1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 265: Progress step by step
As a country that currently accounts for 60% (90% in later generations) of the global sales share of traditional Chinese medicine, the island country currently has more than 210 Chinese herbal preparations, although not as many as the more than 140 in later generations. There are already commonly used clinically effective prescriptions and as many as raw medicines...and this is only the number covered by medical insurance. The raw medicines and clinical prescriptions that are not covered by medical insurance, as well as those traditional Chinese medicine products that belong to the category of health and beauty, are simply as numerous as stars in the sky.

Precisely because of this, Sangong Co., Ltd., whose main business is self-developed drugs, does not mind the drilling company using their pharmacy channels to cooperate in promoting their own-brand Chinese medicine products mainly for beauty and health care.

In fact, the biggest purpose of their trip is to use the cooperation on these projects as an opportunity to drill a hole in China, an ancient and mysterious land where the people generally have a strong aversion to island countries, and gradually build the GAP authentic medicinal material planting base that is most strategically significant to them!

That’s right, although the GAP authentic medicinal material planting base is of great strategic value to the other 200-odd Japanese pharmaceutical companies involved in Kampo medicine, it is not currently qualified to be crowned with the word “best”...but their Sankyo Co., Ltd. is different!
Just as Yang Mo pointed out before the formal negotiations, Sankyo Co., Ltd. is seeking to merge and reorganize with Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which is no smaller than them.

This is a super-large merger plan that concerns the fate of Sankyo Co., Ltd. for the next hundred years.

Remember this word, it's merger, not annexation.

Unless Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is involved in a shocking scandal, no pharmaceutical company in the island country, let alone Sankyo Co., Ltd., has the strength to acquire this large pharmaceutical company that ranks among the top 20 in the country.

Although this matter is being promoted by bigwigs in the island country for the purpose of "becoming bigger and stronger and going global", there is a very fatal problem in its specific implementation.

Although the Third Co., Ltd. focuses mainly on chronic disease business, it mainly produces Western targeted drugs; while the First Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which also focuses on chronic disease business, puts more energy on Chinese herbal medicines.

The merger of two companies of similar size is not enough just by the will of the top leaders. You must at least form sufficient strategic complementarity, and the party actively seeking the merger must also show enough sincerity and bait... Besides, the market for Chinese herbal medicine in the island country is booming, and the development prospects of Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. are even brighter than that of Sankyo Co., Ltd. Why should you merge with them instead of them merging with you?
and so……

After several studies, the board of directors of Sankyo Co., Ltd. locked in on China's ability to supply high-quality authentic medicinal materials... This is also the lifeblood of all island countries' Chinese herbal medicine companies.

After all, Chinese medicine is based on medicine. In addition, after more than a decade of large-scale acquisitions, China's supply capacity of wild medicinal materials has been declining at a level that can be seen with the naked eye. At the same time, the market capacity of Chinese herbal medicines in the island country is expanding at the speed of a balloon. With one increase and one decrease, the strategic value of a production base that can supply a large amount of high-quality authentic medicinal materials is self-evident.

However, even after eleven years of reform and opening up, China's degree of openness to the other side is still "limited openness". Commodity trade is allowed, but investment in building factories in China is very cautious. In addition, unlike later generations, the domestic people still have a strong sense of rejection of island countries. Therefore, it is not an easy task to build a high-standard authentic medicinal material planting base in China... After all, it is not quite the same as building a factory. This kind of planting base also involves the people and land of the people in the relevant areas. The national sentiment alone is enough to drive people crazy.

To be honest, if this year had not happened to be China's economic winter and export freeze period, and the ice-breaking journey between China and Japan had not received high attention from China's top leaders, even if Sankyo Co., Ltd. had judged that building an authentic medicinal material planting base in China had an indescribable strategic value for the merger with Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., they could only watch helplessly.

