Chapter 372: Gains from the Trip to Taiwan

On December 12, many newspapers reported on the Hong Kong Museum. Many of them used large spaces to introduce it and also posted many pictures of cultural relics and antiques.

This effect is even stronger than the publicity in the previous few days. After all, the previous publicity only simply talked about the opening of the museum and some general information, but now it has various specific details, which is naturally more attractive.

In addition, many people who have visited the museum have given rave reviews of the cultural relics inside. A word between relatives and friends is often better than ten times of publicity in the newspaper.

Therefore, in the following days, the museum's business was still packed and became a topic of conversation among the Hong Kong people after dinner.

On December 12, one week after the museum opened, the flow of visitors began to decline slightly and gradually returned to normal.

Yang Wendong didn't pay much attention to it anymore. From then on, he would just check the business status every once in a while, just like other subsidiaries.

"Knock, knock, knock~" There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Yang Wendong, who was looking at the company's financial information, looked up and saw Zheng Yuhua, so he greeted her.

Zheng Yuhua walked in with a document in his hand. When he got closer, he handed it to Yang Wendong's desk and said, "Mr. Yang, this is the oil tanker blueprint designed for us by the Keelung Shipyard in Taiwan. Please take a look."

After Yang Wendong took it, he flipped through a few pages and said, "This looks very similar to the appearance of a Japanese Mitsubishi ship, doesn't it?"

Changxing Shipping had ordered ships in Japan many times before, so it had a lot of ship information. Yang Wendong also looked at some of it. Although he didn’t understand many aspects, he could still understand the most basic appearance.

Zheng Yuhua explained: "Yes, the design of this ship in Taiwan is based on some patents purchased from Japan, and it is actually mainly based on old technology."

"Well, that's fine. The old technology is at least more stable." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Has the price of this ship been decided?"

Zheng Yuhua replied: "The displacement of this tanker is 5.2 tons. Their current offer is 650 million US dollars. You can bargain further, but I haven't started yet."

"650 million? I remember the price for a 5.6-ton ship from Japan was 760, right?" Yang Wendong recalled, "So from this point of view, the price is indeed a little cheaper."

Zheng Yuhua smiled and said: "How can we compete with Japan if it is not cheap? Back then, Japan's shipbuilding industry relied on low prices to snatch the market share of European and American shipbuilding industries.

Even so, many shipping companies dare not buy ships made in Taiwan because they are unwilling to take risks.”

"Yeah, that's normal." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Since we are the first one, we should be the first one to try it out. We should lower the price a little bit. If we give them benefits, they should give them back."

As a time traveler, Yang Wendong still has some confidence in the future of Taiwan's shipbuilding industry, but this confidence is his own, not proven by Taiwan's technology or market, so naturally he cannot give them this bargain.

"Okay, I understand." Zheng Yuhua also smiled and said, "In the early years, Japan built large ships and sold them at a loss in order to open up the market. Taiwan must do the same."

Yang Wendong said: "Okay, then we will continue to contact them later. In addition, we need to get Taiwanese banks involved. The loans in this regard cannot be lower than those in Japan. Finance is the most important thing."

For large investments, the degree of financial support is even more important than the transaction price. Sometimes, if the financial support is sufficient, then as long as the price is not too outrageous, you can definitely make a profit, but the reverse is not necessarily the case.

"Okay." Zheng Yuhua asked again, "Mr. Yang, the Keelung Shipyard invited us to visit their factory on the 23rd. They have a -ton tanker ready to be launched. Although this ship is larger than ours, many of its designs, technologies, and processes are similar."

"The 23rd?" Yang Wendong looked at the calendar and agreed, "Okay, let's go and take a look. I happen to have some other business in Taiwan, so I can finish it all at once."

Zheng Yuhua said: "Okay, then I'll go and make the arrangements."

On the 22nd, Yang Wendong boarded a contracted ship and headed for Taiwan.

"Someday, I will go to Europe and buy a large cruise ship, which will make it more convenient to travel around." Yang Wendong said to the beauty beside him while standing on the somewhat old deck.

Bai Yujie drank orange juice while asking, "Don't you have a boat?"

"That ship is too small." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Europe has the latest cruise ships that are over 33 feet ( meters+) long. At least it will be more convenient for me to go to Taiwan or the offshore."

"More than a hundred feet? This passenger ship isn't even that long." Bai Yujie asked in surprise, "How much does that cost?"

Yang Wendong replied: "It will probably cost several million Hong Kong dollars. It depends on the various technologies and decorations inside."

Although money was valuable in this era, industrial products were also valuable. A yacht of about 60 feet was nothing in the s and s, but in the s it was basically one of the largest sizes.

"It's so expensive. My dad has worked hard all his life but never earned that much money." Bai Yujie smiled and asked, "Can we go to Southeast Asian countries? I've wanted to travel to Southeast Asian countries for a long time."

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "That won't work. The risk is too great. If a typhoon hits, it's all over. There's no way to predict it in advance."

Today's satellite technology is just in its infancy, and the prediction of marine weather still mainly relies on monitoring stations on land, but the accuracy is not high. Large international cargo ships still rely mainly on experience and weather station data. Basically, unless they are unlucky, they can still avoid the center of the typhoon, and it is normal to enter the marginal areas.

Large ocean-going vessels are large and strong enough, so they generally won't get into any serious trouble if they pass by the edge of a typhoon, but they may still suffer damage. Therefore, the operating cost and even the lifespan of a ship are closely related to the captain's experience.

As for small cruise ships, going out to sea too deep would be tantamount to seeking death, so in this era, cruise ships are all offshore playthings.

