Chapter 505 Investing in the Future Intel

After shopping in the supermarket, several people came to the Changxing Industrial Factory located in the suburbs of London. This is a comprehensive factory that produces trolley cases, spin mops, sticky hooks, plastic bags, plastic wrap, storage boxes, etc. Basically, what is available in Hong Kong is also available here, and they are also considering localizing the market for some products in Europe.

"How many workers do we have in this factory now?" Yang Wendong asked.

Wei Zetao replied: "A total of 1200 people."

Yang Wendong asked again: "Then the goods supplied are only for Britain?"

"Mainly the UK, a small part will be exported to non-European countries such as Norway and Switzerland." Wei Zetao replied: "The European continent will be produced by our factories in France and Germany in the future;
But these are only a small part. The real large quantities may still come from Asia. It’s just that the shipping costs have been much higher recently, so it seems more cost-effective to produce in Europe.”

"The shipping crisis will not last forever. The factories in Europe only need to be of a certain scale. It is impossible for them to focus entirely on the European market." Yang Wendong shook his head and said.

Asia will be the manufacturing center in the future. Some special reasons may make it more cost-effective to produce in Europe at times, but it is impossible in the long run. What is more important is not only the labor, but the industrial chain. Many industrial chains in the future will be in Asia.
Only special high-profit industries such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals can stay in Europe for a long time.

Investing part of my own money here can also bring some employment and tax revenue to the local government, thus stabilizing the market. By the way, I can also diversify my production capacity and occasionally supplement insufficient production capacity.

"My investment in Europe will be limited," Wei Zetao replied.

Yang Wendong then asked, "We don't have a factory in the United States yet, right?"

"No, the goods in the United States are basically imported from Taiwan, and they have preferential tax policies." Wei Zetao explained: "Also, the labor unions in the United States are very annoying, and they may be even stronger than those in Europe."

"The union is indeed a problem." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Dealing with them is quite a headache."

Trade unions should exist because they are also a balancer for social development. Otherwise, when capital and workers confront each other, the latter will certainly not be a match.
But everything needs a balance. Whether it is the capitalists or the trade unions, if either side is too strong it will be a disaster and will be detrimental to society and the economy. The trade unions in Western countries are gradually becoming stronger and on the surface they are friendly to workers, but in fact they are forcing many companies to move their factories to Asia, ultimately causing the workers to lose their jobs.

Another thing is the trade union, which has gradually become a profit-making organization. Their purpose is not to protect the legal rights and interests of workers, but to suck blood from the company and then take commissions for themselves. The benefits obtained by the workers are just a by-product.

Of course, many capitalists are not good people either, they just keep each other in check.

Wei Zetao smiled and said, "Yes, although there are not many people in this British factory, I have to deal with many problems myself. It is too troublesome and laborious. Later, I hired a few British local managers, and things got better."

"This is the scale in Europe for now. Changxing Industrial's products are low-end in themselves, and producing them in Europe and the United States is actually anti-economical," Yang Wendong continued.

In the future, our own beverages, food, electrical appliances, electronic products, etc. may still be produced in Europe and the United States due to high profits, but ordinary plastic parts will be produced purely for non-economic purposes.

Wei Zetao nodded: "Okay, I understand."

In the next two days, Yang Wendong visited several places in London, but still couldn't stand the polluted air, so he took a plane to Los Angeles, USA.

"I haven't been here for a long time." Yang Wendong looked at the promotional video of "The Green Hornet" in front of him and couldn't help but feel some emotion.

Just like in the original history, Li Xiaolong entered Hollywood and starred in several movies. This was not affected by Yang Wendong's butterfly effect. This was normal. After all, apart from selling goods to the United States, he had not made any other investments over the years.

Lin Youqing said: "I have also seen Li Xiaolong's movies. The fighting scenes are very exciting. Now many people in the United States know him."

“It can be considered a success, but it’s not easy for Chinese people to make it in Hollywood,” Yang Wendong said with a smile.

Li Xiaolong has achieved some success in the United States, and many film companies are willing to cooperate with him. However, the problem is that all kinds of exclusion and discrimination will always exist, and some will even deliberately vilify him.

This also led to Li Xiaolong's return to Hong Kong in 1970 in the original history.

He is not going to interfere in this regard. Li Xiaolong still has confidence in Hollywood. The market of a city like Hong Kong will not make him give up Hollywood. Only when he understands it himself, that will be a new beginning.

Lin Youqi asked, "Mr. Yang, are you planning to ask him to endorse our company's products?"

In his early years, Yang Wendong paid close attention to Li Xiaolong, which made Lin Youqing curious. Now that Li Xiaolong has become famous, he has guessed the reason.

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "No, our products have not yet involved too much in the civilian market, and the few that do exist do not match his image, so there is no need."

For products like hooks and suitcases, Li Xiaolong could be asked to be the spokesperson, but it is not necessary. Other electrical appliances have not yet entered the US market on a large scale, and they do not need to be.
The most suitable one is actually Red Bull, but it’s still early and there’s not even a sign of it yet.

More importantly, if he finds Li Xiaolong to be the spokesperson and Hollywood thinks that Li Xiaolong is worthy of endorsement and then focuses on training him, that will affect his plans. He still needs Li Xiaolong to return to Hong Kong, become famous in Asia, and then counterattack Hollywood.

