Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 910 Early Planning for the Financial Market
After seeing the guests off, Yang Wendong said to his assistant, "Have Wei Zetao, Zheng Zhijie, and Fang Xianming come over here."

"Yes, Mr. Yang," the assistant replied.

After a while, Fang Xianming, Zheng Zhijie, and Wei Zetao arrived at Yang Wendong's office: "Have a seat. People from the mainland just came over; they want to..."

After listening to the boss's brief description, Zheng Zhijie said, "It would be good to secure an important customer for our future mine. Although iron ore is not hard to sell now, it is always better to be more stable. Moreover, it is hard to say what the situation will be like many years from now. The supply and demand market for these commodities often fluctuates dramatically."

“Well, no matter what, we must take this cooperation with Baosteel seriously. You will personally lead the team to negotiate with the domestic side, and also cooperate with Rio Tinto. It will be tough for you during this period.” Yang Wendong continued, “Baosteel may only be a part of the iron ore imported into the mainland in the future. I estimate that their other steel plants will also use foreign iron ore in the future. This is an important opportunity for us.”

In the future, the vast majority of iron ore in the mainland will be imported from overseas. Yang Wendong is not clear about the specific internal situation, but he knows this much.
Wei Zetao asked, "Doesn't China also have a lot of iron ore?"

Yang Wendong said, "It's probably because of the poor quality. Iron ore transportation consumes resources like railways and oil, which is not as convenient as sea routes. In many cases, having iron ore is useless. As for domestic iron ore, well, it's a long story."

China does not lack iron ore, but the quality of iron ore is really not good, and most of it is located in remote areas, making transportation costs extremely high.
Australia, on the other hand, is situated on iron ore deposits, with exceptionally high iron ore content. Some areas are also relatively close to the sea, and the terrain is predominantly plains, which facilitates railway construction.
Wei Zetao said, "That's true. Nowadays, steel mills have increasingly higher requirements for iron ore. Taiwan and Japan mainly import high-quality iron ore."

"Later, we'll also inquire with steel mills in Japan and Taiwan to see if we can reach some long-term cooperation agreements. It's better to have stability in large-scale iron ore business." Yang Wendong added, "Also, Lao Wei, the steel business within the group is under your management. You can follow up with the domestic authorities and see if we can build a large-scale steel plant in China."

“Yes, Mr. Yang.” Wei Zetao agreed and said, “The container business is getting better and better. The annual demand for steel has exceeded one million tons. Looking at the future trend, it is possible that it will increase several times over. If we can produce steel ourselves, it will indeed save a lot of costs.”

Yang Wendong said, "After controlling costs, we can further seize the container market, which is the most important thing; moreover, steel plays a huge role in the inland areas, but I am not sure if we can enter the domestic market."

"Given the current domestic policies, it's unlikely they will open their market to us, which would inevitably lead to a loss of foreign exchange," Wei Zetao analyzed.

Changxing Industrial has already invested in many factories in China and is very familiar with domestic policies. One of the core purposes of attracting foreign-invested factories in China is to earn foreign exchange.

It is extremely difficult for foreign-invested factories to come in and earn foreign exchange, unless they are producing products that cannot be made domestically and that involve national defense or other major needs.

This is also why many foreign investors are unwilling to enter the mainland market; they only want to earn foreign exchange in China.

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Here's what we'll do, Lao Wei. When negotiating with the domestic authorities, we should clearly tell them that even if we earn RMB through the steel factory in the next 10 or 15 years, we will not exchange it for foreign currency and leave."

What I want is a large-scale factory with an internal operating cycle, which can then enter the domestic market and reinvest the profits domestically.

As a large global conglomerate, and with the mainland becoming the world's largest economy in the future, it naturally had no need to withdraw its profits after earning some RMB in the 80s.

Continuing to invest internally is the most cost-effective approach. Even the simplest method, such as investing in infrastructure or building houses, will yield huge profits in the future.
Wei Zetao understood what his boss meant and said, "Okay, I understand."

Yang Wendong nodded, then looked at Fang Xianming and asked, "Old Fang, how's the financial situation in Hong Kong lately? Have any new policies been introduced by Jack?"

In May of this year, the previous governor, Murray MacLehose, left office, and the new governor's name is Jacks.

