Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 839 The Shock of the Mainland Automotive Sector

Europe, which will become the world's second-largest economy in the future, is making investing in some of its companies during this period of economic downturn the best option.

However, things must be done step by step. In the short term, his focus will remain on the UK market. Once he has solidified the UK market, he will consider expanding into other European countries.

Europe has too many countries with different languages ​​and laws, which will indeed cause considerable trouble. The establishment of the Euro is still a long way off, so for now we can only accept all of this.

After settling matters in Britain, Yang Wendong arranged two separate flights to transport himself and his family back to Hong Kong. Now, the Yang family tries to avoid traveling together on the same mode of transportation.

His eldest son, Yang Zhiwen, is already studying at Columbia University. In a few years, the second generation of the Yang family will be able to gradually enter society, learn and grow. Only then can the Yang family be considered a true family. Otherwise, since he was the only one in the family, there was always a lot of uncertainty.
Yang Wendong's acquisition of Mini in the UK was like a tidal wave, crashing into public opinion throughout Hong Kong.

Although many people in Hong Kong are unaware that Mini is just an ordinary car company, for the city of Hong Kong, the automotive industry is too distant and also very high-end.
In addition, many Chinese people feel that it is very proud for Hong Kong capital to acquire such a large industry in the UK.

Hong Kong capital ventures into Britain, spending huge sums to acquire a major automotive company!

Hong Kongers' surprise attack on London's motorsport scene: science fiction or reality?

Overnight, Hong Kong gained its own automobile industry.

Various sensational headlines circulated in different media, and countless Hong Kong citizens were thoroughly entertained by the gossip.

"Yang Wendong is really amazing. He actually acquired a car company in England. Do you think he might move the car factory to Hong Kong?"

"Impossible. Hong Kong doesn't have those conditions. They're just investing."

"So, does that mean there are thousands of foreigners working for us Hong Kong people?"

"Isn't this normal? There are plenty of foreigners working for Chinese people in Hong Kong these days. It's nothing like the glamorous life they used to have."

"Yes, we Chinese also need to stand up for ourselves."

"But why is he investing in the automotive industry? It's so unlike typical Hong Kong style!"

What's the style of Hong Kong people? Speculating on real estate? Speculating on stocks?

"Do I need to say more?"

Various controversies have become topics of discussion in Hong Kong society, but no matter what, Hong Kong capital has made great strides in the UK, and thousands of British people work for Chinese bosses in the UK, which is something that many people are very proud of.
It's important to understand that in Hong Kong, historically, Chinese people have been working for foreigners, and their social status has been far inferior. Only in recent years has this perception begun to gradually change.

Many people have suddenly realized that many industries around them are now dominated by Chinese capital, rather than being monopolized by British capital as before.

However, some less friendly media outlets, while not directly naming him, implied that Yang Wendong might be pessimistic about Hong Kong's future and intend to transfer his assets out of the city.
Kang Le Building:

The chairman's assistants were cross-checking today's newspapers. Their job was to select news items from dozens of important newspapers or content related to their group or the boss himself in a short period of time and then submit them to Yang Wendong.

After all, the boss's time is very valuable; he can't leisurely read dozens of newspapers and then find the content he needs to read.

Soon, the newspaper articles were selected, and a notebook was handed to Yang Wendong. Yang Wendong opened it and began to read. The articles from the newspapers were cut and pasted into the notebook for easy reference. After reading, the notebook would also record today's date and save it.

"Some media outlets are making veiled accusations," Yang Wendong said, his brow furrowing slightly after reading the article.

He skimmed through the newspaper articles that praised him, but he read these somewhat sarcastic reports very carefully.

Assistant Aying said, "These are just some tabloids trying to get attention, but they described it very vaguely, so we can't sue them. How about we take a hit on them on a commercial level?"

"Let's find out who they are first, and then we'll decide what to do next," Yang Wendong said, shaking his head.

It's only been a little over a decade since 97. What will happen to Hong Kong in the future has become a hot topic of news for many people. Ordinary people may not care, but the wealthy and those with social status are quite concerned.
Even if it's not reported by the media today, in a year or two, this kind of thing will inevitably attract the attention of the entire Hong Kong media; that's for sure.
Now that a few small media outlets have mentioned this, it has actually reminded Yang Wendong that if he were to make large-scale, high-profile investments overseas during this period, it would inevitably raise questions in this regard.

