Chapter 501 New Layout in Southeast Asia
Chapter 501 New Layout in Southeast Asia
After putting down the pencil case in his hand, Yang Wendong walked around the supermarket for a while, and others naturally followed him.
"Yifeng Supermarket has been changed to Carrefour, right?" Yang Wendong asked again.
Liu Huayu replied: "Yes, all Yifeng supermarkets have been renamed, and the internal management has been taken over by our people. Yifeng's original supply chain has basically been merged with ours. We have continued to use the few overseas procurement materials with good cost performance and placed them in the original Carrefour supermarkets."
Yang Wendong said: "Well, that's good. We also need to import some imported materials. No matter how the economy develops, many people in Hong Kong still like imported goods from Europe and the United States."
Not to mention the mainland now, even in a few decades when all kinds of industrial products can be produced in the mainland, there are still many people who like foreign brands;
"I understand. Changxing Trading has also begun to look for suitable products for us in Europe and the United States. In the future, our Carrefour will cover all the needs of Hong Kong citizens." Liu Huayu said with a smile.
In the past few years, Carrefour has minimized the cost of industrial products produced locally and nearby by controlling the procurement chain, while Yifeng has taken the route of importing goods from Europe and the United States. Now, the two countries can complement each other.
Yang Wendong asked again: "The number of Carrefour stores has exceeded 100, right?"
Liu Huayu replied: "If we include the more than 20 properties acquired last year, the number will be 112 after they are all opened."
"Then it basically covers the whole of Hong Kong?" Yang Wendong asked.
Liu Huayu said: "Yes."
"How about Singapore? How many rooms are there?"
Liu Huayu replied: "There are currently 35 stores opened in Singapore, with 8 more under construction. In addition, two stores are already being renovated in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia."
"In Malaysia, are we wholly owned?" Yang Wendong asked.
Liu Huayu said: "Yes, a Malaysian official took the initiative to invite us and promised that there would be no other problems."
"So good?" Yang Wendong was a little puzzled. Although there are many Chinese in Malaysia and the local government is fair to Chinese, there is no reason to invite a foreign investor like him to go there.
Liu Huayu looked at Wei Zetao and said, "This matter is somewhat related to Mr. Wei, so let Mr. Wei talk about it."
Wei Zetao also said: "Mr. Yang, it is like this. We, Changxing Industry, have invested in a large number of factories in Singapore, which has created more than 10,000 jobs. Many Southeast Asian countries have also taken the initiative to find us and want us to invest there;
I had some hope for them, especially Malaysia, because there are many Chinese people there, so I had several contacts with their officials. Later, this person suddenly said that we could give other departments a try to invest, so I introduced Liu Sheng to this side. "
"So that's how it is." Yang Wendong also understood: "It seems that they want to give us some benefits first, build a relationship with us, and then attract our manufacturing industry to invest."
Today, Changxing Group has three bases in Asia, which have created jobs for tens of thousands of people and generated tens of millions of dollars in output value, and these are basically pollution-free industries. Even if such industries were to move to industrially developed Europe and the United States, they would definitely be welcomed, not to mention Asia, which has little industry.
Wei Zetao nodded and said, “Yes, and I think Malaysia will be a good place for us to invest. The Chinese account for about 40% of the population there. It has a large area and abundant resources, and the education level of the Chinese is not bad.
More importantly, the Malaysian government has publicly stated that it wants to vigorously develop industry, but it is too difficult for an agricultural country to develop industry, so it is estimated that they are very eager to introduce our factories, even if they start with assembly. But as long as there is industry, they can move forward. "
"What is the population of Malaysia?" Yang Wendong asked after thinking for a while.
Wei Zetao replied: "Less than 1000 million, more than 900."
"Then the number of Chinese people exceeds that of Hong Kong and Singapore." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "This market is indeed possible. Supermarkets can be run well there. After all, it is relatively close to Singapore, and part of the procurement chain can also be shared."
Liu Huayu said: "Yes, I also think Malaysia will be a good market, but the population is relatively scattered. My initial plan is to develop in Kuala Lumpur and several large cities near the sea, use sea transportation to transport goods from the Singapore supply chain, and then purchase some locally."
"Okay, let's first make the two existing ones and then see. If they are suitable, we will continue to expand." Yang Wendong agreed and said, "Our goal for our supermarket is to gain a foothold in Southeast Asia. However, the safest way is to find a local person with resources to cooperate with."
"I have thought about this question." Liu Huayu continued, "There are many wealthy Chinese in Malaysia. I have discussed with Zheng Sheng and think that the Lu family is a good one. They are the Lu family that Changxing Film Company bought from Singapore and Malaysia." "The family behind Lu Yuntao? I remember their family is in the mining business, right?" Yang Wendong asked.
Many Chinese in Southeast Asia made certain achievements in Southeast Asia a hundred years ago. For example, during the Anti-Japanese War, many Southeast Asian Chinese donated money and materials.
