Chapter 350: Overseas Expansion Investment of Sales Industry

Chapter 350: Overseas Expansion Investment of Sales Industry

Chapter 350 Overseas Expansion Investment in the Retail Industry
Wei Zetao asked, "Mr. Yang also wants to invest in business in Taiwan?"

"It might be okay to invest a little." Yang Wendong thought for a while and said, "You also know that Changxing Real Estate is now in a contraction strategy in the local market of Hong Kong, and it still has a lot of funds. So it is a good choice to come and invest in Taiwan."

The real estate crisis was less than two years away, so Changxing Real Estate, under the instruction of Yang Wendong, naturally narrowed its front lines and focused on investing to help Carrefour acquire its own properties, and was no longer active in other areas.

Such a contraction strategy naturally could not be concealed from other real estate companies and media in Hong Kong. There were rumors in the market a long time ago, and many people firmly believed that the real estate market would continue to rise, and in turn laughed at Changxing Real Estate.

Yang Wendong did not intend to conceal it. No matter how outsiders speculated, by next year, Changxing Real Estate would still sell off various properties on a large scale, and it would still need to rely on those people or companies who had full confidence in real estate to take over at high prices.

By doing this, the funds in hand will be free. After all, Carrefour store construction can be financed by loans, so there is no need to spend money out of pocket, and such a project will not require a lot of funds.

Wei Zetao said: "But here in Taiwan, the real estate industry is not well developed. There are not many well-known real estate companies, and they all have government connections, so it is not easy to buy shares."

"I didn't think about investing in real estate companies like those in Taiwan." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "I just wanted to invest in supermarkets or cinemas, but the law doesn't allow it, so I can only find a way to form a joint venture with people in Taiwan."

Wei Zetao thought about it and said, "Perhaps we can cooperate with Wang Yongqing. He is from Taiwan, and we can just sign a future repurchase agreement."

"Let me think about it." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "We need to be more cautious about this matter. We also need to discuss it with Wang Yongqing alone."

After arriving at a hotel and completing all the accommodation arrangements, Yang Wendong also welcomed a guest.

"Hello, Mr. Wang." Yang Wendong said politely to a middle-aged man and shook hands.

This person is naturally Wang Yung-ching, the founder of Formosa Plastics Group. Yang Wendong admires this future Asian plastics tycoon from the bottom of his heart.

Those who can build a world-class enterprise are definitely the best of the best.

Wang Yongqing also smiled and said, "Mr. Yang, it's been a long time since we last met. Your business is getting bigger and bigger. I often hear about you in the news in Taiwan."

Yang Wendong asked curiously, "The news in Taiwan also reported me?"

Wang Yongqing smiled and said, "Yes, the Chinese in Taiwan are actually similar to those in Hong Kong. They are all powerful. Now that the government is stable, everyone is focused on developing the economy. The Chinese who can expand their business will naturally be admired.

Especially you, Mr. Yang, who started from scratch and built a great business in just a few years, can be said to be the most successful representative among the Chinese community.”

“Haha, I didn’t expect that I would be so highly regarded in Taiwan.” Yang Wendong said with a smile.

As the Changxing Group grows in size, it is normal for it to attract attention from overseas media. Among the Chinese community, I am definitely ranked high, and if I were to be considered the first generation of entrepreneurs, I would probably be the first. Most other Chinese families are the result of several generations of hard work.

"Mr. Yang can consider increasing investment in Taiwan. The Taiwanese government will definitely welcome it." Wang Yongqing said with a smile.

Yang Wendong asked curiously, "Why? Are you here to ask me to invest on behalf of the Taiwan government?"

"It's half and half. Taiwan did contact me before." Wang Yongqing said with a smile.

"Well, that's normal." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Let's talk about our business first."

"Okay." Wang Yongqing also said, "I'm looking for you about Formosa Plastics. In recent years, due to the rapid economic development of Taiwan and Southeast Asia, the demand for plastics is very high, and Formosa Plastics has also developed rapidly;

So I plan to invest a lot to build a large plastic production base and double the existing production capacity to 120 million tons of plastic and nylon. "

"You want me to increase the capital according to the shares?" Yang Wendong agreed and said, "No problem, I will pay according to the proportion."

He will definitely give his full support to future giants like Formosa Plastics and Wal-Mart, not only for the future economic rewards, but also because it will help him in his other industries.

The larger the scale of Formosa Plastics, the cheaper the raw materials it can obtain. Today, plastic has become the most in-demand raw material for the Changxing Group. Not only Changxing Industrial, but also Honor Electronics' home appliances in the future will also rely heavily on plastic.

