Chapter 7 The investment route must follow the trend

Perhaps, the following journey can better illustrate the investment spirit of Wenzhou people: In 2001, the first Wenzhou real estate speculator group was born, and 157 Wenzhou businessmen rushed to the Shanghai real estate market, and Wenzhou capital entered people's field of vision for the first time.In the next few years, 200 billion Wenzhou capital has been pouring into first-tier or second-tier or even third-tier cities across the country, and there are even Wenzhou real estate speculators in real estate markets as far away as Dubai and Vietnam. In 2002, coal prices rose, and Wenzhou capital merged into the coal market on a large scale. It is said that 60% of the small and medium coal mines in Shanxi Province were acquired by Wenzhou capital, and the "Wenzhou coal speculation group" came into being.

In 2003, the purchase price of the cotton market was liberalized, and more than 5 billion Wenzhou capital poured into the Xinjiang cotton market, forming the so-called "Wenzhou Fried Cotton Group". Still in 2003, when electricity was in short supply, billions of Wenzhou capital entered Sichuan, Chongqing and other areas rich in hydropower resources, and began to invest in the construction of small hydropower stations. As a result, another "Wenzhou power speculation group" appeared in the investment market. In 2005, 100 billion Wenzhou capital entered the stock market, and the noisy stock market was stirred up into waves.

In 2006, Wenzhou capital entered non-ferrous metal mining. In 2007, oil wells in western China were also infected with the "nobility" of Wenzhou capital, and "Wenzhou Fried Oil Group" became a new term in the investment market. In recent years, Wenzhou people have also invested in garlic, ginger, gold, antiques, land, airplanes, etc. It can be said that they invest in everything.Although Wenzhou capital is also locked up sometimes and faces great risks, the investment enthusiasm of Wenzhou people seems to have never been wiped out.They constantly change their investment goals, change their own destiny, enrich the investment market, and create a lot of entertainment for this serious and boring market.While talking about it, people can't help guessing curiously: What will Wenzhou people plan to invest in tomorrow?

Before 2008, almost all enterprises in China were playing the "Olympic" brand, guiding the market with the spirit of the Olympics.Wenzhou people are no exception, but the projects they invest in are more profitable - real estate speculation.Under the slogan of "living in Olympic rooms, watching Olympic events", they also made a lot of money when the Olympic events were in full swing.After the Olympics ended, Wenzhou people seemed to realize the economic downturn, and promptly withdrew their capital from the Beijing real estate market. For people in Wenzhou who believe in "making money", the only direction for investment is to make a profit. ——Perhaps you will say, as long as you are not a fool, you all know to invest your money in profitable places. Does anyone still like to do business at a loss?

The goal of Wenzhou people's "profitability" is very clear. As mentioned above, once the decline in Beijing's real estate is discovered, the capital will be withdrawn immediately.But not all people do business in this way. Some people like to grind in a field. No matter what the current situation in this field is, he will try to persevere. Maybe he wants to become the leader of the industry one day.Wenzhou businessmen are not like this, they are more eager for quick success. In an alley in Shijiazhuang, there used to be two custom-made down jacket shops.The Wenzhou native who first opened this store, when everyone thought that people like to buy branded down jackets, he first created a "cottage version" of down jackets in that alley. The price is cheap and the business is very good.

The local people saw that the business was good, so they soon followed suit in the down jacket business.Due to the better connections of the locals, Wenzhou people almost took half of the business, but overall the business is still good.Even so, Wenzhou people still quickly transferred the things in the store at low prices, and opened a "DIY" store, specializing in handmade materials: non-woven fabrics, silk screen flowers, wool, Chinese knots, various handmade books and tools, etc. Of course, there are also Some beautiful items designed by the owner himself. Ordinary people would not think that this kind of business would become popular, but they did not expect that modern people have such strong hands-on skills, especially some office workers and students, who go to the store to buy some materials and make a bunny by themselves. Small ornaments, hang on the bag or send to friends.What's more, the price of this kind of small equipment is actually very expensive. The owner of Wenzhou said that this is a fashion and a brand. At present, only those who really have connotations and high-end grades play "DIY" in China.

