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Chapter 1041: Chapter 913 Mozambique National Import and Export Company (Subscribe!!)
Bilateral Trade.
It’s not just about having something.
Unless irreplaceable, people have the right to choose.
Otherwise, what used to sell for five dollars, you raise to ten dollars, they won’t accept the price, or maybe the functionality, quality, or style doesn’t meet their requirements.
Once controlled by the law, it would be quite awkward.
Government intervention in the market.
It is something that Western countries have always opposed because if the government could intervene in the market at will, then how could capital be free? Beyond the law, even to earn excess profits.
Locke’s face was full of conflict, he said hesitantly, "This issue, we need to discuss thoroughly. We can’t give you an answer until tomorrow at the earliest. Have you brought your list of goods?"
"We can fax it over anytime," the fighter said.
"Then send us a copy, you must be tired from the flight, go rest for a bit first," said Locke.
"Okay."
Just like that.
The meeting adjourned.
The delegation from Myanmar Bank was accommodated in a nearby official hotel owned by the Mozambique government, especially for hosting distinguished guests for free, while also charging others to barely maintain a balance of income and expenditure.
...
Twenty minutes later.
A thick file appeared before Locke, head of the relevant department, and a group of Mozambican economic experts, the entire document had already been translated into Portuguese.
Each had a copy.
’Myanmar Economic Zone Major Export Product List (New) --- 2006’
That was the name of the document.
Opening the first page. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝙢
It was a long table of contents, spanning four pages.
--- Mechanical Engineering.
- Motorcycle
- Bicycle.
- Refrigerator.
- Washing machine
- Air conditioner
-...
...
---Light Industry.
- Food
- Daily chemicals
- Medicine
- Sports and culture
-...
...
--- Petrochemical Industry.
...
A densely packed list.
It dazzled them.
It even came with illustrations.
These were products suitable for the Mozambican market, encompassing only about thirty percent of the Myanmar Economic Zone, many items were unaffordable here or lacked a consumer base.
Such as military equipment, special steel, heavy machinery, petrochemical industrial equipment—there was almost no market here for many such items.
Not only were the categories listed, but also the performance and pricing of products, as well as comparisons with other countries’ products, gave everyone the impression after reading: Are these guys bluffing?
Same price: the quality from the Myanmar Economic Zone was better than others.
Same quality: the price from the Myanmar Economic Zone was lower than others.
There was always one advantage anyway.
"Mr. President, this... Is it real?" a vice president asked in doubt.
Locke shook his head slightly and said, "We have a long-term cooperation, and it’s easy to learn the truth, presumably it’s all true, but how did these people produce them?"
Myanmar.
In his memory.
Had just started industrialization.
But the list in his hands shouldn’t be producible by a country that had just begun industrializing, this was the result that would only be seen from an almost complete modern industrial transformation, could it be... they subcontracted to Huaxia?
That wasn’t impossible.
The two countries were neighboring.
"But... isn’t it too much?" the vice president wondered.
Locke then noticed another key point, "This doesn’t concern us, as long as the products meet the descriptions above, the rest aren’t important, but look, it clearly states that they do not provide inferior products.
But... it seems a bit expensive."}
The others noticed this issue as well.
Even though the list of products had quality advantages.
Considering consumption habits, the people in Mozambique were very sensitive to prices, like a plastic basin on the list, the same model and weight, but the price was one point three times that of the locally sold products in Mozambique.
There were detailed data.
Showing its strength was stronger than the others.
It had better durability, could withstand greater degrees of deformation, and was harmless to the human body.
But.
As good as it was.
The price issue was crucial.
This matter happened to nearly all products on the list.
Quality at a reasonable price.
There was a strict baseline in this list, especially for daily chemical products closely linked to people’s lives like toothpaste, shampoo, dishwashing liquid, soap, plastic bags, all having so-called mandatory safety standards.
The prices were almost twice as high as those cheap products available in Mozambique markets.
Bad money drives out good money.
In Mozambique, a less-developed country, this is particularly evident.
The people simply do not have the consciousness to use high-quality products, and as senior levels, they are, of course, very aware of this issue.
"This is a big problem, the mass consumer market in Mozambique simply cannot accept such prices, and the high-end consumption market lacks purchasing power," the Vice President continued to analyze.
The head of the Mozambique Finance Department also spoke up, "So what are they thinking? How can this improve our financial situation?"
The Central Bank governor replied, "Everyone, do not forget one thing, the goods inside, apart from daily chemicals and small goods. Big items, such as motorcycles, bicycles, home appliances, people’s purchasing power is still not bad, do not always focus on the small ones."
