252 The Kingdom of Hunting (Seventh)

"We have found Mr. Trinidad, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to the Eastern County, and focused on the tariffs on agricultural product import and export. We have already made some progress. In short, through the joint efforts of both of us, the Ambassador of Trinidad finally agreed to the opinions put forward by the General Administration of Customs on increasing the import of Peru. Although this matter still needs to be reported to the Governor of Peru and King Carlos for approval, I think there is no problem. From this point of view, the central government is still caring about the interests of farmers and caring about the people. It is also a major benefit for those citizens who have cleared wasteland under the harsh natural environment and is worth celebrating." On December 11, 1687, Wang Dazhuang, who was urging the construction of irrigation canals on the right bank of the Parana River (near the small town of Basel in the southwest of Resistensioncia) here, listened to the special commissioner of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The commissioner is also an old acquaintance of Wang Dazhuang. He was his playmate in his youth. Jin Dalai, the grandson of Jin Kora, the veteran of the agricultural system, and deputy department-level inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture. Jin Dalai came to the Hexi area (the west of the Parana River and the west of the Paraguay River) and came here to investigate the cross-border reclamation situation of the people on the east bank under the order of the Ministry of Agriculture. In the first half of next year, the Executive Committee will take the lead in organizing a meeting on cross-border reclamation agriculture. The leaders of the ministry did not want to have nothing to say at the meeting at that time, so they sent people to investigate and check in advance, and see if there is any help needed.

In this way, Jindalai received the order and then met Wang Dazhuang unexpectedly in the Engagement Village. The two started chatting excitedly, with many complaints about the Spanish Kingdom in their words. The focus of the food import tariffs that had just been discussed a while ago. This matter is not a secret in the capital, and many people know it, so Jindalai also revealed to Wang Dazhuang.

The import of grain from Peru began with the Nantec Corporation. At that time, the company imported ships of grain from Lima and other places, supplying various counties and townships in the southern cone area, and even some rebates for local core areas, making a lot of money. The cost of the Spanish planting grain was very low (the model of planting estates), and the import and export tariffs were incredibly low, so these grains were popular in the East Coast, and on the dining tables of many people. At the same time, it also effectively boosted the economy of Peru and other places, allowing them to have more funds to purchase various commodities produced on the East Coast.

It should be said that industrial and commercial enterprises in the East Coast welcome this model. They entrust grain to foreigners to produce, keep them a little purchasing power, and then purchase the industrial products they produce or sell, and use industry to exploit agriculture. Everyone is profitable, which sounds very good. But one key factor is ignored, that is, the interests of farmers on the East Coast, especially those who overcome all difficulties and expand their territory in the border areas. Their interests have been greatly damaged due to the decline in grain prices.

As a last resort, farmers on the east coast could only find ways to reduce costs, improve agricultural production efficiency, and provide the market with a variety of products to maintain their income at a reasonable level. Taking the development of the early Dao Dazhe and Yazihu ​​Basin as an example, local farmers began to form agricultural production cooperatives based on villages - even multiple villages formed large agricultural cooperatives together - they found ways to rent agricultural machinery together, purchase seeds and fertilizers together, buy insurance together, and sell agricultural products together. These measures undoubtedly greatly strengthen the bargaining power of the farmers' group, reduce production costs, and have an immediate effect on increasing income.

But this actually only reduces their unit production costs, and the effect is not unlimited. Because it will be difficult to decrease after the cost is reduced to a certain level, unless they make a major breakthrough in production model or technology, but this is not difficult. In other words, the model of agricultural production cooperatives is of great benefit to farmers. The low-interest loans issued by the Public Savings Bank and the Northwest Reclamation Bank also have a certain positive effect on farmers. However, neither of these can effectively solve a problem, that is, the slow decline in grain prices.

