Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 243: The SAARC economic model is simply unsustainable and an economic crisis is imminent.
As autumn turns to winter, fine snowflakes begin to fall from the sky in Japan.

Japan suffered a severe drought this year. Although it was not that serious, coupled with Japan's extremely bad social conditions after the war, it was really a disaster.

Although this little snow is not heavy, the moisture it brings seems to be a little hope falling on Japan.

Of course, it's a bit cold too.

Shimomura Osamu tightened his already thin leather jacket, stomped his slightly stiff feet, lowered his head and hurried along pushing his bicycle, occasionally glancing at the old watch on his wrist.

He has fallen three times on the way to work, and he really doesn't dare to ride a bike anymore. There is a lot of hidden ice on the damn broken road. The government's pitiful finances and the scarce material environment in society make it impossible to use salt to melt the ice.

There was no other way, so he had to ignore the pain in his legs and jog all the way to the Ministry of Finance to work with the cart.

As an ordinary bank policy committee member in his thirties, he is the economic pillar of his family. The current economic situation is not good and the government lacks fiscal revenue. Marshal Mai is even a little dissatisfied with their Japanese government and wants reform.

It is said that another batch of civil servants will be laid off.

He didn't want to leave a bad impression on his boss by being late. If he was laid off, he, a top student who graduated from the University of Tokyo, would probably not be able to find a decent job. Then his wife would probably have to go out and seduce American soldiers into prostitution.

Even if he was not laid off, as a senior civil servant of the Ministry of Finance, he could only barely provide for his wife and children at home. In order to prevent his children from dropping out of school, he even had to take a part-time job after get off work every night.

Even from a distance away from the gate of the Ministry of Finance, he saw his own section chief attentively serving two tall and strong men in suits at the door, nodding and bowing. They were both wearing tinted sunglasses, which were very rare in that era.

Shimomura Osamu was about to go up and say hello to the section chief when he saw the usually serious and stern section chief suddenly jump up, point his finger in his direction, and shout loudly: "Two leaders, he, he is Shimomura Osamu!"

Shimomura Osamu was stunned and almost ran away in fear.

what's wrong?

Could it be that the incident of me accepting bribes has been exposed?

But I'm just a clerk and I don't charge much money. Usually I just take two boxes of cigarettes or something.

However, two men walked towards him and asked in English: "Can you speak English?"

Shimomura Osamu nodded.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Shimomura Osamu?"

Shimomura Osamu nodded again.

"Hello, Mr. Zheng wants to see you. Could you please come with us?"

"Mr. Zheng? Which Mr. Zheng?"

"SAARC Chairman, Mr. Zheng."

"Ah... okay, okay, then I... I... let me park the car first?"

But I couldn't help but be completely confused. Why would I meet such a big shot directly?
Among all the businesses he handled, the only one that had some connection with the Southern Alliance was probably the reopening of Yasuda Bank.

Yasuda was originally one of the four major chaebols before the war. He fled to Penang because he offended the military government. Now that times have changed and things have changed, it is natural for him to come back. With the support of the Southern Alliance, he has once again become the largest bank in Japan. Even all the other banks combined are not as big as him.

Shimomura Osamu's job is indeed to supervise the bank's business operations, but as a small civil servant, how could he dare to really supervise Yasuda Bank?

Besides, if Mr. Zheng really needs to contact the Japanese government for something, he should definitely go directly to Yoshida. If the Finance Minister of the Ministry of Finance wants to meet Mr. Zheng, he may have to make an appointment in advance, and even if he makes an appointment in advance, he may not be able to meet him.

Why would he look for a small employee like me?

Following the two burly men into a car, Shimomura couldn't help but ask, "What are your names, gentlemen? I wonder what Mr. Zheng wants to talk to me about..."

"I don't know. We are Mr. Zheng's personal guards. Mr. Zheng wrote a list today, saying he wanted to meet the people on the list, and you are one of them."

"what……"

Seeing Shimomura Osamu's uneasy expression, the burly man in front of him even offered him a cigarette and comforted him, "Don't worry, it must be a good thing. If it's something bad, how could a small character like you be worthy of being seen by Mr. Zheng in person?"

