A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 219 The Prototype of the Consortium

Early July.

Chen Guangliang and Liu Hongsheng signed a new equity contract for the Jiawang Coal Mine in Xuzhou.

In the new contract, Chen Guangliang and Liu Hongsheng invested a total of 80 yuan into Jiawang Coal Mine (mainly for debt repayment), each holding a 30% stake; the original shareholders of Jiawang Coal Mine invested in Jiawang Coal Mine and held a 40% stake (Xie Hengchuang was also one of the shareholders).

After the new equity structure was finalized, it meant reorganizing production, so a loan of 30 yuan was borrowed from the bank to restart the coal mine.

At the same time, in terms of management structure:
Zhang Ducheng, the supervisor of the Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway Administrations, was appointed chairman (in order to obtain convenient transportation on the railway, taking advantage of Zhang's status);
Hired Gu Jiemei, an accounting expert, as general manager;
Hired Dai Linshu as deputy general manager, who was the original manager;

Jiang Shanshou was hired as the chief technical engineer. He was Liu Hongsheng's cousin-in-law, but he was a master's degree holder from the American University of Mining and Technology. He not only had rich theoretical knowledge, but also had many years of experience in mining management. Therefore, Chen Guangliang also recognized the principle of "appointing people based on their talents."

The successful reorganization of Jiawang Coal Mine in a very short period of time is undoubtedly exciting.

Chen Guangliang served as an executive director, and Liu Hongsheng was also an executive director. In fact, Jiawang Coal Mine was a collaboration between the two of them.

After settling this matter, Chen Guangliang returned to Shanghai as soon as possible and did not stay for too long.

He borrowed 400,000 yuan from the bank to invest in Jiawang Coal Mine, using the coal mine shares as collateral. To put it bluntly, it was a credit loan.

Thanks to the cooperation of "Jiawang Coal Mine", Chen Guangliang and Liu Hongsheng also reconciled.

When Liu Hongsheng heard that Chen Guangliang would have several new ships to open two "new routes", he immediately invited Chen Guangliang to inspect the "China Wharf" and seek cooperation.

Chen Guangliang also readily agreed to the inspection!

At the Zhonghua North Wharf in Dongjiadu, Liu Hongsheng introduced Chen Guangliang:

"Mr. Chen, our Zhonghua Dock Company consists of three docks: Zhonghua North Dock, Zhonghua South Dock, and Zhoujiadu. Zhoujiadu and North Dock are coal docks, while South Dock is a general cargo dock."

"Our dock has a deep draft and can accommodate 1-ton ocean-going vessels. Nanzhan Wharf has a three-story steel-reinforced concrete warehouse and 11 other warehouses, totaling over 4 square meters. Aside from China Merchants Group, we are the largest Chinese-owned dock company."

Chen Guangliang said sharply: "The management of the foreign merchant docks and the advantages of customs are obvious!"

He would not easily hand over the business to China Wharf, and this inspection was just a normal inspection of the wharf.

Liu Hongsheng immediately said, "We are a British merchant. We have the British Shell Merchants Company as our business representative and Hawkins as the dock manager. Therefore, we also have the privileges that foreign docks have. For example, we also have the 'guanzhan'."

The so-called "guanzhan" is a privilege for foreigners. It stipulates that once goods enter the customs warehouse, they do not have to pay taxes immediately, but only need to pay taxes after they are sold.

This gives many people financial space, which is why many cargo owners choose "Yangzhan".

If we use the British merchant sign, we can naturally build a customs warehouse.

In addition to these advantages, "foreign warehouse orders" had a good reputation and could be easily mortgaged to banks, making turnover easier. Docks were vulnerable to robbery by criminal gangs, but if they were registered as foreign merchants, the gangs would be wary of them. Foreigners were better managers, as the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company hired foreigners as dock managers. Foreigners had easier dealings with customs and other agencies, giving them an advantage in attracting business.
"Okay, we'll consider Nanzhan when the time comes!"

Although Liu Hongsheng knew it was just a polite remark, he smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Chen."

However, Liu Hongsheng also admired Chen Guangliang in his heart. He was even more decisive than Chen Guangliang in investing in industry. In the past year, he invested in sugar production and shipping, and each of them was a big deal.

Chen Guangliang came to the eastern section of Yuyuan Road to inspect the progress of the "Oriental Press Building". Accompanying him was Lu Yuantai, deputy general manager of Changjiang Real Estate.

As of now (May 1931.5), Changjiang Real Estate's residential business on Yuyuan Road, Nanjing West Road and Weihai Road has all been completed; the "Spring (20 houses)" on Weihai Road was also fully delivered last month.

As for the sales funds, they have basically been recovered. Only a few residences on Yuyuan Road still have some "installment payments".

