Li Shau Kee, the second richest man in Hong Kong, has a famous saying: "Small business is afraid of food but not interest, big business is afraid of interest and not afraid of food." It means: small business needs to be diligent, big business needs to be good at calculation.
Li Shau Kee, who is a big businessman, started a small business step by step, so he has unique insights into both types of business.
At the age of 6, he went to Tianbaorong Gold Shop and Yongsheng Silver Store opened by his father to learn to manage gold, exchange and foreign currency trading, and soon became his father's right-hand man.
At the age of 18, Lee Shau Kee traveled to Hong Kong alone with a thousand dollars.
He started out with his old business - gold buying and selling and foreign exchange. With the gold and silver industry housekeeping skills accumulated in his youth, he earned his first pot of gold. Then do import and export trade. It was not until 1958 that he and a friend established Yongye Company, entered the real estate industry, and began to lay a foundation for a huge business
Lee Shau-kee also has a famous saying: "Injustice is rich and expensive, and I am like a floating cloud."
This is Lee Shau-kee's way of doing business: a person should have his own principles and ideals, and he should not use any means and no morality. to do business.
Li Shau Kee, who has an extraordinary talent for business, is practicing these principles, from small business to big business. Now, Lee Shau Kee is Asia's richest billionaire. He founded Henderson Land Group, one of the three largest real estate developers in Hong Kong, with a market value of over HK$300 billion.
Lee Shau Kee's Investment Philosophy: Smell the Fragrance to Bet
"Businessmen's investment behavior is like eating food. Wherever they smell, they will run there." Lee Shau Kee interprets his investment philosophy in this way.
From operating gold trading, doing import and export trade, and then switching to real estate, in 2004, the investment focus shifted to the financial industry. Every change shows that Lee Shau Kee has the vision of a strategist, is proficient in calculation, and can seize every investment opportunity.
The beginning of the edge If it is said that he is engaged in gold trading, it is only because Lee Shau Kee is familiar with the way. Then when he switched to import and export trade, he began to show a keen business sense.
In 1951, he and Yang Zaoying, deputy general manager of Jincheng Bank, had a tea in a teahouse. Jincheng Bank's loan targets are import and export trading companies and manufacturing plants. Yang Zaoying told him: According to the existing business data, it is expected that the export sales of Hong Kong products will surge next year, reaching more than 600 million yuan
Lee Shau Kee estimates that if Hong Kong products are sold in excess of HK$600 million in the coming year, it will account for 20% of the total value of Hong Kong's exports. So he immediately started from the hardware industry, engaged in import and export trade.
By 1958, he had amassed a considerable sum of money in preparation for a bigger business.
At that time, Hong Kong's industry and commerce were developed, and the population increased rapidly. Taking 1954 as an example, the Hong Kong government announced that the total number of workers in Hong Kong exceeded 210,000, nearly double the number in 1953.
The housing issue is closely related to the lives of workers, but the low-rent housing introduced by the government only meets the needs of some people. Lee Shau Kee is very sure that houses are urgently needed in the current market, so he decided to enter the real estate industry.
Lee Shau-kee's sharp-edged strategist vision is in full display in Hong Kong's real estate industry.
He cooperated with eight friends including Guo Desheng and Feng Jingxi to establish Yongye Company. Since then, Hong Kong's real estate market has soared. The employees of Yongye Company have grown from 3 people at the beginning to more than 10 people.
In 1962, in order to protect the interests of the citizens, the Hong Kong government announced that from July of the following year, the rent increase of new buildings should not exceed 10% due to the rapid increase in rent
The "Three Swordsmen" of Lee Shau Kee, Kwok Tak Seng and Feng Jingxi were still optimistic about the prospects of the real estate industry, and decided to start anew in 1963 and set up Sun Hung Kai Enterprises Limited
In 1973, after Sun Hung Kai went public, the "Three Swordsmen" parted ways. Lee Shau Kee continues to be optimistic about the real estate industry. He and his friend Hu Baoxing founded Yongtai Construction Co., Ltd., which was later listed.
Next, Yongtai Jianye experienced two crises.
The first time was in 1974. Affected by the stock market crash and the oil crisis, Hong Kong property prices fell from the peak of 220 yuan per square foot in 1972 to 176 yuan per square foot, and the transaction volume was also quite small.
