"Are there new games? Is it casual or combat." Henry Morgan asked impatiently.
Various current games have been divided into two categories, casual and combat. The previous game modes were mainly casual. Until the emergence of "Space Invaders", combat games became popular.
"It's considered a combat game. It's called "Tank Battle" and its playability is much better than "Space Invaders."" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
In fact, the games before "Pac-Man" can only be said to be average. That is to say, only when they appeared in the current barbaric era of electronic games can they almost monopolize the world. If any of these games appeared a few years later, they would basically be There won't be any market.
But "Tank Battle" is different. It was a game that was popular for 20 years until the emergence of the Internet raised the gaming threshold.
Although it is not as good as Mario, it is currently the most playable game in arcades and future home game consoles, especially since it can be customized with different background images. However, this is completely unique. kill.
"Has the game been developed yet?" Henry asked.
"Basically it has come out, but there are still many areas that need to be optimized, and it should not be perfected until the middle of next year." Chen Zhiwen said. The game of "Tank Battle" is not difficult, and the interface is somewhat similar to "Pac-Man". It is just that what kind of background is set, how many tanks are in each level, when and where the tanks appear, etc. need to be studied carefully. A suitable balance needs to be found.
"Okay, there's no rush. Although "Pac-Man" is a little less effective, the entire market can still last for about half a year." Henry Morgan said, although he wanted to know what kind of game Chen Zhiwen was very optimistic about. , but you can’t ask too many questions, this is an absolute business secret.
"Actually, it's not that bad. We've just been too successful before. If it drops a little, we feel bad. This kind of mentality is still unacceptable." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. The performance of "Pac-Man" is indeed not as good as before, but it is definitely a hit. In the United States alone, Midea estimates that it can earn tens of millions of dollars. Plus the market outside the United States, it is not even 100 million US dollars. It's difficult, just not as good as "Space Invaders" and "Magic Cube".
Moreover, in the home game console market, Pac-Man is actually a hit, because this type of game is not suitable for high-frequency consumption like arcade machines, but is suitable for home game consoles that can consume unlimited time.
"Yes, we are greedy." Henry Morgan raised his glass again: "But greed is the essence of our capitalist development."
"That's right, respect greed." Chen Zhiwen also raised his glass. Only by making more money can he have more uses. Otherwise, they would already have wealth and freedom, and life would be too boring.
The layout of gold futures has been completed, and with two back-end transactions to ensure the safety of this investment, there will basically be no major problems. In the following days, Chen Zhiwen went to the first Home Depot branch in Los Angeles.
The financial backer came, and Bernie, the entrepreneur, naturally accompanied him personally. After walking around the Home Depot store, Chen Zhiwen asked: "Bernie, how much of this is purchased from Hong Kong?"
"I got the hardware tools directly from Costco's warehouse, and they should be considered from Hong Kong. As for the various types of wood boards, they are still purchased in the United States. The same goes for paints. Due to legal reasons, they are from Asia. Wood boards need a lot of procedures to enter the United States, which cannot keep up with the opening of new stores. Some fasteners also come from Galaxy Trading. As for kitchen and bathroom supplies such as toilets, water pipes, and faucets, they basically come from the United States or Mexico." Bernie thought. After thinking about it, he said.
"That's okay. Take your time. In fact, these things are basically available in Hong Kong. Even if they are not available, as long as you have enough orders here, Galaxy Trading will also look for them in Southeast Asia, which can minimize your procurement costs." Chen Zhiwen said.
"Hong Kong's materials are indeed of high quality and low price. No wonder Costco is so successful in the United States." Bernie said with a smile.
Pierce, who was supporting the supplies on the side, said: "The procurement of materials in Hong Kong is only part of the cost reduction. What is more important is the optimization of transportation costs. Bernie, your Home Depot is a business model that transcends the times, but I suggest you give it priority." Open new stores in coastal cities. The population along the coast is concentrated, and the transportation of materials is convenient in Hong Kong. If you really go inland, you need to transport goods from the port to the inland. Then some products will not be cost-effective. When you become larger in the future, you can Learn from the supermarket and build your own logistics system."
"Expansion is too far away, it's still early, but you are right." Bernie nodded and said with a smile.
Pierce said: "It's not too early, don't worry, with Eric's funds and Hong Kong's cheap supplies, coupled with this business model, it is difficult to succeed, but it must be fast, and gain enough experience in these two new stores Once we have established the relevant management team, we will begin to expand. Once we cannot keep up and others discover this opportunity, we will be in trouble. Just like Costco now, many retail companies have entered membership warehouse supermarkets."
"It's right to think so." Bernie nodded and said. He also knew the current situation of Costco. Celtic, Sears, Wal-Mart and many supermarkets have begun to try member warehouse supermarkets, completely imitating Costco, but This is still a bit difficult, especially in terms of extreme cost control and scale, because Costco is no longer small.
