 and 4.

This issuance of new shares is a 'rights issue', so CK Asset Holdings' shareholding in Hutchison Whampoa will remain unchanged even if it participates in the rights issue.

As a result, Hong Kong's container terminals were divided into three major forces:
First, there is Hutchison Whampoa's International Container Terminals, which has Terminals 2 and 4, with a total of 6 berths.
Secondly, there is Modern Terminals, which is 45% owned by three European shipping companies, 23% by Wharf Holdings, 15% by HSBC, and the remainder by Swire, Kadoorie and Jebsen. It owns Container Terminals 1 and 5.

Third is Container Terminal No. 3, which is owned by the U.S. Sea-Land Joint Venture.

Overall, only International and Modern container companies can be considered Hong Kong's port power.

After Hutchison Whampoa successively acquired the assets of its parent company CK Asset Holdings and the assets of Universal Group, it immediately became much larger in scale, with its market value even exceeding that of Hongkong Land, making it a star stock in Hong Kong.

Investors were convinced that Hutchison Whampoa, under the leadership of the Chen family, would develop rapidly, and the two consecutive asset acquisitions proved them right.

After the Hutchison Whampoa senior management meeting concluded, Chen Wenjie chatted with some British management members. At this point, everyone knew that Wylie's departure was a foregone conclusion, but who could take over as CEO, business director, etc., was a key question.

On the other hand, Chen Wenjie has now brought two important assets under Hutchison Whampoa, which has greatly increased his status and influence within Hutchison Whampoa.

Of course, this merger of two important assets also brought some senior Chinese staff into Hutchison Whampoa, creating a situation where senior staff of Chinese and foreign nationality coexisted, which greatly helped Chen Wenjie maintain control.

Yan Zuhe walked out of the official land auction, feeling somewhat excited.

Just today, the price of a plot of land in Tsim Sha Tsui East broke through HK$1.6 per square foot, which is enough to show that land prices in Hong Kong are currently extremely hot.

The reason he was excited was that in December 1977, he, in the name of Wo Shing Properties, bought a 30,500-square-foot plot of land in Tsim Sha Tsui East for HK$1.75 million, which was less than HK$6000 per square foot.

Now, just one year and five months later, land prices in Tsim Sha Tsui have already doubled.

Speculation in the Hong Kong property market is rampant, with residential property prices generally soaring to HK$700-800 per square foot, which is outrageous. Considering that the average monthly income in manufacturing is only HK$1800, a small apartment now costs at least HK$350,000 (450-500 square feet), requiring nearly 18 years of saving without spending a penny, and that's for a small unit.

The current booming real estate market in Hong Kong is actually closely related to the Chan family:
First, the Chan family acquired many important sites and properties, which drove up Hong Kong property prices, and at the same time, some of their funds were left in other sites and properties.

Secondly, the Chan family boosted Hong Kong's overall economy, exceeding the previous generation's growth by 20%, so property prices naturally rose as well.

Yan Zuhe, on this side, found his nephew Chen Wensheng and said, "Wensheng, I've completed the design and approval process for this plot of land in Tsim Sha Tsui East. Now we're just waiting for the construction funds. So, I'd like to borrow HK$2 million from Ping An Bank for the construction costs!"

Looking at Hesheng's financial documents, Chen Wensheng said after a while, "Uncle, the loan is naturally not a problem, but I observe that Hesheng Real Estate's rental income has already reached 80%, with only a few small development sites. This structure has some problems. Once the next real estate cycle ends and rents decline, your Regal Tsim Sha Tsui Hotel will not generate income for a long time."

Yan Zuhe was startled and quickly asked, "Is the second round of the real estate cycle over?"

Chen Wensheng said with a smile, "Hong Kong real estate is always cyclical, and I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but Hesheng's asset ratio is indeed problematic. If we didn't borrow money, it wouldn't be a problem, but the key issue now is that you have the Regal Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui that requires a lot of construction, and this building in Mong Kok is under construction. It's estimated that in the 1980s, you'll need at least HK$300 million in construction costs."

Yan Zuhe nodded and immediately asked humbly, "You're an investment expert, so could you analyze for me how I can reduce the risk?"

