A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 252 Silver Empire
China Wharf South Terminal.

Chen Guangliang held an umbrella to shield Yan Renmei from the sun.

The management of Global Shipping all followed behind or beside the two people. Today was the reception ceremony for Global Shipping's seventh ship to Shanghai.

The ship is the "Warla" cargo ship built by a Canadian shipping company in 1918. It is only 14 years old and has a deadweight of 3360 tons. For global shipping, it is considered a relatively small ship, but for other Chinese shipping companies, it is already a large ship.

The original owner of the Walla cargo ship was the British Indian Steamship Company, which offered 20 oceans, a price not too high, so Chen Guangliang took the opportunity to let Global Shipping take it over.

After this ship returned to the fleet, Global Shipping now owned seven ships with a total tonnage of 30850 tons, making it the second largest private shipping company in China after Yu Qiaqing's Sanbei Jia Hong'an (more than 4 tons).

At present, there are hundreds of shipping companies of all sizes in Shanghai, most of which are small companies with only one or two small-tonnage motor ships. Some shipping companies even rely on temporary ship chartering to maintain operations.

It can be seen that Chen Guangliang can now be called the "China Shipping King".

Moreover, compared with Yu Qiaqing's efforts in inland river operations, the four ships in Chen Guangliang's hands have already entered the shipping routes of the great powers and are now firmly established.

The four ships on these two routes alone were enough to make Yu Qiaqing envious.

From Yu Qiaqing's perspective, each of the four ships should be worth about four or five hundred thousand oceans - the ships were new and large in tonnage, so he was simply reluctant to buy them.

"coming"

Someone shouted, and then the cargo ship Huala appeared on the sea. Of course, it should be called Golden Theta now, and its Chinese name is Jinfeng.

It looks pretty good, although it is only more than 3,000 tons. However, currently, almost all foreign-funded shipping companies own 10,000-ton giant ships, and there are only fourteen companies in the entire Far East that own 10,000-ton giant ships.

After a while, everyone boarded the Jinfeng cargo ship and started to visit.

In particular, the repairmen from Global Shipping’s machinery factory boarded the ship for inspection as soon as possible. The inspection of the ship will be completed in 7 to 14 days before it can be put into transportation.

The Jinfeng is not intended to join a fixed route and is a ship that can sail whenever there is business.

After a while, Zhao Tieyi happily stepped forward and reported: "Boss, the boat is in good condition. We have bought a good boat this time!"

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "The price is reasonable. After all, it's very unlikely that we'll ever have the same chance of encountering a ship like the six we saw earlier."

Everyone nodded. When the first six ships were pulled back to the Far East, its value had increased from US$6.5 per ship to about US$10.

This is the benefit of information asymmetry!
Zhao Tieyi then said, "Boss, Fushun Coal and Kailuan Coal are competing to dump their coal mines to Shanghai. Our ship might be able to take on the job of transporting coal. Especially Fushun Coal, they even hope that our company can transport it."

Chen Guangliang said decisively: "If we don't take Fushun coal, my ship will be empty, but I won't take this bloody meal. We can fight for Kailuan coal, after all, we are a partner."

In fact, at this time the "voice of resistance" has become much smaller. In addition, coal is a permitted resource, so transporting Fushun coal may not necessarily encounter much resistance.

Because Fushun coal is cheap enough, some factories have been buying it secretly, and many people just turn a blind eye.

But Chen Guangliang is a very capable person, so he would certainly not fall for the Japanese tricks!
"Well, we didn't think about transporting Fushun coal. After all, Global Shipping's business is already on the right track." Zhao Tieyi immediately changed his tune.

Chen Guangliang did not blame him. After all, as long as there were no problems in management, these were all small matters.

Currently, among the seven ships of Global Shipping:
The four ships on routes 20 and had good business in the first half of the year, earning a profit of about yuan, and the profit will only be higher in the second half of the year.
The two ships on the third and fourth routes started transporting sugarcane in October last year, bringing a profit of 10 oceans to global shipping. They have now been put into fixed routes - Guangzhou Bay to Hong Kong, Guangzhou Bay to southwestern provinces, etc.

All in all, after buying the "Golden Peak", Global Shipping still had a cash flow of nearly 400,000 oceans.

At the same time, Global Shipping is also preparing to purchase another ship, which will complete this round of expansion.

The No. 300 Sugar Factory in Guangdong Province finally fulfilled its promise - the first dividend was 150 million yuan, of which the Jiangnan Group received 75 million yuan in dividends and Chen Guangliang personally received yuan in profits.

Of course, this is only the first part. Fang Jiaobo personally went to Guangdong Province to participate in the audit. The sugar factory showed that as of July 1932, the First Sugar Factory had obtained a profit of 7 million oceans.

The remaining 109 million in profits will be shared next year.

At this time, sugar from Guangdong Province has already landed in Shanghai, but has not yet occupied Shanghai, so the next sugar-making period is very critical.

As of now, the total dividend from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang consortium’s investment will not be less than 300 million (investment of 200 million), so there is no possibility of loss.

