Reinventing the Millennium.

Chapter 1387 I Don't Want To (4k)

The Christmas holiday in the United States ended. On the last day of 2014, Yu Hong, co-founder of Yike, finally attended a special meeting in Washington.

The meeting was attended by two White House economic advisers, several analysts and investigators from the Commerce Department and the BIS, while YiKe’s co-founder Yu Hong, US President Schroeder, and Vice President of Legal Affairs Matthews were present.

This was a closed-door meeting, but there was no clear theme.

BIS investigators asked Yi Ke several questions about its past business, including subsidies it received for exporting music players from China, while analysts asked about Yi Ke's mobile phone user data.

Such questions are exactly what their respective identities are responsible for. To be more precise, BIS investigators are responsible for investigating potential violations, and analysts are responsible for evaluating technical data, business conditions and national security risks.

Yu Hong did not answer questions in these two directions, leaving it to Schroeder and Matthews to give reasonable and legal answers.

The BIS people fulfilled their duties in this field, and a White House economic advisor began to inquire about the supply cooperation between Yike and Bingxin, exploring the relationship between the two that was obviously much closer than normal business.

Yu Hong responded: "In-depth technical cooperation is a powerful weapon in commercial competition. Nokia has maintained a long-term and deep cooperation with Texas Instruments, which is not uncommon. At the same time, Yike has always maintained close and mutually beneficial relations with manufacturers such as Germany's Schott and Japan's Sharp."

Luca, another economic advisor who had been silent, suddenly asked, "The founder of Yike and Bingxin is the same person. This is the biggest difference. There are many ambiguities in the cooperation between Yike and Bingxin. Is there any inappropriate related-party transaction?"

Yu Hong answered without hesitation: "All of Yike's business activities are in accordance with the company's articles of association, relevant laws and regulations, and regulatory requirements, and have been approved or disclosed by the board of directors, shareholders' meeting and other internal decision-making bodies. Luca, I think your accusation is very biased."

Luca asked a core question of the meeting: "No one in a company would claim that their related-party transactions violated regulations. Whether there are problems with the related-party transactions between Yike and Bingxin will be an investigation direction, but out of respect for companies like Yike, I would like to ask, has Yike considered adding new wafer manufacturers?"

Yu Hong replied calmly: "Yike will select suitable suppliers based on the commercial competition in the global market, and will not rule out adding more competitive suppliers at the right time in the future."

Luca nodded, put down the pen in his hand, and said seriously: "Mr. Yu, I think now is the most appropriate time."

The economic adviser from the White House clearly dominated the key part of the meeting, and after Luca's words came out, everyone else turned their attention to the co-founder of Yike.

Regardless of the role of BIS employees or the questions raised today, the hint is already quite obvious, no, it is a clear indication that IceCore International, which is rushing to seize the 16nm market, has completely attracted the attention of the policy level, which has also affected Yike, which is adopting its process technology this time.

Yu Hong glanced at the person across the conference table, remained silent for two seconds, and gave her answer: "I don't think so."

Luca was very surprised to hear such a quick reply. He stared at the female CEO opposite him in astonishment and suggested, "Boss Yu, can you represent Boss Fang? I think you should tell Boss Fang about this meeting and our proposal in detail."

"YiKe has always complied with the laws and regulations of different countries and regions around the world. We have never violated any business rules. Our company only provides consumers with the best electronic products." Yu Hong reiterated YiKe's position and said confidently, "I am the co-founder of YiKe, and I can represent Mr. Fang."

The two White House economic advisers looked at each other.

In fact, they felt that this time it was more like a kind of well-intentioned exhortation.

Luca looked at the three senior executives of Yike across from him and finally said, "I hope Yike can consider carefully and make prudent decisions to avoid uncertainties in future business."

A closed-door meeting held on the last day of 2014 ended.

However, after the formal meeting ended, Luca walked out of the meeting room alone and expressed some personal opinions.

"Mr. Yu, take a look at the phone later. Intel's latest processor should have been released recently. They have the same generation as Bingxin International, no, it should be said that the technology is better."

Yu Hong naturally knew about Intel's earlier announcement of the product launch plan, and asked, "What do you want to say?"

"Although Bingxin International's technology and process are good, it will never be the only one in the world, and it will be difficult to maintain its advantages. Yike needs to and must change its wafer manufacturer." Luca's attitude was firm.