He didn't deny his nephew's abilities, but what concerned him most was that his brother-in-law must have taught these children something behind the scenes, otherwise how could they be so confident during this second round of the real estate cycle!
After some thought, Chen Wensheng said, “Ping An Investment can act as our financial advisor. First, Ping An Bank will lend HK$2 million to Regal Hotel for construction costs. Later, around next year, Ping An Investment will package Regal Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East and Hesheng Building in Mong Kok into ‘Regal Hotel’ and list them separately to raise funds to repay the loan. Finally, Regal Hotel will issue new shares to purchase your personal stake in Cafe de Coral Catering Group. Thus, Hesheng Properties will ultimately control Regal Hotel, and Regal Hotel will control Cafe de Coral Catering Group, forming a chain of holdings.”

“Great!” Yan Zuhe said happily, “You are indeed a stock market expert. I will immediately sign a financial advisory agreement with Ping An Investment to implement this chain of holding companies.”

After seeing his uncle off, Chen Wensheng fell into deep thought.

This chain of holdings is not a problem for my uncle's business. However, his company, Wo Shing Properties, owns too many rental properties, including luxury homes in the Mid-Levels, a large number of residential and commercial properties, etc. These seem to generate stable rental income, but the key issue is that my uncle's ambitions have grown in the past two years. He has made large-scale investments, such as investing in the Regal Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui and a commercial complex in Mong Kok, but the returns on investment will be slow in the long run.

"Forget it, after we complete the chain of acquisitions, we should remind my uncle to sell some of the scattered properties to mitigate risks. But then again, my uncle is always very shrewd, and if he sees Cheung Kong's moves, there's no reason he wouldn't be cautious."

Chen Wensheng smiled.

Meanwhile, Chen Guangliang was at the Shangri-La Hotel, having tea with his father-in-law, Yan Zhiduo.

Yan Zhiduo is already 85 years old this year, but he is in very good health and it seems like he will live past 90.

Yan Zhiduo asked cautiously, "I'm planning to go back to Shanghai and Ningbo while I'm still relatively healthy. Guangliang, what do you think?"

He wasn't worried about his health, but rather about whether he could return if he went back, since everyone had always viewed the other side as a monstrous threat.

Chen Guangliang said casually, "Father-in-law, I didn't encounter any trouble when I returned to my hometown. On the contrary, I received all kinds of preferential treatment. You will naturally have no problem returning to your hometown! Don't worry, the attitude of the other side towards us overseas businessmen has changed a lot. They also need us to build the country in the future."

Yan Zhiduo immediately understood and smiled, "I never thought I would be able to return to my hometown in my lifetime. This life has been worthwhile."

He has been retired for many years and has left his descendants a "Yan Family Trust Fund," which includes two buildings in Central and several high-quality rental properties, generating an annual net profit of HK$2000-3000 million. This trust fund is managed by Ping An Bank, which regularly provides his descendants with a monthly allowance, ensuring they have no worries about their future.

Moreover, the eldest son has now become a mid-sized real estate developer in Hong Kong, and the Yan family has indeed regained some of its glory in the fourth generation.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Although we have lived in Shanghai for longer, Shanghai has excellent conditions and will eventually regain its glory as the Pearl of the Far East. In comparison, Ningbo is the hometown that we overseas Chinese businessmen need to pay more attention to."

This time, following the call from the top leadership, Chen Guangliang responded, and overseas Chinese businessmen flocked back to Ningbo to visit relatives and make donations. For a time, Ningbo became a shining city, and it is certain that it will be among the 'Five Special Economic Zones' this year.

Many of the Shanghai and Yongzhou businessmen who once came to Hong Kong have passed away. Yan Zhiduo was not only Chen Guangliang's father-in-law, but also Chen Guangliang's 'comrade-in-arms' in Shanghai.

Seeing Yan Zhiduo grow old now, Chen Guangliang also feels a bit sentimental – is he really getting old too?
Chen Guangliang was afraid of getting old, so he quickly arrived at the villa in Stanley. As soon as Guan Jiahui entered wearing the uniform of the Marinau Convent, Chen Guangliang immediately pushed her down onto the sofa.

"Call me 'Grandpa'!" "Hehe!"

Guan Jiahui retorted coquettishly, "No way, you're not old!"

after.

Guan Jiahui lay comfortably in the 'older man's' arms, savoring the afterglow of their encounter.

"My lord, how come you look so young? Do you have some secret recipe?"

Women, in particular, care about this aspect.

Chen Guangliang naturally wouldn't tell that this was one of his 'golden fingers', but just laughed and said, "There is no elixir of immortality in this world! However, your mindset can determine whether you delay aging, and with proper maintenance, you can be as strong and healthy as me."

