Chapter 39 1996 Top 500 Dream

The incomparably impulsive, even dreamy, radical temperament shown by "Biaowang" Qin Chi permeated the Chinese business circle between 1995 and the spring of 1997.It conformed to all people's imaginations about business at that time: miracles can be born in an instant, Rome can be built in a day, boldness can be overwhelming, and thinking can be done.Qin Chi's subsequent performances also seemed to confirm these "Chinese-style principles". After winning the "Biao Wang", Qin Chi's popularity skyrocketed overnight, and he quickly became the best-selling liquor in China. In 1996, the sales revenue was 980 million yuan. The profits and taxes were 220 million yuan, an increase of more than 5 times compared to before winning the bid.

On November 8, 1996, Ji Changkong, who was famous all over the world, appeared again in Media. He was arranged at the most eye-catching main table and spoke as a representative of entrepreneurs.He said, "In 1995, we drove in a Santana to CCTV every day, and drove out a luxury Audi. This year, we have to drive in a luxury Mercedes every day, and strive to drive out a stretched Lincoln." Word spread like yeast in the Media Convention Center, making everyone smell a tinge of excitement and terrifying blood.At the opening of the bidding meeting, Qinchi Distillery won the "Bidding King" with an eye-popping 321.2118 million yuan.A reporter asked, "How did Qin Chi's bidding figure be calculated?" Ji Changkong replied boldly, "I didn't do the calculation, this is my mobile phone number."

Here are some memorable "Genesis"-esque scenes.In the past three years, the rapid expansion of the consumer goods market and the very emotional public mentality have given Chinese entrepreneurs a huge and unscrupulous imagination.All the people ran with all their strength, and the blueprint was enlarged again and again.In the spring of this year, a Hollywood inspirational movie about the struggle of ordinary people is being staged in major theaters in China. People remember the famous saying of the protagonist played by Tom Hanks: "Life is like a box of chocolates." , you never know what you’re going to get.” Well, since you don’t know, just imagine.

In the field of health care products, Shandong Sanzhu Company, which was established just two years ago, has achieved sales of 2 billion yuan by means of an all-out marketing strategy. President Wu Bingxin has made a "five-year plan" for Sanzhu: ~2 billion yuan, with a development speed of 1600%-2000%. In 1996, the growth rate dropped to 400%, reaching 10 billion yuan. In 1997, the growth rate dropped to 200%, reaching 30 billion yuan. In 1998, the growth rate dropped to 100%, reaching 60 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 50% in 1999, striving for a sales volume of 90 billion yuan." This series of "increases" and "fallbacks" were published in China's most famous newspapers in the form of advertisements and news reports, making People are dazzled and amazed.By the end of this year, the three plants had really achieved sales of 8 billion yuan and became the well-deserved king of health care products.

In the department store industry, Asia, a shopping mall in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, was the hottest benchmark enterprise at that time. It was the first commercial company in the country to engage in "smiling service" and try chain development.General Manager Wang Suizhou formulated a development plan: "Before 2000, we will open 1,000 chain shopping malls across the country, with an annual sales volume of 50 billion yuan, ranking first in the national business community, and entering the top ten largest enterprises in the country in terms of comprehensive strength. Influenced by international trusts. Asia skyscrapers will be built in Beijing or Shanghai, at least 120 stories high, like a historical monument like Asia.” These development plans have been demonstrated by experts and announced to the public with great solemnity. This seems to be an era in which ideals can be realized only by fantasies.

After we talk about the passionate stories that happened in the consumer goods market, we should have a more panoramic view of the situation of Chinese enterprises around 1996.In fact, the situation at that time could be regarded as a double sky of ice and fire. The "ice" side is the state-owned enterprise clusters that have been unable to extricate themselves from the low efficiency and the old system. In 1996, the net sales profit margin of state-owned enterprises within the budget fell to the lowest point in history, and the total loss was 28.6 times that of 1985.In contrast, the output value of township enterprises across the country increased by 22%, and the income tax of Sino-foreign joint ventures increased by 40%.This year is also the tenth year since the Bankruptcy Law was enacted.From 1986 to 1990, only 121 state-owned enterprises went bankrupt across the country.By 1996, the number of bankruptcies reached (prohibited), totaling 6,232, exceeding the sum total of the past nine years.

Since the State Council promulgated the "Regulations on the Transformation of Operating Mechanisms of Industrial Enterprises Owned by the Whole People" in July 1992, announcing the full implementation of the 14 autonomy rights, from the perspective of decision-makers, all the autonomy rights that should be given have been delegated, and the next step should be for enterprises to cross the sea. , went to the market to show their talents.But the facts are very frustrating. The vast majority of state-owned enterprises will collapse in the competition.Handan Iron and Steel Company is a typical example of the reforms introduced by the State Economic and Trade Commission to state-owned enterprises across the country. "Han Steel's experience" can be summed up in two ways: one is "simulating the market", using the market price of the final product to "simulate" to determine the internal transfer price, forming a centered on ensuring the target profit of the whole plant, consisting of more than 100,000 indicators The formed cost control system: The second is "cost veto", which is to use cost as a lever to influence, induce and correct employee behavior. Salaries and bonuses will be affected. "Han Iron and Steel Experience" is considered to be the best model for state-owned enterprises to improve efficiency. The State Council specifically forwarded reports from the Economic and Trade Commission and the Ministry of Metallurgy, calling on state-owned enterprises across the country to "learn from Handan Iron and Steel". It was the first time after that.However, Handan Iron and Steel is also the last national "reform model" in the 30-year corporate history. Fundamentally speaking, Handan Iron and Steel's approach is a replica of the "Taylor System" of the United States a hundred years ago, and its "cost veto" is also the "Taylor System". "The standard cost system is mainly used to improve production or operation efficiency, but it cannot solve the market sales problem of those products, and it does not touch the innovation of the enterprise property right system.

