Chapter 445 The Impact of the Press Conference: Will Housing Prices Fall?
In fact, Lin Haoran could use the opportunity of the Motorola cooperation to venture into the mobile communication device industry—the future mobile phone sector.
Competing with international giants like Motorola, Nokia, Ericsson, and Siemens in the future would definitely be a thrilling challenge.
Building Hong Kong into a tech city also seemed like a very promising idea.
The only challenge lay in Hong Kong's current shortage of professional talent in the technology field.
Hong Kong's tech talent largely relied on the return of overseas students, especially Chinese scholars who had studied in the United States, Japan, and Europe.
Locally cultivating such talent faced substantial challenges.
At present, even Hong Kong's top university—the University of Hong Kong—had yet to reach world-class status.
It was barely recognized globally, considered more of a regional university.
Hong Kong University's true rise to global prominence would only occur after the turn of the 21st century.
This was perhaps why Hong Kong found it difficult to develop a high-tech industry today.
Despite having many tech companies, most focused on low-end technological manufacturing.
For instance, companies like Intel placed chip production in Hong Kong primarily because of relatively low labor costs.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's industrial parks were full of appliance factories, operating mature technologies requiring only purchased production lines and materials—hardly high-tech.
Core R&D centers were extremely rare.
To truly drive Hong Kong's transformation into a tech hub, the fundamental problem of talent shortage must be solved.
There were several approaches to this:
Invest heavily in higher education, enhancing not just facilities but also attracting world-class faculty, and establishing partnerships with top global universities.Encourage original research, aiming to position Hong Kong universities as major academic centers, drawing local and international students and cultivating more high-tech talent.Establish tech incubators and accelerators, offering startups funding, workspace, legal counsel, and market access—especially in cutting-edge fields like mobile communications, AI, and IoT.Deepen cooperation with international tech firms, not just Motorola, IBM, Intel, but also others, setting up joint R&D centers, hosting technical collaborations, and providing world-class training for local employees.Recruit international talent, although this would come at a high cost.
Lin Haoran thought, maybe when he had time, he could discuss this further with Ma Shimin.
Jardines Matheson was financially strong now and diversifying rapidly.
With the opportunity from the Motorola partnership, entering the tech sector would be an excellent strategic move.
While Lin Haoran was lost in thought, Guo Xiaohan waved her delicate hand in front of his eyes to pull him back.
Lin Haoran snapped out of his reverie, pushing these business plans aside for now.
After all, Jardines Matheson still needed time to fully integrate Hong Kong Telephone Company.
Seeing that it was getting late, Guo Xiaohan said reluctantly,
"I should go now."
"I'll walk you to the door," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
Guo Xiaohan picked up her gift box, and the two walked side by side out into the evening breeze.
At her car, she carefully placed the box into the trunk and turned back to Lin Haoran, her eyes full of longing.
Suddenly, on impulse, she rushed into his arms and gave him a deep kiss.
This kiss was far more passionate and emotional than the one before Lin Haoran left for America, pouring all her longing and affection into it.
Responding tenderly, Lin Haoran embraced her, and for a while, the world seemed to stand still around them.
After a long moment, Guo Xiaohan's breathing became slightly labored, and they finally parted.
"I'm leaving now," she said softly, stepping into the driver's seat, still hoping he would ask her to stay.
But Lin Haoran simply smiled and waved.
"Drive safe!"
Guo Xiaohan, feeling a twinge of disappointment, reluctantly closed the car door and drove away.
"Li Weidong, follow her back quietly," Lin Haoran instructed one of his bodyguards.
Li Weidong nodded and quickly started a car, trailing behind Guo Xiaohan.
Lin Haoran stood at the entrance watching until her car disappeared into the night.
Returning to the villa, he didn't dwell on the encounter.
Instead, he climbed to the third-floor terrace and gazed over the glittering lights of Central and Kowloon Peninsula.
The neon lights and flowing traffic wove a vivid, dazzling tapestry.
He remained calm, knowing that while romantic feelings were complex, they were not his focus anymore.
With his current wealth and status, romance had taken a backseat.
For Lin Haoran, relationships were more about future family and legacy.
In the blink of an eye, the night passed.
It was now December 30th.
Having returned to Hong Kong, Lin Haoran adjusted to the local timezone quickly.
Within two days, he was fully back on schedule.
Waking up and stretching lazily, he checked the clock: 7:50 AM.
After a quick shower and breakfast prepared by the servants, Lin Haoran settled into the sofa with a thick stack of newspapers.
As expected, today's front pages were dominated by the sensational news:
Jardines Matheson's successful acquisition of Hong Kong Telephone Company.
Particularly, the announcement of cooperation with Motorola to build the world's first commercial mobile communication city had captured widespread media attention.
Additionally, Lin Haoran's strong performance at the press conference had sparked vigorous public discussion.
Yet Lin Haoran also noticed that despite his firm denials, several major media outlets still reported skeptically, suggesting that his massive sell-off of real estate assets revealed a deeper lack of confidence in Hong Kong's property market.
One paper boldly posed the question:
"What are your views on the future of Hong Kong's real estate market?"
igniting public debate.
Reading this, Lin Haoran chuckled quietly.
Across Hong Kong, from busy streets to towering office buildings, people everywhere were discussing Lin Haoran and the future of real estate.
In a bustling cafe in Mong Kok, a group of casually dressed young people were deep in conversation:
"Have you heard?
Lin Haoran denied lacking confidence in real estate at the press conference, but look—he's selling assets left and right.
I was planning to buy a flat, but now I'm afraid of getting stuck with overpriced property!" said a middle-aged man in glasses, looking troubled.
"Exactly! His companies, Jardines Matheson and Man Cheung, have been selling non-stop. Isn't that proof enough?" another chimed in, stirring his coffee anxiously.
"But Hong Kong is developing so fast.
Even if there's short-term volatility, real estate will surely bounce back long-term," a younger man countered confidently.
"Maybe.
But big players like Lin Haoran have sharper instincts than us," the man in glasses sighed.
Meanwhile, outside a newspaper stall, several older men were also engrossed in the same topic.
"Old Chan, what do you think Lin Haoran is really up to?" one asked, frowning at the headlines.
"Business is war.
Lin Haoran must have his reasons.
Maybe he's planning a bigger move," another said calmly, puffing on a cigarette.
"I think we ordinary folks shouldn't worry so much," a third added.
"As long as you're comfortable living in your house, who cares about the market?"
In an office tower in Wan Chai, white-collar workers gathered before work, discussing anxiously:
"Do you think real estate is really going to crash?" a young woman asked worriedly.
Her fiancé was about to buy their wedding home, and she was scared of massive debt.
"It's hard to say.
Maybe it's just Lin Haoran's personal strategy," her male colleague tried to reassure her.
"But if property prices fall hard, it'll hurt all of us," another man said gloomily.
Across Hong Kong, from young professionals to retirees, everyone was caught up in the debate.
The question of whether housing prices would fall had become the city's hottest topic.
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