"Car company? Which one? Chrysler?" Jim suddenly became interested and asked.
"I don't have that ability. What I want to acquire is AMC (American Motors Corporation)." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
In later generations, the American automobile giants, except for Tesla, the electric vehicle giant born in the 21st century, are generally known to the three giants: General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The American auto industry has been beaten by Japanese cars since the 1980s, and decades later only these three giants survived.
But before the 1970s, the American automobile industry was very developed. In addition to the three giants, there were also many smaller automobile companies.
AMC is the fourth largest automobile group in the United States. This name is unfamiliar to future generations, but it has a model called Jeep. Everyone should know this name.
However, although it is the fourth in the automobile industry, it is far away from the top three. It can even be said that from the fourth to the last place, the combined scale is not as good as that of the third Chrysler. In the American automobile industry in the 1970s, the top three Strong scale is a monopoly, and other automobile companies have only obtained a small piece of cake in a small market segment, or they are engaged in other commercial vehicles, such as buses, trucks, etc.
AMC is a special company. It takes the route of miniaturization and fuel efficiency. Americans before the 1970s basically liked large-displacement cars. Gas is cheap anyway, but a small number of women or urban cars use them. Small cars are more convenient, and this is the market where AMC has always existed.
"AMC? This company's performance has been very poor in recent years. I also heard that AMC's shareholders intend to sell it, but Mr. Chen's identity may be a problem?" Jim said with a frown.
"If identity is not an issue, then what I want to acquire is Chrysler." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: "AMC's scale is not very large. It has been losing money in the past few years, its efficiency has become worse and worse, and its market share has become worse and worse. Low, if no one takes over, I’m afraid it will just go bankrupt, which is probably not a good thing for the current U.S. economy, right?”
The American automobile giants were doing very well before the early 1970s, because firstly, the United States is the world's largest market, secondly, the United States is industrialized, has many aircraft and carriers, and cars can be sold around the world. In various places, at its peak, General Motors Group sold more than 4 million vehicles a year, using up 10% of the production capacity of the U.S. steel industry and 16% of the rubber industry. Its market value was the same as that of several major oil groups, ranking among the top ten in the world.
However, an oil crisis changed the lives of people around the world. The shortage of oil, coupled with serious urban car exhaust environmental problems, forced European and American governments to begin to restrict high-displacement cars. At the same time, Japanese cars that had always been fuel-saving as their ultimate development goal began to It sells well all over the world, and even in the United States, the major American automobile giants cannot hold it.
The outbreak of the second oil crisis made the U.S. auto industry even worse. Even if they persuaded the White House to impose restrictions on imported Japanese cars, they still could not stop Toyota from building factories in the United States. As a result, local production also avoided tariffs, and Japanese cars The price will be lower.
General Motors and Ford have a stronger foundation. Even if they have been losing money in recent years, they can still survive. However, Chrysler cannot. It is on the verge of bankruptcy. Even the White House wants to use it to scare chickens and monkeys, forcing American car companies to develop new ones. Fuel-saving technology.
However, Chrysler was not destined to die. A CEO named Lee Iacocca came out of the blue and saved Chrysler, which was about to go bankrupt, in a few years. From 1979 to 1985, it took five years to make it lose $500 million a year. With a net profit of US$2 billion, if Chen Zhiwen was an American, then this would be the best time to acquire Chrysler, but is it now? A Chinese wants to get involved in the most powerful automobile industry giant in the United States? Even if it goes bankrupt, it is impossible. Even if it succeeds at a huge cost, when Chrysler rises again in five years, it will definitely be overturned.
"Eric, if you are willing to immigrate to the United States, given Chrysler's current situation, you are still a little bit sure." Jim said with a smile.
"No, let's go with AMC." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said. Even if he became an American, if he acquired Chrysler, there would be too many variables. Chrysler was able to come back to life because the U.S. government borrowed US$1.5 billion plus a lot of policy assistance. There is money, but the most important factor is Lee Iacocca.
