The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Recently, the lawsuit between Zhang Zhushan's family has caused a stir in Hong Kong. The media followed up and reported on this family lawsuit, which played out the "grievances of wealthy families" in Hong Kong.

It turns out that after the death of Mrs. Zhang, this traditional family of "living together and sharing wealth" immediately fell apart.

The two parties in this 'rich family feud' are Zhang Yuliang and his second sister-in-law Cui Xiuying. Initially, after the death of Mrs. Zhang, Zhang Yuliang drove the Zhang family out of the ancestral home on the grounds that the ancestral home needed development. The consequence of this may be that "living together and sharing wealth" has no evidence or legal effect, and Zhang Yuliang can obtain the family's wealth alone.

Because Cui Xiuying was unwilling to move, Zhang Yuliang used harsh means such as cutting off water and electricity to force Cui Xiuying. Although he succeeded in the end, Zhang Yuliang's third brother Zhang Yulin was stimulated and died of a heart attack.

In the end, although Cui Xiuying received mediation from the court and received a 1,500-square-foot residential unit, she was not compensated by Zhang Xingye Tang.

Cui Xiuying did not give in and continued to appeal to the court on the distribution of family property, hoping to get a fair answer.

Zhang Yuliang acted preemptively and commissioned a Hong Kong law firm to hire more than ten Queen's Counsel; because according to regulations, if a law firm accepts the entrustment of one party to the lawsuit, it is not allowed to accept the entrustment of the other party.

Fortunately, Cui Xiuying's son-in-law, Lok Cheng, owns a law firm and comes from a family of Hong Kong lawyers named Law Man Kam (father), and his mother is the eldest daughter of Ho Tung. His son-in-law came forward, and Ping Qingli, three barristers, including Xianlun, Umas and McDonald.

Trial sessions for both parties' cases will begin in mid-April.

The presiding judge was the notorious Bojia of later generations, the same judge who acquitted Chen Qingsong and compensated the two defendants 36 million Hong Kong dollars; and this judge was still a famous British justice at this time.

Public opinion outside generally believes that Cui Xiuying has the highest voice to win this lawsuit, and people in the legal profession also believe that victory is a foregone conclusion.

However, I didn't expect it.

On the day of the trial, the presiding judge Bai Jia also cited confusion and complexity as reasons for overturning all the plaintiff's applications.

Cui Xiuying lost the lawsuit and had to bear high legal fees of HK$8 million.

afterwards.

On Zhang Yuliang's luxury yacht "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves", he invited all the employed barristers to a banquet to congratulate him.

"Mr. Zhang, there is another reason why you won the case this time, and that is that your third sister-in-law Tan Ailian did not join the same camp as your second sister-in-law. Therefore, if you want to avoid future troubles, you must find a way to deal with this matter." Barrister Robert said.

Zhang Yuliang has four brothers. The eldest, Zhang Yujie, died in 1959. His children had already immigrated and were not involved in this incident. The second oldest, Zhang Yuqi, died the earliest and accidentally fell into the sea and died in 1952. He was a government official before his death, and Cui Xiuying It is his wife.

The third child, Zhang Yulin, died in 1979. During his lifetime, he was the spokesperson of the Zhang family. He liked public relations and participated in some organizations. For example, he was the president of the Wuyi Chamber of Commerce and the Prime Minister of Po Leung Kuk. His wife Tan Ailian's natal family background was profound, and even Mr. Zhang My wife doesn’t dare to offend her too much, she is a special person in the Zhang family.

Zhang Yuliang said: "I know, I have given her tens of millions privately, and she has agreed not to get involved in this matter. Moreover, my third sister-in-law doesn't like these troubles either."

Robert smiled and said: "Haha, now Mr. Zhang's matter is settled."

All the lawyers laughed. They are lawyers, not philanthropists, so winning the case is the most important thing.

Moreover, the reason why Zhang Yuliang was able to win the case was that the law only looked at the evidence and did not look at such things as "living together and sharing property", which had no legal basis. What's more, in the end, it was not cohabitation and property sharing, and the ancestral home had been demolished.

