The Industrial Giant Reborn

"Retail industry?" Director Lin's expression changed, he shook his head and said, "Sheng Chen, this is not possible. The retail industry is not currently open to foreign investment."

The basic policy of domestic reform is to open up to the outside world, but this premise is only for industries such as factories. Foreign-funded enterprises come to invest in China and use China's cheap labor to reduce costs. At the same time, they can also make appropriate use of local material resources, etc. In this way, the cost of foreign-invested factories will be reduced, and the domestic side will be able to obtain a large number of jobs, free training of skilled workers, related industrial chains, taxation, etc., which can be said to be a multi-purpose enterprise.

At least, this was the thinking during the initial revision.

But the reality is far less than ideal. Although domestic labor is very cheap, there are many places around the world where it is cheaper than labor. There are no unique advantages. In addition, there are many concerns at some levels. Foreign investment can really be attracted. , there were not many in the first five years after the reform. Later I discovered that most capitalists just wanted to use the mainland as a market. They just wanted to make their products enter the mainland to make money, rather than investing in and building factories here. .

As for such an idea, not to mention the lack of foreign exchange in the mainland, even most normal countries will not agree. Only those who are strong in the fields of economy, trade, and science and technology will not care. They dare to completely open the market and engage in free trade. Weak countries will not To protect industries within one's own territory is to seek death.

This year's policy change, which loosened restrictions on joint ventures, is essentially to attract more foreign-invested factories to invest in the country, thereby increasing economic growth. Of course, with so many restrictions in the early stage, it may be that they dare not do it all at once, and It is for the same reason as establishing a deep-sea special zone, first test the water, slowly explore, and then gradually expand.

But no matter how hard we study, the scope has always been in the manufacturing field. Even because of previous international trade and other reasons, we only introduced some overseas equipment to balance trade, rather than liberalizing the domestic market, especially It is the service industry. There are only a few industries that allow foreign investment, such as hotels. That is because the mainstream customers that hotels need to entertain are overseas customers, and they can also earn foreign exchange for the country.

"Of course I know this. In the past few years, there were many domestic policies, but we can still continue to cooperate. The fundamental reason is still the foreign exchange issue. I can still make commitments in ten years. The profits earned will not be transferred out, but will continue to be invested domestically. What does Director Lin think of this?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

Although it sounds simple, except for Chen Zhiwen, other foreign investors are really not willing to agree to such conditions. For example, Wal-Mart, if you ask them to invest in China now, and then the money is not allowed to go out within ten years, then they will definitely not agree. This is actually a normal thought. If you don't know the future, for example, India, no matter how awesome your future is, if a big foreign investment is allowed to invest in foreign exchange for ten years, you will definitely not find any investors.

Although it seems not cost-effective, only this method can make it possible to establish a foothold in the country earlier. You must know that the retail industry is different from other industries. Ordinary goods are branded. As long as they sell well, the factory Just work hard to produce, but retail requires building stores. No matter how big the brand is, if there is no store nearby or the store is far away, it will basically be excluded and there will be no opportunities. In a few decades, the mainland will also be regional. The retail economy of China is different from that in Europe and the United States, where people generally drive to go shopping. In this case, it is possible to go to a store farther away.

Due to future domestic real estate price factors and terrifying rent issues, Watsons' RT-Mart and PARKnSHOP supermarkets will inevitably expand through self-owned properties. By doing so, they will not be troubled by rent in the future. However, there are disadvantages. It’s just that the expansion speed is very slow, which requires a lot of funds to support. Even with Chen Zhiwen’s backing, it’s still a bit difficult, especially because competitors such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour and other foreign-owned retail supermarkets will use leasing. This expansion speed must be as fast as heaven and earth. gap.

Another reason is that the domestic online shopping market will begin to develop in the early 21st century, thus suppressing traditional retail. Although Chen Zhiwen will definitely find ways to participate in the future, as a Hong Kong investor, he is unlikely to build one by himself. There is a high probability that such a shopping platform will not agree with the policy, and even if it agrees, it may not be as good as the king company that has attracted one billion people in the country.

Investment is also a good choice, but the problem is that history has changed too much. Whether I can successfully step on this boat in the future is still a question. Furthermore, this will be close to 20 years later. I will not expand my career now. Just give up because of the possibility in 20 years.

Theoretically speaking, if we can expand domestic retail sales ten years earlier and choose the best location because we are early, we can gain unprecedented advantages over other foreign brands. Even if the online shopping market emerges, it will not The impact was too great. In later generations, there was Wal-Mart in the United States and Carrefour and Auchan in Europe. However, there was no super-large retail supermarket chain in China. The most fundamental reason for this is that the emergence of online shopping restricted the expansion of physical retail. But if physical retail If you expand early, you won’t be crushed by online shopping.

"I understand what Chen Sheng means, but this is still a little different. Before, your company was also a key export industry, and the things sold domestically were also needed domestically." Director Lin paused and said: " I understand that investment and the market need to coexist, and it is fair for Chen Sheng to want to expand the domestic market. However, there are too many things involved in the retail industry, and many problems may arise if foreign capital is allowed to enter."

"Director Lin, do you know that in developed countries, it is often not factories, but the service industry that creates the largest number of jobs." Chen Zhiwen did not care. Instead, he said: "A country wants to develop its economy by relying on more exports. , yes, everyone wants a trade surplus, but there is always a limit to such things. You cannot always have a surplus, otherwise the deficit country will definitely have objections. Therefore, if you want to develop the economy, you must increase domestic consumption.

