1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 650 Deja Vu
As the second largest conglomerate in Java, Huang Hongnian, the second prince of the Sinar Mas Group, should have been heard of by almost every student who has some knowledge of the history of the 1990s.

This Chinese businessman was probably the first foreign entrepreneur to read business opportunities from the Southern Tour Speech. Having been engaged in capital activities in Singapore and Hong Kong, he not only acquired a loss-making Japanese company called Ruby on the Hong Kong stock market early on, and renamed it Zhongce, claiming that it was "cooperating with China's reform and opening-up strategy", but also began to test the mainland market shortly after his Southern Tour Speech this year.

The first enterprise he tried was the Taiyuan Rubber Factory in SX Province, a typical old state-owned enterprise;
Perhaps it was because there was a severe shortage of capital in the country, or because the Taiyuan Rubber Factory did not have the confidence to meet future market challenges, or because it encountered various setbacks in the process of breaking the three irons.

In short, with the coordination of the province, the joint venture and equity merger were finalized in just a few days. From negotiation to signing, to the opening of the company and the arrival of funds, it took only more than a month in total, which can be said to be extremely fast.

However, after completing the share merger in Shanxi, the businessman did not stop, but went to Hangzhou without stopping. With the coordination of the city, he acquired two very profitable companies in one go... West Lake Brewery and Hangzhou Rubber Factory.

Of course, in return, a loss-making cable factory was also acquired.

Even after that, he came to Quanzhou again, using the same approach and the same operations, and merged and acquired 41 companies of various types in Quanzhou in one go.

In addition, the imperial capital, Chongqing, Dalian, Yinchuan, and Yantai, all places have left traces of this businessman - in just 1992 months from April 4 to June 1993, Huang Hongnian spent 6 million US dollars to jointly invest in 14 state-owned enterprises, and subsequently acquired more than 4.52 companies one after another. His popularity was unparalleled at the time.

The media even coined a special term for it - the Zhongce phenomenon. They were not stingy with all kinds of jubilant discussions and praises, even to the point of exaggerating it.

There was no other way. After Nan Fang's speech, the domestic development consciousness revived, and the whole country looked forward to opening up but could not find the right way. This Javanese Chinese held high the banner of "serving the reform of state-owned enterprises", which naturally attracted a lot of response.
Moreover, through the reforms in previous years, various regions have gradually reached a consensus on transforming state-owned enterprises by introducing foreign capital. The sudden appearance of such a super rich man naturally made various regions overjoyed, and even placed high hopes on him, thinking that the dual injection of capital and mechanisms from the other party would be a good way to transform those state-owned enterprises with long-standing problems.

Of course, this is not the point.

The point is, if we follow the original historical line, this Javanese businessman waving money to carry out joint ventures and shareholdings is certainly the first super-large commercial operation in China since the reform and opening up;
But after a certain butterfly fluttered hard for three years, although such a large-scale joint venture and equity merger attracted attention, it was not to the extent that people would regard him as a savior... In the past three years, the scale of joint venture projects promoted by Yang Mo alone has exceeded US$35 billion, and the number of domestic companies invested by Dahua Company and Momobai Investment, as well as the scale of incubation, far exceeds that of the Javanese businessman.

So, You Yakun suddenly mentioned Huang Hongnian's name...

………………

"Old You, are you saying that... the organization and the ministry are worried that after Dahua Company implements the group reorganization, its subsidiaries will follow suit and go around acquiring high-quality assets?"

Yang Mo pondered for a while and asked his own question.

Zhongce is not here to do charity. Although there are some "freebie" mergers and acquisitions in the middle, the main acquisitions are all local backbone state-owned enterprises with great potential and even good performance... It's just that Zhongce's joint ventures and equity mergers/acquisitions have always focused on the two major industries of rubber and beer.

Moreover, he knew very well that although various places were eager to welcome this rich man, the organization was wary of such things... In fact, as the Panda Car scam was confirmed, the organization had a psychological shadow on any foreign capital that waved money around.

Although Dahua is a state-owned enterprise, unfortunately, it also has a very prominent private business cooperation organization... the China-Japan Economic Promotion Association.

However, once Dahua implements group restructuring and spins off its various business units into subsidiaries, some things will become unpredictable.

