Chapter 7: One More Contender?

"Five percent? hahahaha......" Fang Mingyuan couldn't help but laugh, and Lin Rong, who was sitting and listening, also tried her best to purse her lips, trying not to laugh out loud.

Fernan and Agasha were confused, and they didn't understand at all what they said that was worthy of Fang Mingyuan's ridiculousness.

"Fang Shao? Do you weishenme laugh? Did Mr. Jacobs say anything ridiculous? Agasha asked, surprised.

Fang Mingyuan waved his hand and glanced at Lin Rong. Lin Rong said knowingly: "Mr. Jacobs, Ms. Agasa, yesterday I had my first meeting with Mr. Masayo Matsumoto, the representative of the Nippon Steel Corporation in China Office of Japan, and we had a very pleasant conversation. Nippon Steel is also very concerned about our steel plant project and intends to contract matters related to the import of our equipment. Mr. Matsumoto also offered to apply for this project to be included in the yen loan project of Japan's aid to China! ”

Fernand and Agaza changed their faces at that time! Although the two did not know much about the specific situation of the aid project between Japan and China, this did not prevent them from understanding the news. As a developed country in Europe, assistance to developing countries is an important part of Luxembourg's foreign policy! Although most of the annual budgeted foreign development assistance is only $200 million or 300 million, Luxembourg's expenditure on this item has exceeded the United Nations average of 0.7 per cent of the GDP of donor countries, ranking among the highest among all countries. However, the focus of its assistance has always been on African countries. As the largest steel company in Luxembourg, Albert Steel is no stranger to aid.

Fernand knew very well in his heart that most of the loans of this kind of assistance to developing countries were low-interest long-term loans, and some could even last for 40 years, which was undoubtedly a great temptation for Chinese private enterprises that had huge financial needs and were not easy to lend in China. No, it should be said that it is fatal-sexual-seductive! Compared with such conditions, the concession of 5 percent is nothing at all!

Fernan naturally didn't know that Fang Mingyuan had no intention of cooperating with a Japanese company in his heart, so when he heard the news, he compared his heart to his heart, and there was an embarrassing result that Fernan "accidentally" spilled the tea in his hand, and it happened to be spilled between his legs.

The weather in the capital in May is already hot, so although people are not dressed like in July and August, they are also relatively thin and cool, and the tea sent by Lin Rong is still steaming, and as a result, the key parts are poured poor Fernand. Jacobs jumped right then.

It has to be said that Fernand is still a very dedicated person, and after rushing into the bathroom to wash up for a while, Fernand sat back in his seat, just wrapping the coat that was originally hanging behind the door around his waist. Judging from the corners of his mouth twitching twice from time to time, it was obvious that the hot moment was not as indifferent as he appeared.

Being scalded with boiling water was indeed quite painful and embarrassing for Fernand, but it also bought Fernand some time, and when Fernand sat back in his seat, the look of surprise on his face was completely gone, replaced by a confident smile.

"Fang Shao, I, Albert Steel Company and Nippon Steel Corporation of Japan, are competitors of your project, and some of the words I have said below may cause some dissatisfaction with Fang Shao, and I may also think that I am deliberately belittling my competitors. However, I still have to say because that's what I really think! Fernand said confidently, "Indeed, Mr. Matsumoto Masamichi has proposed to you a rather generous condition, and it is impossible for me to obtain the authorization of the head office in the short term. There are many reasons, one of the most important of which is that your country is not a recipient of our country, and if our company wants to achieve this condition, it must go through the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and other countries that have aid relations with your country. In this case, the procedures will be very cumbersome, and it will be very time-consuming to operate. Therefore, if Fang Shao attaches great importance to this condition, then I, Albert Steel Company, can only withdraw. ”

Fernand paused slightly when he said this, his eyes swept over Fang Mingyuan, who was as calm as waves, and continued: "I admit that over the years, the yen loans from the Japanese government have played a very important role in the economic development of your country. However, this does not say that it has no downsides. As far as I know, after Japan signed the Plaza Agreement with the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, the exchange rate between the yen and the US dollar rose rapidly, and in 1985 it was 250 yen per dollar, and less than three years later, the lowest exchange rate between the US dollar and the yen even reached 120 yen per dollar. That is, in such a short period of time, the yen has appreciated by almost fifty percent. During this period, which was also the time when your country repaid its previous loan to Japan, I heard that your country, the government, had proposed to the Japanese government that the repayment amount of your country and the government had suddenly increased by half due to the sudden appreciation of the yen, and that the original purpose of the aid to China had been completely lost, and I would like to ask the Japanese government to consider reducing it. However, the Japanese government replied that it was Japan that suffered the most from the appreciation of the yen, so it rejected the request of your country and the government, and eventually your country and the government returned the loan as agreed, but the amount returned far exceeded the loan. Such a thing is worth being vigilant against! ”

Fang Mingyuan listened quietly, but in his heart he was pondering something that was completely opposite to the result that Fernand expected. With the passage of time, the pace of the Southeast Asian financial crisis is also approaching, Fang Mingyuan remembers very clearly, in this financial crisis, not only the currencies of Southeast Asian countries have been depreciated, South Korea and Japan have also been seriously affected, the South Korean won and the yen have depreciated by 30 percent and 17 percent respectively, if you borrow the yen before the outbreak of the financial crisis and repay the yen after the financial crisis, you can get a lot of benefits. And for Fang Mingyuan, it is a sure-fire deal.

