Chapter 752 We also hope to be of one heart and one mind
Qin Hai will not be surprised by any performance of Red Steel. There are so many steel companies in the country, some are willing to take the overall situation into consideration, and some are only focused on the interests of their own small groups. Qin Hai cannot demand others based on his own principles.
He visited these companies just to get a feel for everyone so that he could determine his strategy for negotiating with foreign businessmen.
Hearing Pang Yongfu pretending to be stupid, Qin Hai smiled slightly and said: "Mr. Pang is indeed wise. I came to Honggang today to negotiate for iron ore. I want to hear Honggang's attitude towards this matter."
"What is the attitude of the central government?" Pang Yongfu did not answer Qin Hai's question, but asked instead.
Qin Haidao: "The central government's attitude is very clear. It hopes that steel companies across the country can unite, work with one heart and one mind, and negotiate with Vale and BHP Billiton with one voice in order to obtain the best results for China's steel industry."
"With one heart and one mind, this sentence really speaks to our hearts." Pang Yongfu said, "Our thoughts are completely consistent with the central government, that is, we must work with our domestic colleagues as one heart and one mind to overcome difficulties together."
"This is great." Qin Hai said with a faint smile. He understood that Pang Yongfu's words were just an opening statement, and more important words were yet to come.
"But..." Unexpectedly, Pang Yongfu made an unexpected turn. He sighed and said: "We want to be of the same mind as other colleagues, but they don't think so. Our Hongyuan Steel Company is in the domestic steel industry.
We can only be regarded as the second echelon, how dare we expect to be of the same mind as the first echelon."
"What does Mr. Pang mean? Can you make it more clear?" Qin Hai asked.
Pang Yongfu said: "The situation in front of us is very clear. Vale and BHP Billiton intend to significantly increase the price of iron ore. For us at Red Steel, this is a noose for us. But if we stretch our heads, we will die, and if we shrink our heads, we will die.
Damn it, if we don't accept this price, our raw materials will be cut off. Has Mr. Qin considered this issue for us?"
Qin Haidao: "To be honest with Mr. Pang, our strategy is to bite the bottom price that China can accept, that is, the price increase cannot exceed 20%. If Vale and BHP Billiton insist on a higher offer, we will interrupt our cooperation with them."
Mr. Pang’s worry is not unreasonable. But you also have to think about it. If we insist on not cooperating with them, they will also be unable to withstand it. This is actually a test of who can persist to the end."
"We can't hold on." Pang Yongfu said decisively.
"Why?" Qin Hai asked.
Pang Yongfu said: "I know your Daqin Group can persist because you have 50 million tons of ore reserves. Yanshan Iron and Steel and Pudong Iron and Steel have no problem either. They either have their own mines or have sufficient reserves. They can all persist.
For a while. We at Red Steel now have only one month of raw material inventory left. If Vale wants to increase prices now, we must accept it, otherwise we will have to stop work. Mr. Qin just said that everyone should work together as one. I want to ask, Yan
Can Pudong Steel, Pudong Steel and others be of the same mind as us and give us even part of their ores?”
"I'm afraid we can't do this." Qin Hai shook his head and said: "Mr. Pang, the Economic and Trade Commission issued an early warning to various steel companies a year ago, asking everyone to increase inventory within their capabilities to avoid being affected by the epidemic.
The impact of fluctuations in international ore prices. The reserves of our Daqin Group are also accumulated by occupying a large amount of working capital. Honggang itself did not build reserves in advance, how can it blame others now?"
"We also want to build reserves, but where can we find the money?" Pang Yongfu said, "Our profits have been taken away by the province. By the way, some of them are related to you, Mr. Qin, and they were transferred to Hongyuan Automobile.
The company is going to develop electric vehicles. We have been reporting to the province since the beginning of last year, requesting that part of the profits be reserved for ore reserves, but the province has never approved it. What can we do?"
Pang Yongfu's answer is 30% true and 70% false. It is true that Hongyuan Province misappropriated part of the profits of Hongyuan Iron and Steel Company, but the province did not take away all the profits, but left them for Hongyuan Iron and Steel Company.
Pang Yongfu used this part of the funds for real estate development and built several local properties, which are currently on sale, but the funds have not yet been recovered. This is the real reason why Honggang has no ore reserves.
Qin Hai came to visit Honggang, and of course he had learned about Honggang's situation beforehand. Faced with Pang Yongfu's lies, Qin Hai did not expose Pang Yongfu's lies, but said to himself: "The difficulties of Honggang are also shared by some other steel companies.
The same exists. Now our country is no longer a planned system, and it is impossible to use administrative orders to evenly adjust materials among enterprises. Yan Iron and Steel, Pudong Iron and Steel and other enterprises have some ore reserves. If Hong Steel is willing to negotiate with them, it will obtain from them at market prices.
If you get some ore in your hands, the central government will not interfere. But it may not be appropriate for the central government to directly come forward to coordinate."
"Yes, if that's the case, then why do we talk about being of one heart and one mind?" Pang Yongfu shrugged and said.
