Preface
Wealth comparable to Li Ka-shing, contribution not inferior to Fok Yingdong, sitting on a 100 billion business empire, known as "the giant who will never go bankrupt", Guo Henian's life can be described as a legend.
is obviously a Malaysian, but in the United States and Britain to get 5 million US dollars of foreign exchange for China, he didn't take a penny, just for his Chinese heart.
So, how good is this so-called "giant who will never go bankrupt"? And how did he "operate for the country"?
Overseas Chinese
Although Guo Henian is not Chinese, he has a Chinese heart, which is the biggest evaluation of him by the outside world.
In the early 20th century, Guo Qinjian, the father of Guo Henian, moved from his hometown in Fujian to Malaysia with his brothers.
As soon as Guo Henian was born, his family situation improved a lot, he became a local tycoon, and he also had money for his brothers to study.
Guo Henian's mother is a graduate of Fuzhou Union University, so she pays great attention to her children's learning, she not only sent Guo Henian to the most famous school in the area, Johor Bahru English College, but also let him learn Chinese.
His father taught him how to do business, and after Guo Henian finished his studies, he gave him a sum of money to start his own business.
Now it seems that the tutor of the Guo family is very good, and Guo Henian's achievements today are inseparable from the credit of Guo Henian's father and mother.
In 1947, Guo Henian did the same, went to Singapore alone, and invested 100,000 Taiwan dollars to establish Liwuke Company, whose business scope was mainly food and shipping economy.
It's a pity that his father Guo Qinjian passed away before he had time to witness the success of his son's career.
In 1948, when his father died, Kwok inherited a fortune of about RM130,000.
According to his estimates, after the war, his father earned about RM4 million from his old friend's franchise, leaving about RM1.5 million in addition to paying taxes, funeral expenses and legal fees.
However, he inherited an even more valuable asset from his father, and that was the ability to do business.
According to Guo Henian's recollections, although his father Guo Qinjian only went to middle school for one or two years, he was a calculating and sociable person.
With the Second World War and the death of his father, Guo Henian traveled to many countries and inherited the family business.
Sugar King
In 1957, Malaysia was liberated from the British colony and achieved independent national status, and there is now a huge gap in the sugar market, which was once monopolized by the British.
Knowing that Malaysia's white sugar is completely dependent on foreign supplies, Guo Henian also made a special visit to London to learn more about the operation of sugar production.
After returning to Malaysia, Guo Henian held a family meeting and threw all his money on sugar production.
Guo Henian quickly set up his first sugar factory in Malaysia, and the sugar distribution network across Malaysia is also weaving nervously.
In just five years, the company has established a comprehensive operation system of "raw materials-production-marketing".
In 1963, a winter not seen in Europe, Kwok was keenly aware of the changes in the sugar market, and he hoarded 20,000 tonnes in Singapore, selling at an average of £35 per tonne, waiting for an opportunity to sell.
Unexpectedly, the price of sugar has been fluctuating, from the original average price of 40 pounds / ton to 30 pounds at once, I thought that the Guo family would be finished now.
However, in September of the following year, when a storm swept across the Caribbean Sea hit Brazil, the world's largest sugar exporter was hit hard.
Soon, the price of sugar soared to 60 pounds, which brought Guo Henian back to life.
At the end of 1964, in a London newspaper, Guo Henian was crowned the "Oriental Sugar King".
In just a few years, Guo Henian has taken control of the entire sugar industry in Southeast Asia, and more than 5% of the world's sugar trade has been controlled more than 30 years ago.
In his 40s, he founded Shangri-La and built it into the largest luxury hotel company in the Asia-Pacific region.
Involved in shipping, planting, finance, real estate and other industries, bigger and stronger, to build Wilmar International into the world's largest grain, oil and agricultural enterprises.
ownership of Hong Kong TVB and South China Morning Post; Kerry Properties, Kerry Logistics, Kerry Beverages, etc., which of these names is not thunderous?
And all of these are some of Guo Henian's achievements.
If it continues to develop like this, Guo Henian's business may only make him famous abroad, and it is that phone call that really makes him famous in China.
Operate for the country
In the 70s, Guo Henian was already a wealthy man, and at that time, Guo Henian had not forgotten to return to his motherland and donated a lot of things.
At that time, China Resources Group of China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation approached Guo Henian, who had insufficient domestic funds and needed more sugar and foreign exchange, hoping that he could buy 300,000 tons of sugar from abroad at a lower price and buy some commodities in case of emergency.
Guo Henian expects that if this information is released, the price of white sugar will rise by another 20-25%, so this transaction must be kept secret.
