The Industrial Giant Reborn

This investment plan in the Mainland may not involve as much funds as a highway investment, but its importance is far greater than the latter. Once Watsons can start operating in China ten years earlier or even seven or eight years earlier, For this Asian retail giant, there is a high probability that it will successfully develop the mainland into its own market.

Global business giants looking to the future all have their own fundamentals. For example, Wal-Mart is the absolute leader in the United States, and Costco is about the same. The fundamentals of Auchan and Carrefour are naturally in Europe, because they have their own fundamentals. , within the scope of the basic market, they can make a lot of profits every year, and at the same time, a large amount of turnover can also ensure the stability and low cost of the supply chain. This is also the foundation for them to expand globally at will, even if these supermarkets are basically in the world The expansion is not very smooth, but with the guarantee of the basic market, the entire company will stand firm and will not suffer any substantial crisis.

Watsons naturally needs such a basic base. Don't even think about Hong Kong. It is too small. No matter how good the average economy is in the future, the market will be very limited. Although the Southeast Asian market that is currently being conquered has achieved some results, it will never be stable. No one can guarantee what changes will happen in the future. The joint venture with local giants is not only to bundle profits, but also to make it easier to get out if something goes wrong in the future. Only the mainland can be counted. It has a very large, high-quality, and stable basic market. At least the language is the same. And Chen Zhiwen has found the huge market potential in the mainland in the future. Naturally, he needs to invest earlier, otherwise he will wait until the mid-1990s. , entering the market together with European and American giants, even if it can still have an advantage, it will not be very big.

It can be said that this matter requires the mainland's top management to amend some foreign investment laws to a certain extent. This is very energy-consuming and time-consuming, and also requires a lot of negotiation and communication. These matters are naturally left to his subordinates, and Chen Zhiwen returned to No matter how important things are in Hong Kong and the Mainland, he cannot stay in the Mainland for a long time. After all, there are still many important things in the global market.

The time soon came to July 1986.

Hong Kong is still business as usual, real estate speculation and stock speculation are common, yellow steak teams buy houses, and an off-plan property lottery can sell for HK$50,000. It is exactly the same as in 1980. The only difference is that 1980 was the tail end of the real estate bull market, and now But it's just the beginning, and housing prices are already about the same. Including Land, real estate companies that once faced difficulties in the real estate crisis have now completely gotten rid of their funding problems. Even if they are still heavily in debt, banks are still very happy to give money to them. give them.

The rise of the real estate market has also caused banks to begin to be deeply tied to them. In other industries, banks have even looked down on them, such as shipping. With the decline in inflation in Europe and the United States, oil prices have repeatedly reached new lows, and the shipping market has also begun to Recovery, however, banks obviously no longer have much interest in this. Hong Kong's shipping industry has also begun to gradually decline like various real industries. Even Hisense Bank has not been overly involved. The only exception is the investment by the boss. Orient Overseas, Hisense Bank, HSBC and Bank of China joined hands to lend 3.8 billion Hong Kong dollars to solve Orient Overseas's funding problems.

There is another piece of news that is quite sensational, which is naturally the establishment of Dragonair. The founder of this airline is not very famous, but the list of shareholders behind this company is too conspicuous. Anyone who is somewhat famous in Hong Kong now Basically all Chinese rich people are on this list. On the surface, Dragonair has a registered capital of only 300 million Hong Kong dollars, barely buying two small planes, but behind it are obviously Chinese capital bosses from all sides, not so much Cao Guangbiao. To fight against Swire, it would be better to say that a large amount of Chinese capital intends to clean up one of the last four major foreign banks.

This puts great pressure on the Swire Group. Although it has the advantage, the attackers are not good-natured. There are a large number of powerful Chinese-funded consortiums behind it, and there may also be support from the mainland government. Either of the two is enough to make Swire Group It gave me a headache, but Cathay Pacific Airways is the core asset of the Swire Group. No matter what, it cannot be given up. Therefore, the two sides competed for airports, routes, etc., and began to become a favorite of Hong Kong people.

However, Chen Zhiwen knew that Cao Guangbiao was not prepared to confront Cathay Pacific head-on, at least not in the early stages. He would consider surviving smoothly first and then turning over.

