Chapter 210 Home Ownership
A few days later, the weather was clear and Liu Zhicheng, accompanied by Hao Qingwen, came to Tin Shui Wai for inspection.

Currently, the road from Hong Kong and Kowloon to Tin Shui Wai still has to go through Tuen Mun. Only after the Tai Lam Tunnel is opened will it be possible to go directly from Hong Kong and Kowloon.

The current distance from Hong Kong and Kowloon to Tin Shui Wai is almost the same as that to Yuen Long Industrial Park.

After driving for almost an hour, Liu Zhicheng and his party finally arrived at Tin Shui Wai.

After getting off the bus, what came into view was a large construction site, full of busy construction workers and the noise of machinery.

"Mr. Liu, the land leveling work for the entire project is currently halfway completed, and the first phase of the project has been completed."

Hao Qingwen pointed to several buildings not far ahead and continued to introduce: "The four office buildings have already started to rent out, and the shopping mall on the ground floor is also being rented out."

"Well, how is the renting situation now?" Liu Zhicheng asked slowly.

"Not ideal." Hao Qingwen shook his head.

"How are the sales of residential buildings?" Liu Zhicheng continued to ask.

“We have sold more than half of the orders, but it is worse than we expected.”

Liu Zhicheng just shook his head and did not make any indicative criticism, because this could not be blamed on Hao Qingwen, after all, Tin Shui Wai was too remote.

Liu Zhicheng continued to ask: "How is the infrastructure construction here now?"

"A community center and a police station have been built, as well as a primary school and a secondary school. They have all been handed over to the Hong Kong government." Seeing that his boss was a little unhappy, Hao Qingwen had no choice but to continue reporting.

"Well, let's go to the front and take a look."

Then, the group got back in the car and continued to inspect the entire project.

"Mr. Liu, the road we are seeing now is a special road built by the Urban Group for road racing. They now hold a motorcycle road endurance invitational race every autumn." Hao Qingwen continued to introduce in the car.

"Well, you have to cooperate with Manager Sun and others on this project and make it have its own brand and influence." Liu Zhicheng nodded and said.

Tin Shui Wai is still a typical rural area today. If it were not for the roar of construction machinery at the Tin Shui Wai construction site, no one would have thought that this place belongs to Hong Kong.

After a while, the convoy arrived at the beach of Houhai Bay, and Liu Zhicheng asked the convoy to stop.

Houhai Bay is what was marked as Pengcheng Bay on the mainland maps of the previous life, and on the other side is the famous Shekou Industrial Park.

Standing on the beach, you can vaguely see the appearance of the factories in the Shekou Industrial Park.

In the past life, in the new century, a cross-sea bridge was built here, and vehicles traveling between the two sides could pass free of charge.

If this cross-sea bridge could be built ahead of time, it would be beneficial to the development and quality improvement of Tin Shui Wai. However, I don’t know whether it can be achieved with current engineering technology.

"Is it convenient to get from Tin Shui Wai to Pengcheng now?" Liu Zhicheng asked.

“It’s quite convenient to start from Tin Shui Wai via Yuen Long and San Tin Highway.”

As the Futian Port has not yet been built, people traveling between Hong Kong and the mainland must pass through the Luohu Port.

If you go from Tin Shui Wai to Shekou Industrial Park, you have to take a detour, which is extremely inconvenient.

In the morning, Liu Zhicheng made a cursory inspection.

In the afternoon, in the meeting room of the Tin Shui Wai Project Department, Liu Zhicheng was preparing to hold an on-site office meeting.

Hao Qingwen knew that the boss had already had a general understanding of the current status of the project in the morning, and now was just the beginning of today's topic.

"Although the Hong Kong government had a fiscal surplus last year, it was not too much, and there was not much money to invest in the development of Tin Shui Wai.
Therefore, the Hong Kong government can only make policies, and all other infrastructure needs our own investment, so the development pressure of Tin Shui Wai is quite high. " Liu Zhicheng set the tone at the beginning of the meeting.

Before coming to Tin Shui Wai, Liu Zhicheng visited Youde at the Hong Kong government and reached some consensus.

"The internal roads in Tin Shui Wai, the police station, the fire station, and the school all need us to invest in and build them, and then hand them over to the Hong Kong government?" Liu Zhicheng glanced at Hao Qingwen and asked, "Mr. Hao, this is the current situation. What do you think?"

