The Industrial Giant Reborn

After handling matters in Los Angeles, Chen Zhiwen came to New York, the financial capital, where there was still a major transaction that he needed to handle.

As soon as Chen Zhiwen checked in at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, an old acquaintance came to visit.

"Eric, I always invite you to the United States." Henry Morgan said with a smile.

"Henry, you are also the boss of NBC TV station after all. Why do I feel like you are always working for Morgan Stanley?" Chen Zhiwen asked with a smile.

Although they are all members of the Morgan family, and Morgan Stanley is also the core industry of their family, the importance of NBC cannot be overstated.

"Haha, that's because I only came to contact you for Morgan Stanley. They also know that we have a good relationship." Henry Morgan said with a smile: "I will not participate in other things, but having said that, after getting familiar with NBC After joining the TV station, I basically started to learn from you, delegate power to my subordinates, and relax myself. Anyway, I have absolute controlling rights, and no one else can change the world no matter what."

"Yes, we have so much wealth, we should enjoy life." Chen Zhiwen shrugged.

There are also many rich people, and naturally there are various groups who pursue different things. Sam Walton of Wal-Mart and Buffett of Berkshire are the kind of people who are more "frugal". They have money, but It won't be too enjoyable. Of course, this "saving" is relatively at the same level, and for any ordinary person, it is still the difference between heaven and earth.

There are also people like Jobs who like work very much, are addicted to work, and regard work achievements as their life goals.

The other type is the enjoyment type, which not only enjoys life, but also hires professional managers for work. This type is common among people who have successfully started a business and are not young, or the second or third generation.

In short, everyone has their own differences. Chen Zhiwen obviously belongs to the last category. He wants to enjoy life and try his best to delegate work to his subordinates. Of course, it is not easy to do this. Only if he knows the history can he succeed easily. Under normal circumstances Well, it’s still difficult to get to this point.

But it still depends on your mentality. Even if you are a little poorer if you have a net worth of tens of millions, you can still enjoy life.

"It just might be a little too boring sometimes." Henry Morgan did not continue the topic and asked: "When you come to New York this time, do you want to find a contractor listed in Costco?"

The listing of Costco will be the largest IPO in the United States in recent years. Its unique business model has proven its strong profitability and possible future room for growth. However, other peers want to copy it, but they simply cannot do it. , that is, Wal-Mart's Sam's Club, which is far inferior to Costco in terms of quality and quantity.

The most important thing is that Costco's business model will deeply bind a large number of members and squeeze the living space of other nearby peers. This is considered by Wall Street to be the best retail model. The only flaw is that it can only open stores in big cities. .

However, this problem is not a big one. As long as you have money, you can completely build a retail brand store specifically for second-tier cities, similar to Wal-Mart, because Wal-Mart cannot copy Costco, but in theory the reverse is feasible.

Although these are all conjectures of a group of people on Wall Street, the stock price itself is not just about the present, but about the future. With such a huge potential, and the scale of Costco itself is large enough, once it is listed, it will Who wouldn't be tempted by a stock like this that can be exported from the United States?

"There's no rush. Costco's plan is to go public in mid-1987, which is still two years away." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.

Since he is a favorite in the eyes of Wall Street, he will naturally not be so anxious to find out who the contractor is. Before the decision is made, there will be enough time to maximize the benefits, and in two years, Costco's The development should also be able to reach a higher level. If we take advantage of the huge bubble in the US stock market in 1987, we can make a lot of money.

"Yes." Henry Morgan nodded and said, "Then you came to New York just to deal with the Chrysler stocks in your hands?"

"Yes, all the Chrysler shares in my hands will be cleared. For this matter, I also need you, Morgan Stanley, to help me find a suitable buyer." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Four years ago, just after the second oil crisis, oil prices throughout the United States were high, inflation was severe, and interest rates were high. This gave companies like Wal-Mart and Costco, which were good at controlling costs, an opportunity to develop rapidly, but for most For some companies, it is a nightmare mode, such as the American automobile industry.

Since the outbreak of the first oil crisis, the U.S. government hastily introduced fuel consumption control policies. The previous U.S. car companies all had high fuel consumption models and immediately suffered a major blow. Coupled with the impact of Japan's fuel-efficient cars, the entire U.S. auto market was on the verge of collapse. The worst among the three giants was Chrysler.

Although Chen Zhiwen knows the history, the return rate of investing in stocks in the automobile industry is not high. This industry is suitable for pure investment to increase influence, rather than financial benefits. Therefore, even if he knows that Chrysler can turn around in the future, he is not very interested. .

However, Chrysler was in urgent need of life-saving money. Therefore, in the transaction with AMC, it gave up a lot of patented technology, and finally let Chen Zhiwen invest 300 million US dollars.

Today, the value of these stocks is just over 1 billion US dollars, which seems to have more than tripled. However, compared with too many special opportunities, it can only be regarded as average.

And Chen Zhiwen also knew that this was basically the peak of Chrysler, and that it would stop selling again in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Therefore, he decided to sell it this year, even if it might rise a little more in the next few years. It’s no longer rare. This money can be cashed out and invested in Mainland Japan or Hong Kong Bay, and it can easily multiply several times.

When it comes to almost 10% of Chrysler's stock, it cannot be sold slowly in the stock market in the normal way. First, it may suppress the stock price. Second, there are many restrictions on the sale of stocks by major shareholders. This is not the case in Hong Kong. There are almost no controls on the stock market.

Therefore, Chen Zhiwen needs to entrust a US investment bank to find someone willing to take over. If someone takes over, it is an internal transaction, and the US government cannot control it, unless it is a special industry with special restrictions.

"Okay, I will release the news about this matter, but it involves a transaction of more than one billion US dollars, and it may not be easy to find a suitable buyer. It may take a long time." Henry Morgan said.

