Chapter 452 Progress of Investment in Singapore

Chapter 452 Progress of Investment in Singapore

Chapter 452 Progress of Investment in Singapore
Time soon came to October, and cassette music players gradually gained a group of customers in the Hong Kong market, which also boosted the development of cassettes. Taiwan, Singapore and some Chinese-populated areas in Southeast Asia soon had Honor brand cassette players imported from Hong Kong.

After seeing Honor Electronics' report again, Yang Wendong praised, "You are quite fast. You have covered more than a dozen Chinese-populated areas in Southeast Asia so quickly?"

Wang Zhiqun replied: "Mr. Yang, it is mainly because Changxing Trade has specifically targeted the Chinese residential areas in Southeast Asia and has given priority to opening up local dealer channels in these areas;
So whether it is the comics of Changxing Culture, some of my electrical appliances, or some other services within the group, they can enter the Taiwan, Singapore and other Chinese regional markets at the fastest speed.”

"Well, it's very well done. The Chinese over there have many similar consumption and cultural habits to us Hong Kong people." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

Liu Huayu next to him also said: "Yes, Zou Wenhuai and Zou Sheng are also planning to invest in building cinemas in these places, but my place is not yet possible because the location is too scattered and we can't build a supermarket independently."

"Supermarkets are indeed different from cinemas. Cinemas can be moved around at will, but supermarkets must be centralized." Yang Wendong said: "Carrefour cannot be too hasty in its expansion. It must proceed steadily overseas and give priority to conquering the Singapore market.

Once this market stabilizes, we will gradually enter the neighboring Malaysian market, one by one, with Singapore as the center.”

The long distance between cinemas is not a problem at all, because the only transportation cost is film or employee business trips, etc., but supermarkets are completely different. Distance is the core factor that determines most costs.

Even Wal-Mart, which has been expanding gradually since the 60s, started from its own state of Arkansas and then entered surrounding states, step by step;
Not to mention, the supermarket industry's entry into overseas markets, judging from the experience of many international supermarkets in the past, is basically a life-or-death struggle, and few can do well in markets outside of their home countries.
Of course, this is also because supermarkets around the world basically developed in the 1960s and 1970s. After a supermarket has spent more than ten or twenty years conquering the local market, it is difficult for it to enter other markets and challenge local brands from other places.

Southeast Asia is basically a blank area for supermarkets. This gives Carrefour an opportunity to gain a firm foothold in the Southeast Asian market. However, the characteristics of supermarkets mean that it cannot expand rapidly. Strong capital is helpful in this regard, but it is also limited.

Liu Huayu replied: "I understand. I have already selected 16 locations in Singapore and the land has been purchased. The infrastructure of the first few supermarkets will be completed at the beginning of next year, and they will probably open in March or April next year."

"Are all the supplies shipped from Hong Kong?" Yang Wendong asked again.

Liu Huayu replied: "Yes, we don't have a procurement chain in Singapore at the moment, and the local industry is not very good. We only have agricultural products, which are imported from neighboring Malaysia."

"Is there any problem with sea transportation?" Yang Wendong asked.

Liu Huayu said: "No problem. I have also purchased a large warehouse in Singapore, which can store a large amount of supplies. Hong Kong is also preparing various goods. When the time is right, it will be transported all at once through Changxing Shipping, saving a lot of time and cost. Otherwise, normal transportation will inevitably result in a serious loss."

"Okay, it's good for brother companies to cooperate with each other." Yang Wendong said, "But we can't let Changxing Shipping lose money. It's best to achieve a win-win situation."

Liu Huayu said with a smile: "Don't worry, Mr. Yang, Changxing Shipping will not lose money. The reason why we can save money is because we use normal shipping. Other shipping companies will not cooperate with our schedule. If we go in multiple times, the sea transportation cost will be high, and the various handling costs and time costs will be the same.

If the cooperation is good, Changxing Shipping will not lose money, and I can save a lot of energy and time. It can be said to be a win-win situation. "

"Okay, you should cooperate more with Changxing Shipping in the future." Yang Wendong added: "But we must also build a local industrial chain in Singapore or several neighboring Southeast Asian countries as soon as possible. Only when the industrial chain there develops, our supermarket will have the foundation to expand to other parts of Southeast Asia."