Hao Qingwen thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Liu, no matter how well the construction is done, if the main highway connecting Hong Kong and Kowloon to Tin Shui Wai is not repaired,
It will definitely not develop. Without transportation links with prosperous areas such as Hong Kong and Kowloon, the economy will not develop at all.”

"It is impossible to build a subway in the short term. As for highways, the Hong Kong government has already approved the project. Even after the Tai Lam Tunnel is opened, it can only reach Yuen Long. It will take at least two to three years to reach Tin Shui Wai.

Although we have opened bus routes from Tin Shui Wai to various places, I think it is not enough. We should open buses directly to Hong Kong, Kowloon and Lo Wu Port. Remember, they should be direct express buses.

Secondly, the Star Ferry. Since it can take people from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon Peninsula and Lantau Island, it can also take people to Tin Shui Wai, but the distance is a bit far.
But we can also buy high-speed ships. Although they are not as good as roads, they can at least alleviate the traffic problem. "

"That's fine, we can only try it first." Hao Qingwen nodded and said.

“Building a new town is easier said than done. Without all the infrastructure in place, how can citizens come here to buy homes and settle down? This is probably one of the reasons why sales are not ideal.

If no one comes, we will continue to invest like this, and even if we can handle it, the pressure will be very great."

Even if there is a detailed and clear plan now, it can only be carried out step by step. The financial investment involved must be handled with caution by Liu Zhicheng.

Even in the mainland of the past, which was known as an infrastructure maniac, there were only a handful of cases involving building new cities from scratch.

Generally speaking, expansion is carried out step by step on the outskirts of the original old city because the resources required are huge.

"Okay, if we do this, we need to build a larger port in Tin Shui Wai," said Hao Qingwen.

“After this port is built, we will have to apply to the Hong Kong government to open a direct route to the Shekou Industrial Park. This will make travel between the two sides of the strait much more convenient,” Liu Zhicheng nodded and said.

In fact, living in the fringe areas of Hong Kong does have certain advantages, as housing prices in the prosperous areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon are too expensive.

As long as Tin Shui Wai has convenient transportation and complete living facilities, it will attract a large number of Hong Kong citizens to buy houses and settle down.

The success of Li Chaoren’s Jiahu Villa in his previous life is the best proof.

It’s just that Superman Li was a pure businessman. He did not activate the economy of Tin Shui Wai. He just walked away after making money, causing Tin Shui Wai to become a slum in Hong Kong in the new century.

In this life, although Liu Zhicheng has a large number of industries under his control, it is impossible to move them here because Hong Kong's industry is about to reach the "end of the road" in the manufacturing industry.

Therefore, Liu Zhicheng built an electronic square, hoping to make some contribution to the development of Tin Shui Wai. Of course, Liu Zhicheng can provide some employment, but it does not mean that success will be guaranteed if there is employment.

Moreover, it is unlikely that Liu Zhicheng could provide employment for the hundreds of thousands of people in the new town. Even if he opened all his industries in Tin Shui Wai, he would not be able to accommodate so many people.

Besides, this is simply unrealistic.

Therefore, if we want more stable development, we still need to vigorously develop the service industry.

Moreover, there are various service industries, which definitely need to attract people from all walks of life to develop them on their own.

But if it can provide some jobs and complete infrastructure, as Hong Kong's housing prices continue to rise, the effect will definitely be better than in the past.

Of course, housing prices may be more expensive than before, depending on the choices made by citizens.

"If we can attract some Chinese capital, it will indeed be easier to succeed," said Hao Qingwen, nodding.

"Well, so, when you go back, spread the word that our group's office in Hong Kong and Kowloon will be moved to Tin Shui Wai within this year, and encourage employees to buy houses.

Moreover, when group employees come to buy houses, we provide preferential loan interest rates, down payment discounts, and mortgage term extension support through Far East Bank.

Moreover, we will also provide similar preferential policies to Hong Kong citizens who do not own a house.

We need to appropriately grade and launch high-end and low-end residential areas, and provide housing estates of different densities for citizens to choose from.”

"Okay, Mr. Liu, I will adjust the plan appropriately right away. In addition, regarding the construction of the port, I will coordinate with Wharf Holdings to implement it immediately. As for public transportation, I will instruct KMB to open relevant routes tomorrow."

Don't underestimate the current mortgage interest rate in Hong Kong, which is basically around 6%. If Liu Zhicheng offers some discounts, it will also attract many home buyers.

Now that Liu Zhicheng is rich, even if he earns less, he must do something beneficial to the citizens.

