Chapter 6: Work Hard and Fast (1)
After dealing with the Army’s scrap iron and steel matter (see Chapter 5 for details, it will be released later on the public account ‘Moonshadow Sycamore’ due to sensitivity), Contini went home and talked about domestic infrastructure with his father Ciano Sr.
Regarding a series of matters such as Vivian's pregnancy, going to Switzerland, and the transfer of shares of the United Group, old Ciano knew that on the one hand, Contini had no intention of hiding it from him, and on the other hand, Antonio would also report this trend to him. So the father and son were quite embarrassed when they met. It didn't matter if they said it or not. They just blurted it out after a few words.
Contini's mother, on the other hand, was very happy and kept asking questions. Finally, she decided to go to Switzerland to accompany her daughter-in-law.
"You guys stay with me, don't start a fight..." Contini replied guiltily.
"What's the quarrel about? I've given you money and people, and even my father, who is a banker, has been recruited by you to work for me. He belongs to our family. It's not too late for me to love you. Why are you quarreling?" She glanced at her. Old Ciano said meaningfully, "Your dad did anything more extreme than this when he was young, and I didn't even argue with him!"
"Ahem..." Old Ciano's old face flushed red, and he just waved his hand to ask his wife to step back, which meant that the father and son were about to talk about serious matters.
Contini tried his best to suppress his laughter: It seems that old Ciano had a lot of stories when he was young...
“This is how I think about infrastructure construction. In addition to the three dedicated lines in Milan, Genoa and Rome, we also need to build a fast railway network and a highway network connecting Milan, Verona, Venice, Genoa, Bologna and Florence. United Group can invest part of it. "
"But this is not in line with the layout of the railway system." Old Ciano mused. "Italian railways are mainly concentrated in the north, and the road network in the south is insufficient. If you concentrate on the north, the gap between the north and the south will become wider and wider. Big, I can’t deal with it.”
"The southern road network will continue to be constructed, but the Ministry of Transportation will be responsible for the south, and the United Group will not get involved. Anyway, I have made up my mind that the furthest investment is Naples..."
"What kind of logic is this?"
Contini smiled bitterly and said: "Don't you see it? The people of Southern Italy, especially the Two Sicilies, and the people of Northern Italy are simply two different peoples. They are unorganized, lazy, full of illusions, and lawless and disobedient to the government...Seriously. , the international negative evaluation of Italians, South Italy must bear at least 70% of the responsibility, the airport construction is also carried out, the construction progress of the United Group in Palermo and Catania lags far behind Florence and Bologna, those workers have always After I was paid, I went out to have a good time, and then I didn't want to come back to work for several days. I was still drunk when I came back. Later, I was forced to pay my salary every week. Speaking of which, I finally got the situation under control. They provided special assistance and made things convenient for me along the way, but even this is not as good as the one in the north. ”
Old Ciano understood immediately after thinking about it. Wasn't the so-called assistance from the southern government the result of Adriana's father's great efforts? Vivian got pregnant and took shares. Her father joined the United Group as a senior executive and completed a series of complex capital operations. Adriana was naturally anxious. What she was anxious about was not money, but her own status. It wasn't enough to blow my pillow, so I went straight home to bring in reinforcements. He then teased his son: "In the final analysis, the climate is great and the environment is comfortable. How can it be as cold and cruel as those in the Alps? However, girls in southern Italy are more beautiful and enthusiastic than girls in northern Italy..."
Contini was immediately choked and speechless. If you think about it carefully, it makes sense: in terms of dressing and fashion taste, South Italy is definitely not up to par, but in terms of style and beauty, South Italy has steadily surpassed Northern Italy. It was like this before, and it is like this now.
“Mainly because United Bank has restrictions on United Group loans, the construction of these northern road networks still has to be realized through the Ministry of Transport. Of course, the specific method can be flexible: the Ministry of Transport takes the lead, intervenes in the form of land and concession operations, and the United Nations Under group operation, the company charges external fees for 30-50 years, and then hands over the road network to the state for free. I call this the bot method.
"Toll road?" Old Ciano was doubtful. "Can this recover the cost? Why should vehicles use toll roads? Don't they use toll roads?"
"First, toll roads are shorter; second, toll roads are wide, fast and fuel-efficient!" Contini smiled, "Drivers will balance themselves between fuel-saving, time-saving and money-saving. If If companies are not allowed to collect fees, why should they invest in building roads?”
Old Ciano nodded, thinking that it made sense. After all, the United Group was not a charity.