Shimomura Osamu nodded repeatedly, feeling that this was indeed the case, and he felt much calmer.

Soon, the car drove into the campus of his alma mater, the University of Tokyo, and Shimomura Osamu became more and more surprised.

After chatting with the two bodyguards, I learned that Mr. Zheng has been working on various university campuses for most of this period, and has been personally in charge of the relocation of eight Japanese universities to Singapore and Penang.

Instead, the relocation of factories and technical engineers was left to the two Toyota brothers and Li Xiaoshi, who was in charge of external affairs in the Southern Alliance.

After all, relocating factories and workers can create benefits for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and make up for its shortcomings. Once these people arrive in Singapore, they can immediately generate benefits for the existing bosses in Nanyang. Zheng Yi has already taken his share by spending money to buy shares.

These people can coordinate all the problems arising during the relocation process by themselves, and general minor problems can be left to people like Li Xiaoshi, Lin Shaoliang, Chen Liushi, and Qian Qiwen to handle.

However, relocating the school is an investment in the future after all, and it is a pure money-losing business for the time being. Moreover, so far, the teachers and students who have moved there are all Japanese. It is hard to say how motivated the people from the Southern Association for Regional Cooperation will be. They may even pretend to obey and secretly make trouble.

Zheng Yi decided to allow Japanese students to transfer to Singapore directly without any conditions and continue their studies seamlessly. In the next few years, Chinese students will even have to take exams together with Japanese students, and their written test scores will be treated equally. Apart from not having to learn an extra language, Chinese students will have almost no advantages over Japanese students.

There is actually quite a lot of opposition to this matter within the SAARC.

So Zheng Yi decided to keep an eye on it personally and take care of any problems he might have. He expected that no one in Singapore would dare to neglect it, and he could handle any problems during the migration process personally.

Compared with Japan's pre-war industrial foundation, Zheng Yi has always believed that Japan's pre-war education is the greatest national heritage of Japanese society.

At this time, sitting in a car on the campus of the University of Tokyo, Shimomura Osamu returned to his alma mater. Looking at the snowflakes drifting outside the window and the sparse crowd, he couldn't help but feel like crying.

When I was in school, this place was so lively.

Today, the campus of Tokyo University is deserted, and only a few students can be seen after half a day.

However, these students all had rosy cheeks, looked energetic, and were dressed warmly, unlike him who was so thin.

Shimomura Osamu knew that most of the teachers and students in the school should have boarded the ship. At this time, seven or eight out of ten people from the University of Tokyo had already left, so it seemed so deserted. The remaining students were not unwilling to leave, but were just queuing and it was not their turn yet.

However, in today's Japanese society, people are starving and freezing everywhere, and women have become prostitutes. However, these students on the campus of the University of Tokyo can still talk and laugh. It is obvious that they do not look like they have been bullied by life. These college students obviously have sufficient material support.

The Japanese government certainly did not spend this money to guarantee the lives of college students. Shimomura Osamu himself is a civil servant of the Ministry of Finance. He knows where every penny of the national finances is spent, at least he knows the bulk of it.

Then the only possible support would be material support from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

The sunny smiles on the students' faces seemed so out of place in this difficult era, as if they were two different worlds apart.

However, this also shows that Mr. Zheng really values ​​these college students and does not discriminate against them just because they are Japanese. It is highly likely that these people will be sincerely accepted after arriving in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

but……

If the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is willing to sincerely accept them, will these people still be Japanese in the future?
This is equivalent to losing an entire generation of social elites, the backbone of Japan as a country. What about the future...

Hey ~
For a moment, Shimomura Osamu didn't know whether he should thank Zheng Yi or hate Zheng Yi.

As a Japanese, he was very grateful to Mr. Zheng for being willing to lend a hand during this difficult time for Japan, and for putting aside past grudges and allowing these Japanese elites to gain a new life in another land.

But as a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance, I can't help but worry about the future of Japan as a country.

"Mr. Shimomura, we're here. Please come up with us."

