Chapter 197 Meeting the Shipping King and Obtaining the Freighter

Chapter 197 Meeting the Shipping King and Obtaining the Freighter

Chapter 197 Meeting the Shipping King and Obtaining the Freighter (asking for monthly ticket)
Soon, the meeting was over and the shipping company immediately divided the work:
Zheng Yuhua, Sun Zhiwei and more than a dozen other captains and shipping engineers immediately prepared to fly to the United States.

On the other side of the ocean, the company previously commissioned has already completed the formalities and preparations, and once people arrive, they can visit the freighter.

As for Captain Lin, it is normal shipping. After the overhaul, the Shunan will be loaded with cargo again and then sail to the United States.

On December 12, Yang Wendong brought Su Yiyi, who was already a little pregnant, to Changxing Industry to check the recent financial situation of the factory together.

Wei Zetao brought the documents to the two of them and said, "Mr. Yang, Mrs. Yang, these are the financial statements for the past few months."

"Quite a lot, eh?" Yang Wendong said with a smile as he looked at the stack of documents in front of him, and picked up one at random.

Wei Zetao replied: “Now the factory has more and more business, and naturally there are more financial documents. However, the one you have in your hand is the simplest summary, similar to the financial report of a listed company;
The one on the table is more detailed. Mr. Yang, if you have any questions about the document in your hand, you can check the specific information below. "

"Yeah." Yang Wendong nodded. As Changxing Industrial grew larger and larger, he could only read some financial reports.

After a while, he asked, "The European market for post-it notes is doing well? Is the profit higher than in the United States?"

“Yes.” Wei Zetao said with a smile: “When we chose 3M, we had no other choice and the pricing was a bit conservative;

But now that it is so popular in the United States, the price of exports to Europe and other countries will be a little higher. Among them, Europe has the strongest consumption power.

Judging from the current data, the European market is still not as good as the US market, but because of its high profit margin, its overall profit is not lower than that of the US. "

"That's right." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Other products can also take a similar route, expand the scale through 3M, and then explore other markets to take the high-profit route."

In the past, the EU's total economic output exceeded that of the United States, but this is not the case in the 60 years. The United States is still the only super economic power on the planet.

Of course, polar bears are an exception, as they can’t enter the market there anyway.

"I understand." Wei Zetao agreed.

Yang Wendong added: "If this trend continues, the net profit of this sticky note will exceed 300 million Hong Kong dollars a month."

"300 million Hong Kong dollars?" Su Yiyi, who had been listening nearby, was shocked when she heard the number.

Wei Zetao said with a smile: "Yes, there are more and more customers for sticky notes now, and many people can't change after getting used to it;
Especially since it is purchased by the company, employees generally don’t think of using them sparingly, and sticky notes are very cheap anyway.”

"Yes." Yang Wendong also smiled and said, "Moreover, most of the office supplies are not consumed, but lost. We don't know where they went, so we can only use new ones."

Anyone who has worked in a previous life knows that even in the mainland where public security is extremely good, if a hundred-yuan bill is placed on a desk, basically no one will touch it, but a pen or a lighter may be gone in a few minutes.

"Yeah, I think I was like that before." Su Yiyi thought about it and agreed, "It got better after I moved to an independent office."

"Yes, this is the advantage of the office supplies market." Wei Zetao agreed, and at the same time thought to himself: You are the first lady, who dares to steal your office supplies?
Yang Wendong went on to say: "The market for post-it notes is still to be developed. We can discuss with overseas distributors and change our strategy. We need to invest more resources in promotion."

In the past, post-it notes have always been in short supply, so there has been little publicity, and most of the time they have been spread through word of mouth.

However, no matter how good a product is, it still needs advertising, such as Coca-Cola and even the Apple mobile phone in the past. Marketing itself is also a part of the business, especially for products with low technical content.

"Okay." Wei Zetao said again: "Mr. Yang, the existing production capacity has basically been used up. Next, I plan to build the third phase of the factory."