A well-known fact is that under the group model, even if it is a central enterprise, once it reaches the fourth-level unit, it can no longer be state-controlled as long as it has a certain proportion of shares.

But Dahua Company itself is a second-level unit. Even if the three oil companies complete the reorganization now, it will be classified as a third-level unit.

In other words, if a subsidiary intends to engage in capital mergers and acquisitions, it only needs to set up a subsidiary below it. It can then use the China-Japan Economic Promotion Council as a bridge to throw out countless silver bullets and take all the attractive targets within its sight into its pocket.

Don't think this is YY. In the shareholding structure of Zhongce Company, a Javanese businessman only holds 30.5% of the shares. The remaining major shareholders are either the richest man in Hong Kong named Li, or large international securities firms such as Morgan Stanley. Even after the equity puncture, the figure of the island country's Itochu Group can still be seen. Anyone with a little bit of brains can notice the intrigues here and the scale of the money that can be mobilized.

In a word, as a unique benchmark central enterprise in China, there are some things that others can do but Dahua cannot do, and it cannot even get involved in them... The social impact that may be caused is too great, and the organization does not want to take this risk.

You Yakun smiled and said, "That's one consideration. After all, according to the news from my old leader, the organization is still discussing your next appointment. It's not certain whether you will be transferred to the administrative system or remain in the state-owned enterprise system in the future... Once we win the argument, then a Dahua company that is still under control will become very necessary."

Yang Mo understood what he meant and was immediately shocked: "What! I was like this some time ago, and your administrative system still dares to want me!?"

As Mr. Zhao went to Qinghai to take up his post and Wang Yinuo's rank was not high enough, Yang Mo suddenly cut off many sources of information from the imperial capital. You Yakun was a chief secretary, so the information revealed by his old leader was naturally very credible.

You Yakun gave him a strange look and said, "Old Yang, what do you mean I still dare to want you?"

"Although your methods against the Wei family some time ago were indeed ruthless, your style of being decisive and decisive in striking has also won recognition from many people... The country is currently undergoing drastic changes. There is no shortage of experienced and tactful people, but what is most lacking is decisive people who have thundering methods and can control the situation."

"In other words, if you keep hiding quietly like before, even if you have outstanding achievements in the field of economic construction, our administrative system may not be so interested in you... But now, the situation is different."

Seeing Yang Mo's expression as if he had eaten shit, You Yakun felt inexplicably refreshed: "Back to the topic, the second consideration for your Dahua Group's restructuring not being approved is..."

"Your department doesn't want those subsidiaries to distract too much of Dahua's funds and personnel energy."

"This shouldn't be difficult to understand, right?"

Yang Mo pinched his brows and nodded slowly.

The restructuring of the three oil companies was a long and game-filled process. With the end of the Southern Tour Speech, the country began to deepen market reforms step by step, and this process was also accelerated.

As the second largest oil field in China, Shengli Oilfield plays an important role in this process, so it is nonsense to say that they do not have any ambitious ideas...even if the results in later generations prove that the Dongying Command played a good hand badly.

Even though this work of helping the Central Plains Oilfield to transform its industry has only completed the initial stage, it has allowed many people to see an opportunity and possibility, a possibility to effectively "unite brother units" and increase their own voice and discourse power... Since the late 1980s, domestic onshore oil fields have been facing problems such as declining reserves, declining production, and declining efficiency. Faced with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of employees in various units, many things are not at all determined by their own preferences.

In this process, Dahua plays a very important hub role, or a transformation platform.

Without the support of Dahua Company, the Dongying Command would have no way to push forward many things... Even if they were forced to push forward, without sufficient downstream acceptance and terminal digestion capabilities, the end result would be a complete failure.

Therefore, a complete Dahua company, a Dahua company that can integrate its fist, is very important to the Dongying Command, and to some people in the head office and the department... Whether it is funds or people, they do not want to split up.

You Yakun looked at Yang Mo, who was pinching his brows, with a smile on his face, and felt upset.

Although state-owned enterprises, especially those in the oil system, are extremely wealthy and have enviable strategic weight and resource mobilization capabilities, the calculations and games in this powerful system are no less than those in the administrative system... Previously, it was because it did not involve the main business, and there were employees who were transferred to other jobs as a protective golden light, and the scale and level of Dahua Company were not high, so Yang Mo was able to get by relatively easily for two years.