Therefore, as long as they can accurately seize enough authentic Chinese medicinal materials planting bases, no matter how much they pay, it will be worth it... and as Qilu is the bridgehead between China and Japan trade, whether the first shot can be fired is naturally crucial.

However, let's be clear, although Sankyo Co., Ltd. is almost jealous of the authentic medicinal herb growing sites listed in Yang Mo's information, as a veteran negotiator, Suzuki Jiken will naturally not panic like a rookie.

………………

"Chief Yang, for the sake of Sino-Japanese friendship, and to better promote the development and expansion of these products and subsequent projects, I suggest... that the authentic medicinal herb planting base currently invested by your company be included as an asset and converted into shares of the new company."

Suzuki Jiken looked at Yang Mo sincerely and said, "Chief Yang, please believe in the sincerity and strength of our Sankyo Co., Ltd. Given the current market capacity of Kampo medicine in the island country and our influence in pharmacy channels and hospitals, if the scope of cooperation is limited to the products just mentioned... to be arrogant, this is a bit of a waste of talent."

As he spoke, the bald old man flattered Yang Mo calmly: "Section Chief Yang is a rare young talent in your country. His profound knowledge and outstanding abilities are rare in my lifetime... With Section Chief Yang's talent and ambition, I believe he will not be satisfied with the billions of yen in benefits brought by just a few products every year, right?"

Hearing this guy emphasize the words "development and expansion of subsequent projects" and "billions of yen every year", Yang Mo glanced at the rest of the people whose breathing could not help but quicken, but a smile flashed in his eyes.

"These products...can generate billions of yen in benefits every year!?"

As if he was a bumpkin who had never seen money, Yang Mo's voice sounded in disbelief, and he put his hands on the table, looking like he might stand up at any time.

Seeing Yang Mo's out-of-control look, a gleam of pride flashed in Suzuki Jiken's eyes... No matter how difficult you are, you still can't hold it back after hearing so much money, right?
Oh, the Chinese people!

Who made you poor?
He didn't doubt that Yang Mo was pretending. As a veteran, he had seen this situation too many times... especially in some backward areas in Southeast Asia.

Suzuki smiled modestly and said firmly, "Of course. The market capacity of Kampo medicine in our country has exceeded 1.2 trillion yen. These products are so effective. What does a few billion yen in sales a year mean?"

Hearing this old fellow secretly changing "billions of yen in benefits" into "billions of yen in sales each year", Yang Mo couldn't help but curse him for being shameless... You are treating our Chinese enterprises as rookies who know nothing. How can benefits and sales be the same thing?

However, will-o'-the-wisp is will-o'-the-wisp, and Yang Mo has to admit a frustrating reality... At present, leaders of many domestic companies have not yet figured out the difference between the two.

But this is not important. Even if the sales volume is several billion yen per year, it is still a big piece of fat for China today.

Tilting his head and looking at Suzuki for a while, Yang Mo looked more like a bumpkin. After thinking for a while, he hesitated and spoke expectantly: "Billions... I wonder how many billions Suzuki is talking about? Nine billion yen can be called billions, but two billion can also be called billions!"

Suzuki Jiken heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he thought to himself, I was just saying that, these products haven't been officially put on the market for evaluation, how do I know how much they can sell?
Tilting his head, he glanced at Morita Ryou who was standing beside him. After he paused for a moment, he quietly stretched out his finger from under the table. Suzuki Jiken smiled and turned around, saying in a very affirmative tone, "I dare not say how much more, but with the strength of our Sankyo Co., Ltd., it will be no problem for us to achieve sales of 4 billion yen a year in the initial stage!"

Zhu Tianrang's pupils couldn't help but shrink when he heard this. This number was one billion more than the one he had just compared... As the director of the pharmaceutical and cosmetics business department, he knew very well what it meant to raise the sales target of a newly launched product by 30%.

But even though the burden on him might have doubled, he dared not say a word, let alone show any abnormality on his face... Suzuki Jiken was his boss, a boss who could end his career at any time as long as he had the right reason.