Soon, the vehicle stopped at the main office building. Xiacun noticed that the entire office building was filled with armed Chinese people standing guard. When he got out of the car, the armed guards cast their cold eyes over him, scanning him from top to bottom, from head to toe.

A Chinese man came over and whispered a few words in Chinese to the two bodyguards, which he couldn't understand. Then he said to him, "Mr. Shimomura, I'm sorry, but I hope you can cooperate."

After saying that, without caring whether he agreed or not, he started to search his body all over and even confiscated the pen he was carrying.

Only after making sure that he did not have any weapons that might be used to attack him did they let him go upstairs.

"Mr. Zheng is waiting for you in the reception room on the third floor. Please."

Shimomura Osamu: “Thank you.”

Xiacun didn't dare to express any dissatisfaction. He just touched it. After all, he was going to meet Mr. Zheng.

With some trepidation, Shimomura Osamu went up to the third floor.

"Hello, may I ask your name?"

A very beautiful woman wearing a slim and gorgeous kimono saluted him in a very standard Japanese manner.

"Um... hello, I'm Osamu Shimomura, a member of the Banking Policy Committee of the Ministry of Finance."

"Ah, so you are Professor Shimomura. Hello, I am Mr. Zheng Yi's personal secretary. My name is Yamamoto Fujiko."

"Personal secretary? Ah~, oh, hello, hello, my apologies."

Shimomura Osamu reacted quickly and bowed repeatedly to Yamamoto Fujiko.

What is a personal secretary? Is she the same as a lover?

I heard that concubines are still allowed in Nanyang, and Zheng Yi has more than one wife. However, it is obvious that as a Japanese, Yamamoto Fujiko is not even qualified to be a concubine, and can only follow Zheng Yi without any official status.

It is indeed beautiful.

As a man, it was not difficult for him to understand. After all, Zheng Yi was almost forty years old, and his three wives were of similar age to him. He even heard that one of them was much older than him.

For an old couple in their forties, no matter how loving and friendly they are emotionally, they may really not have any physical desire.

Men are very loyal. No matter what time, they will always like young, beautiful girls in their twenties.

For Mr. Zheng, perhaps the biggest advantage of Japanese women is that you don't have to take responsibility after having fun with them.

"Mr. Shimomura, please come this way. This is the reception room. Please wait here for a moment. Mr. Zheng has a lot of guests to meet today and is very busy. I will call you when it's your turn."

"Okay, please."

Shimomura Osamu looked inside and saw four people already waiting there respectfully with their backs straight. There was a cup of tea in front of them, but it was obvious that none of them drank it.

When they saw him coming, these people actually stood up in unison and nodded at him rather stiffly.

He nodded back at them.

A young man who looked very handsome couldn't help but ask, "Anong...sir, is this man also here to meet Mr. Zheng?"

Shimomura Osamu: "Here, Shimomura Osamu is an ordinary civil servant in the Ministry of Finance, responsible for supervising the Bank of Japan."

"Eh? Are you an official from the Ministry of Finance? Red Bean Paste."

"Huh?" Shimomura Osamu thought to himself that he was just an ordinary civil servant in the Ministry of Finance. Red Bean Mud was nothing. Everyone in this room was waiting to meet Zheng Yi. In his opinion, his status must be the lowest among these people.

"What's your name, young man?"

"Ah, my name is Tezuka Osamu, and I'm a doctor of medicine who hasn't graduated from Osaka University yet. Oh, and I also draw some comics when I have free time."

"Huh? A doctor who hasn't graduated yet?"

Why does Zheng Yi want to see a doctor?
Another person introduced himself: "Hello, leader. My name is Kurosawa Akira, and I am currently a film director."

"Eh?"

"Hello, leader. My name is Yasunari Kawabata, and I'm a novelist."

"Hello, leader. My name is Yukio Mishima. I'm a law student at the University of Tokyo and have also worked as a magazine editor."

Shimomura Haru: "…………"

A doctor who draws comics, a director who is involved in gangs, a novelist, and a law student who worked as an editor.

What kind of combination is this?

From this perspective, he, a civil servant of the Ministry of Finance, really has the highest status among this group of people.

But this made Shimomura Osamu even more confused about why Zheng Yi wanted to meet him today.