"You don't need to find just one company, even if you are some small investors who want to buy a part, that's fine." Chen Zhiwen added, although this transaction is a little more troublesome, it can make the move earlier. After all, the entire United States can buy it all at once. There are very few institutions or individuals who have spent a billion dollars to take over these stocks.

"What about the price?" Henry asked again.

"It's almost the same price as the normal market price. If the other party buys more, you can give it a little less." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

If it is an acquisition, the price must be high, and in turn the price must be reduced. However, the impact of the latter on the stock market will not be that big. Therefore, an appropriate concession is enough. A few points is usually enough. Unlike acquisitions, 20 A price increase of even one point may not be too much, and the more the price increase, the easier it is to raise the stock price.

"Okay, I understand. In this case, if the speed is fast, it is estimated that they can all be taken out in three or four months." Henry Morgan nodded and said.

"That would be the best. After the money is cashed out, I will entrust you to transfer the money overseas in batches." Chen Zhiwen said again.

Unlike the original gold speculation, this money is public and cannot be concealed even if you want to. Chrysler is a listed company. The initial introduction of Chen Zhiwen’s capital also required filing on the stock exchange. In particular, Chrysler was facing bankruptcy that year. , it barely survived because of the support provided by the U.S. government. In this case, the U.S. government must also be monitoring it. Who invests and lends money to Chrysler is recorded by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Since it is a normal investment, if the stock is cashed out and then taxes are paid, it is free money. Even if the value is close to 1 billion US dollars, it can leave the United States openly. After all, the U.S. government will not destroy its own respect for such a small amount of money." free market” reputation. Of course, you have to pay taxes first.

"That's no problem. I will definitely give you the lowest discount in the future." Henry smiled and asked: "Eric, where did you transfer the money out of the United States to invest, in the mainland?"

"We're not sure yet." Chen Zhiwen naturally understood what the other party was thinking, so he asked again: "You said you wanted to invest in Japan before. How much have you invested so far?"

"Not much." Henry Morgan shrugged and said, "I have limited funds and my main business is in the United States, so I bought a small office building in Japan.

Our family definitely invests more than I do, but the ratio to the company is definitely not large. In the financial industry, we generally do not invest ourselves. We are only trying our best to persuade our customers to agree to transfer funds to Japan. Just invest, and then our investment bank will pay dividends from it. "

"This is considered safe." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. It is true that this method cannot earn the highest profit, but it is safe. In the short term, it cannot compare with those players who play big hedging, but in the long term, it is stable. Soros, the god of hedging , once punched the Bank of England, kicked more than a dozen countries in Asia, and overturned half of South America, but when he is old, his wealth will not be half of Buffett's.

"Eric, although we also believe that the Japanese market has a promising future, as far as I know, the White House is now pursuing a devaluation of the US dollar, so we also need to urgently transfer some capital out, but it is impossible to put it all in Japan." Henry "If you had a lot of money, where would you invest it," Morgan said.

"Southeast Asian countries, or Eastern European countries." Chen Zhiwen said: "Developed countries, although they are already the most advanced places in the world, but because of this, it is almost impossible to make rapid progress again. But now the global industry has begun For globalization, the most suitable ones are Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe can take on a large amount of capital from Western Europe, while Southeast Asia has the largest population and the lowest wages, and can take on global industry or Japanese industry."

These are also virtual theoretical knowledge. Even if Chen Zhiwen doesn't say it, outsiders can analyze it. But once he analyzes it, whether he dares to invest heavily is another matter. For Chen Zhiwen, Hong Kong + Mainland, as a long-term investment That's enough. In other places, short-term profits can be made, such as Japan, and he has no interest in long-term operations, unless it is a long-lasting profit-making project such as a supermarket or hotel.

Of course, real estate rent collection counts, but Southeast Asian countries can't compare to Hong Kong and the mainland. By the 1997 Asian economic crisis, the Asian economic crisis was basically all gone. Although it could be withdrawn before then, it was still troublesome. It was not as practical as Hong Kong and the mainland. Hong Kong Even after 1998, real estate prices fell a lot, but that was still a high price compared to 1997.

His relationship with the Henry Consortium is actually basically that he provides them with some projects or places with investment potential. Since he won't participate in it anyway, he might as well maximize the benefits.

"In industry, we are not good at it. Eric, you mean the real estate industry?" Henry Morgan asked.

"Yes, I am also optimistic about the real estate market in Southeast Asia. Unless there are any big problems internationally, it will inevitably continue to rise until the bubble is very big. At that time, you can just withdraw. I think, with your ability, You should be able to tell when it's time to retreat." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "Besides, you won't invest directly, but will do finance, which is less risky."

Basically, the risks of bank loans are very small for banks. Especially for large projects, there will be a variety of guarantees. The larger the bank, the stricter the control in this regard. The reason why there are still banks The crisis itself is caused by many people operating illegally, or by increasing risks for profit, etc. Take the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008. In fact, although the impact of subprime mortgages on banks is not small, it has not yet swept the world. The fundamental reason The technology group used various financial means to transfer risks to the world, and eventually collapsed to the point where the US government had to step in.

"Southeast Asia? Okay, after we go back, we still need to discuss it internally." Henry Morgan nodded and said, no one can only give some opinions on such a major matter. After all, it is still decided internally by them, but even so, with Chen Zhiwen With his achievements in the mall over the years, his suggestions will definitely be taken into consideration.

"You decide for yourself. It has nothing to do with me. I'm just stating a possibility." Chen Zhiwen shrugged.

"Then you don't invest in Southeast Asia?" Henry asked again. If so, it would be more convincing.

"Hong Kong, isn't it also in Southeast Asia?" Chen Zhiwen said lightly. (End of chapter)