Chapter 115: Application for a Massive Loan
Wei Zetao didn't give it much thought and responded immediately, "No problem."
Yang Wendong didn't say anything else, and the car fell silent.
In the short term, he actually didn't need to cooperate with HSBC—just Hang Seng Bank was enough.
Although Hang Seng Bank might face a bank run in the future, that was still years away. Historically, after Liu Chong Hing Bank experienced a run, HSBC ended up stepping in to rescue Hang Seng and eventually merged with it. So realistically, there was minimal risk.
However, what Yang Wendong had to consider was the long term. If his manufacturing business stabilized, it wouldn't make sense to simply leave his capital sitting in a bank collecting interest.
He would either invest in real estate like Li Ka-shing or explore other industrial or business sectors. At that point, he'd need capital. Given his knowledge of the future, the best returns would obviously come from leveraging other people's money.
Among all Hong Kong banks, HSBC was undoubtedly the biggest. Getting in touch with them early on wouldn't do him any harm.
Moreover, taking out a large loan from HSBC could act as a kind of protection—essentially a shield. The same logic applied to borrowing from other banks.
…
That afternoon, after returning to the company, Yang Wendong gave Liu Lietman of Liu Chong Hing Bank a call.
They agreed to meet the next day, but not at the bank, not at the office, and not at a hotel or tea house either. Instead, they chose the site of the future factory for Changxing Industries.
What surprised Yang Wendong was that Liu Chong Hing arrived in a single, rather old Citroën.
Walking up, Yang Wendong greeted Liu Lietman, who had just stepped out of the car. "Mr. Liu, why are you driving this car? Doesn't seem to match your status, does it?"
"A car's just a tool. As long as it runs, it's good enough," Liu replied with a smile. "I often have to go to remote parts of the New Territories or Kowloon. No need for a fancy car.
Just earlier I was negotiating with a hardware manufacturer in the New Territories. If I'd gone home to switch cars, I wouldn't have made it in time. So I just came straight over. I hope you don't mind, Mr. Yang?"
"Haha, Mr. Liu, you're joking. A year ago I could barely afford a meal—I'm not about to judge a car," Yang replied, pausing briefly before adding, "It's a small matter, but since you often visit places like the New Territories, you really should consider your personal safety. A nicer car makes gangs think twice. It's no harm.
Even better, do what I do—hire a bodyguard. They can drive you, and if something happens, they're at least capable of handling a few people or alerting others."
As he spoke, Yang Wendong slightly nodded in the direction of a burly man standing next to a nearby car behind them.
Liu Lietman laughed. "Haha, Mr. Yang, you're still too cautious! Hong Kong's a bit chaotic, sure, but gang members usually won't mess with us businessmen.
There's nothing in it for them. Some hot-headed guy tried going after a Chinese tycoon once and got hit hard by the Hong Kong government. Even the police know better than to mess with us. As long as we don't break the law, we all stay in our lanes."
Yang Wendong smiled faintly. "The Hong Kong government sure is helpful."
Liu Lietman shook his head. "It's not that the government's kind. It's that they need money. They need legitimate businesses to pay taxes or real estate companies to buy land. What, you think they'll send cops to shake down street vendors for cash?
One or two companies may not matter much, but if a few get in trouble, the rest start to worry about being next. They'll pressure the government together, no doubt about it."
Yang Wendong nodded. "That makes sense, but we still have to be prepared for the occasional nutcase causing trouble. It's not worth the risk.
Not every thug belongs to a gang. Some operate solo, and they don't have the brains for long-term thinking."
Back in the '70s and '80s, many Hong Kong businessmen were overconfident in their influence in business and politics. They didn't travel with bodyguards, even for workouts.
And then they got kidnapped. Some even ended up killed. That's because the attackers weren't from established gangs, which follow a code. These were desperate outlaws—reckless and only after quick cash. They didn't care about consequences.
Liu Lietman thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're right, Mr. Yang. I overlooked that part."
Yang Wendong chuckled. "I'm just more concerned about safety, so I tend to think things through."