Of course, Changjiang Real Estate now has some scattered rental properties, including the "three construction projects" on Yuyuan Road, which can collect rent of about 2.5 yuan a year; and Changjiang Real Estate has retained some properties on Yuyuan Road and Nanjing West Road, but the rent is not much, and they are mainly used for employee dormitories.

As these projects were completed one after another, a small number of the 28 employees of Changjiang Real Estate began to be assigned to administrative positions at the Shangri-La Hotel or to run property management companies.

"The Oriental Press Building is basically completed, and we can consider moving in in July. The eight floors have a total floor area of ​​about 7 square meters. Oriental Press said that they only need to occupy four floors, and the rest will be leased to us." Lu Yuantai said.

Although Yuyuan Road is not a commercial street, it is now the area with the highest concentration of Western-style buildings in Shanghai, and is quite prosperous.

So, Chen Guangliang finalized, "Changjiang Real Estate, Changjiang Property, and Changjiang Bank will occupy one floor. Global Shipping, Global Trade, and Vitasoy will occupy one floor. Changjiang Taxi, Jierui Coal Briquettes, and Changjiang Car Dealership will occupy one floor. If floors 2 through 8 are vacant, keep them vacant. Don't rent them out. Who knows, I might have some other ventures down the road."

"it is good"

The only pity is that the location here is not good, otherwise this commercial building with an investment of about 300,000 yuan could be used as a bank building.

Liu Hongsheng built an eight-story building on Chuanshu Road for his companies to reside in, and also set up a "Huaxia Enterprise Bank".

Chen Guangliang has been considering whether to set up a bank!
His wealth has surpassed that of industrial tycoons like Liu Hongsheng, and even exceeded it by a lot.

For example, although Liu Hongsheng may have assets of nearly 1933 million, his debts are also as high as several million. Once the Chinese economic depression from 1935 to occurred (silver outflow and money shortage everywhere), Liu Hongsheng's business empire would be shaky.

In contrast, Chen Guangliang had a "cash flow" of 1250 million at his peak last year. Although he invested a lot afterwards, he had almost no debt.

It is reasonable to say that it is twice the wealth of Liu Hongsheng.

Ultimately, real estate and finance are the most profitable, while industry takes up the most capital.

Fortunately, the industries that Chen Guangliang invested in have great prospects of making money.

Just a few days later, Chen Guangliang summoned senior executives from all his subsidiaries to a meeting in the executive conference room on the third floor of the Shangri-La Hotel.

Guo Deming, Lu Yuantai, and Yan Kuan of Changjiang Real Estate; Liang Feng of Changjiang Property; Wu Xinhe and Hu Jinshun of Changjiang Bank; Liang Mengqi, Xu Yeguang, and Zheng Wen of Changjiang Taxi; He Xiangdong of Changjiang Car Dealership; Zhao Tieyi of Global Shipping; Wu Hao of Global Trade; Chen Shiyuan, Wu Guangsheng, and Wang Tongzhao of Vitasoy; Gao Zhichao of Shangri-La Hotel.
Dozens of managers gathered together.

Chen Guangliang sat in the chairman's seat and said seriously:
"I've called everyone here because my businesses are growing in number and becoming increasingly large, and I'm starting to find it difficult to manage them. Therefore, I've decided to make the following financial arrangements for each of them." "First, Changjiang Money House will complete its transformation from a money house to a bank this year."

"Secondly, the Yangtze River Bank will immediately become the revenue and expenditure center for various enterprises, playing a coordinating role, similar to a trust organization."

"Finally, regarding personnel arrangements. Guo Deming will be the director of the accounting department of the Yangtze River Bank, and Wu Xinhe will be the director of the finance department. We will conduct a quick investigation of the finances of each company."

Originally, Chen Guangliang had to check the accounts of each company one by one, but after the reorganization, the Yangtze River Money House could supervise and coordinate the finances of each company.

For example, Chen Guangliang deposited $40 into Global Shipping's account to invest in the company. With the "Yangtze River Bank," a Thomas organization, Global Shipping's expenses could be paid by the bank.

Guo Deming first asked, "It's just a financial relationship, so it can't be called a trust. A trust organization includes administrative management, personnel scheduling, capital allocation, material procurement, warehousing, and transportation. They are not centralized, with unified planning, unified command, and unified scheduling by a central organization."

This is true.

Chen Guangliang said: "We will take it one step at a time. The integration of so many companies is a complex matter. We will first maintain financial unity and then proceed step by step."

He also wanted to establish a consortium, but the existing scale and talent were not enough to support it.

Therefore, his next plan is to prepare a "private bank" and gradually integrate the financial relationships of various companies.

