Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 945 Successful Cooperation
Many officials present were overjoyed upon hearing this, as this cooperation would not only provide them with the US dollars they needed now, but also allow them to earn US dollars through future exports.

After a moment's thought, Li Jingwei said, "Mr. Yang, this matter is of great importance. Could you give us some time to discuss it?"

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Of course, but if you want to reach an agreement as soon as possible, it would be best to finalize it in the next couple of days. The specific details don't need to be determined immediately; you just need to confirm whether you want to cooperate."
I'll be spending a few days in Sanshui County, just sightseeing. If you haven't made a decision before I leave, the subsequent negotiations will be quite complicated.

In mainland China, there is no wireless signal, so communicating by phone is quite troublesome;

This puts a little pressure on the other party.

“Okay, we will negotiate as soon as possible,” Li Jingwei readily agreed.

Yang Wendong said, "Alright then, we won't bother you any longer."

Li Jingwei said, "Mr. Yang, now that you're here, please let us be the host and treat you to a meal, how about it?"

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's just grab a bite nearby."

Afterwards, the group had breakfast at a nearby guesthouse. It wasn't luxurious, just the standard for ordinary people in Hong Kong, with vegetables and meat. In mainland China at that time, especially in impoverished counties, it was considered quite good.

That afternoon, leaders from Sanshui County and some leaders from Foshan came to the Jianlibao factory and held a closed-door meeting.

"Director Li, our government would like to know your stance?" a middle-aged man in a white shirt asked.

Li Jingwei said, "Director Zhou, Jianlibao's factory is state-owned, so naturally it listens to the government. But from my perspective, cooperation is still possible."
A few years ago, I went to Shenzhen and learned about Yang Wendong. He is not only a top tycoon in Hong Kong, but also a global tycoon with businesses all over the world. He also makes beverages and his distribution channels cover Europe, America and Asia.
How much he invests in us isn't important; our factory's size is negligible to him. What's most important is getting in touch with his distribution channels and earning foreign exchange through exports.

Director Zhou asked, "Isn't Jianlibao in short supply right now? If you continue supplying it overseas, can you keep up with production?"

Li Jingwei said, "Mr. Yang also said this morning that he would invest and could also provide low-interest loans. Now that we have money, we can naturally expand our production scale."

Furthermore, even if supply falls short of demand in the future, we should prioritize supplying the international market. Everyone knows how important foreign exchange is to us.

The leaders present all nodded in agreement. Although there are still some fluctuations in policies during the country's reform and opening up, one thing is 100% certain: we must use advanced equipment and technology from overseas to improve domestic productivity.

This requires a large amount of foreign exchange. In the past few years, the country has spent huge sums of money to import various large-scale equipment, which has consumed a huge amount of foreign exchange reserves. At times, even some of the gold had to be sold.

Because of this, from central ministries to provinces and cities, there was a requirement to generate foreign exchange. Whoever could generate foreign exchange could have influence in the province or even in Beijing.

Director Zhou glanced at the people present and said, "Alright, it seems everyone agrees to cooperate. In that case, let's agree to cooperate with Mr. Yang first. As for how to cooperate later, Director Li, you are the founder of the Jianlibao brand, so this matter is entrusted to you."

"Okay, I understand." Li Jingwei nodded, then asked, "Should I visit Mr. Yang tonight, or tomorrow morning?"

Director Zhou said, "Don't go at night, they need to rest too. How about this, I'll inform Mr. Yang's secretary about the cooperation this evening, and then I'll arrange for tomorrow morning to see if Mr. Yang has time to come and discuss it with you."

Li Jingwei said, "Okay, thank you very much, Director Zhou."

"Well, I hope Director Li can finalize this deal." Director Zhou continued, "The province attaches great importance to attracting Hong Kong capital, but Sanshui County has never achieved much."
If we can cooperate with Mr. Yang this time, it will be a key bargaining chip for China Merchants Group when lobbying other Hong Kong businessmen in the future. Therefore, I urge Director Li to fulfill the organization's mission.