Chrysler doesn't have any major shareholders. Even if the CEO is in charge, everything is decided by the CEO. If someone else acquires it, it's hard to say whether the CEO will continue to work. But it's hard to say whether the CEO will work so hard and try every means to reduce costs. .
Once a large automobile company declines, it will need to invest a lot of money. Several hundred million US dollars are just a drop in the bucket for the automobile industry. By then, the money he has made in the gold market will not be enough to burn. With.
"Okay, Eric, let's do this. I will first check all the information about this company, as well as the market situation, and whether there are any other companies interested in acquiring it. When the news is almost ready, I will then contact you. Please communicate." Jim said.
"Okay, come as soon as possible." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
In fact, the market value of AMC is not high. This automobile company, which has been losing money for several years and only accounts for a small share of the US market, has a market value of only a few hundred million US dollars. It is not as good as Wharf and Hong Kong Electric. If it is a Hong Kong company , then why go to the trouble of asking an investment bank for help? Just buy it directly from the stock market.
But the automobile industry is relatively sensitive after all, even if it is a small automobile company, because the automobile industry is inherently a great promoter of employment, not only its own employment, but also the supply industry chain and terminal sales industry. Chain and high technology, many developed countries regard this industry as their lifeblood. In economies such as Germany, Japan, the United States, France, and Italy, a large degree of economic growth comes from automobiles, as does social stability. The only empire on which the sun never sets is Great Britain, which is so useless that it can only allow the automobile industry to gradually die.
After the 1980s, the U.S. government spent countless efforts trying to maintain the market for its own American brand cars, but it still lost a big piece of meat to Japanese brands, and high-end brands were also swallowed up by German high-end car brands.
Fortunately, the scale of AMC is really small. Even the well-known Jeep is actually the hobby of a small number of people. The only trouble is that Jeep has some military orders, which may be more sensitive.
However, in addition to the United States, many European car brands are also very good, but the time has not yet come. For example, some of the most famous British brands are still implementing a large-scale nationalization policy. It will not start to be controlled by the British government until two or three years later. sell.
Entering the automobile industry is something that Chen Zhiwen has always dreamed of after traveling back in time to the 1970s. After all, with the memories of his previous life and enough capital, it is just the Hong Kong real estate market, various opportunities for future development, global electronics and the Internet. A small place is enough to become as rich as a country.
The automobile industry is the crown of human industry. Only if you can achieve something in this field will you be able to live your life in vain.
However, if you want to develop the automobile industry, you must develop it in a place with a large enough population and a strong enough economy, such as Europe, the United States, later mainland China, and Japan. The first three are considered big markets, and Japan is half. With a big market, Only in this way can there be enough customers to share the high R&D costs of automobiles, the huge investment in production lines, etc., and the local area must also have sufficient industrial base to form support for the automobile industry chain.
Basically, the world's large car companies will only be born in these areas. The only exception is South Korea, which has a small land area. Fortunately, after the 1990s, the economy was not bad and it was able to form about two car companies. Then came the opening of the U.S. market and the rise of the Chinese market. Then Hyundai Motor gradually developed into the top ten automobile companies in the world. However, Hyundai Motor is the only one in South Korea. Even in Japan next to it, there are several For automobile giants, this means that the ceiling is too low.
Therefore, if Chen Zhiwen wants to develop the automobile industry, he must look for opportunities in these large markets. The European market is indeed not small, but the European Union has not yet been formed, the euro has not yet appeared, and many countries are still operating in their own way. This can be said to have led to the failure of British automobiles. One of the reasons for the decline of the industry may be different if it can survive for another ten years.
The Japanese market is closed, and there is no chance. The only one left is the United States. Now the American automobile industry is in the stage of decline from its peak. Many companies with some capabilities and technical reserves are gradually being eliminated by the market. At this time , he still has a great chance to make an acquisition.
After all, the most important thing for the United States right now is to stabilize employment and the economy, but to be more prudent, another plan needs to be made.
Time soon came to early February. Under the arrangement of Henry Morgan, Chen Zhiwen went to a large museum in Los Angeles, where he "encountered" a future heavyweight: Ronald Wilson Reagan. The future 40th President of the United States.
