On December 18, 1978, a piece of news that shocked the world came from the north. The mainland officially announced that the entire country was about to implement the "reform and opening up" policy.
That is, internal reforms to improve the people's economic level, external reforms to increase foreign cooperation, attract foreign investment, and so on.
"It's incredible that such a big news suddenly came out in China." In the Chen family's Repulse Bay villa, Chen Tianfu couldn't believe it after hearing the news.
"It's normal. In fact, in recent years, China has begun to continuously expand foreign cooperation." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "In the first half of this year, the mainland government sent four delegations to visit the United States, Japan, and Europe. The purpose of large industrial companies is to communicate in advance so that they can discuss cooperation directly after the policies are clear. Even the chairman of General Motors of the United States went to China and was said to have the intention of cooperation. After he returned, he was given the opportunity by the American board of directors. Denied."
"Why?" Chen Tianfu asked, but he had never heard of this.
"The chairman of GM is a smart man. He saw that the domestic market is huge, so he proposed a joint venture to produce cars domestically. However, the American board of directors did not dare to take risks and were unwilling to make large investments domestically. Their idea was to directly Build cars in the United States, and if the mainland wants them, they can export them from the United States." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"It's really beautiful. Is this really going to consume the mainland's foreign exchange?" Chen Tianfu shook his head and said. Although he didn't understand the automobile industry, he still knew the domestic foreign exchange situation.
"Actually, it's normal. Who would dare to make a big decision to invest hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars without knowing clearly?" Chen Zhiwen said calmly.
The investment in the automobile industry, just for one automobile factory, is huge. Even if it costs hundreds of millions of dollars, it may not be enough. However, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that the country lacks an automobile industry chain. Without an industrial chain, just one automobile factory can It's useless, and if you want to bring the industrial chain to the mainland, not just all, but half, it will be a huge amount of investment. Many of them are other people's companies, and there are too many things involved.
Even later generations of Volkswagen spent a lot of money to realize the local industrialization of some parts and components.
"Then you are going to invest in China. Domestic policies now openly welcome foreign companies to invest?" Chen Tianfu asked.
"Of course, but now that the policy has not been implemented, there must be guidance on where to invest, right? Otherwise, the mainland is so big, who should I look for?" Chen Zhiwen said with a shrug.
In fact, there is no rush. Anyway, the Shekou Industrial Zone will be established next month, which will only take a month. He can still afford to wait for this time.
"That's true." Chen Tianfu nodded and said.
"Things on the mainland have a lot to do with the Hong Kong real estate market. After all, this is a positive impact. Here in Hengyi, we can still get land wherever we can. It is estimated that housing prices will still rise sharply in the next few years." Chen Zhiwen added said.
"How will the mainland's reform and opening up affect Hong Kong's real estate market?" Chen Tianfu asked.
"Of course, the current high-level people in the Mainland, or those who are engaged in foreign trade and have contacts with the outside world, may understand the Western economy. In turn, there are also a small number of people in the West who understand the domestic situation. In the past, this number was enough, but now it is different. The entire When the country is fully reopened, the requirements for external contacts will be greatly increased, so it is necessary to find a suitable middleman. You said, besides Hong Kong, where else can meet this requirement?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"This makes sense, that is, a large amount of money and business will be transferred through Hong Kong?" Chen Tianfu nodded and said.
"Yes, in the future, there will definitely be a large number of overseas companies coming to Hong Kong to buy real estate. They may not necessarily buy houses, but they will definitely rent houses, especially office buildings. If the number is large, it will definitely affect housing prices." Chen Zhiwen analyzed.
In fact, in 1979, Hong Kong's housing prices had already caught up with the peak of 1973. Theoretically, they were almost reaching their limit. However, it was precisely because of the mainland's reform that Hong Kong became a hub for a large number of overseas tourists and overseas businessmen. Priority selection, a large amount of capital entering Hong Kong, and the port's trade volume also increased sharply, which allowed Hong Kong's real estate market to continue for more than two years.
"Then I have to build some office buildings. Son, what do you think?" Chen Tianfu asked with a smile.
"No, the current housing prices are already very high. By the time you move back to live in the city, the cost-effectiveness of your investment will be too low. You might as well make money first. Hong Kong's property market cycles every few years, and it is now past the halfway point of the bull market. You can make money by going in. But there’s no need to hoard, let’s wait until the bear market hits.” Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said. Selling properties in a bull market and recovering land in a bear market are the most basic principles of the Hong Kong real estate industry. Everyone knows it, even those who cannot afford a house know it. The problem is to know when is the trough and when is the peak, and make your own judgment. How much confidence do you have? As long as your guess is accurate and you dare to take a gamble, it will be an absolute huge profit.
"Okay, I listen to you." Chen Tianfu nodded. Listening to his son's words over the years, he has made hundreds of millions. Hengyi has developed more than 20 projects at the same time, and has gradually become one of the top five projects after real estate. Tiger's real estate company.