With his own capital and Li Xiaolong's ability, as long as he survives, he will definitely become the world's top superstar in the future, which will also be of great help to Changxing Group's future global commodity strategy; on the contrary, how much money can be made by signing Li Xiaolong? In fact, it doesn't matter. Can the money be compared with a building in Central Hong Kong?
So everything just goes according to plan.

"Okay." Lin Youqi continued, "Mr. Moore and Mr. Noyce have agreed to meet with you tomorrow morning in a coffee shop next to Stanford University."

"Okay, let's go together tomorrow." Yang Wendong nodded and said. The next day, under the leadership of Lin Youqi, Yang Wendong saw the core purpose of his trip: to meet Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.

Few people may know who these two are, but Gordon Moore's Moore's Law is known to almost everyone in the electronics industry. These two are the founders of the future Intel.
A long time ago, Yang Wendong asked Lin Youqiang to keep an eye on Fairchild Semiconductor, the Huangpu Military Academy of the American electronics industry, and inform him of any changes in senior management. Finally, half a month ago, the two founders of the future Intel resigned, so Yang Wendong rushed over.

"Mr. Moore, Mr. Noyce." Lin Youqi introduced, "This is my boss, Mr. Eric Yang."

The three of them shook hands and sat down. Gordon Moore asked, "Mr. Yang, I heard that you are a super rich man in Hong Kong?"

"I guess so." Yang Wendong nodded.

In European and American culture, there is no need to be humble. Just be what you are and be as rich as you can.

Moore then asked, "So what do you want us to do?"

A super-rich man approached them, and they initially thought he was a scammer. But later, Lin Youqiang brought a newspaper from an American newspaper many years ago that introduced Yang Wendong's deeds, which made them believe it.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "It's very simple. I am very optimistic about the future of the electronics industry and I believe in your technology, so I want to invite you to work in Hong Kong. As for salary, we can discuss it."

Moore shook his head and said, "Mr. Yang, we are going to start our own business and open a company. We are not going to work for others anymore."

"In that case, can I invest in your company?" Yang Wendong said again.

Of course he knew that it was unrealistic to ask them to work for him, but if he first proposed a higher condition and then lowered it a step, it would be easier for people to accept.

"You want to invest in our company?" Noyce asked puzzledly, "We have nothing now."

Yang Wendong said, "No, you have people. For a technology company, talent is the most important thing. As long as you have people, all other conditions will be there."

In traditional enterprises, the position of the founder is not that important. If the founder leaves one day, the successor can still manage the business normally, and even capable people can do better.
But in the technological age, the pursuit, ability, and personality of the founder will determine the future of the company, and to a large extent, outsiders cannot replace them, such as Steve Jobs;
This has become even more obvious since the Internet age.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that the company will fail without the founder. Even if the founder retires, the company will focus on training a successor so that the company can operate normally.

There are many external factors that contributed to Intel's success, but the founder is also very important.

Moore was also a little puzzled and asked, "We are planning to do chip production and design. Is Mr. Yang also optimistic about these two things?"

"Yes." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Just focus on these two things. I can contribute some money and join in. I won't ask about the company's affairs except for the finances.
With my investment, you can just focus on designing chips without worrying about the investment in the wafer fab.”

In the early years, the investment in wafer factories was not high. Until the 80s, many companies still produced their own chips. Later, the foundry model became popular. Taiwan and South Korea competed with each other, squeezing out other players and eventually forming an absolute monopoly.

Moore asked, "So what does Mr. Yang need us to do?"

"In addition to the normal operation of the company, I also have some functions. I hope you can design chips and then produce them for me." Yang Wendong replied: "I also have a large-scale electronics factory in Hong Kong, but it does not have chip production capabilities, so I need to rely on the United States. This is one of the reasons why I want to invest in you."

Being able to make huge profits from investments while also helping their own electronics industry is also better. The strength of the Intel team is unquestionable.

Moore and Noyce looked at each other, then said to Yang Wendong, "Mr. Yang, how many shares do you want to get?"

"How much are you willing to give?" Yang Wendong asked back.

"20%, how about that?" Moore said, "But it seems that we are still not sure about the valuation right now."

In fact, they had also thought about looking for investors and had decided to give up shares in the initial stage. They originally wanted to wait until they had achieved some results before introducing capital, but they didn't expect someone to come to them on their own initiative.

"The share ratio is OK. As for the valuation, I will arrange someone to negotiate with you later." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

There was already venture capital in this era, although it was not as good as it would be many years later, but the basic rule was also multiple rounds of investment, carried out gradually, and the first round was generally only about 20%;

More importantly, he is a foreign investor and holds too many shares today. When Intel rises in the future, he will still have to sell some of his shares, so he only needs to be moderate.
As for the future investment strategy of American technology giants, he plans to implement a strategy of multiple investments, but not too many in each company, so as to ensure maximum benefits and minimize risks.

"Okay, we'll negotiate the investment amount later," Moore said.

Yang Wendong added: "But I have one more condition. When you develop in the future, I hope you can help me build a wafer factory in Hong Kong. You don't need to produce the most advanced chips, just enough to meet the needs of home appliances."

"Home appliances?" Moore thought about it and finally agreed: "Okay."

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

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