Xiang Wenbo: Improve the policy of reducing holdings and increase the scale of investment - interview with Xiang Wenbo, deputy to the National People's Congress and president of Sany Heavy Industry

From March 3rd to 13th, during the 2009 National Two Sessions, Sohu Finance specially launched the "2009 National Two Sessions Series Interviews", inviting high-end figures, well-known representatives, committee members, grassroots representatives and members to visit Sohu Finance and Economics, and conduct online exchanges with netizens on the hot spots of the two sessions that the people are concerned about.

On March 10, Guangzhou Daily and Sohu Finance jointly interviewed Mr. Xiang Wenbo, a representative of the National People's Congress and president of Sany Heavy Industry.

Improve the policy of reducing holdings of large non-profits to boost market confidence

Moderator: We understand that you have put forward a proposal on maintaining the stability of the capital market this year, can you tell us about its main contents?

 
Xiang Wenbo: The main purpose of this proposal is to suggest that the state can introduce some regulations to regulate the reduction of large non-shareholding holdings, and reduce the fear of the capital market on the reduction of large non-shareholding by limiting the quantity, progress, and even agreed price of large non-shareholding reductions, so as to boost market confidence.

The reason for putting forward such a proposal is mainly due to the fact that we Sany Heavy Industry took the lead in making a commitment when reducing its stock holdings, and the effect is still very positive according to the market reflection, so I put forward this proposal. In the past, we have always believed that most listed companies, especially state-owned enterprises, do not have the need to significantly reduce their stock holdings, and at the same time, there are some operational obstacles and possibilities for a large reduction in the secondary market. It is now recognized that even if these policies are introduced, they will not bring any substantial harm to listed companies, but they will indeed have the psychological effect of boosting the confidence of the capital market.

China's capital market is now in a relatively sluggish state, and the reasons are complex, * the main one is the global economic crisis, and the reduction of Dafei is also a factor. Although it is not the most important factor, the impact of the capital market on the entire Chinese macro economy is very large, and without the stable and healthy development of the capital market, in fact, there is no foundation for small non-profits. China's capital market has fallen from more than 6,000 points to today, and the wealth that has evaporated is, in a sense, consumer confidence. Many of China's middle-class funds are trapped in the capital market, which will undoubtedly have a great negative effect on consumption, so I think it is very important to stimulate consumption, restore confidence in the capital market, and solve the problems related to the reduction of large non-holdings.

Moderator: What do you think is the resistance to solving this problem now?

Xiang Wenbo: One of the obstacles to solving this problem is the problem of understanding, everyone does not necessarily have a common view on this issue, there are differences on how much impact the reduction of large non-holdings has on the capital market, and there will also be different views on the effect. On the other hand, the resistance is the issue of operational rules, whether to rely on the national legal constraints, the self-restraint of the capital market, or the implementation of window guidance by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and other departments, in terms of specific operations, there are still many details that need to be carefully designed.

Therefore, I put forward this suggestion in the hope that it can attract the attention of government departments and organize special departments to study and plan for details as soon as possible.

Pay attention to people's livelihood and increase investment in education

Moderator: I see that you also have a suggestion, which is to increase the investment in rural school buildings, why did you make such a suggestion?

Xiang Wenbo: We are all looking for ways to expand domestic demand and stimulate economic growth, in fact, the prime minister also specifically mentioned in the government work report that in this special difficult period, we should pay more attention to people's livelihood, and even put the issue of education as a priority development topic. The general secretary has also stressed many times that we must pay more attention to people's livelihood in difficult historical times, and the prime minister also mentioned in the report that we must combine long-term development with short-term development in response to the economic crisis this time. Personally, I believe that education is not only a major strategic issue related to national development, but also an important measure to stimulate economic growth.

In the government work report, the premier raised many issues related to education, such as the issue of universalizing nine-year compulsory education, strengthening vocational education, initially realizing free training in secondary vocational education, and establishing safe school buildings. In a sense, these aspects reflect the requirements of the scientific outlook on development, and also reflect the people-oriented governance philosophy for the people, so I would like to put forward a proposal in this regard, but the government work report has been elaborated and planned very well. It seems that there is no need to mention this bill.

Seize the historical opportunity to increase the scale of investment and seek development

Moderator: At this stage, the government is under huge pressure on fiscal expenditure, especially in 2009 and 2010, what do you think can help the country better solve this part of the fund?

Xiang Wenbo: From a global perspective, the impact of the global economic crisis is very serious and continues to worsen. Premier Wen Jiabao mentioned eight sources of confidence in the government work report, including China's political and institutional advantages, the foundation laid by China's reform and opening up over the past 30 years, and the needs generated by rapid industrialization and urbanization.