It wasn't just a matter of probability—it was about avoiding unnecessary gambles. Plus, having a few men around was useful even beyond safety.
They could help handle errands, drive, or relay messages when needed. After all, this era didn't have mobile phones. If you were out and needed to contact someone, your only option was the oldest method—people.
Liu Lietman nodded again. "You've got a good point. When I get back, I'll consider hiring at least two people—not necessarily bodyguards, but someone who can help."
Yang Wendong smiled, then pointed toward a direction. "Let's head over. It's right there—that'll be the site of Changxing Industries' future factory."
Liu Lietman followed his gaze and saw a large patch of land not far off. It was covered in wild grass, a few scattered trees, and many uneven rocks and mounds—some as high as five or six meters.
He said, "Mr. Yang, leveling this land must require quite a bit of capital?"
Yang Wendong nodded. "Yes. The terrain is rough. That's probably why no other factories have shown interest, even though the location's not bad.
But the area is huge. For the first phase, I plan to use only about 40% of it. The rest can wait."
While land on the Kowloon Peninsula wasn't as valuable as on Hong Kong Island, it still held some worth.
But if the cost of development outweighed the profits from real estate, it would end up being wasted land. No businessman would go that route—better to invest more in land that was easier to develop.
What attracted Yang Wendong was precisely the sheer size of this plot. Land this expansive was unheard of in prime development areas.
It wasn't just about "land banking"; he was thinking about the long-term development needs of his factory.
…
The two of them soon arrived at the location. As they walked closer, they noticed someone had planted a few vegetables there—not many.
"Must be someone from nearby," Liu Lietman remarked.
Yang Wendong nodded. "There's a small village about seven or eight hundred meters to the northeast. Probably someone from there.
I've already looked into this area in detail. The location isn't bad—it's just lacking road access. Otherwise, more people would be living here."
No matter how great a place is, it's useless without roads. People with regular jobs wouldn't consider living somewhere so inaccessible.
Liu asked, "So once the factory is built, are you planning to build a road too?"
Yang nodded. "Just a small road. We'll lay concrete to connect it to the main road. Our factory's goods aren't that heavy, so it'll be easy to transport them. No need for high-end roads—it won't cost much."
The lack of shipping containers at the time had many drawbacks. Transport costs were too high, which meant many products could only be sold locally—scaling up wasn't an option.
But there was one upside—no matter how much Changxing Industrial shipped, everything was packed in wooden crates and delivered to the docks by hand. Each crate wasn't particularly heavy, and getting them onto the ships still required manpower.
That meant the road quality around the factory didn't need to be great. Even when it came to receiving raw materials, things were still carried in crates small enough for a few men to lift. Forklifts were rare and typically only used by major factories for handling large machinery. For small factories, manual labor was still the most efficient solution.
Liao Liewen nodded and asked, "Have you already purchased this plot?"
Yang Wendong replied, "Not yet. We're still working out the final details and negotiating the price with the colonial government. But it's basically settled.
Once we secure the land, we'll immediately apply to China Light & Power and Hong Kong Water Supply for utilities, and then we'll begin construction on the factory right away."
Liao Liewen chuckled. "That's fast."
"No choice but to move fast. Our clients are chasing us for goods every single day." Yang shrugged. "We need to get this factory up and running so we can begin mass production.
But to hit that goal quickly, we'll need a large infusion of funds—so I'm hoping Liu Chong Hing Bank will support us."
Liao Liewen smiled. "Of course. Our bank has always supported Hong Kong's manufacturing sector. How much funding are you looking for, Mr. Yang? Have you settled on a number?"
Yang paused and said, "I'd like to apply for a loan of HK$4 million."
"Four million?" Even though Liao had mentally prepared himself, the number still surprised him. That was a massive sum—even for one of the top three Chinese banks in Hong Kong.
Yang nodded with certainty. "Yes, four million. I'm planning to build a very large-scale factory all at once, plus all the equipment we'll need.