"And as far as I know, the commercial interest rate in Japan has fallen to 1 percent, and in the long run, there is a possibility that it will continue to fall. In this case, the interest rate of the Japanese government's loan to China is not a low-interest loan, but a high-interest loan, and the Japanese company is responsible for contracting the construction of these aid projects, doubly exploiting and obtaining profits. Even the country's foreign aid policy, the Japanese have to make money from it, is this kind of Japan worth trusting? Fernand said eloquently.

"Mr. Fernand, many things on this shijie cannot be explained clearly with reason, just like European airlines, even if there is Airbus, the second largest aircraft manufacturing industry in Shijie, will buy some passenger planes produced by Boeing or McDonnell Douglas in the United States. It is true that the interest rate of Japanese yen loans provided by Japanese people is higher than that of commercial loans in their own country, but it still has a considerable advantage compared to the interest rates of banks in China and other countries. As for the change in the exchange rate, I don't think there is a possibility of a significant appreciation of the yen in the short term. Although Fernand is very reasonable, and it has won Fang Mingyuan's approval, but in negotiation, of course, you can't let the other party lead your nose.

Fernand smiled slightly, he is already a veteran of business negotiations, naturally he will not take Fang Mingyuan's words seriously, in business negotiations, in order to protect his own interests and seek greater interests, these true and false words are already calloused in his ears. And he didn't expect one or two negotiations to be able to decide where the equipment purchase order went. Today, he was able to get acquainted with Fang Mingyuan officially, and he was already very satisfied with the conditions offered by Nippon Steel.

Although the conversation between the two still revolves around the equipment procurement of the Fangjia Iron and Steel Plant project, the scope of the conversation is getting broader and wider. Fernand found that although Fang Mingyuan did not know much about the development of steelmaking, he had a fairly clear view of the development trend of Shijie steel. And it coincides with my own views in many places.

For example, both believe that for the steel industry in Europe and the United States, the development of crude steel has reached its peak and has begun to decline, but the demand for various special steels is still very strong. And both of them believe that steel companies in Europe and the United States will have more and more factories in the future to adopt electric furnace steelmaking jishu and so on.

Fernand was secretly surprised in his heart, a Chinese man who had not yet gone to university and had not studied abroad could have such a clear understanding of the development of Shijie Iron and Steel Industry, which really made him, an old man who had worked in Albert Steel Company for many years, feel ashamed. No wonder he was able to start a business family from scratch in such a short period of time on the land of Huaxia, and it was no wonder that the Fang family would willingly obey his command.

The hour hand slowly pointed to eleven o'clock, and Fernand felt that his first visit was almost over, and it was time to get up to say goodbye, when the phone in the back room suddenly rang. Fang Mingyuan smiled apologetically, got up and went into the house to answer the phone.

Fernand didn't intentionally eavesdrop on Fang Mingyuan's conversation, but Fang Mingyuan talked to the other party in English, and during the conversation, the name "Bethlehem Iron and Steel Company" appeared several times, which immediately aroused Fernand's alarm.

Bethlehem Steel Company, once the second largest steel company in the United States, its predecessor was founded in the United States in the middle of the last century. In the sixties of this century, Bethlehem Iron and Steel Company's annual crude steel output was as high as 23 million tons, and the company's business involved in steel, shipbuilding, iron ore and coal mine production, chemical products and non-ferrous metal ores and many other fields, and was a well-known large-scale steel company.

Although in recent years, the Bethlehem Steel Company has become a little difficult due to poor management, so it has terminated the steelmaking production of its Lakwanna plant, closed and sold some rolling mills and shipyards, and the number of employees of the company has been reduced by half, but its steel production department still has nearly 20,000 employees, and the annual production capacity of crude steel is still as high as more than 10 million tons, and it is still an important steel production company in the United States!

At this time, the door of Fang Mingyuan's room was closed.

Fernand couldn't help but move in his heart, at this time, the name "Bethlehem Iron and Steel Company" appeared on Fang Mingyuan's phone, what did it mean?

Having spent many years in the United States, he was no stranger to the situation at Bethlehem Steel, and a few years ago he had heard that Bethlehem Steel's top management was interested in selling off and closing the company's unprofitable businesses in order to improve the competitiveness of crude steel production at the Port Burns and Sparrow Point plants. There are even rumours that the top management of Bethlehem Steel intends to sell off the company's shipbuilding and coal mining departments and end the production of construction profiles, so as to raise enough money to invest in the construction of a new cold rolling mill at the Sparrow Point plant. Later, he was transferred to Huaxia, focusing on developing the Chinese market, so naturally he did not pay much attention to the movements of these steel companies in the United States.

Could it be ...... Does Bethlehem Steel also intend to - plug - a leg in this project? The thought popped out of Fernand's mind, and then it lingered like the cute gopher in a game console. Although the status and influence of Bethlehem Steel Company in the United States and even in the Shijie steel industry are far less than before, no one can ignore its deep historical heritage and strength that has lasted for a hundred years.

It's no secret that Bethlehem Steel is short of money these days. It is also no secret that Bethlehem Steel intends to sell its steel mills and rolling mills. Although those factories are second-hand, the equipment is far from being scrapped. If the top management of the Bethlehem Iron and Steel Company offers a down-to-earth offer, its temptation and power cannot be underestimated. After all, everyone on earth knows that unless it is collectible, the price of second-hand goods will never compare to new goods, even if it only stays in your hands for one day!

If Bethlehem Steel is interested in intervening in this project, then Albert Steel is undoubtedly facing a new strong competitor! Thinking of this, Fernand felt as if the couch cushions under his ass were covered with spikes, and he couldn't wait to rush back to the office to confirm the movements of Bethlehem Steel through his friends in the United States.

This Fang Mingyuan, why did it take so long to answer a call? (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to ***(***.***) to vote for recommendation, ***, your support is my biggest motivation. )