Chapter 107: Visit from a Banking Heir
On the fourth day after Robert and Robin left Hong Kong, Yang Wendong was meeting with several of his team members to discuss the site selection for their new factory.
Wei Zetao said, "I've already spoken with the Industrial Bureau in Tsim Sha Tsui. They're very supportive of our plans to expand and develop the industry. If we're buying land at the government's listed prices, we can get approval. But some locations may require demolition and land leveling fees.
Alternatively, we could buy someone else's factory or warehouse, though finding large enough properties will be difficult. In Kowloon, most factories aren't that big, and the large warehouses typically aren't for sale since their businesses are doing just fine."
"Then we'll go with buying land from the government. Paying a bit to level it is worth it," Yang said without hesitation.
Wei nodded. "Among these sites, Mr. Yang, which one do you prefer?"
Yang pointed to a location on the map. "Here. Not too far from the town center, and the transport links are decent. We can just build a small road to connect to the main route."
He wasn't exactly sure how Tsim Sha Tsui would develop in the future—much of the area was still farmland and scattered villages. So his logic was simple: stay close to either the town center or the coast—or ideally, both. Historically, human settlements expanded from population centers and around water sources.
Wei studied the map and got what Yang was thinking, but reminded him, "That area is more expensive—roughly 1.5 times the price of other zones. The government prices industrial land based on location, just like residential and commercial properties."
"No problem. Land is cheap as it is, and a little higher won't make much difference," Yang said. "Being closer to town makes it much easier to recruit workers. We're going to need a lot of labor in the future. Too remote, and hiring becomes a pain."
Higher cost now for better logistics and recruitment would pay off long-term.
At the moment, large swaths of Kowloon were still undeveloped or used for agriculture. For instance, Dairy Farm International held vast plots in Pok Fu Lam for cattle grazing. That's why, 14 years later, Hongkong Land famously clashed with them in the "Land Battle over Milk."
But Dairy Farm had acquired their land long before, and in huge quantities. Buying it now was impossible.
Likewise, large-scale land parcels available today might be unattainable 20 years from now—even if they were zoned industrial, their value would skyrocket.
Wei said, "Alright, then once the U.S. funds arrive, we'll immediately proceed with the purchase and begin site prep and construction."
"Great. With our own big factory, we'll finally be able to meet market demand," Yang said with a smile.
Wei added, "Mr. Yang, I recalculated the costs. Buying the land, leveling it, constructing the facility, and purchasing equipment—$500,000 is a lot, but it still might not be enough.
Also, we'll need capital to purchase the glue production line and patents from 3M. We might need to borrow from the bank again."
Yang grinned. "You think I've borrowed too much?"
His entire expansion strategy was based on borrowing. That initial HK$800,000 loan from Liu Chong Hing Bank was gradually being repaid as profits came in—but the balance hadn't been cleared yet.
Still, early success had proven his repayment ability. In this case, there was no need to clear the loan before seeking more credit.
That's the magic of finance: with leverage, you can scale much faster. Industry rarely plays as aggressively as real estate or banking, but some calculated risk was necessary.
Wei smiled. "We've borrowed quite a bit, yes—but in business, you should use as little of your own money as possible. Let the banks fund growth.
Take the shipping industry, for example. Most ships are bought with loans. Once operational, they earn income and repay debt over time. Without that leverage, no one could make money fast enough."
"Then let's borrow," Yang agreed. "Our products are already market-validated. Risk-wise, we're far lower than shipping."
Real estate was even more aggressive with leverage. In his previous life, certain tycoons had borrowed upwards of two trillion yuan. The secret? Endless refinancing. Of course, it helped to have assets to pledge.
But Hong Kong's real estate sector hadn't yet reached that point—there were no true titans yet.
Just then:
Knock knock knock.
Su Yiyi stepped in. "Brother Dong, someone from Liu Chong Hing Bank is here to see you."
"Liu Chong Hing?" Yang and Wei exchanged a glance, both confused. It wasn't normal for banks to show up unannounced at factories.
"Let him in," Yang said.
"Alright." Su Yiyi turned and left.
Yang and Wei quickly tidied the desk.
Moments later, a well-dressed young man in his late twenties stepped into the room.
"Hello," Yang said, standing up and meeting him halfway. They shook hands.
The man smiled. "Mr. Yang, nice to meet you. And this must be Mr. Wei."
"Pleasure," Wei replied, shaking hands.
"Please, have a seat," Yang offered, guiding him to the couch beside the office table.
Since moving into the new facility, office space was no longer an issue. It wasn't luxurious, but it was comfortable and professional enough.
"Thank you," the visitor said before introducing himself. "My name is Liu Liewen. I'm a business manager at Liu Chong Hing Bank."
"Liu...?" Yang and Wei both looked at each other, immediately thinking the same thing.
"Liu" wasn't a common surname. In his past life, Yang had done business with many people and had only encountered it once. The head of Liu Chong Hing Bank, after all, was also surnamed Liu. The coincidence was too much.
Wei paused and asked, "Mr. Liu—are you related to Mr. Liu Baoshan?"
"He's my father," Liu Liewen said politely.
There was no hiding it. Their surname was rare, and anyone in business would make the connection—especially since he was there representing the bank. At any social or commercial event, introducing himself always raised eyebrows.