At the same time, Zhang Yuliang had already squeezed out his eldest nephew since the early 1960s. The third brother was not obsessed with business. He was the sole leader of the family and had already tightly controlled the Zhang family's wealth.

At present, Zhang Yuliang's wealth is about 30% of Wheelock's equity (about 1 billion Hong Kong dollars). Coupled with the wealth of his personal business, it is almost more than 1 billion.

In fact, the value has shrunk a lot!

In his previous life in the 1980s, Li Jiacheng did not dare to say that he was the richest man in Hong Kong. There were several people who were richer than him. Among them was Zhang Yuliang. Although it is an exaggeration, Zhang Yuliang's net worth in the mid-to-late 1980s in his previous life should be the same. Around 10 billion.

Zhang Yuliang drank top-notch wine with a group of barristers, and he felt very proud.

After working hard for so many years, the wealth finally belongs to him.

Sometimes he would think about it when he was alone. It was his biggest mistake to offend Lin Zhichao, otherwise his wealth might have increased by a few percent.

Here, Lin Zhichao came to Xiao Maden's office.

Although he is Xiao Maden, he is ten years older than Lin Zhichao. Just because Lin Zhichao had interacted with the old Madden, he always called his son Little Madden in his heart.

"Mr. Madden, our Cheung Kong Group intends to sell half of the equity in Wheelock Building and Madden Building, so we are here to discuss it with you." Lin Zhichao said.

Wheelock Building, located on Pedder Street (the heart of Central), is under reconstruction. It is 24 stories high, with a floor area of ​​just over 320,000 square feet, and is worth more than 1.5 billion; Madden Building (previously renamed unknown), a medium-sized building The Central Building is worth around 800 million.

The total cost of rebuilding the two buildings, construction fees and other costs was HK$650 million, which was fully paid by Cheung Kong Group, which then held 50% of the equity in the two buildings.

Of course, in the early 1980s, buildings in Hong Kong were not so expensive. During this period, Chen Qingsong's speculation in the "Golden Gate Building" played a leading role, and the price rose sharply in the past two years.

Xiao Maden was stunned and said randomly: "Your company is actually willing to sell such a high-quality property?"

Lin Zhichao said: "Because of the high quality and the fact that the two buildings are now very expensive, Cheung Kong Group wants to withdraw funds."

Xiao Maden immediately asked: "How much does Mr. Lin think it can be valued?"

Lin Zhichao said: "2.3 billion is no problem at all! Now the rent per square foot in Central has reached as high as 28 to 30 Hong Kong dollars. After Wheelock Building is completed, the annual rent can be 110 million."

At present, with the increasing power of real estate speculators, property prices can no longer be calculated based on ten-year rent, but are about 15 times. Correspondingly, the theoretical rate of return is only about 7%. Of course, buyers also need to have confidence in the future and believe that rents and property values ​​will appreciate, and then the rate of return will be higher.

Xiao Maden was immediately greedy, but then he said: "Mr. Lin, I understand your thinking, but after all, we also own half of these two buildings, so I hope to have a good partner. In this way, you can spread the news, But if the person I introduced buys it at a valuation of 2.3 billion, the deal will be considered successful."

Lin Zhichao said: "Of course there is no problem with this!"

He had already vaguely thought that Xiao Maden might have introduced Zhang Yuliang to buy it, after all, the two were partners.

The next day.

Xiao Madden approached Zhang Yuliang and proposed to buy the other half of the shares of Wheelock Building and Madden Building.

Zhang Yuliang said in surprise: "So expensive?"

Xiao Maden immediately said: "How can it be expensive? Last year, the Golden Gate Building sold for as much as 1.6 billion. Although Wheelock has a lot less floor space by 100,000 square feet, it has a better location; plus the building in the past year The value has increased a lot. Wheelock Building is valued at 1.5 billion and Marden Building is valued at 800 million. There is absolutely no problem. If it were not for my face, Cheung Kong Group may not be willing to sell it!"

