Chapter 175

After Xie Liping left, Liu Zhicheng and Wu Peng began to discuss the issue of sending comic talents to Hong Kong.

Liu Zhicheng laughed and said, "For these state-owned enterprise workers, it is basically impossible to ask them to resign and go to Hong Kong with us.

Regarding the exchange of comic talents to Hong Kong, Director Xie can handle this matter, and it will be much faster to go through official channels. "

We have not yet reached the peak period of "taking a leave of absence without pay" to go into business as in the 90s, and workers of this era are paid better than ordinary civil servants.

If they are not extremely short of money, there is no possibility that they will quit their jobs and go to Hong Kong. Basically, they are very satisfied with the current situation.

Wu Peng nodded and said, "That's good. I originally wanted to use money to pave the way and was ready to spend money to lure them. Now that the government has stepped in, it will be easier to operate."

"We still have to pay what we should pay, otherwise not many of these people will be willing to leave their hometowns and go to Hong Kong to work."

Liu Zhicheng tapped the table with his fingers and continued, "Go check what these workers need most now. We should start with their needs."

Wu Peng asked, "Didn't Director Xie just promise you that he would arrange this matter? Why do we still have to think of a solution?"

"In fact, this is also helping ourselves." Liu Zhicheng said: "These people are the highest level painters in the whole mainland.
Of course they are happy to work in Hong Kong, but they may not be willing to work hard for us. We tempt them with some benefits to prevent them from working without putting in effort.
Besides, the benefits they want are just superficial for us, so there is no need to save such costs.”

Liu Zhicheng certainly believed in the quality of the workers of this era, but in his previous life, Liu Zhicheng had also heard about some people and things about this era and had to take some precautions of his own.

Wu Peng nodded and said, "Mr. Liu, there is actually no need to investigate. As far as I know, they are most in need of housing."

"Lack of house?" Liu Zhicheng asked.

Wu Peng shook his head and said, "Yes, their so-called housing distribution system is actually just an unknown benefit. It doesn't mean that you can get a house after joining the company. Many people have to wait for many years before they can get it.

Moreover, the houses they get are usually very small, so the whole family has to live together, not to mention that some people’s children have grown up and are about to get married, so they need a house even more.”

Of course Liu Zhicheng knew what Wu Peng said, but he just didn't think about it for a while.

"Yes," Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "You are responsible for the implementation of this matter. You should know about this matter when you go to Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio tomorrow.

You should go visit their factory manager and tell them what we mean. Tell them that anyone who is willing to work in Hong Kong for more than five years will be
Not only can they receive foreign exchange subsidies, but we can also provide them with a property in Shanghai as a gift for them to live in.”

"Okay, Mr. Liu." Wu Peng replied.

After Wu Peng left, Liu Zhicheng fell into deep thought. The Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio once had a very glorious history.

Although there was a gap due to special needs in the 70s, there is still no shortage of outstanding talents.

According to the history of the previous life, these people can only become contributors to RB comics.

Now, Liu Zhicheng wants to vigorously develop his animation business, which naturally requires a large number of elite talents to cooperate.

Now Liu Zhicheng wants to seize the market that originally belonged to RB, so as to realize the cultural development of Hong Kong, instead of the entire Chinese circle being filled with Japanese comics elements as in history.

Comics are not games. You can’t achieve success simply by copying them. This requires a large number of professional talents and the ability to understand the market.

Therefore, the mainland has a huge talent pool and a large number of art graduates every year, which is the best choice for urban groups.

Recruiting these people can meet the company's needs for talent and can also reserve talent for the company in the future.

But then again, it's the 80s now, and these people will be assigned jobs and have golden rice bowls as soon as they graduate.

It would be quite difficult to recruit him to Hong Kong in large quantities, so choosing to cooperate with them becomes the best option.

As for the rewards given to these mainland comic elites, they are just a drop in the bucket compared to the benefits that the future comic market will bring.

Anyway, houses in mainland China are super cheap these days, so just buy some for them.

In the future, if such talents can be employed by the City Group, Liu Zhicheng can also let them go to other places to communicate and learn to improve their abilities.

…………

On the third day, Liu Zhicheng went to the Shanghu Municipal Government under the arrangement of relevant departments of Shanghu City and met with Huang Daohan, a senior official of Shanghu City.

After chatting casually for a few words, Huang Daohan took the initiative to talk about business and asked, "Mr. Liu, I heard that you have investment plans in Shanghai. I wonder what project it is?"

