Legend of Xiangjiang Tycoon

The Shanghainese who first came to Hong Kong only regarded Hong Kong as a safe haven.

Some try their best to go to Europe and the United States and other countries; some want to wait for the situation in the mainland to stabilize before returning to the mainland.

Many people like Bao Zhaolong met, and some never returned.

In this way, it is hopeless to go back to the mainland to do business, and only use Hong Kong as a permanent base. So, what to do?

The company is not far from the beach, Bao Wanggang likes to take a walk on the beach after work. Looking at the seagoing ships going in and out, Bao Yugang remembered his dream of sailing when he first saw the sea when he was young. He couldn't help but think of the people in Shanghai who made his fortune in shipping in Hong Kong. !

Bao Yugang's idea caused an uproar at home, Bao Zhaolong firmly opposed it, and even his friends thought it was incredible.

Friends discouraged him. Although shipping is very profitable, as the ancients said, water can carry a boat and capsize it. The sea is unpredictable and the risks are great.

My father said that there is a warning in the business world: "Don't do it if you are not familiar with it." How much do you know about shipping? There are dozens of shipping companies in Hong Kong. Some of them have been engaged in shipping since their ancestors. They are rich and experienced. Can you compete with them? A boat can easily cost hundreds of millions of yuan, and in the event of an accident, the money will be thrown into the water in vain. Where is the reliable land-based real estate business?

Bao Yugang's reason is: the boat is a water property that can walk, and the land property is dead. In the prosperous times of great peace, ships can make money by transporting goods; when the situation is turbulent, they can lift anchor and go away.

We go to the British insurance company to insure, even if we don't make money, we won't lose everything.

According to the prediction of the economic situation by authoritative magazines, the economy will recover rapidly after the war, at least there will be no world wars in the next year, and the world economy will have great development and prosperity.

The role of the ship is becoming more and more important. If the shipowner cannot make money, he can only blame himself for his incompetence.

Now the mainland is engaged in a self-sufficient economy, and even Shanghai, the largest import and export trade port in the Far East, is closed. Hong Kong's status will be particularly prominent. The world's goods from the Far East will gather in Hong Kong. .

Moreover, it is not necessary to take the route connected to Hong Kong. Where there is sea, you can take the boat.

Bao Yugang gave various reasons and finally persuaded his father. This year, Bao Yugang was thirty-seven years old.

Through the introduction of others, Bao Yugang flew to London to meet Madden, the president of Meeting Defeng, expecting Madden's support to borrow a sum of money to buy a ship.

The burly Mr. Madden greatly ridiculed the short, ignorant oriental man in front of him.

"I must buy a boat!" Bao Yugang, who had hit the wall, swore silently while sitting on the plane. There is no real estate as collateral, and no one with deep pockets can guarantee it. The only way is to buy a boat with self-financing.

Bao Zhaoyou was very worried about his son's career in the shipping industry, but was moved by his son's determination and fully supported his son to buy a boat. After many measures, the Pao family raised £200,000, equivalent to US$770,000 in cash.

Twenty thousand pounds short of what to do? Even the eastern and western parts of the family that were worth a little money were sold, and the relatives and friends who had a little money all contributed money to raise funds to collect the 200,000 pounds.

When Bao Yugang was at a loss, he suddenly thought that the price was set by the brokerage company, and he would inevitably boil some water. If he dealt with Williamson directly, it might be cheaper.

Bao Wanggang flew to London in a hurry, and he negotiated and bought this second-hand ship at a cost of 200,000 pounds.

This old coal-fired freighter was built in Glasgow shipyard in 1927, with a load of 8,700 tons, formerly known as Ying Xuan Na. According to the agreement, Williamson will repair and paint the boat.

Pao took a lot of thought for the name of the "new ship". Finally, it was named Jinan. The meaning of the word "Gold" means that the wealth is prosperous; "An" means the safety of people and goods when sailing. The English name of the security number is Golden Alpha.

On July 30, 1955, the foggy city of London had a clear sky, the sea breeze was gentle and the sun was shining brightly in the outer port. Bao Yugang watched the Jinan slowly leave the pier and disappeared at the sea level, that is, take the plane back first.

When the Jinan was moored off the coast of Hong Kong, Bao Yugang had negotiated a charter contract with Japan's Yamashita Steamboat Company. Register, inspect the boat and get a license, and then rent the boat to Yamashita Company.

A new household has emerged in the shipping industry in Hong Kong, which has many narrow ships. Colleagues do not feel threatened, but amused.

Bao Yugang has never been a captain and mate, nor has he worked as a staff member in a shipping company. Does he understand the semaphore language? Do you understand the delicate relationship between speed, route, coal consumption and freight rate?