In the history of the United States, many professions have served as president: farmers, farmers, businessmen, priests, blacksmiths, doctors, lawyers, workers, rich men, soldiers, teachers, policemen, postal workers, tailors, and other sons of presidents.
However, Reagan is the only one in history who became the president of the United States as a Hollywood star. When Reagan was young, he made a name for himself in Hollywood and starred in nearly 50 movies, but they were all movies in the 1940s, so No one will watch it now.
"Hello, Mr. Governor." Chen Zhiwen said politely. When Reagan ran for president, he had been governor of California for more than ten years.
"Hello, Mr. Chen. It's nice to meet you. First of all, I want to thank you very much for your investment in California." Reagan said with a smile. He had also known Chen Zhiwen's name for a long time. After all, several Midea arcade games were played. His colleagues in Silicon Valley were defeated, and many big electronic giants were jealous. Silicon Valley is now one of the biggest kings in California. As the governor of California, he naturally knows a lot about things in Silicon Valley. Besides, although he is older and has He doesn't go to bars because of his status, but people around him often go there, and he has heard of and played several Midea arcade games.
"Silicon Valley, under the leadership of Mr. Governor, has become a holy land for the global semiconductor industry, just like Wall Street is to global finance. In the next few years, I will invest a lot of money in Silicon Valley to conduct various technological research and development." Chen Zhiwen smiled. He said with a smile, this is also true. Some simple things can still be solved in Hong Kong, but for complicated things, we can only rely on the United States. As for China in the future, he also plans to make it the birthplace of beautiful talents. But it takes a long time to develop.
"Mr. Chen's investment is very welcome." Reagan smiled and said, "I heard that Mr. Chen is also the major shareholder of Apple?"
"Yes, I invested in Apple when it was first established a few years ago." Chen Zhiwen said with a slight smile and nodded.
Apple's development was similar to that in history, or even smoother. By 1979, Apple's personal computers almost dominated the U.S. market. Even many universities and high schools in the United States began to place orders with Apple. Last year, sales reached US$50 million. , although it is not much, the growth trend is scary, and the order volume in hand is also very large.
In addition, although Jobs did not know much about technology, he knew a lot about marketing. In addition to his status as a college dropout, he was unknowingly touted as an American entrepreneurial hero across the United States and was the dream of countless young people. As for the technical elite Woz, basically no one except the industry knows about him.
"If it were ordinary investors, I would only say that they are lucky, but I know Mr. Chen, he must have a good eye for recognizing people, right?" Reagan said with a smile. He probably also knew Chen Zhiwen's situation. People who succeed once may be lucky. But repeated success is definitely a sign of ability.
"Mr. Reagan is right. I still have my own understanding of future technological or economic development." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said with a smile. People like these who have been in politics for decades are all human beings and have their own abilities. Ability, at this time, you have to show your strength.
"What does Mr. Chen think of the current U.S. economy?" Reagan asked. At the same time, a waiter holding a wine glass came next to him, and the two of them took two more glasses of wine.
"Then let me talk casually." Chen Zhiwen took a sip of red wine and said: "Fundamentally speaking, the root cause of today's economic problems in the United States and the world is the two oil crises. The price of oil rose from 3 US dollars to 30 US dollars now. US dollar, this is a very devastating blow to an economy that relies on logistics and transportation, and oil is not only used to transport dyes, but also a raw material for many industries, which will inevitably cause global inflation.
Considering that the current oil price is almost unlikely to drop any further, if you want to suppress inflation, you need to consider other aspects. "
In fact, the root cause of inflation is the gradual disappearance of welfare benefits in the United States after World War II, which gradually came to an end. This is the reason for the decoupling of the gold dollar, because many European countries began to exchange gold from the United States after earning enough U.S. dollars, and eventually the United States had to decouple. US dollar gold has indirectly caused global trade to enter a difficult mode. It is not that many people do not believe in the US dollar, but that many people also believe in the Japanese yen, marks, pounds, francs, etc. Too many international trade currencies will naturally affect international trade. itself.