Liu Zhicheng smiled and said, "I wonder if some infrastructure projects in Shanghai can be opened to our Hong Kong capital?"

After the reform and opening up of the mainland, it has been trying to attract foreign investment in infrastructure construction, but whether the investment can be made still needs the approval of the central and local governments.

Moreover, infrastructure must also be a joint venture. Generally speaking, there will be no major problems on the central side, while local governments have to deal with various details and also need to consider development needs or how to reasonably recover investments in the future.

"In principle, there is no problem. I wonder what infrastructure project Mr. Liu wants to invest in?" Huang Daohan asked with a smile.

Although Shanghai has ranked first in the country in terms of tax revenue in recent years, a large amount of its fiscal revenue has been turned over to the central government, and it often has no money to maintain the city's infrastructure.

But the most important thing for economic development is convenient transportation. With smooth transportation, factory goods can be transported quickly and at low cost, and ordinary people can travel easily and simply.

The former stimulates industry, while the latter stimulates consumption. This is an inevitable condition for the economic development of a region.

Liu Zhicheng is well-known for his infrastructure investment in the mainland. He invested in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway and the Beijing-Tianjin Expressway, which will be the most profitable highways in the mainland in the future.

If you want to be rich, build roads first. This was the loudest slogan in the mainland in the past, and it is also one of the truths summed up after the mainland's reform and opening up.

Liu Zhicheng said: "You should also know that I am keen on investing in infrastructure construction, mainly looking for investment in infrastructure projects such as ports, highways, and power plants.

I am personally very optimistic about the development of Shanghai and am willing to undertake the construction of a Huangpu River Bridge and a thermal power plant.

Investing in these basic livelihood projects will not only generate income for us, but also provide greater convenience to the people of Shanghai, and the Shanghai government will also receive tax revenue, achieving three goals at one stroke.”

Huang Daohan smiled and said, "Well said. Our government attracts foreign investment not to take advantage of foreign investors, but for common development. In fact, to be honest, due to economic development, our municipal party committee has long had plans to build a thermal power plant and a new bridge connecting Pudong and Puxi.

However, due to the tight funding, the project has not been implemented. Today, Mr. Liu proposed this plan, which really solved our urgent need!"

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "That's great. My team will come to Shanghai to negotiate the specific investment plan and the funds needed."

Huang Daohan said: "Mr. Liu should know that if such a bridge and thermal power plant are to be built, according to current laws, a joint venture is required!"

"I know that." Liu Zhicheng nodded.

Huang Daohan asked, "Then I wonder when Mr. Liu plans to build this bridge?"

Liu Zhicheng said: "Of course the sooner the better. As long as you and I have agreed on the content of the cooperation, we can start building the bridge immediately.
And I think now that we have decided, the design and site selection of the bridge can start now, so that as soon as the contract is signed and the funds are received by both parties, construction can start immediately."

Seeing that Huang Daohan seemed a little hesitant, Liu Zhicheng asked again: "Any other questions?"

Huang Daohan smiled and said, "Nothing, it's just that the municipal government has already decided on many financial budgets for the whole of 82. Now there is suddenly an additional large project like this, and I have to discuss it with the municipal party committee again."

"Is that so?" Liu Zhicheng understood. Although Shanghai is currently the largest city in China and also an industrial capital, its fiscal revenue ranks first in the country every year.

But compared with other provinces, Shanghai in the 80s handed over a large amount of fiscal revenue to the central government.

For example, in 1981, the Shanghai Stock Exchange had a fiscal revenue of 160 billion yuan, of which it retained 27.7 billion yuan, which was only about 17% of the fiscal revenue.

In the same year, Beijing's fiscal revenue was 45.6 billion yuan, of which 27.22 billion yuan was retained, with a retention rate of 59%. It was not until 1985 that the central government increased the retention rate of Shanghai to 25%, but it was only half of that of Beijing.

The situation in other provinces is even more exaggerated. For example, in East Guangdong Province, because of the economic dividends brought by the "three-in-one" model, the central government ordered East Guangdong Province to increase its annual fiscal revenue by 1980 billion since 10.

But by 1988, Guangdong Province, whose industrial production scale was almost the same as that of Shanghai, had paid a total of 15 billion yuan, less than a fraction of Shanghai.

Therefore, funds in Shanghai are still relatively tight.