But now the situation in all aspects is different. Yang Mo will be promoted to the department level in a short time. There are many things he wants to avoid, but he can't avoid them at all.

Want to avoid some troubles and consequences by splitting up subsidiaries?

It's not that easy!

However, he was very tactful and did not make fun of Yang Mo on this issue. Instead, his face turned serious: "The third consideration is really related to your killing of the Wei family some time ago."

Yang Mo was stunned: "What do you mean?"

You Yakun smiled and said, "The topic has to be brought back to Mr. Huang... Do you know anything about Mr. Huang's life?"

Yang Mo shook his head: "I haven't taken the initiative to learn about this. I only know that he is the second prince of the Jinguan Group, but later he did not get involved in the traditional strong industries of the Jinguan Group such as coconut and edible oil. Instead, he started investing... Other than that, I don't know much."

Although they are rarely mentioned by later generations, there were actually numerous powerful people in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Many of them are still the real big guys who are low-key and hidden from the public eye.

In comparison, although Mr. Huang has a lot of capital, he is not even in the top 80 in many people's minds. Therefore, it is not surprising that Yang Mo did not go deeper to learn more about him. You Yakun hummed softly: "So, Old Yang, you may not know why Mr. Huang chose Shanxi as his first stop in China?"

Yang Mo nodded.

You Yakun pondered for a moment and sighed softly: "You should know that these overseas Chinese businessmen, especially those in Southeast Asia, will have inextricable ties with the government once their wealth reaches a certain scale, and will pay special attention to maintaining this relationship... The Chinese businessmen in Java are naturally no exception."

"But unlike the Chen and Lin families, with whom you have a very good relationship, the Huang family has long ago tried to develop in multiple directions."

"Around the early 26s, Mr. Huang's father sent his second son to study at Imperial Capital No. Middle School... Correspondingly, Mr. Huang naturally also experienced that period, and even went to the countryside in Shanxi to work as a sent-down youth for a short period of time."

"You and Wang Yinuo are very close. You should know where Imperial Capital No. 26 Middle School is. You should also know what going to the countryside together meant to people of that era. Moreover, as an overseas Chinese, he is the most special one among all his classmates... In fact, after so many years, Mr. Huang's fellow students and comrades who went to the countryside together are no longer the same as they were in the past."

"So, it's not hard to understand why he was able to complete the joint venture and shareholding of the Taiyuan Rubber Factory so quickly... After all, he had been to the countryside in Shanxi, so it's inevitable that he would have some feelings for it, and he also has many acquaintances there."

After saying a few words in a very meaningful way, You Yakun smiled with an ambiguous smile: "Besides, as far as I know, the merger and acquisition of shares in Taiyuan Rubber Factory was not even proposed by Mr. Huang, but was actively invited by the local comrade Wang Maolin;"

"Similarly, Comrade Wang Yongming also made great contributions to the joint venture and acquisition of shares in West Lake Brewery and Hangzhou Rubber Factory."

"So, Lao Yang... do you understand now?"

Yang Mo's face was heavy. He certainly knew who Wang Maolin and Wang Yongming were, and he also knew where Imperial Capital No. 26 Middle School was. He also knew what the phrase "things are different now than they were in the past" meant.

The key is……

This series of operations looked so familiar. If most of the joint ventures and shareholdings of the other party were not located in Jiangsu, he would have almost thought that Wei Hongjun had changed his vest and ran in front of him.

After understanding You Yakun's hint, Yang Mo asked in a deep voice, "Old You, who's behind... the Wei family's ally?"

You Yakun narrowed his eyes, and then concentrated on appreciating the teacup in his hand: "Don't ask me this kind of question. I don't have an answer even if you ask me. However, the organization's intention to protect you is very obvious... The current situation is too turbulent. In the process of crossing the river by feeling the stones, some things are difficult to prevent. Therefore, some leaders who appreciate you do not want Dahua Company to be taken advantage of because of the sharp decline in organizational strength."

These words seemed to answer nothing, yet they said everything.

Hearing this, Yang Mo smiled calmly: "It's not easy to set up a joint venture and merge shares under my nose and play the trick of using someone else as a substitute."

You Yakun smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Old Yang, you are too confident."

"This plan would have been fine even if it was proposed a month ago."

