Chapter 518: 504

Lu Jiaxin told Guh Haifan to take Guh Xiuxiu to Shallow Bay next week to look at that residence, and to pick a room she likes. She can decide how to furnish it, and she’ll just need to notify the butler or Secretary Zhang afterward.

After staying at the Guh Residence for over half an hour, Lu Jiaxin left after he received a phone call. Guh Haifan, now grown up and sensible, knew she was busy with important matters and did not insist that she stay for dinner.

Lu Jiaxin went to Xinxin Real Estate and upon meeting Tan Gang, asked, “You mentioned on the phone that Chinese Real Estate intends to sell Harcourt House and Windsor Duke Building?”

It was Tan Gang who had called her, suggesting that Chinese Real Estate planned to sell these two buildings, prompting her to hurry over. She knew that Harcourt House, located at 39 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, was a Class A office building situated between Admiralty and Wan Chai stations, near the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. The Windsor Duke Building was located at the intersection of Gloucester Road and Jardines’s Bazaar in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island.

Tan Gang said with a smile, “Boss, a friend of mine works at Chinese Real Estate. He knew you were interested in buying premium properties and told me the news as soon as he could.”

His friend shared the information with Tan Gang because the more buyers interested in a property, the better, as competition can drive up the price; and if the deal were successful, the friend would certainly be rewarded.

Lu Jiaxin inquired about the price for the two buildings, a total of 2.5 billion. Although the stock crash had wiped out many people’s fortunes, the impact on real estate was less than expected.

As the owner of a real estate company, Lu Jiaxin had a clear understanding of market property prices and the value of landmark buildings in Hong Kong. She said, “Then negotiate with them. If they can reduce the price a bit, that would be best, but it’s not a problem if they can’t.”

Tan Gang’s eyebrows rose in delight.

Lu Jiaxin had been too busy to come over in the past few days. Now that she was here, naturally, she wanted to inquire about the recent land and property acquisitions.

Tan Gang handed a thick document to Lu Jiaxin, “Boss, these are the detailed records of the land and properties we have purchased in the past month.”

Lu Jiaxin read the first three pages carefully, then stopped looking at the rest. Closing the document, she said, “Since I’m free right now, take me to see the properties we’ve acquired.”

Regarding the land, if it was near the properties, they would take a look at it en route; if the location was too remote, they would skip it, especially since there wasn’t much time.

Although a significant amount of money had been spent, the focus on quality over quantity meant that the number of properties was limited. After touring them all, Lu Jiaxin was very satisfied and stated, “We’ve had a heavy workload this month, and everyone has worked hard. Tan Gang, double the staff’s bonus this month.”

Tan Gang was overjoyed and said with a smile, “Thank you, boss.”

An extra month’s salary was a small sum; the year-end bonus was what mattered. Although Xinxin Real Estate wasn’t listed, it was now on par with established real estate companies.

With this thought, Tan Gang asked, “Boss, a friend mentioned that our company is eligible to go public. We’re not planning to list, are we?”

He felt that since their boss wasn’t short on cash, she probably wouldn’t go public. Going public meant not only making the company’s finances transparent but also releasing a portion of the equity to the public.

Lu Jiaxin chuckled, “Knowing this, why do you still ask?”

She intended to be a landlady; how could she possibly let Xinxin Real Estate go public? Not only would that require financial transparency and public scrutiny, but she would also have to put up with the incessant carping of the “antiques.”

Tan Gang said with a smile, “Rest assured, boss, that’s what I told them. With your financial resources, there’s absolutely no need to go public.”

Companies go public for reputation and to raise funds to expand. Her boss could get money from the financial markets, so there was no need to go public.

After returning home, Lu Jiaxin called Nie Zhan and spoke about the matter, “Ah Zhan, the location of these two buildings is excellent, and I want to acquire both.”

Nie Zhan hadn’t heard the news yet, but he quickly understood the reason. He said, “In a few years, Hong Kong will be returned. Jardines is British-owned; they will gradually sell their property holdings and transfer the assets. Since you have ample cash flow, it makes sense for you to seize the opportunity.”

On this matter, Lu Jiaxin remarked, “Now emigration is the trend, but they don’t consider how hard it is to live abroad. By selling off Hong Kong assets now, they won’t be able to afford them upon their return.”

A story once circulated: in the eighties and nineties, someone sold their ancestral courtyard house to develop overseas. More than twenty years later, they returned, thinking to come back in glory, only to find out that their earnings couldn’t even afford a well-located flat, let alone the courtyard house they had sold.

This story also applies to Hong Kong people who emigrated in the late eighties and early nineties. They sold off their real estate to move abroad, and when their overseas endeavors didn’t pan out and they returned, they found they couldn’t even afford a house anymore.

Nie Zhan felt there was no need to worry about this, “Emigration is costly, and ninety-nine percent of the citizens don’t meet the requirements. As for the wealthy, Chinese entrepreneurs have their roots in Hong Kong, and they wouldn’t likely shift their business focus overseas, at most maintaining an escape plan elsewhere.”

What about Wansheng Real Estate and Wan Sheng Bank? Where could they move? They were dragons in Hong Kong but would be less than worms elsewhere. And transferring all assets abroad without prior planning might leave them vulnerable to being slaughtered like fat sheep. The ones who left were mostly British capital or middle-class and small business owners.

The news about Harcourt House and Windsor Duke Building being for sale soon spread, with many interested parties, including Chinese Real Estate, which was the most eager.

Zong Shimeng got wind of the matter and called Lu Jiaxin, “Jiaxin, I have a good relationship with the wife of the general manager of Jardines. Do you want me to introduce you?”

Lu Jiaxin didn’t think it was necessary and diplomatically declined. Now that everyone in Hong Kong knew of her considerable wealth, if Chinese Real Estate still wanted to compete, they could go head-to-head!

With the message from Lu Jiaxin, Tan Gang indicated during the negotiation that Xinxin Real Estate was willing to pay a 5% premium to acquire the two buildings. Due to the impact of the stock market crash, property prices were dropping. Jardines was not selling off the buildings because of the downturn in real estate; they had their own strategic considerations.

Upon receiving the news, the investment department of Chinese Real Estate immediately reported to Da Liu, their boss, “Boss, I heard that Miss Lu made a fortune in the stock market. She’s willing to pay a 5% premium for these two buildings. If we bid higher, she will likely raise her offer too.”

Getting something at the highest price is one thing, but they didn’t know exactly how much cash flow Miss Lu had. Miss Lu seemed determined to win, and raising the price too high would either be a loss for them if they won, or create enemies with Miss Lu and Mr. Nie if they lost.

The investment department manager, seeing his silence, added, “Boss, we acquired Harcourt House by paying more than a 20% premium over the initial price. To pay that much premium for these two buildings would far exceed our budget.”

Hearing this, Da Liu gave up the competition.