Chapter 237

At the gate, several people looked at each other, their faces all showing... shame.

Inside their own factory's meeting room, as soon as they heard they had to raise funds themselves, they immediately balked; an investment of several tens of millions required caution, they feared the risk, and the first thing they thought of was what to do if they lost money.

Qingshan Factory, a third-line military plant in a remote mountain valley, having only recently converted to civilian production less than a year ago, their courage and boldness far surpassed that of the old-line Capital Automobile Factory!

Seventy million yuan, three million US dollars—this huge sum, the Capital Automobile Factory dare not use it; even if they could borrow it, they'd still have to pay it back!

And here, at Qingshan Factory, not a single person worries or fears; this boldness, this courage—Qingshan Factory is truly the vanguard of reform!

"Well, since everyone agrees, then next we… huh, someone's at the door?"

Qin Miao then noticed the person standing at the gate, quite surprised.

The guard work at Qingshan Factory still needs to be strengthened further!

Sales at the factory are booming; many sales units' vehicles line up outside waiting to load cargo, stretching from the production workshop all the way to outside the factory, the factory gate is wide open, and no matter how vigilant the gatekeeper, someone can still sneak in.

These people were all wearing four-pocket Zhongshan suits, clearly cadres, but no one knew where they came from.

Originally, Factory Chief Zhao and the others had planned to continue observing, but unexpectedly they were recognized!

Zhang Wanhe saw the several people, was also taken aback, then said: "Come, Old Zhao, come in and sit over here! San Shui, Lao Qin, let me introduce you—these are all from the Capital Automobile Factory…"

Qin Miao then realized these people must have heard that the Mercedes-Benz truck project had fallen into Qingshan Factory's hands, so they were dissatisfied…

We can't let them bring this up!

"Capital Automobile Factory? Those are honored guests; our Qingshan Factory will also make cars someday—we're all in the same industry, so we might even have more cooperation later!"

No automobile factory can produce all its parts by itself; it needs downstream suppliers to form an automotive industry chain, and Qingshan Factory, if it wants to make cars, cannot do without the help of the Capital automobile industry.

Of course, we won't accept inferior parts; German engineers will oversee quality control when the time comes.

By saying that, he was also telling the other side, "Forget about wanting the Mercedes-Benz truck—we're already moving ahead with it!"

"Hmm. Being able to supply parts for the Mercedes-Benz truck is also an honor for us." Factory Chief Zhao nodded.

Qin Miao left a good impression; he got straight to business, which is essentially giving them money for the Capital automobile industry!

"By the way, I heard you're negotiating cooperation with AMC—how's that going?" Qin Miao, after mentioning that the Mercedes-Benz truck project is theirs, swiftly changed the subject.

"We came here hoping you'd give us some ideas; this AMC company is too sly…"

Listening to Factory Chief Zhao's full complaints, Qin Miao had an idea—this problem was simple!

"The technology of the 212 is indeed outdated; using 212 technology as equity contribution, the American side's refusal is reasonable."

What? Luo Ziqiang was somewhat dissatisfied; are you looking down on our 212? This is the crystallization of years of technology from the Capital Automobile Factory…

"The canvas roof is noisy and leaks, the windows are too small—I won't even mention those flaws; the 212 engine lacks power, the chassis is unstable, the brakes have fatal defects… this technology is truly outdated. However, the Capital Automobile Factory still has other trump cards—for example, you have factories and equipment, which are fixed assets!"

The people from the Capital Automobile Factory fell silent, listening to Qin Miao go on and on.

"If you use your factories and equipment to correspond with AMC's technology, and then each side adds a cash contribution for equity, wouldn't that solve the share allocation problem?"

"If… if the project fails, wouldn't our factories and equipment be…" Fang Guangming still had some worries.

Fearing wolves ahead and tigers behind, these people pushing reform will inevitably drag their feet!

"What's there to fear? The factories and equipment are in the capital; foreigners couldn't even sell off these fixed assets."

Everyone fell silent again.

The Americans contribute technology as equity—an intangible asset; if we contribute our factories and equipment as equity, even if the project fails they can't take them away, which amounts to an intangible asset too, thus balancing things out!

This Qin Miao, indeed sharp-witted!

"Our fixed assets should be assessed according to international practice; the resulting amount will certainly not be low. I think we can contribute factories, equipment, and cash totaling 6.6 million USD for equity, giving us seventy percent of the shares, while AMC contributes its technology products and an advance of eight million USD, giving them at most thirty percent."

Our cash contribution must also be less than the Americans', yet our share of equity must still be greater!

"Good, let's do it!" Factory Chief Zhao nodded: "Comrade Qin Miao, thank you for your suggestion; do you have any other advice?"

"To master Western advanced technology, introducing production via CKD is the fastest way, but we must stipulate localization rates and timelines in the negotiations—we cannot become mere assembly plants!"

Historically, cooperation between the Capital Automobile Factory and AMC has almost always ended in failure.

The Capital Automobile Factory's product quality was too poor; importing complete kits from the US and assembling them via CKD became the mainstream of early production, and the products still sold briskly.

But… the state pursued joint ventures to save money; yet the Capital Automobile Factory had to import large amounts of foreign exchange for parts each year? Consequently, superiors withheld approval, AMC grew angry—their produced parts had already arrived at the port, awaiting payment from the East, and they leaked the story to the media, sparking the famous worldwide Jeep incident!

After the first failure, when the Santana joint venture came about, superiors imposed strict requirements: within a few years, localization must reach a certain percentage, or the project would be terminated—forcing the upgrade of the domestic automotive supply chain.

Now Qin Miao can only help this much; next, it's up to the Capital Automobile Factory to prove itself!

"Anything else?"

"We want the latest model; over these years of negotiation, AMC should have a new vehicle type—we not only want the newest model, but we also need to use Cherokee technology to improve our 212…"

Half an hour later, the delegation from the Capital Automobile Factory returned satisfied; after reporting to their superiors, seeing that it was still early, they headed to the hotel where the AMC representatives were staying.

"Everyone, after careful consideration, we believe the 212 is indeed outdated and does not qualify for technology-based equity."

The Americans were delighted, "Well, not bad, that's about right! Now just pony up the money honestly!"

"We hope to contribute our factories and equipment as equity; next, we will hire professional appraisers to assess the value of these fixed assets…"

What? The Americans were stunned—if these fixed assets were appraised, their value would not be low!

"No, no, fixed assets cannot be used as equity conditions!"

"In our view, your technology also cannot serve as equity conditions!"

"Alright, then how are we to solve the required investment?"

"How about each side contributes a cash sum? The amount would depend on the fixed-asset appraisal, combined with each side's desired share; our Capital Automobile Factory plans to contribute 6.6 million USD in cash…"

The Americans knew that even if they invested eight million USD, they'd at most hold thirty percent, but they had no choice; in a cooperation, both sides must compromise, and the Eastern proposal is reasonable.

Damn it, who gave them that idea?