"You're well-informed. Qi Zheng gave an affirmative answer, "We are buying Gao Hong in the United States, yes." ”

"It's a big business. Salman smiled, but took the initiative to say: "If Chairman Qi is interesting, we are willing to invest." ”

"You guys?"

"Yes, we in Saudi Arabia are ready to take the lead in uniting the GCC countries to set up an agricultural investment fund. With the acquisition of Gao Hong in the United States, we can participate in the investment and provide financing for Jia Valley. Salman smiled.

"As you said, it's a multi-billion dollar business. Qi Zheng deliberately emphasized.

"No problem, behind the Agricultural Investment Fund is standing, but we are the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Salman, dressed in a traditional white robe, gently shook his gold-trimmed cape, barely writing "We have money" on his face.

However, he also deserves to show that pride.

Qi Zheng knows about the Saudi Public Investment Fund, well, because of its generosity.

As far back as I can remember, before 2015, the vast majority of the money from the Saudi Public Investment Fund went to infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. But in 2016, it injected $45 billion into the island nation's SoftBank Vision Fund, becoming not only the largest funder of the latter, but also the world's largest single fund, with $100 billion in capital overshadowing all established Silicon Valley venture capital firms.

It can be said that you can not suspect that the Saudi Public Investment Fund has no money.

"What conditions do you have?" Qi Zheng asked crisply.

The Saudis have a lot of money, but they are definitely not stupid. Qi Zheng didn't think that they would "fund" Jiagu for no reason.

Salman and Qi Zheng said side by side, "We can invest $1 billion to get a 30% stake in Gao Hong in the United States, and in addition, the investment fund can provide Jiagu with medium and long-term low-interest loans, which can be repaid in dollars or agricultural products." If it is repaid with agricultural products, the price will follow the market and will be 10% lower than the market price. ”

Qi Zheng squinted slightly, thinking: The Saudis really have a good idea.

As I said before, Saudi Arabia has abandoned its plan for food self-sufficiency, and like other GCC countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar, these countries that have grown up in oil and gas resources are limited by the shortage of domestic food resources.

In the short term, GCC countries will have no problem bearing higher food prices due to their abundant oil and gas revenues, but it is concerns about the stability of food supplies that are really driving change.

The food crisis of the new century, coupled with the global environmental changes and the frequent occurrence of natural disasters such as droughts and floods, have caused countries that are highly dependent on food imports to experience a deep sense of insecurity.

In the operation of modern commercial capital, it is nothing new for the Saudis to lease and buy land overseas. However, complex practical factors often drag such business activities into public opinion and realpolitik such as the "resource plundering theory", causing dissatisfaction and political opposition among the people, and leaving investors in vain.

In this regard, Saudi Arabia, or the GCC countries, are not as good as the island countries, and they lack such patience - even the island people have gone through decades of layout to control a relatively complete chain from grain purchase, storage, transportation, import and export trade on a global scale.

To put it bluntly, even the development of domestic oil and gas resources has to rely on the GCC countries of outsiders, and it is better to say that they simply and rudely lease land and buy land, and to build their own grain trade chains, they are simply too high-minded.

What should we do? Cooperate with international grain merchants and use the resources and experience of these companies to secure food supply.

Jiagu, which is rapidly becoming a new international grain merchant, has clearly become the best choice for the Saudis to cooperate.

Qi Zheng looked thoughtful, pondered for a moment, and said: "I will give you a maximum of 15% of Gaohong's shares, and I want an interest-free loan, correspondingly, Jiagu can agree to sign a long-term grain supply agreement with you." ”

"The issue of shares can be discussed again, but interest-free loans are not possible. I can only get the lowest interest rate for Jiagu. Salman gritted his teeth.

Qi Zheng laughed and said, "If it's just a low interest, I can also get it from a domestic bank, so why do I need to borrow money from you?"

Even if they have more than enough money, savvy capitalists will choose to borrow money to do business. Among them, interest-free loans are the most coveted type of borrowing.

Billions of dollars in financing, even a 1% difference, can reduce costs by tens of millions. Judging from the profit rate of general grain trade, this may be Gao Hong's profit of most of it.

Of course, medium- to long-term interest-free loans are generally difficult to obtain. However, Qi Zheng knows that in order to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture overseas, the Saudi government can provide policy-based interest-free loans to agricultural companies that invest overseas. What Qi Zheng wants Salman to do is to help Jiagu indirectly obtain this kind of policy preference.

Naturally, Salman would not have agreed easily.

So in the next two days, the Saudi side did not agree to the interest-free loan, and Qi Zheng refused to lower his demands, and the two sides were deadlocked.

On this day, Qi Zheng was being entertained with delicious food and drink, but was told by Salman, who suddenly came, that the Saudi Public Investment Fund agreed to provide interest-free financing facilities for Jiagu's acquisition of Gaohong in the United States.

This time it was Qi Zheng's turn to be stunned.

Considering that the Saudi side also requires Gao Hong to have 20% of the shares, that is to say, the financial problem of Jiagu's acquisition of Gao Hong has been solved?

In fact, if the financing interest provided by the Saudi side is similar to that of domestic banks, Qi Zheng will probably be inclined to cooperate with the Saudi side in the end.

The reason is simple, not only the Saudis need a stable food supply, but after Jiagu won Gaohong, based on the risk of agricultural trade caused by a possible trade war between China and the United States, Gaohong also needs a stable market.

What's more, don't look at the continuous natural and man-made disasters around the world this year, and food prices are rising. Qi Zheng has the impression that in two years, global grain production will enter a stage of surplus in an all-round way, and at that time, the agreement signed between Jiagu and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries led by Saudi Arabia on "repaying debts with grain" will be able to be attacked, retreated, and defended.

But why did the Saudis make a big step back before he could back down?

Qi Zheng's expression also revealed his thoughts.

Salman smiled unabashedly and said, "Congratulations to Chairman Qi. Kaya was named this year's 'World's Most Admired Companies', and at the same time, Washington publicly stated that the United States likes responsible companies to invest in the United States......"

In this way, the situation has been unprecedentedly favorable for Jiagu. Salman didn't know Qi Zheng's more far-reaching considerations, he was only afraid that if he didn't give in, Jiagu would not take Saudi Arabia to play.

And Qi Zheng was also a little confused.

After all, it was in a foreign country, and the message transmission was not so convenient, and he had not received the relevant information yet.

But......

The World's Most Respected Company?

It seems that Zhang Zehong has done a good job in building momentum in the United States!

......