Wang Yung-ching said, "That's good, but this expansion will require a lot of money. I roughly estimated that it would cost 600 million US dollars, which would be too much financial pressure for Formosa Plastics.

And because a lot of equipment needs foreign exchange to buy, such a large amount of money, the Taiwanese government may have problems, so I hope to be able to borrow US dollars from a bank in Hong Kong."

"The Taiwanese government is not so short-sighted, is it?" Yang Wendong asked curiously, "After your production capacity is expanded, can't you earn foreign exchange by exporting the products you sell?"

Wang Yongqing smiled and said, "That's true, but the core issue is confidence. I have this confidence, and so do you, Mr. Yang, but the Taiwanese government doesn't. They may think, what if the scale expands too much and we can't sell it?"

"That's true. They have different perspectives and different levels of expertise." Yang Wendong nodded.

In fact, if it were not for Wang Yongqing’s achievements in his previous life, but if other companies he had invested in came to him and said such things, he would also be very cautious.

The future of plastics is naturally great, but how can one prove that a company can become the leader in this field? Even if Yang Wendong invested personally, he would not be sure, because time travelers do not have the ability to run such a non-creative industry. Only Wang Yongqing, a historical figure, could make Yang Wendong dare to invest with confidence.

Several million dollars is not a small amount of money. Even for Changxing Group, if it loses, it will be a huge loss.

Wang Yung-ching went on to say, “So it is most convenient to find an overseas bank. I originally wanted to find a Japanese bank, but the bank there has connections with many financial groups. They also want to acquire shares in Formosa Plastics and even have a say, so I didn’t agree.”

"Okay, then I'll come forward and ask HSBC to send someone to find you." Yang Wendong agreed and said, "As for the guarantee, you should try your best to convince them with your own ability data. If it still doesn't work, I will guarantee the insufficient part, but my guarantee is not free."

"I see." Wang Yongqing said with a smile, "I have already prepared the information in this regard."

"Okay." Yang Wendong added, "If the funds are still not enough, I can continue to invest. You can think carefully about whether you want me to invest again. I won't force you to do so."

Naturally, the more shares you invest in future potential stocks, the better, but there has to be a limit. For example, if outsiders really get too many shares in Walmart, then Walton might immediately change his name and start his career over again.

Therefore, everything has a limit, especially in the early stages, when appropriate investment is sufficient. It is best to wait until the other party grows in size or goes public, and then find a way to increase your shares. Don't be too greedy.

And now, Yang Wendong has given this choice to Wang Yongqing, which is quite respectful. It would be better if you agree, but it doesn’t matter if you disagree. The most important thing is that both parties can continue to cooperate in this way.

"Well, Mr. Yang, I won't accept investments for the time being." Wang Yongqing thought for a while and said, "Actually, this time I just want to expand the market quickly, it's not that urgent."

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I understand that in our own industries, we usually want to control more equity, so I just mentioned it. It's your voluntary decision."

Chinese companies have the habit of holding their own shares, and would rather be smaller in size than lose control of their ownership. Even Internet companies in the past, which had to rely on large-scale financing, still had the AB share model to preserve the founder's control. Yang Wendong is the same.

"Okay then." Wang Yongqing continued, "The second thing is what Mr. Yang knows. The Taiwan government has entrusted me with the task. They hope that you can invest in Taiwan, especially in some labor-intensive industries and factories that can create large-scale employment."

"What a coincidence! I was just discussing this issue with Lao Wei." Yang Wendong smiled and asked, "What kind of conditions can Taiwan offer?"

There is no point in negotiating investment with the Hong Kong government because the British Hong Kong government touts the "free market principle". Basically, you can come or not. Unless the number of unemployed people is too high and affects society, they may negotiate the conditions.

Other normal governments generally offer preferential treatment to foreign investment. For example, in the 80s in mainland China, a factory that could generate foreign exchange and create jobs for tens of thousands of people could offer many preferential policies.

Wang Yongqing said: "The details will depend on Mr. Yang and your people to negotiate, but basically we can provide suitable land for free and 3 to 5 years of tax incentives."

"Well, I will discuss this matter internally." Yang Wendong nodded, and then asked: "If I come to Taiwan to invest in the service industry, is it okay?"

"Service industry? Do you mean Carrefour?" Wang Yongqing asked. He also knew a little about the many industries of Yang Wendong, the major shareholder.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, Carrefour also intends to expand overseas, and Taiwan will be the first market."

