Chapter 320: The Queen's Road Central Land King Auction
February 12, 1963 – Outside the Lands Department in Hong Kong, a crowd of luxury cars had gathered in front of a tall building. Reporters swarmed the entrance, cameras raised high, capturing every moment.
"Look, it's someone from Hongkong Land—it's John Keswick."
"The Keswick family themselves? Jardine must really value this auction."
"Of course they do. Whenever a Central lot is on the table, Hongkong Land never sits out."
"Swire is here too, and so is Wheelock. Every time there's a land king in Central, it becomes headline news."
"There's Mr. Ho from Hang Seng."
"Hang Seng has been doing amazing lately. I heard they opened several new branches on the Kowloon Peninsula all at once."
"Mr. Yang from Changxing Real Estate has arrived too."
Under the flash of countless cameras, bodyguards swiftly opened the car doors. Yang Wendong and Zheng Zhijie stepped out calmly.
A swarm of reporters immediately surged forward but were quickly held back by a tight cordon of security guards. This was typical for major land auctions. Venues like this were always packed with security personnel to prevent journalists from harassing the tycoons.
But reporters were relentless. Even a single quote from a real estate mogul could shake the market or influence property prices.
"Mr. Yang, this way please," a man in formal attire stepped forward to lead the way.
Yang Wendong followed him to a private elevator, where he bumped into a familiar face.
"Mr. Huo," Yang Wendong greeted with a polite smile, "long time no see. You're here for the land king too?"
Huo Yingdong chuckled. "Not for the land king. I'm more interested in a few residential plots."
"You're too modest," Yang Wendong smiled.
They entered the elevator. With only their entourages accompanying them, Huo Yingdong asked, "Mr. Yang, I've noticed that Changxing Real Estate seems to be scaling back recently. Do you think the current property prices are too high?"
Yang Wendong replied, "Not quite. It's more about shifting investment strategy. My Carrefour supermarkets have entered into direct competition with Jardine's real estate arm, and in terms of property, we're at a disadvantage.
So, instead of renting or leasing, I plan to acquire my own land in key areas and build the commercial properties myself. Of course, that increases costs significantly. So, we're reducing some other real estate investments to balance it out."
Even if not a publicly listed company, a large enterprise like his couldn't make moves without attracting attention. Financial journalists, rival firms—everyone paid attention to big players like him.
Yang Wendong himself, even with future knowledge, kept tabs on major corporations' moves—public announcements, executive reshuffles, and large investments.
"Ah, I see," Huo Yingdong nodded. "Competing with Jardine's group is indeed troublesome. In the service sector, property costs can ruin your bottom line.
Maxim's is facing the same problem, but unlike you, they don't have the same capital strength."
"Maxim's? I've tried their pastries—never expected they'd be a target for Hongkong Land too."
Yang Wendong was aware of the company, but only as a customer. Unless an industry had huge market potential, he wouldn't get involved. At most, he might invest.
Huo Yingdong added, "Jardine is different from you. You create new markets, target overseas clients. But Jardine focuses solely on Hong Kong—whatever makes money, they're in. And once someone succeeds in a niche, they leverage their property holdings to squeeze out competitors."
"With control of premium commercial real estate, they can do whatever they want," Yang Wendong nodded.
It was a familiar model—like some tech giants in the modern internet era. They didn't create, just copied. Once others proved a concept, they swooped in to monopolize it.
Huo Yingdong said, "Honestly, British trading houses are all like that. Maybe Swire is slightly better."
"They're living off old wealth," Yang Wendong said. "But it's a lot of wealth—they'll keep living off it for many years."
Back in the early days, land on Hong Kong Island was practically worthless. Some of it was free—just claim it and start developing. Now, those lands were worth fortunes.
All of Hong Kong's accumulated wealth had been condensed into land value.
"Haha," Huo Yingdong laughed. "Let's hope one day, you can make them cough up that old wealth."
"Let's hope so," Yang Wendong replied with a half-smile. "Isn't that what today's auction is about—competing against them?"
Hong Kong's property market wasn't fiercely competitive—there was still plenty of undeveloped land. But Central and Causeway Bay were different. In those districts, the pie was fixed. If you wanted a slice, you had to fight for it.
In his early days, Yang Wendong had avoided head-on conflicts with traditional Hong Kong power players. But now, with the scale he'd reached, further growth meant direct confrontation—especially in real estate.