Qin Haidao: "Mr. Pang is biased in thinking this way. The iron ore negotiation is not only good for certain companies, but all companies can benefit from it. If the negotiation can achieve our expected goals, then Hong Kong
Steel's iron ore purchase price can also be maintained at the current level, rather than being forced to accept a 70% increase. Red Steel should actively support such a thing, and there is no reason to bargain with the working group.
"
"So during the negotiation period, our company can only stop production and wait for materials?" Pang Yongfu asked.
Qin Haidao: "This is what I want to discuss with Mr. Pang. In addition to Vale and BHP Billiton, is there any other channel for Red Steel to obtain iron ore? Also, Red Steel currently has about 1 million tons a year.
Before the iron ore negotiations are resolved, can steel exports be stopped first? This will also reduce some pressure on iron ore demand. The Economic and Trade Commission is coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation to prepare to import some steel products from Russia and other countries.
To batch scrap steel to alleviate the shortage of raw materials for domestic steelmaking, is Red Steel interested in increasing the proportion of short-process steelmaking to make up for the gap in long-process steelmaking?”
"For us at Honggang, these are just a drop in the bucket and cannot solve the fundamental problem." Pang Yongfu said.
"So what does Mr. Pang mean? Are you not going to cooperate with the work arrangements of the Economic and Trade Committee?" Qin Hai kicked the ball to Pang Yongfu's feet.
"Of course not." Pang Yongfu said. Qin Hai put a big label on him, and he had to clarify. As the boss of a large steel company, how could he publicly claim that he would not cooperate with the work of the State Economic and Trade Commission?
There are many things that can be done but must not be said. Although he has already planned to make a separate peace with Vale, he must firmly deny it when Qin Hai asks.
"We have received the notice from the Economic and Trade Committee, and the company's party group has made a resolution to resolutely implement the spirit of the Economic and Trade Committee's documents and actively cooperate with the iron ore negotiation work, which means cooperating with Mr. Qin's work." Pang Yongfu smiled.
Roubu said to Qin Hai without a smile.
Qin Hai smiled lightly: "I don't dare to take it seriously. I am here to serve everyone."
"However, our difficulties also exist objectively. If we are forced to stop production due to interruption in the supply of raw materials, the economic losses we will suffer will be huge. I, Lao Pang, cannot bear this responsibility, and neither can our entire company's leadership team."
We must shoulder this responsibility. Therefore, we very much hope that the country can understand our difficulties and provide us with a way to solve the problem." Pang Yongfu continued.
Qin Hai glanced at Yu Yong beside him, and Yu Yong quickly pointed to the notebook in front of him and nodded. They did this in front of all the leaders of Honggang, which meant to tell them that Pang Yongfu's
These words have been recorded by Yu Yong, and I hope they will not regret it in the future. Of course, the content recorded by Yu Yong alone is not enough to be used as evidence in the future in court. It only represents a gentleman's agreement.
.
"I already understand what Mr. Pang means," Qin Hai said, "The iron ore negotiation is a major event related to the entire Chinese steel industry. The head of the central government attaches great importance to this matter and has issued important instructions many times. I hope that our entire industry can
Let’s work together to thwart the blackmail of international giants. Mr. Pang just promised that he will never violate the requirements of the Economic and Trade Committee. This attitude is worth learning from all companies. I hope that Mr. Pang can stick to this promise in the future negotiation process.
As for the objective difficulties of Red Steel, I have already written them down and will report them to the leaders of the Economic and Trade Committee truthfully. Mr. Pang, please rest assured that the Economic and Trade Committee will definitely take effective measures to help each company overcome the temporary difficulties. In addition, the Economic and Trade Committee The leader also said something, that is, he hopes that all enterprises will have the determination to fight and not give up halfway. As the saying goes, short-term pain is worse than long-term regret. If you cannot endure temporary difficulties, you will be controlled by others for a long time in the future, and that feeling is even worse. It feels good."
"Mr. Qin's words really make sense. We will organize in-depth study later." Pang Yongfu praised sincerely.
Qin Hai smiled and said: "Mr. Pang is too polite. I, Xiao Qin, am just a junior in the steel industry. Today, Xiao Fu and I, who are younger than them, have made a special trip to learn from Mr. Pang and other seniors."
"Hahahaha, Mr. Qin is so humble." Pang Yongfu commented with a smile.
"Yes, yes, Mr. Qin is too humble. This is really a virtue." Xiang Pengda also echoed.
"Mr. Pang, Mr. Qin, the canteen is ready. How about we move to the canteen first and chat while eating. What do you think?" Hu Xiaoshuo, Pang Yongfu's secretary, respectfully invited everyone.
"Okay, the sky is big and the earth is big. It's better to have a big belly. Let's eat first." Pang Yongfu said boldly, "Mr. Qin, please?"
"Okay, being respectful is worse than obeying orders. I will bother Mr. Pang today." Qin Hai responded happily. (To be continued.)