Chapter 502 Opportunities in the Medical Industry

"Why does it feel like there are more people wearing masks?" Yang Wendong asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Liu Huayu replied: "Mr. Yang, I heard that many people have caught colds recently. It may be due to the change of seasons, the fact that it rains and then becomes sunny, and the temperature changes too much. This happens basically every spring and autumn, but it seems to be a little more serious this year."

“Is it serious this year?”

Yang Wendong immediately thought of something not so good, that is, a influenza pandemic was coming.

In human history, the most severe flu was the one in 1918. It broke out in the United States and then spread around the world as the US military went to Europe. It was just that the Spanish media was more honest and was the first to announce this large-scale epidemic, and then the virus was named after the region.

This flu killed more people than World War I, and even World War I ended hastily because of it;

After the Spanish flu, there were two other major influenza outbreaks in human history. One was in 1957, which might have been the flu Yang Wendong had contracted before he traveled through time. The other was in 1968.

Of course, the scale of these two times was far smaller than that in 1918, but they still caused the deaths of more than one million people. This is the data after the statistical capabilities were insufficient in this era.

Yang Wendong also knew about this matter, but he didn’t know the specific details. Is it going to start now?

"Mr. Yang?"

Seeing that the boss hadn't spoken for a long time, Liu Huayu reminded him.

"It's okay, let's leave it at that. We'll develop the supermarket business, expand the number of stores and optimize the procurement chain. Our target is the countries in Southeast Asia." Yang Wendong put aside other things in his mind and said.

Any large supermarket that wants to gain a foothold in the international market must have a base; the base of Walmart and Costco is the United States, and the same is true for several supermarkets in Europe, but historically, there was no such base in Southeast Asia because Southeast Asia is more fragmented and the countries are separated by oceans.

In the past, many international giants wanted to enter supermarkets here. Although they have established a foothold, none of them has formed an advantage at the continental level. Even in Southeast Asia, there is no such chain supermarket group.
Factors such as distance, ocean, culture, language, and law make this market extremely difficult to conquer. Any international giant can only have an advantage in one or two areas at most, but cannot be comprehensive.

Yang Wendong also knew that this was very difficult, but he couldn't give up doing business just because it was difficult. He had to give it a try. If he failed, at least he could capture part of the market.

Liu Huayu agreed and said, "Okay, once I confirm the situation in Malaysia, I will prepare a detailed investment plan."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded.

He basically wouldn't discuss these specific matters with his subordinates, firstly, he wouldn't do it himself, and secondly, with so many industries, he wouldn't get involved in such matters;

As a boss, he only needs to decide whether to invest and how much to invest, and then his subordinates will put forward different suggestions for him to choose and decide. Unless a certain investment involves the development plan of the entire group, he will be deeply involved.

At noon, after having a simple meal of dumplings at the nearby Changxing Plaza, Yang Wendong arranged a convoy and set off to Sha Tin.

"Mr. Yang." Seeing the boss coming, Zhou Haoran naturally came out to greet him in person.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I'm here to take a look at the factory operations, and then I have two things to discuss with you."

"Okay, please come this way." Zhou Haoran said with a smile.

Afterwards, he took Yang Wendong and his group to visit several nearby factories, including those producing grain, grain processing, sausage, instant noodles, sugar, beverages, etc.
Although I only took a quick look at each store, there were so many of them that it still took me 2 hours.

It’s not a big problem. All factories are now operating at full capacity, and the production of ham sausages with insufficient production capacity is still expanding.

"How many employees are there in all these factories now?" Yang Wendong asked.

Zhou Haoran said: "There are about 8000 people in total. The largest number of people work in the instant noodles, ham and Pepsi factories. These three have the best business, especially ham. We have been increasing our production capacity in the past two years, but it is still not enough. The demand in Japan, the United States and Europe is very high."

"That's normal. It took several years for sticky notes to catch up with production capacity." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Everyone can eat your sausage. The demand is much higher than that of sticky notes."

"Yes." Zhou Haoran added: "However, many countries now have similar products, and they are also competing for the market, but in the short term, the entire market is still in an upward period."

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, “Countries like Europe, America and Japan have good economic conditions. Although their spending power is strong, they also have a higher choice, not only competitors, but also other foods;

I think you can focus on developing the Southeast Asian market. Although these places are poor, many people have not eaten many good things because of this. Ham sausage or convenience foods are delicious to them. And I am optimistic about the future development speed of many Southeast Asian countries. If we open up the market here early and have a brand reputation, then when their economy improves in the future, we can enjoy great dividends. "

This logic needs no further explanation. Just look at the history of Master Kong and you will understand.

In the 90s, people in mainland China had just reached a level where they could have enough to eat, but they had not eaten anything else. Then, a brand of Master Kong braised beef instant noodles became an instant hit, making billions of dollars in just a few years.

