Almost all countries with seaports in the world can see container freighters with the prefix KOTA, which is the symbol of Singapore Taiping shipping freighter.
Taiping Shipping Company was established in 1967, operating more than 50 routes around the world, and more than 200 freighters shuttled to more than 500 ports in more than 0 countries in 100. It ranks first among private shipping companies in Southeast Asia and 14 in the global container shipping industry.
Zhong, founder of Taiping Shipping Company, is 96 years old. In the Forbes Singapore Top 50 Rich List released in July 20 14, he ranked 12 with a net worth of 2 10 billion US dollars. Of course, he is also the oldest rich man on the list.
He started his business nearly a hundred years ago and owned more than 40 ships within seven years at the right time.
Not long ago, the reporter visited Zhang Yun Zhonghe, founder of Taiping Shipping, and his son and successor Zhang Songsheng in Singapore.
Zhong, a 96-year-old man with silver hair and good-natured eyes, it is difficult for reporters to associate him with this "tough guy" who has been breaking waves for 47 years.
19 18, Zhang Yunzhong was born in a big family in Jinmen, Fujian. In order to escape the war, he and his family came to Singapore. When I first arrived in a foreign country, Zhang Yun first worked as an apprentice in my uncle's trading company, and then worked in my uncle's company.
In the meantime, Zhang Yunzhong came into contact with shipping and began to study how to run a shipping company because he often transported goods by ship and sold them everywhere. Later, he bought a second-hand sailboat in partnership with others and began to do "barter" business in Indonesia. The first time he went out to sea, he exchanged white sugar for rubber, but later either the navy blocked the sea area or met pirates, and finally suffered heavy losses.
It was not until 1948 that Zhang Yunzhong joined Taixingyuan that his career began to turn on the right track. Taixingyuan founded Clifford Shipping, with Zhang Yun as the general manager. However, this company only does agency business, and Zhong suggested to the boss to buy ships to break through the monopoly of foreigners. In Qifu Shipping, I worked in Zhang Yun for 18 years, helping my boss develop a company that started with 1000 dollars into a company with 37 ships and assets of nearly 100 million dollars.
1967, 49-year-old Zhang Yunzhong partnered with friends and two younger brothers to set up Taiping Shipping Co., Ltd. with S $6 million, and bought three offshore ships, all of which started with KOTA, meaning "city" in Malay.
Looking at it now, Zhang Yunzhong's entrepreneurship can be described as both "geographical location" and "natural time". Singapore, located in the east of Malacca Strait, is the only place for East-West trade. It is called the "Oriental Crossroads", where you set up a company and enjoy the "geographical location". In 1965, independent Singapore needed all kinds of raw materials for national construction, which brought excellent development opportunities to the shipping industry. During this "good time", there were more than 40 Zhang Yun in seven years.
Vigorously develop business in China. Two-thirds of employees in China Company are Mandarin speakers.
The shipping industry is as unpredictable as the waves of the sea. Zhang Yunzhong's point of view is that shipping fluctuates greatly, and "10 is only three years good", so the strategy of "prudence and conservatism" should be adopted. As long as the investment is not too big and the development is not too fast, the company can bear it even if the market goes downhill.
Taiping Shipping was founded at the right time, but soon after the oil crisis broke out, the Suez Canal was closed and ships could not pass. The world shipping industry has fallen into recession, and many shipping companies have closed down. But at this time, Zhang Yunzhong ran counter to everyone. He bought a 17 floor commercial building as the headquarters of the company and boldly developed new business.
At this time, Taiping Shipping focuses on developing overseas dry bulk business, establishing long-term cooperative relations with customers and keeping in touch. At the same time, buy a boat at a low price during the trough and adjust the company's capacity structure. After the crisis, Taiping Shipping got ahead of others.
In fact, such a high-profile style is not Zhang Yunzhong's business practice. He is more of a "concession" attitude to launch a counterattack. In the early 1980s, the shipping industry fell into a trough again. Zhong reduced the company's 65 ships to 42, and concentrated on developing ocean-going ships and container ships, but its capacity increased by 10 million tons.
The flexibility and sensitivity of this old captain were more fully reflected before the international financial crisis in 2008. In 2007, Zhang Yun saw that the peak of the shipping market had been going on for several years, and had a premonition that the shipping trough was coming, so it slowed down its development. In 2007, the company reduced the size of its fleet. When the international financial crisis broke out in 2008, the company "braked" and did not buy a new ship. Taiping shipping only slowed down and reduced the losses caused by the crisis.
Zhang Yun's brilliant strategy lies not only in coping with the crisis, but also in the development of enterprises. Zhang Yun knew that it could not compete directly with multinational shipping companies, so it turned to develop the China market. Taiping Shipping is one of the earliest overseas shipping companies to cooperate with China. As early as its establishment, Taiping Shipping started its business in China.
Now it has branches in more than 30 cities in China, and its business in China accounts for13, and 80 ships worth $5 billion are built in China.
Zhang Songsheng, the son of Zhang Yunzhong, 16 years old, went to China with his father. Now the company is busy in China, and he spends half his time in China. Two-thirds of the company's employees are from China, and they speak Chinese.