Chapter 1098: Can't wait

Jinshan Lake emits a cold and clear light under the night of the cold winter moon. When I got off the car, I stood on the asphalt lake embankment, and could hear the sound of the surging lake water hitting the embankment, and it seemed that I could vaguely hear the rumbling sound of the floods that broke through the sky and the caves when the embankment collapsed in the summer of 1998.

Zhang Ke and Zhao Youlun were both witnesses of the collapse of Jinshan Lake in 1998. The thrilling moment was afraid that it would not be erased in this life. Ordinary people are always forgetful. The monument is erected on the back of the river embankment at the collapsed dike, and it has been called a flood control square by citizens. Under the night, the lights are bright. Some young men and women from nearby come to the square to talk about love, but they don’t feel that the sky is cold and the earth is ice.

The west bank of Yinma River is the Kingsoft Factory of Xinguang Paper. After Chenxi Paper acquired it, it carried out the second phase of the project expansion. The long area along the west bank of Yinma River is a factory area. The street lights slightly extended from the factory area shine on the river water, like a string of dazzling long chains of pearls, making this section of the night view along the river very charming.

Looking at the street lights on the other side of the Yinma River, Xu Xueping smiled and said, "It's clear whether the paper mill will secretly discharge sewage at night."

Liang Wei smiled. Only Xu Xueping could tell Zhang Ke casually that he should always pay attention to what he said to Zhao Youlun. Thinking about the incidents that Jinhu initially acquired Chenxi Paper Industry, it is really sad. In just over a year, private and private enterprises have become a reality that everyone can accept. In 1997 and 1998, it seemed to have violated a huge taboo.

After Chenxi Paper acquired the merger and acquisition, the province and city made up their minds to close the small paper mill along the river, which almost completely solved the pollution problem of Yinmahe. The main problem at the moment is to prevent new pollution from later industrial projects.

Zhang Ke looked at the glowing water of Yanmahe River under the lights of the street in the distance and said lightly: "Relying on enterprises to realize that they cannot make a long-term plan. Without calculating the additional cost of using imported wood pulp to make paper, the sewage treatment cost at the paper mill accounts for about 3% of the total sales. In the future, the pulping project must be launched, and the pulping process must also meet the standards of clean production. If it is spread out, the sewage treatment cost will account for 8-10% of the total sales. Without legal constraints, this market will always be a market where bad money drives out good money. Of course, we still have great advantages now, and the scale benefits are not just something to say..."

Zhao Youlun smiled and said, "There are people who ask me to work in the paper feeding mill here. It seems that the scale benefits of the paper mill are quite considerable... Sometimes I am a little puzzled. Xinguang Paper has not been able to monopolize the paper market. Is the scale benefits formed by the operation of large capital really have such great magic?"

"Why do you want to talk about employee salary? Labor cost expenditure and corporate competitiveness are a very core issue," Zhang Ke also smiled and said, "The labor cost expenditure of European and American enterprises accounts for about 30-50% of the total cost expenditure. Although labor costs are relatively high, they have an absolute advantage in technology and capital, and their competitiveness is still strong. In China, cheap labor is used as a magic weapon for enterprises to win the market. The average labor cost expenditure of domestic enterprises only accounts for 6-10%, which does show certain advantages in the market. Kumho is a pure Chinese enterprise. What should Kumho do actually confuses us for a long time. It used to be very intuitive, and when there is more profit, the employee benefits will be more.

Some, fortunately, Kumho has not made a bad profit over the years, and its employees' salary and benefits are still careless. In the past two years of leisure work, I asked the Kumho Economic Research Center to conduct in-depth investigations on Kumho's member companies. The conclusion was that the Kumho member companies increased the labor cost expenditure ratio to 12-18%. In terms of attracting talents and stimulating employees' enthusiasm, strict management can make up for the losses caused by labor cost expenditure, and actually improve the competitiveness of member companies in the industry - this is consistent with our actual experience. To put it without conscience, a higher salary level will lead to higher tolerance for employees and the benefits that can be created for the company will be higher."