He was 69 years old, but his body made him look only 40. His skin was firm with no wrinkles or age spots. In some ways, even young people would have to call him a "grandfather".

Guan Jiahui tilted her head back, her slender hand playfully touching Chen Guangliang's chin, and said, "That's great! I was worried that you'd be too old by the time I'm thirty!"

Chen Guangliang soothed Guan Jiahui's smooth skin and deliberately said, "When that time comes, I'll marry you off!"

"No way! I want to stay with you, Lord!"

The beautiful woman swayed her slender waist as if she were stirring up a fire.

After a while, Kwan Ka-wai changed into her new Marinau Convent uniform, this time wearing black stockings, which gave her a unique look. Once dressed, she immediately opened a safe, inside which were a large amount of Hong Kong dollars, US dollars, and jewelry.

In less than a year with Chan Kwong-leung, Kwan Ka-wai received a lot of gifts: the right to use a villa in Stanley, HK$150 million in cash, and HK$100 million worth of various jewelry.

"My lord, you didn't bring me any jewelry today, but I won't mind. I'm not that greedy!" Guan Jiahui said deliberately as she took out a diamond necklace and had Chen Guangliang put it on.

"If you don't care, then I really won't prepare anything!" Chen Guangliang said greedily, while putting the necklace on her neck.

"No, if you've already prepared it, just give it to me!" The girl snuggled into Chen Guangliang's arms and acted coquettishly.

She's greedy for money, yet also incredibly charming.

Chen Guangliang's mindset instantly returned to that of someone in their twenties or thirties.

Young is so good.

After the two went downstairs, bodyguards and assistants had already brought delicious food from the hotel, and roses were placed on the table. There was even a female assistant carrying a jewelry box.

Although Guan Jiahui felt weak in the legs, she still immediately went to the jewelry box, opened it, and inside was a ruby ​​necklace, beautiful and vibrant!
Chen Guangliang waved his hand, and everyone left. Guan Jiahui immediately stepped forward and kissed Chen Guangliang.

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

"Hurry up and eat, we'll have it again later!"

Guan Jiahui blushed and said, "Again? I'm a little scared."

"Don't be afraid, I'll teach you something even more fun later."

Looking for Kwan Ka-wai, isn't it just because she's a bit horny? What other reason could it be?

The next morning, Guan Jiahui had to ask for leave, as she had been played too wildly the night before.

Guan Jiahui was treated much better than Dibora. Chen Guangliang rarely spent the night with Dibora, and often called her to the hotel to have his way with her before leaving.

From this perspective, it's clear that Chan Kwong-leung dotes on Kwan Ka-wai. Of course, despite this, it's impossible to make the affair public, so they are absolutely not allowed to be seen together in public or shopping in Hong Kong.

Therefore, in this villa in Stanley, Chen Guangliang meticulously created a 'prison of love'. He would occasionally add some treasures to the villa to make Guan Jiahui feel content living there.

"Will this villa be given to me in the future?" Guan Jiahui asked sleepily.

Chen Guangliang had already gotten up. He planned to fly to Japan today. Turning back to the girl on the bed, he said, "It's just a villa. I'll give it to you when you're ready to register your marriage! Don't worry, as long as you behave this well each time, you can become a female tycoon in Hong Kong in the future. You need to understand that giving you money doesn't mean anything, but when you're ready to invest, I'll guide you in your investments, and that's when you can truly join Hong Kong's high society."

Guan Jiahui's eyes lit up, and she was no longer wearing her pajamas. She said coquettishly, "Then I have to hope that you can still be this vigorous when you're eighty!"

Chen Guangliang's heart stirred. These words resonated with him. He refused to accept being old, even at eighty; he was determined to create a human miracle even at one hundred. After all, in his previous life, an Indian man could father a child at ninety, so it wasn't surprising that he could still be active at one hundred.

"Little girl, don't always talk about age. I'm young at heart!"

Guan Jiahui covered her mouth and chuckled, which angered Chen Guangliang so much that he slapped her pert bottom a few times and warned, "I'm full of energy right now, don't mess with me!"

"No, I'm not a child anymore, Your Excellency, please spare me!"

"Humph"

After a bit of playful fighting, Guan Jiahui remained lying on the boat, living happily in the villa.

Although being someone's mistress was somewhat embarrassing, she was determined to see it through to the end, to become a wealthy businesswoman, and to live the life of Hong Kong's high society that everyone envied. (End of Chapter)