Chapter 395 Deal with the British Government

Chapter 395 Deal with the British Government

Chapter 395 Deal with the British Government
"Forget about the past. From now on, it will be managed by the financial company." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "However, when it comes to your strategic cooperation, the financial company will only be involved in fund operations and will not be involved in other matters.

That is to say, if you have your eyes on a company, you don’t participate in the acquisition yourself, but hand it over to the financial company, and then work together to negotiate the acquisition. After the success, the shares will belong to the financial company, but the cooperation between the companies is still up to you, and the financial company will not be involved. "

As the group developed, more and more shares of companies were acquired at home and abroad, so Yang Wendong also thought about integrating them, such as shares of several future supermarket giants, shares of several companies in Hong Kong, and so on.

In Hong Kong, a large number of companies have been listed in the past few years, and the 67 economic crisis that is about to hit is not just about real estate. There is also a golden opportunity in the stock market and finance, especially for British companies. It may not have been easy to take action against them in the 60s, but by slowly acquiring their shares, they could slaughter them when the time is right.

Wei Zetao nodded and said, "I understand. This is similar to the real estate business. Our subsidiary only does its own business and does not care about finance."

"Almost." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "This is also one of the reasons I considered."

As a time traveler, he would not miss many industries, especially real estate and finance, but each industry needed to do its own thing and they could not all go into real estate just because they saw that the real estate was making money.

Therefore, at a very early stage, Yang Wendong restricted any subsidiary company, no matter what business it was, if it needed to buy land, it had to cooperate with Changxing Real Estate. Even if it was the land under his own office or factory, if it was to be developed in the future, it would have to be transferred to Changxing Real Estate for operation. This was to prevent the subsidiary company from being jealous of the real estate business and starting to speculate in real estate instead of doing its main business.
The same is true for finance. There was no such problem a few years ago, but now the Hong Kong stock market has gradually risen. From 68 to 73, it increased more than ten times. The manufacturing industry and even the real estate industry may not have such profits.

Yang Wendong will not let go of this market. He will also set up a company specifically to do this, but other subsidiaries with different businesses will not be allowed to participate, similar to directly prohibiting them by law.
Wei Zetao said: "Okay, then, this time it's Formosa Plastics?"

"The financial company hasn't been established yet, but this one has already started. So let's put it under Changxing Industrial." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Actually, there is no difference. I asked Wang Yongqing before, and he also said that he is not going to go public in the short term because many European and American capitalist tycoons may have already set their sights on Formosa Plastics."

"Europeans and Americans are eyeing Formosa Plastics?" Wei Zetao asked in surprise.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, “Yes, many financial capitals in Europe and the United States have always wanted to control potential companies in other parts of the world, especially those involving basic raw materials;

Our group has not been targeted by them yet, but if things continue like this, they will definitely be targeted.”

It is the same for any capital. Finance can easily become the final destination because, relatively speaking, finance is the simplest. You only need to invest in powerful entrepreneurs and don’t need to work hard to run the business yourself.

Yang Wendong also does the same when facing industries he doesn't understand. After all, even if he hires professional managers to manage, it is impossible for him to achieve results in dozens of fields. It would be good if he can achieve results in about ten fields. For other fields, if he wants to make sure they are not missed, it is easiest to invest. For example, it is almost impossible for him to enter the European and American retail markets such as Walmart and Auchan, so investing is the easiest way.
For overseas big capital, the logic is the same, but they are not time travelers and cannot accurately target people with great potential, so they can only cast a wide net to catch fish.

As for investing in basic material companies like Formosa Plastics, as long as they have the ability to grow bigger, it is basically impossible to lose money. Plastics will gradually become one of the necessary basic materials for global economic development.

Therefore, Formosa Plastics has naturally been targeted by overseas capital, but Changxing Industrial has not yet had this problem, because although it is stronger, it only makes terminal products, which are not necessities. However, if the scale is larger in the future, it is possible.
Wei Zetao nodded and said, "I've heard about this, too. Especially some of the capital on Wall Street in the United States, they always try every means to invest in various places around the world. But they do have the ability to help some of the invested companies, so it can be considered a mutually beneficial cooperation."

