What was the concept of $2 billion for China in 1990? In the past 198-9, the total amount of foreign direct investment actually utilized in China for the whole year was only $3.39 billion. Judging from the first few months of this year, the level of attracting foreign investment is basically the same as last year. In other words, the investment of the Oriental Group is worth eight to nine months of hard work across the country.

However, although the scale of investment of the Oriental Group is very grand on the surface, if you carefully analyze it, you will find that it is actually quite different from the traditional investment promotion in China. In the past, foreign investment projects attracted in China were either to exchange the market for technology and attract large companies from Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other countries to build joint ventures, or to use cheap labor, land, and other resources to attract overseas Chinese capital from Hong Kong, Macao, and Southeast Asia, and transfer their factories from other places to China.

But the Eastern Bloc is different, and of the total $2 billion investment this time, only $300 million was actually spent on the construction of the factory. The money will be used to continue to develop the Deep Sea Special Zone into a global manufacturing base for audio-visual products such as televisions, monitors, VCD players, etc.

Previously, around the Nanhu Development Zone of the Deep Sea Special Zone, Oriental Group has built a large-scale manufacturing base with an annual output of 10 million picture tubes. With the continuous expansion of the global personal computer market, the demand for computer monitors is also rising.

In addition, the Oriental Group's previous efforts to develop new markets such as Southeast Asia have been continuously increased, and RCA's TV products have not only begun to counterattack Japanese TV in the United States, but also launched a fierce hand-to-hand battle with Japanese companies in overseas markets! Therefore, the previous annual production capacity of 10 million picture tubes has begun to become a bit unable to make ends meet.

In addition, RCA has closed almost all of its manufacturing plants in North America through a resolute industrial relocation. This lost capacity also needs to be compensated for by new plants in Asia. Therefore, the Oriental Group decided to start the investment plan of the second phase of the industrial base, in addition to increasing the annual production capacity of picture tubes to 20 million, it will also deploy all the audio-visual products related to televisions, monitors, VCD players and other audio-visual products in the Oriental Group in the deep-sea special zone.

Since the Eastern Group has always preferred to outsource the end-of-line manufacturing process, the company's investment is only $300 million. However, the collective investment of all enterprises in the entire industrial chain driven by its agglomeration effect is likely to exceed 1 billion US dollars. This is what makes the Eastern Bloc really strong and attractive!

In addition to the US$300 million invested in the industry, US$700 million of the remaining funds will be used by the Oriental Research Institute to establish high-level technology research and development centers in Shenhai, Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing and other regions in the next three years. In other words, a large part of the money will be used to purchase various high-end equipment and instruments required for scientific research, which need to be imported from abroad.

Therefore, from the perspective of pulling the domestic economy, the approach of the Oriental Research Institute is far less immediate than directly spending money on building factories. However, the Oriental Group is taking the path of a research-based enterprise that climbs the tree of science and technology, and is not ready to invest too much energy in the production link at the end of the industrial chain. In fact, the Oriental Group does not mean that it has not invested in the industry at all, but that the wafer factory, TFT liquid crystal production line and other projects it has invested heavily in have not yet been able to settle in China.

As for the remaining US$1 billion, Oriental Group will join forces with the Ministry of Electronics and Industry, the State Science and Technology Commission, the Guangdong Provincial Government, and the Shenhai Special Administrative Region Government to jointly establish a China High-tech Industry Investment Fund to support the growth of domestic high-tech enterprises.

This medium-tech investment fund is completely different from the previous state-led "863 Plan". It is more like a venture capital fund with the participation of the government, and the ultimate purpose is to pursue commercial profits.

Li Xuan has always hoped to build another Silicon Valley in Asia, and although the mainland is now backward in terms of technology, its huge population base and complete industrial and technological system determine that this is the most likely place to replicate the miracle of Silicon Valley.

It's just that China's national conditions are completely different from those of the United States, which is originally a country controlled and promoted by capital. In China, on the other hand, almost all of the country's high-tech talents are now employed in state-owned research institutes and universities. Without the support and involvement of the government, it would not have been possible for the Eastern Bloc to play with its own money, no matter how much money it has.

