Chapter 700: Opportunities for Procurement in the Mainland

Chapter 700: Opportunities for Procurement in the Mainland

Chapter 700: Opportunities for Mainland Procurement

"It's not just my credit." Li Xiaolong suddenly said modestly: "I looked and found that there are still many good movies in Hong Kong, especially some funny ones, which are very interesting and completely different from my genre. They are very popular."

In front of others, Li Xiaolong would remain proud, but in front of Yang Wendong, he was still very low-key, because he knew that the influence of this person in the Asian film industry, and even the film industry, was just a drop in the bucket for his business empire.

"The more topics, the better. Otherwise, the audience will get bored after a long time," Yang Wendong continued.

Li Xiaolong paused and asked, "Mr. Yang, if that's the case, won't people get tired of my film's subject matter after a while?"

Yang Wendong nodded and said, “If you don’t innovate and always shoot the same set, it will definitely become the same over time;
This is actually normal. No matter how good the delicacies are, if you eat them every day, you will get tired of them. This is true for everything. So you will need to find ways to innovate in the future, but you don’t need to consider it for now.”

Yang Wendong didn’t know much about the overseas entertainment industry in his previous life, but he was somewhat familiar with the domestic entertainment industry and some Hong Kong entertainment.

In this industry, most people can only be popular for about five years, regardless of whether it is movies, TV series or music. Only a very small number of people who constantly innovate, challenge themselves, and shoot different themes can become truly popular for decades.

This is a very small minority, as most of them retire at the right time. However, it is also possible that they have made enough money and do not want to work so hard anymore. After all, if they are popular for a year or even if a TV series goes viral, they can earn wealth that many people cannot achieve in their entire lives, thus achieving financial freedom.

Li Xiaolong shook his head and said, "No, I have to prepare early. Later, I have to study other martial arts plots to see if there is anything innovative."

"Combining it with technology might be a solution." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I also look forward to your better innovation and achievements."

Now Li Xiaolong has filmed several movies that did not exist in his previous life, which has increased his entertainment interests as a time traveler. The same is true for other Hong Kong movies, which have seen many stars and movies that have never existed in history. Even original characters, such as the comedy movie genius Hui Guanwen, have filmed many movie programs that did not exist in their previous lives, because the income is higher and the motivation is stronger.
In the past 15 years, in addition to achieving great success in business, he has also made great contributions to Chinese culture and entertainment. He did not participate directly, but used the power of capital to open up the market for Hong Kong films. As long as the market expands and there is more money, all kinds of talents will naturally pour in, and he can also benefit from it. This is simpler, cruder and more efficient than discovering some future stars.

Of course, Li Xiaolong, who is at the top of the pyramid, is an exception. This is the only star actor he has come into contact with.

Li Xiaolong nodded and said, "Okay, thank you Mr. Yang for reminding me today."

"You're welcome. The higher your popularity, the better it will be for my business." Yang Wendong added, "Red Bull's sales in the United States are gradually increasing, and you have contributed to this."

Red Bull, a beverage, is different from electronic products or even small creative products. It is not about the technical content and practicality of the product, but the brand awareness. As long as the brand awareness is high, any similar beverage or food product can be successful. For example, even if Coca-Cola suddenly makes bread, it will surely gain the trust of countless customers by relying on the brand credibility.

In the early days, Red Bull could only develop in a few places or fields due to insufficient channels and publicity costs. However, after Li Xiaolong became famous, he became the spokesperson for Red Bull, and HBC broadcasted the product, which made Red Bull more famous. After several years of channel construction, Red Bull also became a moderately famous sports drink in the United States, which was very popular among some sports enthusiasts.

Li Xiaolong smiled and asked, "Mr. Yang, besides Red Bull, I can also endorse other products of Changxing Group."

"Don't worry about these. We will find you when the time comes." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Endorsement also requires companies to make preparations in production, channels, after-sales, and publicity. It doesn't mean that you can just put out your advertisement and forget about other things. It's very complicated."

