章節 1013: Chapter 1013: Planning for the Futures Market
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. It has a high population density and is the city with the most diverse languages and ethnic groups in Malaysia. It is also the fastest growing metropolitan area in Malaysia in terms of population and economy.
Kuala Lumpur is also one of the main traditional gathering places for Chinese people in Malaysia, mainly Cantonese, Minnan and Hakka people. Chinese people make up the majority of the city's population, with more than 1.5 million Chinese in the city, accounting for about two-fifths of the total number of Chinese in Malaysia.
Due to the issue of ancestral origin, Chinese people born and raised in Kuala Lumpur generally use Cantonese for daily social interactions and business, while standard Mandarin is generally used as a medium of communication with Chinese people from non-Cantonese-speaking regions.
Kuala Lumpur is only 310 kilometres away from Star City, so Xia Yu arrived in Kuala Lumpur in just an hour by plane.
It was only 11:15 a.m. when he arrived.
Xia Yu had previously instructed the company employees in Kuala Lumpur to send a formal invitation to the Li family, and they had received a positive response.
So after having lunch and a nap until a little after two in the afternoon, Xia Yu took a car to the Lee family estate.
The Lee family estate was not in the city, but in a huge rubber and oil palm plantation on the southern outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, near Subang Jaya.
The surname Lee is not only a major surname in the country, but also abroad. There are many powerful Lee families. The Lee family Xia Yu visited was headed by Lee Lai Sheng, a famous 'rubber king' in Southeast Asia.
The Lee family's Kepong Group owns a total of 220,000 acres of rubber, palm oil and cocoa plantations. In terms of cultivated area alone, the Kepong Group's plantations are second only to the British-owned Sime Darby Group, ranking second in Malaysia.
But personally, Lee Laisun ranks first!
It's just that Lee Laisun didn't start out running a plantation. It could be said that he stumbled into it, but it turned out to be a golden path.
Lee Lai Seng's father was Lee Beng Hiang, a famous mining entrepreneur from Ipoh, Malaysia. In his early years, Lee Beng Hiang migrated from his hometown to Malaysia to dig tin ore, and later moved his family to Ipoh, Malaysia. As he was a Hakka, he was appreciated by Yao Desheng, a Malaysian 'tin ore king' from Pingyuan, Meizhou, and was given five acres of tin ore land to operate.
With the perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit of the Hakka people, Lee Ming Hing achieved success and became a well-known mining magnate in the Ipoh area.
Lee Ming Hing had fourteen sons and nine daughters, and Lee Lai Seng was the fourth son.
For Li Laisheng, the 'second generation of the mining industry', he had originally planned to continue to expand the family business.
However, it so happened that in the 1950s, Malaysia gained independence, and the British began to sell off their rubber plantations. Li Laisheng's third brother, Li Wansheng, who was in charge of the Li family business at the time, also bought a rubber plantation. However, the family did not want to run a rubber plantation, but rather they thought that there was tin ore at the bottom of the plantation.
However, after a few months of mining, no tin ore was found. Disappointed, Lee Wan Seng handed over the rubber plantation to Lee Lai Seng to manage. With nothing but intelligence and hard work, and with the help of family funds, Lee Lai Seng continued to acquire plantations from the British.
For example, he bought the shares of the Gleneagles Plantation, took control of the Batu Kawan Plantation, provided equity transactions, and then took control of the Kuala Lumpur Kepong Plantation.
Step by step, Lee Lai Seng became the far-famed 'rubber king' in Southeast Asia, and the family business also broke free from the shackles of tin ore and was brought to another peak by him. He also took over the position of head of the Lee family from his third brother Lee Man Seng.
...
At about 2:52 pm, Xia Yu arrived at the Lee family estate, where he was given a grand welcome by the Lee family.
Li Laisheng welcomed Xia Yu's arrival with his eldest son Li Aixian, second son Li Xiaoxian and third son Li Shunxian.
'Mr Xia, you're too kind to have brought such a valuable gift,'
said Li Laisheng, smiling kindly as he shook Xia Yu's hand.