But making money is also necessary, and seeking fame is also necessary. For example, the construction of schools in Tin Shui Wai was all donated through the Yanxin Zhicheng Charity Foundation.

Just like the preferential housing purchase activities for ordinary citizens this time, the slogan is: everyone has a home to live in.

Having money can solve many problems. While making money, it can also enhance Liu Zhicheng's influence in Hong Kong.

The next day, Hutchison Whampoa immediately sent a group of port experts to Tin Shui Wai to discuss the issue of port construction.

Similarly, Kowloon Motor Bus submitted an application to the Hong Kong government to open a direct bus route from Tin Shui Wai to Hong Kong, Kowloon and Lo Wu Port.

At the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, today Superman Lee invited Cheng Yu-tung and Lee Shau-kee to have morning tea.

"Tin Shui Wai is building a new town. Liu Zhicheng is really a man who would make a big splash if he does make a name for himself." Li Chaoren said, shaking his head after putting down the newspaper.

Today's Tiantian Daily published an exclusive interview with Liu Zhicheng, talking about the "Home Ownership Plan". The editor also praised Liu Zhicheng to the skies, praising his merits in benefiting Hong Kong citizens.

"Last year, Whampoa Group and Swire Properties did not participate much in land auctions, nor did they purchase other land. They were just seriously developing their own real estate. We didn't expect such a big move to suddenly come." Zheng Yutong also said with a smile.

Li Zhaoji, who was sitting on the side of the sofa, said with a smile: "I just don't like those small projects, but if I encounter such a big project, how can I not be tempted.

Moreover, this Tin Shui Wai project was acquired by Liu Zhicheng many years ago. Do you think he would have thought of what is happening today at that time?"

"It's unlikely. He probably bought it because the land there is large enough. But his current preferential policies will also have some impact on some of the properties we have." Li Chaoren said slowly.

"We don't need to speculate on Liu Zhicheng's original idea, but I think that the Tin Shui Wai new town plan has a real chance of success.

Look at the problem of inconvenient transportation. He controls Kowloon Motor Bus and the Star Ferry, so he can improve the transportation problems in Tin Shui Wai by himself. You see, he also talked about it in the interview.

Similarly, he also talked about employment, education, and preferential housing purchases. These preferential policies are quite attractive to ordinary citizens of Hong Kong. "Lee Ka-kee said slowly.

"I think he is just a troublemaker. This plan will definitely lower the housing prices in Hong Kong." Li Chaoren said with a smile.

"In fact, due to the constraints of restricted land policies, the impact will not be too great. Who among the rich would go to the countryside to buy houses?" Li Ka-shing continued to analyze.

"Liu Zhicheng has such a big plan. Is it possible for him to cooperate with us to develop it?" Zheng Yutong asked.

"You mean, Liu Zhicheng will ask real estate companies like us to cooperate with him for development?" Li Chaoren asked.

"It is really possible. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for one company, Whampoa Group, to be responsible for everything," said Li Ka-shing.

"That's also our chance." Li Chaoren nodded.

"There's no rush. Even if Liu Zhicheng joins forces with the Hong Kong government, it will take at least two to three years to see some results. We can take it one step at a time." Zheng Yutong nodded.

"That's right." Li Chaoren nodded and said with a smile.

Many people are paying attention to Tin Shui Wai, and citizens are discussing whether to buy a retirement home in Tin Shui Wai or buy a house of their own.

Among them, many real estate companies are also waiting to see the results. If Tin Shui Wai really develops, can they also develop a few small real estate projects nearby?

After the Tiantian Daily reported the incident, the Hong Kong media also paid attention to it and hyped it up for a while, but it soon died down.

Apart from Liu Zhicheng's reiteration of the idea of ​​"everyone having a home to own", the environment in Tin Shui Wai is such that there is really nothing to speculate on except real estate.

The Hong Kong market soon returned to calm, and new houses were being built everywhere.

When the profit is high enough, construction workers will keep working, home buyers will not stop looking at houses, and scalpers will not give up trading.

However, for ordinary Hong Kong citizens, there is another place to refer to, Tin Shui Wai, which offers housing purchase discounts.

Whampoa Group has launched a free bus ride campaign for citizens who come to Tin Shui Wai to view properties.

Once this policy was introduced, it attracted a large number of ordinary Hong Kong citizens to visit Tin Shui Wai during holidays.

There are huge crowds of people, but only a few are real home buyers.

In a few years, when housing prices in Hong Kong skyrocket, they will realize the benefits of Tin Shui Wai.

(End of this chapter)