They are not even close to each other at all.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Yamamoto Fujiko came back and said, "Mr. Shimomura, it's ok. Mr. Zheng wants to see you."

"see me?"

Shimomura Osamu was stunned. He turned his head and glanced at the four people still waiting in the reception room, and realized that he had cut in line.

Or perhaps Mr. Zheng was not calling the roll in the order of first come first served. At that moment, he did not dare to be negligent. He quickly straightened the corners of his suit and followed Yamamoto Fujiko to Zheng Yi's office.

It was the first time that Shimomura Osamu met such a big shot. He was a little different from what he had imagined. Mr. Zheng looked thinner than he had imagined, dressed casually, and wore glasses. He really looked like an intellectual, not a great leader who could almost influence Asian politics.

"Mr. Shimomura Osamu? Come, sit down. Do you want to smoke? Oh, never mind. You'd better not smoke. Cambridge, go get Mr. a cup of coffee."

As he spoke, he picked up a cigar cutter and cut off the end of the cigar he was smoking.

"Sir, your lungs are not in good condition. You should stop smoking in the future. If you have time, you can go to the hospital for a physical examination and check your lungs. If there is no problem, I hope you will take better care in the future."

My impression is that in history, Osamu Shimomura seemed to have suffered from severe tuberculosis and was tormented by illness for the rest of his life.

Of course, Shimomura Osamu was still very young at this time and didn't look sick, so he should be fine.

So Zheng Yi just mentioned it like that.

Shimomura Osamu: “Uh…ah?”

But suddenly, she was a little confused by Zheng Yi's inexplicable concern.

But he kept saying, "Thank you very much, Mr. Zheng."

As Zheng Yi's position grew, he sometimes stopped caring about what was reasonable and what was not. He simply did whatever he wanted. There was no need for a superior to explain his intentions to those below him. In fact, there was no explanation.

Zheng Yi just received a fax today, and learned that something happened in Southeast Asia again. There was a little conflict between the Chinese and Malays, and a civil war broke out between the Burmese and Karen people. Hu Wenhu was also waiting for him to make a decision. More importantly, in Haiphong Port, a group of French people re-landed and planned to take back the management of Vietnam. They clashed with the SAARC people and fired shots. The specific casualties on both sides are still unclear.

Everything happened at the same time.

In addition, he had been away for a long time, so he planned to return to Southeast Asia within this month, before New Year's Day 1947.

Almost everything that needed to be explained on the Japanese side had been explained. Ho Shai-lai would remain in Japan as the representative of the Southern Asian Alliance in the Allied Command. He would be responsible for handling any matters. When major issues arose, Lee Hsiao-shih and Lin Shaoliang could also come to help. If things really didn't work out, he could just come back.

Precisely because he was about to leave, Zheng Yi planned to continue packing up and take away all the people he thought would be important to Japan in the next twenty years.

However, they are mainly talents in humanities and social sciences. After all, scientists in science and engineering have already arrived in Singapore, and Zheng Yi has no interest in those political talents. He cannot really let Japanese politicians take up management positions in their SAARC.

As for those so-called entrepreneurs, Zheng Yi was even less interested. Times had changed, and most of those entrepreneurs were already in Singapore. Even if they were still in Japan, it was uncertain whether they could succeed.

Naturally, most of the remaining celebrities will be in the future literary and art circles.

For example, the doctor who is pursuing a doctorate is the future father of Japanese comics, Osamu Tezuka, the author of Astro Boy. His disciple is Fujiko Fujio, who drew the iconic Japanese comic Doraemon. He can be said to be the pioneer of Japanese comics.

Although celebrities in the cultural world are not as important as future scientists in science and engineering, even a small mosquito is still meat, so Zheng Yi naturally plans to pack them up and take them away.

Moreover, even the most anti-Japanese nationalists in later generations would have to admit that Japan is doing really well in the future cultural industries and cultural exports.

Novels from the 50s, movies from the 60s, music from the 70s, anime from the 80s, games from the 90s, adult culture and the two-dimensional world after the 21st century, almost every era has truly led the world's fashion.