"Direct investment is definitely not allowed. The law does not allow it." Wang Yongqing said, "But we can cooperate with local capital, such as some common franchise models. The shareholding does not exceed 33%. The government has not completely blocked it. In fact, it also hopes that the local service industry can learn from overseas experience."

"I know." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "How about cooperating with you, Wang Sheng?"

"Me?" Wang Yongqing asked in confusion, "But I have never been involved in the retail industry?"

Yang Wendong said: "It doesn't matter. You have all the political resources and local connections I need. As for the management, you can just let my people come or recruit people in Taiwan."

Wang Yongqing is now the largest plastic supplier in Taiwan and holds considerable power. In the next five to ten years, his industry will develop even faster, and his status in Taiwan will naturally be even higher.

These also meet Yang Wendong's standards for finding local consortium cooperation overseas, but because Wang Yongqing has been in business for too short a time, he has not yet formed the concept of a "consortium."

"That's fine." Wang Yongqing nodded and said, "Then how do we form a partnership?"

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "I will send someone to discuss the details with you, including the Taiwan government. However, there is a prerequisite. If Taiwan allows wholly foreign-owned investment in the future, then I need to take back these shares."

Hong Kong's real estate is about to have problems, so your funds can be appropriately transferred to Taiwan, another place where Chinese people gather. Although the economy here is a bit worse, the population is much larger than Hong Kong. Overall, it will be a large market that is no less than Hong Kong.

If Taiwan can be developed into one of the root bases of Carrefour's retail industry, it will be very beneficial to Carrefour's future expansion. In the short term, it can even optimize the industrial chain and reduce costs, thereby helping Hong Kong supermarkets to fight against Jardine Matheson and other possible competitors.

Then there is real estate. It is easier to buy some prime locations like "Central" or large tracts of land in the suburbs at this time. But when the Taiwanese people started to speculate in real estate in the late 60s and early 70s, it became very difficult to buy again.

"Okay." Wang Yongqing didn't care too much.

He knew that this retail cooperation was just a matter of mutual benefit. The other party needed his local resources, and he could also gain some benefits, while at the same time consolidating the cooperative relationship between the two parties.

For him, the most important thing is the planning of his new industrial base.

"Okay then. I'll take responsibility for this matter." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

The Taiwanese market will not be very big, and neither he nor Wang Yongqing actually cares much about it.

In the following days, Yang Wendong took Su Yiyi and his eldest son to play in Taipei for a few days before returning to Hong Kong.

Monday, April 6th.

Yang Wendong met his subordinate Lin Youqiang, whom he had not seen for a long time, in Changxing Building.

"Hello, Mr. Yang." Lin Youqi said with a polite smile.

"Sit down, Alin." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

Lin Youqiang is not very old, he is only in his early 30s this year. Although he is still older than Yang Wendong, he is much better than other management.

"Thank you, Mr. Yang." After Lin Youqiang sat down, the assistant also brought him a cup of tea.

Yang Wendong said: "Alin, you have worked hard in the United States in the past few years. You have established many of the channels and even research centers of the group's industries in the United States."

His own industrial products have 3M channels in the United States, but they also need to be maintained by his own people. As for electronic products or some small commodities, which do not go through large channels, Lin Youqiang also got to know various channels in the United States, thus laying a foundation for his own products to enter the United States on a large scale in the future.

Lin Youqi smiled and said, "Mr. Yang, you are too polite. This is what I should do."

"Well," Yang Wendong said, "I asked you to return to Hong Kong this time because I have something else I need you to do."

"What's the matter? Please tell me, Mr. Yang." Lin Youqi asked.

Yang Wendong said, "I hope you can go to Europe and buy shares of several European companies for me. These European companies are all retail groups. They are companies that I am optimistic about after reviewing a lot of information in the past few years."

After saying that, he handed over the paper.

Lin Youqi took the paper, on which were written a few names: IKEA (Sweden), Carrefour (France), TESCO (UK), Auchan (France), and ILDI (Germany).
There were 11 names in total. After reading them, Lin Youqi asked, "I have never heard of any of these. Does Mr. Yang want to acquire them or invest in them?"

"It's just an investment." Yang Wendong added, "But if we can reach a strategic cooperation like Wal-Mart, that would be the best. If not, then pure investment will do."

"Okay, I understand." Lin Youqi agreed: "I will leave for Europe right away to learn about the situation of these companies first."

"Well, OK." Yang Wendong added, "We don't need to invest in all of these companies. We'll invest in as many as we can. If there's any progress, feel free to contact me."

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)