Due to the lack of efficiency, the losses of state-owned enterprises have increased unabated in these years.According to a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics of 2,600 state-owned industrial enterprises in 15 large and medium-sized cities including Tianjin, Harbin, Shenyang, and Chengdu, by the end of 1994, the total assets of these enterprises amounted to 254.4 billion yuan, but their liabilities reached 200.7 billion yuan. The average interest rate is as high as 78.9%. Compared with 10 years ago, assets have increased by 4.1 times, and debts have increased by 8.6 times.Many companies are still producing every day, but the manufactured products are often moved off the production line and directly pulled into the warehouse.By the end of 1996, the total value of inventories of industrial enterprises above the township level had reached 1.32 trillion yuan, while in 1991, this figure was 0.13 trillion yuan.

What happened in Shanghai, the largest industrial city, is a microcosm.From 1990 to 1999, Shanghai has been carrying out the urban strategic transformation of "retiring from the second industry and entering the tertiary industry". A large number of industrial enterprises have been dismantled or moved out of the central urban area. Painful and difficult process.In the past 10 years, Shanghai’s textile industry, which has created countless brilliance, has gone bankrupt and ended 41 companies, and more than 200 old enterprises have been sold out. shunt.During this period, the average annual growth rate of Shanghai's unemployed population was as high as 9.53%, and the average annual growth rate between 1990 and 1995 was as high as 13.17%—and this is only the number of registered unemployed.The scenes of Shanghai exist in many other old industrial bases in China. What must be recorded is that tens of millions of employees of old state-owned enterprises paid a huge price for the reform of the urban economy.

In September 1995, "People's Daily" published a long economic analysis article "Report from the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1991-1995)", which discussed the three major difficulties faced by state-owned enterprises in a very large space.First, the losses remain high. The losses of state-owned enterprises increase at a rate of 14.2% every year, with an average annual loss of more than 50 billion yuan. Among all loss-making enterprises, state-owned enterprises account for more than 70%.Second, the use efficiency of enterprise funds is low, and the inventory products grow at a rate of 30% every year, exceeding the growth rate of production by at least 10 percentage points.Third, the comprehensive economic efficiency index of state-owned industries has dropped by 5.4% compared with the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" period (1986-1990), and the capital profit and tax rate and cost profit rate are lower than those of non-state-owned enterprises.In July of this year, the State Restructuring Commission announced that the pilot work of the Hundred Modern Enterprises, which started in 1994, would be postponed for one year, that is, from the end of 1996 to the end of 1997.Publicly announcing the “postponement” of a major reform is the first time since the reform and opening up, and people have experienced the hardships of pilot reforms.

Year after year of losses, low efficiency, hard-to-sell products, and tight funds, how did state-owned enterprises survive this cold winter?The truth of the matter is that since the early 1990s, the increasingly active Chinese capital market has given these companies a chance to breathe. After the "Shenzhen Subscription Certificate Incident" in the summer of 1992, decision-makers suddenly discovered that the stock market may be the best means to save state-owned enterprises.Economists have suggested that "financing through the stock market is a strategic choice to invigorate and enhance the strength of state-owned enterprises." Beijing newly established the Securities Regulatory Commission and "turned over" the power of stock issuance from the two exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen to the central government.Since then, a listing mechanism of the "indicator quota system" has been implemented to fully support state-owned enterprises, that is, the central government determines the listing quota, and then distributes it to various ministries and commissions according to the system, and distributes it to provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions according to the region.After each province, city, autonomous region and each department has obtained the listing indicators, they must allocate them according to their own system.The vast majority of these indicators are allocated to state-owned enterprises in various places.Only a few well-known township enterprises were lucky enough to become the first batch of privately-owned listed companies due to the "reform effect" and the need for symbolic meaning, including Zhejiang Lu Guanqiu's Wanxiang Group and Jiangsu Wu Renbao's Huaxi Village. In this way, the "listing index" became the government's "last handful of rice" to save state-owned enterprises.In the process of going public, the state finance and bank grants or loans to enterprises first turned into creditor's rights, and then turned into equity, and then all were sold to shareholders through stock issuance.On the one hand, it gave the desperate state-owned enterprises a chance to breathe again, and on the other hand, it "accidentally" solved the "caged tiger problem" of the excessive growth of residents' savings. After 1987, the rapid growth of residents' savings has