However, he couldn't bring himself not to invest. After all, he had made so much money from gold futures, and he certainly couldn't just leave it in the bank to earn interest. The global economic crisis and high inflation of the 80s had caused the stock prices of various high-quality assets to plummet, making it the perfect time for investment and acquisition.

After thinking for a while, Yang Wendong said, "Have Fang Xianming and Wang Zhenbang come over. We need to discuss something with them."

“Okay, Mr. Yang,” Ah Ying replied.

After a while, Fang Xianming and Wang Zhenbang arrived at his office.

"Sit down," Yang Wendong said, waving his hand.
Wang Zhenbang is the head of the legal department of Changxing Group. He often seeks the advice of Wang Zhenbang before making any investments to avoid legal risks.

Yang Wendong then informed the two of the matter, and Wang Zhenbang said, "This issue does indeed require advance preparation. During this period, some people have already begun to immigrate or are preparing to immigrate."

“Our group will remain firmly in Hong Kong, and our headquarters will always be located in Hong Kong,” Yang Wendong said. “However, given the size of our company, we are also preparing to make large-scale investments overseas in recent years, which could easily lead to misunderstandings.”

Wang Zhenbang thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Yang, could we also make large-scale investments in Hong Kong at the same time? As long as we also invest in Hong Kong, that would be the best evidence."

“Investing in Hong Kong is possible, but it’s not a good time right now,” Yang Wendong said, shaking his head.

By 1981, Hong Kong's property market would gradually enter a period of stagnation, with high property prices that would not come down in the short term, and then in 82, prices would plummet due to external factors.

It's already 1980; a large-scale foray into real estate now wouldn't be worthwhile, and the Changxing Group is already quite large in Hong Kong. Fang Xianming said, "Mr. Yang, you're not so optimistic about the Hong Kong real estate market either?"

“The Hong Kong property market goes through a cycle in less than ten years, and this year is the sixth year already. What do you think?” Yang Wendong asked with a smile.

Wang Zhenbang said, "That's right. Housing prices are too high now. Ordinary people can't afford them anymore."

“In the short term, this problem won’t be too serious. What I’m thinking about is the future, so the group needs to be prepared internally and also control the media to prevent things from going in this direction.” Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, “In addition, I may also be preparing to make large-scale investments in the domestic market, which may also affect Hong Kong.”

Wang Zhenbang asked, "If we invest domestically, won't that cause problems in the UK?"

"Why care about them? Britain is in complete disarray internally right now, and their influence isn't that strong anymore," Yang Wendong said nonchalantly. "Besides, the mainland has pretty good relations with Europe and America these days, and some European and American capital is still investing there, isn't it?"

Many people in Hong Kong still believe that the British Empire had a strong influence, and they have always had this wrong intuition.
But this is normal. Even in the future mobile internet era, many people are still stuck in the past "Yilin" era.

Fang Xianming laughed and said, "That's right. In fact, the United States is now in charge of the world, and the relationship between the United States and the mainland is currently very close."

"Well, it's best not to offend anyone if possible, so we need to be prepared. My future investments, whether in Europe and America or in mainland China, will be substantial, so the group needs to be prepared to deal with various public opinions and legal issues," Yang Wendong added.

The fact that most of my future overseas investments will be in cooperation with listed companies cannot be kept secret.

For large-scale collaborations with the mainland, the mainland side will inevitably make announcements, and it won't be difficult for Hong Kong to find out.

When future Sino-British negotiations take place, Hong Kong may be divided into several camps, and the media will be bombarding the issue. With my own investments at stake, I don't know how many controversies it might cause.
However, he couldn't let this affect his investment plans. After all, in the early 80s, there were extremely rare golden opportunities in both mainland China and Europe and America.

"Okay," Wang Zhenbang replied.
In Beijing, on the mainland, inside an administrative office building, senior officials from the Ministry of Machine Building were preparing to begin a high-level meeting.

"Everyone, I apologize for calling you all back from different places. There's something I need to tell you all," a man in his sixties with slightly graying hair said with a smile.

"Old Zhou, you must have something important to tell us about calling us back," another person said with a smile.