I think the characteristic of China's current *5655, according to Zhao Benshan's sketch, is not bad for money. First of all, we have 2 trillion foreign exchange reserves, secondly, we have a continuous growth of fiscal revenue, * after we have a huge resident savings, these are China's political and institutional advantages as a socialist country, in a sense, the Chinese government is the richest government in the world, because 9.6 million square kilometers of land, rich natural resources, all owned by the state, so conceptually speaking, the wealth of the Chinese government is infinite, I personally understand that money is not a problem.

In addition, I think now is also a good time to increase investment, first of all, to ensure growth, we need to increase investment, the prime minister also specifically mentioned in the report, active fiscal policy is still the most direct, * effective way to promote economic growth. Secondly, we need to solve the problem of people's livelihood, which is related to the issue of human development and the country's sustainable development strategy, and I think it should and needs to be invested. Third, now is the time to invest in *5654, because at this time the investment cost is lower, we know that the price of various raw materials is now cheap, oil is already less than one-third of the peak of *5661, iron ore is also in price reduction, basic bulk raw materials, copper, non-ferrous metals are also in price reduction, this time we should seize the precious opportunity to expand the scale of infrastructure construction and people's livelihood construction, grasp the rare historical opportunity, as soon as possible to improve China's construction level, I think this is the right way.

For example, when we emphasize the development of the county economy, we should pay attention to strengthening the investment and construction of infrastructure, otherwise we will not be able to retain qualified personnel and the industry will not be able to develop, and the county economy will be an empty word. In fact, if we do a good job in infrastructure, the scale of consumption and the scale of economy will be stimulated. On the other hand, on the basis of scale, the requirements of professional division of labor will be formed, so we must grasp this historical opportunity and increase the scale of investment.

Calmly treat overseas expansion, enterprise development "adjust the structure and raise the level"

Moderator: *Recently, there is a view that now is a good time to expand overseas business and enter overseas markets, what do you think of this judgment?

Xiang Wenbo: Personally, I think that now is indeed the time for overseas expansion*5654, but for Chinese enterprises, while seeing the opportunities, we must also see the possible risks, and our Sany internationalization strategy is based on independent development, that is, we build our own factories, rather than through overseas mergers and acquisitions. Of course, the shrinking assets of many enterprises and the low purchase cost have provided us with opportunities for overseas expansion, but we must not forget that we are facing a series of problems such as cultural conflicts, low management capabilities, weak economic strength, and imperfect legal trade union organizations, so I think we must be cautious in overseas expansion. When Vice Premier Wang Qishan came to our delegation for discussion, he also emphasized that Chinese enterprises or world enterprises must pay attention to risks in overseas mergers and acquisitions.

However, on the other hand, when foreign financial institutions are mired in the quagmire of the subprime mortgage crisis and lack of liquidity, our country has a large amount of funds. And I think optimistic that the financial crisis will recover within two or three years, the world economy can return to the track of rapid and stable development, in the current situation of the government's strong support for the development of enterprises, Chinese enterprises should be laid out in advance, for the next round of economic growth to lay the foundation, so this is also an opportunity for the development of Chinese enterprises.

I think that this financial crisis, optimistically speaking, may begin to recover within two or three years, or the world economy will return to a relatively rapid and steady development track, for Chinese enterprises, should be earlier layout, for the next round of economic growth to lay the foundation, this is also an opportunity for the development of Chinese enterprises.

Moderator: What do you think of the industrial revitalization plan proposed by the state, and what are your expectations and suggestions for the specific implementation rules of the equipment manufacturing industry?

Xiang Wenbo: First of all, this plan is very good, which fully reflects the development requirements of the industry, and I think it is not only in line with the trend of economic growth, but also a long-term plan for China's industrial development. I hope that the detailed rules will be issued as soon as possible to enhance the operability of the plan. At present, I think the measures proposed to support enterprise mergers and acquisitions, support enterprise independent innovation, and vigorously develop basic components are very good.

In the government work report, it was mentioned that economic development should be adjusted to a higher level. This is pointing out the problems in China's economic development, that is, the industrial structure is unreasonable, and the industries with low added value, high energy consumption and high pollution are still relatively prominent, and we need to adjust these problems, because China's resources cannot support this development model. In terms of "upper level", our manufacturing industry is very large, but the quality is not high, and it has been using an extensive growth model, which will hinder the further development of our enterprises. Therefore, we must develop the core technology of the product and improve the process level, in this regard, we still have a lot of room for development.