"But as the three-rail project is about to come to a halt, the restructuring of some old state-owned enterprises in Dezhou and Lanling will fall into a quagmire again, and many things will become difficult to say."

"So, within the scope of your Dahua company's business links, it may not be realistic to form a joint venture with the backbone enterprises in which you have a stake. But if you take a roundabout route and want to achieve a similar effect through those backbone enterprises that have business links with you...it's actually not that difficult."

Yang Mo glanced at him: "What do you mean?"

You Yakun sighed heavily and rubbed his temple gently: "Old Yang, you are so smart, you should be able to guess it."

Yang Mo was silent for a moment.

The inertia and drawbacks accumulated in state-owned enterprises over decades can easily become an almost unsolvable dilemma under the impact of the real marketization wave.

In this predicament, faced with thousands and tens of thousands of hungry mouths to feed, there is so much that can be done, and even some methods of drinking poison to quench thirst will be tacitly approved.

This will not only pose a huge challenge to Yang Mo, but will also bring tremendous pressure to You Yakun, so it is no wonder that this guy looks so worried.

But this is not what Yang Mo is most concerned about at the moment. What he is concerned about is...

"Old You, why did you suddenly think of telling me this today?"

Yang Mo tilted his head and looked at You Yakun, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, You Yakun sighed and shook his head: "I heard that on May Day, Lao Tian and you went fishing all morning?"

Yang Mo's eyes flashed with understanding, and he nodded gently: "It's a pity that my skills are too poor, and I didn't catch any fish."

You Yakun laughed, and then his face straightened: "The reason why I talked to you about this today is to tell you..."

“First, Dezhou is a newly promoted prefecture-level city, having been promoted from a county-level city less than a year and a half ago;”

“Second, Dezhou is a pilot city for tax-sharing reform.”

Yang Mo smiled: "So?"

You Yakun sighed and took a sip of tea. "So, the three-year period doesn't really apply to me. And I, more than anyone else, hope that Texas can truly develop... Understand?"

The 1980s and 1990s were an era of revolving doors. People of You Yakun's level and position would often be rotated to other places within three years or even less than three years... This was also a key factor in Yang Mo's initial support for Ye Tao. After all, if the time in office is too short, too many problems will easily be left behind.

But You Yakun now told Yang Mo clearly that Dezhou was a prefecture-level city that had just been promoted from a county-level city, and the organization now attached great importance to this sudden attack from the northern inland city. So for the sake of safety, You Yakun could not just pat his butt after serving for three years... Even if he might not serve for six years, he would basically not be able to escape five years, so he had to consider the future of Dezhou.

Of course, it is also possible that the news was revealed to him by his old leader. Otherwise, if he had told Yang Mo the situation openly as soon as he took office, why would so many conflicts have arisen in the middle of the process?
As for emphasizing that Texas is a pilot city for the tax-sharing reform, this is easier to understand. Students who know something about the tax-sharing system know what this means.

In other words, You Yakun was emphasizing that he was sent directly by the organization. In addition, he had just deliberately emphasized that some leaders hoped that Yang Mo could be transferred to the administrative system, so the implication was obvious... We are in the same group, and we may even become comrades in the same trench in the future, so you don't have to worry about me cheating you.

Although he didn't know whether it was true or not, Yang Mo nodded seriously: "Okay... I understand."

………………

Just when Yang Mo and You Yakun were looking at each other gloomily in the office.

In a newly opened western restaurant in a secondary business district near the Dahua Industrial Zone, a rustic guy was staring at the decoration of the restaurant uncomfortably.

Chen Bingyi, who was wearing a handmade suit, looked at the girl in front of him with amusement. She seemed to have a thorn under her buttocks, and handed her the cut steak very gentlemanly: "Ms. Lu, is this your first time in a place like this?"

The dog student, whose skin seemed to be a little rougher and whose cheeks were sunburned, nodded uncomfortably at first. Then, he looked at the steaks on the plate that showed the true color of myoglobin after being cut, and took a breath of cold air. Then he looked around, and then he blocked the plate with one hand and bent down: "Mr. Chen, you are not a good cook. The meat is not cooked yet, even though it is so expensive... Ask the waiter to take it away quickly. It will be bad if other customers see it!"

Chen Bingyi couldn't help laughing when he saw the girl blocking him with her body and urging him to get the dishes removed.

(End of this chapter)