On top of that, we'll have a temporary cash gap because of all the upcoming shipments, so I need enough capital to cover everything."
Liao nodded. "Mr. Yang, I believe in your business, but we'll still need to follow standard procedures. I'll need a lot more specific documents, planning materials, and data."
"Of course," Yang said. He understood. Even if Liu Chong Hing Bank was bold enough to gamble depositor funds on real estate, that was something only the Liao family dared to do. For external clients, they still had to go through proper due diligence.
And to be fair, Liao Baoshan was no fool. He was a savvy businessman. His bets on real estate were based on real judgment. The bank's capital went into genuine developments that turned a profit.
No one was reckless enough to throw away risk management altogether.
In the end, things only fell apart due to bad timing—once word spread about liquidity issues, the public panicked and rushed to withdraw funds.
No matter how sound the fundamentals were, no bank could survive a full-blown bank run.
As they continued walking, Yang began explaining his future plans for Changxing Industrial.
Since he wanted to borrow money, he didn't hold anything back on the general strategy—at least not anything sensitive.
His blueprint included infrastructure, machinery, staff expansion, factory operations, building the glue factory, sending people to train in the U.S., and purchasing 3M patents.
If he didn't have the money, he'd have to do all of this slowly, step by step—which would waste precious time.
Instead, he wanted to exchange money for time. As long as everything went smoothly and products shipped at scale, the profits would be more than enough to pay back the loan.
Liao listened carefully. His expression grew increasingly serious. When Yang finished, he said, "Mr. Yang, your vision is truly ambitious. If everything goes according to plan, you'll be one of Hong Kong's wealthiest entrepreneurs within a year or two."
"You're exaggerating." Yang chuckled. "The real tycoons in Hong Kong aren't Chinese."
He glanced across Victoria Harbour toward Hong Kong Island—that's where the real wealth was.
Although real estate hadn't yet boomed like it would in 20 years, Central was already leagues ahead of everywhere else.
British capital controlled virtually every major industry: electricity, transportation, infrastructure, docks, trade, shipping, and retail. Real estate was only one part of their empire.
The only areas where Chinese business had a foothold were in manufacturing—and even then, most of the profits were controlled by British trading firms that owned the export channels.
A few exceptions existed—shipping magnates like Bao Yugang, Tung Hao-yun, and Chao Tsung-yeh had built empires because ocean trade was harder for the British to monopolize.
But even so, such figures were extremely rare.
Liao nodded. "That's true. Even our bank probably doesn't make as much in a year as Wharf Holdings pulls in from just the Kowloon docks.
But for a Chinese entrepreneur, I think you have a great shot."
"Let's hope so." Yang stayed humble but added, "If I succeed, then the bank that supported me will definitely profit handsomely from it.
I'm sure you understand that, Mr. Liao."
"Absolutely," Liao replied. "Even a giant like 3M has given you a US$500,000 prepayment. I personally have great confidence in your business.
That said, this size of loan isn't something I can approve on my own. I'll have to consult with the other directors."
"Of course," Yang nodded. Loans of this magnitude were never a one-man decision—not even for the boss's son.
Liao then asked, "Mr. Yang, are you planning to use this land and the future factory buildings as collateral?"
"I can if it helps the loan process." Yang didn't mind using the factory itself as collateral.
His real core assets were his patents, especially for the Post-it note. As long as he had those, even if he lost everything else, he could always start again.
That was the one thing he'd never put up as collateral.
Liao smiled. "Good. Even if the collateral doesn't fully cover the loan amount, having some backing—combined with your business potential—will make it much easier for me to push this through."
"Thank you, Mr. Liao," Yang replied sincerely.
If this had been a regular bank exec, such cooperation would've required some extra "gifts." But Liao was the bank owner's son—Yang had no leverage there, so he just kept it professional.
Back at Liu Chong Hing Bank HQ…
Liao Baoshan stared at the application on his desk and then glanced up at his son. "Four million? That kid Yang sure has big ambitions. This factory he's planning is even bigger than Li Ka-shing's."
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