In Hong Kong, there was only one prominent Liu among the business elite: his father.
If his surname were Lee or Chan or Wong, things would be different—he could keep a low profile. But with "Liu," everyone knew.
"My apologies," Yang said with some surprise. So the bank's heir was visiting him in person? But he kept his expression composed.
"No need to be so formal, Mr. Yang," Liewen smiled. "I came here today for two reasons."
"Please, go ahead," Yang said, though he could already guess what one of them was.
Liao Liewen said, "Our bank has just received a registered letter from Citibank in the United States. The bank draft inside is addressed to your account.
We've already confirmed it with Citibank, but since it's a $500,000 transaction, we also need confirmation from your side."
"It's ours," Yang Wendong said with a calm smile. As expected, it was because of this large sum of money.
Which made sense—$500,000 in this era was a huge amount. It was only because of the massive potential of the Post-it market that 3M was willing to put up such funds.
In the original historical timeline, Post-it notes were one of Fortune 500 company 3M's core products. They were even listed as one of the "100 Inventions That Changed the World in the 20th Century." By comparison, a few million dollars in today's terms was nothing.
"I understand this is likely confidential," Liewen continued, "but as your partner bank, would it be possible to get a general idea of what the funds are for?"
Though he was mentally prepared, when Yang confirmed the payment, Liewen was still shocked. "Of course, if it's inconvenient to say, we understand.
But knowing more about the client's capital usage and business operations helps us assess risk more accurately and provide better service in the future."
"I understand," Yang nodded. "It's a prepayment from 3M to support our production expansion. You could call it a loan, though the interest is low—it's essentially a low-interest advance."
"Prepayment?" Liewen was surprised. "Is the market for Post-it notes really that big?"
He was aware of Post-its and could sense that they were useful, but he hadn't realized just how large the potential market could be.
Yang smiled. "To be conservative, there are tens of millions—maybe even hundreds of millions—of office workers worldwide.
If these people get exposed to Post-it notes, I doubt many would refuse to use them.
Have you used them, Mr. Liao?"
"I know of them, but I don't use them personally. My secretary uses them all the time," Liewen replied.
"Right," Yang nodded. "Executives don't need them as much—you have assistants to handle your schedule. But for ordinary office workers, Post-its are extremely helpful. And they make up the majority of office personnel."
Liewen thought it over and found it made sense. Every company in the world—whether in finance, real estate, manufacturing, law, hospitality, or beyond—had office staff. Some more, some less, but they were everywhere.
If all of them used Post-its, it would be a staggering market. No wonder a giant like 3M would shell out such a massive sum to Yang. Clearly, Changxing was still ramping up and needed funding to expand.
If that was the case, Yang's future was truly limitless.
"I see," Liewen said. "Mr. Yang, aside from verifying the transfer, I also came to say that if you need additional financing, Liu Chong Hing Bank is more than willing to support you again.
For over a decade, we've helped many businesses grow here in Hong Kong, and we'd be honored to continue working with Changxing Industrial."
"Well, that's quite the coincidence," Yang smiled. "Even if you hadn't come today, I was planning to visit your bank soon."
Banks rarely offer help in tough times—but they're more than happy to jump in when things are going well.
Before receiving the 3M payment, Yang had wanted to take out more loans for expansion. But like most banks in Hong Kong, Liu Chong Hing had strict limits on unsecured lending.
And who could blame them? After all, no one but Yang—a man from the future—and 3M, who had seen the Post-it boom firsthand, could truly grasp the value of the product.
Now that a global conglomerate had stepped in with a half-million-dollar payment, that gave banks more confidence.
"Please do tell me more," Liewen said eagerly. "Our bank is committed to supporting local manufacturing."
Yang explained, "Previously, due to limited funding from local banks, we had to expand by renting space.
Now that we have more capital and need a much larger facility, renting won't cut it. So we're planning to build a factory from the ground up, and that'll require significant investment."
"That's not a problem," Liewen replied quickly. "But may I ask—how big is the factory you're planning? Isn't $500,000 enough?"
Yang laughed. "$500,000 is enough for construction, sure. But once it's built, we'll need to buy a lot of equipment.
We'll also need to purchase large quantities of raw materials to prepare for production ramp-up. Plus, we'll need to hire workers and leave operating funds in our accounts.
There's always a time lag between expanding capacity and receiving returns. We need enough liquidity to survive that period."
"I understand," Liewen nodded. "Do you know how much funding you'll need?"
Yang replied, "We're still finalizing the location for our new facility, so we haven't locked down exact numbers. And we'll need to negotiate with the government, too.
But when it comes to capital—more is always better."
"Of course. We can discuss it further when the time comes," Liewen said with a smile. "By the way, I heard you also took out a mortgage on a property through our bank. If you have further real estate needs, we'd be happy to assist."
"Not at the moment. But if I do, I'll definitely bring it up," Yang replied.
The money from 3M was earmarked for production expansion. The loan contract spelled that out clearly. While it would be hard for the Americans to track how it was used, diverting too much could still raise red flags.
Besides, though the property market had just started a new bull run, real estate was not yet the dominant sector in Hong Kong. Compared to the soon-to-explode Post-it industry, real estate returns were still limited.
Unless it was a golden property in Central, Yang wasn't in a rush. He'd rather focus on buying industrial land as part of his manufacturing expansion.
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