2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 554 The mines of Yongzhou, the geography of Chuzhou.

Wednesday, September 4th.

This morning, Zeng Jixiang received a call from Li Jianxin's secretary, who said that the negotiations would be suspended, but he wanted to meet Tan Jincheng alone so that the two could have a cup of tea together.

"What do you mean? Let's not talk about this anymore, let's go have some tea?" Tan Jincheng was also a little confused.

"Yes, Mr. Li has invited you for tea, so the negotiations will be put on hold for now."

After thinking for a moment, Tan Jincheng laughed and said, "Heh, let's stop for a while? Okay, let's stop for a while then. You can notify the others and help me make an appointment with President Xie."

Let's take a break. If you're not in a hurry, I'm even less in a hurry. Even if it's delayed for one more day, it will be good for me.

If it weren't for the fear of someone snatching the deal away, and the fact that it would take too long to get in touch, Tan Jincheng would have really wanted to wait until after June to discuss these things. The domestic economic situation was still very hot in the first half of the year, and all assets were somewhat overvalued at that time.

A short while later, Xie Junhong also arrived at Tan Jincheng's room, looking completely bewildered. He was also somewhat surprised to receive the news.

"I guess they've made a decision over there, but they're not quite ready to commit yet. Let's just stop then."

"So what should we do? We can't just wait here like this."

"That's why I asked you to come and discuss this. Hunan Province has good mineral resources, especially Yongzhou. How about Mr. Xie take a few people to Yongzhou to take a look?"

When Hangxin was working on power batteries, it collected information on the distribution of mineral resources in China. Popular regions such as Xinjiang, Sichuan, and Jiangxi have been almost completely allocated, making it nearly impossible to directly own mineral resources.

There is no better way than to invest in those few companies that will become major lithium mining companies in China in the future.

However, Hunan Province still has a chance. Yongzhou is also rich in mineral resources. Of the 168 mineral types that have been explored nationwide, 65 have been discovered in Yongzhou, and 40 of them have reserves or are of a certain scale.

The largest quantities of these minerals are manganese, rare earth, rubidium, and lithium, which is of utmost importance to Hangxin. These four mineral resources are very abundant.

According to incomplete statistics, the potential value of all listed mineral resources in Yongzhou exceeds 30 billion yuan, while the potential value of unlisted mineral resources is around 100 billion yuan, making it an excellent resource-based city.

If we could really acquire Changfeng Group, it would be incredibly awesome.

This opens up three major channels for FlashTech's backdoor listing, Weilai Auto's entry into the automotive industry, and establishing connections with the Yongzhou government to develop mineral resources.

"Mining? What? Still for your power battery?"

Xie Junhong was taken aback. He realized that he was having trouble keeping up with Tan Jincheng's train of thought; the leaps in thinking were simply too great.

"Yes, I'll have General Manager Zhang go with you. You can take this opportunity to inspect the Yongzhou base and learn about the mineral resources there, is that alright?"

"You're thinking of getting into mining? That's a huge investment. And you want to build cars too. Can you afford it?"

Lithium batteries are part of the 863 Program. He understands the significance of the 863 Program better than Tan Jincheng, and he doesn't think that Tan Jincheng is wrong to work on power batteries like others do. However, such continuous investment is something that ordinary companies cannot afford.

"Let's find out first. We definitely can't afford to use our own money, so we need to find a way to attract more investment. Are you interested in city investment companies? If so, the equity of Weilai Automobile or Hangxin Times can be transferred."

Large-scale projects cannot be undertaken by a single company alone. Holding onto equity too tightly will prevent the business from growing significantly, and this is not just a matter of funding.

Beicang City Investment is a major financial backer, so we can't let it go.

"Haha, so you've got your eye on us?" Xie Junhong laughed.

This time, he was responding to the district's request and cooperating with Flash Motors in a series of actions. However, as the head of Beicang City Investment, Xie Junhong is not a saint. While he cooperated, he also had to consider the interests of Beicang City Investment during the series of investigations.

Tan Jincheng's plan to swallow an elephant was initially thought to Xie Junhong as a pipe dream, and he didn't even believe it could succeed when he set out.

However, through a series of investigations, and with Tan Jincheng not immediately resorting to violence but instead taking a gradual, piecemeal approach, Xie Junhong has changed his initial thoughts.

First, acquire Yangzi Automobile, then try to acquire the Xiangcheng base, and give them the most profitable government procurement sector of Changfeng Group. In the process of industrial restructuring, while ensuring their own interests, they can also meet the needs of Changfeng Group and the Hunan Provincial Government.

Each party gets what it wants, but if the finances and sales continue to fail to improve, the other two parties may well agree.

Tan Jincheng didn't mince words: "Yes, are you interested? You're such a big spender, why don't you invest some? It's either Weilai Auto or Hangxin Era, either is fine, or you can invest in both." "I'll think about it. I'll go to Yongzhou for a look around first," Xie Junhong said with a smile.