"Okay." Yang Wendong paused and asked, "Then is the glue production capacity sufficient?"

“Enough.” Wei Zetao replied: “3M has also invested in a large tape production line in Tuen Mun, so Lao Qian is already expanding the glue factory;

This time, the glue production capacity has been expanded tenfold at one time, which can meet both 3M's needs and our internal needs. Mouse traps are now selling very well, and the demand for glue is also very high."

"There should be a lot of pirated copies of things like mouse traps now, right?" Yang Wendong asked again.

The product he started with in the early days actually had great market potential, but it was far inferior to products like sticky notes and suitcases.

Wei Zetao replied: "Yes, there are a lot of pirated products, not just mouse traps, but also our sticky hooks, sticky notes, and even spin mops."

"This is the problem of the century." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Control the important markets together with the dealers. As long as we control the terminals, this problem can be suppressed to the greatest extent. For other things, pursuing too much will only increase the cost."

At present, the international community's acceptance of patents and copyrights is indeed not as high as in the past, but at least in Western countries, in order to ensure "fair trade", they will still abide by basic rules.

It’s not that Westerners really like “fairness”, but this principle of global patent mutual recognition is more beneficial to them. Therefore, when a small number of non-Western companies have patents, the Western courts will also protect this “fairness”.

To a certain extent, the reason why Japanese products from the 60s to 80s were able to enter the European and American markets on a large scale was also based on this principle.

It is enough to be able to make profits in these places, or in most of these places. It is unrealistic to expect to eradicate piracy. On the contrary, there will be very high costs for rights protection. In many places, it is even impossible to protect rights.

This is also the reality of society, just accept it.

"I understand." Wei Zetao added, "The profits from suitcases are getting higher and higher now. In the future, they may surpass sticky notes and become the company's highest-profit product.

The transportation is a problem. Our boxes take up too much space. If we follow other ships, not only will the charges be high, but other goods will also delay the loading and unloading time. "

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "We can only wait for news from the United States. I will handle this matter as soon as possible."

Having your own ship not only saves money, but also saves time. In this society, for large companies, time is more important than money.

This is why many industries with high demand for transportation, such as oil, mining, mass food commodity companies, etc., have their own fleets.

Or, you can rent a fleet for a long period of time to serve yourself. Bao Yugang made his fortune through this opportunity.

Half a month later:

Zheng Yuhua returned from the United States and brought a message: "Mr. Yang, we have taken a fancy to about 14 cargo ships in the United States."

"14 ships? Isn't that too many?" Yang Wendong was shocked when he heard the number.

Knowing that ships can make money is one thing, but it has to be done step by step. Even if you can poach people, you can't expand so quickly.

And even Changxing Industrial does not need so many ships immediately.

Zheng Yuhua replied: "We have only chosen 14 ships. We have checked and found that the quality is pretty good. It is up to you to decide how many or which ones to buy."

"Yeah." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "How much is it?"

Zheng Yuhua said: "It has not been confirmed yet, but the United States treats them as scrap metal, and the price is cheap, one ship is estimated to be around 6 to 8 US dollars.

There is just one problem. It is not just us who are interested in these cargo ships. Dong, the shipping king, is also interested in them. What he likes is basically the same as what we like, because these are the only ones with good quality. "

"That's a problem." Yang Wendong said with a frown.

He remembered that in the past, Dong Haoyun had purchased many such cargo ships from the United States.

Zheng Yuhua added: "But his people are very smart. They found us privately and wanted to negotiate with us. Don't make this public, otherwise it will only allow the Americans to take advantage."

"Yeah, that's pretty smart." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Have you guys negotiated yet?"

"No, we don't want to give in." Zheng Yuhua replied: "So I discussed with the other party. This matter still requires you to negotiate with Dong Chuanwang, so that a decision can be made in a short time."