In terms of cultural heritage, the Japanese are indeed unique. It is precisely these decades of uninterrupted cultural output that have allowed Japan's cultural symbols to shine throughout the world and become household names, greatly enhancing Japan's status in the world.

It would be a lie to say I'm not jealous.

Since he had to dig deeper, Zheng Yi planned to take away all the talents in the humanities and social sciences in Japanese society whose names he could remember, and then learn in detail how Japan supports cultural industries and cultivates talents in the humanities and social sciences.

It doesn’t matter where you draw comics, so why not draw them in the Southern Alliance?

Anyway, Japanese culture and Chinese culture are like son and mother. When these people are in SAARC, the things they promote will naturally become SAARC culture.

Of course, in the humanities and social sciences, those people in the cultural circle are actually just supporting roles, small dishes, and the one in front of us, Osamu Shimomura, is the real feast.

Zheng Yi just happened to think of this person. His popularity was too low, but he was indeed the talent his Southern Alliance needed most at the moment, so he quickly jumped in.

"Mr. Shimomura studied economics in college, right?"

"Hi, I graduated from the Department of Economics at the University of Tokyo and am currently pursuing a doctorate degree."

"I heard that Mr. Shimomura has his own unique insights into economics. I heard that you highly respect Keynesian economic theory and are combining it with the realities of the Japanese economy to create a system called 'Shimomura Economics'?"

Upon hearing this, Shimomura Osamu quickly shook his head and said in a panic, "I don't dare to call myself a Shimomura economist. I'm still learning. Those were all my own random thoughts. I haven't even completed my doctorate yet, so how can I be considered a scholar?"

Zheng Yi shook his head and said, "Those so-called economists who have studied by professional training are just imitating others, following the footsteps of Western society. Do they deserve to be called economists? Just look at what the Nobel Prize in Economics is."

"Modern economics is essentially a humanities and social science discipline rooted in Western society and serving Western culture. It evolved within the Western political, economic, and social context, focusing on induction and summarization, while also serving politics."

"Of course, those so-called economic theories may be correct in most Western countries, but when transplanted to Asia or the East, they are bound to fail to adapt to the local conditions."

"Of course we can borrow from others, but if we copy them verbatim, we're bound to get into trouble. We're East Asians, with our Confucian civilization, so of course we also have our own economics."

"I'm very interested in Mr. Shimomura's economic theories. Could you tell me about them?"

As he spoke, Zheng Yi took out a pen and a notebook from his desk under Shimomura Osamu's almost horrified gaze, intending to take notes, just like a student in class.

Xiacunzhi's forehead and palms were covered in sweat. He swallowed hard unconsciously, and his heart was beating fast.

Osamu Shimomura is not very famous worldwide, and his popularity in China is also relatively low. After all, when the academic community talks about economics, they usually first pick theories from economists who have won the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Apart from this, most people only know about the economic theories of economists who are respected in the West, or more precisely, in the United States.

However, to be honest, Western economics is almost dead to non-Western countries.

The domestic economics community is actually quite rubbish, and there are basically no outstanding economic theories. Those economists who always mention the West, their role is just to brag. The economic theories they firmly believe in, especially macroeconomic theories, are mostly in China...tsk.

This problem is actually the same in Japan, and it is even much more serious than in China. Everyone admires those who have studied abroad, or to put it simply, everyone admires those who are recognized by the West.

The Japanese have no say in their own economic theories. Only when the American masters say they are good, then they are truly good. If the government does not implement the economic policies that the American masters say are good, it is short-sighted, feudal, and unscientific.

The so-called economics community is completely proud of licking the United States. The job of most economists is to eat the leftovers left by American experts.

Fortunately, Japan still has Osamu Shimomura.

And fortunately, there was a leader with a keen eye in Japanese history who, against all odds, discovered Shimomura Osamu and resolutely adopted Shimomura's economic theories, appointing him as the director of the Japan Institute of Economic Research, thus embarking on a path that the Western world had never taken before.

This set of economic theories is Xiacun economics.

