Chapter 247 Foreign Capital (Happy New Year!)

At 8 o'clock in the morning on March 27, 1879, the Barcelona Stock Exchange, Spain.

This was originally just an ordinary day, but at this time the Barcelona Stock Exchange was already crowded.

The reason why these investors came to the stock exchange early in the morning was naturally because the Spanish government announced the new third five-year development plan yesterday.

Although the government's development plan is not detailed, it also mentions construction in industry and railways. Stock investors had expected this. The reason they came to the stock exchange early in the morning was to buy shares of Spanish Railways.

Unlike other European countries, Spain has not suffered too serious economic crisis, which also makes Spanish investors very confident in the stock market.

With the importance of Spain's two five-year development plans on railway construction, several large railway companies have been born in Spain, the most famous of which are the Spanish National Railway Company and the Royal Spanish Railway Company.

These two railway companies with official backgrounds have become the main force in Spanish railway construction. Below them, there are a large number of railway companies with private backgrounds, and have also contributed their own efforts to the development of Spain's railways.

Among these people queuing up, many of them have already tasted the sweetness in the last five-year development plan. After the last five-year development plan was promulgated, the Spanish Railways stocks rose, and those who bought stocks also made a lot of money.

But the background of the last five-year development plan was that the economic crisis raged Europe, which made many people not buy stocks because of the concerns about the economic crisis.

Now the economic crisis has basically ended. With the Spanish government promulgating another five-year development plan, investors can no longer sit still. They are rushing to buy stocks of railway companies, and even if they are not good, they have to buy stocks of related industries. I got a share of the stock market wave.

Most of the people in line are ordinary people, but many are nobles and capitalists wearing luxurious clothes.

Unfortunately, because the crowd has completely blocked the door to the stock exchange, these nobles and capitalists have to line up because they can't get in.

"Damn it, why are there so many people today?" Among the huge crowded crowd, a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes stretched his head out of the carriage and cursed.

He is a nobleman and can come in a carriage. But the problem is that the road at the entrance of the stock exchange has been completely congested, and the carriage is trapped at this time.

The nobles were unwilling to stay with the civilians, so they could only curse themselves and then retracted into the carriage.

"There's no way. Yesterday the government issued a five-year development plan. These people are cats that smell fishy and they all want to eat a few bites of fish. I just don't know, how many people are real fish here?" Another man in luxurious clothes said with a smile. Although the crowd was crowded, he was not in a hurry at this time and his mood looked quite wonderful.

"Hmph! Only we nobles can make money in the stock market. These damn civilians cannot withstand any waves. They will sooner or later drown in the ocean of the stock market." The cursed nobleman also nodded. No more complaining.

There are not many carriages trapped in the crowd, and it is not uncommon for nobles or capitalists in luxurious clothing.

In fact, this is indeed the case. Most of the people who can be trapped on the road are nobles with no status or power, and may even be just a poor baron.

These people have no privileges, and no matter how unsatisfied they have to line up with the civilians.

Those real powerful people, or people with some energy, had already entered the stock exchange before they opened and were respectfully invited to the VIP trading room on the second floor.

Because of the crowded crowd, the Barcelona city government has also used a large number of police officers to maintain order. As Spain's second largest city, Barcelona has sufficient security power.

With these policemen coming and going back and patrolling in the crowd, some violent incidents and crimes can be prevented.

After all, the more people there are, the more chaotic the order will be. In this era without surveillance cameras, it is not strange to steal or rob when there are crowds like this.

Some people even take the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. As long as they are not caught, there will be basically nothing to do.

With the large number of police investment, the above incidents have indeed been effectively avoided. Carlo attaches great importance to the public security order in Spain, which also leads to the public security department's punishment for illegal and criminal incidents.

Even if it is just a relatively ordinary way to disrupt public security and order in public places, it will be fined with varying limits, and sometimes it will be forced to imprison for a period of time.

Such laws may be a bit strict, but they do effectively reduce the crime rate in Spain. In Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the crime rate has been reduced to a range that is fully acceptable to the public.

After about a few minutes, the door to the stock exchange officially opened.

People did not flock to the stock exchange because there were many police officers at the door to maintain order. The scale of the stock exchange is not large, which also leads to only some people being able to enter each time, and they have to queue up to enter in sequence.

Those who want to go to the line or squeeze into it hard once discovered by the police, there is basically no possibility of entering the stock exchange.

Looking at the police lined up at the door, they were very anxious, but people were still very sensible and became no longer anxious.

Under such circumstances, people consciously lined up like long queues and then entered the stock exchange in turn.

Inside the stock exchange, there are huge blackboards. These blackboards contain some data from the stock exchange. Stock investors need to check the stock market data on the blackboard and then find traders to register for trading.

Unlike later generations, all transactions on stock exchanges were carried out manually at this time. This also makes securities trading very troublesome and takes longer than in future generations.

