Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 389 Risk Control
The difference in skill level between people isn't that significant; it's mainly a matter of perspective. Yan Hui's perspective is simply more comprehensive.

The two continued to discuss related matters, and more than half an hour later, the car arrived at the construction site.

“President Yan, if I ever reach your level, I don’t think I could do everything as personally as you do,” Wang Yongjun said with emotion after getting out of the car.

A project with a profit of 400,000 is not small, but it's definitely not that big either.

“If this were a project by Jian’an Group, or one we’re familiar with, and the project wasn’t too big, we could let you take charge. But with a new partner, it’s always good to be cautious.” Yan Hui looked in the direction of the construction site. “And it’s not just me; the other primary agents will probably come over to take a closer look as well.”

Yan Hui had been to this area a few years ago. Now, the shopping malls here are quite crowded, and a new bus stop has been built. However, this place is indeed very remote, and Yan Hui judged that the land prices for the properties here wouldn't be very high.

"Understood." Wang Yongjun nodded.

The plot of land has a floor area ratio of 1.8 and a building area of ​​40,000 square meters, which means the land area is over 20,000 square meters. It is roughly 200 meters long and 100 meters wide, and the land is relatively flat.

Yan Hui looked around: "This place is still very desolate. Why would a developer from out of town come here to build houses? The foreign developer did it because that area was near the mountains and very quiet. This place is isolated and has nothing to do with anything. It might be okay to develop large-scale housing for first-time homebuyers, but it seems difficult to sell housing for those seeking to upgrade their living conditions."

"Mr. Yan, do you also understand real estate projects?" Wang Yongjun asked curiously.

“I’ve been in this industry for so many years. I wouldn’t say I understand everything about real estate, but I’m definitely not an outsider,” Yan Hui said as they arrived at the entrance of the construction site.

The construction site had just been leveled and paved, but the fence was not yet finished, and no one was managing entry and exit. Yan Hui saw several workers busily building the fence, and others painting and writing on the already erected fence.

“Where is the project owner’s office? Let’s go see the original four certificates,” Yan Hui and Wang Yongjun said.

“Over there, I’ll take you there,” Wang Yongjun pointed to the temporary building in the corner of the construction site.

For a project to reach the steel bidding stage, all four certificates must be complete: land use certificate, land use planning certificate, construction planning certificate, and construction permit. With these, the developer can obtain a pre-sale permit for the commercial housing once the building reaches a certain height, at which point they begin to recoup their investment.

The two walked a short distance inside and saw a group of people walking out. Yan Hui immediately spotted his old acquaintance, General Manager Zhu.

"President Yan? You've come to inspect the project in person?" President Zhu greeted Yan Hui upon seeing him.

Mr. Zhu brought seven or eight people with him, and they all surrounded him, making it look quite impressive.

“Our Laiwu Steel should also meet the requirements, so we still need to come and take a look. I heard that this developer is very powerful,” Yan Hui said casually.

"This isn't just one project; it's someone else's test project. I heard there are big projects coming up later. Mr. Yan, we're going to have some competition now." Mr. Zhu seemed to be in a good mood.

"There's another one? No wonder President Zhu is so focused on it. Judging from President Zhu's determined look, it seems I'm going to be a runner-up this time." Yan Hui tried to get some information out of him.

"How could that be?" General Manager Zhu laughed heartily, "Everyone is competing fairly!"

"See you next time, Mr. Zhu. If you manage to secure this deal, I'll definitely be there for a dinner party." Yan Hui didn't dare to make any absolute statements.

Mr. Zhu certainly has the capability to supply goods in one go. Judging from Mr. Zhu's demeanor, he might actually have some special connections, so it's not surprising that I'm just a bystander in this situation.

"I hope so! I hope so!" General Manager Zhu laughed heartily. "Then we'll be going now!"

"See you."

The two groups passed each other. Because Zhu's group had more people, someone bumped into Yan Hui, seemingly intentionally, yet also unintentionally. After a couple of seconds, the person who bumped into Yan Hui apologized, and Yan Hui said it was alright. The two groups then parted ways.