The oil crisis is actually one of the results of the weakening of the United States' national power. The polar bears in the north are now very powerful, and the countries in the Middle East have begun to seek benefits for themselves.
Of course, facing the future President of the United States, he will naturally not tell these "truths."
"How can we suppress inflation?" Reagan asked again.
"The current Fed is doing the right thing by raising interest rates. This absolutely cannot be stopped. It even needs to be increased to make money disappear from the circulation market. But this alone is not enough. Although the nature of inflation is very complicated, the superficial phenomenon is price If it is too expensive, then just find a way to lower the price. For example, purchase a large amount of daily necessities from Asia. The labor cost there is very low, and the simple products made, such as clothes, will be much cheaper. If a large number of daily necessities come from Asia, then absolutely It can suppress the current inflation in the United States." Chen Zhiwen said.
"But if we do this, a large number of American jobs will disappear. What should we do about this problem?" Reagan asked.
"Economically, there are many triangles that cannot exist at the same time. It is impossible for a country to have low prices, produce its own materials, and have high wages for all workers at the same time." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "If Mr. Reagan is fried chicken Store owner, can you make a fried chicken one dollar a piece, earn an employee salary of $2,000 a month, and still make a profit yourself?”
"Of course that's impossible," Reagan said, nodding.
"So, this is the problem. Many people now believe that inflation has caused employment problems for many people. Currently, there are opinions throughout the United States against imports to maintain employment. However, the economic crisis in 1929 has proven that mutual blockade is absolutely unworkable. Chen Zhiwen said: "The only way is to use your own strengths. From the perspective of the United States, after moving away these low-end industries that have suffered serious losses and cannot make profits, they should strive to develop high-end industries, such as automobiles and personal computers like Apple. etc."
"Can the market for personal computers be compared with that of automobiles?" Reagan asked curiously.
"From a global market perspective, the market for personal computers may not be as good as cars, but for the United States, it may be higher. Today's personal computers are more expensive. Even Apple's one costs more than 2,000 US dollars. This is very important to ordinary people. The cost is too high, but according to Moore's Law, the development of the semiconductor industry can double its technology in one and a half years, and the cost will definitely drop a lot. Maybe in a few years, a computer will only cost a few hundred dollars. , in this way, tens of millions of families in the United States will be able to afford it, not to mention that more people in Europe and Asia will be able to afford it. This will be a market with an output value of hundreds of billions of dollars, and now the United States We are still in the leading position." Chen Zhiwen said after thinking for a while.
In fact, the value of personal computers, plus the derivative electronics, software, future Internet, etc. that they can form, may exceed that of cars, but it is still far away from now.
"Hundreds of billions of dollars? Can there be such a big market?" Reagan's eyes changed. Although he knew about personal computers and knew that this thing would definitely achieve certain results in the future, he didn't expect such a big market to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. , if it stays in the United States, the employment it creates may be in the millions, which is really better than the declining automobile industry in the United States.
"I think there is. What Mr. Reagan needs to do is to make everyone in the United States believe that there is a future. Another point is that the theoretical value of technology in the semiconductor industry is still far away. In other words, in the future, maybe every other In a few years, the performance of personal computers will undergo earth-shaking changes. If the price is not very high, normal people will be willing to replace it, and this market will continue to exist for decades." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile, in the field of smartphones Before it appeared, the global PC computer market had indeed been booming for decades, and even smartphones could be considered a kind of "personal computer."
"I understand. Mr. Chen's words have been of great help to me. Thank you very much." Reagan nodded and said. It doesn't really matter. As long as it is theoretically possible, it can become his slogan for running for president. , if you want to defeat Carter, who is still in the position of president, you must seize the economic card.
"You're welcome. I will invest a lot in the United States in the future. A better economy in the United States will be very beneficial to me." Chen Zhiwen hinted.
"No problem, I very much welcome any foreign investment in the United States." Reagan nodded and said.
The meeting with Reagan didn't last long, and the presidential candidate was still very busy. In the following days, a total of US$5 million was transferred into the Reagan campaign's fundraising account through 3,000 different American accounts.
(End of chapter)