But in an era without electronic technology, artificial is indeed the only solution. Fortunately, the Barcelona Stock Exchange had long anticipated the grand occasion and sent additional personnel in advance, which effectively accelerated the speed of people buying stocks.

In the stock exchange, managers are registering the shares issued by the company one by one. The most popular today are railway companies, followed by some railway-related factories and enterprises.

Especially the railway companies, the popularity is quite exaggerated. It can even be said that the amount of stocks the railway company releases can buy as much stocks as the stocks.

A small railway company under the Spanish royal family was also listed today, issuing a total of 2 million shares, accounting for a total of 30%.

The issue price per share is 5 pesetas, and it is planned to raise 10 million pesetas from outside.

The manager read the message loudly while registering it. In addition to the blackboard being able to announce the news, the yelling of the managers is also the main way to deliver the news.

After all, there is no speaker. Whether investors can hear some key information depends on the voice of the manager.

The listed railway company is indeed a small business, and Carlo has invested less than 5 million pesetta.

We have to admit that industry in this era does make money. After contracting several small railway projects, the railway company with an investment of no more than 5 million pesetas was successfully listed and raised more than 10 million pesetas.

The shares issued by the railway company account for only 30%, which also means that as long as the stocks can be sold, the total market value of this railway company, which originally invested only 5 million pesetas, will exceed 33 million pesetas, making a full profit. 6.6 times.

But this is just the beginning. As long as the subsequent operations of the railway company continue smoothly, as the railway company contracts more projects, the shares issued by the company will become more and more valuable.

With the rise of stocks, the market value of railway companies can even cross the threshold of 50 million pesetta and instantly become a large Spanish company.

To complete this step, only a few railway projects are required to contract and list on the stock exchange. This step is very simple for capitalists and nobles, which is why the Spanish Stock Exchange strengthens its audit.

There is no way. If the review is not strengthened, I am afraid that the number of companies listed on the two major stock exchanges in Spain will be as high as thousands or even thousands every day.

Does Spain need so many businesses? Of course it is not needed.

Only those high-quality companies can be listed on the Spanish stock exchanges, and those empty package companies will be wiped out by a strict review system, which is also an important means to avoid Spain's economic crisis.

When these empty-packing companies face economic crisis, they have no resistance at all. The bankruptcy of a large number of companies will seriously affect the stock exchanges. If the stock exchange collapses directly, it will affect the economic operations of the entire country.

The Spanish obviously know that the companies listed on the stock exchange have been reviewed, so the announcement of each news is accompanied by a large number of stock investors, and the stocks of these newly listed companies are also rising continuously.

Although the royal family, the listed railway company, issued 2 million shares, was actually only over 1 million in circulation on the stock exchange.

Long before the stock circulation, those who really had energy, namely the two major official banks in Spain and some securities companies established by powerful people, subscribed part in advance.

Of course they understand that this is the royal industry, and naturally they understand that there is no empty contract company in the royal industry.

Investing in railway companies is a sure thing, because Spain will not give up on the policy of developing railways in a short period of time.

Although the third five-year development plan does not require railway mileage so radical, the railway maintenance and renovation projects are also not small, and Spanish railway companies will still be busy in the next five years.

Subscription of stocks in advance is also a means of stock price operation. If the stock circulation is too large, the market will enter saturation.

Once the market is saturated, even if the stocks and companies themselves are of high quality, the stock prices will collapse.

After all, if the market is saturated, the stocks in the hands of investors will not be able to be sold. If the stock cannot be sold, the stock price will naturally fall.

As a newly listed railway company, it is still necessary to maintain the stock price appropriately. Only by ensuring that the stock market will not be saturated can the stock price maintain positive growth.

The two major official banks and some noble securities companies have subscribed to the railway company's shares in advance, which also means that the stock price of the railway company is related to everyone's income.

Of course, this money is not much for Carlo, but it is still a lot for the nobles. The new aristocrats also participated in this transaction. Because they did not have much land in their hands, their income was all based on industry and finance.

This also made Carlo attach great importance to this listing. If the stock of this railway company can rise, it also means that these new aristocrats can eat a bite of meat and make their families rich.

No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!

Both the new and old-fashioned aristocrats were Spanish aristocrats, but because the new aristocrats were granted by Carlo himself, Carlo was obviously closer to the new aristocrats.

Of course, this may also be because the new aristocrats did not pose any threat to Carlo, but instead it was Carlo's great help.

The old-fashioned aristocrats had too strong background in Spain, and sometimes they would not obey Carlo's orders. Compared with the unobedient old aristocrats, Carlo trusted the obedient new aristocrats more, even if they didn't have much power in their hands.

The prerequisite for being a good ruler is to allow those who follow you to get certain benefits. Even if you eat meat yourself and others drink soup, they have to drink it.

The listing of the railway company this time is actually a gift from Carlo to some new nobles. These new nobles received news in advance that as long as they purchased the shares of this railway company, they would basically not lose money.