“Another factor is that the new road network can stimulate other industries.” Contini said with a smile, “After the completion of the two dedicated lines in Milan and Rome, the entire area within 3 kilometers on both sides will be upgraded, and the residences near the stations will be more It has more than doubled. Now all the smart speculative funds are investing near the Genoa Express Line. If I use a express line to connect 11 major cities in the north, the land near this express line will suddenly increase. The government will not Do you have the funds?”
"A lot? Why don't I think so?"
"A lot!" Contini smiled, "Why do you think the Bank of America and the French banking system want to invest in Union Bank? It's because they saw this business opportunity and everyone is trying to hoard land for real estate speculation... This can be seen in this matter. It seems that the British are indeed slow to react. The three giants HSBC Holdings, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Bank immediately sent out a circular inviting investment. As a result, when the French and American investments were in place, their side The so-called decision-making process has not been completed yet, so we have to sit back and watch the stock price rise again and again... Of course, the talks are almost done now. The three banks have jointly increased their capital investment to United Bank and obtained 21% of the shares. The valuation of United Bank will exceed US$300 million. ”
After this setback and the continued acquisition of shares in small and medium-sized banks, the ownership structure of United Bank has truly become United: United Group and its management hold about 40% of the shares, the Italian government holds about 19%, and the British and French and American banking giants hold about 38% of the shares, and only 3% of the remaining shares are in the hands of other Italian banks.
Relatively speaking, this shareholding structure allows the Italian government to exert influence without allowing the government to interfere too much in commercial interests. Contini deeply understands that a dominant bank is not conducive to operation. Of course, United Bank must become a joint bank. The group’s main financing channel, but the most basic risk prevention capabilities must still be adhered to. After this level of equity relationship is established, the other three countries can also exert their influence relatively freely, and at the same time open up the communication channels between the United Group and the three countries.
"I have always had doubts about this matter. Why would the banking systems of these three major countries be invested in the United Bank?" Old Ciano said, "What can they gain?"
"First, it is an opportunity to enter the Italian banking industry. In terms of assets and scale, Union Bank has now become the fourth largest bank in Italy. Moreover, it has a strong government background. These bankers are not stupid; second, Opportunities to invest in Italian construction projects are currently waiting for development in Italy. At the same time, it does not face many constraints like Germany. Capital naturally makes money wherever it is easy to make; third, the convenience of some speculation areas; fourth, the need for joint ventures The group is optimistic that your son has ordered more than 100 million US dollars in equipment and products from all over the world, which is equivalent to 8 of the most cutting-edge and top-notch battleships. Do you think it will make them crazy?" Contini said with a smile, "Also, father? Could it be that we have forgotten that there is a clause in the railway dedicated line construction case we signed that government land within 10 kilometers of the dedicated line must be developed by the United Group. Without my approval, how can other people trade and speculate? "
Only then did old Ciano come to his senses, his son's original conditions were used at this time.
"I always feel that this is a false fire..." Old Ciano said with a guilty conscience, "I borrowed so much money, how will I pay it back in the future?"
"Repay? Do you need to consider repaying it? Why should you pay back the money you borrowed based on your ability?" Contini laughed. "As long as Italy continues to grow and develop, they will only provide more loans and will not come to collect debts. Besides, forget it." So what if I don't pay back, then it won't be a purely economic issue. The Germans owe so much reparations, and I haven't seen Germany being partitioned. This time so many small and medium-sized banks are urging me to repay the debt, okay, I'll buy you all. , do you still care about my debt collection?"
"The bankers are not stupid. They say this money is loaned to us, but in fact a lot of it is transferred back to their home countries. We are importing equipment, machinery, and products like crazy. Not only can they make a fortune in interest, but they can also make a profit in trade. For politicians in Britain, France, the United States, and Germany, this large-scale import also brings them employment and tax revenue; secondly, we are working hard to build Italian infrastructure; Working hard to improve Italy's overall national strength, the borrowed money was not used for squandering or wasting, nor was it used for purely military purposes. They were reassured... Just like the United Group, although they suffered a lot of losses, they knew that I did not live and die. Even if a few seemingly random sums of money are made randomly, some profits will be made in the end. Smart bankers should understand; last and most important point, they think that it is not a problem to secure Italy, so who calls us weak? "
These reasons were so powerful that the old Ciano was speechless.
"So the United Group recently issued a three-year, 6% bond worth 500 million lira, and they were all sold out immediately. I suggest that the government can also issue special bonds, and the United Bank will be responsible for the issuance. We will underwrite all the bonds that cannot be sold to the outside world." Contini smiled, "But your son should be given more consideration for project orders..."
Old Ciano understood. No wonder his son kept urging him to work hard and work fast. It turned out to be this consideration, but what he said made sense: once the infrastructure is built, there will be thousands of gold; if the investment is doubled, the employment will be satisfactory. , why not?