always been regarded as a "caged tiger" that may induce inflation and price rises once released. However, in hindsight, this institutional arrangement made China's stock market a deformed product from the very beginning, and it had inherent disadvantages in at least four aspects.One is the lack of fairness. It is difficult for private enterprises that meet the listing conditions and have good operating efficiency to get listed.The second is that the quality of listed companies is obviously not good, and many indicators are allocated to the largest and most difficult state-owned enterprises in various places.The third is that there are a large number of false statements. Those state-owned enterprises that have obtained quotas do not actually have the conditions to go public, so they have to carry out large-scale and public financial fraud. Through "asset stripping", "industrial restructuring" and direct Making false statements and other means to achieve the purpose of listing.Since the listing conditions are reviewed through administrative means, not only is it impossible for the qualification review agency to be responsible for its own review results, but also with the acquiescence of the administrative review department, even various intermediary agencies responsible for asset evaluation and stock sales will be held accountable for their extreme Strong administrative background and administrative methods, often irresponsible for their own actions.Fourth, due to the lack of necessary supervision, there are a lot of power-for-money transactions. At that time, many observers and scholars raised objections to this system based on ownership as the premise of listing. "People's Daily" reporter Ling Zhijun wrote in his observation notes, "It seems that state-owned enterprises will always be supported by others. In the past, it was the government's finances, then the banks, and now it is the stock market. The way to support is to keep going. send money to state-owned enterprises.” Zhang Weiying, a professor at Peking University, wrote an article saying: “We now regard the stock market as a solution to the difficulties of state-owned enterprises, rather than as a means of diverting limited resources to the most efficient enterprises. , Financing channels for the most capable entrepreneurs. This kind of thinking of developing the stock market for poverty alleviation is unhealthy. The guiding ideology of the government should be to ensure the protection of fair trade and the interests of investors, not the special interests of a few people "Zhang Weiying also put forward his own suggestion for this, "I suggest that the central government should indirectly solve the difficulties of state-owned enterprises, let those good and potential private enterprises and non-state-owned enterprises go public, and then use the funds raised to acquire state-owned enterprises. This kind of indirect not only solves the financial problem, but also solves the mechanism problem.” His suggestion was not taken seriously due to lack of operability.There are many people who have put forward similar views with Zhang Weiying. In 1998, Barrister Liang Dingbang, chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, was hired by the China Securities Regulatory Commission as the chief consultant. This was interpreted as one of the symbolic actions of the Securities Regulatory Commission to try to regulate the Chinese stock market.Not long after he took office, Liang Dingbang frequently attacked the stock market, the first of which was the quota system.In his opinion, “the method of index quota listing has a lot of randomness in its plan. Most of the listed indicators are for local poverty alleviation, and bundled listing is very common. After listing, the company’s mechanism and financial problems will soon be exposed. A considerable number of companies have become empty shells." In addition to the quota system, Liang Dingbang also criticized another "share split" system with "Chinese characteristics". All listed state-owned companies have two types of non-tradable shares and tradable shares. Shares, the former are state-owned shares.The rights of the two types of shares are the same, but there is a huge difference in the cost of holding shares, which causes serious injustice between the two types of shareholders, and also provides a natural operating space for the future "market maker economy". After 2005, through the reform of the reduction of state-owned shares, this system was ended. In addition to appearing in the listing review process, the phenomenon of fraud also extends to the qualifications for allotment of money without any suspense.According to the regulations of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in 1995, a listed company must have a return on net assets of more than 10% for three consecutive years before it can enjoy the allotment rights.As a result, a large number of companies "stick" to the lifeline of 10% in annual rate of return.Song Guoqing, a professor at Peking University, made statistics on the return on net assets of 723 listed companies, and found that as many as 205 companies were at 10%-11%.He Wannan, a well-known securities reporter, disclosed the fraudulent methods of several listed companies: one company first falsely increased its profits by more than 10 million yuan, and then paid income tax at a 33% tax rate, thus achieving a net asset ratio of 10.18%; The company sold its own products to itself at a higher price to increase the rate of return; another company lost more than 20 million yuan, so it "spun off" a piece of negative assets to the higher-level group company for trusteeship, and