"That's right, did his people tell Dong Haoyun about this?" Yang Wendong asked. If he let his men do this for such a big matter, it would be a waste of time because they had no autonomy.

Many large companies are inefficient because of this. The CEO or boss cannot take care of everything, and subordinates need to follow procedures when doing things. Plus, there are many things to do and they have to be more cautious, which naturally wastes a lot of time.

Zheng Yuhua replied, "They have also sent people back. This time we two will be the ones to make the acquaintance. Please meet and discuss this matter.

Now the US has Christmas and New Year's Day holidays, so if we can settle it before they go back to work, that would be the best result."

"Okay, then you just set a time." Yang Wendong nodded. He was quite satisfied with the way Zheng Yuhua handled the matter this time.

Because between him and Dong Haoyun, if either of them asked the other out, they would probably lose half the battle.

Inside a luxurious office in Central, Hong Kong Island:
After listening to Lin Weishan's introduction, Dong Haoyun frowned and said, "Yang Wendong has just entered the shipping industry, and he wants to buy so many ships at once? Isn't the expansion speed too fast? It took Bao Yugang several years to have 7 ships."

Lin Weishan said: "Mr. Dong, I have investigated some information. The reason why Yang Wendong, the king of sticky notes, bought so many ships is mainly for the export of his own trolley suitcases.

This kind of product is in large quantity, light and takes up a lot of space, so it is not cost-effective to ship it by normal shipping. We at Jinshan have also taken over this business. The cost of shipping from Hong Kong to Japan is still controllable, but if it is shipped to Europe and the United States, it is most cost-effective to have our own cargo ship. "

"That's great. Shipping business will bring you a stable and large business." Dong Haoyun nodded and said, "Okay, then you can arrange a time."

"Okay." Lin Weishan nodded.

The Peninsula Hotel:

Yang Wendong met Tung Chao-Yun, a very famous shipping magnate in his previous life.

"Hello, Mr. Dong, I have long heard of your name." After meeting, Yang Wendong said with a smile and shook hands.

In terms of seniority, Tung Chao Yung was higher than the four major families in his previous life. Even Pao Yue-kong was considered his junior. When Pao Yue-kong decided to enter the shipping industry, Tung Chao Yung was already a famous shipping entrepreneur in Hong Kong.

Dong Haoyun nodded and said, "Hello, Mr. Yang, you are quite famous. I heard your story of starting from scratch. It is amazing."

"Thank you for the compliment." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Please sit down."

After the two sat down, Dong Haoyun got straight to the point and asked, "Mr. Yang also wants to enter the shipping industry?"

Yang Wendong replied, “Not yet. I want to buy a ship mainly for the transportation of my own goods. Mr. Dong should also know that my suitcases take up too much space and the transportation cost is too high.
Only by buying the ship yourself can we ensure the lowest cost and the highest efficiency. "

"I know your suitcase. I also bought one. It is very convenient when I am on a business trip." Dong Haoyun nodded and said, "But in fact, you don't need to go into shipping yourself. You can also rent a ship."

Yang Wendong asked, "Leasing ships for a long time like Bao Yugang and Bao Sheng from the Global Navigation Academy? As far as I know, most Hong Kong shipowners are unwilling to do long-term leasing business, right?"

Bao Yugang was able to succeed because he changed the traditional shipping leasing model and adopted a long-term lease operation model;
Before this, most ship owners leased ships for a short period of time, ranging from a few weeks to a few months, or leased them according to the voyage.

The fundamental reason is that shipping prices fluctuate too much, and sometimes rental prices will skyrocket. Therefore, many ship owners are unwilling to lease for a long time, and just want to make a lot of money when the market is good.

"Not for a long term, but we can lease it on a one-time basis." Dong Haoyun shook his head and said, "Your shipping company has just opened and lacks experience. It would be better for me to buy an American cargo ship and then lease it to you."

"That won't work." Yang Wendong smiled and shook his head. "Experience and the like can all be learned, and you can even poach people directly, but ships can't be learned."