Moderator: In response to the financial crisis, many corporate executives have taken the initiative to cut salaries, what do you think of the recent "wave of corporate executive salary cuts"?

Xiang Wenbo: Due to the global financial crisis, there is a lot of uncertainty in the current economic situation, and at this time, it is especially necessary for corporate executives and employees to work together to tide over the difficulties. It is a good thing for some companies to initiate employee pay cuts or executives to automatically reduce their salaries, and it is worth encouraging. Our Sany Heavy Industry mainly reduces the salary of senior executives, so as to unify the understanding, clarify the responsibility, and promote the internal management of the enterprise through pressure.

The stimulus measures have taken effect and the economy has stopped falling and rebounded

Moderator: From your own point of view, does Sany have a deep sense of the impact of the economic crisis on your business?

Xiang Wenbo: I should say yes, as I said in our panel discussion today, we still first feel that some of the state's measures to stimulate economic growth have produced results, and we have already felt that the economy has stopped falling and stabilized, or even rebounded slightly, which is a concept. Another concept, there are still some problems, the problem of *5655, or in the export area, there is a big risk, the decline is very fast, this point we feel more obvious, and the situation has not yet improved, maybe it will worsen.

Moderator: If exports continue to deteriorate in the future, does Sany Heavy Industry have some countermeasures? For example, will it increase its sales efforts in the domestic market?

Xiang Wenbo: In fact, for our Chinese equipment enterprises, foreign countries are not our main market, 85% of our products are still sold in China, so China's equipment manufacturing industry is not an industry with a high dependence on foreign trade, so to some extent it is relatively less affected by the economic crisis. In addition, even if there is some impact, I think it can be compensated for by domestic sales growth. Some of the country's measures to stimulate economic growth are already beginning to bear fruit, and we judge that this effect will become more and more apparent, and perhaps by the second half of the year, China's economy may also be prosperous. We also hope to make up for the lack of exports through the growth of domestic sales.

The equipment manufacturing industry directly benefits from the infrastructure investment plan

Moderator: The national 4 trillion yuan investment-driven plan has begun a large number of infrastructure construction projects, has Sany Heavy Industry won some projects in this regard?

Xiang Wenbo: Of course, we are directly benefiting from this, but this project is not our direct connection with the project, because China's construction market has actually undergone great changes, building and construction and equipment have been separated, our customers are mainly thousands of equipment leasing companies, we don't know what he bought this equipment to do, but we know that he is engaged in construction projects.

Moderator: Is there any reflection on the orders in the past two months?

Xiang Wenbo: There is a significant rebound.

Moderator: The economic crisis may continue for a while, what are the plans for Sany Heavy Industry in terms of business development in the next two or three years?

Xiang Wenbo: We hope that by 2002, the sales of the whole group can exceed 100 billion yuan, and we feel that although we are facing the danger or challenge of the economic crisis, we are very confident in this goal, because we have confidence in China's economy and development.

Don't let labor laws fall prey to the economic crisis

Moderator: Last year, many enterprises were in a predicament, on the one hand, due to the financial crisis that swept the world, on the other hand, they were also facing industrial restructuring, industrial upgrading, coupled with the implementation of the new labor law and other factors.

Xiang Wenbo: Don't let labor law become a victim of the economic crisis, because today's crisis is not because of labor law, but because of a global economic crisis. At present, some structural problems of China's economy, such as the problem of insufficient consumption, are to a large extent because our national income is too low and we have no consumption power, and to solve this problem, we must improve the consumption capacity of our laborers, so that they can share the fruits of reform and development, and the labor law is a basic law to protect the basic rights of laborers, which is a legal basis for us to solve the new problems of China's economic structure, if we do not have this law, I think the interests of laborers are not guaranteed China's economy has no future. Because everyone knows that if China can't consume, China's economy will have no future.

In the short term, it will be very difficult to rely on consumption to drive the economy

Moderator: What do you think is more effective in stimulating domestic demand, because everyone thinks that it is very difficult to increase consumer income in a short period of time, although some plans to stimulate consumption have been introduced, but the overall effect is not great.

Xiang Wenbo: Actually, I don't have much hope for stimulating consumption, in fact, there are three factors that determine consumption, one is consumption ability, one is consumer confidence, and the other is consumption culture. In terms of consumption power, in fact, the consumption power of our ordinary families is very limited, for example, the per capita disposable income of rural residents is more than 4,700 yuan, and each person is 400 yuan per month, and the income of urban residents is about 1,500 yuan, which is about 1,200 yuan a month. And a family's income of a few hundred yuan a month, if they add some of their necessary expenses, such as education, medical care, insurance, housing and other basic expenses, can be consumed very limited, so the consumption power is a big problem. And this improvement of spending power is not something that can be completed in one day, it is a process, it is a concept.