then "injected" another piece of assets. ", the rate of return naturally went up to 10%.This "financial game" is played out every day and has become an open secret. It is on such soil that China's capital market has become a gray and speculative adventurer's paradise.Those listed state-owned enterprises seem to have picked up a big pie that fell from the sky, and their mechanisms have not been improved in any way.As a result, the scene of "one year's outstanding performance, two years' performance, and three years' loss" can be seen everywhere. Many enterprises, especially local state-owned enterprises that have obtained indicators through poverty alleviation policies in various provinces and cities, quickly took advantage of the tens of millions that they had easily raised. Yuan or even hundreds of millions of dollars were squandered, and then they were reduced to a loss.It is at this time that they become "shell resources" one after another, and some capable capital players take the opportunity to enter, make waves, and the Chinese stock market will soon enter an era of wild dancers. After all, it can only solve the problems of a small number of large and medium-sized enterprises through stock listing to solve the difficulties of state-owned enterprises. The large-scale and wide-ranging small and medium-sized state-owned enterprises with a number of hundreds of thousands are still a mess.In this way, the controversial "Zhucheng experience" entered the field of vision of decision-makers. In March 1996, Wu Jinglian, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, suddenly received a notice asking him to join an inspection team to Zhucheng, Shandong, led by Vice Premier Zhu Rongji, accompanied by Chen Qingtai, deputy director of the State Economic and Trade Commission, and former Hong Hu, deputy director of the State Restructuring Commission, has been to Zhucheng for research.The inspection team arrived in Zhucheng on the 20th.Officials in Shandong are uneasy about Zhu Rongji's attitude, because a group of investigation reports have been published in the "Economic Daily" in the past few days. The attitude of the central government, then Zhucheng is undoubtedly the biggest negative example.The "instigator" of the Zhucheng experience, Chen Guangri, later recalled, "At that time, my life was like a coin in mid-air, and I didn't even know which side it would turn." The inspection team originally planned to investigate for three days. Three days later, Zhu Rongji temporarily decided to postpone the trip and wait for another half day. On the 24th, Zhu Rongji convened a meeting of officials at the provincial, prefecture, city, and bureau levels in Jinan for exchanges, and fully affirmed that Zhucheng's small business restructuring has done well.The Shandong cadres who have been hanging their hearts in the air for many days finally breathed a sigh of relief. The affirmation of the "Zhucheng experience" is a major strategic adjustment of the state-owned enterprise reform thinking by the decision-makers. In a sense, this marks the end of the state-owned enterprise reform movement that began in 1978 with the theme of mechanism reform.Based on this, some economists put forward a new reform policy of "grasp the big and let go of the small". Those small and medium-sized enterprises that are not competitive and have nothing to do with the national economy and people's livelihood will be "let go", and the government will focus on those large enterprises with growth potential and resource advantages. and highly profitable industries.In fact, the reason why Wu Jinglian was named as a colleague was precisely because he published the article "Opening Up and Revitalizing State-Owned Small Enterprises" in the last issue of "Reform" magazine in 1995. It is a new way of enterprise reform. This line of thinking is in line with his old colleague Zhou Shulian's proposition of "supporting the key points and freeing the rest" proposed three years ago.According to statistics from relevant departments, there were 320,000 state-owned enterprises in the country at that time, 14,000 of which were classified as large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises, and the rest were small and medium-sized enterprises.After the strategy of “grasping the big and letting go of the small” was established, experiments to clarify the property rights of local state-owned and collective enterprises began to emerge in 1993, which had been undercurrents along the southeast coast.Enterprise reform has entered a new period with the theme of ownership reform, and various sad and happy dramas are about to be staged one by one. The strategy of "grasp the big and let go of the small" seems easy to understand, but it is not easy to implement.For example, "grasp the big ones", which big ones to catch, and how to catch them are all difficult problems.In 1996, when this strategy was first proposed, "Grasp the Big" was combined with the vigorous national enterprise revitalization movement, and behind it was a brilliant "Top 500 Dream". As we have described before, the prosperity of the domestic market and the collective victory of emerging enterprises made Chinese entrepreneurs burst with confidence for the first time.They suddenly discovered that the original world was not as far away as they had imagined, and those mighty multinational companies did not seem impossible to catch up with.Therefore, entering the "Fortune 500" has become a common dream of entrepreneurs this year. "Fortune 500" is a ranking list published by the US "Fortune" magazine. It ranks global companies based on sales and total capital, and it is announced