But Home Depot is different. This kind of business logic can be seen at a glance, and there is no need to work hard to establish a membership system. Anyone can easily copy it, and it has no scale.
"There won't be any problems in a short time. If you don't have enough scale, you won't be able to attract too many investors or peers. Don't worry. The priority is to summarize experience and cultivate talents. If you don't have enough funds, you can come to me, whether it's financing." Or take a loan, no problem." Chen Zhiwen said.
It is in his best interests to develop Home Depot as soon as possible. Not only can he get hundreds of times the return after it goes on the market, but he can also use supply channels to obtain more purchasing resources in Asia. This is the most satisfying thing. What he values.
"Thank you, Eric." Bernie said sincerely. Meeting such a high-quality investor, who basically has no strings attached, does not participate in management, and uses his own resources to help start-ups develop, is what all entrepreneurs do. dreamt of.
"You're welcome, this is my business too. If you succeed, I will succeed." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"It's getting late, and I know a place where the steaks are Wagyu beef from Japan, and they taste really good," Pierce said.
"Okay, let's try it." Chen Zhiwen nodded. Wagyu meat is indeed very famous and is considered very high-end in the United States.
After the incident in the United States, Chen Zhiwen naturally returned to Hong Kong.
Although many industries in Hong Kong have taken away a lot of cash, they are all on the road to healthy development. There is no problem with less funds. Especially Wharf and Hutchison Whampoa, they still have a lot of land in their hands, and Hong Kong Housing prices would not stop rising until the end of 1981, and remained high and fluctuated until September 1982, when they plummeted in half.
This day is still three years away from now, which is enough to maximize the benefits of a lot of land in hand. In addition, as long as you are brave enough, you can develop real estate by borrowing money from everywhere. In this area, Chen Songqing is the king.
And history has not changed. Chen Zhiwen has heard about this rising star who has recently become active in the real estate market, but he has not intervened. This giant scammer will deceive countless investors and banks in the next few years, but he will not involve the ordinary people at the bottom. People, as long as they don't deceive those people at the bottom who have a very difficult life, and it's none of their own business, then Chen Zhiwen doesn't care.
Investment involves risks, so you just have to bear your own responsibilities.
The time soon came to December 16, and the world's attention was attracted to the Middle East. On this day, Iran announced that it would stop exporting oil, and the global market suddenly lost 5 million barrels of daily supply.
Although 5 million barrels is a lot, it only accounts for 5% of global oil usage. As long as it is controlled, the impact will not be very big. However, there are lessons from the first oil crisis. All developed countries and large consortiums are desperately trying. People who buy oil are afraid that they will run out of oil. You know, expensive oil is one thing, but it will cause inflation and rise in prices. But if there is no oil, logistics, electricity, and industry will be paralyzed, and the losses will be huge. Not only will it cause more serious inflation, it will also cause huge losses to the industrial chain, and even lead to corporate bankruptcy or transfer.
No one knows how long the oil shortage will last, and who dares to bet? France in 1973 did not pay much attention to the oil crisis in the early stages of the first oil crisis. Later, there was no oil available, and they were so anxious that they almost drilled wells everywhere in Paris to find oil.
As a result, oil prices began to take off.
Although it is not good for the global economy, it is good news for Chen Zhiwen.
The outbreak of the oil crisis was one of the fundamental reasons for the rise in gold prices.
And this is also very beneficial to Costco. Although Hong Kong will also have to increase Costco’s export prices due to increased energy and transportation costs, but the comparison is relative. Compared with other supermarkets, Costco’s increase is absolutely It is the smallest, because the low SKU (supermarket product category) model is destined to have much lower transportation costs.
On the other hand, the recurrence of the oil crisis will once again change the living habits of ordinary people in the United States.
Before the first oil crisis in 1973, oil was about US$3-4 per barrel. After the first oil crisis, the price basically remained at around US$12. The price of gasoline and diesel at the terminal also naturally increased three or four times. This is actually one of the important reasons why cheap supermarkets such as Wal-Mart began to take off.
Because when gas prices are low, commodity prices are also low, and many people don’t care about going to the supermarket more often, or even paying much attention to commodity prices. So Wal-Mart opening a store in the suburbs naturally does not have much advantage, because people are happy to shop nearby, even in It doesn’t matter if it’s a little more expensive in urban areas or neighborhoods.
However, the price of oil has increased several times. Many manufacturing industries in the United States have suffered serious losses. They have laid off employees or cut wages without laying off employees. People's travel costs have also increased several times. Prices in supermarkets have also increased significantly. Under the triple blow, many ordinary people have lost their jobs. Or the middle class will subconsciously reduce shopping or look for cheaper shopping places. As a result, Wal-Mart took off, and now Costco also takes advantage of this.