In terms of return on investment, few industries—aside from rare internet unicorns or blue-chip stocks like Walmart—could match Hong Kong real estate.
And as his influence continued to grow, there was no telling how the butterfly effect might alter the fates of global companies like Apple, Microsoft, or Google. Even if the U.S. remained dominant in tech, whether he could pick the winners was uncertain.
But Hong Kong real estate? The returns were ironclad.
"Haha, very true," Huo Yingdong nodded. "In real estate, the British don't know how to operate. They're no match for Chinese entrepreneurs."
"Then let's start today," Yang Wendong said.
"I'll be rooting for you," Huo Yingdong smiled.
After Huo Yingdong left, Yang Wendong turned to Zheng Zhijie. "Old Zheng, once today's auction is over, help me look into Maxim's."
"Maxim's? Sure. I'm one of their customers myself," Zheng Zhijie grinned.
Yang Wendong added, "If they're clashing with Jardine, maybe we can quietly give them a hand."
"Got it," Zheng Zhijie replied.
Inside the auction hall, the place was packed. Many of the Chinese property developers were there. Even those who had no interest in the land king were here for the other lots.
"Mr. Yang."
A familiar voice called from behind. Yang Wendong turned to see Ho Sin Hang.
"Mr. Ho, long time no see."
Ho Sin Hang smiled. "Mr. Yang, due to the competitive nature of today's auction, I'm afraid we won't be able to work together. I hope you understand."
"Of course," Yang Wendong said graciously. "Hang Seng's doing great these days. Building a new HQ is perfectly reasonable."
This was just business. No one would take offense. Rivals weren't enemies.
"That's good," Ho Sin Hang said. "But Mr. Yang, if it comes down to just the two of us bidding, perhaps we can coordinate to avoid letting the government make too much profit."
"How would we coordinate? Would you give up the bid?" Yang Wendong asked.
So far, only he and Ho Sin Hang were confirmed to be interested in the Queen's Road Central lot. Other Chinese firms could afford it, but most wouldn't compete.
If the plan was to develop and sell immediately, then coordination might work—to avoid a third party swooping in and raising the price.
But both men wanted to hold the property, so that made negotiation tough.
Government auctions were the perfect legal trap. Everyone wanted the land, and in the end, it was the government that profited most.
Ho Sin Hang said, "Hang Seng can offer concessions elsewhere—or refrain from bidding on similar lots in the future."
"I can't let this one go," Yang Wendong said, then added, "But perhaps you might consider letting me have it—so we both don't walk away empty-handed."
"Then it depends on our respective bottom lines," Ho Sin Hang replied. He understood Yang Wendong wouldn't back down.
Yang Wendong added, "Honestly, with Hongkong Land in the picture, it's hard to say how this will end."
"Haha, true. I was overthinking it," Ho Sin Hang laughed.
Both men understood that while they didn't want conflict, neither was going to back off when big money was on the table.
Soon, the auction began.
The initial lots were warm-ups, but for many companies, those were their own version of "land kings." Many mid-sized developers were excitedly bidding.
Yang Wendong turned to Zheng Zhijie and asked, "Any mid-tier British real estate companies in this auction?"
Zheng Zhijie shook his head. "No. Among British firms, it's either big players or tiny ones now. Mid-sized firms have mostly been crushed by Chinese competition or acquired by the likes of Jardine, Swire, and Wheelock."
"Mm." Yang Wendong nodded.
The rise of Chinese capital had first knocked out the mid-tier British players. The smallest firms, though numerous, could still survive on scraps. The largest? Not yet beatable.
Zheng Zhijie added, "And the big British firms don't actually have much development experience. Like Hongkong Land, they usually just buy land or develop on their own lots, then lease the buildings."
"They're outdated," Yang Wendong chuckled.
That was how things were done in the early '50s. But since Huo Yingdong popularized presales and shared space, Chinese developers had entered a high-speed growth phase—while the British firms clung to the past.
"Sold!"
The auctioneer shouted. A residential plot sold for HK$6.7 million—won by Huo Yingdong.
He smiled and cupped his hands toward the crowd.
Then the auctioneer spoke again: "Ladies and gentlemen, the next and final lot of today's auction: 213 Queen's Road Central. Total area: 26,300 square feet. Starting bid: HK$28 million."
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