Chapter 1172: The great opportunities brought about by President Wang

If you were to ask what opportunities there are for the island nation in this era, anyone who works in the financial industry would be able to name a few.

The most well-known are undoubtedly the 'Plaza Accord of 1985' and the 'lost two decades' that have become so widely spread in the island nation that they have even become a label for it.

The argument of the 'lost two decades' is worth examining, and it can be interpreted differently from different perspectives.

However, Xia Yu is clear that the island nation has not essentially lost these past twenty years. It is just that the island nation, under the leash of the United States, has seen the ferocious face of the United States and has been seeking change for twenty years.

And the island nation's GDP does not at all represent the island nation's comprehensive national strength. After all, those at the top of the world know that there are 'two' island nations in the world, one in the island nation and one overseas.

It's just that the 'lost two decades' of the island country only began to be counted in 1991, which is too long in the future for Xia Yu for the time being, and there is no profit to be made, so he doesn't bother.

Instead, the 'Plaza Accord of 1985' and the opportunities behind it, which will inevitably happen in the future, are enough to make Xia Yu jealous.

There are only a little more than two years left until then.

And now the island nation's economy has entered the prelude to the explosive period. If you don't hurry up and make your move, as time goes by, costs will gradually increase and profit margins will gradually decrease.

If it weren't for the need to lay out the Latin American sovereign debt crisis to make a fortune, he would have fully laid out the island nation last year, so why wait until now without making a big move?

"Liu Yao and the others have only been back for a short time, let them have a relaxing year. They have all waited for so long, it's not a big deal to wait another half month...'

'Besides, I really can't leave at the end of the year.'

'However, the preliminary preparations must be ensured to have been completed, and the think tank must be urged...'

Xia Yu withdrew his gaze from the map, looked at the calendar next to him, and thought to himself.

Subsequently, he made a phone call to the business research institute of the Jiuding think tank. After understanding the situation clearly, he hung up the phone satisfactorily and continued to devote himself to other work.

...

It seems that the closer it gets to the New Year, the slower the days go by.

Or maybe it's just an illusion caused by too much work.

In any case, Xia Yu's life these days is very full.

While the public's attention is drawn to the year-end sales in various industries, there have been a series of changes in the political arena of Hong Kong.

Although there have not been many changes in the heads of many high-level departments, there have been many changes in the second and third in command, or the heads of subordinate departments. Behind these changes, there is mostly the Jiuding Consortium plotting in the shadows.

The only two changes that have attracted Xia Yu's attention are the positions of two people.

Anthony Quinell, the director of the Financial Management Authority, was investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption and has been removed from office. One of the deputy directors, Zhou Shanwen, was promoted to director of the Financial Management Authority and, upon taking office, vigorously promoted the reform of the Hong Kong exchange rate system.

Deputy Commissioner Lau Sze-yin of the Police Force Management Services Department was transferred back to the UK, and was replaced by a senior assistant commissioner of the Operations Department, which left a vacancy for a senior assistant commissioner. Li Junxia took over the position, and his rank was upgraded from assistant commissioner to senior assistant commissioner. He also served as the director of the subordinate Operations Department (which included the Operations Department, Criminal and Security Department).

The Hong Kong Police Force is divided into two major categories and four departments: the Operations Department and the Crime and Security Department, which are operational in nature, and the Personnel and Training Department and the Supervision Department, which are administrative in nature. Among them, the Operations Department has the greatest power.

Li Junxia is on the same level as the heads of the other three departments, and as head of the Operations Department, he is in fact the fourth most powerful person in the Police Force, second only to the Commissioner of Police and the two deputy commissioners.

If it weren't for Li Junxia's amazing background, he would never have been promoted to the same level as the other three department heads, and he would never have been able to take over the Operations Department, which is the strongest department of its kind, in one fell swoop.

But there was nothing anyone else could do. Everyone who has reached this level knows exactly what it takes to succeed in politics...

Of course, after Li Junxia was promoted, Xia Jun was also promoted to the next level, from Inspector to Senior Inspector, becoming one of the top Inspectors and the leader of an elite squad.

...

As one of the top figures in Hong Kong, Xia Yu had countless people wanting to visit him towards the end of the year, but only a very small number of people were eligible to do so.

Despite this, the visitors never stopped coming.

On the afternoon of the 6th of February, Wang Ping, President of Xiangjiang Xinhua News Agency, and Ma Jianmin, President of Bank of China Xiangjiang, visited together and were personally received by Xia Yu at home.

'President Wang, President Ma, your visit honours my humble abode!'

'You're too kind, Mr Xia. If this is your humble abode, then we must be living in a thatched hut!'

'Hahaha...'

'Please come in, gentlemen!'

...

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xia Yu, Wang Ping and Ma Jianmin entered the house together, took their seats in the living room, and their driver was received by a dedicated person and had tea and a rest elsewhere.

'President Wang, as the year draws to a close, the work pressure should be a little less, right?'

As the host of the house, Xia Yu took the initiative to start the conversation and politely asked about Wang Ping's situation.

Wang Ping smiled and said, 'It is indeed a little less than before, but the work that needs to be done still needs to be done.'

'Compared to me, President Ma is not so lucky.'

When Wang Ping shifted the topic to himself, Ma Jianmin couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head slightly, saying, 'In the banking industry, the end of the year is the busiest time of the year. It can be said that it is painful but also happy.'

Xia Yu laughed a few times and teased, 'President Ma, if you could choose, I think you would be happy to have the same busy schedule throughout the year. Although it is a bit tiring, it is fast-paced!'

