The Industrial Giant Reborn

On the third day of Dong Youwei's arrival, some professionals from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel rushed to Hong Kong. Without booking air tickets in advance, they all entered the country through the deep sea, and then directly took the train to Shanghai. This made them even more determined. Chen Zhiwen wanted to buy another plane. With the plane, he could arrive in the shortest possible time when encountering such a situation, instead of being nearly a week late.

It may not matter if a project is a little late, but if the number is large, the indirect losses will be huge.

Dong Youwei held an important internal meeting with people from Mandarin Oriental to explain relevant matters, and then made preliminary contact with relevant departments in Shanghai.

The Shanghai Municipal Government was obviously very happy when they heard that Land was planning to build three five-star hotels at once. This would not cost them any money, and would also create a large number of jobs. After completion, it would also be able to entertain a large number of overseas tourists. At the same time, The municipal government can also receive a large amount of funds, which also alleviates the financial pressure on the municipal government.

On the other hand, people from Hisense Bank also arrived one after another to discuss the loan with the relevant departments of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Coming to Shanghai this time was an unexpected surprise. Three days later, Chen Zhiwen set off again, preparing to go to Yanjing.

As the boss, what he needs to do is to decide on major investments. After the direction is decided, professional staff will negotiate various details. His time is also valuable. Although the investment in Shanghai is not small, , but he will not be allowed to stay here for a long time. There are more important things waiting for him in Yanjing. Many businesses involving the national market still need Yanjing’s approval in the end.

Even Dong Youwei and Huo Jianning came to Shanghai just for a formality. After all, the investment was quite large and they needed to communicate with Shanghai leaders in advance, but they would return to Hong Kong later. Especially for Land, Disneyland is now the top priority.

After arriving in Yanjing, the first thing he did was naturally the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway plan he proposed, and an official was sent to communicate. Although it was a local expressway, and Chen Zhiwen had already had preliminary communication with the local area, Expressways are the main artery of national security and economic development. Approval must be approved by the central government. This is completely different from hotels in Shanghai. In the latter case, Shanghai has the right to make its own decisions, as long as it does not interfere with national laws. Just follow the policy.

However, since we have already cooperated once before, in many aspects, we can just follow the same steps as last time.

"Sheng Chen, we very much welcome patriotic Hong Kong businessmen like you to return to China to invest, especially in highway projects that can benefit the country and the people. If you have any other reasons to invest, you can come to us at any time." Lin came to negotiate. The director smiled and said that he was basically responsible for negotiating with Hong Kong investors on the previous Beijing-Tianjin-Tangzhou Expressway. He knew the technology and partners relatively well, and he also knew Chen Zhiwen, so he was sent here.

"Any high-speed project is acceptable?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"We have long-decided internal projects, but these will not work. Hutchison Whampoa proposed to participate in the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway before. It is not that we are unwilling, but that this project, although it was officially proposed last year, has been re-opened. In the early stages, the central government has already discussed all the funding arrangements and internal participating departments. If it is changed to a joint venture, it will cause great changes and even affect the entire planning cycle. Mr. Chen, you also You know how important this high-speed link is to the development of our country with so many cities." Director Lin explained seriously.

"It doesn't matter. It's just a business cooperation. It's a two-way relationship. Whether it succeeds or fails, it's normal." Chen Zhiwen said nonchalantly.

What the other party said makes sense. An established super project involves a huge amount of manpower and material resources. If foreign capital is suddenly introduced, it will indeed have a great impact, but it is also possible. This is also the other party's reason for rejecting him. After all, if If you only contribute money yourself, it will have no impact at all.

But rejection is normal. Chen Zhiwen will not be dissatisfied because the mainland refuses to allow him to invest in a high-quality highway. In fact, this is normal. On the other hand, if the mainland wants to invest in some of his company projects in Hong Kong or even abroad, He will also refuse. Even over the years, some of my projects in the Mainland have been pursued as sole proprietorships, just to avoid sharing them with others. Then it is understandable for others to do so.