Another one, consumer confidence, consumer confidence is a big problem, for example, buying a house, when consumer confidence is enough, a person may buy a few houses, he thinks that he will get a good return on investment, when consumer confidence is insufficient, he may not want to buy, because he thinks that the house will definitely drop in price, this is a big difference, affected by the economic crisis, everyone has a certain worry about their own income, their own employment, in this case they will hold their money bags, In order to prevent possible difficulties in life, consumer confidence is insufficient, and the recovery of consumer confidence also needs a process.

The other is the consumption culture, as you know, China is a country with high savings, and savings is a basic special of our nation. For example, my parents gave me this feeling very deeply, I often gave them some money, they just didn't spend, let him eat better, he couldn't, and they wouldn't spend money to shop, they used to save all the money. Today I met a leader who was also like this, and he said that he gave him some better cigarettes for his father, and he always changed to cheaper cigarettes. Therefore, consumer culture is also a problem, and the solution of this problem also requires a long-term process. So from these perspectives, consumption to become a fire-fighting thing, may be a difficult point, because it comes slowly, now the problem is the economic crisis to put out the fire, to make the economy stop falling, to heat up, I think consumption can not save the fire, of course, we must actively advocate, as much as possible to stimulate consumption This is right, but I don't think to give more hope to it.

A proactive fiscal policy should be put to good use

Moderator: In other words, the effect of investment on the economy may be more pronounced in comparison.

Xiang Wenbo: So the prime minister said that this is the most direct and effective, this is right, so our country should make use of the political and institutional advantages of our national government, make full use of the solid foundation laid in the past 30 years of reform and opening up, make use of 2 trillion foreign exchange reserves, take advantage of the strong demand of our people for the development of people's livelihood, take advantage of the current very low international prices of bulk raw materials in a very good development period, and use the active fiscal policy, I think this is the most effective measure to stimulate economic growth.

Moderator: You just mentioned that in the current situation, we should use a variety of means to stimulate the economy and expand employment, but now there are many views questioning the effect of the country's 4 trillion yuan investment plan on employment, and this kind of view believes that these projects cannot stimulate employment to a large extent, and it is those small and medium-sized enterprises that really solve the problem of employment, they are the main force to absorb employment, what do you think about this statement?

Xiang Wenbo: There is a problem here, or the problem of industrial ecology or industrial belt, of course, maybe we see that directly building a road can not solve the employment of many people, but you must know that because the construction of this road has driven the consumption of raw materials, because the construction of this road has provided employment opportunities for many people, and the wealth created by these employment opportunities has also brought further consumption, and these consumption can restore everyone's confidence, and confidence recovery can bring confidence investment, play a driving effect, this chain reaction, It is equivalent to what we said in the past, taking class struggle as the key link, and the program is open, this is the program, and when the program is raised, the eyes will be opened, and this is the driving effect, rather than directly looking at how many benefits the project can bring.

Moderator: Think of some industries that may be driven by it later, and the industry is driven by chains.

Xiang Wenbo: Yes, for example, some people feel that their income is guaranteed and they have more funds, they will start to consume, and consumer confidence will slowly recover, consumer confidence will recover, and demand will be diversified, and social investment will be diversified, which will bring about a driving effect.

Moderator: I have another question about the industry revitalization plan, some of the industry revitalization plans that have been revealed so far talk about increasing national procurement and national storage, such as government procurement and storage for the non-ferrous metals industry, and increasing the procurement of domestic equipment manufacturing equipment for large-scale projects, what do you think of this policy? Do you think in the past you really left more choices to local companies in terms of government procurement?

Xiang Wenbo: Now I haven't seen such a thing as large-scale government storage, there may be some moves in military materials and non-ferrous metals, but this scale is not too large, even if it is given to some local enterprises, I think this is also reasonable, including in developed countries like the United States, when government procurement, he also clearly chooses local products, I think this is understandable, I think this should also be done, and this opportunity should be left to local enterprises, because local enterprises are one to bring us employment. One is to bring in tax revenue, and the other is to promote the development of the industry, which is correspondingly beneficial to both the present and the future.

Moderator: What kind of thinking do you think should be adopted in terms of industrial integration?

Xiang Wenbo: I think it is still necessary to be market-oriented.

Moderator: That is, there should be no administrative means.

