Chapter 477

Shen Bi's acting skills successfully deceived governor Youde. In his mind, HSBC's interests may override the British Empire. After all, HSBC is a listed company, and he should first be responsible to the board of directors.

Youde stood in the middle of the stage and said, "thank you for taking the time to come to the governor's house in your busy schedule. You have seen the theme of today's banquet. The purpose of inviting you here must have been known, and you don't have to hide here. "

"Not long ago, the clown of Argentina dared to attack the Falkland Islands of the British Empire, which was a provocation to the imperial authority. Therefore, London has sent troops to safeguard the interests of the British Empire. It is believed that victory is only a matter of time. "

"As we all know, once the cannon rings, there will be ten thousand taels of gold; War is an extremely costly act. In recent years, Britain's domestic economy has developed slowly, so it can be said that its own funds are not very sufficient. "

"But the soldiers on the front line need the most advanced weapons and the most perfect logistics support, which all need a lot of funds to support. Therefore, the British Empire decided to issue war bonds in Xiangjiang, with an annual return of 5%. I know you are all big entrepreneurs and super rich. You may not like the 5% return. But this is the greatest sincerity of the British Empire. At the same time, you should also consider that this is during the war. Therefore, I hope you can buy it enthusiastically. "

"If you buy a pound more bonds, the front-line soldiers may have more protection. Here, on behalf of the British Empire, I would like to thank you and hope to get your support. "

Youde's speech can be said to be regular. He knows that there are super rich and human spirits here. Talking about too many empty things will disgust people, and having baozixuan's 1 billion pound backing also makes him more confident.

However, reality poured cold water on our governor Youde. After he said that, no one bought war bonds. Even some British companies did not come forward, which made Youde very angry. It seems that these people have been in Xiangjiang for too long. They don't know why they can do business on this land. It would have been a dream if the British Empire hadn't made these people so comfortable to do business here.

Now everyone is rich in oil, but when they are asked to contribute, they all step back. There is no such dedication as their ancestors. I don't think you can be so comfortable after the British Empire loses the rule of Xiangjiang.

They're not coming, but they can't. London is still waiting for news. Youde can only take the initiative to break one by one, otherwise he can't finish the task, but he has to bear the responsibility.

Youde came to the small circle of British businessmen and wanted them to take the lead in buying. This is a good way to ask other Xiangjiang businessmen, especially Chinese businessmen, not to refuse.

Soon Youde found his first target. John Madden, the leader of Xiangjiang huidefeng foreign firm, was neither strong nor weak. He was the most suitable bird.

Huidefeng is an old British funded foreign firm. It was founded in Shanghai by George Madden, a British Jew, in 1925 to operate shipping and warehousing. In 1932, it merged with Shanghai towboat Co., Ltd. of Canadian Thomas Willock to form huidefeng. After the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, the company moved its headquarters and fleet to Britain, but after the war, its founder had no foundation in China and turned to vigorously develop shipping business, so as to flee in case of great changes and withdraw as soon as possible. Although George retired in 1959, the policy of developing shipping to reduce political risks has been followed by his son John Madden. As a result, its business lagged far behind and finally changed hands.

In 1976, Xiangjiang's economy recovered and the real estate market flourished again, which expanded huidefeng's real estate business. In 1977, it developed phase I of fuze garden in North Point with HEC, and built industrial buildings in Tsuen Wan and Xinpugang, which greatly increased the asset value of the group. Nevertheless, when Huide Fung developed real estate at that time, it would rather revalue the lower land and allocate it as capital, and then cooperate with other powerful developers to thin the profits. Among them, in 1980, huidefeng's federal real estate and Li Chaoren's Changjiang industry formed Zhuo Jian Investment Co., Ltd., each accounting for 50% of the equity; Zhuo Jian first purchased the federal building and international building under huidefeng for 1 billion yuan, and received 500 million cash. Then, with the help of Zhuo Jian, Li Chaoren sold the two buildings for 2.235 billion yuan, and then let huidefeng cash out 1.1 billion yuan. Li Chaoren also shared 1.1 billion yuan. After deducting the 500 million yuan originally paid to huidefeng, he made 600 million yuan in just a few months. Huidefeng's lack of confidence in the future of Xiangjiang and its business practices are too conservative, which eventually makes its profits far behind developers such as Changshi and Sun Hung Kai.

However, the good days did not last long, and the real damage to huidefeng was caused by the retrogression of the shipping industry in 1980. From 1979 to 1980, Bao Yugang was pessimistic about the prospect of world shipping and sold a large number of ships. However, huidefeng not only purchased a large number of fleets from Bao Yugang, but also further ordered new ships in Japan, Spain, Denmark and China. In just three years, the number of fleets increased by 18. In 1982, the net fixed asset value of the fleet reached 1.633 billion yuan, a significant increase of 70% compared with 941 million yuan in 1979. This wrong judgment eventually led huidefeng to record a loss of 60 million yuan in 1983. In contrast, Bao Yugang saw that his second-largest customer, the Japanese shipping company, was on the verge of bankruptcy due to poor management in 1978. He was deeply wary of shipping. Then he adopted the strategy of "abandoning the boat and landing", sold a large number of fleets at low prices, and even did not hesitate to tear down oil tankers for scrap iron. By 1986, its fleet had been reduced to 65, with a carrying capacity of 8 million tons, only 40% of its peak period.

