Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2516 Major Event (First Update, Please Subscribe)
People always have different concerns.

Politicians are always concerned with power, while for businessmen, nothing is more important than the economy itself.

At the end of the year, while the world's attention was drawn to the war on terror in the Middle East and a new round of conflict in the Indochina Peninsula, what were the well-dressed financiers, brokers, and stockbrokers concerned about in Yong'an's financial district?

These are this year's economic data.

Although the official economic data for this year will not be released until next year, all financial institutions will make their own assessments in advance.

After all, there are only a few days between Christmas and New Year's Day, and these days are often the busiest time for all financial institutions.

Because they need to make a final assessment in these few days to determine the market after the new year.

Minsheng Securities is not particularly prominent on Financial Street. It is just a subsidiary of Minsheng Group. As a Fortune 500 company, it is perfectly normal for Minsheng Group to own its own securities company. Every year-end, Lu Guowei, the chairman of the company, would come to Financial Street to listen to the reports from the company's managers.

As Lu Guowei sat in his leather swivel chair, he listened to Sun Dechang's report while occasionally flipping through the pages of the report in his hand.

Although numbers are dry and charts are boring, to him, these numbers and charts contain wealth.

After all, the market fluctuates every year after the New Year's Day holiday, and this fluctuation itself presents an opportunity.

"There is no doubt that this year's economic growth rate will definitely exceed 12.5%."

During the report, the subordinate used a remote control to bring up another slide and began to explain further. The economic growth figures from January to November were explained, with the addition being an analysis of the December economic growth. Because the Ministry of Finance releases the relevant non-farm payroll data weekly, this data is transparent, and financial institutions only need to summarize and analyze it.

"...So even with revisions, this year's economic growth will not be lower than 12.5%, which means—"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly asked:

"What about after deducting the factor of currency appreciation?"

The unexpected question stunned Sun Dechang, who was speaking eloquently. He clearly hadn't expected the chairman to ask such a question.

"Chairman, after the currency appreciated further last year, the appreciation of the Nan Yuan exchange rate has slowed down considerably this year. Currently, the exchange rate against the United States is 1.4235 to 1 US dollar, an appreciation of 2.71% compared to the beginning of the year..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Guowei frowned and said:

"In other words, excluding the effect of currency appreciation, this year's economic growth rate may fall below double digits?"

As he spoke, Lu Guowei sat up straight, because the fact that the number of new cases had "fallen below double digits" was a major event in itself.

"Yes, that's one way to understand it."

Sun Dechang thought for a moment and then said:
"This should be considered the first time! In some respects, this is the first time our economic growth rate has fallen below double digits."

It may seem like nothing special, but it is actually "quite amazing".

"That's right, it's the first time!"

Lu Guowei frowned, then lit a cigar, took a puff, and said:

"Since I moved Minsheng to Chang'an, our economic growth rate has never fallen below double digits. Even during the oil crisis, it only barely dropped below double digits, but the global economic situation was not good at that time."

But now?
The US economy has recovered and entered a period of growth, as has the European economy. Logically, our economy should be experiencing strong growth, but instead it has fallen below double digits, which is a major event in itself…”

Listening to the chairman's concerns, Sun Dechang continued to explain:
"Manager, actually, the slowdown in economic growth is understandable."

Over the past few years, our economic growth momentum has been slowing down, and we must take into account the size of our economy today.

According to our forecast, my country's GDP this year will exceed US$13000 trillion and approach US$14000 trillion.

If we continue to maintain a growth rate of over 2%, our total economic growth will far exceed that of the United States. This is clearly unrealistic, after all, the United States' total economic output is twice that of us..."

This is precisely what is necessary for economic development to reach a certain stage. As the economy continues to develop and the total economic output continues to increase, every percentage point increase is astonishing. Under such circumstances, it is impossible to maintain high-speed growth indefinitely, and it will inevitably slow down in the end.

Then Sun Dechang added:
"Considering the Ministry of Finance's remarks last year, I believe that what the Ministry of Finance is seeking now is not rapid economic growth, but further stability, and a smooth transition between strong growth and slowdown."

After all, the astonishing growth rate of our economy over the past few years—more than doubling in just five years—is something no other country possesses.

