August 12, Hong Kong, moderate rain.

Two days ago, Fang Mingyuan personally accompanied Mr. Fang and his wife to Hong Kong. Despite Mr. Guo's warm invitation, Mr. Fang and his wife finally decided to live in Fang Bin's house. Although Fang Bin's residence in Hong Kong is not large in terms of scale,

It's not as good as the Guo family's old house, but considering that his family has a small population, it usually only consists of the four of them, his wife and a few helpers. Not all the helpers live there, and they don't need a big house. Moreover, the two houses

The houses are only half a mile apart, making commuting very convenient.

The arrival of Mr. Fang and his wife also caused a small sensation in Hong Kong's upper class society. Friends who had made good friends with the Fang family came to visit Mr. and Mrs. Fang one after another. If it were not for the fact that Mr. Fang had just been discharged from the hospital, the number of people who came

There will be more.

Fang Mingyuan did not live in Fang Bin's house, but still lived in the Guo family's old house. He would take time to visit his grandparents every day. This was mainly because his residence in the Guo family's old house was relatively independent, and visiting guests would not affect other people.

"Hmm... um... um, Chairman Li is too polite, thank you!" Fang Mingyuan stood in front of the window looking at the rainy scene outside, talking on the phone with Li Xianlong, chairman of the New City Port Group.

Just yesterday, Petrobras suddenly announced that in the Guara oil field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil, after exploration, it is estimated that the newly recoverable reserves are 1.1 billion to 2 billion barrels of oil and gas. Although in the international market today, the amount of crude oil is

Prices are still at a low point, but the news still caused quite a stir. The share prices of British Gas Group and Petroleum Portugal rose by almost 7% and 4%. Both companies are Brazilian companies.

The partners of the oil company have the right to explore oil in this area. Pingchuan Petroleum Group Company, which also owns this right, is not listed on the market, so it cannot be directly expressed in its stock price.

In fact, Fang Mingyuan had learned about this news almost ten days ago, and Xu Changxiu was so excited that he wanted to treat him to a drink. GS Group Company purchased 5% of the mining rights in this area from Pingchuan Petroleum Group Company.

Although Fang Mingyuan was also very excited, he was not as optimistic about the profit prospects as others. To exploit the oil in this area, explorers must operate under 2 kilometers of water and drill down several thousand meters.

The rock formations and semi-liquid salt formations, technical complexity and high investment will inevitably push up the cost of oil extraction. Compared with the low-cost oil in the Middle East, it was nothing during the period of high oil prices. Now, the profit is just

Somewhat disappointing. Moreover, he also knew that shale oil extraction technology is constantly improving and perfecting, and the extraction cost is constantly falling. It is likely that it will be commercially available in the next few years, which makes the extraction of offshore oil

, which highlights the reality of high risks and high costs.

This news also makes people more optimistic about the reserve prospects of Brazil's offshore oil fields. For other offshore oil fields in the Santos Basin, people are also speculating whether their latest proven potential reserves will also appear like the Guara oil field.

Substantial growth.

"I heard that your old man was ill some time ago and came to Hong Kong to recuperate. The climate here in Singapore is suitable and the medical conditions are no worse than those in Hong Kong. It is more suitable for the elderly to recuperate." Li Xianlong said with a smile on the phone.

"Thank you for your kindness. I won't go to Singapore. I have my brother-in-law here in Hong Kong, so it's easy to take care of him." Fang Mingyuan said with a smile.

The two chatted for a while, and then Li Xianlong hung up the phone and sighed softly. When he and Fang Mingyuan met, although Fang Mingyuan was already well-known, compared with now, it was a world of difference.

Today, the foundation of the Fang family has been completely stabilized, and its influence at home and abroad has reached a new peak. Although Li Xianlong has now become the chairman of the Singapore Port Group, he has made another great progress in his career.