Li Jingwei quickly replied, "I guarantee to complete the mission, esteemed leaders."

That evening, Yang Wendong received a request from Jianlibao to cooperate, so he naturally agreed to Li Jingwei's request to come and discuss the matter the next morning.

"Daddy, why do you value this Jianlibao so much?" Yang Zhiwen asked curiously, noticing the expression on his father's face after he hung up the phone.

People from Sanshui or Florida may not be very clear about this, but as the eldest son of the Yang family, he has come to know during this time what kind of business empire his father has built in his lifetime.

Even in the niche beverage market under Watsons, Red Bull almost monopolizes the global sports drink market, and Very Cola can compete with Coca-Cola and Pepsi in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Moreover, the Yang family are shareholders of Coca-Cola and Pepsi respectively, with shares worth more than $10 billion.
Although Jianlibao has recently become somewhat popular in China thanks to the Olympics, its total value is only a few million.

With this amount of money, even if Yang Wendong were to come across it, Zhou Haoran might not personally get involved; he could simply assign a subordinate to do it.

"I guess you do value it somewhat," Yang Wendong nodded and said, "However, there is an even more important purpose: to involve you in our future collaborations and investments with the mainland."
Besides, I also wanted to choose a poor area so that you, young master, could see it for yourself, which is why I personally brought you here.”

My son is right. Even if Jianlibao has great potential in the future, it's still just a small company now. Sending someone over to negotiate will make no difference.

The core purpose was, in a way, to train my son.

In addition, Li Jingwei is quite capable; there are few people in the entire history of reform and opening up who can compare with him. It's not a loss for him to come and meet him.

Anyway, he would need to stay in the mainland before the National Day holiday. It didn't have to be in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. It would be nice to visit the countryside in the mainland. It could also evoke memories of his childhood in his previous life.

That was one of the happiest times of his life.

Yang Zhiwen said, "Thank you, Daddy."

"No need to thank me, this is what I should do." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Tomorrow you will follow me and learn as much as you can. In the future, if there are other investments that need to be made, I may arrange for you to do them specifically."

He has already arranged for people to research the various potential giants in mainland China in the future;

But many future giants are still small businesses at this time. It's fine for him to come personally once or twice, but it's impossible to do it too often. So it's good to arrange it for his son, and also to train him a bit. Yang Zhiwen said, "Okay, Daddy."

The next day, Yang Wendong met Li Jingwei and a female secretary at his guesthouse.

"Mr. Li, please have a seat," Yang Wendong greeted politely.
Li Jingwei quickly replied, "Mr. Yang, you're too kind. Thank you."

"It's nothing." Yang Wendong didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Mr. Li, since your side has agreed to cooperate, have you considered what your terms are?"

Li Jingwei replied, "Mr. Yang, to be honest, your arrival and cooperation request were quite sudden, and I was not prepared for them."

For example, if you were to invest, I don't yet have a clear idea of ​​the valuation of my factory and brand. Therefore, I can only inform you that we intend to cooperate, but we need some time to assess the company's assets before we can calculate a suitable price.

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and asked, "You should have financial statistics every year or every six months, right?"

Li Jingwei said, "Yes, we did a survey in June this year, but as you know, after the Olympics, our demand has exceeded supply. Although the company's assets are still about the same, the brand value will take some time to be accurately determined."

“I understand,” Yang Wendong nodded and asked, “How much are your fixed assets?”

Li Jingwei replied, "It's about 360 million RMB, including all kinds of equipment, factory buildings, etc."

“In terms of brand value, Jianlibao’s brand value is indeed quite high recently. How about this, I’ll add another 500 million RMB to your brand value,” Yang Wendong said. “What do you think? That’s even higher than the value of your factory.”

“500 million RMB?” Li Jingwei’s expression changed, and he immediately said, “Mr. Yang, I think 500 million is not enough.”

Yang Wendong asked with a smile, "You seem quite confident. So, what do you think it should be?"