Although we also want to support Hong Kong's industry and even the mainland's light industry, if we want to make money on other people's territory, we must leave some benefits in these places. This is ZZ, and even if there are no such factors, the various transportation costs alone will not work.

Even in the previous era of containers and high-efficiency communications, the industrial industry chain also pursued concentration, and the varieties of supermarket procurement chains are much more complicated than those of industry. In this era of particularly high transportation costs, even if you have your own ships, you must achieve localized production as soon as possible. Small quantities of goods with low transportation costs can be purchased from other places.

Liu Huayu replied: "I understand, Mr. Yang. I have also arranged for the purchasing department to find suitable suppliers near Singapore and Malaysia."

Yang Wendong added: "Well, Changxing Real Estate's investment project in Singapore has made some progress recently. You can help each other in the future, just like you do in Hong Kong."

"That's even better." Liu Huayu smiled and said, "Mr. Yang, our group is in Singapore. Can we get some media resources?"

"That's a bit difficult." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Singapore has very strict control over the media. Both the media and communications sectors require Singaporean nationals."

"If we had the media, it would be much easier to promote our business." Liu Huayu said regretfully.

Yang Wendong said: "Direct methods won't work, but indirect methods may be worth a try, but in the short term you still need to do it yourself. In fact, as long as the advertising fees are in place, the newspapers will not refuse orders."

In some sensitive areas, Singapore's control is stricter than Hong Kong's. After all, the former is a formal country that will not allow foreign capital to manipulate the media. This is also the global norm.

But indirect manipulation by foreign capital is also feasible. After all, all they need to do is find an obedient local to open a newspaper, and then cooperate in other areas and give the other party certain benefits, then generally speaking, they will cooperate. Of course, Yang Wendong will not participate in political affairs, he just wants to obtain advertising resources.

But forget about getting a TV station. Any country will strictly monitor it, and only people with clean backgrounds will be able to obtain it. They may even be managed by state-owned enterprises. Instead of considering obtaining a TV station license in Southeast Asian countries, it would be more reliable to wait another ten years and transmit TVB to Southeast Asia via satellite signals.

Liu Huayu replied: "Okay, I will also arrange for someone to visit the well-known local newspapers."

A few days later, on October 10, Yang Wendong met Zheng Zhijie and Wei Zetao who had just returned from Singapore.

"Mr. Yang, the view from the top floor is really nice." Zheng Zhijie said, "The last time I came here was two years ago. It feels like a lot has changed in just one year."

"You are in the real estate business. You don't know how much Hong Kong has changed in recent years." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

The top floor of Changxing Building can see most of Hong Kong, so occasionally Yang Wendong would arrange for people to put a set of tables and chairs here, so that we can enjoy the beautiful scenery, taste the food, and chat about some things. It feels very good. However, the summer in Hong Kong is too long, and it is rare that it is not so hot for a few months. Most of the time, the wind is relatively strong, so it is rare to come up. Today is just right, the sun is not hot and the wind is not strong.

Zheng Zhijie replied: "Yes, it is because real estate prices have fallen a lot this year, otherwise the changes would be more obvious."

"Hong Kong will probably continue to fall for a while." Yang Wendong added, "I am optimistic about Singapore. They are very similar to Hong Kong in 58. The economy has started to develop again, the government has formulated good policies, and there are so many Chinese people. It is estimated that they will catch up with Hong Kong today in ten years."

Zheng Zhijie also agreed and said, "Yes, I also need to report to Mr. Yang on the progress in Singapore during this period."

"Okay, go ahead." Yang Wendong said.

Zheng Zhijie replied: "The first thing is our Four Seasons Hotel and Changxing Plaza. The Singapore government has agreed to our investment, and the land was also selected by us before. You have also seen those two locations, Mr. Yang;
It involves demolition. According to Singapore law, demolition is the responsibility of the government, so we need to wait until they have completed the demolition before they can transfer the property to us."

Yang Wendong asked: "Have you agreed on the price?"

