Tin Shui Wai, this place is similar to Tiu Keng Ling in the past, remote and backward, but last year, there were some changes here.
Wheelock Group and Cheung Kong Group jointly acquired 488 hectares of land at a price of HK$1.5 per square foot, of which Wheelock Group held 75% and Cheung Kong held 25%.
Although the price is extremely low, the government has additional conditions. Wheelock and Cheung Kong must complete the entire development within 11 years and meet the housing needs of 500,000 people.
Originally, everything was fine, but now that Wheelock Group has been controlled by Li Jianhui, the meaning is completely different.
Due to the notification from the Heung Kong Land Planning Department yesterday afternoon, Li Jianhui arrived at Morris Office on time at 9:30 am on Tuesday morning.
Li Chaoren had already arrived here, and as soon as Li Jianhui took his seat, Morris got into the main topic of the day.
"Mr. Li Jianhui and Mr. Li Ka-shing, since Wheelock Group and Cheung Kong purchased the land in Tin Shui Wai last year, a full year has passed without any sign of construction.
In accordance with Mr. MacLehose's request and the order of the Secretary for Administration, our Land and Planning Department will take back your land in Tin Shui Wai at the original price. I wonder what your opinions are on this?"
Li Jianhui was very familiar with Wheelock's original cooperation with Cheung Kong. You must know that the price he obtained for the land in Tseung Kwan O was based on the price negotiated by Li Chaoren and the Land Planning Department.
Times have changed, and the once British-owned foreign firm has been taken under his wing. Now he needs to face the development issue of Tin Shui Wai.
As for the government taking back the land, Li Jianhui will not agree. Just kidding, these 488 hectares of land are a huge amount of wealth. Since it has already reached his mouth, how can he spit it out?
Li Jianhui did not rush to refute Morris, but asked Li Chaoren on the side: "Li Sheng, I wonder what you Changshi thinks about this?"
Cheung Kong currently focuses on Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and has no plans to develop Tin Shui Wai in recent years.
Due to Li Jianhui's influence, a lot of changes have occurred in this life. Tseung Kwan O has become another popular land because of the Fai Hung Industrial Park and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Now, regardless of whether the focus of the government or real estate, apart from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, it is Sai Kung.
Even if Cheung Kong really develops Tin Shui Wai, commercial housing has been basically uninterested in the past few years. These urban residents would rather choose Tseung Kwan O than the remote Tin Shui Wai.
After all, the subway line from Hung Hom to Tseung Kwan O is already under planning. Once the subway is opened, it will only take a few dozen minutes from Kowloon to Tseung Kwan O.
Moreover, Li Chaoren knew very well that the government was deliberately trying to embarrass them this time.
To seize such a huge land, there was no problem with British-owned foreign companies in the front.
Now that Wheelock Group is controlled by Li Jianhui, the MacLehose government is obviously unwilling to let them hoard nearly 500 hectares of land at such a low price.
"I personally don't hope that the Planning Department will not respect the spirit of the contract, but if the government is determined to take it back, it can only choose to comply."
Morris immediately retorted: "Li Sheng, our government gave you the land at such a low price in the hope that you can build immediately and improve the living environment of Xiangjiang citizens, instead of letting you take the land and wait for the value to increase.
According to the agreement of the administrative bureau, if you enter the site within one month, complete the first phase of housing development for 100,000 people within two years, and must complete a housing construction plan for 100,000 people every two years thereafter, then the land will still belong to you.
Once the 100,000 housing project is not completed within two years, we will take back your undeveloped land for this project free of charge.
If you still just want to hoard the land without developing it, then our government can only take action to take it back now and find companies willing to develop it to take over."
In the era when the subway was not yet planned and even buses had to detour through Tuen Mun, it would take two or three hours to get into the city center.
Entering Tianshuiwei at this time is definitely not a good choice for real estate developers. Li Chaoren can picture the opening scene in his mind. Even if there is no crowd, there will not be many customers.
According to his previous plan with Wheelock, the two parties would not carry out development in the short term. They planned to wait until Tin Shui Wai had convenient transportation to the city before starting to enter the area, which would be at least five years later.
Moreover, John Madden, chairman of the board of directors of Wheelock Group at the time, also promised him that he would do his best to persuade the Hong Kong government to build the Tai Lam Country Park Tunnel, so that Yuen Long could reach Tsuen Wan directly through the tunnel without having to go around Tuen Mun, which would save one person.
About hours.
Now that this man has gone to Australia, his original promise has become a piece of paper. As for Li Jianhui, it would be great if the Xiangjiang government does not suppress him now. Let Li Jianhui persuade the government to increase the development of Tin Shui Wai. Not only will it fail, but it may also be counterproductive.
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"Cheung Kong has no intention of developing Tin Shui Wai for the time being, and I am willing to accept the government's proposal to recover the original price."
Morris looked at Li Chaoren and smiled meaningfully, then asked Li Jianhui: "I wonder what Wheelock thinks?"
"I would like to know if Wheelock Group develops housing for 100,000 people every two years. After the fifth phase is completed, the remaining land will belong to Wheelock Group?"
"If Wheelock Group completes the construction of housing for 500,000 people within 10 years as agreed in the contract, the remaining land will naturally belong to Wheelock Group."
What Li Jianhui was waiting for was what Morris said, and being able to kick out Changshi this time was exactly what Li Jianhui wanted.
It may be very difficult for others to develop Tin Shui Wai, but it is relatively easy for him.
At present, Huihong Industrial Park is already relatively crowded, and it is mainly building an electronics industrial park.
Jiayi Group is planning to build its own printing factory, which can be located in Tin Shui Wai. In the future, it also plans to locate the mobile communications and computer industries in Tin Shui Wai.
And regardless of these, as the number of citizens in Xiangjiang continues to increase, he will also make a lot of money in the future. Now it is just to squeeze more funds.
This is not a problem for him who has a cash machine called London Gold. Even if he spends money, he still wants to get the nearly 500 hectares of land in his hands.
Li Jianhui promised that Wheelock Group would develop housing for at least 100,000 people every two years, with a total construction period of ten years, and asked the Land Planning Department and Wheelock to re-draw the contract and hold a press conference to announce it.
This was to prevent the Land Planning Department and even the government from changing their minds again. Everyone in Xiangjiang knew this, and the Land Planning Department did not dare to damage the government's image.
Li Chaoren's 25% stake was also directly purchased by Li Jianhui. From today on, these 488 hectares of land will only belong to Wheelock Group.
When the contract was signed, all three of them had smiles on their faces and seemed to have achieved their goals.
The situation is a bit strange no matter how you look at it. If Li Jianhui and Morris can be forgiven for achieving their goals, it is a bit strange for Li Chaoren.