Chapter 374: The GIC Investment Director Who Never Comes to the Palace for No Reason
Although Li Xiaofan had some familiarity with Temasek Holdings and GIC, the famous companies wholly owned by the Singapore government, in his previous life, Li Xiaofan still felt a little surprised when GIC suddenly came to visit him.
In previous lives, the Singapore Government Investment Corporation GIC, the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Fund, the Norwegian Global Pension Fund and the China Investment Co., Ltd. later established in 2007 were all among the top ten world-famous sovereign wealth funds.
"Mu Qiu, why do you think GIC Special Asset Management Company is looking for me?" Li Xiaofan asked.
"If nothing else, I guess you are well-known after investing in Yahoo America. Maybe GIC wants to talk to you about cooperation and learning from you?" Lin Muchiu said with a smile.
"GIC is such an awesome sovereign wealth fund that manages the Singapore government's tens of billions of dollars in foreign exchange reserves. How can it still look after me?"
Lin Muchiu smiled and said: "We Singaporeans have worked hard for so many years to accumulate US$68.8 billion, and you have earned more than US$200 million in one year. If I were the person in charge of GIC, I would also like to come and talk to you. The way to make money!”
According to public data, Singapore's foreign exchange reserves were US$68.8 billion as of the end of 1995 last year. At the end of 1995, mainland China's foreign exchange reserves had just exceeded the US$70 billion mark, reaching US$73.6 billion.
In 1995, the foreign exchange reserves of the two countries were evenly matched, but you must know that Singapore's country area is only more than 600 square kilometers, only half of Shanghai's Pudong New Area. In 1995, my country's population was 1.2 billion, while Singapore's was only 3.52 million.
Before Li Xiaofan was reborn, the latest data on Singapore's foreign exchange reserves as of the end of 2020 was US$362 billion. During the same period, mainland China's foreign exchange reserves have exceeded the US$3 trillion mark, ranking first in the world and ten times that of Singapore.
It can be seen from the changes in the foreign exchange reserve figures of the two countries in the previous life that these 25 years were the golden 25 years for the economic development of mainland China! It is full of opportunities for Li Xiaofan now...
"Mu Qiu, GIC and Temasek Holdings are both state-owned companies wholly owned by the Singapore government. What's the difference between them?" Li Xiaofan asked.
Lin Muchiu explained: "Our Singapore government's financial assets are managed by three major institutions. The first is called the Monetary Authority of Singapore, or MAS for short, and the Chinese name is the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This institution is equivalent to a foreign central bank. The other two are Temasek Holdings and GIC Government Investment Corporation of Singapore you mentioned. In terms of governance structure, Temasek and GIC are two exempt private enterprises wholly owned by the Singapore government, and their shareholders are both under the same control. "Minister of Finance."
"GIC and Temasek Holdings each have their own focus on investment areas. GIC manages Singapore's foreign exchange reserves, so GIC basically focuses on investing overseas. When Temasek was established, it took over most of the assets previously held by the Singapore government, which is Most of the large state-owned enterprises in Singapore are controlled, so Ma Xi Holdings’ investment focus is in Singapore.”
When Lin Muqiu said it, Li Xiaofan remembered that in his previous life, there were probably dozens of well-known domestic companies such as Shanda Games, Kingsoft Software, Xiaomi, Haitong Securities, China Pacific Insurance, Vanke, Capital Airport, etc. that had received investment from GIC...
Lin Muchiu continued to explain: "Given the nature of the company, GIC is a private investment management company that helps the Singapore government manage assets. The ownership of the assets belongs to the government. In layman's terms, it is a private company that works for the Singapore government. Its responsibility is to generate better returns in the long term to ensure the purchasing power of foreign exchange reserves and retain the value of foreign exchange..."
After listening to Lin Muqiu's explanation, Li Xiaofan suddenly felt enlightened: "Thank you, Mu Qiu, after your explanation, I understand!"
"You're welcome, Director Li. Anyway, it will definitely be a good thing for me to get the GIC and find you!"
…
The next morning, investment director Zheng Yingjie and investment manager Shen Wanjun of Singapore GIC Special Investment Company, accompanied by Lin Muchiu, came to visit Li Xiaofan.
Zheng Yingjie is a classic Singaporean elite. He comes from a well-known local family. He has received elite education from the best local educational institutions since kindergarten.
After graduating from Temasek Junior College, he received a government scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Cambridge University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He once interned and worked for a long time at a well-known investment institution on Wall Street and has rich experience. overseas investment management experience.
As soon as Zheng Yingjie and Shen Wanjun entered Li Xiaofan's large office, they were attracted by the elegant Hainan Huanghuali furniture and the refreshing smell of Qinan Agarwood.
Zheng Yingjie took a greedy breath of the scent of Qinan in the air and praised: "Wow, Director Li, I feel so comfortable walking into your office. I feel much better as soon as I come in!"
Li Xiaofan greeted with a smile: "Mr. Zheng, Manager Shen, come, please take a seat. First taste the pot of Fuding old white tea I brewed to clear away heat and reduce inflammation..."
The majority of Singaporean Chinese are from Fujian. Influenced by their ancestors, many of them like to drink tea from Fujian.
Li Xiaofan now receives important VIP guests, usually in his large office.
Let the guests sit down and talk about the romantic things such as agarwood and Hainan Huanghuali, and taste the fragrance of agarwood and the mellow tea, so that everyone can relax and get closer to each other.
If the guests are arranged in a square meeting room, everyone is separated by the conference table, which invisibly distances the two sides and is too serious.
"Mr. Li, you really have good taste, good tea, good fragrance!" Zheng Yingjie sighed after taking a few sips of the old white tea in the cup.
Zheng Yingjie's grandfather is from Fuding, Ningde, Fujian, and is a wealthy businessman in Singapore. The Zheng family is also quite influential in Singapore. Zheng Yingjie's father used to be a member of parliament in Singapore, and his mother is a partner in a well-known local law firm.
Influenced by his grandfather and father, he also likes to drink old white tea.
These background information of Zheng Yingjie were found by Li Xiaofan on Lin Muchu's behalf in advance, so today he specially brewed the most famous Fuding old white tea in their hometown of Fujian for him.
After the greetings, Li Xiaofan asked with a smile: "Mr. Zheng, thank you for coming today and making our small company shine. What instructions do you have?"
Zheng Yingjie smiled and said: "Mr. Li, I have heard of your great name for a long time. Today I came to learn from you. Your successful investment in Yahoo in the United States and the amazing return rate of your investment have shocked our entire GIC company!"
"How dare I, how dare I, Mr. Zheng, you are too kind. I was just lucky this time. Your GIC is a world-renowned professional investment institution, and I should learn from you!"
After the two of them flattered each other for a few words, as the saying goes, no one comes to the temple for no reason, Zheng Yingjie got to the point and said: "Mr. Li, I recently heard that your Pacific Online Bookstore project is preparing to go to Nasdaq for IPO?"