Although substantial industrial upgrading and export boom have been driving my country's economic development, the slowdown in economic growth is theoretically beneficial to the overall health of my country's economy. After all, no economy can maintain strong growth momentum forever.

Therefore, a balanced transition is needed; only in this way can the market not be significantly impacted. While Lu Guowei agreed with Sun Dechang's words, he was acutely aware of the potential market volatility they would cause, stating:

"Then what about the market? Will the market accept it?"

Looking at Sun Dechang, Lu Guowei asked in return:

"What kind of impact will this data have on the market after it is released?"

"Then this is our chance!"

Sun Dechang stated directly:

"After all, the market is all about making money after the fluctuations."

Lu Guowei nodded, then looked at the data, nodded again, and said:
"Yes, you're experts in this area, so just focus on doing a good job. By the way, have our stocks been fluctuating recently?"

"These are all normal market fluctuations, only Minsheng Airlines' stock has risen a bit too much recently."

"This is normal. Half of our planes are chartered by the military. Military orders are very profitable, and this is true for all airlines across the country."

After saying that, he asked some questions about Financial Street and chatted with Sun Dechang for almost two hours before leaving.

Yong'an Financial Street is the financial center of SEA and also the world's third largest financial center. Every time Lu Guowei comes here, he doesn't understand why Your Excellency chose this place as the financial center instead of Chang'an.

"Is it for balanced regional development?"

A thought flashed through Lu Guowei's mind.
In fact, this is what SEA has valued since the beginning of its economic development: to coordinate the development of various regions through official intervention in order to ensure regional balance. As a result, each city in SEA has its own advantageous industries.

After years of development, each city has formed a metropolitan area centered on the city. Apart from Zhongxing and Yongding on the outer islands, whose development is limited due to various reasons, Dongning in West Irian is also a metropolis with a population of more than 20 million.

Urbanization is the most prominent feature of the SEA City market development.

However, with urban development, not all cities can achieve balanced development; they can only achieve relative balance.

"In fact, just like the management of a company, some companies will grow into behemoths, while others will only grow to a limited extent."

As Lu Guowei pondered this question, another thought surfaced in his mind: his father.

A few months ago, an invitation from the other side made my father, who hadn't been involved in foreign affairs for many years, think about going back to visit them.

They weren't just inviting him back to his hometown to visit relatives; they also hoped he would invest there.

invest……

Thinking of what his father had mentioned, Lu Guowei frowned. Back then, they came to Chang'an from Hong Kong Island to escape the war, and with 18 ocean-going freighters, they have gradually developed into a Fortune 500 company.

What does it rely on?
It was an opportunity, and this opportunity was of course an opportunity for the development of SEA—because of the development of foreign trade, the shipping industry also developed rapidly. It can be said that it was by seizing this opportunity that we have the people's livelihood we have today.

So, could that be another opportunity for people's livelihood?

Lu Guowei was uncertain because the economy there was very limited; how much was their GDP?

However, it's only $1473 billion!
The per capita GDP is only $190. With such a limited economy and limited foreign trade, even if people invest now, how much return can they expect?
"Even when they came to Chang'an back then, they observed for several years before coming here."

Even now, Lu Guowei admires his father's foresight. He chose Chang'an, and the reason for choosing Chang'an was very simple—there were many factories there, and import and export trade was booming. Under such circumstances, shipping companies would definitely have a promising future here. In comparison, Hong Kong Island at that time was simply not worth mentioning. Not only was its development lagging behind, it was practically a rural area.

Therefore, compared to various uncertainties, my father ultimately chose Chang'an, and it was this choice that led to the establishment of Minsheng Bank, which is now a Fortune Global 500 company.

So, is it possible that the area over there could bring new opportunities for people's livelihoods?

Sitting in the back seat of the car, Lu Guowei pondered this question repeatedly. Just as the economic development momentum of SEA was slowing down, Minsheng Company's development was also facing a bottleneck. Would the new market bring new opportunities?

Lu Guowei was unaware of all this, after all, the market size was really very limited.

It's not even as big as the market in Siam, and it's full of uncertainties. Under these circumstances, can you get a corresponding return on investment there?

As he pondered this question, his gaze drifted to the window, where he saw New Year's Day posters hanging on either side of the streetlights. Lu Guowei muttered to himself:
"Forget it, let's wait until after New Year's Day to talk about it..."

(End of this chapter)