Seeing Chen Guangliang say this, everyone agreed.

Chen Guangliang then continued, "After the reorganization of the Yangtze River Bank, in addition to unifying the finances of the companies that have come today, we will also need to conduct financial supervision and investigations on our joint ventures, including the Oriental Newspaper Company, Jierui Gas, Tongchang Vehicle Dealership, and the Oriental Coal Mine (Jiawang Coal Mine). Furthermore, we must abandon the old-style accounting system and adopt a modern accounting system, strengthening our accounting and financial personnel. This is what all companies will need to do going forward."

"clear"

This conference will be a landmark event for the Yangtze River Group and can be said to be the beginning of the Yangtze River Group.

After the meeting, the companies took quick action.

Since Chen Guangliang decided to start a bank, he naturally needed talented people to join him first. His original subordinates were no longer enough.

He had a strong position in the business community, so once he mentioned his need for talented individuals, his friends in the industry would naturally introduce him to them. Furthermore, with his long-standing relationships with banks like the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank, Jincheng Bank, and Siming Bank, he knew when to wield his hoe against them and pry away some of their talent.

In addition to talent, we naturally also need well-known people to serve as directors, which is not difficult.

Yangtze River Bank.

Guo Deming also moved here to work and began to work with Wu Xinhe to reorganize the finances of Chen Guangliang's companies.

"Boss, all the government bonds with a book value of 110 million have been sold, resulting in a loss of 11.5." Hu Jinshun came to Chen Guangliang's office and reported a piece of news.

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "This is the first time in my life that I've lost money, but it shouldn't be considered a business loss."

Hu Jinshun flattered him, "Boss, when you subscribed to these bonds, you immediately sold them short in the market, which shows that you weren't optimistic about the market at all. Ultimately, you simply had no choice but to subscribe!"

Chen Guangliang didn't argue, but said, "Let's ignore these things for now. Recently, in addition to continuing to pay attention to the government bond and gold prices, you also need to pay attention to cotton yarn futures trading. I will enter the market when there is an opportunity."

Speculation is always the most profitable!
Why did Chen Guangliang suddenly want to sell off the government bonds?

After all, since September 9 last year, when the Northeast Army came to Chiang's aid and the Central Plains War ended with Chiang's victory, the public debt has actually stabilized.

However, Chen Guangliang knew that there was the "Jianghuai Flood" from June to August this year, and the "September 6th Incident" in September. The public debt was destined to continue to plummet, and it would be good if it could reach 8% of its face value by the end of the year.

There will be the 'January 1 Incident' next year, and government bonds will continue to plummet, falling to 28% of their face value.

In this case, it would be right for Chen Guangliang to cut his losses as soon as possible. He can regard the loss of 11.5 as a contribution to the country.

Furthermore, starting in February of next year, Chen Guangliang could consider buying the dip in government bonds. After all, the period from 2 to 1932 was a period of political and economic stability. "Cotton yarn futures trading? It's heavily manipulated by those major cotton yarn traders. Entering the market rashly is incredibly risky!" Hu Jinshun hesitated, then warned.

Although the boss is now performing well in the gold and government bond markets, these two markets are difficult to manipulate.

However, cotton yarn futures trading is indeed a territory heavily manipulated by major cotton yarn traders.

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "It's okay, I'm sure. You can go and get some information first."

Seeing this, Hu Jinshun could only say: "Okay"

In fact, Chen Guangliang just wanted to make a quick move and leave without staying.

Because of the 918 incident, the cotton yarn market has lost the Northeast market, and a decline is an inevitable trend.

Chen Guangliang has invested in so many businesses now. If he doesn't seek profits through speculation, then his ability to withstand risks is likely to be very poor. However, if he only engages in speculation, then he lacks sufficient social influence and is easily exploited.

They complement each other and both must be done.

This year (1931), Chen Guangliang could earn millions of dollars just by relying on the "devaluation of the British pound" and the "plunge in cotton yarn prices", which is a profit that industrialists could not imagine.

Although Liu Hongsheng, the industrial tycoon, was very impressive, his Greater China Match Factory, Zhanghua Textile Factory, Cement Factory, etc. were basically making losses by the 1930s. Only the Zhonghua Wharf and the coal mine were profitable, but not much.

Industrialists are having a hard time.

In contrast, the wealth Chen Guangliang has earned in real estate and finance along the way is enough to provide a lifetime fortune for many tycoons.

Cheng Linsheng and his two generations accumulated a fortune of 2000 million, but he lost it all; Huang Chujiu struggled for decades, but his assets were less than million, and he ended up insolvent, leaving his family with only tens of thousands of dollars to live out their lives;
Chen Guangliang’s motto is: If you want to do business, you must start with finance.

(End of this chapter)