Old Zhou nodded, then looked at the other person and asked, "Director Wang, how are the negotiations with the public going?"

Director Wang, who was named, replied: "It's very difficult. The demands from Germany are too numerous and far from our bottom line. There are significant disputes regarding technology transfer, foreign exchange balance, and employee issues."
For the past three months, we've been holding small meetings every three days and large meetings every five days, but many problems remain unresolved. Some of their demands are for us to amend laws, which is utterly outrageous; we have no authority to do so.

Upon hearing this, the others began to whisper among themselves, as they too had been involved in negotiations with other car companies, all of which were extremely difficult.

Back in 1977, a high-ranking leader visited Japan and rode in an embassy car made in mainland China. However, the car was going too slowly and couldn't keep up with the Japanese staff. In his impatience, the driver floored the accelerator, which caused the engine to burn out.
This incident caused the country to lose face, and as a result, the automotive strategy became a key development area after the reform and opening up.
However, after testing, the mainland also found that its cars were far behind those of overseas cars. This was not only in terms of technology and quality, but also in terms of production capacity. A factory with tens of thousands of employees could only produce a few thousand cars a year, while an overseas factory with a few thousand employees could produce tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of cars a year.
Left with no other option, they had to try to import technology. The initial partner was General Motors in the United States, and the CEO of GM proposed a joint venture strategy, but it was rejected by the US side. So, China had to look for other car brands.
Ford and Chrysler from the United States; Toyota, Honda, and Nissan from Japan; Citroën and Peugeot from France; Fiat from Italy, etc.

Most of these companies were arrogant and only willing to sell cars to the mainland, which was naturally unacceptable. Only Volkswagen of Germany expressed its willingness to talk, but when the talks started, there were too many disputes between the two sides.
But that's normal. International cooperation inherently requires a long period of negotiation, not to mention the investment in building factories in mainland China.

"For the sake of the development of the domestic automobile industry, we can only continue to negotiate. As for legal matters, we'll just report them to our superiors." Old Zhou nodded and said, "However, I called everyone here today because I have some good news. Do you know Yang Wendong from Hong Kong?"

"Yang Wendong? The one who invested in a beverage factory in Chaoyang District?"

"I also know that Hong Kong's richest man is very wealthy, and it is said that he is richer than a country."

Everyone present clearly knew this person.

Old Zhou smiled and said, "Everyone knows, that's good. I don't need to introduce him. I just received news that Yang Wendong has acquired a car company in the UK called Mini Cars."

"What? Hong Kong people have acquired British cars? Would the British sell an industry like cars?" one person asked in shock.

Old Zhou said, "I don't know the specifics, but it's definitely true. Newspapers in both Hong Kong and Britain have already published it."
Furthermore, you may all underestimate those capitalists in Hong Kong. As far as I know, Yang Wendong has also invested in Chrysler, the third-largest automaker in the United States, and become a shareholder.

"Chrysler, could we leverage this relationship to cooperate with Chrysler?" Director Wang asked.

Old Zhou said, "I don't know, let's ask later. Let's consider their self-owned mini brand first."

"Mini cars? Never heard of them?"

"British cars, I remember them not being very good, right?"

Many people are discussing this again, and they are well aware of the world's leading automotive nations, but the UK is not among them.

Old Zhou looked at the person next to him: "Xiao Li, let me introduce this Mini car to everyone."

"Yes, Director Zhou." Xiao Li quickly stood up and distributed the documents to everyone present, then said, "This Mini car is from the British Leyland Group. It was founded in 1959 and specializes in small cars. Last year, its global sales reached 4.7 units."

"4.7 units? That's not a small number." Those present discussed it amongst themselves after hearing this.
The largest car manufacturer in mainland China, Shanghai-based brands, only sell 2 vehicles a year.

Old Zhou coughed and said, "4.7 units may be a lot for us, but it's not enough for European and American car giants. Don't forget that."

"Director Zhou, what do you mean?" another person asked cautiously.
Old Zhou said, "Although it's a small car company, their cars are relatively small and fuel-efficient, which I think is quite suitable for our domestic needs."

With negotiations with Volkswagen and Peugeot currently stalled, it might be worth considering this small car company. Its current owner is Chinese and has already invested in China, which could make things much easier.

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(End of this chapter)