"But taking this benefit is like having your neck strangled." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Wang Yongqing is very smart. He knows that only when his scale is large can he avoid being controlled by others, so he wants to use my funds to develop rapidly.
As for me, I am Chinese, so if there is any problem, it will be easier to deal with. I guess that’s what he thinks.”

"Yes, Mr. Yang is well-known in places like Hong Kong and Taiwan. He will definitely not do anything too extreme." Wei Zetao said.

"I can't do it myself. Even if I am optimistic about the oil derivatives industry, I will do it myself." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Don't worry about anything else. Just do our own thing well.

What Wang Yongqing is worried about may also happen to me in the future, so we must develop and grow as quickly as possible."

Business is inseparable from politics, this is an eternal truth. In the American era, if a Chinese capital became big, it would definitely be swallowed up by the four major families without leaving any residue.
If he copied the development process of the four major families in his previous life and made a living in the small fish pond of Hong Kong, there would not be any big problem. But now his products are selling well all over the world, and he plans to enter the electronics industry in the future, so he might definitely be targeted.

This kind of thing cannot be solved in business, it can only rely on background. And this background, in the 60s, could only be the Commonwealth. After all, it was once the world's largest empire. Even if its strength is declining now, it is still one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with a certain deterrent power, and many colonies are very "friendly" to it. Even the United States has to be cautious when dealing with Britain, and the relationship between the two countries is not bad on the surface.
"Okay, I'll send someone to Taiwan right away to settle this matter as soon as possible." Wei Zetao said.

Yang Wendong then said to Yao Jingyi: "Recruit financial talents as soon as possible, preferably top Chinese students from the Commonwealth."

"Yes, Mr. Yang." Yao Jingyi agreed.

As for Formosa Plastics' capital increase, it is actually a small matter. After all, there will be opportunities when it goes public in the future. Doing it now may just save a little money.

What is more important is that he still needs to rely on Wang Yongqing and the resources behind him to build an oil derivatives industry chain near Hong Kong. In this way, it will be easier for him to enter this industry. Secondly, even if he fails, he can reduce the cost of Changxing Industrial's plastic products.

This is also of great significance to the development of Changxing Group, because many of Changxing Industrial's products are now facing competition from multiple competitors around the world. When the technologies are similar, cost control is the most important thing.

On March 3, Yang Wendong was invited by the new Governor of Hong Kong, Trench, to visit the Governor's House again.

"Hello, Mr. Governor of Hong Kong." Yang Wendong said with a smile and shook hands.

Trench shook hands in the same way and said, "Mr. Yang, hello, please take a seat." After the two sat down and exchanged pleasantries, Trench went straight to the point and said, "Mr. Yang, I have good news to tell you. The Justice of the Peace that Governor Robert Black applied for you last year has been approved by the British side. Her Majesty the Queen also highly appreciates your help in transporting water to Hong Kong last year."

"Thank you for the compliment, Her Majesty the Queen." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

The queen of this era is actually the queen of the 21st century, Queen Elizabeth II, who has lived from the 50s to the 21st century, the longest reigning queen in British history. Her son was the crown prince for his entire life, and only succeeded to the throne when he was old and frail. Later, he was diagnosed with cancer, and it is estimated that he will not be able to rule for many more years.
Trench went on to say: “The appointment of Justices of the Peace will be in July or August. This has been decided. We just need to wait for the process, so there is no need to worry;
The main reason why I asked Mr. Yang to come here is for another matter."

"What's the matter?" Yang Wendong asked. He guessed that it must not be just a justice of the peace, otherwise there would be no need to call him over.

Trench said: "It's from London, England. The officials there hope that your company can invest in the UK, especially your factory."