Outside of Hong Kong, various major events are happening in many places around the world, and a major event is also happening in the UK: Lloyds Bank has officially announced its intention to acquire Standard Chartered Bank.

Obviously, if it can be called a major event, it must be a hostile acquisition. If it is a good intention, the scope of the impact will not be that large.

Standard Chartered Bank has a long history and has operations in dozens of countries around the world. Some of them have achieved outstanding results, such as India, Hong Kong, Canada, etc. As long as they are places that were once colonized by the British, Standard Chartered's business is pretty good. The UK was once the global hegemon, and Standard Chartered was naturally doing well. To a certain extent, Standard Chartered's performance far exceeded that of HSBC. After all, HSBC was only king in Hong Kong.

However, after several generations of inheritance and the decline of British influence, Standard Chartered Bank began to decline. It was even losing money in many countries. Only a few areas such as India and Hong Kong were profitable. Overall, its development was very poor. .

But even so, Standard Chartered has related businesses in so many countries. It is the preferred acquisition target for many banks to rapidly expand their global business. Under normal circumstances, it is very troublesome for banking business to enter a place, let alone the various government regulations. This kind of review, the need for in-depth study of local laws and sufficient understanding of the local economy, etc. are issues such as visibility. If you want to become famous, don’t even think about it in less than ten years. No normal person will just do it casually. It is difficult to deposit money in a new bank, even for an international banking giant like Citigroup, in a new place. But it is much easier to acquire a bank with local business. Even if the bank suffers serious losses, it is only money. Problems, combined with excellent management methods, can save ten or even decades of time. This is the most attractive thing.

The main reason why Chen Zhiwen wants to acquire Standard Chartered is also the same. He did not set up a bank himself, but acquired it. This is the reason. Even in Hong Kong, with his name, if he opens a new bank, he may not know what to do. How long does it take to achieve some results? After acquiring Hisense, it became much easier. Within a few years, it became the second largest bank in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is too small. The mainland next door can be said to be an investment mecca for many industries, but it is not suitable for banks. If you want to continue to develop, you must go overseas. If you go overseas yourself, you will inevitably encounter problems that others do not recognize.

Standard Chartered Bank is the most suitable acquisition target. Standard Chartered has a long history in Hong Kong and has a good relationship with Chen Zhiwen. At least this is the case for the team in Hong Kong. After the acquisition, it will be more convenient for these Chinese to control Standard Chartered. Management, of course, is Standard Chartered's many businesses around the world, especially in many developing countries, which is more suitable. His banking business itself does not intend to expand in Europe and the United States.

After HSBC acquired banks in the United States, it was able to integrate into the Western banking system. In addition to its strong capabilities, the most basic reason is that everyone is white. Chen Zhiwen is a Chinese. It is not impossible to be a bank in Europe and the United States, but it is impossible to become a super big one. In terms of scale, instead of this, it is better to operate seriously in Southeast Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Although they are a bit poor, the scale is still large.

The news of Standard Chartered's acquisition soon spread to Hong Kong. Many people in Hong Kong are also very concerned about this matter. With Standard Chartered's current ability, there is no way to resist the forced acquisition of Lloyds Bank, the third largest bank in the UK. If you want to continue to maintain your freedom, you can only find a white warrior. However, although Standard Chartered is a British bank, its core business is in Asia, and only wealthy people or consortiums in Asia have the ability and willingness to help him.

As the major shareholder of Standard Chartered Bank, Chen Zhiwen also knows that the other party will not come to him. After all, his previous acquisitions have filled the management of Standard Chartered Bank with doubts. At this time, if he comes to help, he will be defeated. For Sri Lanka Bank, Standard Chartered may have escaped from the wolf's den and entered the tiger's den.

"Sheng Chen, Mr. Bao Yugang from CLP Power called. He would like to invite you to the Grand Hotel for tea at three o'clock this afternoon." Chen Zhiwen, who had just arrived at the Kang Le Building office, immediately got the news from his assistant.