Zheng Zhijie said: "The two plots of land are worth a total of 550 million US dollars."

"It's quite cheap." Yang Wendong said, "The land of the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong was auctioned for more than this amount."

The land area of ​​the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore is much larger than that in Hong Kong, and as a commercial plaza, Changxing Plaza is naturally even larger.

Zheng Zhijie smiled and said, "Mr. Yang, it's hard to compare. The current house prices and land prices in Singapore are actually still lower than those in Hong Kong in 1958. Moreover, Singapore has just been established and it is the time to attract foreign investment, so there are also discounts on land."

At this time, Wei Zetao next to him also said: "Yes, Singapore is much better than Hong Kong in this regard. My factory has free land, and even tax exemptions in the past few years can be negotiated."

The Hong Kong government claims to be a free market, so the government will not support industry. No matter what capital you have, don't even think about taking advantage of this area. If it weren't for the efforts of the Chinese themselves, Hong Kong would not have the industrial strength it has today.

"Hong Kong is indeed not comparable to Singapore," Yang Wendong agreed.

In fact, if the British Hong Kong government had been more responsible in the 80s, controlled housing prices, and provided guidance and support to Hong Kong's industries, the transformation would have been possible. Of course, there are many reasons for this, and we cannot blame the British Hong Kong government entirely.

Zheng Zhijie went on to say: “As long as the land is acquired, the two commercial buildings can be started.”

Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "What about the dock?"

Zheng Zhijie replied: “As for the terminal, the Singapore government did not reject our investment request, but restricted our shareholding to no more than 25%, which means we can only be a small shareholder. The future operation of the terminal will still be decided by the Singapore government.

However, they also agreed that our people could participate in part of the management and operation of the container terminal. Their reason was very simple, because we also had no relevant experience. "

"25%? That's fine, I'll agree to it." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "It is indeed difficult to take over the management rights. This time we will take it as a learning opportunity. We also need a large number of teams that are proficient in container terminal operations. Only in this way can we gain advantages in terminal investments in other places, including Hong Kong and other future terminals."

A large port has more than one dock. Those who are familiar with the Shanghai Pudong Port know that, and the future Hong Kong Kwai Chung Port will have a total of nine docks.

I only have a little capital at the moment. If it weren't for the fact that it is very early now and containers are not yet very popular, it would be difficult to participate in overseas terminal investment with a blank slate if I had to wait a few more years.

If we gradually lay a solid foundation now, we can learn from Li Jiacheng in our previous life and control enough global ports. You know, unless the global economy collapses, it is impossible for various ports to lose money.

"Okay, then I will negotiate the price with the Singapore officials right away." Zheng Zhijie replied.

Yang Wendong asked again: "These three projects cost a lot of money. How are you going to operate financially?"

It is impossible to use one's own funds to build large-scale projects, whether they are docks, large hotels or shopping malls, etc., or even future highways, bridges, etc. If this is the case, even the richest man in the world cannot invest much and will definitely suffer losses.

The only way is to use the bank's funds, invest a little of your own, leverage, get the project started, and then operate it to slowly pay off the debt.

Zheng Zhijie said: "I have contacted the branches of OCBC Bank, Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. The three of them will jointly provide financing for our three projects;
However, which banks will participate in which projects, what proportion of loans will be used, what kind of mortgages and interest rates will be used, etc. have not yet been discussed. It is too early now. At present, it is just an intention. After all, the three projects have not yet been fully implemented. "

"That's right, a preliminary intention is enough." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "After confirming with the Singapore government, we will ask Bei Jinming to design the hotel and shopping mall, but we also need to ask for quotes from several other companies.
As for the port, let the Singapore government take charge of it. Our people will be involved and learn everything about it, including the site selection, construction, selection of mechanical and electrical equipment, and subsequent operations.”

"Okay, I have also recruited people from existing container terminals in Europe and the United States." Zheng Zhijie said: "Once the construction in Singapore is completed, our workers and engineers in Hong Kong can also participate."

"Okay, that's it." Yang Wendong said, "Let all the projects land as soon as possible."

PS: Ask for monthly ticket

(End of this chapter)