Seeing that President Yu wanted to speak, he quickened his speaking speed and lowered his voice: "If Yi Ke is willing, we are willing to help Yi Ke mediate the wafer manufacturing with Taiji and Samsung."

Yu Hong raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Luca smiled and said simply, "I respect Mr. Fang very much."

Yu Hong guessed that this was Luca's intention. As long as Yi Ke and Bing Xin could make the cut in time, they might be able to continue to obtain competitive chips.

She didn't say anything else, just nodded slightly: "I will convey it to Mr. Fang."

Luca stopped and thought that this was the greatest sincerity he could show. No matter what, he couldn't let Yi Ke and Bing Xin have such a great chemical reaction.

First, cut off the connection between Yi Ke and Bing Xin. The combat effectiveness of both companies will be reduced. Then, tighten the restrictions on Bing Xin to block domestic criticism. Finally, see Yi Ke's performance and consider whether to take additional actions.

But no matter what happens in the end, Yike's competitiveness will decline and its huge market value will gradually weaken.

Luca does not want to take drastic or sudden measures against Yike. This slowdown will also give institutions holding shares in Yike time to sell their shares when necessary.

Although Mr. Yu appeared to be quite firm at the meeting, he did not think Yike had any choice now. As long as the policy side released signals of restrictions on ice cores, a consumer electronics giant like Yike would not be able to hold on to the end.

Unless Mr. Fang is crazy.

But, that person is the smartest person in the world.

Luca even simulated the situation from Mr. Fang's perspective. The ice core encountered severe restrictions. Even if Yi Ke chose to cut it, it would definitely be understood by the market and China.

Competitive or not, the business must survive first, right?

Therefore, now it just depends on the pressure of application and the final time, the result will be the same.

Luca reached into his pocket and touched the Mars 8.8. From a personal perspective, he had to admit that it was indeed a good phone.

……

Intel launched its Core processor based on 14nm process on the last day of the Gregorian calendar year, which made many consumers look forward to it.

However, what is disappointing is that despite the announcement of its launch, it is only available for pre-order now, and will not be shipped until mid-January next year at the earliest.

In this way, it is inevitable that there is a suspicion of selling dog meat under the guise of selling mutton.

Fang Zhuo has returned to Shanghai from Luzhou. 10 a.m. in Washington is 10 p.m. in Shanghai. He saw the latest product information from Intel and was also waiting for news from the closed-door meeting, ready to move into 2015 with it.

At 10:30 in the evening, he received a call from Yu Hong and listened to the content of the closed-door meeting as well as the informal communication from economic adviser Luca.

"Ah."

"Good."

"understood."

Fang Zhuo did not express any thoughts throughout the process, just gave such a general response.

After Yu Hong accurately conveyed all the information, she listened to the "perfunctory" answer from the other end of the phone and didn't know what to say for a moment.

She didn't speak, and there was silence on the other end of the line.

"No, Mr. Fang, what do you want to say?" Yu Hong broke the silence.

"Say something? What to say? It seems like there is nothing much to say." Fang Zhuo thought for a moment and said, "You understand it correctly, and you can indeed represent it. What you said is what I mean. I don't agree with their ideas. Oh, yes, I think they are a little arrogant, that's all."

"So what should we do next?" Yu Hong asked, "Luca's suggestion..."

"Of course I rejected it, but they don't have to reject it so quickly. Let them make trouble if they want to. Everyone sell their stocks, and I will sell them too." Fang Zhuo said as a matter of course, "If he says he wants to mediate, then we will mediate. If TVB and Samsung agree, they can postpone the production schedule a little bit. We will also be controlled by others. Bingxin has worked hard all these years, and it's not for this kind of 'giving up five cities today and ten cities tomorrow'."

Mediation, mediation, there will always be a conclusion in the end.

Fang Zhuo believes that now is the best time to inflict pain. The current situation can no longer be judged from the perspective of Bingxin alone, but from the perspective of the entire semiconductor industry in the mainland.

Closed-door meetings are a clear trend, but it will take half a year to a year for this trend to fully blow over, so we have to wait until Bingxin’s shadow leaders have finished their work.

"Well, which camp is Luca in?" Yu Hong thought for a moment and asked.

