Legend of Xiangjiang Tycoon - Chapter 539

Now that the Miramar Hotel has been dealt with, Li Zhiwen has nothing to do.

In addition, the Hong Kong dollar will depreciate in a while, Li Zhiwen is not willing to give up this opportunity, so Li Zhiwen wants to be stable at this time.

Mobilize funds as much as possible from the companies under your command to deal with this opportunity.

So during this time, Li Zhiwen was wandering around in various companies in Heung Kong, taking him along to see his woman, and under Li Zhiwen’s cultivation, Chen Yulian became pregnant, but Zou Fang was very happy.

Either Li Zhiwen will go back and forth between Los Angeles and Paris to see Liu Xiaoli and her daughter Li Yifei, or she will go to see Elizabeth Adjani and her son.

Of course, Li Zhiwen is also concerned about Li Zhiwen’s side, but because the negotiations on the Hong Kong issue have not been smooth recently, Li Zhiwen thinks it is better not to go to the north.

Such words let the ghost guy know that it is not good to suppress himself.

But the tree wants to be quiet and the wind doesn’t stop. The more important the moment, the more things happen.

On August 20, Bao Yugang came to the Peak Building to look for Li Zhiwen, and he said that he would buy Wheelock, which made Li Zhiwen confused.

Wheelock & Co. was founded in Shanghai in 1854. At that time Britain was the most powerful empire in the world, and British merchants had the greatest influence in the Far East.

Although Shanghai opened a little later, the latecomers took the lead and soon surpassed Xiangjiang, the heavy port in southern China.

The most obvious sign is the street scene. The Bund and Nanjing Road in Shanghai are more elegant than the two avenues of Queen and Des Voeux in Hong Kong.

This disparity seems to become more and more obvious as it goes on. In 1930, the 9-storey Gloucester Tower was completed, ranking first among the tallest buildings in Hong Kong. At the same time, there was already a high-rise building group in Shanghai, of which the International Hotel had 21 floors.

In the early years, foreign firms in the Far East, no matter which city they were registered or headquartered in, all used Shanghai as their main business base. The more famous British-owned foreign firms in Shanghai were: Sassoon, Hartung, Jardine, Taikoo, Diandi, Lindsay, Deng Tuo, etc., or the full name of HSBC, Shanghai Hong Kong HSBC.

Wheelock’s “Long History” Comes From Joe

George Madden’s mouth, after World War II, Wheelock Taipan Marden came to Hong Kong for development.

George Madden is a British Jew. In 1920, the young Madden and his family traveled across the ocean to Shanghai.

No one in the UK is unfamiliar with Shanghai, which is New York in the East. New York as an adventurer’s paradise has long been a relic of history, and now the paradise has moved to Shanghai in the Far East.

The British Jews are familiar with the fortunes of their compatriots Sassoon and Hardung. Especially Ha Tong, when he came to Shanghai, he was still a homeless man.

Madden, like old Kadoorie, passed through Hong Kong, a British colony. Although Hong Kong was prosperous, it was too small. The central area of ​​Hong Kong Island was not connected to the mainland. Madden did not hesitate to continue Beihang.

At that time, the married men who came to the Far East were mostly single-handedly, and after laying a certain foundation, they would bring their families.

The whole family moved in, either with a certain amount of capital, or it was hard to stay in the same place and sink the boat – Madden belongs to the latter category.

Like other Jews who came to Shanghai for the first time, Madden visited the two major Jewish families in Shanghai, Sassoon and Hardong.

Old Hatong lives in a private residence in Hatong Garden (now the Shanghai Exhibition Hall), which is decorated like Buckingham Palace.

In his sixtieth year, Ha Tong sat on a tiger-skin chair and looked at the young Jewish man in front of him. Madden was tall and burly, his eyes were aggressive, and the beard on his upper lip was strongly upturned. .

Madden stirred the coffee with a silver spoon and looked at Hatong, who was sitting on a tiger’s skin like an old king with white hair and silver beard.

He is indeed a king, and he built a huge business empire with nothing. Madden can’t find any trace of the homeless from him.

“I’ll be successful too!” Madden dismissed the original intention of putting him under Ha Tong’s fence in a flash.

In his later years, Hartung was kind and helpful. He would be eager to help any Jew who came to Shanghai for the first time.

If they can’t find a job, he will let them come to work in his foreign firm. The Jews are very aware that they will never eat a vegetarian meal. If you feel that you are a burden, you will voluntarily leave.

“Come and work in my company.” Hartung was not sympathetic, but fell in love with Madden.

Madden thanked Hardong for his sincerity, and he went to Tug & Lighter, a British firm.

This foreign company has a long history, but its development is slow and its business is not very prosperous. Madden chooses such a company, if he has other intentions, or is extremely stupid.

Madden once explained it this way: Hardong firm has a strict hierarchy, and the mechanism is seamless. It is difficult for people like me to go there. So I went to Tug & Lighter, which is easier to reuse and has more opportunities to exercise.