I also know that the current per capita income in the country is not very high, but the problem is that if rich people don’t consume, the money will be accumulated. Just like the ancient landlords put a large amount of silver and jewelry in their own cellars, doesn’t that mean Is the economy a stagnant pool of water? "

"To stimulate consumption, people must have money, right?" Director Lin asked.

“It is not necessary for all people to have money, even if only 5% of people have it, what we need to do is to let these people consume. When they consume, money can be circulated, so that more people can have money. Income, and then they also consume, eventually most people will be employed and consume, and it can also drive factories on a large scale. You can't expect all factories in the mainland to rely on exports, right?" Chen Zhiwen asked rhetorically.

"What Chen Sheng said makes sense. The central government is also considering the matter of domestic domestic consumption, but this matter seems to have nothing to do with Chen Sheng's investment in the retail industry, right?" Director Lin said tactfully, if it were someone else, even from other countries He is a giant in the retail industry, but he has nothing to do with the country, so of course he can give him some face. But Chen Zhiwen can't do it. Not to mention that he has invested in so many domestic projects over the years with an output value of hundreds of millions of dollars or even more than a billion dollars. Their companies place a large number of domestic orders every year, bringing millions of jobs and more than one billion U.S. dollars in net foreign exchange income every year. With such a large trade volume, if the other party is a country and there are no major conflicts, then It is definitely an friendly country. Besides, the demands they made were only for commercial trade, and were not excessive.

"There is no big direct relationship, but only an advanced retail industry can stimulate consumption, right? The retail system that Western countries have developed to the present is the final product of the competition between multiple business models, which is the optimal solution. Therefore, it is more necessary to introduce such a model in China." Chen Zhiwen said: "I also understand the domestic worries. After all, retail itself does not produce production value. If foreign retail is allowed to enter the country, it will only cause domestic foreign exchange losses. However, I and many domestic companies have The industry has also cooperated. I am more optimistic about the future of the country in a few decades, rather than how many dollars can be earned from the country now. Then there will be no substantial loss in introducing Hong Kong's retail business model.

Just like domestic people opening their own stores, my RT-Mart and Parknshop supermarkets have been operating in Shenhai City for several years. Director Lin can send someone to check. Many local people, especially those with a little money, often go to supermarkets to spend money. Yes, these consumer goods come from China, which will definitely drive industrial development. Furthermore, retail itself can also create a large number of jobs. A supermarket requires at least three to four hundred employees. "

Director Lin thought for a while and said: "Sheng Chen, our country also needs to be cautious about many things. We can't just consider the future, but also often consider the present. Not only the retail industry, but any industry, too advanced Western industries If it comes in, it will have a strong impact, and we also need to consider many current issues."

"I have also considered this aspect. If the country allows my Watsons to enter the country, then in the next five years or so, I will only invest in some of the cities I choose. We can negotiate the specific amount. Another advantage of this is that It can be used as a test product for the future liberalization of the domestic retail industry. In any case, if the country wants to trade freely around the world, this step will be a matter of time." Chen Zhiwen added.

Other countries are not fools. You can invest freely with me, but I can’t do it with you. If it is only a small number of special industries such as tobacco, banking, oil, steel and other industries related to national security, each country will have a lot of protection. The policy makes sense, but there are still many restrictions in other ordinary service industries, so there is no reason. You can't keep making my money and not let me make yours, right? The capitalists will not agree either.

Although developed countries themselves are strong in various fields, the essence of this kind of "trade freedom" is to use their own advantages to open up the markets of developing countries, but there is no way. Now it is Western society that dominates the global economy. This conspiracy is carried out in the name of free trade.

"Isn't a deep sea special zone enough?" Director Lin asked back. Shenhai City can be manipulated at will. As long as it is not illegal, many things existing in the West can be learned. There has long been the sole proprietorship of enterprises and the service industry. In the past few years, there have been some right and wrong decisions in opening up to the outside world, and a lot of experience has been accumulated.

"Shenhai City is a very good experimental field. The central government's original policy was indeed very powerful. However, the original Bao'an County was chosen not only because it is close to Hong Kong, but also because it is small and has little impact on the overall economy." Chen Zhiwen He smiled and said: "But because of the small scale, many of the experiments here cannot be moved directly to other places, right? From a deep sea city to the entire country, there must be other intermediate experimental points in between, right?"

"Sheng Chen, there are almost 20 special zones in our country? This is the purpose." Director Lin said.

"Yes, but the degree of openness of these special zones is still far less than that of Shenhai City." Chen Zhiwen said: "Although Shenhai City's current economy is not as good as other special zone cities, the growth rate is very high. Other special zone cities want to To catch up, we can only open up further.”

"This kind of thing is not something I can decide, Mr. Chen." Director Lin said helplessly. In fact, it is generally believed in the country that the degree of opening up to the outside world will be beneficial to economic development, but things still have to be done step by step. The first is to reduce risks. The second is to consider the impact on the existing economic structure.

"I know this, so I propose that we can first open up the foreign-invested retail industry in each special zone city, or we can jointly establish joint ventures with local retailers, so that the foreign-invested retail industry can bring the retail models of developed countries to the country and stimulate Only in this way can we further develop the economy by increasing domestic people's consumption desires," said Chen Zhiwen.

It may be a bit difficult to directly allow domestic foreign investment to enter the market, but if you can join a joint venture and let yourself enter first, that is not a problem. You can just spend some money to take back the shares after the policies of the 1990s are implemented. Time is the most important thing. Yes, once you have the first-mover advantage, you will be far ahead.

"Sheng Chen, it is unlikely that the national policy will target you. If the permission is granted, then other foreign-funded supermarkets can also do it." Director Lin reminded tactfully.

"That's no problem." Chen Zhiwen said nonchalantly. (End of chapter)