The Industrial Giant Reborn

"Standard Chartered? I've also heard of this company. They specialize in commercial banking, right?" Tian Xuecheng asked. Standard Chartered Bank is not a big bank, but Tian Xuecheng often goes to Hong Kong to report to his boss.

"It mainly focuses on commercial banking, but it also has investment banking business." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said: "You have stayed in the United States for too long. Europe is different from the United States. American banks, because of the antitrust laws at that time, commercial banks and investment banks It is completely separated, and the European side is also separated in name, but in fact many banks are not so detailed, and Standard Chartered can also do investment banking business."

There have been many powerful monopoly groups in the United States. The entire country's economy was monopolized by many giants in the early 20th century, which can be said to have caused endless harm. Therefore, anti-monopoly laws are also very strong, not only in petroleum, finance, steel, mining, etc. The trust giants were split up, and other industries were also affected. For example, the banking industry had to separate investment banks and commercial banks. Hollywood film companies were not allowed to control movie theaters, car companies were not allowed to control terminal retail, etc. Until Reagan came to power in the 1980s, In order to help the U.S. economy emerge from the Great Inflation, it began to slowly loosen restrictions on these industries.

In Europe, because most of them are small countries, even if there is a monopoly, there will not be a super giant, because it is impossible for German monopoly companies to control the French industry, and when the European Union emerges, French counterparts will enter the German market to compete. , in this case, there are almost no giant companies that can monopolize Europe, whether it is banks or traditional manufacturing industries. Even if a certain market does well, it relies on technology, services, etc., such as German high-end cars.

Therefore, the EU has almost no antitrust laws. It was not enacted until 2002, and its main purpose is to target American companies that are increasingly infringing on the rights of the EU after globalization.

Therefore, the European financial industry does not mandate the absolute separation of investment banks and commercial banks. For example, Deutsche Bank in Germany is one of the largest commercial banks + investment banks in Europe. The same will be true for HSBC in the future, but under long-term competition in the market , the main business of each bank will still tend to be in one direction, and only super large banks like Deutsche Bank will choose both.

This is the case with Standard Chartered Bank. Its main business is a commercial bank, but it also does investment banking. Although its scale is not as large as those of the giant companies in the UK, most of those giant companies are state-owned enterprises. Let them come forward to help it acquire another state-owned enterprise. Chen Zhiwen I don’t know if these people will be dedicated, but in Hong Kong, I have a very good relationship with Standard Chartered, so I chose to cooperate with Standard Chartered this time. How can I say that the current Standard Chartered can be regarded as one of the top ten in the UK, and Mini itself is not large in scale, so not every acquisition requires the largest local investment bank.

"So that's it. Do I need to contact them first?" Tian Xuecheng asked.

"No need, I have already arranged an appointment to meet with one of their vice presidents in charge of investment business tomorrow to get to know each other, and then follow up. You can follow up here," Chen Zhiwen said.

"Okay." Tian Xuecheng said: "AMC has sent more than 10 people to the UK in the past few months. They have also been investigating various situations of the mini car. Their feedback is that this car is very good in terms of performance and fuel consumption. , but consumer feedback in the UK often has some quality issues, and the data is already being collected. Maybe this will be useful data for investment banks."

"Mini must have some problems, otherwise it wouldn't have been operating at a loss for many years. However, the most fundamental reason is that it cannot enter the overseas market. There may also be cost-effective reasons. If after we take over, the market will open and the production capacity will increase , the cost of bicycles will also drop, and if the quality is better controlled, it should be able to save the company." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

In the automobile industry, except for those high-end and high-priced brands, most car models need to rely on sales volume to spread the cost, because even in the 1980s, the research and development cycle of a car was about 5 years, with an investment cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. If there is a new factory, it may cost hundreds of millions of dollars. With such a huge investment, if the subsequent sales are not satisfactory, the business will be stopped immediately. Small companies may directly go bankrupt, and large companies will be severely damaged. This is why even Volkswagen and Toyota In the decades of history of this kind of car, very few completely new cars have been launched. Most of them have been modified and re-released. Volkswagen's cars are almost constant shells in appearance alone.

In addition to poor technology, the lack of market is also an important reason for British cars. The market is even more important than technology, because with the market, only then can there be capital to carry out technological updates, quality control, etc., forming a virtuous cycle. This is why the automotive industry is strong. The principle of getting stronger and stronger and the weaker getting weaker. Before the 1980s, global trade was difficult, so there were still many small brands in many places. But after global trade, big brands began to expand globally. As a result, many small brands either died or were acquired. British car companies are like this Miniature on the background.