"Okay, just say that I will go to the appointment on time." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

"Okay." The assistant left immediately after receiving the message, leaving only Chen Zhiwen rocking the boss chair.

At 2:45 in the afternoon, Chen Zhiwen arrived at the presidential suite where they had arranged to meet in advance. Bao Yugang was already waiting.

"Sheng Chen, please sit down." Bao Yugang laughed.

"Sheng Bao, you look good, don't you?" Chen Zhiwen also said. He had already known that Bao Yugang had cancer and had already started to go to Japan for treatment. In this era, Japan's medical technology is definitely the best in Asia in many aspects. , even compared to Europe and the United States, it is not much different.

"After returning from the mainland, I went to Japan for an operation. The effect was pretty good and the prognosis was very good. The doctor there said that it was fortunate that it was discovered early, otherwise I would be in trouble in two years." Bao Yugang paused. , and then said: "Thanks to Mr. Chen for your Huagang Hospital. If it weren't for the comprehensive physical examination technology, with my personality, I would not go to see him unless I felt uncomfortable, I'm afraid it would really be over."

"It would be best if it can be cured. It's just a hospital." Chen Zhiwen said. He didn't know if it was his butterfly effect that caused Bao Yugang's physical problems to be discovered early. Maybe it could really be changed. It is history. You must know that except for a few special diseases, such as pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancer, which are the kings of cancers, other cancers or many diseases are not difficult to treat if they are detected early, especially for wealthy people.

The importance of physical examination is very important. Early detection of the disease makes a huge difference in the difficulty of treatment.

"Well, I will have to have regular physical examinations from now on." Bao Yugang nodded and asked: "Sheng Chen, I heard that you have started construction on the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway in China?"

"Yes, construction has started. However, we are still doing the most basic foundation detection. It is still early to officially start construction." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said. When he and Bao Yugang went to the mainland together before, in addition to investing in Ningbo Port together, he also invested alone. After a period of negotiations between the parties and a good history of cooperation, the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway started construction early.

"That's great. The income from this expressway is really good. Your Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Expressway and Hu Sheng's Guangdong-Shenzhen Expressway are making money every day." Bao Yugang said with a smile.

"Haha, Mr. Bao, you can also go to the mainland to invest in highways. Now we are very welcome to invest in infrastructure in China." Chen Zhiwen laughed and said, although he tried his best to invest in the highest quality highways, even gods can't do it. Bao Yuan, even if it could be done, there would be at least dozens of first-class expressways. Even if Chen Zhiwen's capital increased tenfold, he would not be able to capture so many, and the mainland government would not allow it.

However, if Chen Zhiwen can't do it, it doesn't mean that all the capital in Hong Kong can't do it. If Hong Kong capital enters the country on a large scale, the country will definitely welcome it. Of course, you can only think about this kind of thing. The real estate market in Hong Kong is so popular now. , low risk and high return, who is willing to bother with the mainland's infrastructure, that is, Chen Zhiwen has too much capital, otherwise, if he does not have a lot of capital, he will definitely invest in Hong Kong real estate or technology companies.

"Forget it, my funds are limited and I can't compare with you." Bao Yugang paused and said, "Chen Sheng, I think you have guessed the purpose of why I asked you out today? It has something to do with the UK."

"So, Standard Chartered Bank is looking for you?" Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, but he knew that in the original history, Standard Chartered Bank was forcibly acquired by Lloyds Bank, and it was Bao Yugang and Qiu Deba who jointly rescued it. This shows that , the relationship between Standard Chartered and Pao Yugang is definitely unusual, but it is strange to say that in the historical Wheelock takeover battle, Pao Yugang and Qiu Teck were at loggerheads. Unexpectedly, Standard Chartered Bank's counter-takeover a year later, The two collaborated again.

"Yes, they found me, but they have a condition, that is, if I become a major shareholder of Standard Chartered, then the stocks in my hands cannot be sold to you." Bao Yugang smiled and said: "It seems that they I am also afraid that you will suddenly acquire Standard Chartered, otherwise, if you sincerely help them with your capital, it will be easy."

"I'm quite cautious, but what's the use of this so-called condition? Isn't it better to go around easily?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. (End of chapter)