The most Guangdong Province did was in the second half of 1933, when it used the other five factories as the main sugar-making factories and the First Sugar Factory as the backup sugar-making factory to reduce dividends.

Otherwise, dividends will have to be distributed to the Jiangsu-Zhejiang consortium in succession. After all, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang consortium now has the right to supervise finances.

Chen Guangliang didn't worry too much, after all, he had benefited from it.

At this time, the shareholders of the Guangdong Sugar Factory were having a dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel. Of course, Kong Xiangxi did not attend, but instead sent the Kong family's business steward.

Fang Jiaobo had just returned to Shanghai. He was the representative supervising the No. 1 Sugar Refinery in Guangdong Province and had more say.

"We have reached an agreement with Guangdong Province that the dividend for the next sugar cane crushing season must not be less than 300 million yuan. The province has also agreed. Furthermore, Guangdong Province will build up to three sugar cane crushing plants this year, with a combined daily crushing capacity of 2500 tons, a 2.5-fold increase in output. However, the production capacity of the first sugar cane crushing plant will not be affected."

Zhang Yuanji lamented, "Mr. Chen has made tremendous contributions to the Chinese sugar industry, saving the country tens of millions of taels of silver each year. Yet, Guangdong Province remains secretive about the distribution, which is unsatisfactory."

It is estimated that this year (1932) Guangdong's sugar production capacity will surge to 8 tons, the first full year of production. At 200 yuan per ton, that would be 1600 million yuan.

By next year (1933), the sugar production capacity will have to double to 16 tons, which will bring in more than million in revenue.

By the following year (1934), the six factories in Guangdong Province were operating at full profitability, with an output of 20 tons. Together with the supporting alcohol facilities, the annual output value was 5000 million.

However, starting from 1934, Yangtang probably had no chance to import sugar into China, but China had the opportunity to export sugar.

Chen Guangliang said modestly, "Although Guangdong Province hasn't been entirely aboveboard, we know they're still a warlord region. We're already doing well to earn what we should. If you ask me, after next year's dividends, we can sell our shares to the Guangdong Provincial Construction Department. That way, we won't be subject to restrictions, and we'll still have earned a good return."

This is equivalent to investing 200 million yuan and getting 500 million yuan, which is almost double the profit, so you don’t have to worry about being swallowed up by Guangdong Province one day.

"I agree"

"Well, once Guangdong Province's sugar is rolled out in Shanghai and its surrounding areas, people will probably not pay attention to us anymore, so it's right to quit while we're ahead."

Everyone agreed.

Then, everyone started talking about something exciting. Fang Jiaobo said, "I predict that by 1934, our country's sugar industry will be completely self-sufficient. By 1935, we'll even be able to sell it overseas."

Everyone echoed the sentiment. While many people were still fighting for the "ice cream" market, their Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium had already made China's sugar industry self-sufficient, reducing the outflow of nearly 100 million yuan for the country.

In fact, Guangdong Province had also done a lot of work. By then, sugarcane was already grown on a large scale in four major regions (at the municipal level) and Hainan Island. By 1935, the province might have achieved true self-sufficiency in sugarcane, and might not even need to import sugarcane.

The success of this time is also due to the "right time, right place and right people". If it were not for the Great Depression, a set of equipment might cost more than 110 million US dollars. The key is that the American machinery factory might not be so willing to agree to various additional conditions. If the National Government had not taken back the tariff autonomy, Yangtang would still be able to occupy the advantage.
Anyway, it was finally successful!

Everyone then started discussing industry. Chen Guangliang actually wanted to make some more contributions to the country, so that at least when the Anti-Japanese War came, life would not be so hard.

The big things definitely can’t be improved, but the small things can change a lot.

For example, the 6000 million assets in the Shanghai Stock Exchange were saved from loss. These factories prepared to resume work and put into production as soon as possible, which will ultimately create more social wealth and national tax revenue.

Secondly, the sugar industry. By 1937, China's sugar industry had matured. Even if it retreated to Sichuan, it could still provide more strategic sugar materials during the war.

These are two major changes, and they can slightly affect the battle situation.

In mid-July, Chen Guangliang attended a meeting in which Song Ziwen and the Shanghai silver and money industry continued to discuss currency reform. They decided to organize a "Abolition of the Liang-Yuan and Reform of the Yuan" research group, with Chen Xing, vice president of the Central Bank, as chairman and Bei Songsun, Hu Bijiang, Chen Guangliang and Westerners Kemal, Mai Zhaote and Lei Qi as members.

Chen Guangliang originally wanted to decline this kind of thing. He didn't want to get closer and closer to the Nanjing government, otherwise he would not have peace when he went to Hong Kong in the future.

However, Song Zaiwen seemed to attach great importance to Chen Guangliang, so this matter could not be refused - plus, Chen Guangliang still did not dare to offend the Nanjing government.

If he really offends the Nanjing government, his situation will be even worse in the future.

After the meeting, Chen Guangliang found Song Zaiwen privately, hoping to discuss something in private.

Song Zaiwen readily agreed, and then the two met in a house, with only Song Zaiwen's secretary Tang Yulou accompanying them.