To put it bluntly, the supply of grain in the domestic market is too abundant, resulting in weak prices and farmers' incomes not meeting expectations, so various problems arise, such as the decline in the momentum of buying land in the border areas to open up. To solve this problem, there are two ways: one is to increase the export volume of grain, reduce the amount of grain that can not be sold in the domestic market, and make the price rise; the other is to reduce the supply, that is, artificially reduce domestic grain production capacity or restrict the import of cheap foreign food, change the current imbalance in the supply and demand relationship, let the market play a role, and ultimately restore the price to an acceptable level.

Of course, there is another method, which is to increase financial subsidies for agriculture and the government provides the bottom line for grain prices. However, this model requires a lot of money and cannot be accepted by the government. It is not accepted by the wise. In the future, China cannot fill the big black hole of the purchase price of grain protection, so let alone the East Coast. It is better to think of ways to increase exports, reduce imports, and eliminate production capacity. This is good for everyone.

This time, the East Coast government came forward to negotiate with the Spanish, demanding a unified import tariff of 30% on the four grains produced in Peru and New Spain, which came into being in this context. The national grain reserve warehouse has canceled the annual grain protection procurement of 1 million tons, and it is always necessary to give farmers some sweetness, otherwise over time, the negative impact on immigration and border policy will be too great.

To be honest, the Spanish were quite disgusted with this move on the East Coast and tried every means to stop it. But unfortunately, the Executive Committee was determined to do so in this matter and must impose taxes on imported food in Spain. It also said that the unequal competition between the two countries in agricultural product trade has been around for a long time. The East Coast Republic suffered losses for many years, and the East Coast farmers also lost a lot of benefits. This abnormal state must be corrected.

The Trinidad ambassador was crying but there was no better way. For many years, the Spanish Kingdom had been so weak when facing the East Coast people and did not dare to resist, worried that it would cause greater losses. They could only endure the bullying imposed on them by the East Coast people. After a long time, they were almost completely gone.

The Ambassador of Trinidad did not think that the Governor would do anything to the East Coast people who significantly raised the import tariffs on grain. He also did not think that the King of Carlos in Madrid would do. In short, the extremely prosperous grain planting industry in Lima, Pisco and other places should cool down greatly. In the future, the farmland where wheat and corn was originally planted there should be a significant shift to the cultivation of economic crops such as peppers, tobacco, peanuts, etc., right? The East Coast people did not set any tariffs on these agricultural products for the time being, and there was also a symbolic 5% or 10%, which was completely acceptable. Therefore, it can be foreseen that the owners of Peru would work in this direction. Especially for chili and some other seasoning spices, the East Coast people did not set any import tariffs on them at all, and they were all open to import, which was still very likely.

"It is time for the country to pay attention to the farmers on the frontier. They are all good children. They cannot inherit land and property in their hometowns, so they can only leave their hometowns to come to this wild land and run their own industries with one step. How many people know about the hard work and hardships? Moreover, they are new to the new generation, with a shortage of capital and an average organizational strength. There are many difficulties in establishing agricultural production cooperatives. The damn Northwest Reclamation Bank is still high-end, with too much red tape and low efficiency. It will take several months to get a physical loan, and the daylily is cold. Where is the support for farmers?" Wang Dazhuang said with some resentment in front of his friends.

"Don't worry too much. I heard that the Northwest Reclamation Bank will be reorganized in 2018, focusing on the agricultural field and small and micro-physical loans. The State Administration of Precious Metals even gave a special term called 'precise loan', which means accurately delivering low-interest physical or cash loans to farmers in need, helping them to better carry out production and operation activities, and ultimately promoting the prosperity of the entire farmer group. Oh, by the way, the name of this bank will also be modified to East Coast Agricultural Bank, and the East Coast Company will be introduced as a strategic investor, accounting for 20%. The State Administration of Precious Metals believes that after introducing the professional management technology, concepts and network of East Coast Company, East Coast Agricultural Bank will achieve greater development than before." Jin Dalai said with a smile.

If he was saying seriously before this passage, then the latter passage is nonsense. Dongban Company has now transferred all physical businesses and no longer involved in industrial production, agricultural planting, commercial sales or any other production and operation activities. It is already a pure equity investment fund. Otherwise, where do you think Mr. 20% of his nickname came from?