I believe that with the adjustment of our economic structure and the further development of the economic crisis, the industry itself will put forward the requirements for such integration, and when there is such an integration requirement, the market will play a role, of course, it is not excluded that the national government has some intervention, because many enterprises in China are state-owned enterprises, and the state's intervention in state-owned enterprises is reasonable and legal, and I think it is still relatively effective.

The economic crisis improves the cohesion of enterprises Sany Heavy Industry does not lay off employees

Moderator: *Recently interviewed some entrepreneurs, many of them said that they would not lay off employees under the economic crisis, what is the situation of Sany Heavy Industry?

Xiang Wenbo: We have already announced that we will not lay off employees, and I also suggest that some companies should not lay off employees unless they are forced to do so.

Moderator: Would you rather take a pay cut than lay off employees?

Xiang Wenbo: Yes, the thing is very simple, the economic crisis is temporary, a year, two years may pass, no layoffs itself is a good way to improve the cohesion of the enterprise, just like human feelings, sometimes need to go through some tests, employees' identification with the enterprise also needs some tests, such as the future is a spiritual wealth that money can not buy. On the other hand, from the perspective of the development of the enterprise itself, since we think that this crisis will soon pass, stabilizing their own workforce is also conducive to the development of the enterprise itself, of course, we need to interact well in this process, as an enterprise to consider the problem for the employee, as an employee to consider the problem for the enterprise, to understand each other, so that it is better. Some companies may have better conditions and try not to lay off employees or reduce salaries, and some companies with worse conditions may not lay off employees and reduce salaries a little, and employees should also understand. Even if some enterprises are really in difficulty, have closed down, or are facing the risk of bankruptcy, it should be understood that laying off some employees and reducing salaries should also be a great test for the quality of the people in a sense. For example, when 911 happened in the United States, everyone fled in a very orderly manner, you see a plane in the United States fell into the river, it is also very continuous, children go out first, then women, children, and then men come out, this is the quality of a nation, the crisis is also a time to exercise and test the quality of the nation, how do you behave in the crisis, is it to show more cooperative spirit, or selfishness, in fact, this is also to test, I think this crisis may also become a valuable wealth.

Under the crisis, we should make good use of global resources and do a good job in China's modernization drive

Moderator: Could you please talk a little bit more about what you have learned about the crisis?

Xiang Wenbo: As I said during our panel discussion today, I hope the crisis lasts as long as possible.

Moderator: Why do you say that?

Xiang Wenbo: From the perspective of the overall economic situation, this crisis should bring us benefits, at least we can buy oil and ore cheaply, because China, as a large country with a population of 1.3 billion, is highly dependent on resources for industrialization and modernization, that is to say, we are in the process of industrialization and urbanization.

Moderator: Yes, China is basically a big importer of all kinds of bulk products.

Xiang Wenbo: Yes, we consume a lot of raw materials, what does this mean? Everyone doesn't want it, things are very cheap, you say how good it is for us to build China at this time, everyone is willing to grab China, grab 200 US dollars a barrel of oil, double the iron ore, at that time the construction is not a loss, at this time it is not better to take advantage of the crisis. In addition, although there is some impact on our exports, it doesn't matter, why do we in China always think about things for others, we can also take some time to think about our own affairs, we can use our production capacity, our labor force to build our own homes, why do others don't want our things we are so anxious, I don't think there is actually a need to be so anxious.

In the past, more than 1,000 products in China have become the world's *5656, everyone wants to collect some foreign exchange reserves, foreign exchange reserves to a certain extent is enough, there is no need for so much, at this time we should go back to build our own homes, and then turn back to others to sell things to us, support us to build how good, we give people RMB, people give us things, in the past people gave us dollars, we gave others things, which means that we give others is a solid physical asset, At this time, if everyone's product lines are overproduced and there is no market, they all want me to sell it to you, and you give me a white note, then what's not good, so I say that the world's resources can support the development of our country better, from this point of view, I say that the longer this crisis lasts, the better. Don't recover soon, soon recover trouble, oil rose to 150, or even higher, iron ore doubled a year, what should we do when we were engaged in urbanization, this is an opportunity, I think it's a good thing. Of course, it is also very good for my industry, and we directly benefit from accelerating infrastructure construction.

Moderator: I believe that this crisis can still bring a lot of positive factors to China, and I am also full of confidence when I hear what you said, in fact, the crisis is also a kind of release risk, because there may be some things that are developing too fast and not necessarily better, and in the process of releasing some undesirable factors and releasing some risks, the future development may be healthier. For the sake of time, that's all for today's interview, thank you, Mr. Xiang.

Xiang Wenbo: Thank you very much for delaying your time, and thank you very much for the interview with Sohu Finance.

Moderator: Thank you, Mr. Xiang, thank you.