There will be as many high-quality projects in the mainland in the future as crucian carp crossing the river. Even if one big fish is missing, the impact will not be big. Besides, if you really allow yourself to fish freely, I am afraid that your boat will not be able to fit it. Let’s talk about the highway. In the field, it would be great to have a few projects that rank within the top 20 in terms of future revenue. The Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Expressway and the planned Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo are both in the top 10 in terms of revenue per unit length.

"As long as Mr. Chen understands, if there are any high-speed projects that we have not yet decided on, Mr. Chen can also propose them, and if appropriate, we can also consider them." Director Lin said with a smile.

"There are so many cities in the country, and I want to build quite a few expressways, but let's decide on the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway first," Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

There will naturally be many high-quality highways in the future, but there are still some suitable investment nodes. Those first built in the 1980s will definitely be of the highest quality.

"That's natural. Any expressway will help the local economy and even the economy of the entire country. We naturally welcome Mr. Chen to invest." Director Lin said: "As for the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway, the central government has not yet made a formal decision. , but it shouldn’t be a big problem, it just needs to be determined by the local government on the route, and that should be fine.”

"This is the best. I also hope that the construction of this expressway can start as soon as possible, so that tens of millions of local people can benefit from it." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

Infrastructure projects such as high-speed ports have a great impact on even those who do not use them. The first is the huge economic benefits driven by large projects, which will eventually radiate to hundreds of thousands or even millions of people in the surrounding area. The second is that when high-speed or After the port is completed, it will facilitate all enterprises, which will inevitably lead to a certain degree of decline in overall prices. And because it provides a decrease in overall prices, these infrastructures will also collect a part of it, which is the source of their own profits.

"Mr. Chen's meaning is also what we mean. Everyone also wants this matter to be finalized as soon as possible. Our ministry is also discussing with Shanghai Municipality and Zhejiang Province. If there are no other major problems, I think it will be announced soon. It’s been reviewed and approved.” Director Lin said again.

"Okay, thank you." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. With the central approval document, local governments can quickly enter into discussions at the professional level. Later, the more time-consuming part is the confirmation of the route, which Chen Zhiwen does not have to worry about. He will ask, but he will only pay. He believes that the mainland will also plan carefully to ensure that the expressway can most conveniently cover surrounding cities, which will also facilitate maximum commercialization in the future.

…

Some of Hutchison Whampoa's infrastructure departments in the mainland have also gone to Shanghai and Zhejiang areas to begin inspections of the overall terrain and urban conditions. The two provinces and cities are naturally very cooperative. They also have relevant experts within themselves. At the request of both parties, they are working day and night to promote the progress of the project.

The central government is also going through the process. After all, it involves hundreds of millions of dollars in cooperation projects. Even if it is given the green light all the way, it still needs to be reviewed at all levels.

Chen Zhiwen's visit to Yanjing was naturally not just for this one thing. When all parties were busy building a new expressway, he came to the Jeep factory in Yanjing.

The direction they wanted to enter was naturally the main entrance, but a large factory like a car factory also had several doors. When passing a side door, Chen Zhiwen also discovered a truck transporting cars, loading and unloading a number of Wuling vans. There were also many people around.

Chen Zhiwen didn't ask to stop and take a look. The car quickly arrived at the main entrance, and a group of leaders from Yanjing Jeep were already waiting at the door.

Chen Zhiwen also knew some of these people and had met them several times before. For others he didn't know, there was actually no need to know them. They could just be used as lighting.

Everyone soon arrived at the Yanjing Jeep factory where Wuling vans were being produced.

Not to mention that compared with the highly automated automobile production lines of later generations, the Jeep and Wuling cars next door still focus on manual production, with many workpieces being assembled and hammered. But it may also be because the boss Chen Zhiwen came and the workshop leader had already greeted him. Therefore, the workers did not use brutal force, but struck appropriately.

"The sizes here don't match well?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

Shen Yida, the accompanying factory engineer, said: "Mr. Chen, currently all Wuling's parts are produced locally. We are also trying our best to control the quality of all suppliers, but there are still some that cannot meet our requirements. So we can only settle for the next best thing, and we will make selections during later assembly, or we can think of some internal solutions to solve the problem."