The policy is not well-known, and is usually implemented under a more resounding name: "National Income Doubling Plan"

To understand it better, it can be summed up in four words: "East Asian Model"

It is almost the only way to overcome the "middle-income trap" after World War II.

Japan successfully became a developed country by relying on this East Asian model.

However, when its development reached a bottleneck, it faced the tremendous pressure brought about by the trade imbalance between Japan and the United States, and was suppressed by the US government in various ways. In the end, all its core industries were moved out, resulting in the failure to achieve its goal.

Later, the baton was passed to South Korea. Strictly speaking, the path that South Korea followed in its rise was also the East Asian model, that is, Shimomura economics, and it quickly climbed up the ladder and almost became a developed country.

Then, under the manipulation of the American father, the so-called democratic reforms were launched, and the country was caught in a political vortex of left-right game. The industrial policy was completely abolished, and it moved alternately to the left and right, and the country fell into growth stagnation, and the economics of the countryside went bankrupt.

After that, it was Todai that took over the baton.

From 2010 to 2020, the University of Tokyo actually imitated and borrowed a lot from Japan's "National Economic Doubling Plan", until it was interrupted in 2020.

It should be said that this so-called East Asian model was half successful in the hands of Japan and South Korea, but came to an abrupt end at the last moment.

After all, neither of them is a fully sovereign state.

I don’t know if Todai can complete the remaining half.

However, Shimomura Osamu's Shimomura Economics, at least in Zheng Yi's view, is extremely valuable in itself. Even in Zheng Yi's own cognition, this set of economic theories is almost one of the economic theories with the greatest impact on the world in human history.

Although the Western economics community does not agree with this, believing that the so-called Shimomura economics is just a continuation of Keynesian economics and has not even won a Nobel Prize, Zheng Yi has always felt that Shimomura's failure to win the Nobel Prize does not prove that Shimomura's level is not good, but rather proves the Nobel Prize in Economics...

Although it only affects the three Confucian civilizations of China, Japan and South Korea, and it is very likely that this economic theory is only applicable to these three Confucian civilizations.

At this moment, Osamu Shimomura is just over 30 years old and has not yet graduated from his doctoral program. His Shimomura Economics is naturally far from mature, but it has already taken shape.

The strength of this man lies in his ability to digest and absorb Western theories, and to analyze specific issues in light of Japan's actual situation. He does not blindly worship the West, nor does he just slap his thigh and take things for granted. Instead, he analyzes a large amount of real economic data from his many years of practical experience working in the Ministry of Finance, as well as from the market, black market, bank deposits, etc.

However, precisely because of this, his status in Japan at this time was basically equivalent to what the Chinese understand as a folk scientist, or a boastful blogger on the Internet, a typical wild expert. No one in the Ministry of Finance took his words seriously, and they just regarded him as bragging and talking nonsense.

It was a rare opportunity to meet an audience who was willing to listen to him, and the audience was of such a high status. Shimomura Osamu was really excited and started talking to Zheng Yi incessantly.

Through the combination of practice and theory, I chatted with Zheng Yi for more than two hours, but Zheng Yi did not find it boring. Instead, he listened with great interest and took notes seriously from time to time.

This made Yamamoto Fujiko and Li Jianqiao next door stunned and looked at each other in confusion.

You should know that since Zheng Yi came to Japan, among the Japanese people he met, there were only a handful of people with whom he could talk for more than two hours.

Although Zheng Yi gave a long list this time, he actually only talked to each person for seven or eight minutes, and then asked if you are willing to go back to Singapore with me, and what position he can offer you.

Then it was handed over to Li Jianqiao to take and make arrangements.

And now, this Shimomura Osamu had been talking for more than two hours. There were already more than twenty Japanese people waiting in line outside for an interview. Yamamoto Fujiko went in and refilled their water eight times, but Shimomura Osamu was still talking.

It was not until more than two hours later that Shimomura Osamu stopped talking, perhaps because he was tired of chatting. Zheng Yi nodded contentedly and wiggled his fingers.

It has been a long time since I wrote something so long myself, and I feel a little tired, but I also feel that I have gained a lot.

Of course, Zheng Yi also knew that everything Murashi said was a conclusion drawn from observations of Japan's economy and society, and was not applicable to all countries.