However, this land duck is still self-aware, and does not understand the ship, so he simply chartered the ship to the overly shrewd Japanese for a long time at a fixed price lower than the market freight. It would be too stupid to suffer such a big loss.

However, a few years later, his peers no longer dared to underestimate Bao Yugang. Although Mr. Bao can't sail a boat, he knows how to sail, and he manages his fleet in an orderly manner.

Many years later, his peers were impressed by Mr. Pao. His stupid way of chartering a boat for a long time has caused his fleet to expand rapidly, and its momentum is almost equal to the old boat king Dong Haoyun.

Man proposes, God disposes. Even people who are confident in their abilities and courage will not ignore the important role of luck in a person's career.

In 1956, half a year after the Jinan was leased out, an event occurred that shocked the world and had a huge impact on the global shipping industry.

Egyptian President Nasser led his army to occupy the Suez Canal, and ships from non-friendly countries were not allowed to pass through the canal.

Almost all capitalist countries are classified as non-friendly countries, and 80% of the world's merchant ships are owned by these countries.

Hong Kong ships flying the Union Jack are also included. This is not a disaster for shipowners, but a boon. Most of the ships on the Eurasian route have to detour through the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. There is a shortage of ships and freight rates have skyrocketed.

At this time, the charter period of Yamashita Corporation of Japan expired. Yamashita Company paid several times the original rent to renew the contract for Jinan.

Bao Yugang got the deposit, and immediately added self-raised funds to buy a second-hand ship, signed a four-year lease with a freight company, and then tried every means to buy the ship after getting the money.

In just a few years, Bao Yugang owned 7 second-hand ships and established a global shipping company. The word "Global" shows Bao Yugang's broad-mindedness.

Bao Yugang pioneered the long-term chartering business. There are two ways: one is full-staff charter, the lease period ranges from 3 to 10 years, and the expenses of the ship are borne by Global Shipping, and the rent is collected in installments; The rent is charged on a monthly basis. This method is more convenient, but the rent is lower, and the principal and interest of the ship will be recovered for a longer time, but the risk is less.

Bao Yugang's rapid development is inseparable from the bank's support. Mr. Pao was a banker by background and was well versed in the role of banks. Relying on its own funds, the development is slow; operating with debts, on the contrary, it can achieve amazing long-term development.

When Bao Yugang was engaged in import and export trade, he met Sanders, the head of the credit department of HSBC. When he got involved in shipping, he mortgaged a ship to HSBC to obtain a small loan for working capital.

Pao is no longer satisfied with being a second-hand ship owner, he is eager to own a new ship. New ships are expensive to build. A ship with a displacement of 7,000 tons will cost one million US dollars - this is quite cheap, and the shipbuilding price in Japan is more than half lower than that in Europe.

Bao Yugang found Sanders again, and the lion opened his mouth to borrow $750,000.

Sanders clearly told Bao Yugang that all banks would not invest in shipping, aviation and movies. The capital of ships is concentrated, and the risks are extremely high, and the difference is a thousand miles away.

However, Sanders did not completely reject Bao Yugang, and gave him a chance. As long as the tenant's account bank could issue an LC letter of credit, HSBC could consider lending to Global Shipping.

Sanders knew that the Japanese were shrewd and tricky, and it was impossible for Bao to get the LC from the Bank of Japan, so it was okay to make Bao Yugang happy first.

Bao Yugang also knew that it was difficult to open a letter of credit, but he still went all out, that is, flew to Japan and found the Japanese manager who chartered his boat. Bao Yugang explained his intention in English, and the Japanese manager pretended not to understand and evasive.

Bao's insight into the other party's psychology, so he said: "My ship is very well managed in terms of management, you can rest assured. In addition, if my ship is wrecked, the insurance compensation will be all yours, and I will directly let the insurance company Put the money into your bank account and I won't take anything."

The Japanese tenant manager finally took Bao to the Kobe Bank, the bank where the account was opened. After repeated negotiations, Bao got his wish.

This bank credit card has become a stepping stone for Bao Yugang to embark on the road to the king of ships.

When Mr. Pao walked into Sanders' office of HSBC Bank with this LC, Sanders was horrified and thought it was a fantasy!

Bao Yugang broke the "rule of thumb" that HSBC would not lend to the shipping industry to purchase ships, and set a precedent for Hong Kong banks to invest in and purchase ships.

With the actual record of ordering new ships, Pao easily obtained the support of the Bank of Japan. Japan's policy has listed shipbuilding as a key industry to support. In order to attract foreign shipmen to order new ships in Japan, the interest rates on loans provided by Japanese banks to foreign merchants are much lower than those provided to natives.