Lee Shau Kee believes that the crisis is temporary. The basic strategy he implements is: buy the land according to the plan, build it according to the building, and sell the finished product according to the plan. Sure enough, in 1976, the Hong Kong real estate market fully recovered, which confirmed his prediction.
The second time was 1983-1984. At that time, the Chinese and British governments held several rounds of meetings on the Hong Kong issue, but failed to achieve coordination, and the relationship between the two countries was tense. The whole of Hong Kong is shrouded in gloom and fog, and people's hearts are turbulent. The Hong Kong property market is a backwater.
During this period, Henderson owed huge debts to more than 20 banks. Lee Shau Kee not only has to pay the bank repayment, but also has to pay the construction cost of the development site. However, Lee Shau Kee still promised shareholders: "Henderson Land will take Hong Kong real estate as its main business."
At the end of 1984, China and the United Kingdom ended the dispute over the sovereignty of Hong Kong. Some of the entrepreneurs who have turned to overseas markets due to the uncertain political situation have returned, and they have begun to invest in Hong Kong to buy properties or buy their own residences. The real estate market is coming back to life
In 1988, Henderson Land Development Co., Ltd., founded by Lee Shau Kee himself, acquired Wing Tai and changed its name to Henderson Land Development Co., Ltd. Since then, Lee Shau Kee has traveled all the way in the Hong Kong real estate market, with smooth sailings.
In 2004, Ekin Lee, who insisted on being optimistic about Hong Kong's real estate industry, said, "Hong Kong's real estate industry is too competitive, and traditional real estate developers need to develop new businesses."
Currently, Henderson Land will focus on the mainland , There are dozens of real estate projects in the mainland, and plans to invest 30 billion Hong Kong dollars to build affordable housing.
Lee Shau Kee explained that the mainland is a big place with many counties and cities, and the land can be said to be inexhaustible. There are more than dozens of cities that can invest in real estate, and many projects can be invested in and developed.
He personally also transferred his investment to mainland corporate stocks, changing from "loud god" to "stock god". In the past three years, Zhaoji Financial Enterprise, which he established, has increased its assets from HK$50 billion to HK$120 billion.
Lee Shau Kee's Business Philosophy: Stressing Integrity
Lee Shau Kee believes in the customer first and always puts the interests of users first. As a result, he and his company have a good image in the minds of consumers.
In 2006, Henderson Land Development Co., Ltd. won the honor of "Top 500 Most Valuable and Honest Real Estate Brands in China". Consumers also have great confidence in Henderson Land: Henderson Land's "Hengli Bayside" project has achieved sales of 700 units within two weeks of its launch.
The favor of consumers is inseparable from Henderson's honest development attitude.
Take a clubhouse as an example. There is a law in China that the owner of the community is not the owner of the clubhouse. However, the person in charge of Henderson Group once said that when Henderson came to the mainland to develop real estate, it would still adhere to the development attitude of protecting the owner's ownership when it was in Hong Kong. From development, sales to final use, the ownership of the real estate club belongs to all owners, and the developer or property management company is only responsible for its management
Another latest corroboration is the case of giving up profits to China Gas.
Three or four years ago, Lee Shau Kee's private company signed a 25-year LNG contract with Australia. It was priced at $25 a barrel at the time.
Later, the price of natural gas rose to US$60 a barrel, but Lee Shau Kee still sold the natural gas to China Gas at the cost price. China Gas has not raised its gas bills for the past nine years, and in 2006 it even cut the gas bill by 10%.
Lee Shau Kee said: "I am quite comforted by this, because it is good for society. The users of China Gas can save HK$800 million a year, and in 25 years, they can save HK$20 billion."
Someone asked Why would he do this? He replied: "Cheap comes and goes, users benefit, why not do it? I think this is worthy of everyone."
Enjoy success
In an instant, Lee Shau Kee is 96 years old. His life is more leisurely now. Wake up very late every day, play Tai Chi or play golf, and return to work in the late afternoon. Lee Shau Kee said that at present I can say that I have retired.
The youngest son Li Jiacheng is married and his daughter-in-law is pregnant with Liujia. Lee Shau Kee sent a 163.33-pound gold brick to his daughter-in-law, implying that he will live forever. Perhaps, the accomplished Lee Shau Kee now thinks more about making fun of his grandson.
The author is editor of the CEConline website.
