Saudi Arabia's work efficiency is extremely high. After seeing the amazing performance of the J-8 III, Hatim immediately verbally committed to the purchase intention of 80 J-8s and proactively declared that the purchase would be a general contract.
In other words, the follow-up maintenance and weapons supply are all the responsibility of China, and they are only responsible for one thing:
Pay the money!
"So, for 180 J-8 IIIs, your quotation...should give us a discount this time, right?"
Hatim looked at Wang Ming and asked with a half-smile.
Wang Ming also gave him a sincere smile, and then said:
"Hatim, what was your original budget for purchasing the Mirage 2000?"
"This is confidential information, I'm afraid I can't tell you..."
Hatim looked at Wang Ming helplessly and continued to add:
"Okay, I understand what you mean, but the fact is that internationally, everyone still believes that the Mirage 2000 is a better third-generation aircraft than the J-8 III, even if it is just in terms of 'goodwill'. You don’t have an advantage either.”
"I can't give you a quote based on the contract with the French - even if I wanted to, my boss wouldn't agree."
"The J-8 III is, after all, an untested fighter, and our credibility in weapons has just suffered a major blow."
"So, I can only give an offer that is relatively reasonable in my mind."
Wang Ming nodded to express understanding, and then said:
"That's reasonable -- but what is a reasonable offer?"
"It depends on how much you want."
Hatim deliberately remained silent. Although the rumor that "one finger represents 100 million U.S. dollars" was just a rumor spread by rumors, judging from the situation at the time, the budget held by Saudi Arabia did far exceed China's psychological quotation.
For those 35 Dongfeng-3 missiles, the Saudi royal family has prepared a budget of US$8 billion, while China's psychological quotation is only US$50 million each.
After the first round of exploratory negotiations, Saudi Arabia's budget was quickly exposed, and its flaws were gradually discovered in the later stages.
The negotiation lasted for half a year and ended with China raising the price to US$100 million.
Although even at this price, Saudi Arabia is still making a lot of money and may save a little, after all, no one will spend money in vain.
Therefore, in all subsequent arms import negotiations, Saudi Arabia learned wisely and most of the time waited for China to take the initiative to make an offer.
Although the result is not much better...
Wang Ming obviously guessed what Hatim was thinking. He stepped forward with a smile on his face, patted the other person on the shoulder, and said:
"Hatim, my friend, most of the quotations for a Mirage 2000 on the international market are in the range of 55 million to 57 million US dollars, and our J-8 has some gaps with it in terms of avionics and radar, and other systems The performance even exceeds it.”
"So, I won't ask for more from you."
"How about a fixed price of 50 million?"
"...Ming, are you kidding me? There is no way I can explain this price to the royal family."
"No, no, no, you can definitely explain it to them. You know, they are just a group of people who don't understand technology or weapons at all, and just like to watch the fun... I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't say that to those royal members. .”
"But it's a fact, right? As long as you drive the J-8 III back and fly around, I can guarantee that they will sign this contract without hesitation."
Hearing this, Hatim shook his head seriously and said:
"No, that's absolutely impossible."
"Ming, we are not that rich now. I can only give you a maximum of 7 billion US dollars for this order, including all maintenance, training services, and the first batch of random weapons and equipment."
"Moreover, you also need to provide us with priority procurement rights - we must get these fighter jets as soon as possible and form combat effectiveness as soon as possible."
Wang Ming frowned in confusion and said hesitantly:
"This quote is really too low... You have to know that this is a fighter jet that we have spent a lot of effort to successfully modify."
"I don't know how many researchers have worked hard for it, and some young children even collapsed at work from exhaustion."
"Their only hope is to see the day when this aircraft takes to the skies and can openly confront those so-called third-generation aircraft in the West."
"so....."
"We want an advance payment."
Hatim sighed and asked:
"What proportion?"
"60%."
"Sixty percent! Ming, you are really crazy..."
"We need money to build this plane, and the more urgent it is, the more start-up capital we need, right?"
Wang Ming said confidently, and Hatim thought about it for a long time and finally nodded.
"Well, I will report this news to the royal family - as a friend, I can tell you that the probability of it being passed is not low."
"However, you must ensure the quality of delivery, otherwise, I will not be able to guarantee on-time payment."
"Of course, of course!"
Wang Ming finally showed a sincere smile on his face.
He couldn't help but be unhappy.
After all, the cost of building a J-8 III at this time is only about 59 million yuan. Even if maintenance, training, and weapons are added, the total cost will not exceed 70 million yuan per unit.
Now, according to the total package quotation of US$7 billion, the single machine price has reached 300 million yuan...
Rounded up, that’s almost ten times the profit.
And Hatim most likely feels that he has made a profit.
Where can I find such good customers?
A US$7 billion contract with an advance payment of 4.2 billion. After deducting the cost of delivering a batch of fighter jets, there is still close to US$3 billion left.
The follow-up funds for Project No. 22 should be almost enough...
No, in addition to Project No. 22, the remaining funds can also be invested in other areas.
Judging from the recent macro analysis report, the domestic economy will fall into short-term difficulties, and the revenue from arms trade may be able to make up for these shortcomings.
Damn ***...Sooner or later, we will pull them down one day.
With this in mind, Wang Ming politely sent Hatim to the hotel. On the other side, He Ye from Norinco had just negotiated his first order.
The order is not big, just 40 A-300 rocket launchers, but this order also brought in nearly 200 million US dollars in revenue, and there are nearly 10 buyers with the same intention...
The only thing that has not been sold yet is the Feinu individual air defense missile, but neither Wang Ming nor He Ye is worried about this.
Because they know that from a macro perspective, the war in Iraq will never end in the short term, and once it turns into a security war, a steady stream of weapons orders will pour into China.
By that time, making money will not be difficult at all.
The only thing that needs to be considered is whether to sell it, and if so, how to sell it...