At the beginning of the meeting, Chen Guangliang asked, "Minister Song, why did China import 1931 million taels of silver every year before 1?"

Song Zaiwen said with interest, "Our country is on a silver standard, and there has always been a shortage of silver. At that time, there were only a little over 9 million silver dollars in the country, but there were over 12 billion silver dollars in circulation, of which about million were bills."

Chen Guangliang naturally knew this, and he continued, "What is the situation of our silver import and export this year?"

Song Ziwen didn't know what kind of medicine Chen Guangliang was selling, but he knew that Chen Guangliang wouldn't test him for no reason, so he said, "This year we'll probably be in a net export state."

Chen Guangliang said, "The cheaper silver gets, the more we export it. Little do we realize that when others are fearful, we should be greedy. I remember that in order to halt the decline in silver prices, the American 'Silver Group', represented by Bidman, proposed an amendment to the Tariff Act on May 1929, 5, demanding a 16-cent tariff per ounce on imported silver, attempting to deter imports. However, the amendment failed miserably in the House of Representatives by a vote of 30 to 72. This move forced the Silver Group to turn its attention elsewhere."

Later, the United States was in the midst of a major recession, and its foreign trade declined accordingly, with exports collapsing. Bidman believes that the decline in U.S. exports, especially to the Far East, was not due to the economic crisis, but primarily to the low price of silver on the world market.

Song Zaiwen's expression turned serious. He said, "Mr. Chen, are you saying that this 'Silver Group' has a lot of influence in the United States? Will they dominate the rise of silver prices?"

陈光良说道：“1930年美国出产白银5100万盎司，1931年3100万盎司，在世界上仅次于墨西哥（1930年1.05亿盎司，1931年8900万盎司)的产量，为世界第二大产银国。

Considering that American capital accounted for over 70% of Mexico's silver industry, and that in 1929, American capital accounted for two-thirds of the world's total silver production of 2.6 million ounces, and 2% of silver smelting, the United States was clearly the world's leading silver power. Consequently, the silver group also became a politically influential group.

Song Zaiwen fell into deep thought, then said, "The Silver Group has such political influence that it naturally hopes the price of silver will rise. However, if the US government wants silver prices to rise, it will probably have no choice but to follow other countries in abandoning the gold standard."

Chen Guangliang said, "The US couldn't hold out anyway. This year is an election year, and whoever wants to win will make changes. So my suggestion to Minister Song is to import silver and implement the 'abolition of the liang yuan' policy simultaneously to alleviate our silver shortage. Furthermore, if the US government decides to raise the price of silver, we could face a significant outflow of silver. Furthermore, silver is currently at a historically low price. The more fearful everyone becomes, the more we should be greedy. Think about it: silver is already so cheap, how much further can it go?"

As Song Zaiwen watched Chen Guangliang giving orders, he suddenly had the idea of ​​kidnapping Chen Guangliang and bringing him to the Nanjing government to serve as an advisor.

But obviously, this is unrealistic, as Chen Guangliang is now a representative figure in Shanghai's industrial and commercial circles.

"Let's go back and reconsider your suggestion. Anyway, thank you very much for it. By the way, when you predicted the appreciation of gold, I ordered several government-owned banks to import a large amount of gold, which increased their profits considerably."

"As long as it's helpful, I enjoy analyzing things. If I can benefit the country and my compatriots, I'm naturally happy to do so."

Song Zaiwen praised him, "Your contribution to Huaxia Sugar Industry is enormous. We have already reduced a lot of our annual revenue output."

"I don't dare to accept this. I am just talking about it on paper."

Afterwards, the two separated.

Chen Guangliang's suggestion this time was not because he thought he could sit back and relax as long as he got close to Song Zaiwen. He understood that as long as his bank became bigger, Song Zaiwen would still think about taking it over in the future.

But as long as he doesn't leave any evidence, Song Zaiwen will naturally have no chance.

Therefore, Chen Guangliang did not expect Song Zaiwen to thank him for "saving the people" and "giving him guidance". He was just considering it from the perspective of the country.

After Chen Guangliang left, Tang Yulu tentatively asked, "Minister, do you think what he said makes sense?"

Song Zaiwen stood up and said, "That makes some sense, but we can't gamble. So, let's study it in detail and see if we can import silver within an acceptable range. But after all, we don't have much foreign exchange."

"Well, in fact, a lot of silver has flowed into our country in recent years. However, this inflow of silver is foreign capital, and we cannot monitor its outflow."

"We'll see later how much foreign exchange the government-run banks have left and how much imported silver they can provide. This matter can only be viewed from the perspective of the government-run banks, not from the national level."

"Ok"

How does the country speculate in silver?
Should we allow silver to flow out as the price of silver rises?

Obviously not.

But it is different for several state-owned banks. They are corporate in nature and hold a lot of foreign exchange. If they import large quantities of silver, it will not be a big problem.

How much is appropriate?

Song Zaiwen already had a number in his mind at this time, which was based on the previous year's amount, which was 100 million taels of silver.

This appetite is not small, after all, exports have decreased a lot in recent years, but he still believes in Chen Guangliang's analysis in his heart.

(End of this chapter)