Zhang Yuliang suddenly thought about it. He would definitely not be able to generate a cash flow of 1.15 billion, but he could get a bank loan or pay in installments. The question now is, are these two buildings worth it?

The location of Wheelock Building and Marden Building needless to say, they are in the heart of Central. On the contrary, last year's Golden Gate Building was in the Admiralty area, and its value was lower.

“Why does Cheung Kong Group want to sell such a high-quality building?”

"Because there is money to be made! The construction fees and other expenses of these two buildings total about 650 million. They have earned 500 million Hong Kong dollars in more than three years. Why not. As for long-term rent collection, they may think the cycle is long, and It's different for you, haven't you always wanted to have a decent top-level building in Central?"

Zhang Yuliang has always been a little bit upset when he missed the "International Building" on Des Voeux Road (lost to Lin Zhichao at the auction). After all, this building is now worth more than one billion!

"I'll think about it again! With such a big deal, I can't make a decision yet."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news. Changshi Group has also released news. I'm afraid there are other competitors, but I hope to continue to cooperate with you."

Madden liked Zhang Yuliang's low-key character. If Zhang Yuliang's private company bought these two buildings, outsiders would only think they belonged to the Wheelock Group and the Madden family. But Zhang Yuliang only wants profits and doesn't care about reputation. The two complement each other perfectly.

A week later.

Cheung Kong Group is preparing to sell 50% of Wheelock Building and Madden Building, as well as the development rights above Mong Kok MTR Station - Mong Kok Centre. After this news was released in the industry, it attracted many people to come to contact.

These include the Yongan Guo family, the Li Fuzhao family, as well as Southeast Asian capital, Australian capital, American capital, etc., all of whom have expressed interest.

Among them, the issue that the Yongan Guo family is most concerned about is whether the Madden Building can be renamed "Yongan Building" as the headquarters building. Of course, if Wheelock Tower intends to sell it all, Wing On is willing to buy it for HK$1.7 billion.

After learning the intentions of the Guo family in Yongan, Lin Zhichao couldn't help but laugh. Why was Yongan targeted by Zheng Jiachun in his previous life? To put it bluntly, it was because he spent huge sums of money to buy a large number of high-quality properties at this time (first-class Central buildings such as the Federal Building and International Building in his previous life) Building); it is too expensive to buy at this time, which not only means that it will take five or six years to rise back in value, but more importantly, the opportunity for development has been missed in the past few years.

However, compared to the Yongan Guo family, Lin Zhichao hopes that the Zhang Yuliang family will buy half of the shares of Wheelock and Madden Building, which can not only satisfy Xiao Maden, but also keep Zhang Yuliang calm.

Of course this does not count as taking advantage of people. After all, buying expensive and buying cheap is all voluntary.

If you can’t see the form clearly, you can’t blame others.

"Father, Jinxing Real Estate expressed its willingness to negotiate with Huide Feng and Madden Building!" Lin Ruihuan walked in and said.

Lin Zhichao raised his head and said: "Then you invite them to come to negotiate. There is no room for negotiation on the price. I believe Xiao Maden can inform you. I believe that what is being negotiated is the payment method. This must also be in accordance with our minimum requirements. The installment cannot exceed one year, the down payment cannot be less than 35%.”

Lin Ruihuan, 32 years old this year, has taken over Huang Changhong's job. He is in charge of the overall work of Changshi Group and reports directly to Lin Zhichao. As for Huang Changhong, he only serves as a director of Cheung Kong Group and is considered semi-retired.

The second generation management of Changshi Group currently has Lin Ruihuan, Mai Lisi and Zhou Huai'an in place. As for Huo Jianning, he has just been promoted to the director of the accounting department and is still some distance away from the top.

Among the first generation management, Zhou Fuzhao, Hu Zhaoxu, Liang Guanchang (commercial real estate), etc. can still persist for 5 to 10 years. After all, in this kind of company, you can work until you are 70 years old.

