Chapter 639: Meeting with Jardine Group

Chapter 639: Meeting with Jardine Group

Chapter 639: Meeting with Jardine Group

Originally, after something happened in the mainland, Lao Li invested a lot of capital in Europe and the UK. Although these investments did not make a lot of money to a certain extent, and even some of them were losses, it cannot be said that this was a wrong investment;

When assets reach a certain level, what we consider is not how many years it will take to double, but long-term stability. Water, electricity, gas, ports and the like are the best choices.

Now, my investment in the UK has just begun, and my network of relationships has just begun to be built. It will definitely not work to focus directly on core industries. Even at this time, Britain's infrastructure was still controlled by state-owned capital. It was only during the Thatcher era that privatization began.

However, in addition to the core infrastructure, many industries are also necessary for social development, such as hotels, apartments, etc. Foreign investment in these industries can still be moderate, which is also suitable for Yang Wendong's capital level. Although he is now a tycoon in Hong Kong, compared with Europe and the United States, there are still many consortiums, listed companies and enterprises of the same or even higher level;
It is difficult to overtake others by relying on traditional industries, even for a time traveler. Only the electronics industry, the Internet industry, a few technology industries, etc., can succeed when the cake is infinitely expanding and the big conglomerates are slow to react. Even so, it is necessary to share profits with some big conglomerates when appropriate so as to achieve the greatest benefit development.

This is also the reason why Yang Wendong needs to rely on the UK appropriately. It is almost impossible to expand the electronics industry relying solely on Hong Kong's population and educational capabilities. No matter how creative you are, it is useless without enough talents to realize the technology. As for poaching, it can only alleviate some minor problems. Comprehensiveness can only rely on a region with developed education. Even the mainland in the 80s might not be able to do this.

After reaching a preliminary agreement with Standard Chartered Bank, Yang Wendong went to several other British banks, including Lloyds Bank, which will try to acquire Standard Chartered in the future. It was reasonable for him to let multiple suppliers serve him and finally choose the most suitable one.

In the following days, Yang Wendong also met several ZZ people in London, but they were just acquaintances and provided some financial help. It can be said that they did not form a very strong alliance, but increased the relationship a little. If something really happens in the future, they will not need a lot of help, just appropriate help or even no hindrance.

This is also a necessity for ZZ investment. After all, there are so many different interest groups. Even the oil and military giants in Europe and the United States will choose the objects they fully support and it is impossible to invest in all of them.

This kind of national-level politics is too complicated, much more complicated than that of Hong Kong.

In terms of business, Yang Wendong visited Victor Value supermarket, which was once acquired by Carrefour. When it was acquired by Carrefour, there were only 46 stores in the UK, 33 in London. With the investment of appropriate capital, the number of stores has tripled, and the number in London has reached .
After Liu Huayu finished his introduction, he said: “Mr. Yang, it is not the funds that limit the expansion of Victor Value supermarkets. After all, our supermarkets in the UK are different from those in Asia. We do not need to pursue self-owned properties;
The biggest factors limiting development are transportation, information communication, and even the inefficiency of British ports, which means that the goods we buy from Asia often fail to arrive on time, causing a certain degree of shortage of goods. "

In supermarkets in Asia, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, etc., the economies of these places are far behind those of Europe and the United States. Except for Hong Kong, housing prices in other places are not high. The boss Yang Wendong is also very optimistic about the future of many Asian cities and the real estate industry. Therefore, except for a few, local supermarkets try to be self-sustaining as much as possible, including cinemas.

But in Europe and the United States, although it is still a tentative investment and has indirectly entered the British supermarket market by acquiring local brands, one thing is certain, that is, it will not invest in real estate on a large scale in Europe and the United States, unless it builds houses on the edge of the city. Victor Value focuses on medium-sized supermarkets in London or other cities, so it naturally will not spend so much extra money to buy properties, and these properties still need to pay property taxes. Even if they can make profits in the future, the benefits will be relatively low.

Of course, different industries have different development needs. For example, the hotel that the boss is planning to invest in is a self-owned property, but it is just a sample hotel. In the future, the main model of Four Seasons Hotel may also be the franchise model.

"The port strike in the UK is really a headache." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "We can't do anything about this. If it doesn't work, we can add some warehouses and prepare some goods in advance. It will cost a little more, but it's better than being out of stock."

Britain's decline was all-round, not just in terms of military, but also in terms of internal management, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, when it liberalized immigration from its colonies in order to make up for the large number of men lost in World War II.
But just like what the United States did to Cuba, its original intention was to attract a large number of elite talents from the colonies to its own country. However, more than one million idlers came and made the whole society a mess, causing huge consumption of government finances and arousing opposition from local people.