This is a major change in history. Yang Wendong also remembers that in the past, the governor after MacLehose was called Youde, but now it has been changed.
It seems that Yang Wendong, in the early 70s, although he had a certain influence in Hong Kong, did not affect the British side, so Murray MacLehose took office normally; but now, he had invested heavily in Europe and the United States in the late 70s, influencing too many people, which caused the timeline to change.

However, Yang Wendong was not too concerned about this. His existence would inevitably interfere with spacetime. The greater his influence, the more it would affect. Perhaps, he could even influence the replacement of the US president.

Of course, this wasn't something he deliberately changed; it's just that the butterfly effect is hard to control, and Yang Wendong could only let it be.
Fang Xianming said: "Governor Jacks' side is probably not very clear about the current economic situation in Hong Kong. For now, everything is still following MacLehose's strategy. Based on past experience of governors changing, it will take at least six months before there will be any changes."

However, what they need to face right now is the question of Hong Kong's future ownership, and there is increasing discussion about this issue in the market.

“Hmm, this matter involves two permanent members of the UN Security Council, so it’s quite troublesome,” Yang Wendong thought for a moment and then asked, “How many Hong Kong dollars does our group still have in Hong Kong?”

Fang Xianming paused for a moment and said, "This requires detailed statistics, but in any case, the cash alone should exceed 10 billion, and the property assets are even more."

“Let’s put the property assets aside for now. We need to convert our Hong Kong dollars into US dollars as soon as possible,” Yang Wendong said. “I estimate that the Hong Kong dollar may fluctuate later. Let’s convert it into US dollars now, and if the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate falls, we can buy it back.”

"The Hong Kong dollar exchange rate will fall?" Fang Xianming was startled and asked, "Mr. Yang, are you that pessimistic?"

“It’s not that I’m pessimistic; I have strong confidence in Hong Kong’s future. But my confidence is useless; this kind of thing depends on the entire market.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “Too many people have been under British rule for too long and have been influenced by public opinion, so their thinking ability is limited and they are prone to extremes.”
If anything major happens, they will definitely sell Hong Kong dollars and exchange them for foreign currency immediately. Those with some money may also emigrate, which will inevitably cause problems with the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate. This is why I am preparing in advance.

The value of a stock or a currency cannot always be determined solely by its actual value.
For example, in 1965, Hang Seng Bank's internal accounts and risks were completely fine, but the rumors from the outside world were too harsh, leading to a run on the bank and ultimately causing the entire bank's capital chain to collapse. Even though there were no problems, problems still arose.
The Hong Kong dollar followed the same principle in 1983. Historically, the Hong Kong government almost couldn't withstand the pressure, and it was only through the joint guarantee of the mainland and the UK that the exchange rate was stabilized.
Now, although his presence has caused many changes, it involves two permanent members of the UN Security Council, so it shouldn't be affected by him. Fang Xianming said, "Okay, I will take charge of this matter. If the Hong Kong dollar really reaches this point, I'm worried that the banking industry will also have problems. Should Hang Seng Bank also make preparations in advance?"

“Okay, have Hang Seng prepare as well. Also, cash out our real estate lending business as soon as possible. If the Hong Kong dollar has problems, the real estate market will only get worse,” Yang Wendong agreed.

Fang Xianming said, "Okay."

Yang Wendong added, "Keep your movements small and don't let outsiders find out."

“I understand.” Fang Xianming then asked, “So what should we do with these funds after we successfully convert them into US dollars? Should we invest them overseas?”

Yang Wendong smiled and shook his head, saying, "I won't invest. I'll keep it in my hands for now. If there are problems with the Hong Kong dollar, I will use the US dollars in my hands to bail out the market. In this way, I can also make more Hong Kong dollars by buying at the bottom."
Most importantly, doing this will definitely allow the Hong Kong government and the mainland to acknowledge our goodwill, and it's also an excellent opportunity for Hang Seng Bank to gain more customers in Hong Kong once again.

Hang Seng's development in Hong Kong has reached its limit; above it is HSBC, which is quasi-central bank.

To go further, a major currency crisis would be needed, which could potentially steal away HSBC's existing customers.

Fang Xianming smiled and said, "This could indeed be an opportunity for Hang Seng Bank."