However, expanding the market is easier said than done. This requires a huge amount of funds for marketing. At the same time, you have to find ways to improve quality and technology before sales have increased. Otherwise, no consumers will pay for the new products. The simplest way is to own A large number of terminal retail stores, or cooperation with these stores, must at least ensure perfect after-sales service to impress hesitant consumers.

To achieve this, either big brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, and Toyota guarantee the new brand, or Chen Zhiwen is planning to do what he wants to do, which is to expand automobile terminal retail stores on a large scale in Europe, America and Asia. There is almost no third option, and even so , and there is no guarantee of success. For example, the British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover were acquired by Ford. After more than ten years of hard work, the results still failed. In the end, they had to be sold, with a loss of US$2.4 billion. It was $2.4 billion in the 1990s.

This is why Chen Zhiwen did not choose Jaguar, Land Rover, Lotus, Rove, etc. In the past, these brands could not be saved even if they were acquired by automobile giants. Chen Zhiwen did not think that he would have stronger capabilities. Jaguar Land Rover, on the other hand, did well for a while after the 21st century, but that was only 20 years later. He didn't want to support two car companies for 20 years in vain. Besides, the foundation for Jaguar Land Rover to turn around in the 21st century is still Because of Ford's continuous investment for more than ten years, if there is an opportunity in the future, it will be enough to compete with Asan Company, saving money and worry.

Only mini is the easiest to succeed, relatively speaking. As for some of BMW's technical support in history, Chen Zhiwen is indeed a little behind, but it is not absolutely impossible. AMC also has some basics. If it doesn't work, it will be better. He invested in research and development, and in ten years, he believed that his capital volume would definitely exceed that of BMW.

"That's the truth. It depends on whether the British side is willing to sell it." Tian Xuecheng said with a smile. He also knew part of his group's financial resources. Just the boss's capital in the United States, including one Costco and one Disney, plus It seems that they can buy the entire British automobile industry, but too many British companies are too rubbish for them to look down on.

The next day, on the rooftop balcony of the InterContinental Hotel in the UK, Chen Zhiwen and Tian Xuecheng met Mr. Jones, the head of the investment division of Standard Chartered Bank.

"Hello, Mr. Jones!" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile, "Please take a seat. All kinds of coffee have been prepared here. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you. Mr. Chen, Mr. Tian, ​​just call me Jones." Jones said, also wearing a hat. Then I ordered a cappuccino from the waiter next to me.

"Latte, thank you." Chen Zhiwen also said to the waiter.

The top floor balcony of the InterContinental Hotel is also a large leisure place. After decoration, various entertainment and banquets can be held here. Many wealthy British people also like to party here. The scenery can see almost half of London, and there is also a large The swimming pool allows you to enjoy the surrounding city scenery while using it.

As the signature project of a five-star hotel, the price is naturally high, but it is nothing to Chen Zhiwen, so he just booked it. If there is really a need, there will be no problem if the entire InterContinental Hotel is acquired.

"Jones, you already know our purpose. I want to know what the success rate is for the acquisition of Mini and Rolls-Royce by your Standard Chartered Bank?" Chen Zhiwen asked straightforwardly.

"Mr. Chen, we will not make 100% of this kind of promise, and we cannot make it. Even any other investment bank will not dare to make this kind of promise. However, considering that mini company has been losing money for more than five consecutive years, internal staff It is already difficult to pay out the salary, and you need to ask for it from the British government. In this case, the British government must also hope to get rid of this hot potato as soon as possible. The problem that may arise is the current internal management of mini. level, they will definitely seek their own highest interests." Jones analyzed:

"As for Rolls-Royce, it's hard to say, because this brand is a symbol of Britain's past. Unless they have to, I guess they will not sell this brand to foreigners, especially Chinese like you."

"Okay, let's get the Mini and Rolls-Royce first. Don't rush later, just take your time." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Relatively speaking, the importance of mini is obviously greater. Rolls-Royce and Bentley are just a matter of face. It would be great if they can acquire them. If not, it will be the same for him to go to continental Europe to find those good brand sports cars. Red Bull is now in The world has just invested heavily in the market, including F1 racing, and it is also in its own interests to acquire a sports car brand.

"Okay, then we will immediately start contacting Langley Automobile. I will inform you of any further progress," Jones said.