The mainland's reform and opening up is like a meteorite hitting the ocean, setting off a huge tsunami. The whole of Hong Kong is discussing this matter. Most people, including some Chinese businessmen and government officials, are unaware of the impact this matter has on them.
Although Chen Zhiwen attaches great importance to this matter, the mainland has only issued a notice so far, and we have to wait to know the specific policies. Another thing, this makes Chen Zhiwen a little happy.
After four years of research and development, Midea Group's first inverter air conditioner was successful.
After receiving the exact news, Chen Zhiwen hurried to the test center base of Midea Industrial Park.
Midea's industry has covered many fields, including home appliances and automotive electronic parts. In order to ensure quality, Midea Group specially set up an 11-story industrial office building in Midea Industrial Park and set up a large laboratory. Various precision instruments, testing equipment, etc. are imported from overseas to facilitate the testing of the group's products.
We came to a special testing room, which is a soundproof room. The outside sound is almost inaudible, and the temperature is also almost isolated.
The winter in Hong Kong is not very cold, but it is much colder here. The main reason is that there is a vertical air conditioner in the room that blows air in a low voice.
"Sheng Chen, the temperature inside is relatively low, why don't we open the door?" said an assistant next to him.
"No need." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said. At the same time, he walked to the air conditioner and felt that the sound was indeed much quieter than the ordinary air conditioner.
"Sheng Chen, according to your setting requirements, our air conditioner monitors the room temperature and then controls the speed of the compressor through the chip. Once the temperature drops, the cooling capacity will be increased, and vice versa. Finally, When the room temperature reaches about the set value, the air conditioner will be output at a very slow speed to ensure that the temperature change in the room is within 1°C. In this environment where the temperature difference does not change much, the human body feels the most comfortable, and the air conditioner The noise is very small and there is no sound of frequent starting." He Guoyuan, head of Midea Group's home appliances department, explained.
"Has it been tested in all aspects? Can this control system continue to work?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
In the history of Hong Kong, there once appeared the most elite figure in the electronics industry, that is, Ho Kwok-yuan. In the original history, Ho Kwok-yuan worked in Hong Kong for ten years. From a recent graduate, he became the general manager of the largest electronics factory in Hong Kong. And the company still grew in his hands, from dozens to thousands of employees. He himself also received a salary of 500,000 US dollars a year, no less than the Taipan of Hong Kong Dayang Bank.
In 1983, he immigrated to Canada and founded ATI in Canada. More than 20 years later, the company became the world's largest graphics card company, worth billions of dollars. It was not until he retired that he sold his company because he had no heirs. Lose.
Chen Zhiwen naturally pays close attention to such elite figures. Last year, He Guoyuan became the director of the Hong Kong branch of Philips. He is the youngest person in the history of Philips and the person with the shortest tenure to become a regional director in less than two years. .
Subsequently, Chen Zhiwen directly spent a lot of money to dig him over, and then put him in charge of Midea's home appliance business.
"We have done everything. In addition to doing accuracy tests in the laboratory in Hong Kong, we also sent 500 sets of samples to the Middle East, where they conducted life tests for about half a year in a high-heat environment. Almost 17 of them had problems. However, we have found the reasons and updated the product based on the problem." He Guoyuan replied: "In addition, all of our staff dormitories have been equipped with our air conditioners, and some employees' homes have also been installed by us for free. , it is regarded as a company benefit. There are almost 4,000 air conditioners here. Under the ambient temperature in Hong Kong, only 2 units have had problems, and they have been easily solved."
"One in 2,000? This probability is not very high, but it is not low either. We still need to find ways to reduce the failure rate. Otherwise, the after-sales costs in the United States are too high, and we can only rely on Costco. This is a market." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.
Midea's electric fans, thanks to Chen Zhiwen's large investment in terminal resources, have basically got rid of the need for Costco or Wal-Mart. In the past two years, fan sales have increased rapidly because they are cheap, have large air volume and low noise, and are popular throughout Europe and the United States. It can be said that it is relatively popular. For the rest of the time, we only need to rely on Hong Kong to hold almost the entire industry chain to defeat other opponents.
After the reopening and fan production is moved to the mainland, the group destruction mode can definitely be turned on.
But air conditioners are different. The technical content of air conditioners is very high. Among household appliances, they are second only to color TV sets. If a normal person buys such a large item, as long as he is not particularly short of money, he will definitely choose a famous brand.
Fortunately, in the American market, installing air conditioners is more expensive than buying air conditioners, and Costco is different from ordinary supermarkets. It covers a larger area. In addition, Hong Kong sent Chinese to install air conditioners. There are enough Chinese Employees can significantly reduce the cost of installing air conditioners for American customers. But what is funny is that the wages of the Chinese employees sent there are much higher than those in Hong Kong, but the workload is not as good as in Hong Kong. It is really that the efficiency of air conditioner installation workers in the United States is too low. .