However, compared with Fang Mingyuan's progress, it is far from comparable. Over the years, although the personal relationship between the two has been good under Li Xianlong's deliberate maintenance, the relationship between Singapore and China has not been so good.

It has become colder in the past few years.

Not only is the political cold but also the economic cold. Singaporean companies were originally able to fully participate in China's reform and opening up process and seek considerable benefits from it. However, now, Chinese officials no longer give Singapore special care, but cooperate with other Southeast Asian countries.

Basically, everyone is treated equally. Originally, Temasek Holdings may become a strategic partner in the restructuring of many state-owned banks in China, but it has also been scrapped. According to statistics from relevant institutions, this has caused Temasek Holdings to miss tens of billions of dollars in expected profits. That's all.

One item makes Singaporeans deeply saddened.

This is only a partial portrayal of the financial aspects of Temasek Holdings. If the losses caused by Singaporean companies' preferential treatment in China have been cut off in all aspects in recent years, it may reach tens of billions of dollars or even hundreds of billions of dollars!

Such a huge loss is a serious blow to Singapore, which has a land area of ​​only about 700 square kilometers and a GDP of only over 180 billion US dollars in 2008!

In the past few years, although Singapore has been working hard to repair its relationship with China, due to various reasons and Singapore's own position, the relationship between the two countries has not been significantly improved. At this time, the subprime mortgage crisis has

The financial crisis and economic crisis caused by the epidemic have seriously impacted the global economy and the Singapore economy!

Although the hard work of the Singaporean government in 2008 can be regarded as fruitful, and Singapore's political arena and society are relatively stable, the economy began to enter recession in the second quarter of 2008, and the economic growth for the whole year was only a mere

0.8%, far lower than the growth rate of more than 7% in 2007. In the first half of 2009, the economic growth rate was 4.7%, much higher than the initial growth rate.

It is expected to be negative by about 2%, which immediately made the Singaporean government a little anxious.

However, the source of this global crisis is the United States. All developed countries have been spared. Europe even had the Icelandic crisis. It is impossible for Singapore to count on them. Southeast Asian countries and Singapore are brothers in difficulty, and many of their situations are worse than Singapore's.

We can't count on it either. Japan and South Korea are also countries that have been severely affected, and the two countries will not look at Singapore differently. It seems that at this time, only China can help Singapore.

Although China has to face the impact of the economic crisis, due to its large economic scale and strong consumer demand in the domestic market, although there has been a decline in import and export trade due to the global economic crisis, the economy has always been able to maintain positive growth, unlike many countries.

Negative growth has already occurred. Moreover, what puzzles several authoritative economists in Singapore is that China seems to be well prepared for the outbreak of the global economic crisis... Although, after the subprime mortgage crisis broke out in the United States and triggered the financial crisis,

Many people believe that a global economic crisis will follow, but there are also many voices that deny this view, which makes it difficult for many countries to make decisions and can only prepare with both hands.

However, the Chinese government seems to have concluded that the outbreak of the global economic crisis is inevitable. Looking back now, some of the policies launched by the Chinese government in the past two years seem to be targeted in response to the current situation. This also makes China's

Although the economy faces serious challenges, it is much better than other countries in the world.

Since the Singaporean government has pinned its hopes on boosting the economy in China, it naturally wants to find ways to ease the crisis in relations between the two countries caused by the new Singaporean Prime Minister's visit to the island a few years ago before he came to power and his refusal to apologize. It's just that.

, the Prime Minister of Singapore hopes that China can give a step forward and settle the matter in a way that does not hurt his face. However, China's attitude is to require the Singapore government to make a clear statement. The attitudes of the two parties are too different, and there has been no agreement.

Reached a consensus. If Singapore's economy does not pick up significantly in the second half of the year, the economy in 2009 will be terrible. If we cannot give an explanation to the Singaporean people, it is likely to endanger the power of their political parties to govern in Singapore. The entire Singapore government will also be disappointed.

So he became impatient.