"Okay." Bai Yujie said, "I'll also sit here when I get it back."

"Of course." Yang Wendong smiled.

Half a day later, the ship arrived at Keelung Port, and the senior management of Keelung Shipyard also came to the port to greet them. After a group of people got to know each other, they went directly to the shipyard. Because it was afternoon, they went directly on board and walked around the hull. Yin Xiangdong, the director of Keelung Shipyard, also introduced them along the way.

After 6pm, after looking around the cabin, Yin Xiangdong asked, "Mr. Yang, what do you think of our ship?"

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Not bad. From the inside, it is similar to the Japanese ones. However, Director Yin, you also know that the most important thing about this ship is not the surface, but the interior."

The main purpose of a ship is commercial, that is, to make money, so surface things are not very important.

Just like trucks and cars, cars pursue extreme comfort, while trucks are just about good enough, the principle is the same.

Director Yin naturally understood and said with a smile: "Mr. Yang, our Keelung Shipyard has built more than a dozen 10,000-ton tankers and cargo ships in the past few years. These ships are also sailing in the open sea, and there have been no major quality problems so far."

"Yeah," Yang Wendong nodded, "But 10,000 tons and tens of thousands of tons are still different."

Director Yin said, "Mr. Yang is right, but there is always a first time for everything. We also hope to cooperate with Mr. Yang. We can guarantee in writing that the ship will not have serious quality problems."

Yang Wendong said, "How about we discuss the price and financial information first and then decide later?"

"Okay." Director Yin said with a smile. This kind of big deal couldn't be finalized right away.
Under normal circumstances, both parties need to discuss for several months, work out various details, and then make a decision. If the deal is not reached in the end, all those months of time may be wasted.

The next day, Yang Wendong also watched the launching ceremony of the new ship. Thousands of people from the entire shipyard were at the port, cheering.

Bai Yujie said: "Brother Dong, there are so many workers in this shipyard. No wonder you said that the shipbuilding industry can create a lot of jobs."

"This is just the tip of the iceberg." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "These people in the shipyard only assemble and weld, but the production of ship parts drives more employment, which is completely different from Hong Kong's light industry."

Changxing Industry has created a lot of employment for its suppliers, but compared with its own employment, the proportion is not high. It is good to have 2-3. However, the shipbuilding, automobile, and aircraft industries are all over 10.

If the entire industrial chain is in one country, the economic benefits it can bring will be terrifying.

"Yeah," Bai Yujie said with a smile, "It would be nice if Hong Kong could build ships."

Yang Wendong said: "Don't think too much, it's unlikely."

Although Singapore had shipyards in history, they were never large-scale. It is even more difficult in Hong Kong, but it is possible to build it into a shipping center and maintenance base.

At noon, after the launching ceremony, Zheng Yuhua's team began negotiations with Keelung Shipyard and the Taiwan Bank Group. After Yang Wendong's authorization, the intention was basically reached, and it all depended on the final transaction price and other conditions.
Taiwan also attaches great importance to this, and many officials have taken the initiative to show their goodwill to Yang Wendong. They also want Yang Wendong to learn other things and come to Taiwan to invest.

This is also normal. Nowadays, everyone in the world knows that a strong industry means a strong economy, a good life for the people, high government tax revenue, social stability, etc. Therefore, underdeveloped regions all hope for foreign investment.
Yang Wendong is also a smart man. After some polite exchanges, he did not say whether he would invest or not. Everything can only wait and see when the opportunity arises in the future.

In the afternoon, everyone took a car to Taipei City. Wei Zetao was already waiting there and took everyone to an open space in the suburbs of Taipei: "Mr. Yang, this is the land that Changxing Industry is going to take over. It is a total of 75 square feet and is only 3.6 kilometers away from the edge of the city center."

"75 square feet?" Yang Wendong smiled and asked, "Is it 60 more than the previous 15?"

Wei Zetao replied: "Yes, I talked with the Taiwanese government for a long time before they agreed to demolish a nearby village and give us the land. If it was bigger, they would not agree and insisted that we move to a place farther away."

"Okay, 75 is fine." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Has the price not been negotiated yet?"

In newly developed areas like this, the value of the core location is much higher than that of the peripheral areas, because once the economy develops a little, the core area will be saturated, while there will be plenty of time to slowly acquire the peripheral areas in the future.

Just like Central, there might still be some opportunities in the 60s, but after another 20 years, it is really not possible to buy properties or land in core locations just by having money.

Wei Zetao replied: "There is still some dispute over the price, but the difference is not big. In addition, there are some demolition issues, which will take some time."

"Okay, decide on it as soon as possible." Yang Wendong did not ask about the details.

He just needs to wait for the final result to come out and then he can look at it. As for the intermediate process, there will be people from the headquarters office following up and investigating, and the price will also be verified by a third-party review company. Multiple parties’ joint confirmation ensures that there will be no problems with the result and can also reduce the boss’s workload.

"Okay." Wei Zetao agreed.

After looking at the vacant land, Yang Wendong came to the center of Taipei, where there was also a large commercial center that was undergoing emergency renovation.

An acquaintance came over and said with a smile, "Mr. Yang."

"Mr. Wang." Yang Wendong greeted him with a smile, "Since I came to Taiwan, I came to see our first Carrefour supermarket."

The person who came was Wang Yung-ching of Formosa Plastics.

A few months ago, the two decided to work together to build a Carrefour supermarket in Taiwan, and the current location is the first one.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket

(End of this chapter)

previouscatalognext