Madden is engaged in import and export trade in the company and often runs along the southeast coast. He met Jewish compatriots and members of the Kadoorie family in Hong Kong.

Kadoorie & Associates is already quite well-known in Hong Kong. It started out as a stockbroker, then got involved in the electrical industry, joining the Peak Tram and CLP Power.

Madden is about the same age as Lawrence Kadoorie, but he likes to talk to the old Kadoorie, Avery, who he thinks is an extraordinary person.

Madden’s acquisition of Tug & Lighter was inspired by Eli Kadoorie.

The Jews are an ancient nation that has lost their homeland (country), and the unity of the Jews is famous all over the world.

Except for the synagogue, Madden seldom went to the synagogue. The Jewish Hall is located near Jing’an Temple in Shanghai. It was originally a private residence built by Hartung, but he only lived for two years and donated it to become a club for his compatriots. Invisibly, Hartung gradually became the leader of the Jews in Shanghai.

Madden first stepped into the Jewish Hall, of course, in 1920. Five years later, when Madden stepped into the synagogue again, he was already a senior at Wheelock.

Madden acquired the Tug & Lighter Company. The old owner wanted to tell the old man to return to England, so he transferred the company to the loyal, shrewd and capable Madden at a more favorable price.

After Marden took over, he reorganized it and changed its name to WheelockMarden. The Chinese name was Wheelock and Wheelock.

If Wheelock was founded in 1854, then it is probably the history of Tug & Lighter.

Madden is a big class, and can only be regarded as a small development – Wheelock is just a dwarf among the foreign companies.

For the Jews in Adventurer’s Paradise, it was a strange thing not to make a fortune.

Madden met the diminutive Kadoorie and his son at the synagogue. They came to Shanghai to set up foreign companies. At that time, Jewish businessmen scattered their investments in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Madden said, “I will never go anywhere in my life. I will develop in Shanghai, and then I will find a second place in the Far East that is as profitable as Shanghai. You’d better move the head office to Shanghai.”

Avery smiled and said, “Since ancient times, castles will not have only one door (Hebrew proverb, meaning quite the Chinese idiom “Three Caves of the Crafty Rabbit).”

Madden naturally understands this principle: diversify investment and diversify risk.

However, if you can see one direction and try your best to forge ahead, the results will definitely be greater than being cautious.

Gu Jun In the following two decades, the situation in the Far East and China was turbulent, Madden and Kadoorie both suffered heavy losses, and political events were unpredictable even by politicians.

Wheelock’s main business is shipping and trading, with a fleet of inland vessels running along the Yangtze River.

At the end of the 1920s, the world economy was in a great depression, shipping was very sluggish, and many ships were moored in the harbor, like a pile of scrap iron on the water. Ship prices plummeted, even cheaper than scrap iron.

Onassis, the Greek ship king, took this opportunity to launch it. The 60,000-ton cargo ships owned by a large company in Garden were worth 2 million US dollars each 10 years ago. At that time, they fell to 20,000 US dollars for sale.

Onassis became stupid and bought 6 ships at once. When the world economy recovered before World War II, Onassis finally got lucky.

Madden doesn’t have the “stupid luck” like Onassis. He spent $100,000 to buy a second-hand ship from the American Pacific Shipping Company and started shipping by sea.

At that time, the regular passenger and cargo flights were all monopolized by the old steamship companies, and they were reducing their own flights, so Madden could not squeeze in. In the shipping business, there is one order or no one, and it is barely maintained without a loss.

In 1934, due to Roosevelt’s New Deal, the United States showed signs of economic recovery. Madden purchased another freighter before the price of the ship rose.

At that time, some people said that Madden was stupid, but soon, those who held this view stopped talking.

The world economy is picking up year by year. At the same time, the clouds of war are shrouded in thicker and thicker over the world. The shipping momentum is optimistic, and Madden is immersed in the dream of gold yuan.

After the fall of Shanghai, followed by the outbreak of the European War, the foreigners in Shanghai panicked for a while, and they made a lot of money and spent a lot of money as usual.

Shanghai, which is known as the Golden Nest, is still feasting and feasting, and the nightclub is full of the extravagant voice of singers.

Madden is optimistic about the war. The outbreak of the European War has brought prosperity to the global shipping industry. Madden’s two offshore scrap irons became two offshore gold mines.

In 1941, Madden established the Asian Aviation Company. He is ready to expand his fleet and compete with Taikoo, Jardine and Qichang for one day. Then, discuss the level with professional shipping companies such as Anglo-American and French.

On December 8, 1941, Japanese bombers dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor, a US Pacific naval base, blowing Madden’s Dream of the Asian Ship King.

On the same day, the Japanese invaded Hong Kong and the United Kingdom declared war on Japan. Japan declared British property in China as enemy property.

Madden fled Shanghai in a hurry and returned to England. Fortunately, his main asset was a sea vessel, sailing in the Pacific Ocean, so it did not fall into the hands of the Japanese.