This industrial policy of Japan has provided convenience for Pao's shipbuilding, but also resulted in the strange situation that the Japanese shipping industry prefers to charter ships rather than order new ships - which has brought great benefits to Pao's chartering out new ships. convenience.

Borrowing chickens to lay eggs—month, Bao Yugang’s first 16,000-ton new ship owner Sakura was launched at the Hakodate Shipyard in Japan.

By the end of 1968, Pao owned 50 ships, including 23 new ships, with a displacement of 3.5 million tons and a total value of 300 million US dollars.

The Bao family not only left the shipping giants Cao Wenjin and Zhao Congyan far behind, but also was on a par with the old ship king Dong Haoyun.

Bao's purchased four second-hand oil tankers, with a tonnage of 15,000 to 16,000 tons, which are small. Bao's funds were limited and he could only buy small oil tankers.

However, small has a small advantage: the speed is fast, and it is suitable for docking in small and medium-sized dock berths.

At that time, there were the largest number of oil tankers owned by the Greek and Norwegian ship kings. They were waiting for the price, and the one with the highest price got it. One-way lease to the oil company. A large raffle wheel traveled from the Persian Gulf to Europe, and the income reached several million. Dollar.

Bao Yugang still adopted a conservative and stable low-cost long-term lease. He flew to New York and came to the Exxon Oil Company building to meet with Mr. Niu Deng, the manager of the transportation department.

Pao recalled: "The man said: 'Ah, who are you?' I said I came from Hong Kong, and I introduced myself. I said that I will provide you with 4 small oil tankers, 15,000 tons and 16,000 tons. ton of small oil tankers, do you need them? He looked at me, and this man was Dave Newton. He said, 'I don't see a low charter price.' I said, 'Okay, you can have a lot Low charter price.' So they rented the boat."

Oil refining and sales are monopolized by European and American oil companies. European and American oil tycoons do not believe in the oil tankers managed by the Orientals.

Bao Yugang entered European and American oil companies with a price advantage, and still insisted on low prices after entering. Exxon is the oldest oil company, founded by Rockefeller, America's first billionaire.

Exxon led a good lead, and oil companies such as Shell, Texaco, and Mobil have successively become long-term tenants of the Pao fleet.

In June 1969, the 219,000-ton Shifeng, Pao's first giant oil tanker, was launched in Japan. Since then, Global has ordered 50 supertankers with a total tonnage of more than 100,000 tons, and more than 20 small and medium-sized oil tankers and mixed oil tankers. Oil tankers have become a key development project for global shipping.

In the early 1950s, it was difficult for businessmen from Shanghai to get the support of banks, and the compradors were all over the world. Leaving aside the regional feelings, there is a language barrier between the people in Shanghai and the people in Guangdong.

As far as foreign banks are concerned, their concept of discriminating against Chinese is deeply rooted, and they only associate with a few Chinese giants such as He Dong. There was a popular saying at the time: "If you want to get pounds of water (loans) from foreign banks, it's best to call Sir Dong Ho's godfather first."

Bao Wanggang, a former banker, is strongly dissatisfied with the practice of discriminating against Chinese by foreign-funded banks in Hong Kong, especially against Chinese from Shanghai.

Bao Yugang was in charge of a four-person trading company in Shanghai at that time. When the Korean War broke out, he was in urgent need of funds to buy materials that were in short supply in the mainland.

Bao Yugang bypassed the people of Guangdong Province and went straight to HSBC, the largest foreign bank. Bao Yugang claimed that he was an important member of a national bank in the mainland. HSBC's import department office, the deputy manager of the import department, is Guy Thayer and Sanders. They are all about to be promoted, Senna will be the chairman of HSBC, and Sanders will be the project manager.

Bao Yugang is an obscure businessman who has no commercial record or real estate in Hong Kong, so the cold reception of the two British people is expected. Maybe they were attracted by Bao's vulgar words, and they all listened to Bao Yugang's English petition patiently.

When he came, Sanders said: "I admire your courage, you don't have to explain it, we can also guess the purpose of the imported materials, they will be transferred to China, so we can't lend you a loan.

You may think that we are thinking of zz, which is completely wrong, war is dangerous, war risks, even insurance companies are shut out. "

Sanders recalled: "In 1952, Bao Yugang's company was not a very successful company, and there was no sign of prosperity. The company's accounting management was not standardized, and the trade volume was too small."

Bao Yugang has worked in a bank, and he knows that prudence is a "common problem" in the profession of bankers. He understands Sanders very well, and is pleased to be able to make friends with Sanders.

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