Many people hope to lobby Fang Mingyuan and ask him to help say a few good words in front of Su Huandong. China will be more relaxed, so as not to make Singapore unable to come to Taiwan. Since Li Xianlong has a good personal relationship with Fang Mingyuan, the important task of lobbying is handed over to him.

Gave it to him. But in the phone call just now, Fang Mingyuan didn't give him a chance to talk about it at all. With Fang Mingyuan's intelligence, how could he not understand his plan?

Li Xianlong sighed. He has been in contact with Fang Mingyuan for many years. He also has a deep understanding of Fang Mingyuan's character. Although he did not think that Fang Mingyuan would be willing to contribute in this matter before, he could not even say anything.

The exit did make him feel a little frustrated.

"No, it seems that I still have to go there in person." Li Xianlong murmured, although he understood that Fang Mingyuan did not give him a chance to talk about the matter because he did not want to affect the personal relationship between the two. But if he gave up like this, no matter what the family

It’s hard to give him an explanation, not even from the government. This will be a hidden danger for him in the future!

Fang Mingyuan didn't know the result of what he did. Instead, Li Xianlong decided to come to Hong Kong to interview him in person. After putting down the phone, he said apologetically to Ji Zongze sitting in the hall: "Sorry, please continue."

The main purpose of Ji Zongze's trip was to talk to Fang Mingyuan about the current situation of Hong Kong's economic development. Years ago, Mr. Guo and others took the lead in publicly promising to stabilize the labor market. Although Hong Kong's economy was also affected by the economic crisis, Hong Kong society was still relatively

Stable. The Hong Kong government has also introduced a series of measures to stabilize and promote economic development, and the capital has also provided considerable cooperation. It can be said that although Hong Kong's economic situation is significantly worse than last year, compared with surrounding Southeast Asian countries,

It's not even half as good. However, this situation does not satisfy the Hong Kong government. The Hong Kong government hopes to achieve greater results.

The Hong Kong government has proposed to the capital that it hopes to further expand the list of cities in the mainland for free travel to Hong Kong, expand the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong, promote the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry, and further promote Hong Kong's economic recovery. However, the capital has recently given

The reply was that he hoped that Hong Kong would seriously consider this request. Although he did not reject it directly, his disapproval was very obvious. When he heard that Fang Mingyuan was coming to Hong Kong, Ji Zongze came to visit him personally, hoping that Fang Mingyuan could help Hong Kong persuade senior leaders.

Fang Mingyuan gently shook his head and said: "Sir, to be honest, since Hong Kong returned to the motherland, the country's support for Hong Kong's economic development can be said to be the highest in the country. In many aspects, even the capital and Shanghai have not had such support.

Special treatment. Let’s not talk about anything else. Hong Kong’s taxes do not need to be turned over to the national treasury, and even the military garrison expenses do not need to be borne. All can be used for Hong Kong. How much support does this provide to the Hong Kong government’s finances?”

Ji Zongze smiled awkwardly. Such treatment is indeed rare even if you look at the world, and even if it does exist, it is probably in a poor and war-torn place! Like Hong Kong, per capita GDP ranks first in the country, and local GDP is currently ranked first in the country.

It can be said that it is the only region that does not have to pay taxes to the central government.

"I can understand why the higher-ups do not agree to continue to open up Hong Kong to free travel as a city, further expand the number of tourists traveling to Hong Kong, and promote the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry. I don't know if Chief Ji has ever seen the temple fairs in Beijing during the New Year, which are often

It’s a crowded place, densely packed with people. From an emotional point of view, I don’t want to say it, but from a rational point of view, it’s a fact. Rich people in the capital want to experience that kind of crowding.

They have a strange feeling and are not interested in the place. They will choose to travel, whether it is domestic travel, overseas travel, or going to shopping malls. In fact, the same is true for Hong Kong. The number of domestic tourists coming to Hong Kong has basically reached

The ceiling that Hong Kong's tourism industry can afford, and if we relax the conditions for coming to visit, there will only be one consequence: a prosperous city but not a prosperous city, and the service level of Hong Kong's tourism industry will decline significantly, which will make tourists reluctant to come to Hong Kong again.