A good spokesperson is important, but this is only part of the promotion. There are still many core factors for a product to be successful. Especially for products with technical content, technology, quality and after-sales service are more important. If the relevant parties are not prepared, blindly carrying out large-scale publicity will have a negative effect.

In history, Jianlibao made such a mistake. It sponsored the Olympic Games in the 80s and became an instant hit. However, it was unable to produce enough products, and the production capacity was not sufficient until the 90s. If there had not been fewer players in the domestic market at that time, this fatal mistake could have brought down a company in half a year. However, the overseas market today is very mature.

"Okay, I'll be waiting anytime." Li Xiaolong didn't ask any more questions.
Asking him to endorse a commercial usually only takes a few days. For him, he just wants to play a higher role in Yang Wendong's consortium as soon as possible.
In June 1973, Yang Wendong's office welcomed two guests. One was Zhang Guangdou, the head of China Resources Group in Hong Kong, and the other was from the northern mainland.

Zhang Guangdou introduced: "Mr. Yang, this is Director Dai of the Ministry of Textile Industry in the Mainland. Director Dai, this is Mr. Yang Wendong, the most famous Chinese businessman in Hong Kong."

"Hello, Mr. Yang.", "Hello, Director Dai."

Yang and Dai shook hands one after another and said.

Director Dai said with a smile: "Mr. Yang, even though I am in the mainland, I know that there is a very successful Chinese in Hong Kong who started from scratch in the capitalist world. A few months ago, he defeated the most powerful British Jardine Matheson Group in Hong Kong. This really boosted the ambitions of Chinese people."

"Haha, Director Dai, you're too kind." Yang Wendong also laughed and said, "Hong Kong itself should belong to us Chinese. Chinese civilization has been strong for 5000 years, but it has been a little bit bad in the past hundred years. Sooner or later, we will rise again."

It is said that the history books of the past were a few short pages on the 5000 years of civilization expansion, and two volumes on the 100 years of humiliation;
This is the resilience of the Chinese people. No matter what difficulties they face, they can overcome them. The achievements of the mainland's reform and opening up in less than 50 years can explain everything.

Upon hearing this, Director Dai smiled brightly and said, "Yes, the peace that the previous generation exchanged for countless lives, I hope that the efforts of our generation can enable Chinese people all over the world to live a better life."

"Then I wonder what Director Dai wants to talk to me about when he comes to Hong Kong?" Yang Wendong asked directly. Just a few days ago, his assistant received a call from China Resources, saying that an official from the mainland wanted to visit Yang Wendong. He was also very surprised when he heard about it, why an official from the Ministry of Textile Industry in the mainland wanted to visit him.

In the textile field, although he has a joint venture factory with Berkshire, the operation is basically handled by Berkshire people. For such non-core business of the group, he generally does not compete with partners for management rights. He does not have professionals under his command, so there is no need for him to control everything himself.

On the contrary, Berkshire's people are experienced and will be of great help to Hong Kong's textile industry after they produce high-end textile products. With cheap local raw materials, Hong Kong's textile industry can also begin to gradually transform. This is also an opportunity given by Yang Wendong to the development of Hong Kong's high-end industries. After all, it is impossible for only themselves to maintain the future high-end industries. It would be good to have more high-end clothing brands, even if there is only design but no production in Hong Kong in the future.

But no matter what, this was the first time that an official from the mainland had visited him, so he naturally had to be cautious.

Director Dai paused and asked, "Mr. Yang, do you know the foreign procurement plan that the mainland is preparing now?"

"I heard that the mainland is preparing to import various equipment from overseas on a large scale." Yang Wendong nodded.

In the 50s and 60s, the core issue in the mainland was security. At the same time, no one knew whether World War III would break out at any time. In addition, in the 60s, China had a falling out with the polar bears. The pressure on national defense and security was very high, so all the country's resources were invested in heavy industry.

With the gradual improvement of various aspects and the assurance of basic security, people's livelihood issues became the top priority. At that time, ordinary people in the country were short of food, clothing, housing and transportation, so the core of national development became to improve people's livelihood. For this reason, even the "Dawn" manned space program was cancelled because it was too expensive. "Take care of the earth first, then deal with the outside world" became a classic saying.