on time every October. In 1989, Bank of China became the first Chinese company to appear on the "Fortune 500" list.But at that time, not many people knew about the selection, and entrepreneurs didn't care, because the annual sales of tens of billions of dollars were out of reach for them. In 1995, "Fortune" magazine included companies in all industrial fields into the selection scope for the first time, and it was at this moment that China's emerging companies for the first time made it their goal to enter the "World's Top 500". At the end of 1995, Zhang Ruimin made it clear for the first time that Haier would enter the "World Top 500" ranking in 2006. Haier's sales in that year were 1/18 of the "World Top 500" entry standard.With Haier's high-profile announcement, at least nearly 30 companies put forward their timetable for entering the "World's Top 500" in the next six months.Someone once commented that in the mid-1990s, the annual "World Top 500" list was like the Olympic Games in the business world, attracting blazing eyes from the East.Gradually, the "Fortune 500" has become a kind of totem, deeply implanted in the "collective unconsciousness" of Chinese entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are not the only ones who are attracted by the dream of being "the world's top 500". In response to this high momentum, the central government and the academic circles have also formed an optimistic consensus, that is, "grasping big" should fully support those Enterprises rushing out of the market should be sent to the "Fortune 500" as soon as possible.Entering the "Fortune 500" has become a national economic goal.Zhang Weiying once commented, "China is the only country that regards entering the top 500 as a government policy." In 2005, economist Zhong Pengrong also reflected when commenting on the Delong incident, "The core of many business circles is to make their companies early It seems that the complex of the top 500 has brought disastrous consequences to many enterprises." In autumn, the State Economic and Trade Commission announced that in the next few years, it will focus on supporting Baosteel, Haier, Jiangnan Shipbuilding, North China Pharmaceutical, Six companies, including Peking University Founder and Changhong, strive to make them enter the "World Top 500" in 2010.These 6 "seed players" have become the national vanguard of the "World Top 500".Among them, Jiangnan Shipyard is a century-old factory founded during the Westernization Movement and is the largest shipbuilding enterprise in China.North China Pharmaceutical Factory is the largest pharmaceutical company newly established after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the other four companies are all emerging companies after the reform and opening up. Their common feature is that they have a background of state-owned capital and have proved their competitiveness in market competition. , and an outstanding entrepreneur.After the central government determined the "national team", the provinces responded and issued their own support lists one after another, announcing that they would be included in the "Top 500 Chinese Enterprises" within a few years. Provincial Top 100 Enterprises" concept.Under this assumption, there has been a heat wave in various places where the government has come forward to merge several companies together to "build a big ship and go to the ocean." The most sensational news of the merger and reorganization occurred in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.The city integrated Goldfish Company, which produces washing machines locally, Dongbao Company, which produces refrigerators, Chengfeng Company, which produces electric fans, and Huamei Company, which produces freezers. The top six Jinsong Group.This reorganization was planned in 1996 and formed in August 1997. In June 2000, due to weak integration, Jinsong Group disintegrated.Various ministries and commissions of the country have also put forward the list of support in their fields. For example, the State Administration of Light Industry announced the list of 68 "competent enterprises striving to create international famous brands" in the country. Its strategic goal is also to "strive to support China's light industry enterprises to enter 'Top 500'".In this way, around the goal of becoming the top 500, a top-down "grasp strategy" gradually took shape. The state’s support policies for the six seed players include investing no less than 20 million yuan in technology innovation funds for each company each year, and allowing companies to prepare for the establishment of financial companies with public financing functions. A specific example is South Korea's Daewoo Group, which was growing fastest in Asia at that time. Daewoo was founded by Jin Yuzhong in 1967. At first, it was a small trading company with a registered capital of only 10,000 US dollars. In 1976, South Korean President Park Chung-hee, who had studied under Kim Woo-jung's father, decided to support Daewoo. He allocated a state-owned heavy machinery manufacturing plant that had been losing money for 37 years to Daewoo.It took only one year for Kim Woo-jung to turn losses into profits. The South Korean government immediately handed over some poorly managed state-owned enterprises, such as shipyards and automobile factories, to Kim Woo-jung to take care of them, and at the same time licensed Daewoo to engage in financial services.Soon, Daewoo caught up from behind by relying on the "mixed operation" model of the manufacturing and financial industries, and quickly grew into a comprehensive enterprise with an astonishing scale. In 1993, Jin Yuzhong put forward