Guo Henian got this errand, and he didn't shirk it, and went straight to it.
If he had been a businessman, he would have taken the opportunity to make a fortune, but Guo Henian not only did not make money himself, but also worked hard to help the government reduce prices to a minimum.
At that time, the world's sugar stocks were only 10 million tons, and if Guo He wanted to buy 300,000 tons a year, the price would definitely increase, and even if he could buy it in the end, he would have to pay a greater price.
Guo Henian racked his brains and finally came up with a plan to deceive all countries.
He sent his cronies to Brazil and then to the International Sugar Conference to confuse other merchants, and finally managed to buy 300,000 tons of sugar for China.
The plan went well, as soon as the Brazilian side signed the agreement, the global sugar price soared, and Guo Henian also sold his inventory as soon as possible, making a big profit of 5 million US dollars in foreign exchange.
Guo Henian deposited all the money into the Bank of China branch in London, and not only did he not get a dime after working for a long time, but because of this incident, the company's business was stagnant for more than two months and suffered huge losses.
But he does not regret that he is doing things in China, Guo Henian said that when doing things for the country, he should not show favoritism, "This is disloyal to China." ”
After Guo Henian successfully completed the business, he set his sights on China.
The world's largest "charter company"
At this time, Guo Henian gradually perceived the new business opportunity of Hong Kong, and Guo Henian also understood that with Hong Kong's geographical advantages, it will definitely develop into an incomparably prosperous business kingdom in the future.
As a result, Kwok founded the Kerry Group in Hong Kong and opened the Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong.
Guo Henian said: "My heart is divided into two petals, one is Malaysia, the country where I grew up, and the other is China, the hometown where my parents grew up. ”
Due to its unique architecture and comfortable living conditions, Shangri-La has become the first choice for many tourists
Shangri-La is also famous all over the world, and Guo Henian has relied on this to bring Shangri-La to Malaysia, Thailand and other places, and build it into the most famous hotel in the Asia-Pacific region.
In 1984, a partner approached Kwok and invited him to participate in a project.
He said that there is a big project outside the gate of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, which should be made into a window and symbol facing the world. Guo Henian wanted not to grab business with his own people at that time.
However, the partner said that the American consortium and the Japanese banks now have the absolute upper hand.
"Hearing this news, I thought, does China today still have to rely on foreigners?" So, he immediately made up his mind:
"We must strive for ambition and not let outsiders look down on us Chinese." It just so happens that I have more than 100 million US dollars in cash in Hong Kong Pangu Bank, and we Chinese should do this by ourselves. ”
Guo Henian has invested in Beijing's commercial centers, including office buildings, shopping malls, China World Summit Wing, and China World Hotel.
However, in the 80s, due to the imperfect investment environment and corresponding policies in the mainland, Guo Henian's entrepreneurship can be said to have borne great dangers on his own.
In the eyes of many, Guo Henian was bound to lose money, but after a few years, the construction was finally completed and named the Beijing International Trade Center.
Today, it is the largest commercial center in China, with 500 companies such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Bank of China, Intel and other companies headquartered here, with a rental income of up to 5 billion yuan a year.
The world's No. 1 charter is well deserved.
In the late 1980s, Guo Henian sent his nephew Guo Kongfeng to China, and on this basis, he developed edible oil.
At that time, when domestic consumers were still queuing up to fight for low-quality, impurities and bulk oil, Arowana took the lead in launching edible oil in small packages, pushing the hygienic quality of China's edible oil to a new height.
The strength of Arowana and its status as a foreign businessman have also raised concerns: does the industrial chain, which spans edible oil, rice, flour and condiments, pose a huge hidden danger to China's food safety?
Guo Henian naturally heard about it, so Guo Kongfeng got the world's most difficult "Chinese green card" in the second year after Arowana was listed, and he said proudly: "I can now say that I am a real Chinese!" ”
epilogue
And now, Guo Henian is an old man in his 100s, but even so, he is still willing to stand on the front line of the business world and devote all his energy to work.
On his desk, there is such a sentence: If your children and grandchildren can be like me, why should you leave more wealth, if you are not as good as me, more wealth will be empty, do not seek benefits for yourself, but hope that the public will be peaceful.
It is believed that Mr. Xin Guo will find a suitable successor for himself, and the Guo family will continue to shine in the business world.
Reference:
Baidu Encyclopedia - Guo Henian
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%83%AD%E9%B9%A4%E5%B9%B4/1654507?fr=ge_ala
Sina Finance "He, Wealth Catches Up with Li Ka-shing, and His Contribution to the Country Is Not Inferior to Huo Yingdong"
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1796763192547946659&wfr=spider&for=pc