"Is the good father worried that the real estate will fall and the other party will be unable to pay the subsequent expenses?" Lin Ruihuan asked.

Recently, the company's top management always finds a problem in the chairman - that is risk control. According to past experience, a crisis is coming.

"Well, prevention is always good. As long as you pay 35% of the down payment, we won't lose money no matter what."

"OK"

Generally speaking, the cost of such a breach of contract is very high. Especially in Hong Kong, a society governed by the rule of law, the price of breach of contract is not only confiscation of the 'deposit', but also compensation for losses and the repossession of the property.

In May, the "Tsim Sha Tsui Center" and "Hilton Hotel" invested by Cheung Kong Group in Tsim Sha Tsui East opened one after another, adding another important component to the group's commercial real estate.

At present, the profit of a five-star hotel in Hong Kong is basically more than HK$50 million; and for a large office building in Central (over 300,000 square feet), annual income of 100 million is not a big problem.

Although Tsim Sha Tsui is not in Central in the middle of the year, Tsim Sha Tsui is a tourist area in Hong Kong. With the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong exceeding 8 million, the commercial land and buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui may not necessarily be lost to Central, but at least they can be compared to the Admiralty.

On the opening day of the Hilton Hotel, many business people came to congratulate it.

Lin Zhichao attended the reception and entertained many guests.

While he was chatting and laughing with his friends and guests, Chen Qingsong took the initiative to come to Lin Zhichao and said, "Congratulations to Lin Sheng, for adding another pair of tiger wings."

The two have met, but they don't have much contact.

Lin Zhichao also said politely: "Young people are scary. Chen Sheng has been dominating the business world recently. I heard that you and Zhong Sheng teamed up to invest 100 million US dollars in Auckland."

Chen Qingsong was overjoyed. He didn't expect the advertisement to reach the ears of the boss. It seemed that his approach was very effective.

"Lin Sheng has won the prize. He is still far behind you. After all, you bought nine commercial buildings in Manhattan in one go."

"It's very good that you can develop so much in a short period of time."

After being polite, Chen Qingsong added: "Lin Sheng has a five-star hotel in East Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui, especially the Miramar Hotel on Nathan Road. It is said that there are thousands of rooms. It seems that you are very optimistic about Hong Kong. prospects for the hotel industry.”

It was just a casual conversation at first, but Chen Qingsong also wanted to get close to Lin Zhichao, and then strive for cooperation, which would have more reputation and influence.

Lin Zhichao said: "I plan to sell the land between the Miramar Hotel and the shopping mall. So I built a new Miramar Hotel next to it to prevent the Miramar Hotel from opening. Therefore, the 1,100 rooms are only short-lived. "

Chen Qingsong's eyes lit up. He didn't expect to come here shamelessly and hear such good news.

"Lin Sheng, how big is the land of Miramar Hotel and shopping mall? Do you really want to sell it?"

"It seems like 88,000 square feet. If it is rebuilt, it can increase the floor area by more than 300,000 square feet, reaching a rentable area of ​​1 million square feet. Of course I want to sell it. If you are interested, you can come to our company for consultation later."

"Okay, thank you Lin Sheng for letting me know."

"What's the matter? We are planning to release the news!"

Of course, Lin Zhichao didn't really want to sell to Chen Qingsong, unless Chen Qingsong had strong allies and no less than one-third of the deposit.

In fact, Lin Zhichao does not necessarily have to sell. If it can be sold, it is best. If it cannot be sold, it should be rebuilt into a shopping mall + office building in the late 1980s.

As for the Miramar Hotel, it has been rebuilt on the site of the Lok Fu Building opposite and has been put into use.

The opening of the Hilton Hotel that day was a great success, attracting celebrities from home and abroad. Hilton Hotel (Tsim Sha Tsui East) and Tsim Sha Tsui Center are both located at the entrance of Salisbury Road on the west side of Tsim Sha Tsui East, with first-class sea views. (End of chapter)