During World War II, George Madden established Wheelock Company in London, and its subsidiaries included Asia Airlines and Longfeng Investment.

Longfeng controls Asia, but the business of the whole group is still dominated by shipping. All the ships carry troops and military supplies for the Allied forces.

In 1940, he graduated from the prestigious Trinity College, Cambridge University, with a Master of Arts degree.

Old Madden was brooding about his son’s studies in literature, and he advocated that his son should study shipping or business.

Madden’s character is as stubborn as his father, and he put his father’s training behind him. World War II shattered his literary dream. As an only son, he violated his father’s training again. He did not go to his father’s Shanghai Wheelock. The company, but the pen to join the Rong.

The war made John Madden more practical. After World War II, he joined his father’s company, Wheelock, London.

World War II made Britain’s national strength decline, and all industries seemed to have come to an end. The father and son discussed whether to return to the Far East for development.

In the summer of 1946, the Chinese Civil War broke out. Old Madden suffered from the war and decided to set up his head office in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is sheltered by the British Empire and is safer than the mainland during the war.

In December 1948, the Asian shipping industry was listed in Hong Kong. Madden and his son purchased a batch of old and new ships with the funds raised. The fleet owned by Wheelock was almost equal to Swire and Jardine.

Since the 1950s, the Chinese shipping industry, led by Shanghai-based ship merchants, has quietly risen. Little Madden, who was at the head office in Hong Kong, reported the matter to his father when he returned to England.

Old Madden said in a contemptuous tone: “The ship merchants in Europe and the United States are the giant whales and sharks, and the Chinese ship merchants are only shrimp and crabs at best. In the 1930s and 1940s, I met thousands of Chinese ship merchants in the Far East. Who among them became the climate?”

In 1955, a young Chinese who was a little shorter than Madden walked into the luxurious office of George Madden of Wheelock Company in London.

He is the future world ship king Bao Yugang. At this time, he does not have a ship.

If it weren’t for the arrangement of Douglas, acting chairman of HSBC, the arrogant George Madden might not have met Bao Yugang, who has no status in the business world.

Bao Yugang is neither humble nor arrogant. He talks about his idea of ​​shipping. Madden sat in the executive chair and stared at him, as if listening to a child narrating his dreams.

Madden said in an instructive tone: “Young man, as you Chinese people often say, you must take a three-point risk when you are on the boat. If you don’t get it right, you will lose the last shirt.”

Bao Yugang was confident and told that he was fully mentally prepared. Madden suddenly laughed and said in a sarcastic tone: “Imagine anyone can do it. The key is capital. The shipping industry has invested a lot of money, and you may not even have an old ship. Can’t afford it? That’s why you came to visit some of the seniors in the shipping industry, but you paid for it with your heart! Tell you, I will never subsidize people who have no experience in shipping, especially those who only run inland and offshore transportation. Chinese!”

Madden hit the nail on the head and directly poked at Bao Yugang’s “key point”. Indeed, Bao Yugang came to London to borrow money from Madden.

He didn’t expect to be humiliated, he could not help clenching his fists, but quickly restrained himself and said, “Mr. Madden, although I can’t buy an old boat today, it doesn’t mean I can’t buy a boat forever. !”

Most of the Chinese people Madden saw were obedient and respectful.

He did not expect the Chinese in front of him to be so strong and ambitious, Madden restrained his arrogance and said:

“I admire young men like you. Since you have dreams about boats, I’m here to fulfill your dreams. I have a boat, the Lord Granston, built in World War II and in good condition. If you want to buy it, I Reduce the price of the boat to 400,000 pounds, and provide you with a low-interest loan of 60% to 70%~www.mtlnovel.com~ A week before meeting Madden, Bao Yugang began to understand the old boat market.

He had heard several London shipping managers talk about the Lord Granston, and he was not interested in it.

Although this steel plate welded ship is not too old, it was built in wartime, cutting corners and waiting for delivery, poor welding skills, frequent water seepage, and war-torn, dilapidated. Dare to sail the ocean.

Bao Yugang suppressed his anger and said, “Mr. Madden, thank you for your kindness. If I buy your boat, you don’t pay me, but I lend you the money!”

Bao Yugang left with a flick of his sleeves, and Madden shouted at Mr. Bao’s back, “If the Easterners don’t get the support of the Westerners, they will never get a share of the ocean shipping industry!”

A few years later, Bao Yugang’s global shipping came to the fore, and its unstoppable momentum surprised Old Madden.

Old Madden never expected that this unknown young Chinese who had been ridiculed in every possible way would be closely linked to the future career of the Madden family.

Old Madden spared no effort to develop the shipping industry during his lifetime.

Given the political and economic situation at that time, Madden’s choice was extremely wise.

When Madden was alive, Wheelock had already become one of Hong Kong’s oceans and was quite famous.

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . Mobile version update fastest URL: