In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 1007 Pengcheng Undergoes Tremendous Changes

It seems this must have been arranged by the Guangdong province.

Lin Haoran knew his subordinates well; they understood that he didn't like making such a high-profile appearance.

No one would take it upon themselves to make such a show, just to anger the boss.

On the other hand, in Guangdong Province, the Daya Bay project is about to be discussed, and Guangdong Province wants to express its attention and gratitude to him in this way.

"Mr. Lin, welcome, welcome!" When Lin Haoran stepped off the wingship and onto the soil of Pengcheng, the leading senior leader from Guangdong Province quickly came forward, extended his right hand, and laughed heartily.

"I heard you came two days early, so I thought I had to come and pick you up. You have invested in so many projects in the Pearl River Delta, making a huge contribution to the development of Guangdong Province. As your leader, I should come and thank you in person."

"Commander Liu, you're too kind." Lin Haoran grasped his hand and said with a smile, "You are the elder, and I am the junior. I should be the one visiting you. How could I trouble you to come and pick me up in person?"

"Haha, Mr. Lin is too modest." Chief Liu patted Lin Haoran on the shoulder. "Business is business. You are our most important partner in Guangdong Province. It is only right that I welcome you."

Besides, you're here for the Daya Bay project, which is extremely important to Guangdong Province. How could I, as a leader, not attach great importance to it?

Then, other Guangdong provincial leaders, including leaders from Shenzhen, came forward one by one to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with Lin Haoran.

Lin Haoran responded with a smile.

He had experienced this kind of scene countless times and was already very familiar with it.

The welcoming ceremony lasted about twenty minutes.

Finally, his old subordinate Yang Mingyi also came up to greet him.

When he took over the Wan'an Group from his father, Yang Mingyi was the company's general manager.

However, as the company's business grew, Yang Mingyi's abilities became somewhat inadequate.

Later, Lin Haoran sent him to the mainland to be in charge of all of Wanqing Group's investment affairs in the mainland.

Although it's called an overseas assignment, it's actually a disguised form of placement. It gives him a respectable and powerful position so that he can continue to contribute his expertise without feeling out of place at the Hong Kong headquarters.

Yang Mingyi is in his fifties this year. He has gained some weight and has a lot of gray hair at his temples, but he is in good spirits. He is wearing a dark gray suit and stands straight.

Lin Haoran glanced at his loyalty rating, which was 93, the same as two years ago.

This data shows that he has no problems in mainland China.

With that, Lin Haoran felt relieved.

To be honest, he is also a sentimental person and doesn't like to easily kick away the old people who have been with him for many years.

Although Yang Mingyi's abilities cannot keep up with the requirements of the Hong Kong headquarters, his performance in the mainland over the past few years has been remarkable. He has made an indispensable contribution to the Wanqing Group's current scale.

Lin Haoran is willing to give such a person a platform so that he can continue to realize his value.

The premise is that he remains loyal to himself or the company, and does not use his position in the company to do things that harm the company's interests.

A loyalty rating of 93, while not the highest, was enough to reassure Lin Haoran.

This number means that Yang Mingyi has virtually no chance of betraying him.

"Boss, welcome to Pengcheng," Yang Mingyi said with emotion.

"Mr. Yang, it's been a long time. Last night, when I was chatting with my dad, he mentioned you." Lin Haoran said with a smile.

Yang Mingyi was one of his father Lin Wan'an's old subordinates. When Lin Wan'an founded Wan'an Real Estate, Yang Mingyi was one of the earliest people to follow him.

For more than 20 years, they have weathered storms together. Yang Mingyi has gone from a young man in his early twenties to a middle-aged man in his fifties, while Lin Wan'an has also gone from his prime to old age.

This bond cannot be simply summarized by an employer-employee relationship.

"Thank you for your concern, former chairman. To be honest, it's been a long time since I visited you, which is really something I shouldn't have done." Yang Mingyi's eyes reddened slightly as he recalled the past.

“My dad often talks about you.” Lin Haoran patted his shoulder. “He says you are reliable and honest, and one of the people he trusts most. When you have time to go back to Hong Kong, go see him. He will be very happy.”

"Definitely, definitely." Yang Mingyi nodded repeatedly, his tone sincere. "Boss, please tell the old chairman for me that once I'm done here, I will definitely go back to Hong Kong to see him."

Lin Haoran nodded and didn't say anything more.

He understood Yang Mingyi's feelings.

Most of the veterans who followed Lin Wan'an in building the empire have now retired or semi-retired, and Yang Mingyi is one of the few who is still contributing his remaining energy in an important position.

Subsequently, led by Yang Mingyi and other mainland heads of Wanqing Group, Lin Haoran chatted with many Guangdong provincial leaders while inspecting the docks and industrial parks.

In mainland China, Wanqing Group actually has more than just this one industrial park; there are as many as five, distributed in several places in the Pearl River Delta, and all of them are super-large industrial parks.

Most of these are used to meet the production needs of the many brands under the Langwei Group in Asia, and are basically not leased out, because there is no need for them.

After all, among the many groups under Lin Haoran's control, apart from Langwei Group, a consumer giant mainly producing globally renowned daily necessities, snacks, and beverage brands, Hong Kong Electric Group's Fortress Electrical Appliances Company, Wanqing Group's building materials company, and Hong Kong Telephone Company's telecommunications equipment assembly company, etc., have basically all moved their production bases from Hong Kong to the Pearl River Delta.

Low labor costs, low land costs, low water and electricity costs—the advantages are numerous.

An electrical appliance produced in Hong Kong may cost several hundred Hong Kong dollars, while produced in the Pearl River Delta, the cost may be less than half that.

The same product, the same quality, but a price that is much cheaper—this is an overwhelming competitive advantage in the market.

Lin Haoran initially advocated for moving the production base from Hong Kong to the mainland, which many people did not understand. They felt that the business environment in the mainland was uncertain, the policies were unstable, and the infrastructure was inadequate, making a hasty relocation too risky.

But Lin Haoran saw it very clearly: labor costs, land costs, and water and electricity costs in Hong Kong were constantly rising, and if production continued in Hong Kong, the profit margin would only shrink.

After shifting to places like Shenzhen, costs dropped dramatically, while export prices remained unchanged. Subtracting costs, this meant their profits at least doubled or even more.

Today, most of the production bases of Lin Haoran's various industries have been moved to the Pearl River Delta.

The Hong Kong headquarters retains high-end functions such as management, design, R&D, finance, and trade, while labor-intensive production and manufacturing processes are mostly located in mainland China.

This "front shop, back factory" model fully leverages Hong Kong's international advantages while also benefiting from the low-cost advantages of the mainland, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.

Oracle Semiconductor's production base, however, is temporarily unable to be transferred to the mainland due to Western technology embargoes, and can only remain in Hong Kong.

This is indeed a bit of a pity, but Lin Haoran also knows that what the mainland lacks now is not the world's most advanced technology, but manufacturing industries that can bring countless jobs to the mainland and employment opportunities that can help people get out of poverty and become rich.

The semiconductor industry chain is too long, from design to manufacturing to packaging and testing. Each link requires a lot of technical accumulation and talent reserves, which cannot be built up overnight.

Once the mainland's manufacturing base is solid enough, once there is a sufficient talent pool, and once the Western technological blockade gradually eases, it will not be too late to transfer the semiconductor industry over.

Lin Haoran has plenty of patience and time.

After inspecting the industrial park, it was already past 1 p.m.

The Guangdong provincial leaders originally planned to host Lin Haoran in the city, but Lin Haoran politely declined.

It wasn't that he was being disrespectful, but rather that he preferred to have a working lunch with the management team of Wanqing Group, chat over the meal, and learn about the real situation at the grassroots level.

At grand banquets, amidst the clinking of glasses and the exchange of pleasantries, only polite words are spoken; the truth is nowhere to be heard.

Lin Haoran hadn't been to the mainland for a long time. He needed to know the real situation at the grassroots level, not listen to reports that had been filtered and embellished.

After lunch, Lin Haoran's car left Wanqing Industrial Park and drove around Shekou.

Shekou today is completely transformed compared to when he first came here.

He remembered that when he first came to Shekou, it was mostly farmland and wasteland, and the roads were mostly dirt roads.

Today, the wide cement or asphalt roads extend in all directions, and industrial parks are springing up everywhere. Rows of factories stand in neat rows, and large trucks shuttle back and forth on the roads, creating a bustling scene everywhere.

The sign for Shekou Industrial Zone stands prominently and solemnly at the intersection, signifying the special identity of this land: the forefront of reform and opening up, and the first stop for foreign investment entering the mainland.

In addition to the industrial parks built by Lin Haoran's various groups, there are also many large, medium and small industrial parks built by the local government. They are now rented to foreign-funded factories at reasonable prices and with good service, attracting a large number of companies from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Europe and the United States to move in.

After leaving Shekou, we soon arrived near Nantou Shahe.

Although both are located near Pengcheng Bay and have well-connected roads and numerous factories, Lin Haoran could sense that the industrial park here was significantly less vibrant than the one in Shekou.

Some factories are so deserted that, apart from the security guards at the gate, there isn't a soul in the industrial park.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Yang Mingyi pointed to the factory buildings outside and said with emotion, "Boss, Shekou is now the most important foreign-invested industrial park in the entire Guangdong Province. Power supply there is a priority, but as far as I know, many factories often have to operate on a 'three days on, four days off' schedule due to severe power shortages, such as the industrial park in Shahe."

Many foreign-invested enterprises are hesitant to expand production for this reason, and even many foreign businessmen who came to investigate are afraid to invest. Otherwise, the development of the entire Pearl River Delta would certainly be much faster!

Lin Haoran nodded. He had already heard detailed data about this phenomenon from Minister Liang.

Power shortages have become the biggest bottleneck restricting the economic development of the Pearl River Delta.

With factories unable to operate, foreign investment hesitant to enter, and workers having nothing to do, the pace of development naturally slowed down.

This is a vicious cycle, and the only way to break it is to solve the power supply problem.

No wonder the mainland government is so eager to bring the Daya Bay nuclear power plant project to fruition.

Roads are infrastructure, and so is electricity, which is even more important than roads.

Without roads, goods cannot be transported out, but at least we can find a way to detour.

Without electricity, the production line came to a complete standstill, and there was nothing that could be done.

The mainland government has spent a lot of effort in recent years building roads, ports, waterways, and electricity to lay the foundation for economic development.

Only with a solid foundation can the economy take off.

Given the current situation in mainland China, the power shortage problem definitely needs to be solved first.

After leaving Shahe, the car headed east along Futian Commune.

He could clearly sense that there were several times more private cars on the road compared to his last visit to Shenzhen.

This is a change that has been so significant in just over a year.

What will this place look like in three or five years?

He could almost picture a city of towering buildings, bustling traffic, factories operating day and night, and cargo ships coming and going in the port, the whole city like a finely tuned machine, tireless.

This rate of change is unseen in Hong Kong and in the United States.

Only in the mainland, only in the forefront of reform and opening up, can one witness such an astonishing speed of development.

Looking out the car window at the street scene, Lin Haoran was filled with mixed emotions.

Four years ago, when he first came here, Futian was still a vast expanse of farmland and wasteland, with a few low-lying villages scattered here and there.

Now, the farmland and wasteland have all disappeared.

On some construction sites, bulldozers, excavators, and cranes are busy at work, and workers wearing safety helmets are moving back and forth on the scaffolding, as buildings rise from the ground.

This led Lin Haoran to compare it with the Shenzhen of 1983 that he knew from his previous life.

In another world, Shenzhen in 1983 had undergone some changes, but it was far less prosperous than it is now.

He remembered from information he had learned on the internet in his previous life that in 1983, Shenzhen's Shekou Industrial Zone was just starting out, with construction sites and wastelands everywhere. Luohu was still farmland, and Shennan Avenue was still a dirt road. The whole city looked like a big construction site, rather than a modern city that was beginning to take shape.

And now, the Pengcheng before him is at least comparable to the Pengcheng of the early 1990s in his previous life.

The Shekou Industrial Zone has taken shape, Luohu is beginning to prosper, Shennan Avenue has been paved with asphalt, and there are newly built factories and residential buildings everywhere.

This speed of development was unimaginable in the previous life.

This made Lin Haoran feel somewhat proud.

After all, only he knew that the changes in Pengcheng were entirely due to the indirect influence of him, the time traveler.

Otherwise, Pengcheng will only be able to develop step by step, just like the Pengcheng of the previous life.

Of course, he can be proud of these things himself, but he certainly can't take credit for them in public.

The car passed through Futian and continued eastward.

The streets have changed even more.

The most obvious difference is that the buildings are now different heights.

If the buildings on both sides of Futian Street are mainly a few to a dozen stories high, then those in Luohu are mainly a dozen to twenty stories high.

The most eye-catching feature is a 38-story commercial building. It was clearly topped out not long ago and was having its exterior glass curtain wall installed, which glittered in the sunlight.

The building has a square and imposing design, with a dark blue glass curtain wall that contrasts sharply with the surrounding gray and white concrete buildings, making it look particularly modern and contemporary.

Lin Haoran recognized the building at a glance. It was the tallest building in mainland China built by the Landmark Group in Shenzhen. The building was 128 meters tall, more than ten meters taller than the original tallest building, the Jinling Hotel.

He remembered that when he last came here, the building had started construction, but they were still digging the foundation.

Unexpectedly, a little over a year later, the building was almost completed.

Besides this building, there are many other commercial buildings in Shenzhen with more than 20 to 30 floors.

More than two-thirds of them were invested and built by groups under Lin Haoran, such as Hongkong Land Group, Wanqing Group, and Hong Kong Electric Group.

This is not because Lin Haoran wants to develop real estate in Pengcheng. At this time, Pengcheng is not very suitable for real estate development, and even if it were, not many people would be able to afford it.

Rather, it's because his businesses need these commercial buildings.

The mainland headquarters of Wanqing Group, the headquarters of Hong Kong Electric Group in Shenzhen, the sales center of Fortress Appliances, the brand showroom of Langwei Group, and the headquarters building of Hongkong Land Group in Guangdong Province all need decent office space.

Instead of renting someone else's building, why not build your own? This way, you can meet your own needs and enjoy the benefits of asset appreciation—a win-win situation.

The remaining third was basically built by the Shenzhen government itself.

For example, Pengcheng Electronics Building, and even Pengcheng International Trade Building, which has already started construction.

Due to the influence of Lin Haoran's numerous enterprises, Pengcheng's fiscal revenue is now significantly higher than that of Pengcheng in another world during the same period.

Skyscrapers, as a form of prestige, are the best calling card for attracting foreign investment.

A modern city without even a few decent high-rise buildings will make foreign investors uneasy.

The Shenzhen government has clearly recognized this, so it is willing to spend money on infrastructure construction, not only building roads and bridges, but also taking the initiative to build a number of landmark buildings.

The high-rise buildings constructed by Lin Haoran's various groups have clearly been a great boost, enriching Shenzhen's skyline in just a few years.

Looking out the window at the towering buildings that had sprung up, Lin Haoran felt a deep admiration for the decisiveness of the Pengcheng government.

In just a few years since the reform and opening up, Shenzhen has undergone such changes. In addition to favorable policies, a good location, and a large number of talents, the government's execution ability is also a key factor.

In other places, the approval process alone can take two or three years, not to mention land acquisition, demolition, and construction.

“Boss, that’s the Wanqing Building in Pengcheng. It’s the fourth tallest building in Pengcheng that has been topped out, standing at 82 meters. It officially went into use six months ago and is also the headquarters of the Wanqing Group in mainland China.” Yang Mingyi pointed to a building a dozen meters away.

This building may not be much in Hong Kong's Central district, but in Shenzhen, it is already considered a landmark building.

The building's exterior walls combine light gray stone with dark blue glass curtain walls, creating a simple yet grand design. The four large characters "Wanqing Group" are prominently displayed on the roof.

Lin Haoran nodded.

Shenzhen's development has been relatively short, and it's unrealistic to expect a sudden surge of skyscrapers over 100 or 200 meters tall.

Not to mention Shenzhen, even in Hong Kong today, apart from Lin Haoran's building which is under construction and is the world's tallest building, the tallest building is the Hopewell Centre, which was completed three years ago. It is 216 meters tall and is the No.1 tallest building in Asia.

The second is the Sun Hung Kai Centre, which was completed two years ago and is 214.5 meters tall.

As for Lin Haoran's own Kang Le Building, it has now fallen to third place, with a height of 178.5 meters.

Therefore, it is quite normal that most of the buildings completed in Shenzhen today are only a few tens of meters tall.

After all, a city's skyline doesn't grow overnight; it takes time, funding, demand, and planning.

It's a miracle that Shenzhen has grown from a small fishing village to its current size in just a few years.

We shouldn't expect too much from it, nor should we directly compare it to international metropolises like Hong Kong, which have been developing for over a century. (End of Chapter)