Moreover, he now realized that this cooperation was far from being as simple as he had thought... After all, it was Suzuki Jiken who was initiating the negotiations from the beginning to the end, so he could talk however he wanted. At most, he could complain afterwards and then apply to the company for the sales policy.

Hearing the figure of 4 billion yen, Yang Mo showed a hint of disappointment on his face, and then a hint of eagerness appeared in his eyes. He slapped his thigh without any image and said loudly: "Okay, since your company is so powerful and confident, we might as well write this into the memorandum and subsequent contracts!"

"Four billion yen in sales per year... Since these products are our own brands, then based on our experience with South Korea, the customs clearance agreement should be at least 20 billion yen, right?"

"Then let's just use the 20 billion yen customs clearance agreement as the standard... The agreed period is two years. In two years, I believe that with your company's strength, you should be able to promote these products smoothly, right?"

"As for the future customs clearance agreement amount, we will discuss it based on the actual situation! ... Senior Manager Suzuki, what do you think?"

Seeing Yang Mo, who had been calm and composed before, suddenly transform into a hungry dog ​​with greed and ferocity in his eyes, Suzuki Ciken couldn't help but twitch his eyes.

Hey, hey, hey, the billions I just mentioned casually were just an approximate number. It was the bait I threw out. With the way you Chinese people behave, shouldn't you be ashamed to talk about money, and then take the bait in a hazy and implicit manner when your mind is moved?
Why are you calculating the exact amount of 2 billion yuan so meticulously, and acting as if there's nothing to discuss later unless this customs clearance agreement is finalized?

Suzuki Jiken's expression was unnatural, and Morita Ryou's mouth felt bitter as if he had eaten Coptis chinensis.

Any potential new product launched into the market will follow a curved process, and the initial effort will largely determine the steepness of this curve.

If a new product wants to achieve a sales target of 4 billion yen in the early stage of the market, the human and financial resources required will be far greater than that of a product with a sales target of 3 billion yen... The investment gap between the two can even be as much as double.

As the director of a business unit, he certainly knows that for a foreign independent brand like this, a customs clearance amount of 2 billion yen is definitely not equivalent to 4 billion sales in the island country market... The 50% gross profit only applies to fast-moving consumer goods such as beer. For medicines or health products, according to normal operations, a customs clearance amount of 2 billion yen must at least be equivalent to 8 billion yen in terminal channel sales.

How can we achieve 8 billion yen in terminal channel sales for a few new products in the early stage of the market?

Unless the company is willing to strongly support it, or bypass some of the sales links of traditional drugs, otherwise...

Thinking that he might die suddenly at work due to overwork, Morita Ryou almost cried, and couldn't help but secretly look at Suzuki Jiken for help.

Managing Director Suzuki, you should understand what the 2 billion yen customs clearance agreement means, right? You can't ignore the lives of our subordinates for your own achievements... It's difficult to recruit people in the island country now!
Does Suzuki Jiken care about the life and death of his subordinates?
Obviously not!

As long as we can take over enough authentic medicinal materials planting bases and successfully promote the merger of Sankyo Co., Ltd. and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., what does it matter if one or two ministers are exhausted to death?
Therefore, seeing Yang Mo's ignorant attitude, but blinded by the small amount of money, and his reluctance to discuss further without writing the 2 billion customs clearance agreement amount into the memorandum and contract, he could only nod his head despite being angry: "Okay!"

Seeing that the goal of the first stage was achieved, Yang Mo nodded with satisfaction, then put on a smiling expression, and felt a lot more relaxed deep down.

It was not unexpected for Suzuki Jiken that he did not argue with them about the 2 billion customs clearance agreement amount.