There are a large number of Chinese in Malaysia, and naturally there are many wealthy Chinese families. The future Guo Henian will be one of them, but he is not very successful yet. The Lu family is a famous mining tycoon in Southeast Asia.
Liu Huayu said: "Yes, the Lu family has a great influence in Malaysia. We can form a joint venture with them to build a supermarket. The supermarket will be a separate joint venture, but we control the supply chain and can get more than half of the profits;
The Lu family doesn’t interfere and gets certain benefits, but they need to solve many local problems for us, including government, civil conflicts, or other legal issues. "
"Okay, you go and contact the Lu family." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "This cooperation must be done well. If it goes well, it can be used as a template to show future partners in other Southeast Asian countries. This will make it much easier for us to enter other countries in the future."
The advantage of doing business in Hong Kong is that it has a small government and big capital, and you can get a lot of benefits from real estate and finance, and even monopolize many people's livelihood industries. But the disadvantage is that after monopolizing Hong Kong, there is no room for growth. If you want to expand, you must go abroad.
The mainland has not yet been reformed and opened up, so the only direction for Carrefour or other service industries to expand is Southeast Asia. These places have different cultures, laws and even ethnic groups, so it is difficult for outsiders to operate smoothly there. The simplest way is to cooperate with local giants, form an alliance of interests, and then provide the supply chain on your side while the other side solves various problems, and then grow bigger and stronger together.
Liu Huayu agreed and said, "Okay, I understand."
"But we can't just use Malaysia as a market to make money." Yang Wendong looked at Wei Zetao and asked, "Do you think we can move some of our production capacity to Malaysia?"
Although he is the boss and has the final say, he will also discuss many issues with his subordinates; after all, even the emperor in ancient times needed to negotiate many things with his ministers, but the final decision-making power was in his own hands.
Wei Zetao thought for a while and said: "It can be considered. Although the conditions in Malaysia are not as good as those in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur is still good. Building a factory is not a problem.
Most importantly, Malaysia has a well-developed oil industry. If we produce plastic raw materials in Malaysia or use local forestry to make paper, it will be very cost-effective. Although we already have these two factories in Singapore, with global sales increasing, it is also a good choice to build a factory in Malaysia. "
"In that case, you should send someone to Malaysia to conduct a detailed investigation." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Whether we invest this year or not, if we have more complete information, we can consider it again in a few years."
In the next few years, he will devote all his efforts to planning the development of the electronics industry in Hong Kong, and the relatively backward simple plastic manufacturing may be gradually transferred abroad.
Although Taiwan is the most suitable, there are some risks in other aspects. You can invest here, but not on a large scale.
Singapore is good in everything, but its population is too small and it may not be able to take over as many industries as Hong Kong, especially Changxing Industrial's plastic, paper and glue industries, which are also developing rapidly.
Before 79, Malaysia or other Southeast Asian countries could be considered as a production base for part of the production capacity. If you want to make money in Southeast Asia, you must give some benefits to the local people. Building a factory itself, as long as it can operate smoothly, can be considered mutually beneficial.
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Wei Zetao paused and said, "Mr. Yang, in fact, given the conditions in Malaysia, it would be best if Watsons' sugar factory and beverage factory were moved there."
"Indeed, Malaysia has a lot of land, and I heard that it is also focusing on developing the sugar industry." Yang Wendong thought for a while and said, "I will discuss it with Lao Zhou next time."
In this Southeast Asian country, some places have more people than land, while others are the other way around;
Malaysia has a population of less than 1000 million, but its area is as high as 33 square kilometers, which is slightly larger than Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Anhui. The arable land area is as high as 7 square kilometers, which is simply an agricultural paradise.
Wei Zetao smiled and said, "It would be even better if we could invest together."
"Well, internationalization is also necessary. We need to gradually go global." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "How is the container production we mentioned earlier going?"
Wei Zetao said: "The factory in Kwai Chung has been built, and the iron plates have been purchased from Japan, but the heavy-duty press equipment has not arrived yet. Now a large number of welders recruited from Taiwan are also learning welding standards and doing simulation tests."
"Okay, then when the equipment arrives and the containers can be made, tell me and I want to go and see it too." Yang Wendong nodded and said.
He had not thought of doing this business at first, but because his own dock and shipping company needed it and he could not buy enough goods, he had to do it himself.
But his principle is to either not do it or do it to the best of his ability. Even if he becomes bigger, he can move to the front end of the industrial chain and develop by taking advantage of the whole industrial chain.
The container industry is also very large, and there will be no shortage of demand even after several decades. Especially when the mainland reforms and opens up in the future, the demand for containers will be even greater. This can be regarded as another core product of Changxing Industrial.
"Okay." Wei Zetao agreed.
"Yeah," Yang Wendong nodded and looked around again. Suddenly, he felt that there seemed to be more people wearing masks around him.
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(End of this chapter)