Although huidefeng is now in a period of suffering, the thin dead camel is bigger than a horse, and the rotten boat has 3000 nails; It's still not a big problem to ask them to take out some money. And Youde believes that as long as huidefeng buys war bonds, other enterprises have no reason to refuse.

You can have de Feng difficulties in difficulties. People have paid money to support the country's war. The others were watching.

Governor Youde came to John Madden and said, "Hello, Mr. Madden. We haven't seen each other for a long time. How have you been lately? "

John Madden actually wanted to leave when he saw governor Youde coming. It must be bad to know that the old boy came. But now when I hear him say hello, I can't ignore it. How can I say that people are also governors, and the face they should give should still be given.

Although John Madden did not have the ability and courage of his father, he was still a qualified leader. At least there are no major defects in management and operation. It may be that the vision is slightly poor and the prediction of the international situation is much worse.

John Madden: "the global shipping industry has been depressed recently, so the shipping business of de Feng will be greatly impacted. The company is also in a difficult period, and I hope your Excellency the governor will give you more support. "

Hearing John Madden crying in front of himself, he just didn't want to buy war bonds. How can we make him do what he wants? After all, he has to pay for himself.

Youde: "no matter how difficult it is, it can't be as serious as the crisis faced by the British Empire. Now it's time for all British people to shoulder their responsibilities. Therefore, I hope the Madden family can be the leader."

John Madden doesn't want to be a leading bird. It's not good, and many people will think you're a soft persimmon and pinch it if you want in the future.

John Madden: "in Xiangjiang, there are many rich people in Deheng and the Madden family. The governor should find them to be the leader. The strength of the Madden family does not allow me to do so."

Youde thought that if someone wanted to do it, I would come to you. He really regarded himself as a onion. But we can't say that now. After all, we have come to ask John Madden.

Youde: "this is a domestic decision. With the rise of Chinese capital, the status of British capital in Xiangjiang has declined a lot. There are fewer and fewer enterprises like huidefeng that are still run by the founding family. Therefore, London hopes that huidefeng can play an exemplary role. "

Why not go to HSBC, Jardine and Swire to be the leaders? I'm just worried that others will refuse. Their Jewish identity is still too angry. It seems that the British have never taken them as their own people, and sometimes they need you to be a leading bird.

Now that the high-rise in London has been used to press people, there may be some moths later! Knowing that you can't refuse, it's better to accept it happily, so at least you can get a good result.

John Madden: "I don't know what the governor wants to do. The Madden family will not refuse to help the country."

Hearing John Madden's answer, Youde smiled and said, "you will buy £ 50 million war bonds on behalf of Defeng. After the war, count the Madden family's great merit."

John Madden: "governor, Huide Feng doesn't have so much cash on his account at present, so he can't complete the task."

Youde: "I know you are in trouble. You can contact the bank for a loan. Isn't there a lot of giant ships in Huide Feng! Can be used to mortgage loans, and then use loans to buy treasury bonds. "

John Madden's nose was almost crooked when he heard the governor Youde's method. Huidefeng has to spend higher interest loans than war bonds, and then buy war bonds. In this way, millions of pounds will be posted every year. What's the difference between this and open robbery? Moreover, the main war bonds do not know when they can be cashed, but the bank loan has a term, and the interest must be paid every month.

Isn't this driving people to a dead end! It seems that Youde doesn't want to feel better, and the Madden family hasn't offended him! Why do you stare at yourself? It seems that you should understand this matter after you go back.

John Madden: "huidefeng's ship has been mortgaged, so I can't make a secondary mortgage. I can only raise 15 million pounds to show my sincerity. There's nothing I can do about the rest."

What Youde wants is to have someone buy it first, but he doesn't care how much. After all, he has promised that baozixuan can't disclose the information of his first buyer; Even if everyone knows, some words can't be said clearly.

Now, if de Feng is willing to be a leading bird, it is also right to give them appropriate relief.

After receiving the governor's message, joant said into the microphone, "thank Mr. John Madden for his support for the imperial cause. He has agreed to buy £ 15 million war bonds."

Hearing that someone finally started, we all know that this matter can't be avoided. After all, after someone buys it, the balance in the hall will be broken, and then things can't be decided by yourself.

We didn't expect that Huide Feng actually fired the first shot. I heard that their funds are very tight recently! It seems that sometimes rumors can't be believed. This old family hides very deeply.

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