The desire is reduced." Fang Mingyuan said seriously, "Mr. Ji should know that our Fang family also has a travel agency. The report obtained from it shows that the average number of complaints against the services of the Hong Kong escorts we cooperate with has increased rapidly in the past two years.

Compared with 2005, it has increased by nearly 200%."

Ji Zongze's old face was slightly hot. He also knew that what Fang Mingyuan said was that the number of complaints from tourists in Hong Kong's tourism industry has indeed increased year by year in recent years, and there have even been some vicious incidents with bad consequences.

"I think it is not appropriate for Hong Kong to expand the number of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong before its infrastructure is further improved. Otherwise, not only will tourists' dissatisfaction with the level of Hong Kong's service industry increase year by year, but also the local residents' dissatisfaction with the resulting

If it is inconvenient, dissatisfaction will continue to expand, and it may break out at any time, triggering fierce social conflicts." Fang Mingyuan said, "I think the higher-ups have also taken this into consideration, so they did not directly approve your request.

It requires the Hong Kong government to consider it carefully!" Fang Mingyuan said, "Isn't it true that the Zhuang Fengyuan case was not enough to explain the problem?"

Of course Ji Zongze knew about the Zhuang Fengyuan case that Fang Mingyuan mentioned. It was since the case that the phenomenon of mainland couples giving birth in Hong Kong began to show explosive growth. According to a report from the Hong Kong Demographic Department, in 2001, the number of Hong Kong-born mainland couples

There were only a few hundred babies, but by 2008, this number had reached 25,000 or 6,000! The growth rate is so fast that it is enough to make those who pay attention to the matter stunned. Before the judgment of this case,

, the advice given by Beijing was not to grant Zhuang Fengyuan the right of abode in Hong Kong. However, after several considerations, the Hong Kong court finally decided to grant Zhuang Fengyuan the right of abode in Hong Kong.

Although it is said that mainlanders coming to Hong Kong to give birth can bring huge benefits to the development of Hong Kong's medical industry, and many Hong Kong people believe that this can also slow down the aging of Hong Kong society, low birthrate and negative population growth, but many Hong Kong people also express that

In response to serious concerns and dissatisfaction, the number of babies born in Hong Kong and mainland China has exploded. In the next one or two years, it may reach 50,000 to 60,000 or even 80,000 to 90,000 per year. Such a huge number is likely to cause Hong Kong’s

Medical institutions do not have enough resources to provide sufficient quality and quantity of services to local pregnant women in Hong Kong!

Although the Hong Kong government introduced measures in 2007 and early this year to control the increase in this number, the effect was not obvious. There have been quite loud voices in Hong Kong society asking the government to cancel the right of residence in Hong Kong for babies born in Mainland China.

This has put the Hong Kong government in a dilemma. To cancel the right of abode in Hong Kong for babies born in Mainland China, not to mention the huge loss of profits this will cause to the Hong Kong medical industry, it is not easy to overturn the judgment of the Hong Kong court. This is a matter of relationship.

In the name of Hong Kong's judiciary! But if strict control is to be implemented, what are the conditions for screening pregnant women from the Mainland who come to Hong Kong to give birth? This is a very sensitive matter, and if you are not careful, it may trigger strong protests from the entire society.

"If Hong Kong's economy wants to develop, the most important thing is to transform. Whether it is the financial industry or the real estate industry... it has almost reached its ceiling!" Fang Mingyuan said meaningfully, "Of course, if the Hong Kong government insists on expanding free travel to Hong Kong,

As for the list of cities, I think the above will eventually agree. I just want to remind you that the mainland government’s understanding of the negative impacts of huge population flows and migration in big cities can definitely be said to be the most profound in the world.
Chapter completed!