He is optimistic about car manufacturing, as it aligns with the strategic development of Beicang government and Beicang City Investment. With major cities launching car projects, Beicang is in great need of such resources.

With the help of FlashDrive, the Zhongtai Beicang Industrial Base is a major breakthrough, but it is far from enough.

Weilai Auto is a local brand based in Beicang. Beicang naturally hopes to participate in the project. As for the power battery, Xie Junhong is somewhat hesitant. On the one hand, the investment in power batteries is no less than that in automobiles, and on the other hand, the factory is still in Luzhou.

However, Xie Junhong thought of Orange Technology from back then, and couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart.

If we hadn't hesitated back then, an investment of just a few million would have yielded hundreds of millions in profit by now. "By the way, which of these two projects do you think has the most potential?"

"If I were to say what I'm optimistic about, I'd say I'm optimistic about power batteries. With the development of the times, the application of electric vehicles in the future will certainly be no less than that of current gasoline vehicles. If we invest and accumulate experience now, there will be a new market waiting for us to reap the rewards in the future."

Like BYD's strategy, WILAY's ultimate goal is also new energy vehicles. Developing gasoline vehicles now is just a way to develop the brand and find a way to support itself.

Consider Ning Wang. Although he doesn't produce a single car, he has mastered the core technology and only sells batteries. Ning Wang is much more powerful than many car factories, not to mention a giant like BYD, which has its own brand and battery business.

By learning from BYD, Ning Wang, Chery, and even refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas, Weilai Auto has integrated the strengths of various companies to create its own industrial chain.

"Oh? Not cars? Cars are very profitable these days." Xie Junhong was somewhat surprised.

"Cars are very profitable, but there are too many brands on the market, and the competition is fierce. But power batteries are different. Besides, although our power battery technology is not as advanced as the four giants, our strength is not weak either."

Both are large industry chains, but one is a newcomer facing various big-name companies, while the other has already accumulated a certain amount of experience even in its early stages. The former is self-evident.

After a moment of silence, Xie Junhong replied seriously, "I will seriously consider your opinion. Let's go to Yongzhou for you first."

Tan Jincheng said he would regret not having taken a liking to Orange Technology back then.

Now, Xie Junhong is filled with regret. He has no choice but to take Tan Jincheng's opinion seriously. Although the factory in Luzhou doesn't conform to the district's planning, what does it have to do with Beicang City Investment?
"Why did we choose Yangzi Motors? It's simple, Yangzi Motors has what we want."

While Xie Junhong and the others were packing to go to Yongzhou, Tan Jincheng also accepted Li Jianxin's invitation.

In the tea room, it was just the two of them. Li Jianxin immediately asked Tan Jincheng why he had taken a liking to Yangzi Automobile. If it was just a matter of automobile qualifications, Weilai Automobile could easily solve it, and there was no need to go through all this trouble.

"So, Weilai Motors is preparing to produce SUVs?" Li Jianxin quickly grasped the key point.

Huang Ming and others recently visited Shuguang Auto, which also has the capability to produce SUVs. In addition, it has cooperated with Foton and Cummins and invested in an engine company.

"Yes, the first model is an SUV, and Yangzi Motors meets our strategic needs in every aspect."

In addition to these, Chuzhou also has a superior geographical location, being adjacent to Luzhou and Huizhou, which makes it very convenient to receive some resources from Huizhou and to connect with the industries of Flash in Luzhou.

It's not far from Zhejiang Province, and this geographical location is something that Tan Jincheng values. Compared to Chery's Wuhu, if Shanchi wants to establish its own industry in Anhui Province, Chuzhou is a good entry point.

As for Yicheng, my hometown, I don't have the capability for now. Besides, Yicheng is really inefficient. Apart from asking Tan Jincheng for favors during holidays, they can't offer any substantial benefits for investment.

If a city is looking to attract investment, it should immediately contact Tan Jincheng to discuss preferential policies, given that Shanchi Group, which already has an industrial park in Wangjiang, has established an automobile company, has been conducting field research in various places, and has also cooperated with two major state-owned enterprises.

Its reaction speed was even slower than that of Chuzhou, let alone Luzhou. If Tan Jincheng had even a little bit of sensitivity, he wouldn't have completely ignored his hometown.

In 2008, when the highway system was still well-developed, the Yangtze River waterway was an important transportation hub. At that time, Yicheng's resources were not as unappealing as they would be more than a decade later.

Li Jianxin stared at Tan Jincheng and said, word by word, "People in our company say you're reaping the benefits. Yangzi Automobile will be able to put into operation a production line with an annual capacity of 50,000 vehicles in May. President Tan, you really know how to calculate."

"Just call me Xiao Tan. As for picking the peaches, I can't say that. We're just getting what we need."

How can it be considered reaping the benefits? Changfeng Group got the funds they wanted, and Weilai Automobile got the automobile production qualifications and other industries they wanted. This is perfectly normal in business cooperation.

Although Li Jianxin spoke in a accusatory tone, Tan Jincheng was secretly delighted.

(End of this chapter)