So I asked, "Mr. Shimomura, do you think there are any obvious problems with the current economic model of our SAARC? What kind of economic policies should be formulated in the future to enable SAARC to continue to move forward, break through the shackles, and get out of the economic crisis?"

As he spoke, Zheng Yi actually took the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Shimomura Osamu.

Shimomura Osamu: "This... I don't have enough knowledge about the Southern Alliance, but if I'm not mistaken, the Southern Alliance's current development is probably about to reach a bottleneck."

Zheng Yi did not deny it and said, "That's true. The Southern Alliance is expanding too fast now. Although some things may not appear to be problematic at the moment, they have indeed planted hidden dangers."

"Penang was previously the economic engine of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and Penang was a typical high-value-added exporter. This was achieved by firstly attracting foreign investment through preferential policies and the influx of multinational corporations, and secondly by earning extremely high profits from its petrochemical-based manufacturing industry."

“As for the rest of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), to be honest, they are currently just vassals of Penang’s economy, eating up Penang’s resources and using Penang’s resources.”

Shimomura Osamu: "Excuse me, Penang's consistently high profits... can they still be maintained?"

Zheng Yi nodded. "It's true that we can't sustain it anymore. During the war, the oil refining and electrical machinery industries were building a large number of factories. The essence of Penang's super high profits is technology plus scale. And now the United States has built a large number of factories that are no less powerful than Penang's petrochemical plants."

"Plus, the war has just ended, so Europeans don't have much money, and Americans don't have much either. And they can almost produce it themselves, so there's still some profit. As a business, it can still be said to be quite profitable, but it's definitely not exorbitant anymore."

"The current profit margins of the seven petrochemical plants are between 20% and 30%, and unless something unexpected happens, they will continue to decline in the next few years."

As he spoke, Zheng Yi couldn't help but sigh.

Such an elite situation itself is not beyond Zhengyi's expectations. It is impossible for the chemical industry to maintain huge profits all the time, so it is normal for the profits to fall.

In terms of profit margin alone, Taiyou Machinery is now almost surpassing Penang Petrochemical, and Zheng Yi knows very well that Taiyou Machinery's good days will only last for a few years, and it will definitely decline in a few years.

A profit margin of 5%-10% in the manufacturing industry is normal, and the technological dividend cannot last a lifetime.

If Zheng Yi was just an ordinary entrepreneur, this profit margin would certainly not be unacceptable. It might even be a cash cow with very stable profits.

However, Zheng Yi wants to be the leader of the Southern Alliance. If he wants these chemical industries to develop rapidly along with the entire Southern Alliance, that is definitely not enough.

As for having been a God of Wealth, Zheng Yi actually always knew what the drawbacks of doing so were, that is, the per capita GDP was inflated, and the people's income could hardly keep up with the rate of price increases. Although it was like boiling oil on a raging fire, what they enjoyed was the spillover effect of the capital itself.

However, the spillover effect is limited after all, and the radiation distance is extremely short. In the past, Zheng Yi's territory only had Penang, and the small Penang could have no problem relying entirely on spillover. However, now the influence of the Southern Asia Alliance has expanded too fast, almost radiating to the entire Southeast Asia.

It’s nonsense to count on this spillover effect.

To put it bluntly, in terms of getting the God of Wealth, Zheng Yi's model is not much different from that of Luxembourg, Ireland, Singapore, and even Hong Kong Island in later generations.

too small.

It cannot lead the entire SAARC, which has now expanded.

Zheng Yi: "Currently, the economic engine of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is actually Singapore's development, which is purely investment-driven. Through the large-scale development of Singapore, it has driven infrastructure and the construction industry. Through the "transfer" of Japanese companies, it has created a wave of new blood and revitalized the economy of the entire SAARC."

Shimomura Osamu: “The money used for investment comes from…”

Zheng Yi: "Part of it comes from Penang's pre-war wealth, and part is a loan from the United States. Well... in fact, it is likely that Penang will still have to repay it. Singapore's construction is destined to be more costly than expended for at least the next few years."