the slogan of "global operation" and fully involved in many major fields such as automobiles, shipbuilding, television, aviation accessories, optical cable communications, etc., and established many factories in Poland, Ukraine, Iran, Vietnam, India and other countries. In 1995, Daewoo was selected as the fastest growing company in Asia by the American "Business Weekly". In its heyday, Daewoo employed 320,000 people in 110 countries.The autobiography "Great Achievements of the World" written by Jin Yuzhong has been translated into 21 languages ​​and sold well all over the world, and 2 million copies have been issued in South Korea alone. The myth of Daewoo is extremely enviable to the Chinese business community. It allows people to see a path of rapid growth through the "mixed operation" model of industry and finance with the full support of the government.In the eyes of many people, it is oriental and can be "transplanted" to China.In the domestic economic circles and decision-makers at that time, it was almost a consensus to cultivate several super large enterprise groups that could enter the "World Top 500".People believe that this large-scale, all-encompassing aircraft carrier-like consortium-style enterprise is the best model to combat the risks of international competition, and it is also a symbol of China's economic rise. The good vision of entering the "World's Top 500" and the imitation of the "Daewoo Model" have pushed the boom in diversity to a new climax. 1996 was one of the most passionate years in the 30-year corporate history.Every industry is full of countless business opportunities, and everyone is eager to expand and re-expand. Entrepreneurs are far from learning to control their desires.Facts in the future will prove that in the wave of diversification, those entrepreneurs who lose their sense and control will suffer their own consequences. Zhao Xinxian of the Sanjiu Group was one of the first entrepreneurs to sniff out the business opportunities contained in "grasp the big and let go of the small".In summer, he said to his subordinates, "There are so many assets idle in the society. This is a great opportunity for Sanjiu to go down the mountain to pick peaches. Don't miss it. After passing this village, this shop will disappear." The best Chinese patent medicine company. In 1985, Zhao Xinxian, director of the Pharmacy Bureau of Nanfang Hospital affiliated to Guangzhou First Military Medical University, was ordered to establish this company on Bijia Mountain in the suburbs of Shenzhen.He built China's first automatic production line of traditional Chinese medicine, and developed "Sanjiu Weitai", which is quite effective in treating chronic gastritis. The company's profits have doubled year after year. Ranked 82nd among the 500 largest industrial enterprises in the country.The General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army awarded Zhao Xinxian the title of "Excellent Army Entrepreneur", a second-level hero model medal, and made a "Decision on Learning from Comrade Zhao Xinxian" to the entire army. In 1996, when Zhao Xinxian learned from various channels that the central government would implement the strategy of "grasp the large and let go of the small", he was very keenly aware that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the rapid expansion of the enterprise. Sanjiu's first "downhill picking peaches" was very successful.Ya'an Pharmaceutical Factory in Sichuan is one of the earliest manufacturers of traditional Chinese medicine injections in China. By the end of 1995, this old state-owned enterprise had reached the end of its rope, with an annual output value of just over 10 million yuan and a profit of only 20,000 yuan.Zhao Xinxian discovered this company during a business trip, and immediately decided to invest 17 million yuan to acquire it, and appointed the most capable cadres to run it in Sichuan.After the Sanjiu people entered, the first thing to do was to give each employee a copy of "On the Sanjiu Mechanism" edited by Zhao Xinxian. output, wages can be high but low" market-oriented management.The injections of the Ya'an factory were labeled with the Sanjiu brand, and went to the national market through Sanjiu's marketing network. After one year, the output value reached 100 million yuan, and the profit and tax were more than 20 million yuan.The remarkable effect of mergers and acquisitions is beyond everyone's expectations.The most famous metaphor for merging companies based on institutional advantages is Haier Zhang Ruimin's "Shock Fish Theory". "Shock fish" refers to the fact that the fish body is not rotten, and the hardware of the enterprise is very good, but there are problems in the system, management and concept of the enterprise, resulting in stagnant operation and a state of shock.Therefore, once this kind of enterprise injects new management ideas and has a set of effective management methods, it will be activated soon.Relying on the "shock fish theory", Haier merged 19 loss-making enterprises from 1988 to 1996. The success of the Ya'an experience immediately made Zhao Xinxian very ambitious.He believes that all the chronic problems of old state-owned enterprises are caused by the system. As long as the Sanjiu mechanism and brand are injected, plus a moderate start-up capital, they can completely make them bloom overnight. At the end of 1996, Sanjiu held an experience learning meeting in Ya'an. After the meeting, Zhao Xinxian announced the establishment of Sanjiu Investment Management Company, and appointed more than 60 cadres to go to all parts of the country to specialize in acquisitions and mergers. As soon as the command