Lin Huowang, however, had anticipated this. He maintained a respectful expression, but his mind was perfectly clear.
He smiled and nodded, then said very sincerely, “Your Excellency Governor, Mrs. Shen, I fully understand your concerns.”
Such a huge loan application does indeed seem overly aggressive.
But I can assure you that this funding is not for personal speculation or risk-taking, but rather for a clear, ambitious investment plan that is of great strategic significance to the future development of Hong Kong Island.
Its success has brought immeasurable benefits to the upgrading of Hong Kong Island's economic structure and its long-term prosperity.
Lin Huowang knew very well that if he wanted to persuade the two people in charge of Hong Kong Island, he had to be sincere and let them see real benefits and advantages.
Otherwise, no matter how eloquently you speak, it will have no persuasive power whatsoever.
Capitalist societies don't value personal relationships; they value interests, and everything is weighed in terms of interests.
All decisions are based on the magnitude of the benefits and whether the sacrifices are worthwhile.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Shen Bi became interested, leaned forward slightly, and squinted as he asked, "Oh? Since it's not silver futures, what exactly do you intend to do with these four billion Hong Kong dollars? Mr. Lin, please be more specific."
Governor Murray MacLehose did not speak, but his gaze clearly swept over them. His silence indicated that he did not object, and also conveyed that he hoped to continue listening.
Lin Huowang met their gazes and then decisively stated his answer: "The automotive industry. I want to use this loan to build a complete and internationally competitive automotive industry chain for Hong Kong Island and for future cooperation with the mainland!"
"auto industry?!"
Shen Bi and Ma Lihao cried out almost simultaneously, their faces filled with disbelief.
They never expected that Kobayashi Tenmoku, who had only just entered Hong Kong Island at the age of eighteen and had not accumulated much experience, had barely taken control of the Hong Kong Land Group with some strength and luck, and now wanted to take a leap to the top and get involved in the highly technical automobile industry.
It has to be said that, in the eyes of the two of them, Kobayashi Tenno was aiming too high and his self-confidence had swelled to an unimaginable degree!
In the automotive industry, private individuals often have little access to it.
The development of the automotive industry in any country is inevitably driven by national power and coordinated by the entire national industrial chain.
There are far too many uncontrollable factors and risks involved.
Furthermore, the world's major industrialized nations, such as the United States, Britain, Germany, and Japan, have now developed very sophisticated and powerful automotive industries.
These patents and technologies in the automotive industry have effectively blocked newcomers, making it extremely difficult for them to profit from the automotive industry while operating within their constraints.
Knowing this very well, HSBC tycoon William Sham was the first to shake his head and frown, rejecting Lin Huowang's proposal and saying very seriously:
"Mr. Kobayashi, are you kidding me? Hong Kong Island is a tiny place with expensive and scarce land resources, and industrial land is extremely scarce!"
Where can we find a place to build a large automobile factory? There is no systematic heavy industry base here, such as steel and chemical industries!
The pool of skilled industrial workers is virtually nonexistent! Furthermore, where is the market? How many people are there on Hong Kong Island? The local market simply cannot support the operation of an automotive industrial system!
What about the brand? What about the technology? Starting from scratch? That's simply a pipe dream!
When he was in the UK, he had been exposed to the automotive industry, so he had a good understanding of it.
After he launched into a barrage of critical questions based on the realities of Hong Kong Island, Governor Murray MacLehose, standing beside him, added with a grim face: "Mr. Kobayashi, your ideas are... grandiose. But detached from reality! Hong Kong Island's geographical conditions and industrial positioning determine that it is more suitable for developing finance, trade, shipping, and light processing industries."
The automobile industry, a capital-intensive, technology-intensive, land-intensive, and labor-intensive heavy industry, is simply not suitable to take root here!
You're gambling with four billion Hong Kong dollars—no, you're gambling with Hong Kong's financial stability—on a mirage!
Clearly, Governor Murray MacLehose's tone was full of strong disapproval and criticism. Kobayashi Tenno's words just now further confirmed his suspicions, and he felt that Kobayashi Tenno had been blinded by success, and dared to even touch such a behemoth as the automobile industry.
Faced with the two men's fierce criticism based on common sense, Lin Huowang remained completely calm.
He waited until the two had finished speaking before calmly refuting them point by point:
"The difficulties you both mentioned are objectively real. But times are changing, and so is the landscape. We cannot limit our vision to just the 1,100 square kilometers of land on Hong Kong Island."
Land, factories, workers—the mainland has all of these!
Moreover, these are abundant, high-quality, and relatively inexpensive resources!
The mainland has already partially opened up, with the Shekou Industrial Zone serving as a pilot area. We can fully utilize the "processing trade" model, and even go further, directly investing in Shekou or other future open areas!
By placing core R&D, design, brand operation, and high-end manufacturing on Hong Kong Island, and moving the land- and labor-intensive production processes to the mainland, this is a win-win situation!
As for the market? Mainland China will be the world's largest automobile consumer market in the future!
That's beyond doubt! Moreover, leveraging our advantages of integrating British technology, mainland manufacturing, and Hong Kong's international gateway, we can achieve lower costs than Japanese cars while matching or even surpassing their quality!
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