Shimomura Osamu: "Penang is like a powerful motor, and Mr. Zheng's SAMN is like a car that is getting bigger and bigger. If it relies entirely on Penang as the motor, it will burn out."

Zheng Yi nodded in agreement.

"Looking at Mr. Zheng's industrial plan, Singapore seems to be focusing on manufacturing, especially manufacturing companies that have relocated from Japan. But if I may be frank, our Japanese companies... don't have such high profits.

Even if Japanese companies make money, it's still hard-earned money. Compared to Europe and the United States, their biggest advantage is relatively cheap labor. From what I've heard, labor in Southeast Asia seems to be very expensive and has many regulations. Does Mr. Zheng plan to implement a labor system similar to Penang in Singapore?

Zheng Yi nodded. "Yes, the world is currently in turmoil. The Southern Alliance relies on the masses, so we naturally cannot exploit them. We must treat the workers better."

Shimomura Osamu: "Then Singapore's industry probably won't enjoy too high a premium. As for the passing gods of wealth, Penang is enough. Singapore can't become a financial center and compete with Penang's own people. So... Mr. Zheng, do you plan to open up Singapore's residential real estate projects?"

Zheng Yi shook his head firmly and said, "Singapore's housing policy will be similar to Penang's. Newcomers will be allocated dormitories, and those with registered permanent residence and years of work experience will receive low-rent housing from the government and the Chamber of Commerce."

"Of course there will be commercial housing, but it will only be for a small number of people. Nanyang is a very special place. Several cities rely on the Chinese as the main population, and now you Japanese have to be added to the population."

"As the saying goes, 'wherever you go, take root,' and housing is the root of the people. If all real estate is commercialized, given the special situation of the Southern Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), housing prices in core cities will skyrocket. Ordinary people will find that they cannot afford to buy a house even after decades of work, so they will naturally only regard Southeast Asia as a place to work and earn money. Once they save enough, they will return to their home countries, such as Japan. In this case, no matter how good the SAARC economy is, it will lack stamina."

Shimomura Osamu: "I see. This is the economic crisis facing SAARC right now. Profits on industrial products are declining, making it difficult to pay the high premiums. Yet, you insist on ensuring that ordinary people have their own homes. While Singapore's large-scale construction projects can boost the economy, SAARC has also incurred a massive debt. Singapore's domestic manufacturing industry doesn't command such high premiums, so it continues to siphon cash from Penang. This is just the situation in Singapore. If it spreads throughout Southeast Asia, Penang's small engine will definitely not be able to pull such a large vehicle."

"Then, Mr. Zheng, are you willing to maintain the SAARC by making only the Chinese, or the Chinese and the Japanese, the main ethnic group in the SAARC, and exploiting and oppressing the Malays, Thais, Javanese, and Indians?"

Zheng Yi shook his head and said, "The traditional colonial model is doomed to fail in the New World. We are all neighbors, inseparable. If we get into an ethnic war, it will inevitably lead to instability and even collapse of the SAARC. I won't do that. Ethnic conflicts must be gradually bridged, not expanded."

After all, Zheng Yi is a person from the future, and he is very clear about South Africa's fate. He doesn't want to go that way.

Shimomura Osamu: "So, with all due respect, you don't want to sacrifice anyone, and you want the people of SAARC to continue to enjoy their current high welfare, while continuing to maintain the SAARC region's rapid economic growth?"

Zheng Yi: “Yes.”

Shimomura Haru: "…………"

Are you fucking making a wish here?!

Economics is about objective laws!

"Mr. Zheng, I heard you're the world's leading applied scientist. Can you come up with a new invention that could be sold worldwide and generate enormous profits, at least ten times what your previous petrochemical business could generate?"

Zheng Yi: "This... I can only say that I have some ideas, but I'm afraid it won't be that easy. It will also take a lot of time. I'm not sure whether it will succeed or what kind of results it will have."

Zheng Yi looked at Shimomura Osamu and said, "I know that the current economic model of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation must have problems and major flaws. If it continues to operate in this way, there may be major problems within ten years."

"That's why I found you, Mr. Shimomura. I wonder why you can teach me?"

(End of this chapter)