sounded on Bijia Mountain, a group of people rushed down the mountain.At that time, the Sanjiu brand was resounding all over the country. Looking around, there are few companies like it that have the authentic lineage of state-owned enterprises, as well as funds, brands and sales networks.Handing over the enterprise to Sanjiu can not only revive the enterprise, but also avoid the suspicion of selling state-owned assets at a low price.Therefore, every time Zhao Xinxian went to a province, the secretary and the governor would come forward to receive him. When he arrived in the city, the five major groups were shocked to greet him and see him off.When some enterprises in remote places heard that Sanjiu started a big merger, they went all the way to the Sanjiu headquarters in Shenzhen and lined up to request the merger.Lankao County in Henan Province donated all seven enterprises to Sanjiu at once. In a western province, the director of a winery knelt down on the spot and begged Zhao Xin to "eat" his factory first.From 1996 to 2001, Sanjiu acquired more than 140 local enterprises, with an average of two acquisitions per month.In this staking-style frenzy of mergers and acquisitions, the Sanjiu Group rapidly expanded into the largest Chinese medicine company in the country, with total assets soaring to 18.6 billion yuan. It has eight major industries including medicine, automobile, food, wine making, tourist hotel, commerce, agriculture and real estate, and its banner even includes the largest nightclub in South China.At the beginning of the expansion, the company's debt ratio was 19%. By 1998, the debt ratio had reached 80%.In order to demonstrate the impressive achievements of the merger, Zhao Xinxian also placed a model of an aircraft carrier at the entrance of Sanjiu's factory history showroom. Dozens of aircraft were placed on the deck of the warship. They respectively represent the second-level subsidiaries directly under the group. There are hundreds of third-tier and fourth-tier companies under their umbrella.Zhao Xinxian was very satisfied with this idea, and whenever distinguished guests came, he would introduce them one by one in front of the warship.He said, "This is the aircraft carrier of China's traditional Chinese medicine industry. We want to increase the number of aircraft to 100." Before he retired, the most aircraft was 98. Zhao Xinxian's passion was not at all abrupt in 1996.American economist and winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Economics, George Stigler, said something that entrepreneurs talk about every day: "It is modern for a company to become a giant company by merging its competitors. It is a prominent phenomenon in economic history. There is no large western company that has not grown through mergers to some extent and in a certain way, and almost no large company has grown mainly by internal expansion.” In fact, at that time, only a few Entrepreneurs see danger lurking in the mania.Wang Shi, who had just made up his mind to take the road of specialization, wrote an article in the Vanke Weekly he founded: "New enterprises must not think that this is an opportunity for expansion. Now is an opportunity for the 'proletarians'. 10%— 15% of people will become 'proprietors' because of this. If they can't do well, they are still 'proletarians'. They can fight. But for those companies established in the late 1980s and early 1990s, now is not the time to expand. You have to control yourself. There is no free lunch in the world, and the country can’t control it, so how can you manage it?” "Vanke Weekly" is an internal company publication without a public issue number, so not many people have heard Wang Shi's voice, and even if they heard it, some people may not take it to heart. Swept by the tide of diversification, entrepreneurs seem to have lost the patience to make a product seriously and lonely. “I think the Chinese are a little impatient.” Kenichi Ohmae, a Japanese management scholar who was visiting China’s coast, said worriedly, “There are so many opportunities in China that it’s hard for Chinese entrepreneurs to focus on a certain field and develop in that field. The field has made outstanding achievements. But concentration is the only way to make money. Coca-Cola concentrates on making Coke and becomes the world leader in the field of consumer goods. Toyota focuses on making cars and becomes the most profitable company in Japan. Enter an industry, specialize, and then go global This is the only way to make money.” The only Asian scholar who entered the world’s top ten international management masters list also gave an example that he once saw a copy of “100 Western Management Classics” in a Chinese bookstore. , It was actually condensed in 200 pages. "Just want to read summaries of management books, just want to catch up in 5 years to what Japan spent 50 years learning, which is what China intends to do. However, management is a continuous feedback process, if you just Learning 'condensed' and then rushing into action, or having someone else remake the organization, is almost like an 'artificial child'." Kenichi Ohmae's voice sounded a bit conservative to the excited Chinese entrepreneurs.In Zhongguancun, Duan Yongji, chairman of Stone Group, declared: "We have entered the stage of capital management, acquiring and merging companies, and then packaging and selling them, which can make more money than doing business itself, and it will come quickly." The most well-known IT company in Zhongguancun was also a "flag" of Chinese high-tech companies in the late 1980s.Around 1992, Stone Group's net profit was 300 million yuan, 70% of sales and 90% of profits