area51novel #358 - Win-win cooperation
#358 - Win-win cooperation
To facilitate this matter, Ren Zhong had to accompany Liang Xiaofeng on a trip to Nigeria.
After all, the influence and strength of Yunlong Agricultural Vehicles were somewhat mismatched with this endeavor, but adding a deep-pocketed investor made things much easier.
Lagos, the Jinmen Hotel.
Although this six-story hotel seemed unremarkable compared to the skyscrapers back home, it was the most famous place in all of West Africa for the tens of thousands of Chinese people making a living in Nigeria.
Because this was where Chief Hu made his fortune and where he resided for a long time.
A pair of Han white marble stone lions at the hotel entrance indicated that this was a Chinese restaurant from the East. An entire floor of the hotel was used as a dining hall, lavishly decorated. It was said to be one of the most luxurious restaurants in Nigeria, a leader in Chinese cuisine.
Many dignitaries considered it an honor to host banquets here.
In a luxurious private room, Liang Xiaofeng and Ren Zhong soon welcomed the owner of the hotel.
"Boss Hu, hello. I am Liang Xiaofeng from Yunlong Agricultural Vehicles. You can call me Xiao Liang. This gentleman beside me is Mr. Ren Zhong from Yunlong Investment in Hong Kong. Mr. Ren is very optimistic about the African market and has great confidence in our company's future. That's why he came with me to conduct an on-site inspection of the Nigerian market, preparing to invest in our company, establish a factory in Nigeria, and settle down for long-term development."
Liang Xiaofeng had been to Nigeria before and had, of course, heard of Boss Hu's reputation. However, previous dealings were only about agricultural vehicle sales, and he had not interacted with Boss Hu. This time, he made a slight appointment with Boss Hu, and the other party readily agreed to meet for detailed discussions.
"Boss Liang, Mr. Ren, hello. Seeing two young talents from the motherland makes me very happy today. Please, have a seat and let's talk," Mr. Hu was somewhat older, with a high hairline. His square face was adorned with gold-rimmed glasses, giving him a refined air. He spoke with clear pronunciation, not influenced by the lilting English of Africa, making people feel at ease without much unfamiliarity.
"Thank you, Boss Hu, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to grace us with your presence," Ren Zhong said, smiling as he shook hands with Mr. Hu. The three then sat down and began exchanging pleasantries, waiting for the dishes to be served.
After a few rounds of drinks, everyone was slightly tipsy, and their words became more relaxed.
"Brother Liang, you mentioned collaborating on agricultural vehicles in the previous phone call. I wonder what the details are? Brother Liang, please elaborate," At the table, everyone quickly became familiar, and Mr. Hu began addressing Liang Xiaofeng and Ren Zhong as brothers.
"Brother Hu, it's like this. You know that Yunlong Agricultural Vehicles specializes in export business, mainly in Africa, with Nigeria accounting for nearly half. I was thinking that the tariffs and transportation costs for complete vehicles are quite high, so why not find a place in Africa to set up a complete vehicle factory? After investigation, our company believes that West Africa is more suitable. On one hand, our main market is here, and on the other hand, it is relatively more stable here."
"Of course, this stability is relative. Compared to China, it is not very stable. So, we want to find a local partner with strength to do this together. Of course, it's best if they are familiar with our working style and have the ambition to expand and strengthen this market together. After much consideration, Brother Hu, you are well-known, influential in West Africa, and have an excellent reputation. So, we took the liberty of contacting you to see if there is an opportunity for cooperation. Well, today we are sitting together."
"Speaking of which, it's really fate. Coincidentally, Mr. Ren Zhong, the investment director of our company, also approves of our African development plan and decided to increase investment to develop this market. Isn't that a coincidence? Everyone thought of the same thing."
Liang Xiaofeng gave a general overview of the matter.
Mr. Hu was not surprised after listening. After all, anyone who came to West Africa for development and reached a certain scale knew him.
It was perfectly normal for Liang Xiaofeng to choose him as a potential partner.
"Thank you for your recognition, Brother Liang. After listening to what you said, I, Lao Hu, really researched the market and found that it is indeed very promising. The West African community now has nearly 400 million people, with Nigeria accounting for more than half. From a situation perspective, this area is relatively stable. The market and situation are suitable for your investment.
From the perspective of the automotive market, the West African community started late, similar to China in the early 1980s, but it is developing rapidly. Moreover, there are large regional differences and multiple consumption levels. Agricultural vehicles are simply a necessity for locals where public transportation is underdeveloped. Compared to spending thousands of dollars on a motorcycle, an agricultural vehicle costing the same amount has a wider range of uses, solving a family's transportation, shipping, and even operational needs. You have a firm grasp of this opportunity."
Mr. Hu seemed to have really done his research, knowing the local situation like the back of his hand. Although agricultural vehicles have average technology and are not high-end, the market demand is huge. You should know that there are hundreds of millions of consumers here who have just emerged from starvation, and their most important thing is to move upwards through various paths.
Agricultural vehicles, as tools, obviously meet the characteristics of both livelihood and domestic transportation.
Mr. Hu had also learned about Yunlong Agricultural Vehicles' sales and reputation in the local area, and even personally experienced it. Indeed, it's the price of an electric car with the enjoyment of a car. If you don't consider comfort, the quality is indeed durable. It's okay to load 3 or 4 tons on a one-ton vehicle. For a country like Nigeria where traffic police are not even fully equipped, this is a good car!
"I have no objection to cooperation. Each invests half, and each gets half of the profits. Brother Liang provides the technology, and we handle the market. This is also very fair. Next, Jinmen Group can undertake the construction of after-sales channels. In the future, starting with agricultural vehicles, we can continue to build real cars. The automotive manufacturing industry in China is also good now. Hybrid electric vehicles are also very suitable for our West African countries. I hope we can open the market with agricultural vehicle cooperation."
Ren Zhong didn't speak, just nodded. To be honest, he didn't have much confidence in making the company bigger and stronger in the main world. Although he could continuously transport treasures from the Bright Sword world to the main world to monetize them, he had basically reached a bottleneck now. Monetizing a few billion a year was almost the limit.
Whether it was famous calligraphy and paintings or top-quality jade, the resources of the two worlds would not overlap, but the market's acceptance of them was indeed limited.
He wanted to transport the technology of the main world to the Bright Sword world, not to lead the trend in the main world.
Therefore, he would just listen to Mr. Hu's suggestions. If he could go with the flow, he would do it. If he couldn't, then he would consider this ten million as the cost of investing in the technology of those two fighter jets.
You should know that in the Bright Sword world, the A-4 attack aircraft and the F-4 fighter jet were both powerful weapons with real generational differences!
Whether it was avionics, engines, or radar, the technology level was far above the current level of the Bright Sword world (equivalent to 1949 in a parallel world).
Mr. Hu's Jinmen Group also had a mechanical processing industry, but for a manufacturing powerhouse like China, their technical level could only do some supporting work.
They were all private enterprises, without so much red tape. After agreeing, the two parties quickly signed a cooperation agreement. For Mr. Hu, he had built his reputation for decades and would not ruin his name on this business. Therefore, the cooperation agreements were all win-win, and Ren Zhong's side did not pay too much attention to who was in charge, so everyone happily handled the matter.
According to local tradition, a group of dignitaries were invited to the Jinmen Hotel to witness the establishment of the New Yunlong (West Africa) Automobile Industry Company.
This immediately increased Yunlong Automobile's visibility among the upper class.
First update, requesting monthly tickets