If he didn't control the ships for exporting large quantities of goods, he would be a lamb to be slaughtered. He was not that stupid.

Many Hong Kong shipowners, seeing that Japan could not own ships due to its status as a defeated country, could only rent ships from Hong Kong.

So he liked to take advantage of the opportunity to add insult to injury and raise prices sharply when demand in the shipping market was high, laying the foundation for Bao Yugang's later rise.

Dong Haoyun glanced at Yang Wendong and said, "How about this, I'll give you three?"

"Mr. Dong, you are joking." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile: "We are all competing fairly. What is there to give in to? Did the United States say that it will sell to you first?"

"That's not the case." Dong Haoyu replied: "Mr. Yang, you only have one ship now. Even if you recruit people from other shipping companies, how many skilled seafarers can you get?

Moreover, shipping companies, not only seafarers, but also the management of the entire company, need to be done step by step. If you buy too many ships at one time, it will only exceed your operating capacity. "

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Dong." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I can recruit crew members. As for the company management, my main purpose in the early stage is to cooperate with my factory.
Even if I only send goods overseas, I can accept an empty ship when it comes back. It would be better if I can bring something with me. So I am not in a hurry to operate the shipping business and can take my time. "

This statement is of course a bit exaggerated, but he is indeed not afraid of the initial losses. The most important thing at present is to enter the shipping field first, expand the fleet and train personnel, and prepare for the surge in shipping prices during the Middle East war in the next few years.

Even if we have suffered losses in the past two years, as long as we lay a solid foundation, we may be able to make it back in a month in the future.

"Mr. Yang's advantage is indeed huge." Dong Haoyun nodded, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "But if we really compete, it will only benefit the Americans, which is not good for us."

"I need ships here, too." Yang Wendong said firmly, "Although I don't want the Americans to take advantage, it's hard to trade in such large quantities of second-hand cargo ships."

Dong Haoyun pondered for a while and asked, "Mr. Yang, how many ships do you need? Let's be direct and don't beat around the bush.

Even if everyone is unwilling to give up, at least don’t compete viciously on all 14 ships. Bottom line is, at least only compete on a few of them.”

"Mr. Dong is right." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I need seven. How about we each take half?"

"7 ships?" Dong Haoyun frowned slightly. He wanted to take 10 ships.

But before coming, he also roughly checked Yang Wendong's assets. Although he was not sure of the exact figures, his financial resources might not be inferior to his. If they really confronted him head-on, it would not be good for him.

Yang Wendong was not in a hurry and drank tea leisurely.

After a while:
"Okay." Dong Haoyun nodded and agreed, saying, "Then 7 ships, but I have a condition."

"Mr. Dong, this is not you asking me to do this. We are talking fairly." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile: "Forget about the conditions."

Dong Haoyun smiled and said, "This will be good for you too."

"Then tell me about it." Yang Wendong said.

Dong Haoyun said: "You buy cargo ships mainly to deliver goods to several major countries, but many small countries still need normal sea transportation, right?
How about giving all of these to my shipping company and I'll give you a discount, too?"

"We can discuss it." Yang Wendong nodded: "But it's not possible to do it all, I can only say part of it."

"That's fine." Dong Haoyun also agreed. This was actually a step forward. He added: "If you have time in the future, I will take you to a party of the Hong Kong Shipping Company. There will be Chinese and British people there."

"Party? Sure." Yang Wendong also agreed.

In my early career, I was engaged in exports and had basically no competition with my peers in Hong Kong, so I didn’t know many other people.

But now that I have started to enter many important industries in Hong Kong, I need to get to know my peers. Even if they are competitors, we all have to maintain "harmony" on the surface.

In January 1961, Zheng Yuhua returned to the United States again and negotiated with relevant U.S. departments. He finally bought seven cargo ships for HK$1 million.

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(End of this chapter)