Wang Yongjun was somewhat displeased and was about to stand up and say something when Yan Hui pulled him back, and the two of them went into the project department's temporary office together.

As soon as he entered, the relevant manager greeted him with a smile. After learning about Yan Hui's situation, he immediately led everyone into the office and took out relevant company documents for Yan Hui to see.

There were no problems with these certificates. Yan Hui carefully reviewed them and confirmed that they were all genuine.

In this day and age, fake certificates are rampant, and everything can be forged; we cannot be ambiguous about this.

"Manager Liao, do you have our bank guarantee here?" Yan Hui asked. "Would it be convenient to take a look?"

"A bank guarantee? What kind of guarantee does Mr. Yan need?" Manager Liao asked. "Any financial guarantee will do," Yan Hui said.

"Of course we have some, I'll go get it for you." Manager Liao gestured for his assistant to stay with him and refill his tea.

Three or four minutes later, Manager Liao came over with the project's financial guarantee and showed it to Yan Hui.

There's nothing wrong with the letter of guarantee; it's from a bank in the project developer's hometown, and the amount is quite substantial.

"We haven't worked together much before, so my requirements are a bit high. Please forgive me." After reading the materials, Yan Hui returned them to Manager Liao.

That's how corporate bidding works. Everyone is a partner. You need to check my qualifications, and I need to check yours. There can't be any ambiguity here.

"That's only right. The more you do that, the more professional we think you are!" Manager Liao said with a smile.

"Yes, is the specific time for the bidding next Wednesday?" Yan Hui asked again.

"Yes."

"Alright, I hope we'll have the opportunity to work together." Yan Hui extended his hand and shook hands with Manager Liao.

About half an hour after they came in, Yan Hui left with Wang Yongjun.

Once outside the construction site gate, there was no one around. Wang Yongjun said with admiration, "President Yan, you really are a professional. I think Manager Liao has a very good impression of us."

"We're not bidding on this one; let's give it to General Manager Zhu and his team." Yan Hui didn't even turn his head as he continued walking forward.

"Huh?" Wang Yongjun thought he had misheard. "Why?"

"The letter of guarantee was kept separately, which means that when General Manager Zhu reviewed the materials, he didn't ask for the letter of guarantee. He has that connection, so there's no point in us getting involved." Yan Hui shook his head slightly.

"Is that so? Should we just not come at all, or should we show our goodwill in advance?" Wang Yongjun asked again.

“In business, face is just a formality. There’s no need to say in advance, we just won’t come.” Yan Hui thought for a moment, “Recently, help me find someone with expertise in the industry, preferably someone good at investigations. We need to set up a risk control team.”

"Ah good."

Yan Hui didn't tell Wang Yongjun some things.

In fact, he saw several problems with this chart.

First, the steel tender is scheduled for next week, but no large machinery has been brought to the construction site, which is completely different from other sites. Furthermore, Jinan is about to enter the rainy season; where is this out-of-town developer storing so much steel? The tender documents clearly state that materials should be delivered to the construction site.

Secondly, if President Zhu seemed so confident of winning, why was he still treating me so well? Was it just politeness?
Third, since this company values ​​brand cooperation and brand image so much, why not put the bank guarantee, which best demonstrates its strength, at the top? Moreover, when I asked, it asked "what guarantee?", which is a bit contradictory.

Fourth, Yan Hui had never heard of the bank that provided the guarantee.

The purpose of a letter of guarantee is: as a bank, I guarantee that if the project owner defaults on its debts, I will pay them on their behalf.

That's probably what it means.

But if the bank itself is a local bank from out of town that Yan Hui has never heard of, how could he trust it? This is steel worth more than 800 million yuan.

Yan Hui couldn't tell Wang Yongjun these things because he was worried that Wang Yongjun would spread the word. He also couldn't be sure if there were any problems with the project; he just felt it wasn't very reliable.

He's already flush with cash; he wouldn't risk it all for these profits and the vague promise of "many more deals to come."

This is clearly inconsistent with the risk control model.

In any case, the establishment of a risk control team is imperative.

(End of this chapter)