'It's just a small token of my appreciation, nothing valuable,'
said Xia Yu, joking.
Xia Yu said with a joke, unobtrusively drawing the two closer together.
Li Laisheng flattered loudly, 'Haha, Mr. Xia really knows how to joke. The fact that you are able to set foot in my Li family's door is a great honour, and that is the greatest gift.'
'Quick, don't stand in the doorway, sit inside!'
'Please!'
...
After entering the house, there was another round of pleasantries. Xia Yu sat down on the sofa in the living room, accompanied by Li Laisheng's three sons, who were sitting on the sofa to the side. Li Laisheng introduced Xia Yu one by one, and then the eldest son, Li Aixian, handed Xia Yu tea on behalf of his father.
After taking a sip of tea, Xia Yu praised, 'Mr Lee, on the way here, I saw endless rubber plantations, truly spectacular. I can't see such a magnificent view in Hong Kong.'
'Even in Sing City yesterday, although I also saw quite a few rubber plantations, they are no match for this one. I heard that this plantation is only considered average-to-above average in your family?'
Li Laisheng said modestly, 'Mr Xia, you are too kind. This plantation can be considered the biggest one in our family. Mr Xia has always been in Xiangjiang, which has a developed economy. Kuala Lumpur is like a country compared to a city. We don't have much industry here, so we can only engage in rubber and oil palm plantations. Mr Xia, if you look at it for a while, you will get bored of it.'
'By the way, Mr Xia, did you just come from Star City? I thought you came directly from Xiangjiang.'
This was just idle chatter before the meeting, and Li Laisheng changed the subject, and Xia Yu picked up on it.
He said with a light smile, 'Mainly because I had some things to take care of at my company in Star City, and I also took the opportunity to visit Mr. DeWitt and talk about some cooperation matters.'
Li Laisheng's heart stirred, and without showing any emotion, he said, 'Is Mr. Xia's cooperation with Mr. Chiu De Ba going well? I'm an old friend of Chiu De Ba's, and if there's anything I can do to help, I'd be honoured to act as a go-between.'
Xia Yu pretended not to have heard, and laughed casually, 'Thank you, Mr. Li. Mr. Chiu is very reasonable and generous, and I came away from my visit with a lot.'
Li Laisheng smiled and said, 'Deebart Qiu is indeed very generous. I'm glad you two have come to an agreement. Congratulations!'
'Thank you!'
Xia Yu smiled and said thank you.
Then, after observing that the atmosphere was right, he took the initiative to get to the point.
'Mr. Li, I have come here mainly for two things, to deepen our cooperation.'
'Please go ahead, Mr. Xia!'
Li Laisheng said, and then quietly looked at Xia Yu.
Xia Yu smiled faintly and said softly, 'The first thing is to lay the groundwork for detailed cooperation in the future and to brief you on it. It's about rubber and palm oil.'
'I don't know if Mr Li is aware, but the British Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Group and the Canadian Magna International Inc. are both clients of your family's companies?'
Li Laiseng's brows twitched. Of course he knew these two companies, both of which were major customers of the Kepong Group, and both of which had the fastest-growing procurement needs. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars mainly procured rubber, while Magna International of Canada procured both rubber and palm oil.
Aren't these two companies from the UK and Canada? Why did Xia Yu suddenly mention this? Could it be?
After an unbelievable thought popped into his mind, Li Laiseng asked in surprise, 'Mr Xia, are these two companies your companies?'
Xia Yufeng nodded lightly in acknowledgement: 'They are my companies.'
Li Laisheng took a deep breath to suppress the shock he felt, and then shook his head in admiration: 'I never thought that the true owner of the British Rolls-Royce Motor Group was you, Mr Xia. Your business is so big, and you are truly a role model for the Chinese people!'
Xia Yu smiled modestly and then said, 'Mr Li, apart from these two companies which are expanding rapidly, my other companies, such as Tiangong Automobile Group, are already building factories, the chemical company has also been approved, and the food company is also planning to enter the grain and oil market.'