Therefore, in Costco, Midea's air conditioner sales are pretty good, enough to support the factory in Hong Kong. But if you want to expand, you won't have any advantage if you go to other supermarkets, even Wal-Mart, which has a better relationship, because there is no way to reduce after-sales costs. , sales volume is also very low.
Therefore, it is the most urgent need for Midea's air-conditioning department to get rid of its absolute dependence on Costco. After all, even the refrigerator business is doing well in Wal-Mart and several other supermarkets.
The higher the technical content, the harder it is to capture the market, and the same will be true for future color TV sets.
"So I plan to take advantage of the fact that summer is still half a year away in the United States and sell a large number of inverter air conditioners to the Middle East. We have sales channels there, the locals have money, and the environment is hot enough. Let's treat it as a small batch test. ." He Guoyuan said.
"Okay, just sell it there at cost price. As long as quality is not an issue, the United States is the big market." Chen Zhiwen nodded in agreement.
Currently, the single largest market in the world is the United States, and even Europe combined cannot compare.
"In terms of patents, have they been registered? Globally?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.
"It's all done. Hong Kong has joined the World Intellectual Property Organization. Registering a patent in Hong Kong is basically equivalent to registering it in the global Western market. I have also sent people to register in the remaining Asian countries and South American countries." He Guoyuan said .
"Okay, we have been stuck in the patent area before, and now we have to get stuck in other people's necks. Even if they can get around, it will take a little longer." Chen Zhiwen nodded.
In the process of developing inverter air conditioners, a lot of temperature control technologies are involved. These have long been registered by some old companies. In order to obtain patents, they can only buy them. As for the core compressor, although it was acquired from Germany's Zell, but there are still many technologies that have to be purchased from companies such as Siemens and Bosch in Germany.
Fortunately, it is not a very core patent, and you can buy it as long as you pay for it. Otherwise, you would be in trouble.
Midea is the first company to develop inverter air conditioners. In the past few years, Hong Kong and the United States have spent tens of millions on research and development, and naturally have many patents. Even if other companies can get around it, they will have to spend a little effort, as long as they can delay others. One or two years is also a very big advantage for the terminal market. The first-mover effect in traditional industries is far less than that in the Internet industry, but it is still there.
Of course, it is impossible to block others. In fact, Chen Zhiwen just proposed this idea first. From a technical level, it has been possible to do this for a long time, but no one proposed it.
If Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, at the hardware level, it would have been possible to make such a phone 5 years ago, but no one had such an idea. Jobs was the first to realize it, and the same is true for electric vehicles, which have been developed for notebooks. The existing 18650 battery has been around since the 1990s, but Tesla founder Martin Eberhard was the first to think of strapping thousands of batteries to the chassis of a car.
Midea's current inverter air conditioner is actually the same example. Midea just grabbed a head start, and other players will enter the market later, just like other mobile phones and trams in later generations. Historically, in 1980, Japan's Toshiba was about to invent its own. Inverter air conditioner.
"One more thing, this technology can also be used in refrigerators, which can reduce the power consumption of refrigerators, but the cost will increase a lot." He Guoyuan said.
"No, there is no shortage of electricity in the United States. There is no need for us to increase costs for users who don't care about electricity bills." Chen Zhiwen shook his head.
The energy consumption in the United States is simply unbelievable. In the summer, no one in the family turns off the air conditioner, and in the winter, they don't turn off the heating. After the oil crisis, they became more cautious in the use of oil in cars. The energy saving of the refrigerator is probably only reflected in the electricity bill. Only developing countries that are more expensive will pay more attention to it, and they will naturally improve in the future. But now it is not necessary to specifically target the US market. It is better to ensure that the initial selling price is cheaper.
"Now at the factory, are there any problems with the factory area and personnel requirements?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.
"The factory area is okay for the time being, but in terms of personnel, labor costs in Hong Kong are getting higher and higher. Most of our businesses can afford it, but the fan business is not doing well. The cost of labor amortization is getting higher and higher, and the cost performance is fast. It is not as good as some companies in Wanwan. At present, our advantage is that we rely on Galaxy Trading to have a good relationship with most retail supermarkets, and our fans are quieter and of higher quality." He Guoyuan said.
"Okay, I understand. I will find a way to solve this matter." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. Midea's fans have always followed the route of glass sales, which is to maintain extremely low profit margins and then compete for the market, similar to Strategy with Coca-Cola.
It's just that this industry is the lowest-end among household appliances, and it is also labor-intensive. Labor costs account for a large proportion. When labor costs in Hong Kong have increased two or three times, compared with Wanwan, it is a bit disadvantageous.
But it doesn’t matter, the reopening has started, and by January next year, the Shekou Industrial Zone will be established.
(End of chapter)