There is no doubt that the influence of the East Coast Company has penetrated into all aspects of the East Coast Republic economy, investing in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, mining and transportation, industrial production, commercial sales, banking and finance, etc., and the investments are generally industry leaders and high-quality enterprises, and the dividends received are huge every year. This also ensures that the company has sufficient cash flow and can make any investments it wants when opportunities arise. The two are a virtuous cycle promoting relationship.

Generally speaking, Dongban companies do not interfere with the daily operations of their participating companies. For example, Sun Chunyang South Goods Store, a famous interlocking mall in Eastbank, holds a 20% stake in the board of directors, but the representatives they dispatched rarely speak. They are just a director raising their hands and appoint all the company's operating rights to their management team, which seems very open. The style of Dongban companies, in turn, makes many entrepreneurs very fond of them - especially some companies in a period of rapid expansion - all hope that their companies can introduce Dongban companies as shareholders, which can not only bring them urgently needed development funds, but also some networks of relationships, and the benefits are huge.

Of course, the companies that East Coast companies invest in are not all profitable. In fact, sometimes East Coast companies will also invest in some companies that seem to be less profitable but very important, such as East Coast Power Company. Of course, they know that electricity will not become the mainstream source of motivation for a long time in the future, which means that they only have input and no output in the near future. From an investment perspective, it is actually not beneficial to invest in such an overly cutting-edge company.

But who made them still need to assume social responsibility? In order to make up for the lack of scientific research funds in the Science Spring Plan, Dongban Company brought funds to shareholders after obtaining the consent of most shareholders, becoming its third largest shareholder. For this reason, when Dongban Company has little revenue but considerable scientific research expenses, Dongban Company has to fulfill its capital contribution obligations with other shareholders (mainly the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Institute of Engineering and Technology) every year to ensure that its equity is not diluted, and there is no one else.

To be honest, the reorganized East Coast Agricultural Bank, which they invested in this reorganized this time, is not a particularly good investment. The bad debt rate of this largest financial enterprise in the East Coast is actually quite high, because it mostly borrows from individual farmers and herdsmen, agricultural cooperatives or agricultural enterprises. The interest rate is very low, and sometimes even interest exemption is required, and the profit earned is very meager. In addition, many farmers (small breeding enterprises founded) or fishermen (buying fishing boats) do not manage well and cannot pay the loans, resulting in a high bad debt rate and very ugly accounts.

From a pure investment perspective, the investment value of the East Coast Agricultural Bank is even worse than that of the policy bank, New Continental Friendly Mutual Bank. Although the bank has a small business volume, its loan interest rate is high, and most of them are large estate owners and mine owners in New Courland, Peru’s Governor’s District, and they have clear collateral and are not worried that they will not repay the loan, so the yield rate is still very high. Perhaps the total amount is not as high as that of the Northwest Reclamation Bank, but the profit margin is not the same order of magnitude. This is the difference.

The East Coast Company's strong investment in the reorganized East Coast Agricultural Bank actually improved its financial situation to some extent and provided it with more sufficient capital, because the State Administration of Precious Metals estimates of this large and bloated financial enterprise were very high, which gave the East Coast Company a lot of premium to obtain 20% of the equity of the reorganized bank.

"This is a broken bank!" Wang Dazhuang said in a tone of regret: "It is the biggest support for farmers on the east coast. I hope it can be improved in the future, otherwise I think they will not be able to operate. Now several settlements have been established in Hexi, and there are many people coming here. I hope they can improve their operating efficiency and serve the farmers better. These pioneers are all young people with courage. They are knowledgeable, passionate and determined. We

You can't cheat them, otherwise my conscience will be uneasy." Wang Dazhuang is now basically the general leader of the Hexi region. He also serves as the head of several townships. It is said that he will be promoted to a deputy department-level cadre next year, and legitimately coordinate the development of several newly established townships. Therefore, he now regards these settlements and their people as "his own people" and is very concerned about their production and living conditions. Because it is related to his future career promotion, he has to be cautious.
Chapter completed!