Matthew Gria, the former CEO of Australia's SunRice, was currently the CEO of Xin Ocean Agriculture, a subsidiary of Future Group.
Some time ago, Future Group's acquisition of SunRice's assets was blocked by Cargill, and the wealthy Future Group immediately launched an offensive to poach SunRice. Because the conditions offered by Future Group were quite generous, and Matthew himself was quite optimistic about the prospects of seabed farming, he didn't hesitate to accept the olive branch thrown by Future Group.
After taking office, he did display his professional abilities and managed Xin Ocean Agriculture, a new company that was established less than half a year ago, in an orderly manner.
After Jiang Chen returned to Coro Island from City M, the first thing he did was to find the CEO of Xin Ocean Agriculture. Although agriculture accounted for a low proportion of revenue in Future Group's subsidiaries, he had always regarded agriculture as a key project.
Agriculture was directly related to the cost of living of the people of Xin and indirectly related to the stability of the political situation of Xin under his control.
At this moment, in the office of Future Building, Jiang Chen was listening to Matthew Gria's report on the recent work of Xin Ocean Agriculture.
"… Xin Ocean Agriculture's 400,000 acres of seabed planting area has been fully developed, and the total revenue for the first quarter is estimated to be 43.7 million US Dollars, accounting for 56% and 37% of the market share of Penglai City and Xin's farmers' markets. According to the analysis of the market research department, there is a large gap in the market for cash crops such as soybeans, tea, coffee, and cocoa beans in Xin. In the next quarter, we plan to open up the planting of such crops and add 500,000 acres of arable land. "
After listening to Matthew Gria's report, Jiang Chen nodded and said.
"There is no problem with adding 500,000 acres of arable land, but I have a different opinion on using it to grow cash crops."
Although the plan was questioned by the president, Matthew Gria did not show discouragement.
When he was the CEO of SunRice, what he did most every day was to convince the board of directors who didn't understand the market. Future Group's shareholder structure was single, and Jiang Chen alone represented the entire board of directors. It was much easier to convince one person than a group of people, so he patiently explained.
"Planting cash crops is absolutely in line with the current market demand of Xin. And the company's technical department has confirmed that it is also technically feasible to grow cash crops in the seabed cultivation base. If you still have doubts about this plan, I can provide you with a global and domestic market research report and industry analysis document tomorrow. "
"No, you misunderstood." Jiang Chen shook his head with a smile. "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with growing cash crops, but cash crops don't need to be grown on the seabed. I own 15 million acres of plantations in Country F. I have already allocated it to Xin Ocean Agriculture as an escrow asset through Future Bank. The procedures will be completed in about three days. "
Fifteen million mu!
Jiang Chen's understatement set off a storm in Matthew's mind.
Others might not understand, but as the former CEO of an Australian rice monopoly, he knew the area of arable land in Southeast Asia like the back of his hand. Fifteen million acres of plantation, equivalent to ten thousand square kilometers, was equivalent to one-tenth of Country F's total arable land!
When did Future Group have such a close relationship with Country F?
Would Country F allow foreign companies to control such a huge amount of arable land?
After a while, Matthew came back to his senses and hid the surprised expression on his face.
"Sorry, I lost my composure."
"It's nothing." Jiang Chen smiled carelessly and handed the plan back to him. "I understand your surprise, but this is the truth. Xin Ocean Agriculture's seabed planting area is still dominated by food crops. We can plant cash crops in overseas plantations. We have negotiated with the Moro government on a light industrial park focused on food processing. Future Biology and Xinglong Food are currently establishing food processing plants on MLL Island. "
Jiang Chen paused for a moment and looked at Matthew with a smile. His fingers drew a triangle on the desk.
"Country F produces raw materials, Moro processes the raw materials, and finally serves the Xin market. Our products will be sold from Penglai to the global market. I hope that Xin Ocean Agriculture's cash crops are not only soybeans, tea, coffee, and cocoa beans, but also coconuts, rubber, and all other crops that Future Group can use. You must be involved in them. Give priority to the needs of the group, and export the excess! "
"… Trust model." After listening to Jiang Chen's words, Matthew gulped and squeezed out a rather retro word.
The reason why it was retro was that in modern society, this kind of profiteering monopoly was almost extinct. Even consortiums as powerful as Morgan and Goldman Sachs did not dare to blatantly monopolize an industry.
From the production of raw materials to processing, to sales, and the final profit distribution, it was all completed by one group. The highly integrated operating structure would make each production link a screw in the entire industrial chain and be controlled by the same company.
The consequence was that the production cost of this company would be quite low.
So low that other companies could not compete at all.
For a very simple example, the cost of Coca-Cola to produce a bottle of Coke was only about 7-80 cents, but if the raw pulp materials to the aluminum used in the cans were all produced by Coca-Cola's subsidiaries, then the cost was likely to be directly reduced by half.
Of course, no one knew how much the cost would be reduced, and Coca-Cola would never do this. Rockefeller first established the trust model and monopolized 95% of the UA's refining capacity, 90% of the oil transportation capacity, and 25% of the crude oil production. The end result was that it was "killed" by Roosevelt and became 34 "small Mobil."
"That's right." Jiang Chen nodded and smiled bluntly. "You can understand the nature of Future Group as a new type of trust model. But if there is a difference, we still have one. "
From the beginning, Future Group controlled the violent organ of the army. By controlling sovereign countries, it forcibly opened up a living space for the monopoly group.
If it was in any other country, Hua or the UA, Future Group would not be able to obtain the soil for development. Sooner or later, it would touch the bottom line of the country's tolerance for monopolies.
So far, Jiang Chen was most satisfied with the two decisions he made. One was to choose Xia Shiyu as CEO regardless of personal grievances, and the second was to move Future Group to Xin early.
"I will do it. I have to take the plan back and change it. Tomorrow … No, the day after tomorrow, the new one will be sent to your desk. Tomorrow, I have to call a meeting with the executives of Xin Ocean Agriculture. If we have 15 million acres of plantations in Country F, everything has to be replanned. "Matthew shrugged helplessly, but the smile of excitement at the corner of his mouth couldn't be hidden.
"Then go quickly. Don't waste time here." Jiang Chen smiled.
After Matthew left, Jiang Chen leaned back in his chair, called the office secretary, and asked her to make him a cup of coffee. Then, using this short period of time, he closed his eyes to think about the next development direction of the group.
The female secretary gently placed the coffee cup on Jiang Chen's desk and peeked at the president who was resting with his eyes closed.
Her usual job was to serve tea and occasionally help other secretaries organize documents, issue letters of introduction, and other minor tasks. Logically speaking, because of the nature of her work, she should have a lot of opportunities to contact Jiang Chen. However, the reality was the opposite, because Mr. President skipped work every other day, and sometimes he didn't even come for a month or two in a row.
To be honest, she occasionally fantasized about having something happen with Jiang Chen.
But so far, Jiang Chen hadn't shown any intention in that regard.
She gently arranged the documents on the table for Jiang Chen, then quietly exited the office and closed the door.
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