Tian Xuecheng, the vice president of AMC in charge of domestic automobile business, continued: "Sheng Chen, Wuling is still different from Jeep or SAIC Volkswagen. It does not have the possibility of purchasing overseas parts with foreign exchange. It can only purchase domestic ones. This is also because Cost considerations.

Although there will be many problems in doing this, the most practical thing is to reduce a lot of costs and lower the price of the car to ensure that more people can afford it. This can be regarded as a balance between cost and quality! "

Everyone wants a good quality car, but the problem is that the price positioning is different. It is impossible to give up cost for quality indefinitely. No matter what brand or industry, there will be this consideration.

"I understand this, but if doing this will lead to large-scale problems later. This is what I am more worried about." Chen Zhiwen asked again. It also understands this situation, that is, Midea's various high-end game consoles, They all have a certain quality failure rate, but the biggest concern is batch problems.

"We are also paying close attention to those core components. Most of the common parts will be relaxed before we relax the management in this area." Tian Xuecheng added: "In fact, not only Wuling, but also the Jeep BJ212 jointly built by us and the mainland also adopt similar methods. Model, including many parts in Wuling's car, are based on it. Over the years, there have been no major problems. During the warranty period, we only need to provide parts and have people repair it.

Mr. Chen, the situation in the Mainland is different from that in Europe and the United States. Even if there is a batch problem, we can just bear the repair. The parts themselves are not expensive, and the labor is even less expensive. Compared with Europe and the United States, this is the biggest difference, and the quality here in the Mainland In case of malfunction, there is no provision that requires us to pay additional compensation, unless three major parts are broken. Tian Xuecheng explained: "This leads to the fact that domestic after-sales costs are not high, so from the perspective of company operations, we need to give priority to ensuring the sales price and quality, as long as there are no major failures." "

"Well, how is the layout of the after-sales system completed?" Chen Zhiwen nodded and asked again. He also has several different products. He naturally understands that products do not need to be extremely high-quality. Appropriate questions are also allowed, depending on In the business environment where the market is located, if labor costs are low, relax a little, because the economy in these places is not very good themselves, and they pay more attention to the sales price. In places like Europe and the United States, the opposite is true. The after-sales cost may be higher than the item itself, so it must be To achieve good quality, you would rather be more expensive to achieve this.

In later generations, the goods exported from the mainland are of better quality than domestic products. They are common in many brands and are also criticized by Chinese people online. Some people say that developed countries such as Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea keep the best products in their own countries. Compared with domestic products, they are harmful to their own people. Responsible and so on...

But in fact, it is not simply a matter of worshiping foreigners. The difference in after-sales costs in different places is the most important. If one day the mainland's economy develops to the point where labor costs are very expensive, the quality of domestic products will inevitably improve.

It is okay to treat them differently according to the market, but what Chen Zhiwen wants to do is long-term business. Considering the low level of domestic consumption and Wuling's own low positioning requirements, this operation is also okay, but after-sales still needs to be done well. .

"Sheng Chen, we currently have after-sales points in every provincial capital in China, and are currently expanding to second-tier cities with better economies. In the short term, it is enough. Although it is positioned as a low-end car, in China, it is Only people or companies in some big cities can afford it, and basically no one can afford it in rural areas." Tian Xuecheng replied.

"Okay, but we still need to speed up and set up after-sales points in various places." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said: "Actually, after-sales points can not only repair our cars, but also other brands, even motorcycles and trucks. Repair, so that these after-sales points can support themselves and expand faster."

"Understood, we actually do this too." Tian Xuecheng said with a smile.

"When I came here just now, I saw a few cars loading goods at the east gate. Let's go over there and have a look." Chen Zhiwen said. He only needed to take a look around the workshop. He didn't understand what was going on here. of Dao Dao.

"Okay, this way." After Tian Xuecheng finished speaking, the group of people gave way.

"Wuling's sales have just begun, right? How is the market feedback?" Chen Zhiwen asked as he walked.

"It's very popular." Tian Xuecheng said with a smile: "The supply is seriously outstripping the demand."

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