"Oh," Liang Weifa asked in surprise, "Is Kumho Economic Research Center doing research in this regard?"

"In the past, the company was small, so everyone could just make decisions together and slap their heads. Now it's not possible. I feel that any small decision will affect the whole body. Perhaps because of the less courage, I pulled the expert professor out and pushed it in front. Even if there were any decision-making mistakes, I could still make a statement..." Zhang Ke said with a smile.

"Oh!" Liang Weifa sighed lightly.

Xu Xueping complained beside him: "The researchers at the Jinhu Economic Research Center are also experts and professors. The province plans to issue a minimum wage standard. A group of experts and professors jumped out and said: Too high minimum wage standard will affect the competitiveness of enterprises in our province and also affect the investment promotion work. The minimum wage standard demonstrated by these experts and professors is set at about 300 yuan to not affect local economic development... We can be said to be ignorant of the smell of fireworks in the world. I think these experts and professors do not know the smell of fireworks in the world, but how do they explain that they believe that dual-working families can barely live in the city with a monthly income of 600 yuan? You can borrow your research report for us."

"Uncle Xu and Governor Liang want to see it. Of course, I don't know how to cherish it myself, but it's better to circulate it privately. This report is too offensive to be published. In addition, after all, the research is still special individuals and has no representativeness." Zhang Ke said begging for mercy. Some situations are also clear in the province. If the minimum wage standard is not set, what is the point of formulating it? To solve the real problems in China, the provincial party secretary and the governor cannot cover up the situation with one hand. If you solve the problem, you can only peel off the cocoon and proceed step by step.

Zhang Ke was slick, and Xu Xueping smiled it, but some problems were pressed on his heart, which made him feel heavy. He pointed to the direction farther in the west bank of Yinma River, where the street lights were still bright and said, "I have been there several times, but I feel very ashamed and frightened, afraid that some people will ask me when they can live such a life..."

Zhang Ke touched his nose and said nothing.

Liang Wei smiled. He was the initiator of Chenxi Paper's merger and acquisition case and was also the best at knowing the situation before and after Chenxi Paper's merger.

The large shanty town west of Chenxi Paper Industry was almost completely destroyed in the summer of 1998. Kumho donated money to rebuild it, and it was rebuilt with extremely high standards. The residential area of ​​paper mill workers was rebuilt with the same high standards. In more than a year, a large modern residential community was formed on the east side of the paper mill.

The local area is also unavoidable. People from the central government inspected the post-disaster treatment situation in Jiangnan Province, so it naturally became a model community, which brought back a lot of political points for the province. The actual post-disaster treatment situation is much more serious. Many farmers who were destroyed by floods can only get a few hundred yuan in subsidies and a few bags of cement afterwards.

The renovation of employees' residential areas or reconstruction of shanty towns, and the biggest beneficiaries are the employees of paper mills. In addition, after Chenxi Paper's merger and acquisition, the salary and benefits of employees have been greatly increased, which has exceeded the average level in Kingsoft City, so that a job in the paper mill even reached the level of asking Zhao Youlun to ask for help.

Liang Weifa knew what Xu Xueping was afraid of, and that he had a political career for nearly ten years, and he was not sure that before he retired, he could improve the average living standard in Jiangnan Province to the level comparable to that of ordinary paper mills at this time. Xu Xueping knew very well that he would definitely retreat to the second line before 2003. Before 2003, it would be a very difficult task for the whole province to basically eliminate the poor.

The journey is long. Speaking of the competitiveness of enterprises, Liang Weifa, as the governor in charge of the economy, also has in-depth research and his own experience.

After Chenxi Paper's merger and acquisition, the raw materials were imported from abroad at high prices and high-quality wood pulp; environmental protection investment also did not discharge a drop of sewage to Yinmahe. In Zhang Ke's words, this part of the investment should account for 3% of sales, which is more consistent with the judgment of the Provincial Economic Research Institute; the salary and welfare level of employees has been greatly improved, which is nearly three times higher than the level before the merger and acquisition.