"I'm going to invest in the UK?" Yang Wendong was stunned for a moment, then said, "Mr. Governor, generally, it's the economically strong countries that have factories moving to the economically weak countries. If I do this, isn't that the opposite?"

"Haha, I know, but it depends on the situation. It's not like the UK and the US don't have manufacturing industries anymore." Trench said with a smile, "You know I was in charge of Hong Kong's industry before, so I have some understanding of industry.

In fact, it would not be a loss for Changxing Industrial to move the production of some of its products to Europe and the United States, because the transportation costs of many products are too high. For example, trolley suitcases are made of such large hollow plastic that the transportation costs are very high even if you have your own ships.

These things can be produced in the UK, so they can be sold to Europe or the US. Mr. Yang, you are an expert in this area, so you should understand this.”

"That's true," Yang Wendong said. "In fact, our company has also calculated the costs. In theory, it would be cheaper to produce in some places in Europe and America.

But when investing overseas, we can’t just look at the theory. There are too many problems that we can’t control, and there are all kinds of unpredictable risks, so I would rather invest in Hong Kong or nearby places.”

In the past, many Asian factories went to the United States to invest and were cheated out of everything. Although this era may be better, there is no need to take this risk;

Besides, containers will soon become popular, and the cost of shipping will be further reduced. Wouldn't it be foolish to invest in Britain and the United States at this time? Unless there are other benefits in exchange.

Dai Linzhi nodded and said, "Mr. Yang's consideration is indeed correct, but since you have said it is almost the same, why not consider it? As for the risk issue, if your company wants to develop into a large enterprise, it is only a matter of time before you have to deal with overseas issues.

You can't be the only one making money overseas, right? Trade is generally about buying and selling, and you're the one selling. As a big businessman, Mr. Yang also knows the problems here, right? "

"So, if I go to the UK to invest, the British government can serve as the backend for my global trade?" Yang Wendong asked.

Trench smiled and said, "Yes, first of all, there will definitely be no problem within the Commonwealth, and in other markets, such as the United States, Asia, etc., the British government can also intervene appropriately."

"It seems a bit not worth it for the British government to do this just for a factory, right?" Yang Wendong asked puzzledly.

Although Britain has declined in recent years, it is not to this extent.

Trench said: "I can also tell you the real reason. Nowadays, the competition between political parties in the UK is fierce, and the core issue is employment. You should also know this.

London is planning to build a container terminal, but once such a terminal is built, tens of thousands of people may lose their jobs, all of them young people. The government is facing too much resistance, so they want to attract more factories to invest in London, absorb these jobs and reduce the pressure on the government. "

"So that's the case, but I can't provide so many jobs by myself?" Yang Wendong said with a frown.

Containerization of docks was the most important event for many countries after the 50s. It was possible for a city or even a country to take off. On the contrary, for a large port city like London, failure would mean the end of it.

As a smart person, you can naturally see this, but the problem is that the workers don't care about you. They only care about their jobs in the next few years and will not accept new changes. Just like Kodak, Nokia, etc. in the past, everyone knows that if they don't reform, they will be finished, but the internal interest groups will not agree to promote the transformation of the company at the cost of their own unemployment.
Successful reformers are not those who have great foresight. Who can't see the trend? If you want to succeed, you need to win over, appease or suppress various interest groups, form a new balance of interests and successfully revolutionize. If you can do this successfully, you are great.
Trench nodded and said, "I know that the British government is not looking for you alone, otherwise I would not be the one coming. If you are willing, the British government will send someone to Hong Kong to talk with you.
As for how much investment you want to make and what benefits the UK will give you, that's up to you to negotiate, and I won't get involved.'

"Okay, we can discuss it." Yang Wendong agreed.

Even if they couldn't reach an agreement in the end, at least they had to show their attitude. Rejecting it now would only do more harm than good, although he also knew that some of the British's promises might be empty.
"Okay, then I'll inform the British side right away." Trench said with a smile.

Yang Wendong suddenly asked: "Mr. Governor, Britain is planning to build a container terminal, what about Hong Kong?"

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