Ma Jianmin smiled and said, 'Mr Xia, you have hit the nail on the head. If it could be like this every day, I would be willing to work until I collapse from exhaustion.'

'However, for BOC to have such a grand occasion, it would still require Mr Xia's care to make it happen.'

Xia Yu did not give a direct answer to Ma Jianmin's very natural flattery and implied request, but instead jokingly said, 'BOC is the god of wealth in the Hong Kong business community, and you, President Ma, are joking.'

Although Ma Jianmin was a little disappointed, he knew when to stop. Today was not the time to talk about these things, so he laughed and changed the subject to Tiangong Motors, which had made a splash in Hong Kong.

'Mr Xia, your Tiangong Motors has boosted the morale of the Chinese people, and the car industry in Hong Kong has risen as a result!'

'In the past while, many people have come to my bank to take out loans, all in order to enter the car-related industry. This shows that Tiangong Motors' contribution to Hong Kong is immeasurable!'

Wang Ping added, 'Yes, Tiangong Motors has made a stunning debut, receiving orders worth 2 billion US dollars in just five days. This kind of achievement is truly admirable!'

'Mr Xia, I heard that Tiangong Motors is expanding its production line. What level are you planning to upgrade it to?'

Facing the inquisitive gazes of the two men, Xia Yu did not hide anything and said with a smile, 'We are striving to increase the production capacity of automobiles to one million vehicles a year this year!'

'One million vehicles!'

The figure lightly spoken by Xia Yu was like a bolt of thunder, shocking Wang Ping and Ma Jianmin.

Wang Ping said in shock, 'Mr Xia, you've gone too far!'

'However, judging from Tiangong Automobile's previous performance, even if it really produces one million cars, it will definitely be able to sell them all!'

'I look forward to the day in the near future when I see Tiangong Automobile shine on the world stage!'

Ma Jianmin nodded in agreement, saying, 'I look forward to that day too!'

Xia Yu shook his head with a faint smile and said, 'I don't know how long it will take. Although we plan to increase production capacity to one million vehicles this year, we will definitely not be able to produce that many cars because we will be building while producing. We would be lucky to produce 500,000 vehicles.'

Wang Ping, on the contrary, was more confident than Xia Yu. He said hurriedly, 'If we can't produce that many this year, we will definitely be able to do so next year!'

'Compared to Hong Kong, I don't know when the mainland will be able to reach this level.'

'Last year, the total number of cars produced in the country was less than 200,000, the vast majority of which were heavy-duty trucks. There were less than 5,000 passenger cars. Tiangong Motors alone can exceed the entire mainland's car production. Alas...'

As he spoke, Wang Ping could not help but look sad, and he sighed.

But fortunately, he immediately reacted to the fact that this was Xia Yu's home, and it was also close to the New Year. His attitude was indeed a bit embarrassing.

He quickly gathered his thoughts and apologetically said, 'Mr. Xia, I'm sorry, I've lost my temper.'

Xia Yu didn't think anything of it, but instead praised, 'President Wang, you have such a heart for the country and its people, so what's wrong with being a little emotional?'

'Don't worry, our little place of Xiangjiang is able to raise the Tiangong Automobile Group. The mainland is vast and rich in resources, and it is full of elites. Right now, the output of automobiles is not high, it's just that the mainland has not yet put in a lot of effort. As long as the mainland is willing to do it, with the mainland's system, the future will definitely be bright, and an annual output of 10 million vehicles is not a problem!'

Wang Ping couldn't help but smile wryly and said, 'Mr Xia, you've really gone too far with this joke. Annual production of 10 million vehicles? I wouldn't even dare to think about it. Even the United States doesn't have the capability for that, let alone the mainland.'

'In 1978, Shanghai wanted to develop the Shanghai Automotive Company vigorously and introduce advanced foreign technology. After a lot of negotiations, major automobile companies in the United States and island countries all refused, and only Volkswagen in West Germany was interested. However, after more than four years of negotiations, they could not agree on a single automobile factory with an annual output of 30,000 vehicles.'

'It's not easy to produce 10 million vehicles annually...'

The speaker didn't mean it, but the listener took it to heart.

Xia Yu suddenly woke up with a start. He had been focusing on overseas markets and had almost overlooked this matter!

Fortunately, Wang Ping had mentioned it unexpectedly this time, otherwise it would have been too late to salvage the situation if he had waited until Volkswagen entered the mainland market!

Thinking back to his previous life, Volkswagen had looked down on the mainland and used the failed product of the 'American heart' Santana in the 1950s and 1960s to fool the mainland, and they had still made a fortune there. Xia Yu felt that he had to do something.

What's more, he knows very well how big the Chinese car market is, and how much Volkswagen earned in its previous life by relying on this piece of junk, the Santana.

Volkswagen in China, Toyota in the world!

This saying from the previous life perfectly explains the difference between Volkswagen, which produces tens of millions of vehicles a year, and Toyota!

The Chinese market alone contributes 40% of Volkswagen's global sales, and tens of trillions of RMB in revenue!

The reason why Volkswagen has achieved such results is that it took the lead and entered the mainland at the beginning of the reform and opening up of China. Relying on the backward failure that is the Santana, it gained an advantage in the early stages and laid the foundation for its dominance of the Chinese automotive market.

In this life, the Volkswagen Group is still a competitor of his Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Group, and will also be a competitor of Tiangong Motors Group in the future, so he will not stand by and watch Volkswagen enter the mainland market no matter what.

If Tiangong Motors can replace Volkswagen, then...

Thinking of this, Xia Yu instantly made a decision.