Similarly, changes in ports and the technological era also triggered interest groups from the old era, and trade unions began to influence votes, eventually leading to various strike issues;
Although Thatcher received mixed reviews in British politics and among the public in later generations, her policies of suppressing trade unions, selling state-owned enterprises and supporting private enterprises did save Britain at that time to a large extent.

"Okay, I'll arrange for someone here to solve the warehouse problem." Liu Huayu added, "But for the internal transportation issue, I'm thinking about whether we can directly transport it, just like in Hong Kong."

"Doing the transportation by yourself? Isn't this a bit uneconomical for supermarkets at the moment?" Yang Wendong asked back;

The small business of large enterprises is also large in scale, so they can do it themselves appropriately, but small enterprises generally rely on outsourcing.

Liu Huayu said: "Indeed, but it is also because the transportation efficiency in the UK is too low. It's not just the strike, the efficiency of the locals here is also low, even the white people;

The low efficiency of the factory is easier to control, but we cannot monitor the traffic, which will seriously affect the operation of the supermarket, so I want to mobilize some drivers from Hong Kong." "That's fine, we don't need many people anyway, you can do it yourself if you think it's suitable." Yang Wendong didn't care much.

In terms of hard work, the Chinese cultural region in Asia is far superior to other parts of the world. This is the fundamental reason why China, Japan and South Korea were able to rise in the past.

Liu Huayu said: "Okay, I also plan to arrange Chinese people in some core positions. As long as we ensure that the white people in the UK have a certain employment rate, it will be fine. It is better for us to control the important positions ourselves."

"Well, sure. But you also have to consider the localization issue. You should do your own internal research on this. When investing in overseas companies, these aspects are difficult to control," Yang Wendong also said.

When investing overseas, one will be faced with the choice of localizing management or using people from one's own country. The former may not be reassuring, and the latter may not be in line with the market. Countless companies have struggled for many years and still have no accurate answer. It can only be said that each company needs to find a model that suits itself.

The supermarket retail industry is even more special. Since the market is local, it requires an even greater balance.

In the following days, Yang Wendong also spent a few days in the UK, while several major manufacturing companies negotiated investment matters with the British government and intermediary companies, including land size, location, taxation, etc.
It was indeed impossible to negotiate these investments involving tens of millions of pounds in a short period of time. Therefore, senior executives including Yang Wendong, Wei Zetao, Wang Zhiqun and others left the UK after arranging important negotiating members, teams, and attorneys.

When I returned to Hong Kong, it was already March 3th. The Hang Seng Index had broken through 6, and the share prices of a large number of companies had soared. From the bosses of listed companies to ordinary shareholders, almost everyone who participated made a fortune.

It's not just Chinese-owned companies, but British-owned companies as well. Companies such as Jardine Matheson, Hong Kong Land, Wheelock, HK Electric, and Hutchison Whampoa have also become the targets of countless capitals. After all, these companies either have a large amount of land in Hong Kong or control some core infrastructure lifelines. They will never lose money. This kind of industry is also favored by some investors who are not willing to take too many risks.

When Yang Wendong arrived at the office on the 8th, Fang Xianming, who was in charge of financial business, arrived and said, "Mr. Yang, I have acquired 29.6% of Wharf Holdings' shares. Wharf Holdings' share price has risen sharply, exceeding the growth of other British-owned peers. Some stock investors have already suspected that someone is buying Wharf Holdings' shares on a large scale."

"These people have quite a keen eye." Yang Wendong said with a smile;

It is said that originally in history, when Li Jiacheng attacked Wharf Holdings in 1978, it was first discovered by a stock analyst. After he announced the matter, other people saw that it was true, so they rushed in, causing Wharf Holdings’ stock to surge, forcing Li Jiacheng, who did not have sufficient funds at the time, to retreat.

Fang Xianming added: "According to the current trend, if we stop, and control the media, we can suppress this matter; or we can continue the acquisition, make this matter a reality, and then make the acquisition public;

The former option will delay the process for several months and save tens of millions of dollars. The latter option is the opposite and can save time but cost more money. Mr. Yang, do you think we need to make a formal announcement? "

"Tens of millions or a few months are nothing. What I value more is the success rate." Yang Wendong shook his head and said.

Whether it is a few months or tens of millions, it doesn’t matter to him. In the face of such a strategic acquisition, some small problems are nothing.

Fang Xianming smiled and said, "Based on our current capital reserves and the number of stocks we hold, I think our chances of success are at least 8%."

"Yeah, okay." Yang Wendong nodded;
At this moment, the phone rang. Yang Wendong picked up the phone. After listening, his face became a little strange. After hanging up, he said, "It's interesting. Henry Keswick of Jardine Matheson actually wants to invite me to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. He said there is something important to discuss."

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(End of this chapter)