For example, in recent times, in order to ease traffic congestion, the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Department has built pedestrian overpasses at various traffic intersections.

But the progress is very slow, reportedly due to insufficient budget.

Liu Zhicheng thought for a moment and said, "If the municipal government has financial difficulties, we can change the cooperation plan."

Huang Daohan said: "What kind of plan is it, Mr. Liu, please tell me."

Liu Zhicheng continued: "We initially estimated that the construction of the bridge and the thermal power plant might cost about 2 million US dollars.

If the shares are 1/, then each of us needs to invest about million US dollars. My suggestion is that we should also provide the funds from the city government.

This way the project can start sooner, but I hope another investment can be agreed to for me.”

"What investment?" Huang Daohan asked.

Liu Zhicheng said: "I have been to Nanjing East Road these days, and I was very surprised by the business atmosphere there. It is said that the First People's Shopping Mall alone can attract 20 people every weekend.

This is unlikely to be achieved in the entire Hong Kong. My Huangpu Group is committed to investing in commercial projects, so I hope to be able to invest in the Shanghai Stock Exchange?"

"First People's Department Store!" Huang Daohan was startled and quickly shook his head to refuse: "Mr. Liu, the First People's Department Store is very special. If you want to invest, I cannot agree to it."

"Misunderstanding!" Liu Zhicheng smiled and explained: "I am not going to acquire or invest in any existing shopping malls or institutions. Instead, our company will develop a commercial project."

If Shanghai Stock Exchange is the crown jewel of the mainland economy, then the First People's Department Store is the economic leader of the entire Shanghai Stock Exchange, with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan.

Because of its abundant supply and great reputation, this is also the shopping paradise of choice for foreign tourists, businessmen or mainlanders holding foreign exchange certificates, earning tens of millions of US dollars in foreign exchange for the Shanghai Stock Exchange every year.

It would have been impossible for the Shanghai Stock Exchange to transfer such projects to foreign capital when the country had just started its reform and opening up. The country's main purpose in attracting foreign capital at that time was to jointly earn foreign exchange and develop the economy, rather than to transfer projects that could earn foreign exchange on their own.

Huang Daohan nodded, as long as they didn't plan to take over the First Mall, so he asked, "What project is Mr. Liu talking about?"

Liu Zhicheng asked: "I wonder if you have heard of the pedestrian street?"

"I've heard of pedestrian streets!" Huang Daohan nodded and asked, "Does Mr. Liu want to build a pedestrian street in Shanghu City?"

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "Yes, in Western countries, many cities already have a business model of pedestrian streets.

Because there are no cars on these streets, they can attract a large number of tourists and pedestrians to come and spend money. At present, China has reformed and opened up.
Shanghai is the core of the national economy, so it’s time for it to have its own pedestrian street, right? "

Huang Daohan pondered for a moment and asked, "Where is Mr. Liu going to build this pedestrian street?"

Liu Zhicheng said: "Any pedestrian street is generally a prosperous place, so according to the current situation in Shanghai, it can only be located in Puxi.

In general, cities around the world build pedestrian streets by converting an existing street into a pedestrian street, which can reduce costs a lot.

However, the only road in Shanghai that meets this requirement is Nanjing East Road, so this road is naturally blocked. However, we can choose a street in other places in Puxi.
All the buildings need to be demolished and rebuilt, and the area on both sides needs to be expanded, and then new buildings need to be built according to international standards. "

Liu Zhicheng calmly explained the whole plan. It was a dream to want to get involved in Nanjing East Road, but now Shanghai.

Except for the Bund and Nanjing East Road, other places are just ordinary locations. Building a commercial pedestrian street in these places will be a commercial investment with only benefits and no harm to the Shanghai market.

Huang Daohan thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Liu, the population density in Puxi is very high. Even if we choose an ordinary street,

According to your idea, it would also mean demolishing the homes of thousands of families, plus the subsequent investment, which would probably be much higher than building a bridge."

"I have already thought about this clearly." Liu Zhicheng said: "The cost of demolition will naturally be borne by us, and I can also fund the construction of new houses for the relocated households, and the living environment will be better.
For this project, we will be responsible for all financial aspects, and the municipal government only needs to be responsible for the demolition process and the land planning of the new demolished houses.

According to the joint venture law, we can obtain 51% of the shares of a new commercial street. I think this is a good thing for both the municipal government and the residents who will be relocated.”

(End of this chapter)