Per editor: Cheng Peng, Pan Haifu, Yi Qijiang
According to CCTV Finance quoted by the Russian Satellite News Agency on the 3rd, because the size of the yacht that Amazon founder Bezos is building in the Netherlands is too large, the Rotterdam City Government of the Netherlands agreed to temporarily demolish a century-old bridge to facilitate the passage of Bezos's luxury yacht.
The Koningshavenbrug (Port of Corning) bridge, completed in 1927, was repaired in 2017 and the local government promised that it would never be demolished. But because of the lack of height of the bridge, Bezos' new yacht was difficult to pass. Bezos and the yacht builder made a request to the Rotterdam City Council to pay for the temporary dismantling of part of the bridge.
The Netherlands demolishes the Centennial Bridge for Bezos Yachts
Give way, local official: this buy and sell value
According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, citing foreign media reports, on February 3, the Dutch city of Rotterdam confirmed that a historic bridge would be demolished so that a superyacht built for billionaire and founder of Amazon in the United States, Jeff Bezos, could pass. However, the cost of the demolition was ultimately paid for by Bezos himself.
Koningshavenbrug Bridge Source: The Washington Post
According to foreign media reports on February 2, the luxury yacht was built by the local Dutch shipyard Ocean anco, costing 540 million US dollars (about 3.43 billion yuan), 127 meters long, with a mast as high as 40 meters, and once completed, it will become the world's largest yacht, exceeding the height of the Koningshavenbrug (Koning Port) Bridge.
Known locally as De Hef, the bridge was built in 1927 as the first railway bridge in Western Europe, and the bridge can be raised in the middle to allow ships to pass, with a long history and regarded as a cultural relic.
Rotterdam Koningshaven (Port of Corning) Bridge
Image source: Southern Metropolis Daily
The bridge, characterized by its two towers and green hues of steel, was badly damaged by bombing during World War II in 1940 and is now officially protected as a landmark.
Previously, the government tried to permanently demolish the bridge, which was strongly resisted by local residents when it was proposed in 1993, and the demolition plan failed to be implemented. During major renovations from 2014 to 2017, the pedestrian bridge between the two towers of the bridge was demolished and parliament promised not to demolish any part in the future.
However, for Bezos' superyacht to enter the high seas from Rotterdam, it must pass through the Koning Harbour Bridge, which, according to a spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam, is "the only route to the sea". So Bezos sent a request to the city of Rotterdam to demolish the bridge.
The move to dismantle the Bezos superyacht sparked controversy and was opposed by historians and residents alike. Ton Wesselink, a member of the local historical association, told the media: "What you can do, what you should do, know that there are limits to our industrial heritage." ”
Rotterdam City Spokesperson Van. Hyster said the city, after weighing the economic costs and benefits, has agreed to temporarily dismantle the central part of the bridge so that Bezos' yachts can pass through this summer.
The Rotterdam mayor's office said that because the construction of the yacht created a lot of jobs, it agreed to a plan to tear down the middle section of the top of the bridge and promised that the bridge would be rebuilt in its current form.
Rotterdam City Spokesperson Van. Hyster added that if permission to dismantle the bridge could not be obtained, Bezos might have gone somewhere else to build a yacht. "From an economic point of view, we very much want to keep jobs."
Marcel Walravens, a local government official in Rotterdam who oversees the bridge's maintenance, expressed the same sentiment. He said it would be impractical to complete the construction of yachts elsewhere and that "shipbuilding is an important pillar of the city of Rotterdam".
Wallavens said the project was "very important" from an economic point of view and referred to Rotterdam's reputation as the "Maritime Capital of Europe".
Marcel Walravens said the demolition of the bridge is also a form of maintenance, after which the bridge will be reassembled and restored to its original state.
Bezos's custom-built luxury yacht will be the largest sailing ship in the world Image source: Southern Metropolis Daily
Details about Bezos' luxury bespoke yacht order surfaced last year. The vessel, numbered Y721, will be equipped with 3 huge masts and 3 decks, which will surpass the current largest ocean-going passenger ship Sea Cloud to become the largest sailing ship in the world. It has a lot of luxurious features and also comes with a "support yacht" with a helicopter landing platform.
It is understood that the city will not pay for the cost of demolishing the bridge. Bezos and the shipbuilding company will pay the demolition fee, and they hired a company to carry out the cost of bridge demolition and reassembly, but the cost breakdown and time plan calculation have not yet been determined.
Bezos is worth more than $175 billion
Bezos, once the world's richest man, lost that position last year to Space Technology rival Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Image source: Visual China
Forbes estimates that Bezos is currently worth more than $175 billion (about 1.1 trillion yuan). In addition to being an e-commerce giant, he also owns The Washington Post and space company BlueOrigin.
According to the earnings report, Amazon's fourth-quarter revenue rose 9% to $137.4 billion, with market expectations of $137.72 billion; earnings per share of $27.75, market expectations of $3.54; operating profit of $3.5 billion, market expectations of $2.43 billion. Amazon said it expects revenue of $112 billion to $117 billion in the first quarter of 2022, and the market expects $120.51 billion.
In addition, the financial report shows that the cloud computing business AWS revenue increased nearly 40% to $17.78 billion in the fourth quarter, and the market expected $17.37 billion, compared with $16.11 billion in the previous quarter.
Image source: Amazon's 2021 fourth quarter earnings report
The market is unanimously bullish on Amazon. In a report released this week, Jeffery said that "Amazon's performance in the second half of 2022 will be good," adding that this is due to its loose mix, increased visibility into cost budgets, slower capacity construction, and continued growth in its high-margin business (AWS/advertising business). Jeffery gave Amazon stock a "buy" rating with a price target of $4,000.
Similarly, Bank of America analysts said they would "continue to be bullish on Amazon as our top FANG stock for 2022," with the report noting that Amazon's first quarter will be the low point for its growth and annual profit margins, but the trend will improve. "We think Amazon's share of e-commerce will strengthen, and at the same time it will benefit greatly from the cloud computing industry."
JPMorgan analysts expect Prime membership fees and other Amazon services to rise across the board in response to the recent increase in execution fees for FBA warehousing logistics by about 5 percent. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave Amazon stock an "overweight" rating with a price target of $4350.
Editor| Cheng Peng, Pan Haifu, Yi Qijiang
Proofreading | Wang Yuelong
Cover image source: Southern Metropolis Daily
Daily economic news is synthesized from CCTV Finance, Southern Metropolis Daily, China Fund News, and Jimu News
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