Hong Kong, Hutchison Building Headquarters:
"Chen Sheng, Hutchison Mining Company has been successfully registered. We have negotiated the final price with the European Maclan Exploration Company. The other party's quotation is US$35 million. Here are their details." We have long known that boss Chen Zhiwen today To come over, Zhou Jiayang prepared relevant information in advance.
"Let me take a look." Chen Zhiwen took the information, flipped through it and said, "This company is quite large, with a team of more than 400 engineers, and its historical performance is not bad."
"Yes, McClan Exploration has purchased a lot of the latest exploration equipment and hired a variety of technical talents in recent years. Its performance has been very good over the years. His boss also values this company very much. However, due to the oil crisis , causing other companies under him to report that they were short of money, so they had no choice but to sell other companies." Zhou Jia Yang said with a smile.
"This is a good opportunity." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. The oil crisis is a serious disaster for many normal operations, especially for companies that rely on energy. But for those who are prepared, they can go out and acquire various high-quality products. The best time for assets. Too many companies, in order to preserve their core industries, can only reluctantly sell other companies. Among them, there will be many with good potential.
"In terms of price, our acquisition team has compared many peers, including some listed companies. Deutsche Bank's suggestion is that this price is more suitable and you can start." Zhou Jiayang added.
"Okay, let's get it, but Deutsche Bank must confirm the legal risks to avoid subsequent troubles." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and agreed.
For acquisitions in Europe and the United States, Chen Zhiwen generally does not directly do it himself. Even for acquisitions in Hong Kong, many of them are entrusted to professional institutions such as Dolly. This time, Hutchison Whampoa was planning to acquire an exploration company, so it entrusted Deutsche Bank in Europe and the United States. Goldman Sachs is looking for suitable acquisition targets in Europe and the United States.
Although you have to pay a lot of money to find these people, you can save a lot of time and energy, and more importantly, avoid certain legal risks. The most important thing for such companies is reputation. Which acquisition will cause huge trouble to customers? , that was also a big blow to them.
"Okay." Zhou Jiayang nodded and asked, "Sheng Chen, what should we do next if we acquire McClan?"
Chen Zhiwen said: "Just maintain the status quo for now, but we need to recruit Chinese engineers in this field from various exploration companies around the world. I won't say all of them, but I hope that among these companies with particularly strong technical requirements, there will be at least 30% to 40% Chinese. When this aspect is almost complete, Hutchison will be able to slowly take control of McClan, and then complete the tasks assigned by me."
"Okay, in fact, there are many companies in this field in Southeast Asia. However, the technical strength is not good, but there should be a lot of Chinese talents in them. It will not be difficult to hire some people." Zhou Jiayang said.
"Okay, tell me when you're almost done." Chen Zhiwen paused and said, "The Midea laboratory over there in the United States is testing a project that uses supercomputers to use data on changes in the earth's environment to analyze where there may be Resources such as minerals or petroleum and coal have already yielded some results.”
"Is there such a technology?" Zhou Jiayang said in surprise.
"Of course, large oil companies, coal companies or some metal mining giants are all conducting research in this area. Although the probability of discovering minerals is still very low, it is much better than digging around with your eyes closed." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. : "In the mining industry, many giant companies have been established for a hundred years. If I hadn't had this opportunity, I wouldn't have been able to enter this field. In the future, Hutchison Whampoa's mining companies will have to rely on high technology if they want to become giants."
This type of technology actually exists, but even in the 21st century, the accuracy is very low. Many large oil companies have invested more than one billion dollars in a place because they believed in this kind of data. As a result, A history of losing everything. But as long as it really exists, it will make sense for Hutchison Whampoa to dig out some mineral deposits in the future. Everyone is betting on probabilities, but I have better luck.
Of course, this aspect itself is also a technical direction. After Hutchison Whampoa has achieved certain results, it will also invest in in-depth research in this aspect.
"I am really ignorant about this. I never thought that the development of the computer field could actually affect the mining industry." Zhou Jiayang said.
"There are still many things that can be affected in the future." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. Computers and the subsequent Internet can be said to be half of the industrial revolution. No matter what industry, efficiency has been greatly improved because of the emergence of the Internet. In this In the process, many traditional companies have been eliminated. Ultimately, it is because they have not kept up with the technological revolution.
"Then I have to learn more about computers." Zhou Jiayang said.
"There's no harm in learning more." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
"On the domestic side, maybe because we don't have too many excessive demands, the Yanjing Municipal Government and the TJ Municipal Government have agreed in principle to a cooperation plan with us to build the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Expressway. I am going to allocate an additional 2 million yuan first. U.S. dollars will arrange for a domestic construction team to first examine possible problems along the entire route and determine the route. After the approval of the domestic government, it is estimated that the route will be almost determined, or at least some sections of the road can be determined. In this way Come, we can start construction directly when the time comes." Zhou Jiayang continued.
"Okay, this little money doesn't matter, time is more important. Has it been disclosed by the domestic side? When will it be confirmed?" Chen Zhiwen asked. A mere US$2 million is just a drop in the bucket for Hutchison Whampoa today. Let's pay it in advance. If so, even if it saves a few months, it is worth it. Besides, the money paid now can also be counted when the cooperation is confirmed later.
The construction of expressways is a very complex project, and demolition and other matters are trivial matters. Today's domestic arrangements are very good in this regard, and Hutchison Whampoa is not stingy. Whenever something is to be demolished, a new one will be built nearby. , of course, this land needs to be arranged by the local government.
What is more troublesome are the water networks and mountains that may exist along the way. These places must either build bridges or build tunnels. This requires very early planning, and you may even have to prepare many different plans. For each plan, you must calculate the cost, distance, and requirements. The impact on the surrounding environment and economy, etc., will then be reviewed internally and submitted to relevant national departments for approval, which will take a long time.
However, a highway itself will be completed piece by piece. Whichever section is determined first, that section will be built first. Even one section of road will take a long time. During this time, other sections of road will definitely be completed. , this way it won’t be a waste of time to follow one link after another.
"Okay, then the domestic side can start construction first, but Hutchison Infrastructure doesn't have any talents who are proficient in highways, so we still have to rely on the country for this." Zhou Jiayang said.
"There shouldn't be one in China, right?" Chen Zhiwen asked. Before the change, the main mode of transportation in the country was trains, and there were basically no high-speeds. Even many officials from the Ministry of Transport didn't know much about it. After the change, they went abroad to visit. I learned that the efficiency of high-speed trains far exceeds that of trains.
"Yes, none, but the country has also invited some experts in this field from abroad, which can be considered a bit basic." Zhou Jiayang said.
"Then we have to send some of our people there. Even if they don't know much about the profession, they should know at least the basics. In the future, highways will be one of the focuses of our domestic investment." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, Hutchison Whampoa's team has a fairly good understanding of port infrastructure. There should be no problem in replicating this aspect in China. However, when it comes to high speeds, the basics are zero, and they still need to learn more.
"Okay, I will also arrange for a team to go there." Zhou Jiayang nodded and agreed.
(End of chapter)
