Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 89 Happy cooperation
"Mr. Zheng Yi, would you mind chatting for a moment? How about we go smoke a cigar together?"

"Oh, of course, good Commissioner Smith, you come and try this, a cigar from Manila, it's excellent."

Manila is the colonial center of the United States in Southeast Asia. Zheng Yi let Smith taste Manila cigars and acted like he was trying to sell them to him. In Smith's opinion, this was a bit of a demonstration to him.

However, Commissioner Smith was not annoyed when he heard this. Instead, he smiled and continued with Zheng Yi's words:

"I heard that the sugar-making machines and cigarette-making machines in Semarang and Manila are all produced by Mr. Zheng's Taiyou Machinery. Even though the Philippines is a colony of the United States, our American machinery is powerless in front of Mr. Zheng's machinery."

Zheng Yi: "It's mainly because it's close. Cigarette-making machines and sugar-making machines aren't that expensive. Shipping them from the US to the Philippines is more expensive than the machines themselves. Plus, it's convenient to get after-sales service here in Thailand."

Smith: "Mr. Zheng, you are truly worthy of being the leader of all the Chinese in Southeast Asia."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi quickly said modestly, "I dare not say that. The leader of the Chinese in Southeast Asia is still Mr. Tan Kah Kee. I can't say that."

Smith: "Haha, but Penang today is more like a true Chinese center than Singapore."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi remained silent.

Singapore is the largest port city in Asia and the sixth largest in the world. It controls the Strait of Malacca and has a unique geographical environment. It is also a British royal colony and a military center. It is known as the "Gibraltar Line" of Asia and an impregnable fortress.

Penang is naturally incomparable to it.

Although this so-called unbreakable fortress could not hold out for 72 hours in history, 12 British soldiers took off their armor, making a huge joke.

However, no matter how many Chinese people there are in Singapore, it is still British Singapore after all. Penang, after the Penang petrochemical project is launched, even if its future development is not as good as Singapore, it still has great potential to become the second largest city in Southeast Asia.

The most important thing is that Zheng Yi is the one in charge here.

Even this city was not given up by the British, but was taken away by Zheng Yi himself.

"Professor Zheng, I know your time is valuable, so I'll be frank. We hope that both Morgan and Citibank will open branches in Penang and provide you with a US$10 million urban construction loan. The condition... is that you cede some of your financial and monetary sovereignty."

Zheng Yi: "Currency and financial sovereignty... Do you want Penang to use the US dollar and the Philippine dollar?"

Smith smiled and said, "Mr. Zheng, you are really smart. I heard that Mr. Zheng is a versatile person. He not only understands science and technology, but also has extraordinary attainments in economics and politics. I admire you very much.

We also hope that Penang can become a financial center for the Chinese, and if possible, we would even like to replace Hong Kong Island and take on some of the responsibilities of a stock exchange center.”

Zheng Yi nodded and said, "I don't have any problems on my end. However, if the Colonial Office is under pressure, I hope Mr. Smith can help me share the burden."

Zheng Yi didn't care about this, because Penang didn't have sovereignty anyway.

Due to the United States' dominance in Southeast Asia, the US dollar has always been used for cross-border settlements in Nanyang.

This is actually a tacit understanding between Britain and the United States. Although the United States does not have the right to operate or jurisdiction over the colonies, it enjoys almost zero tariffs and there are no restrictions on American financial capital and industrial capital.

What these Americans want now is nothing more than further strengthening.

In British Malaya, while US dollars were used for international trade and large-scale settlements, internal circulation was still in Malaysian Ringgit, also known as the Straits Settlements Dollar. The British certainly wouldn't mess around with a currency like the British pound, but the Malaysian Ringgit was a different story. This was also a way for Britain to reap wealth in Malaya.

In addition to the US dollar, the liquidity of the "American Philippine Dollar" circulated in the Far East has always been poor.

Not to mention that it’s not okay outside the Philippines, even within the Philippines, it’s not okay.

Many times, the Philippine dollar is not as strong as the Hong Kong dollar.

For the United States, if Penang can use the Philippine dollar on a large scale, given Penang's status as a Chinese center, it will inevitably greatly increase the circulation of the Philippine dollar throughout Southeast Asia.

For Zheng Yi, it doesn’t matter. It’s either Malaysian Ringgit or Peso. Anyway, it’s not printed by him, so it doesn’t matter who cuts it.

Objectively speaking, although Americans in the 20th century always seemed much more clumsy than the British in dealing with international affairs due to their lack of experience, it was precisely because of this that they were actually more conscientious than the British.

Not that bad.

Or maybe I haven't learned to be that bad yet.

As long as the United States can help him withstand the pressure from Britain, he will definitely not care.

Even more than that, Zheng Yi knew exactly what the United States wanted right now. He said, "Mr. Smith, since banks like Morgan and Citigroup are interested in establishing branches in Penang, do you have any intention of building a financial trading center for bulk commodities here?"

“We in Penang are powerless to control other things, but tin and rubber, these two materials are still mostly in the hands of the Chinese.

There are also copper, oil, palm oil, sugar, and coffee. Although I can't say I control them, I can still influence them to some extent."

"Especially as you know, recently the Chinese in Southeast Asia have been trying to extend the rubber industry chain and have made considerable achievements. Although Penang's port is not as well-endowed as Singapore's, basic cargo transportation is definitely no problem.
Honestly, Penang has the potential to become a major exchange, but it depends on whether it uses British pounds or US dollars.”

Smith was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what Zheng Yi meant and nodded, "Of course, Citibank and Morgan Stanley are both global banks. In addition to lending, they are also good at futures guarantees.

Oh, and Gulf Oil, Standard Oil, and even U.S. Steel are all interested in investing and building factories in Penang."

Zheng Yi: "Oh? Really? That's great. But seriously, Commissioner Smith, as you can see, we in Penang do have a certain level of machining capabilities. If, I mean if, it's possible, we can also do equipment maintenance and upkeep for the US military bases in the Philippines and Pearl Harbor."

Smith: "Mr. Zheng...you are indeed quite ambitious."

Zheng Yi: "I dare not say that I have any ambitions. The whole of Southeast Asia is actually a chessboard, and we Chinese in Southeast Asia are just chess pieces on it.

We are already very satisfied to be a useful pawn. Of course, if Commissioner Smith thinks we are useless, that doesn't matter."

"Hahahahaha, Professor Zheng, you must be joking. In today's world, who would deny that you are the leading scientist in the field of applied science?

If the Nanyang Chinese had no value, I wouldn't have come here. Mr. Zheng, I can't answer you right now, but I have a feeling that we will have a very pleasant cooperation.

(End of this chapter)