On the other hand, although the central government has already shifted the focus of its work to economic construction, it has not actually said that it is ready to increase investment in science, technology, education, and so on, and to promote economic development through technological progress. The government chose another simple and crude way, but with immediate results: building factories, railways, and high-rise buildings.

In recent years, the ratio of state investment to scientific research funds in the entire national economy has not increased, but has been decreasing. This has also directly led to the gradual difficulties of a large number of scientific research institutes since the 80s, and the funds above are not even enough to pay salaries, let alone take money to engage in scientific research.

Li Xuan has money, and the country has people, so he hopes to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and activate the domestic scientific research field by introducing capital to China and using venture capital. For the state, this is equivalent to spending money by the Eastern Bloc to support a large number of talented people to engage in scientific research. For Li Xuan, through this high-tech investment fund, he even has the opportunity to monopolize all the high-end technologies in China, thus laying an indestructible foundation for the future development of the Oriental Group.

Therefore, the Oriental Group is very generous to invest as much as $1 billion in the initial capital of this high-tech investment fund. And if it can really achieve the effect that Li Xuan expected, then the Eastern Group can mobilize another 2 billion or 3 billion US dollars of follow-up investment at any time.

The Eastern Group's investment plan, while somewhat unusual, is not just a rhetoric, but a real $2 billion in real money. And the deep-sea special zone, which is extremely active from the ******** to the mayor, has naturally eaten the fattest part of this huge investment cake.

The reason why the deep-sea special zone is so active is actually very inseparable from its position. It was originally a product of the reform and opening up policy, and it can be described as a natural reformer. If even the policy of reform and opening up dies, then the SEZs will inevitably cease to exist.

Therefore, after the central government fell into ideological controversy, the Shenhai Special Economic Zone was naturally under strong pressure from conservatives, and urgently needed a shot in the arm to cheer up the cause of reform and opening up. The Eastern Bloc is the best choice that can change the situation, so the SAR government has been extremely courteous from the beginning.

To a certain extent, the investment negotiations between the Deep Sea Special Zone and the Eastern Bloc represent more than just themselves. When the SAR Government encounters difficult problems that it has no authority to answer during consultations, it can just take advantage of the situation to report them to the central leadership.

This will allow those leaders who are intended to support the reform to give specific instructions on the grounds of supporting the overall development of the national economy, so that those who have the ability to solve the problem can join in and coordinate with the Eastern Bloc. This is how the agreement between the Eastern Bloc and the mainland was reached!

Of course, in addition to some agreements that can be made public, there are actually some tacit understandings between the two parties that are not convenient to be made public. For example, Li Xuan and the Eastern Bloc will unswervingly support and maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability during the special transition period, and resolutely fight against all sabotage forces with ill intentions.

At the beginning of the year, the Hong Kong government suddenly put forward a large-scale infrastructure plan with the construction of a new airport as the core -- the "Rose Garden Project" -- without communicating with the domestic authorities. The mainland side expressed strong dissatisfaction and resistance to this, and the original position of Asia Satellite TV and a number of mainstream newspapers under the ATV Group was to support the Hong Kong Governor's "Rose Garden Project" to revitalize Hong Kong's economy through large-scale infrastructure investment. But now, their views can quietly shift

For example, in a recent episode of ATV's famous political talk show "Qiang Qiang Threesome", a guest pointed out that a large-scale project such as moving mountains and reclaiming the sea to build a new airport is a huge test for the construction schedule. In the event that the construction of the new airport is delayed until after 97, the new SAR government of Hong Kong is likely to refuse to assume the responsibility for performing the contract without the consent and blessing of the mainland government.

That will undoubtedly be a catastrophe for the construction party. Therefore, the potential risks of the new airport project are far greater than everyone thinks. A tender meeting scheduled by the Hong Kong government for the next day was postponed because of this analysis. A number of international contractors who were preparing to participate in the bidding raised the need to reassess the risks of the project. (To be continued.) )