"But it is undeniable that daily chemicals and small goods are the mainstream of people’s everyday consumption, and it is very difficult to make big breakthroughs with other items, especially home appliances, as many places cannot guarantee a power supply," said a person from the Finance Department disappointedly.
"..."
The direction of the debate kept changing.
From price, quality,
to consumption cycle,
and then to the most crucial point—how to encourage companies to import and consume, this is an issue. Reducing reliance on non-Asia Dollar goods is not just talk; the practical difficulties are quite significant.
In the end,
an economic expert offered a suggestion.
"Why don’t we establish a company, state-owned, specifically for importing these kinds of Asia Dollar goods, enjoying tax-exempt treatment? Otherwise, those import companies lobbying one by one, we will be exhausted and still not be appreciated," he suggested.
"..."
In an instant,
everyone was looking at him.
Ken Locke slapped the table, excitedly said, "Great idea, by doing this, we do not even need to create policies restricting imports, nor do we need to negotiate with the importers; we can directly accomplish this step."
The crowd was also beaming with smiles.
They thought this was a great approach.
The man grinned,
but thought to himself: got the money, finally got the job done.
"Let’s first figure out the specific charter of this company, and talk to them again tomorrow," said Ken Locke decisively.
An afternoon,
they discussed the details of this company.
The main thing was to see whose interests it would affect, if there were any domestic tycoons involved in some kind of Asia Dollar goods, they would have to limit the import quantity, otherwise, making too many enemies at once could disturb their peace later.
In the end,
as evening approached,
looking at their accomplishments,
everyone felt a sense of satisfaction.
In one afternoon,
in addition to resolving the company’s problems,
they also gained a clearer understanding of the current state of various industries in Mozambique and the economic landscape, understanding well which markets could be captured and which should not be tampered with.
After calculating,
if the company were established,
just by the end of this year,
they could save $1.7 billion in foreign exchange. Although the reserves would still be depleted and spent as soon as they arrived, at least they wouldn’t need to borrow dollars anymore, which gave them hope for financial improvement.
...
The next day,
negotiations continued.
Right from the start,
Ken Locke threw out the idea of the ’Mozambique National Import and Export Company’, intending to use the name of this company to purchase goods from the Myanmar Economic Zone, instead of restricting the import of other types of goods.
Ken Locke enthusiastically explained the benefits of this company, "This way, whether your product is good or not will be tested by the market, and we will face less resistance and enter the trade more quickly."
"This..."
The Fighter feigned difficulty.
All of this,
was, of course, part of the plan.
The economist had also been influenced.
Accidentally hit by a wad of cash, he inadvertently mentioned it, expecting Mozambique to introduce import restriction policies was very unrealistic; the resistance faced would indeed be very strong.
The public would definitely strongly oppose.
But this ’suggestion’ was somewhat an ’internal affair.’ Fighters were not in a position to suggest it, needing their ’own people’ to take this step. Otherwise, once there were trade issues, Mozambique might misdirect the blame.
Ken Locke was unsuspecting.
Yesterday, the Fighter had suggested restricting the import of goods from other countries, while now it was about needing market competition. The interests of both were different, and hesitating a bit was quite normal.
Just when Ken Locke thought the other party might still need to recess for discussion,
the Fighter finally spoke, "Well, since we share the same interests and considering your difficulties as well, we can agree to this."
"Thank you," Ken Locke said, happily deciding that in the future, all government procurements would use the products of this company, no matter what, to keep the now terrible financial situation under control.
Pressure.
He would find a way to withstand it.
The Fighter then asked, "By the way, in the projects outside of product-based aid loans, have you considered them already?"
"Of course," Ken Locke quickly nodded, as the issue had been postponed the day before, continuing, "We plan to initiate two projects; the first is the construction of Maputo New Port, which will primarily be used for ore transportation.
The second project is the Kruelais Hydropower Station."
The former is for creating foreign exchange, and the latter is to alleviate the tense electricity situation in Maputo and the surrounding areas.
Both projects had been established years ago.
The former had even successfully stalled.
The latter had merely completed the setup and surveying, and even the designs were finished, but no bidding had started, because they had no money; there was nothing to do but make plans, giving something for the relevant departments below to work on.
"No problem, we will first review the total cost of the two projects; as long as it does not exceed the budget, we can approve them. We will give you a response by tomorrow morning at the latest," nodded the Fighter.
Celebration ensued from the successful negotiation.
The rest
was simply execution.