And now the second oil crisis has begun. In a few months, the price of oil will rise from 13 US dollars a barrel to 34 US dollars. Compared with 6 years ago, it has increased almost ten times. In addition, there will be another corporate crisis. As efficiency decreases and prices rise, those who can control costs in the retail sector will receive higher returns.
Another point is that the automobile industry is about to undergo a very drastic change. As long as the income from gold futures is received, he can take the first step towards his automobile dream.
On the same day, Chen Zhiwen personally made an appointment with Bao Yugang by phone. The next day, the two met at the Hilton Hotel.
"Hello, Mr. Bao." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile and shook hands after seeing Bao Yugang.
"Hello, Mr. Chen." Pao Yugang was also more polite. Both of them were already at the pinnacle of the Chinese community in Hong Kong, and there was no conflict of interest, so they were naturally very friendly.
"Sheng Bao, how are the recent stock acquisitions of China Electric Power going?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"Almost 6 percentage points have been acquired. I don't dare to acquire it too fast, otherwise it will be easily discovered by the Kadoorie family." Bao Yugang said.
"It's similar here. The British capital now is more wary, for fear of becoming the next Wharf." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. There are so many large British conglomerates who are not fools. When Hutchison was acquired, it can be said that Chen Zhiwen picked up a company that was about to go bankrupt. No matter how profitable Hutchison Whampoa is now, no one wanted it back then, but Wharf But it is different. This is what Chen Zhiwen actually snatched from Jardine. With the lessons learned from the past, the British-funded consortium has become very cautious, and all Chinese-funded companies, including Chen Zhiwen, have to be careful.
But it was also because Chen Zhiwen had been seeking to gather funds to do long gold futures. Otherwise, given the capital situation in the past few years, he would have been able to take action against Hong Kong Electric. The value of Hong Kong Electric is indeed very high, but it is far inferior to gold futures.
"So it's better to be the first to eat crabs. With the current economic situation in Hong Kong, if we want to acquire, we really can only spend a lot of money." Bao Yugang said with a smile.
"The big cost is worth it, but it's better to be smaller. Now there's an opportunity." Chen Zhiwen paused and said, "Does Mr. Bao know about the things in the Middle East?"
"Of course I know. I'm in the shipping business and I'm very sensitive to this aspect." Bao Yugang nodded and said, "Global oil prices are going to rise significantly."
"It's not a price increase, but it's very likely to be the same oil crisis as the last time." Chen Zhiwen said.
"It is possible. If this is true, the shipping industry will be in trouble." Bao Yugang sighed. Once the oil crisis breaks out, global freight demand will immediately decrease. However, it also depends on the situation. If there is a regional conflict, especially It's the Suez Canal. If it is blocked, cargo ships bound for Europe will need to detour through South Africa. In this case, even if the economy worsens, the demand for cargo ships will increase exponentially.
This was the case during the first oil crisis, but I don’t know what happened the second time. If there were no interruptions in sailings, the shipping industry would have entered a deadlock.
"Isn't Bao Sheng already preparing to transfer assets to land? Moreover, the shipping market is so big that even if the demand decreases, it will not happen overnight. Let's discuss the matter of the two power plants." Chen Zhiwen said.
"Sheng Chen, please speak," Bao Yugang said.
"Due to the need for environmental protection, both China Power and Hong Kong Electric have begun to replace the new generation of fuel-fired power generation technology. This was naturally no problem in the past, but once the oil price rises several times, what do you think will happen?" Chen Zhiwen said.
"That will inevitably lead to an increase in costs, but when oil prices rise, the two power plants can reasonably increase electricity prices." Bao Yugang said.
"So we have to find ways to suppress the rise in electricity prices. Even if we don't come forward, we can still use the media and others to come forward. After all, when electricity prices rise, no one in Hong Kong will benefit except the power plants. How many people will care whether it is because of oil prices or What about rising energy prices?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"This is not bad. TVB is owned by Chen Sheng. It is indeed reasonable to pay attention to people's ordinary living needs." Bao Yugang said with a smile.
"Of course, but the media alone is not enough. I will also let the Hong Kong Manufacturing Factory Association come forward to resist the increase in electricity prices, or only allow a part of the increase. In this way, once the oil price rises and the electricity price does not rise in time, it will inevitably There will be losses, even future losses, which will be enough to cause the stock prices of the two power plants to plummet. As for how much they can fall, it depends on our ability." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
The biggest benefit of acquiring TVB is this. TVB itself has average profitability, but it can provide very good assistance to its brother companies.
"I understand what Chen Sheng means. If we acquire their stock prices when their stock prices fall, the effect will indeed be much better." Bao Yugang nodded and said, the money saved is on the one hand, mainly because we can use a large amount of money when the market is bearish. Acquisitions without worrying about triggering a surge in stock prices.
"Okay, it's still the same as before. You are in charge of China Power and I am in charge of Hong Kong Electric. Don't touch the other party's, otherwise it will cause abnormal stock prices." Chen Zhiwen said.
(End of chapter)
