The Industrial Giant Reborn

The next morning, Chen Zhiwen and his group went to the Great Hall of the People, where they were received by several leaders.

However, in this kind of place, it is naturally impossible to talk about some details, especially in front of the camera, even if it is a large-scale commercial cooperation, it is negotiated in advance, and then announced in the media.

At noon, I had lunch in the Great Hall, and the layout of the venue was very reasonable. Hong Kong businessmen did not sit together, but were separated by many mainland officials. These officials had special identities, for example, beside Bao Yugang The one in charge of shipbuilding was the director of the Machinery Department, and beside Chen Zhiwen was Director Lin in charge of electronic products.

"Mr. Chen, this is the very famous Wuliangye Baijiu in our country. It tastes very good, and it won't get you drunk if you drink it properly." Director Lin raised his glass and said with a smile.

"Then I have to try it." Chen Zhiwen also responded in the same way. Although he doesn't drink much, it is still necessary in some occasions, and Chen Zhiwen has also done a test. Although he doesn't like to drink, he still has a good capacity for alcohol.

After drinking three cups, Director Lin said: "Chen Sheng, I have been to the factory of your Midea company in the Shenhai Shekou Industrial Park. A large number of containers are sent to Hong Kong from the factory, I don’t know, Midea has no need, come to Yanjing City to invest?”

"To invest in Yanjing, do you still need a joint venture?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"Yes, this is a domestic legal requirement, but we will also provide enough land, workers and some construction facilities, which can also reduce your investment cost, and the choice of the joint venture is also up to you. We Yanjing There are many large-scale electronic companies here that can form joint ventures with you." Director Lin said.

"If I have a domestic joint venture, can my products freely enter the domestic market?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.

"I heard from President Liang that Midea's factories in Hong Kong always have insufficient production capacity to keep up with overseas demand. Shouldn't we first meet overseas requirements?" Director Lin did not answer directly, but asked rhetorically.

As one of the heads of the State Administration of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, he still knows a little about the overseas situation, especially Hong Kong is relatively close. He has been to Hong Kong many times, and he has also come into contact with some Midea electrical appliances, not to mention expensive. Refrigerators and air conditioners are the most common fans. The ex-factory price in Hong Kong is actually lower than that of domestic counterparts, and the weight, quietness, and comfort are much stronger. Once this kind of fan enters the domestic market, other brands will have to finish it?

As early as more than a year ago, he bought a batch of fans in Hong Kong and sent them to some colleagues in China, but they couldn’t make them at all, even the leaves were different. Domestic fans are mainly made of iron, while Hong Kong fans are made of plastic. Yes, the things made by simulation are not as good as others in many aspects. The most important thing is that there is a big gap in the motor, which cannot be as high-speed and quiet as Midea's fan.

Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said: "Since it is a joint venture, I can let the joint venture factory get a large number of overseas orders, but the domestic side also has to provide a certain market? Otherwise, I might as well produce in Shekou, right? And I promise, I will let this factory maintain the foreign exchange balance, and it will not affect the domestic foreign exchange reserves, how?"

In the 1980s, China hoped that overseas companies would invest in China. In addition to hoping that foreign capital could bring technology and a large number of jobs, the most important thing was to hope that foreign capital would produce domestically and then export products overseas. In this way, the country would earn a lot of foreign exchange for nothing. .

But the idea is good, but those foreign investors will not do this. They just want to earn domestic money, and after earning RMB, they want to exchange it for US dollars and leave.

Generally, the mainland government will not agree to it, but there are some domestically-needed goods that can still be discussed. After all, such goods themselves need to be purchased directly with foreign exchange. If they are produced domestically, the consumption of foreign exchange can be reduced to a certain extent. , Therefore, the joint venture policy was introduced, but there is a prerequisite for this cooperation, that is, foreign exchange balance.

The so-called foreign exchange balance means that a foreign-funded company or joint venture company that sells one dollar of goods domestically needs to export one dollar worth of goods abroad, or more, with no upper limit. In this way, even if the company is earning Converting domestic renminbi to US dollars will not consume much of the country's already scarce foreign exchange reserves.

This is a matter of principle, and no one or any company can make an exception. For example, the re-opening of SAIC Volkswagen, the most important company in history, has been troubled for a long time because of this issue. The negotiations dragged on for a long time, and finally the German side agreed Build an engine factory in Shanghai with an annual output of 100,000 units for export, so as to ensure the balance of foreign exchange.

The other company, Yanjing Jeep, which was established earlier than SAIC Volkswagen, is one of the brands under AMC that Chen Zhiwen is currently planning to acquire in the United States. The original domestic development trend is no less than that of Volkswagen, and SUVs are still in demand by the military. Commodities, plus the domestic roads at that time were not good, SUVs may be more suitable, but the US side’s vision is too narrow, only thinking about earning foreign exchange from China to the United States, delaying the localization process of parts signed and written in the contract, and because of this The international news broke out, and it was gradually dealt with domestically, completely missing the future's largest auto market.