Adding up various situations, the increase in operating costs of paper mills seems to make it difficult for the same paper industry in China to imagine. However, after the merger and acquisition, the actual profitability of paper mills has not weakened at all. Local tax revenue has also increased by a relatively high rate compared with previous years. After acquiring Chenxi Paper Mill, Xinguang Paper's annual sales exceeded 7 billion yuan, and it has successfully entered the top three companies in the domestic paper industry, and its actual competitiveness is far exceeding the domestic average.

After Xinguang Paper reaches its current level, in addition to competing with other top domestic paper groups, it will face the threat of competitive from overseas paper giants. China and the United States have reached a bilateral agreement and take a key step to joining the WTO. The domestic paper market will also be greatly opened to overseas paper giants.

The next competition in the papermaking industry is probably reflected in the scale of forest and paper integration?

The central government will not allow the entry of overseas paper giants to put additional pressure on the domestic environment and forestry resources. If overseas paper giants want to enter the Chinese market on a large scale, they must follow the path of forest and paper integration.

To alleviate environmental pressure, and to be able to produce medium and high-end paper products, wood pulp is needed as papermaking raw materials; to avoid additional pressure on forestry resources that have touched the dangerous red line, either import large amounts of wood pulp from overseas, or plant a large scale of quick-flood forests and build a forest source base.

Large-scale imported wood pulp must endure the torture of high costs. In addition, other countries will gradually pay attention to the protection of forestry resources, which will further increase the cost of imported wood pulp. Ultimately, the real way out is to build your own forest source base.

Liang Weifa thought so in his heart, and looked slightly to the southwest. Although the view was not too far in the night, he knew that there were large areas of rapid-growing forests belonging to Xinguang Forestry in the hilly areas of southwestern Jinshan. Xinguang Forestry entered Jiangnan Province a little later on a large scale, but in Donghai Province, the growth cycle of nearly three million mu of forest land has entered the third and fourth year.

Liang Weifa knew that international paper giants such as Prince Paper, Indonesia's Jinguang Paper, etc. all had clear intentions to invest in China. Faced with these paper giants that are eyeing each other, Xinguang Paper, in addition to having at least three to four years of time advantage in forest and paper integration, at least in the East China Sea and Jiangnan provinces, Xinguang Paper does not have to worry about the entry of other competitors. Large areas of forest source have been monopolized by Xinguang Paper's affiliated company Xinguang Forestry, and the remaining space cannot fill the stomachs of overseas paper giants.

In addition to continuing to improve the forestry layout in the East China Sea and Jiangnan provinces, Xinguang Forestry has begun to penetrate into provinces and cities such as eastern Zhejiang, Henan, and Hainan. Although the domestic forest rights relationship is complex, it will take a long time to thoroughly straighten it out. Without strong political support, large-scale forest planting operations in other provinces and cities cannot be carried out, Xinguang Forestry is at least several steps ahead of those overseas paper giants that have not taken action.

In 1996, Kumho made a desperate attempt to plant forests in the East China Sea, which was extremely puzzling at that time. It was only then that Kumho's far-sighted vision was reflected, especially the continuous rise in international wood pulp prices, which made people feel that Kumho's strategy of integrating forest and paper in advance was correct. As long as you choose a place to build a large pulp factory, Kumho can quickly complete the complete industrial layout of forest and paper integration, thus surpassing other domestic paper industry peers in one fell swoop. Even in the face of competition from overseas paper giants, there is still plenty of room for maneuver, and it can even be said that he has a competitive advantage in the face of overseas paper giants.

Although Kumho painted a pulp project cake in 1996, there has been no trace of it, as the paper market gradually relaxed foreign investment, Xinguang Paper industry has been developing and growing, and Xinguang Forestry has been spared no effort in planting forests in recent years. Especially in recent years, domestic wood pulp imports have increased at a rate of 20% or 30% each year, and the price of imported wood pulp soared. Everyone knows that even if Kumho owns a large number of shares in the pulp factory under the Malaysian Yunyuan Group, it will eventually launch a pulp project in China, and the investment in pulp project may far exceed the initial estimate of 6 billion.