For the average mainland Chinese, the value of a brand might not be well understood; however, Li Jingwei is one of the most outstanding people since the reform and opening up, and having been to Hong Kong, he should have a deeper understanding.

Li Jingwei thought for a moment and said, "At least ten million RMB, Mr. Yang. To be honest, even without your investment, I was already planning to expand on a large scale with loans. The domestic market demand is too high right now. Ten million RMB is not a long time for me to earn."
"The funds you provide are secondary in our cooperation; what I value most is the foreign exchange you can bring and the opportunity for Jianlibao to expand internationally."

“You’re being quite honest,” Yang Wendong nodded. “Alright, let’s make it 1000 million. Jianlibao is indeed very popular in China. How many shares are you prepared to give up?”

Li Jingwei said, "We can give up 20% of the shares."

"20%? That's too little?" Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "According to the law, foreign investment can only hold a maximum of 49% of the shares. I think 49% is appropriate."

Li Jingwei said, "Mr. Yang, this ratio is a bit too high."

Yang Wendong asked curiously, "Mr. Li, as far as I know, Sanshui Beverage Factory is a purely state-owned enterprise, right? Although you are the factory director, you don't own any shares, so why bother about that?"

Li Jingwei shook his head and said, "That's true, but I will still consider it from our perspective."

“Okay, before I invest, you should indeed consider the government’s perspective,” Yang Wendong said. “But if I buy a larger share, I will naturally provide more support. For example, banks in Hong Kong can lend you up to ten million US dollars, and I can sign the guarantee on your behalf, and the interest rate won’t be very high.”
This is a benefit that countless Hong Kong companies desire; even some companies in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou on the mainland don't offer this treatment.

"Ten million US dollars?" Upon hearing this, Li Jingwei's expression changed slightly.
Yang Wendong continued: "Furthermore, as I said yesterday, after the investment, I will help Jianlibao expand into overseas markets, which will require me to utilize my channel resources in multiple overseas countries."
A 20% stake is too little. If you insist on this, I can invest, but forget about bank loans and overseas channels.

“This…” Li Jingwei hesitated for a moment, then said, “Mr. Yang, please allow me to discuss this with the government again.”

“Okay.” Yang Wendong nodded and said, “Please do it as soon as possible. Also, if our cooperation is successful and Jianlibao achieves certain results in a few years, it can be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.”

"Going public?" Li Jingwei hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mr. Yang, wouldn't going public just be selling the shares to other people for no reason? If we weren't short of money, it doesn't seem necessary, does it?"

"Haha, I won't go into too much detail about this. You can study it at your own pace later." Yang Wendong smiled and didn't explain further.

Many people feel unhappy that going public means making money off others;
Little did they know that after the company went public, making money through finance would be the most profitable activity, potentially even more so than the core business itself.

Historically, Liu Cheng made his fortune through the stock market because he discovered that trading stocks was far more profitable than running a real business. Not to mention, after a listed company expands, there are many legal ways to transfer the company's profits to his own family.

This is one of the reasons why most large companies in the world are publicly listed companies;

Of course, this applies to ordinary people. For time travelers like Yang Wendong, companies that haven't reached their peak and rely on his prophetic abilities naturally won't go public. But for normal companies like Hutchison Whampoa, it doesn't matter.

Li Jingwei agreed, "Okay, I will get back to you as soon as possible."

“Then I’ll wait for Mr. Li’s good news,” Yang Wendong replied.

According to his memory, in the original history, Li Jingwei's final fate was due to equity disputes. He even thought about listing in Hong Kong, but it was too late.
Now that I'm investing myself, maybe I can change his fate.

Two days later, Yang Wendong received a definite reply: Sanshui County agreed to his request to take a 49% stake in the cooperation.
Yang Wendong then arranged for someone from Changxing Financial to stay in Sanshui County to conduct a detailed review;

Although he had already provided a valuation, the investment will still go through the formal process. In any case, it doesn't matter to Yang Wendong, as long as the final result is the same.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)