As relations with Western countries improved, plans were made to purchase a large number of basic livelihood equipment, including large fertilizer plants, chemical fiber plants, oil plants, alkylbenzene plants, power plants, coal mining equipment, steel rolling mills, compressors, gas turbines, industrial steam turbines, etc., totaling US$43 billion, which was later referred to as the " Purchase".

This is enough to show that even though the mainland's economy is very poor, its overall financial strength is still very strong. Let alone US$43 billion, even if it is US$4.3 million, it would cost a lot for Yang Wendong to come up with so much cash now.

Director Dai smiled and said, "Mr. Yang, it's good that you know this. My job here is to find suitable chemical fiber equipment. I heard that Mr. Yang has a good relationship with Berkshire Hathaway in the United States. Can you act as an intermediary platform and ask for relevant equipment production lines for us?"

"Why do you want me to ask?" Yang Wendong asked puzzledly.

Director Dai shook his head and said, "Because our foreign affairs personnel don't know much about overseas situations, we have basically confirmed that the previous quotation was seriously inflated."

"This is normal. Many Western businessmen do this." Yang Wendong nodded.

Why can Hong Kong become a bridge between the East and the West? In fact, the fundamental reason is that if the East and the West come into direct contact, first of all, there will be a great cultural conflict, and secondly, Western capitalists will inevitably ask for an exorbitant price.

The reason why the mainland found Guo Henian before was also for this reason. Now that the mainland has found me, it seems to be a similar thing.

Director Dai continued, "Yes, I heard that the investment costs of textile factories in Hong Kong are not very high, but when we compare the prices we get, it's obviously wrong."

Yang Wendong replied: "Director Dai, this may be because Western capitalists are asking for exorbitant prices, but what you should ask for is to produce chemical fibers and even clothing products directly from the initial oil derivatives. The price of this entire production line is definitely much more expensive.
Moreover, the mainland has a large population, and the scale of the equipment you need is probably much larger than that of Hong Kong, so there is no comparison. "

In the West or in the mainland after industrialization, investment in building factories basically only involves one process for their own products, and all kinds of raw materials and parts are purchased, which is much more convenient.
However, this model is not feasible in the mainland, which has not yet been industrialized. If you want to make a product, you can only develop the entire industrial chain yourself. Otherwise, you have to import everything, which will be incredibly costly, and it will be difficult to deliver in a timely manner with today's transportation efficiency. In addition, the possibility of supply interruption must be considered at the national level, so everything needs to be done independently.

Even over the years, Changxing Group has often expanded its industrial chain to the front end in Hong Kong. It is not that it wants to make all the money by itself, but it relies on imports, which will never work. Hong Kong is also a city and cannot rely on other capital. It can only do it itself. If it is the mainland decades later, if it builds a factory, it will definitely learn from Lei Jun and do the assembly by itself or even outsource everything. It only needs to monitor the quality. How simple is that?
Director Dai nodded and said, "I understand. But no matter what, we still hope to use Mr. Yang's connections to purchase a suitable production line. Hong Kong has the largest textile production capacity in Asia, so it's not unusual for us to seek to purchase production lines from abroad."

"How many tons of chemical fiber production line do you need per year?" Yang Wendong asked again.

Director Dai replied: “Last year, the country introduced two chemical fiber production lines with a total capacity of 2 tons, one in Liaoyang and one in Shanghu, which solved the problem of chemical fiber shortage in the north and east.
The target for this import is 6 to 8 tons, and we plan to store it in a western city. I cannot tell you where exactly it will be at this time.”

Some things that happened in the country in the past are actually not secrets. After all, introducing production lines also requires overseas manufacturers to come to the mainland for adjustment. With the ability of Hong Kong tycoons, it would be easy for them to investigate. It is not a state secret in itself, so it doesn't matter if they are informed.

But the future cannot be disclosed at will.

"Okay, I'll ask the Americans about this." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Director Dai, have you ever considered buying second-hand equipment?"

"Second-hand?" Director Dai was stunned and asked, "Why do you want to buy second-hand?"

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