Theoretically, the production capacity of tens of pulp and tens of paper will exceed 1.2 million tons at this time, and the calculated production capacity will reach 3 million tons within three years. If the wood pulp raw materials are fully self-sufficiency, it means that the future pulp project will also reach 3 million tons, which is at least a super investment of 20 billion yuan or 2.5 billion US dollars.

Two years ago, Kumho said he wanted to take a super project worth 20 billion, and everyone would curl his lips and look down on it; but to this day, no one dared to say that Kumho would not take a 20 billion yuan to take a pulp project without any hesitation.

After the pulping project is completed, Xinguang Paper will gain a greater competitive advantage, right?

Liang Weifa sometimes wonders why domestic companies cannot learn from Jinhu and think twice beforehand? Cheap labor is indeed an advantage, but when it comes to this, you should always feel a little ashamed. People work hard to create achievements for companies, and even have a meal at the end. Thinking of those experts and professors who suggest setting the minimum wage standard at 300 yuan, Liang Weifa sighed in his heart. In the end, they hope that ordinary employees will always work hard to make selfless contributions to the company's competitiveness.

Speaking of which, there is still no confidence in the economy. Some things the governor doesn’t count, but the provincial party secretary doesn’t count. The living security standards for laid-off workers cannot be raised, and the minimum wage standard is not artificially set as high as possible. Economic development is the fundamental way to solve the problem.

The factory area on the west bank of Yinmahe River is stretched and the lights are brilliant. As an industrial monster, the production assembly line will not stop and rest at night. In addition to street lights and landscape lights on the east bank, the industrial buildings are Liao Ruochenxing.

The impact of the Jinshan Lake collapse is too bad, and the impact on investment promotion in the Kingsoft area can almost be said to be devastating. Influential and appealing super-large projects such as wafer fabs are of great significance to Kingsoft.

Think about Xinting. After the construction of Dongshan Island Port Project was launched, large-scale investments have been one after another. The price of industrial land has increased from free delivery in 1997 to 120,000 per mu in 1999. In order to enable the orderly development of Dongshan Lingang Industrial Zone and effectively utilize industrial land resources, the province has collected the approval authority for the project of more than 100 acres of Lingang Industrial Zone. Xinting's economic rise is just around the corner. When will Jinshan, the provincial capital of Jiangnan Province, be able to revitalize the economy? This question has always been heavily pressed in the hearts of people in the province and cities.

When Zhang Ke was heard at Xu Xueping's house, Liang Weifa couldn't help but instigated Han Ye to the lake embankment and talked on paper. Xu Xueping was also very interested, and it seemed that there was a modern large factory standing in front of him.

If Liang Wei and his friends were allowed to show their character, they would like to hold a press conference tonight and break ground tomorrow.

"The management of Zhongjing Microchip has been working hard for a while. Even if they work hard, I will urge them to determine the Kingsoft problem as soon as possible," said Zhang Ke. "After the agreement with Singapore, the specific framework will be determined. Even if the finalization of the fab project will be slower, the initial investment of Kewang Hi-Tech and Xinyuan is mainly the construction of standard factory buildings, and will enter quickly. If the province and city still feel that the speed is not fast enough, I think that Kingsoft can organize the construction of standard electronics factories first, and after completion, it can be sold or rented to electronic companies..."

The wafer fab is built with a high-standard dust-free workshop. Not only is the investment huge, but the technical requirements are extremely high. Kingsoft City cannot do it for it. However, product assembly or ordinary electronic component production workshops are all standard factories. Kingsoft City can invest and build on a large scale first. The investment scale is not large. The key is to significantly shorten the factory construction time of investors.

If there are ready-made factories that can be used, such as Xinyuan and Kewang Hi-Tech's assembly factories, they can recruit employees on a large scale while introducing production lines. As long as the factory construction meets the standards and charges are reasonable, investors will feel that it is very convenient and are more inclined to invest in Kingsoft.
Chapter completed!