As the saying goes, one's position is determined by one's position. The minute he received the list of the Sankyo Corporation's private inspection and exchange group, he knew what the other party was coming for... The merger between Sankyo Corporation and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. a few years later was so famous that it was even hyped by the Japanese and Western media as "the slogan of Japanese pharmaceutical companies challenging European and American pharmaceutical companies"; and given the scale and influence of the Sansan Corporation, even though it was an ice-breaking period and even though there was the help of the Japanese consulate, the fact that a managing director appeared on the drilling company's first list of visitors was still a bit excessive.

Obviously, the directors of the Third Co., Ltd. do not have much confidence in this ice-breaking trip to the island country; but the authentic medicinal materials planting base is too important for promoting their merger with the First Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.... Therefore, they are afraid of missing this "short window period" and, based on various considerations, ultimately prefer to adopt an all-in strategy.

This is not surprising. Given the island nation's unique political status, there were countless companies that were pessimistic about the China-Japan ice-breaking trip in the late 1980s, and there were also many island nation companies that were eager to go all in during this "window period"... In fact, this was also an important reason why the competent authorities in many regions of my country began to have a favorable impression of Japanese companies in the early 1990s. It was because of the inertial cognition that was formed.

Originally, they had come here with the mentality of striving for the cooperation of the authentic medicinal materials planting base at all costs. In addition, Yang Mo had already told Bao Shuxian and others before the negotiations that they were not interested in and resisted this cooperation. In addition, Yang Mo's initial difficulty in the negotiation and their Third Co., Ltd. continued to make concessions on some unimportant aspects... With all these factors combined, Suzuki Jiken's psychological cost had unknowingly risen to a very high level. Therefore, under Yang Mo's tough attitude just now, he accepted the 2 billion yen customs clearance agreement amount.

Don't say Suzuki Kenta is a loser.

As the saying goes, "care leads to confusion". Everyone has a scale in their heart. Under the Franklin Law, such a small cost is completely insignificant.

Moreover, the various requests raised by Yang Mo were actually nothing more than to prevent Sankyo Co., Ltd., which objectively needed them, from taking advantage of them less. They did not exceed the scope of normal business cooperation. Even if there was no medicinal material planting base project put on the back burner, Suzuki Jiken would not be blamed by the board of directors.

………………

"Let's go back to the previous topic. Since we have reached a consensus on the customs clearance agreement amount for these projects within two years, then Chief Yang..."

"Can we talk about the joint venture and the medicinal herb planting base? You know, our country has very strict supervision over foreign medicines and raw materials. Once quality problems are found in random inspections, it will be a disaster for the projects we are cooperating on!"

"Unlike your company, our Sankyo Co., Ltd. is a listed company. Once the quality issues of our drugs are exposed by the media, the loss of a sharp drop in stock prices is something we cannot afford!"

Suzuki Jiken's expression was very serious and the implication of his words was very clear.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Yang Mo did not embarrass the old man on this matter: "I understand."

"How about this, we will apply for Momo Baitou and the Third Co., Ltd. to jointly establish a joint venture, with the business scope covering the planting, processing, production, sales and international trade of Chinese medicinal materials... The new company will be built in Linyi County;"

"In addition to the funds, our company is willing to convert ten authentic medicinal materials planting projects into intangible assets, and your company needs to convert them into shares with technology, equipment, and shared channels... This is the most basic condition, and none of them can be missing. As for the conversion and distribution of shares for each asset, we will discuss it in detail later!"

"What do you think, Suzuki?"

Hearing Yang Mo put the point so clearly, Suzuki Jiken couldn't help but be overjoyed. The 2 billion yen customs clearance agreement amount that had been drafted earlier really worked.

but……

"You only want to convert ten authentic medicinal herb planting bases into shares?"