'The demand for rubber and palm oil from these companies will continue to grow. The rubber and palm oil produced by your family's Kepong Group is of very good quality and is also quite popular in the market, so I need to let you know in advance, and I will feel more at ease when the time comes to expand.'
Li Laiseng knew that Xia Yu was being modest and flattering him, and he said without hesitation, 'Mr Xia, don't worry, as long as you need it, I will definitely supply it with all my strength, and I won't let you worry about it!'
'Then thank you, Mr Li!'
'It's still about rubber and palm oil, and I have some ideas in this regard.'
Hearing Xia Yu say this, Li Laiseng, who was already very happy, his eyes lit up, and he became even more excited.
'Please go ahead, Mr Xia!'
Xia Yu smiled faintly and said, 'It's like this. Mr Li should know that I have a certain degree of influence in the Hong Kong financial market.'
Li Lai-sheng immediately praised, 'Mr Xia is being too modest. Everyone knows that you are Hong Kong's God of Wealth and God of Stocks. Even in the whole of Southeast Asia, no one would dare claim to be number one if you claim to be number two.'
Xia Yu smiled and continued, 'I have achieved a certain level of success in the banking, insurance and securities industries, but I still have a lot to learn about futures. And to be honest, the futures market has been developing very slowly in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Rubber, palm oil and palm are all commodities. If there is a reasonable futures price as a guide, it will greatly facilitate trading.'
'I am already planning to get involved in futures trading in these areas, striving to create a platform that benefits both plantation owners and buyers, and promote the vigorous development of the rubber, palm oil and palm markets.'
'As the saying goes, plant a good tree and attract the phoenix.'
'To create such an influential platform, I need the support of Mr Lee, the 'Rubber King'. I hope that when the platform is ready, you will be able to support me!'
Li Laisheng applauded and responded, 'Mr Xia, such a great feat of yours will be of great help to us. We have long hoped to have such a platform, but looking at Southeast Asia as a whole, there is no formal futures trading market for rubber and palm oil. Hong Kong has a booming economy, and although there is a futures market, there are no rubber or palm oil futures. Most are for cotton, soybeans, grains, and the like.'
'Now that Mr Xia is able to create such a platform, I absolutely support it fully. If you say the word, I will lobby for you with the plantation owners I know in Southeast Asia. I believe everyone will enthusiastically support this kind of thing!'
Li Laisheng also has some understanding of futures and is clear about the role of a rubber futures, palm oil futures and palm futures market with a large influence.
The most basic function is to provide hedging, which can lock in profits and reduce risks.
The Kepong Group can fully utilise the hedging business of the futures market. When market prices are favourable, it can establish sell positions in advance in the futures market. When the future product is actually sold in the market in the future, even if the market price has a downward trend that is not conducive to the enterprise, the Kepong Group can also make up for the 'loss' of the decline in the spot sales price through the surplus of the futures position closing.
For example, as a seller, Kepong Group must have a group of distributors below it. In normal years, if a ton of rubber is sold for 10,000 yuan, and the following year is not a good year, Kepong Group will lose money if it does not sell for 10,000 yuan. If Kepong Group insists that the distributor sell for 10,000 yuan, the distributor will not be able to sell, Kepong Group will lose money, and the distributor will also lose money.
If there is hedging, the market price is locked in. Kepong Group can follow the market price and significantly reduce the price, or even lower, without worrying about losses. The distributor will not have difficulties, and he will survive. If the distributor survives, won't that mean stable customers? By the same token, the effect of customer maintenance in the procurement process is the same
Then there is the market management function.
Market management is not just about price management. It can help companies stabilise the market, stabilise customer channels, and even expand the market.
If a rubber from the A-hole Group can become a designated trading and delivery product on the futures exchange, then this will not only provide the Home Building Group with a stable sales channel, but will also greatly enhance the market brand awareness of the company's products.
Of course there are disadvantages, but compared to the benefits, those disadvantages are negligible!
So when Xia Yu, a financial tycoon, was willing to do this, and anyone with half a brain could tell that the success rate was high, Li Laisheng of course gave his full support.
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