“That’s settled then. For now, we’ll just wait and see.” Yang Wendong continued, “Next month, Prime Minister Thatcher will be visiting Beijing. Let’s wait and see how the two sides clash.”

Yang Wendong's influence on Britain would naturally not affect Britain's major decisions, and Thatcher would still go to Yenching in September, just as in previous history.

The process of this event may be different, but the outcome will inevitably be the same, and it will also mark the beginning of a new round of economic crisis in Hong Kong.
Zheng Zhijie said, "Britain taught Argentina a lesson in the first half of the year, and now Thatcher is carrying the momentum of victory. Too many people are worried that if the talks don't go through, a political crisis might break out. This is indeed quite uncertain."

“If Britain were that stupid, it would have perished long ago,” Yang Wendong said. “Back then, they couldn’t even defeat 17 nations, so what are they now? Moreover, Britain was able to defeat Argentina mainly because of logistical support from the United States, which is relatively close to North America. In Asia, their navy is not good either.”

This year's Falklands War gave the British Navy a chance to shine on the global stage;
In this pre-internet era, most people only know the ending, not the process, but for Yang Wendong, he naturally knew exactly what happened;
Britain did win, but it was a Pyrrhic victory, achieved with the help of the United States.
What they themselves knew was no secret to the mainland's top leadership. Besides, the rabbit of this era is not afraid of fighting on its own soil or in nearby areas, and even if the Americans came, it wouldn't work.

Cheng Chi-kit said, "We understand the reasoning, but many people in Hong Kong don't. If they panic, it will definitely cause chaos."

“We can’t control that, so we should just prepare for the worst.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “What is a crisis for many people can actually be an opportunity for us if we are prepared.”

"Yes, Mr. Yang," Fang Xianming replied.

At the end of August, Yang Wendong was invited by the newly appointed Governor of Hong Kong, Max, to attend a charity meeting at Government House.
At least half of Hong Kong's wealthy and powerful families were present this time, along with the heads of British and Chinese-owned conglomerates.

Yang Wendong naturally gave face, but at the charity meeting, he only donated one million Hong Kong dollars as a token gesture to give face to the Hong Kong government and the new governor.
It's not that Yang Wendong is unwilling to do charity. He invests tens of millions of dollars in charity in Hong Kong every year, but these are all aimed at Chinese people. This time, the Hong Kong government's charity banquet is to help Vietnamese refugees who come to Hong Kong, so Yang Wendong is naturally not very happy.

It is important to understand that the core factor contributing to the poor security situation in Hong Kong over the next few decades is these people, and even these brainless individuals may threaten Yang Wendong's safety.
Given the current status of the Cheung Hing Group in Hong Kong, major triads dare not provoke it in the slightest. In fact, because of their support in legitimate business dealings, they will do their best to protect the interests of the Cheung Hing Group. However, some ruthless gangsters are uncontrollable factors. When these people get carried away, they can do all sorts of stupid things.
In the past two years alone, many jewelry stores in Hong Kong have been robbed.

However, even Yang Wendong was helpless when faced with refugees crossing the border.

“Mr. Yang, hello.” The newly appointed Governor of Hong Kong, Max, stepped forward and shook hands.

"Hello, Governor," Yang Wendong said politely, shaking hands with him.
Having traveled through time, he has already dealt with four Hong Kong governors. Today, he is practically the de facto ruler of Hong Kong, but on the surface, he still has to give the Hong Kong government face.

“Mr. Yang, I had already heard of your great reputation when I was in England,” Max said with a smile. “Besides the normal charitable donation, there is something else I would like to discuss with you.”
Hong Kong has accepted many refugees, but these refugees are unemployed and find it difficult to live in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government cannot support them for life.

Mr. Yang, you are the largest employer in Hong Kong, so I would like to ask for your help in hiring some Vietnamese people, as their costs would certainly be lower.

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” Yang Wendong refused. “Governor, my factories haven’t done much large-scale recruitment in the last year or two, and we have no plans to do so at the moment.”

Not to mention now, even ten years ago when his factories were hiring a lot of people, he would not have allowed refugees into his factories;

However, this is something that cannot be said directly;

The political correctness of Western societies is indeed very annoying, but one can only deal with it helplessly. In my past life, so many political and business tycoons in Europe and America were also driven to ecstasy by it.
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)