Of course, even if they can't buy it, because some securities companies have already subscribed to stocks in advance, the new nobles can eventually get some stocks.

It may not be much for old-fashioned aristocrats, but for new-fashioned aristocrats, it will be a considerable income, which will make their lives richer and pursue more luxurious consumption methods.

After all, they are nobles, and Carlo doesn't want them to live a life that is no different from that of civilians. The Spanish people have more ways to become new aristocrats, and new aristocrats are also a major means for Carlo to attract the Spanish to be loyal to him.

If the new aristocrats did not live a good life, then the Spanish naturally would not have much interest in becoming a new aristocrat.

This also represents one thing, that is, the life of new aristocrats must be good, at least to widen the gap with civilians.

After all, new-style aristocrats are also nobles. If aristocrats can’t even afford some luxury goods, then are these people still considered nobles?

This listing is also very important for the railway company itself. Listing can raise at least 10 million pesetta funds, which can also allow railway companies to not lack project funds for a long time in the future.

As long as it is possible to ensure that truly powerful railway companies obtain financing, Spain's railway development will not lag behind.

Even if a railway company goes bankrupt due to poor management, the royal family and the Spanish government can take over the bottom line. In short, it will not affect Spain's railway plan.

Railway companies may also have to worry about the benefits of building railways, but for Carlo and the Spanish government, the direct benefits of railways are not that important.

Even if building a railway is a loss, Carlo is happy to do it. Because railways will drive the development of other industries, the taxes increased by the development of these industries are also potential benefits of railways.

The same thing is said, if you want to be rich, you must first build a road. Of course, railways are also a kind of road, and they are very important in this era.

Railway construction can also facilitate Spanish troops to reach various regions, which is also very important for strengthening national stability.

Of course, there are political gains. This area has more developed railways, but that area does not have any railway coverage. Wouldn't this make people who cannot enjoy the convenience of railways angry?

Although we cannot do a good job of doing everything, we must at least ensure that some important cities can access railways, which is why Spain is still building railways continuously.

If we only consider the demand for railways in Spanish cities, the existing railway scale is actually completely sufficient for the use of the Spanish people.

The capitals of all major regions have been connected to railways, and some more important cities are also within the coverage of railways. Not only that such railway construction is one of the best, it is definitely quite perfect.

It is precisely because the potential benefits brought by railway construction are too great that even if the construction and operation of railways are at a loss, many countries are willing to do it.

Even if a section of the railway is constantly losing money, some countries are willing to continuously allocate funds to continue to operate the railway.

Because Carlo attaches great importance to the development of the stock market, the stock exchange submitted the development of the stock market to the palace around 4 pm.

Mr. Loren found Carlo with a smile on his face and reported the good news to Carlo: "Your Majesty, our two railway companies listed in Madrid and Barcelona have obtained stock prices. At least 30% growth.

Among them, the share price of the railway company on the Madrid Stock Exchange rose by 36.7%, and as of the closing, the share price per share had reached 13.67 pesetta.

The share price of the railway company listed on the Barcelona Stock Exchange rose even to 41.2%, and the share price per share reached 7.06 pesetta before the close. ”

Carlo was stunned, a little surprised by the rise in the stock price.

The price increase of these newly issued stocks is inevitable, but the increase should not be so exaggerated.

After all, the stock issuance volume is very large, and the small railway company in Barcelona alone issued 2 million shares with a total price of 10 million pesetta.

Although there are only about half of the actual stocks circulating, it is obviously impossible to be eaten up in such a short time.

The stock price will not increase so exaggeratedly before the issued stock is sold. This also means that the shares issued by the railway company are likely to have been sold out. Do Barcelona investors really have such strong purchasing power? Or is there any participation from other capitals?

The Spanish can see the development potential of Spanish railway companies, and capital can definitely see it.

Investing in railway companies is a profitable business, and it is not surprising to attract some foreign capital to join.

Judging from the proportion of the rise in the stock prices of the two railway companies, it is highly likely that foreign capital will be intervened.

"According to news from the Barcelona Stock Exchange, some French people who are unidentified have purchased a large number of stocks." Butler Loren said with a smile: "The addition of the French has allowed our stocks to be sold out in a short period of time, and some investors are willing to do so. The price increase in buying stocks has also led to a significant increase in our stock price in a short period of time.”

Hearing that the French were involved, Carlo's doubts completely dissipated.

French capital is still very strong, and coupled with the economic cooperation between Spain and France, it is not surprising that some French capital is attracted to the influx of Spain.

In addition, Spain's third five-year development plan has been hotly discussed, so it is no surprise that French capital pays attention to Spanish Railways.

Of course, this is a good thing for Carlo. The higher the share price of the railway company, the more benefits Carlo can get. The new aristocrats and other enterprises who eat meat and drink soup can naturally get more benefits.

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