"If the problem of foreign exchange balance can be resolved, then everything can be discussed." Director Lin agreed after thinking for a while, as long as there is no loss in foreign exchange, then there is no big problem for the country, even if Chen Zhiwen's products dominate the domestic market, The more you sell in the country, the more you need to export. In general, even if you can't earn foreign exchange, you can increase a lot of jobs. After all, it is very difficult to get export orders for domestic fans. Besides, as long as the factory is built well Now, even if you are sloppy, you have to ask the other party to place more overseas orders.

Of course, for China, it is better to focus on exports as much as possible. However, many cooperations throughout 1979 were because of this clause, which caused many large-scale cooperations with Western countries to fall into trouble. Now, the domestic side has begun to let go , don’t expect foreign capital to only come to invest and then use it for export. After all, foreign capital is not here to do charity. If you can’t make money here, who wants to come here? But even so, it is still difficult to reach an agreement that both parties are satisfied with. Chen Zhiwen is Chinese, and many things are negotiable. It is already rare to be willing to maintain a foreign exchange balance.

"Except for fans, can other products be produced domestically?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.

"What else does Mr. Chen want to invest in?" Director Lin asked.

"Refrigerators and washing machines are both big items in the home appliance industry," Chen Zhiwen said.

Needless to say, refrigerators have been produced in Hong Kong. However, in the field of refrigerators alone, Midea does not have any special advantages. Relying on strong overseas channels, it can only be said that they are still alive, but if they really want to grow and develop, then Must move to the country.

Compared with fans, large refrigerators have higher requirements on labor costs. In China, labor costs can be reduced on a large scale, thus forming a strong competitive advantage. Anyway, in recent years, foreign home appliance giants have only thought about selling their products. Sell ​​domestically instead of investing in building factories.

As for washing machines, Midea does not produce them in Hong Kong, but only develops them in the laboratory, because this product has lower technical content, and the European and American markets are not big, because many European and American apartments share washing machines, and the market potential is much smaller. .

But on the contrary, there is indeed a big market in China. Among home appliances, the cost of washing machines is only higher than that of fans, but they are very effective. Especially in cities, most people are very busy and there is no place to wash clothes. Many families are not very poor. But not so extravagant as to hire someone to do the laundry. These are the huge customer markets.

"These two should be fine, as long as Mr. Chen is willing to put this factory in Yanjing City, then I will take care of these procedures, how about it?" Director Lin nodded and said again.

Domestic investment is one thing, but where the investment is located is another matter. Enterprises that can earn foreign exchange, especially such large-scale enterprises, once the news spreads, it is estimated that people from all over the country will have to send people to surround foreign investors. In Yanjing City, it is time to act first.

"I can't guarantee this. We have to look at the conditions of the joint venture, the scale of the investment, and the location of the investment." Chen Zhiwen said with a light smile.

If it is ordinary foreign capital, it must depend on the conditions of each place, but for Chen Zhiwen, it is basically either Yanjing or Shanghai. Not only will these two places be first-tier cities in the future, the land prices will be higher, and more importantly Yes, there are a large number of high-quality talents here, especially in machinery and electronics. Core talents across the country can be found here. In the future, not only the production is convenient, but even some simple research and development can be responsible.

Although the Shekou Industrial Zone can be a sole proprietorship, it is far behind in terms of talents. Even in the deep sea, there are a large number of college students sent by the central government, but it will take a few years to develop technical strength, especially in terms of factory facilities. If you want to catch up with Yanjing and It will take a long time to go to Shanghai.

Of course, when the time comes in the future, Midea will naturally invest in Shenhai on a large scale to further promote the development of related industrial chains in Shenhai City.

Regarding Midea's domestic layout, the current plan is to divide it into two companies, one focusing on exports, located near Shekou and Shenhai City, and the other focusing on the domestic market while ensuring foreign exchange balance.

One south and one north, and when the scale becomes larger in the future, you can also consider investing in the Yangtze River Delta. After all, for the future Midea, home appliances may only be small, and various electronic consumer goods in the new era are endless.

"Of course, how about I sort out the relevant information in the afternoon and visit Mr. Chen tomorrow morning?" Director Lin said.

"Okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, this kind of investment, he will only decide whether to invest or not, but how to deal with the follow-up, still need various business negotiations, especially in the country there are many restrictions on foreign investment, the regulations are not perfect, recruiting personnel Questions and more.

During the banquet, we could only talk a little bit. After a while, more dishes were brought up. Chen Zhiwen tasted a few mouthfuls and felt that the taste was very unusual. After asking Mr. Lin, he found out that these are relatively rare. Wild animals, that is, during this period of time, will be used as food. How many years later, it is estimated that one bite will go in for several years.