Later, more people followed suit in this alley, and many "DIY" emerged.The Wenzhou boss has added a "grid shop" to his store: the shop owner will help sell the equipment purchased in the store, and there is no charge for materials, only the cost of renting the grid.Later, there were more peers, and the Wenzhou boss changed his investment strategy again... In short, the Wenzhou boss always tries his best to avoid competing with his peers, even if he is still making money, he will not hesitate to back down.What he pursues is the highest profit without competition. When there is a sign of competition or downturn, he immediately changes his business course.

This leads to another phenomenon—it is better to say that Wenzhou capital is leading the market than Wenzhou people following the market closely. Some people believe that the reason why people in Wenzhou can get rich quickly is because they keep up with the pace of the market and invest in whatever makes a lot of money.This is certainly true, but another way of saying it seems more appropriate: instead of saying that Wenzhou people are following the market, it is better to say that Wenzhou people are leading the market. Rather than saying that they care about profits, it is better to say that they are "maximizing profits." ".

Wenzhou people always have a way to successfully lead the market, which is inseparable from their courage.Wenzhou people have always been bold and dare to walk in front of national policies, and policies are market-oriented and often contain huge energy.It is said that every successful Wenzhou businessman will watch daily news broadcasts as a military rule that must be implemented. Every subtle change in national policy will not be missed by keen Wenzhou people, so as to find investment in subtle policy changes opportunity. Zhou Xingzeng, chairman of Jianqiao Group, was the founder of the first private university in Shanghai invested and established by foreigners. He completed the feat of running a school with private funds when the national policy was not fully liberalized.

It was in 1999. Zhou Xingzeng, who already had a sum of money on hand, decided to abandon business and run a school and build a school in Shanghai.At that time, his proposal was not approved by the local government, and the two parties only signed a letter of intent.Then Zhou Xingzeng invested 300 million yuan to start buying land, building infrastructure, and building buildings in the Pudong Kangqiao Development Zone. He almost prepared the basic hardware needed for running a school, and then went to the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission for approval. Talking about this bold move, someone asked him: Aren't you worried that the government won't approve it?

Zhou Xingzeng said without blushing, "If you don't first establish the necessary conditions for running a school, you will never be able to approve it!" This kind of huge investment method of combining the government with the army, I am afraid ordinary people dare not try it lightly. Others questioned: "The enrollment of private universities generally does not have many students in the first year. Can you be sure that you will not lose money?" Zhou Xingzeng was still not popular: "When I exceed 1,000 people, please come again to congratulate me." As a result, in September 2000, Zhou Xingzeng’s Jianqiao College recruited students in the first year, and the number of applicants was 5,300, and 1,352 were admitted that year (the normal number of students in private schools in Shanghai may only be 300). In 2001, the Shanghai Education Commission allowed Jianqiao College to be included in the enrollment sequence of the national plan, granting it the right to independently issue university diplomas. Later, the Shanghai Municipal Government and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission would praise Zhou Xingzeng whenever they talked about it: "Jianqiao is a catfish, and it has inspired private universities in Shanghai." As the old saying goes: "The first to act is the strongest, and the second to suffer." In the fierce market competition, it is good to keep up with the market trend, but it is not as wise as seizing the market opportunity. If you can successfully lead the market, then no matter for yourself, It is also a contribution to society. In fact, no matter how closely following the market or leading the market, no matter how the investment route of Wenzhou people changes, what they pursue remains the same—the pursuit of maximum profit is always pursued, and other non-maximum profits should be released when appropriate.As a joke says: Bill Gates doesn’t need to bend down to pick up $1,000, because he can make more money in the few seconds he bends down to pick up the money.In the view of Wenzhou people, those investment behaviors that do not maximize profits are actually a kind of "bending", which is very unwise.