The economies of Southeast Asia today are not uniform, but some regions can be compared to the mainland in the 1980s and 1990s. The only problem is that they are too dispersed and the languages differ, which creates difficulties and high costs for corporate brand operations.

"Okay, I have also been cooperating with Changxing Trading to explore the Southeast Asian market." Zhou Haoran replied.

Yang Wendong added: "The Southeast Asian market is also a market we will focus on developing in the next ten years. The first thing I want to tell you is also related to Southeast Asia, Malaysia..."

Zhou Haoran also listened to the boss's description, and after he finished speaking, he said: "Mr. Yang, the sugar industry in Malaysia has just begun to develop. I heard that the government there is preparing to focus on developing this industry. If we go there to invest in building a sugar factory, it will definitely be very cost-effective.

But I don’t think it’s necessary to set up a beverage factory, as the quality requirements are very high. It’s safer to put it in places like Hong Kong or Singapore where the per capita cultural level is higher.”

"Okay, let's build a sugar factory first." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Sugar production there must be much cheaper than in Hong Kong, and we can also do export business to many countries."

Zhou Haoran said: "Then I will also send someone to Malaysia to conduct an investigation."

“Let’s build the factory in Kuala Lumpur. The capital will always be much safer,” Yang Wendong said again.

Although the core purpose of its factory is to develop its own industry, it can also hoard land and make huge profits without affecting itself. Even if it is not developed in the future, it can directly sell the land. Just like the Shao Rong Steel Company in Hong Kong in history, it directly sold the factory land to Henderson Land Development for 90 billion in the 80s. It is estimated that Shao Rong Steel Company may not have made so much money in decades of operation.

As for Southeast Asia, he is not very familiar with real estate fluctuations, unlike Hong Kong where he knows it very clearly. So it would be conservative to choose the capital directly. As long as the country's economy takes off, the land prices in the capital will be guaranteed. This is an economic law.

Zhou Haoran agreed: "Okay."

Yang Wendong continued, "The second thing is, is your medical device factory's main business still Band-Aids and bandages?"

Many of his subsidiaries will also develop their own businesses, and Yang Wendong will not interfere with this. If they succeed, he will strongly support them, and if they fail, he will not succeed. After all, such a large consortium cannot rely on Yang Wendong alone. Perhaps one of the industries his subordinates try will be successful.

This is also similar to the model of future venture capital. If you invest in a hundred Internet companies and one of them makes a profit, you will make a huge profit. Of course, because these are your own industries, you won't cast a wide net casually. You will only enter the market when there is a possibility.

"Yes, we only have these two businesses at present, but the scale is not large. Last year's turnover was just over 200 million, and this was with the help of Changxing Trading's powerful channels." Zhou Haoran was a little puzzled as to why his boss suddenly asked this.

A 200 million industrial-scale factory is considered good in Hong Kong, but within the Changxing Group and even Watsons, it is far from it;
But it is profitable in itself, and the market is huge, so let's just keep it going for now. Maybe there will be an opportunity to expand it in the future. This is also the operating idea within the group.

Yang Wendong asked again: "Have you ever thought about doing something else?"

"I've thought about it. In fact, we can do a lot of things in the field of medical devices, but we don't have any advantages, including bandages and Band-Aids, so the results are very average." Zhou Haoran added.

"But this business has just started, and foreign competitors are very strong, so it's normal that it can't be big." Yang Wendong nodded, and then said: "The second thing I came to you for today is about this. I want you to start making masks."

It is difficult for an industry without technology or creativity to compete with established companies, even if the prices are low. Hong Kong's industry has been developing for decades and labor costs are low enough, but in the end most factories have been reduced to working for others, and only a very few can create their own brands.

"Masks? Is it because there are so many colds recently?" Zhou Haoran asked, "My son has also caught a cold recently, and they said that many of their classmates at school have also caught colds."

"Yes, I think the demand in this area may continue to exist in the future." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "In addition, I will also ask Changxing Trade to fully expand the channels of the mask market. You can just rest assured to produce it."

The 1968 flu pandemic lasted for two years. Although we don’t know what would happen during the process, when something like this happens, the requirements for basic masks are bound to be very high.

If we produce masks ourselves, we can at least lower the price within Hong Kong, and benefit Chinese people in Hong Kong and even Southeast Asia.
From the perspective of one's own interests and the safety of most ordinary people, this business is profitable. It may even save some lives invisibly, but no one knows about it.

It's just that there's no way to talk about this kind of thing.

"Okay, the main material of masks is gauze, and there is a lot of it in Hong Kong." Zhou Haoran said: "It is not difficult for us to produce in Hong Kong. There are some factories in Hong Kong that are producing it."

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(End of this chapter)

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