"There is no clear camp. Even if they are shadow shareholders of Yike and Bingxin, do they really want to see us? After all the stocks are sold, they may want to see the decline of Yike. This is not important." Fang Zhuo said, "Bingxin has always been Yike's wafer manufacturing supplier. Even if the reporter is very happy to cooperate with us, Yike may have considerable adaptation problems if it temporarily changes suppliers."

Yike and Bingxin have been working together for a long time and are now very proficient in their work. However, this may not be the case if the manufacturer is changed. For example, when Apple switched from Samsung to Taiji, the joint design was carried out more than a year in advance.

"Well, whether it's industrial development, objective conditions, or future situations, we can't accept Luca's suggestion of boiling a frog in warm water." Yu Hong paused, and then said, "Of course, the most important thing is that you are not willing to do it."

Fang Zhuo laughed: "Yes, I don't want to."

Yu Hong suddenly recalled the conversation she had with the guy on the other end of the phone one night. At that time, he said to her in response to her question, "What man can refuse the opportunity to be a hero?"

She sighed, "Okay, Yi Ke is yours."

"What? Do you have a different opinion?" Fang Zhuo was still willing to hear different opinions.

"No, I think this is the best choice for Yi Ke. I will follow Mr. Fang's lead." Yu Hong said seriously.

"Okay, there's no point in going to Washington anymore, so just let Mr. Kong and the others stay there. You just pack up your stuff and come back." Fang Zhuo instructed.

Yu Hong said "hmm" and didn't speak for a long time. She knew that the other party was still on the phone, so she said leisurely: "Yi Ke is indeed a bit troublesome. It's not easy to build such a company, such a company that competes globally, but I didn't expect that it might face a situation of collapse."

"Building a great company is a huge challenge, and reshaping a great company in a crisis is an even more exciting challenge," Fang Zhuo said optimistically.

Yu Hong's heartstrings suddenly beat, and she admired Mr. Fang's spirit.

"Okay, see you in Shencheng. If there is no new development here in a few days, I will go back."

Fang Zhuo smiled and said, "Okay, everyone in Yike is waiting for the American king to come back and give us guidance."

The call from Washington ends.

Fang Zhuo put down his phone and looked at the night view, as if he was looking at the Yike headquarters in the northwest, or as if he was looking at somewhere farther.

It was already late at night, and even though there were messages from abroad on his phone, he did not reply, but quietly stepped into the new year.

On the first day of the Gregorian New Year, Fang Zhuo had a brief communication with several close friends, saying that he was aware of the attitude of the administrative level, but also reiterated that Yi Ke’s business interests should be protected in accordance with legality and regulations, and the same applies to Bingxin International.

Ice core has already encountered the limitation of being unable to purchase advanced equipment, what else can be done?
Fang Zhuo was slightly resentful when discussing the ice core.

Just on the second day of the Gregorian New Year, he took the initiative to call Washington, and his resentment became particularly obvious.

“Ice core purchases have already been restricted, isn’t that enough?”

"Well, if you don't want to give it to us, then don't give it to us. Why are you making news about a factory fire? Why don't you just start a live broadcast and smash the outdated equipment we purchased?"

"Everything should be done in moderation!"

On January 2015, 1, the Netherlands reported an ASML accident news that a fire broke out at its factory in Valkenburg, affecting the products of several customers.

It is reported that ASML's shipments originally scheduled for Q1 will be delayed.

Currently, the cause of the accident is under investigation, and ASML has stated that it will take time to evaluate the specific losses and the scale of production capacity affected, and the latest information will be released to the market as soon as possible.

ASML's share price fell 0.5% due to the accident.

Fang Zhuo was furious and criticized that the "backward" equipment purchased by Bingxin was affected.

"You haven't put restrictions on ice cores yet. If you really don't want to give it, just revoke the permit!"

Smith, who was bearing Mr. Fang's resentment, was trying to comfort the head of Yike while thinking to himself that the methods used by these semiconductor manufacturers were always so crude.

The substrate caught fire, the storage caught fire, and now even the equipment makers caught fire...is there anything new we can come up with?

He suddenly had an idea. He heard that the equipment ASML is currently developing is very difficult. He also thought about the call from his son’s teacher yesterday, wondering if he had forgotten to bring his homework or did not do it!
(End of this chapter)