Suzuki Jiken frowned, as if he was somewhat dissatisfied with Yang Mo's stinginess: "Chief Yang, as the executive director of Sankyo Co., Ltd., the board of directors specifically told me before I left that in order to promote the friendship between China and Japan, my investment authority for this visit to China is 410 billion yen, which can also be converted into 3 million US dollars (the exchange rate between the yen and the US dollar is 1:138 at this time)... Qilu is the first stop of our Sankyo Co., Ltd.'s visit to China, and Chief Yang is only willing to offer ten production bases of authentic medicinal materials. Isn't it a bit of a waste of opportunity?"

Suzuki Jiken was well aware of China's desire for foreign exchange at this time, so he took the "US$3 million" very seriously... although.

Yang Mo laughed: "Ten authentic medicinal herb planting bases are too few? Does Executive Director Suzuki have any misunderstandings about our country's situation?"

"You know, your company is planning to cooperate with the GAP medicinal material planting base. This kind of high-standard medicinal material planting base has very high costs, both in terms of initial investment and subsequent maintenance... I forgot to remind Executive Managing Director Suzuki that for this new joint venture, we plan to expand into the entire industrial chain of traditional Chinese medicine as much as possible. The costs in other areas are equally staggering."

Suzuki Jiken smiled and shook his head: "Chief Yang, whether it is technology or equipment, we at Sankyo Co., Ltd. have no shortage of them. In order to smoothly carry out the project, we can even use the manufacturer's cost price to convert it into assets;"

"As for the funds... As a senior executive director, I have the authority to ask the board of directors for additional funds. If 410 billion yen is not enough, we can add more;"

"However, the investment scale of the new company will follow the scale of the medicinal material GAP base. According to the information provided by Chief Yang, even if all 48 Chinese medicinal material planting projects are converted into it, the amount of investment required by my new company will not exceed... 100 billion yen~"

Hearing this guy emphasize the words "the scale of investment will follow the scale of the medicinal materials GAP base" and stretch out the "100 billion yen", Yang Mo glanced at the flushed faces of the rookies next to him.

Do Japanese people always like to fish with banknotes like this?
Ha ha……

as you wish.

Thinking of this, Yang Mo smiled softly: "Senior Manager Suzuki may not know much about the situation in our country."

"Indeed, there are only 48 medicinal herb planting projects on the list I just gave you, and their total area is only less than 2 mu... In Suzuki's opinion, if we only take out 10 planting projects, the total area can't exceed 3000 mu, right?"

Suzuki Jiken nodded. "Indeed, 3,000 acres of planting area is not small, but for our Sankyo Co., Ltd., it is just a tiny amount... Chief Yang may not know that the GAP bases invested by our island country's pharmaceutical companies in Southeast Asia are tens of thousands of acres, or even hundreds of thousands of acres."

Hearing this guy bragging, Yang Mo did not point it out, but just smiled meaningfully: "So Senior Manager Suzuki doesn't know much about the situation in China!"

"In Southeast Asia, as long as your company has money, you can invest as many acres as you want, but in China, this is impossible... In China, the land suitable for growing authentic medicinal herbs is basically collectively owned;"

"Hmm... Executive Director Suzuki can ask someone to tell him about the difference between collectively owned land and state-owned land. Although both are publicly owned, the difference is still quite big."

"So... in our country, the biggest difficulty in promoting this kind of GAP planting base is not actually funding and technology, but the right to use the land... even if the competent authorities step in, it often doesn't work."

"Therefore, your company may not be able to spend all of its 300 million dollars!"

Suzuki Jiken was shocked when he heard this, and also heard Yang Mo's subtext: "Chief Yang, what do you mean...?"

Yang Mo laughed: "I don't mean anything. I just want to tell Executive Manager Suzuki that other units can only invest 1 acres of planting area. That's because they only have the ability to invest acres;"

"On the list you saw, there are only less than 1 acres of authentic medicinal herbs. That's because our department currently only has enough funds to invest that much... Do you understand the difference?"

Suzuki Jiken heard this, thought about it, and took a breath: "Chief Yang, what do you mean...?"

(End of this chapter)