were based on typewriter products.But since then, Stone has been immersed in the growth of extension, and the company's investment in technology development is obviously insufficient.According to Wang Jizhi, the executive vice president and chief engineer in charge of development of Stone Group, later recalled that the development expenses he could control at that time were less than 0.3% of the company's total turnover.He said, "Although according to the regulations of the country and the development zone, the company can extract 7% of the turnover as development fees and include them in the cost, but after these development fees are raised, they don't know what to do. The company invites people to dinner, singing A karaoke session can cost a lot of money, or even tens of thousands of dollars. It can cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to get a golf membership card for the president. When we apply for a loan from the bank, we are required to write a feasibility report for the technology development project, but this is for the bank and the government to read, so the technology loan we get is used for other purposes, such as stock speculation, futures speculation, Engaged in real estate.” Stone was a high-tech enterprise that the Chinese people placed great expectations on at that time. For a long time, it also took “walking with the giants and being China’s IBM” as its mission, but the truth revealed by Wang Jizhi was chilling.Duan Yongji himself once told a black humorous Sitong story. In 1995, a person with a background in finance contracted Stone's securities business department in Wuhan.Since most of Stone's employees were technically educated at the time and did not understand finance, this gave this person an opportunity to take advantage of.This person modified the official seal of the sales department privately, thus obtained the qualification to conduct treasury bond transactions, and obtained a profit of more than 200 million yuan, all of which was squandered by him personally.后来国家取缔武汉的国债交易市场时，段永基是通过看报纸才知道“四通做国债赚了两个多亿”。依照有关规定，四通集团必须退还这两亿多元的不合法盈利。当时四通不但不敢处理那个私改公章的人，还好吃好喝地供着他，希望他能讲清楚这两个多亿花到什么地方去了。有一次，段永基和这个人同乘一班飞机，段永基坐普通舱，他坐高级的头等舱。那个人问段总裁：“赚这么多钱，怎么还坐经济舱？”段永基没好气地说：“赚的钱都给你还债了。”后来的事实表明，很多企业在当时所标榜和宣告的科技投入都是让人怀疑的。 这种浮躁现象在已经取得胜利的家电产业尤为突出。后来的很多专家都认为，1996年前后，本土家电企业集体性地错过了一个“改变历史的机会”。当时，这些企业已经靠价格战击败了早先靠品牌优势而获得先机的跨国企业，获得了极大的市场份额，企业的士气和效益都处在最佳的时期。要稳固市场战果，就必须在技术上拥有核心的开发能力。当时所有的国产家电企业，其实都还是一些装配工厂，各类家电的核心部件仍然需要从国外引进，冰箱、空调和彩电的核心技术都被日本及美国公司所掌控。1996年7月，科龙集团的潘宁宣布，将投资10亿元人民币在日本神户建立日本科龙株式会社（电器产品开发研究所），聘请多名日本及欧美高水平的技术专家对冰箱压缩机技术进行攻关研发。他很激动地说，“如果不能在有生之年装出一台百分百的中国冰箱，我们这代冰箱人愧对后人。”在科龙之后。海尔、TCL、长虹等纷纷宣布将在美国、欧洲及日本等地设立“前言式的技术中心”。 日后的事实显示，这些“技术中心”都仅仅是一些炒作的题材而已。After defeating multinational corporations, local home appliance companies quickly fell into a more tragic "civil war".Since all enterprises are at the same technical level, the weapons of the "civil war" are still price wars, and round after round of "concept wars" with "technical innovation" as a gimmick.在其后的几年里，中国家电企业不断宣布自己实现了革命性的技术突破，有人曾经将这些“新技术”做过一个幽默般的描写，譬如“光触媒空调”被宣称是“21世纪空调业的重大突破”，其实就是在过滤器里加装一张含有“活性炭的过滤网”，活性炭潮湿了，拿出来晒晒太阳，其成本不到一元钱；“无菌冰箱”被宣告式“冰箱进入绿色时代的标志”，其实是在冰箱的塑料部件上注入一些药剂，成本不到10元，却可以考这个技术概念拉抬200元的售价；采用了“数码景深电视”的“数字彩电”，其实是把彩电技术中的电子束原理进行了一个新的概念描述；“环形立体风空调”是某大空调企业投入上亿元开发出来的专利性技术，其实就是在风叶上装了一个定时器，让它定时上下左右变换而已。 即使是当时中国最优秀的家电企业也没有在核心技术的突破上下大工夫，而是步入了概念炒作的歧途。海尔公司的“地瓜洗衣机”便是一个很经典、很著名的事例。 这个故事的“标准版本”是这样的。张瑞敏到四川西南农村考察，发现当地农民用的洗衣机的排水管经常有污泥堵着，张瑞敏就问当地人原因。农民说，我这个洗衣机不但用来洗衣服，还用它来洗地瓜。回来后，张瑞敏就对科研人员说，农民用我们的洗衣机洗地瓜，把排水管都堵住了，看看能不能想想办法。科研所一位小伙子对张瑞敏说，洗衣机是用来洗衣服的，怎么能用来洗地瓜呢？张瑞敏说，农民给我们提供了一个很重要的信息，这个信息是用金钱无法买到的，你们要研制一种能洗地瓜的洗衣机。研发部门接到这个课题以后，在一个月的时间里研制出了全球第一台“地瓜洗衣机”。科研人员在洗衣机上装了两个排水管，一个粗一点，一个细一点，洗地瓜时用粗的，洗衣服时用细的。后来，海尔又根据消费者需求，研制了“打酥油的洗衣机”、“洗龙虾的洗衣机”。 在那几年，海尔的“地瓜洗衣机”成为传媒津津乐道的创新故事，甚至被写进了大学的教材。一个叫钟伟的学者质疑说，“这点地瓜，挑到河边井边用手洗，省力省钱又干净，为什么非得废水废电费时间地用洗衣机呢？”这种对产品创新的曲解和误导，最终让中国家电的技术进步陷入了形式主义和技术空心化得歧途。在所有的家电产品类中，核心技术的突破始终没有实现，一直到2008年，中国成为全球最大的家电制造基地，但是仍然无法完整地制造出一台百分百的“中国彩电”、“中国冰箱”或“中国空调”。 在1996年，所有的危机都远如天边一朵若有若无的乌云。人们目力所及的是一幅玫瑰色的前景，消费市场空前活跃与繁荣，本土公司充满活力和激情。 Globally, China's incremental reforms also appear to be the most successful.北方的俄罗斯经济正陷入困境，自1992年推行“休克疗法”和大规模私有化经济改革以来，俄罗斯出现严重的通货膨胀，宏观经济持续下滑，居民实际生活水平下降30％~40％，甚至连人均寿命都减少了3.6年，婴儿死亡率高达15.9％，成为世界上婴儿死亡率最高的国家。In order to support Yeltsin's government, the West proposed a $10.2 billion emergency aid package. 《新闻周刊》在今年的一篇报道中写道：“中国正在每一个领域制造令人惊奇的巨大影响，从台湾海峡到美国商店的地板，这都是1979年邓小平实行改革开放的时候所没有被预见到的。一个强大的中国开始出现。作为一股经济力量，中国正进入和改变着全球市场，有些时候甚至制定了他们自己的游戏规则。”未来学家约翰奈斯比特在新出版的《亚洲大趋势》中预言亚洲将会成为世界经济的中心，而中国无疑将成为亚洲的中心。这段文字被人一再地引用，其实，这位大胡子的美国人在那本书里还说过一句更有寓意的话却被人们忽视了。他说，“中国经济发展的目标不是去赶超美国，而是应该造福于中国人。”在这一年，更让人们满怀憧憬的是，来年将是香港的回归之年，百年耻辱将一日洗去。在很多人看来，“中国世纪”的脚步声真的已经倾耳可闻了。Affected by the optimism, Shanghai's stock market rose from 537 points at the beginning of the year to 1,200 points in November. 这种高昂的民族自豪情绪还十分生动地体现在两本畅销书上。 5月，一本《中国可以说不——冷战后时代的政治与情感抉择》的政治评论著作一面市就引发热浪，首版发行5万册，只用了二十多天就一售而空。这本书的5位作者都是大学毕业不久、30岁上下的文化青年。书名明显受到6年前那本著名的《日本可以说不》的影响，而其民族自豪的色彩也同样浓烈。90年代中期，中美之间自1989年以来的紧张关系仍在持续。美国政府游说各国抵制北京承办2000年奥运会，并对中国加入世界贸易组织多方阻拦。1994年，赖斯特布朗发表研究报告《谁来养活中国》。根据他的计算，中国未来30年的粮食产量将呈下降趋势，不但中国养活不了中国人，就是全世界也养活不了。“布朗报告”引发了很大的国际震撼和中国民众的愤怒。《中国可以说不》一书最重要的观点，是对美国的超级大国地位提出质疑，并猛烈批判中国国内的崇美、亲美思潮，进而大胆地为中国的崛起呐喊。在“前言”中作者写道，“美国谁也领导不了，它只能领导它自己；日本谁也领导不了，它有时连自己都无法领导；中国谁也不想领导，中国只想领导自己。”这本书被迅速翻译到美国和日本，美国驻华使馆还专门约请作者交谈，这被视为中国民族主义思潮高涨的一个象征性事件。《中国可以说不》的作者是张藏藏、宋强、乔边、古清生、汤正宇。1996年，中国出现了多本以反击美国霸权主义为主题的政论类图书，影响较大的还有李希光的《妖魔化中国的背后》。 到了年底，一本商业图书引起了同样的轰动。曾经担任过联想公司公共关系部总经理的陈惠湘写出了《联想为什么》。作者以亲身经历叙述了联想公司的成长历程，以及其间形成的管理思想和经营模式。这应该算是第一本以中国现代公司为研究标本的商业书籍。联想被认为是中国崛起中的一个榜样，作者写道：“学完美国学日本，到头来能不能解决中国企业的问题？中国需要研究自己，中国需要集体英雄主义。”在书的封底，编辑者更是用黑体字醒目地提示说：“在这本书面前，我们只需深思一个问题：我们该怎样爱自己的祖国？” 这种貌似深邃的题背后，无疑激荡着一股倔犟的、舍我其谁的浩然之气。 但是，世界真的如此令人着迷吗？