2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 202 Cooperation reached
The last time I visited the Forbidden City was in 2018, also in winter.

Since 2019, Tan Jincheng has rarely left Ningbo, as it is too inconvenient to go out. Unexpectedly, eight years later, he visited the Forbidden City again in 2006.

The snow in the Forbidden City is still as beautiful as ever, but for Tan Jincheng, it evokes a sense of things being different now.

"She should be in her final year of junior high somewhere in the capital right now, right?" Tan Jincheng suddenly thought, staring at the snow on the Forbidden City wall.

"What are you thinking about? Stop standing here in a daze and hurry up and catch up." Zhao Jinsheng couldn't help but ask when he saw Tan Jincheng standing still.

"Oh, okay, I'm here. I'm awestruck by the grandeur of the Forbidden City."

It was impossible for Zhao Jinsheng to provide the explanation, so Tan Jincheng hired a tour guide to lead the group around. There weren't many tourists at the Forbidden City on a weekday, so the experience was quite good.

Unfortunately, the group I was with was all men.

"It's too cold. Otherwise, we could have gone to see the Great Wall. It's been a long time since I've had the chance to travel like this. I'm so glad I did this, thanks to you," Zhao Jinsheng said with emotion.

"No, it's all thanks to Brother Zhao. Otherwise, it's almost the end of the year and I wouldn't have had the chance to come to the capital."

"What are your company's next steps? If it's inconvenient to talk about it, then there's no need to."

"Is there anything I can't say to Brother Zhao? Besides securing this lithium battery project, our next step is to launch a major marketing campaign after the Spring Festival, which is estimated to last for about six months."

Zhao Jinsheng's eyes flashed: "Such a big investment? Half a year of marketing must cost a lot of money."

Flashpoint started out through various marketing campaigns. This six-month marketing plan seems to indicate that they are preparing to make a big splash. However, this is quite normal, as Flashpoint Technology's production capacity increased rapidly in 2006 compared to 2005. Without effective marketing, sales could easily be affected.

"It's inevitable that it will cost a lot. The industry has developed rapidly in the past two years. If we don't make big investments, we won't be able to keep up. Otherwise, we would be letting down the district's expectations."

"How many units did you sell last year?" Zhao Jinsheng asked curiously.

Tan Jincheng replied with a happy expression, "Last year, we sold 3.8 units, with sales revenue of 6118 million yuan."

With a net profit of around 1000 million yuan, achieving this in six months is quite impressive. As for the technological content of Flash in 05, apart from applying for some patents for exterior parts, it was practically nonexistent.

The reason it sells so well is entirely due to its effective marketing. Its net profit is lower than that of its peers, but considering that it is the company's first year and marketing costs are too high, it is already very good that it can make a profit.

With cost optimization and Flashspeed's pricing advantage, Flashspeed Technology's net profit is expected to increase significantly in 2006.

"Impressive! To be recognized as a large-scale enterprise in its first year, Mr. Tan has some impressive skills," Zhao Jinsheng exclaimed.

In just six months, it generated sales of over 6000 million yuan and was able to make a profit, becoming a large-scale industrial enterprise. The results are quite remarkable, and it is also a promising enterprise. No wonder the leaders have such high hopes for it.

Enterprises with an industrial output value exceeding a certain scale are included in the local GDP. This means that the sudden emergence of Flash Technology made a certain contribution to the GDP of Beicang District in 2005.

Institute of Chemical Physics and Power Sources, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.

In the conference room, the attendees were having a heated discussion about the feasibility of collaborating with Flashpoint Technology to develop a lithium battery project.

"This company is too young. Lithium battery projects require time and funding. Do they have the capacity to sustain them?"

"There's nothing that can't be done, right? When Zhongke Sanhuan first partnered with Xinri, Xinri was just a small factory with a similar size to Flash Technology."

“That’s different. Before making electric vehicles, Xinri was in the auto parts business. The boss has been an entrepreneur for many years and is quite wealthy.”

"Hey, don't say that. Didn't you read the information? The boss of Flash Technology isn't poor either. He also has a wholly-owned foreign trade company that does import and export business of electronic products, and another clothing trading and export company, in which he holds a 30% stake. In addition, they also have a 20% stake in the first-level distributors. They're quite powerful."

"That's true, but I always feel that we lack the necessary foundation. Besides, the boss is too young. Young people are impulsive and unpredictable. What if he decides to quit one day when there are no research results? Wouldn't we have wasted our time?"

"Old Liu, what are you saying? Why do young people always act on a whim? If you ask me, youth is actually an advantage; young people are more adventurous."

The debate between the two sides boils down to whether FlashTech has the capability to support this project. In fact, once this issue is resolved, there's nothing more to discuss about the cooperation.

Chief Engineer Lü then asked, "What is your opinion, leader?"

Although it's not possible to operate like a private company where one person has absolute authority, the decision on whether or not cooperation can proceed ultimately rests with the leadership.

The leader smiled. After more than an hour of discussion, everyone had basically reached a consensus on some details. The most crucial issue now was that some colleagues still felt that the company was not strong enough.

The leadership was far more aware of Flashpoint's capabilities than the attendees. The information Flashpoint submitted was only a general overview; there was more information not included in the documents or that could not be disclosed. For example, of the 7000 million yuan that Tan Jincheng cashed out from the equity transfer, only one-seventh was used for personal consumption; the remainder was reinvested in Flashpoint through the purchase of employee housing and interest-free loans.

For example, FlashTech has invested in the plastic parts supplier that is currently being established, all of which demonstrates that this young man is very ambitious and his determination for the lithium battery project cannot be ignored.

"Old Li, let me tell you something. This young man still only owns one private residence of less than 100 square meters. Think about it, how many young people can be so restrained when they have a net worth of over 100 million?"

Yes, such a disciplined young man, if you say he has no determination to build a career, then what is the point of making money?
Most importantly, this young man has the support of the local government, which is the most crucial factor. This is a much better start than that of Xinri, the new leader in the electric vehicle industry. Xinri moved to Jiangsu Province because of the stronger support there.

With policy support, a company's true strength is far greater than what its financial data suggests.

"What you're talking about is nothing more than whether the other party can support the lithium battery project. There's really no need to worry about that. As far as I know, they have tens of millions in their company account, and they also have the support of the local government. This time, they sent a secretary to lead the team, and their accommodation was also arranged by the local government."

The leader's meaning was self-evident, and the debate in the meeting room immediately ceased.

Seeing that no one spoke, Chief Engineer Lü said at the opportune moment, "Since that's the case, how about we vote by raising our hands? What do you think, leader?"

"Alright then, let's vote by raising hands," the leader nodded.

Who says tech people can't read the room? A simple show of hands binds everyone together, and incidentally, it also removes the leaders from the picture.

The vote passed without any controversy.

"Old Lu, you'll still be in charge of what happens next. You'll be responsible for negotiating the specific details of the cooperation with them. I have one request: we don't care where they set up the factory, but the R&D department must be in Beijing."

"Okay, I guarantee I'll complete the mission," Chief Engineer Lü replied.

It's certain that the R&D department is in Beijing. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be leading this collaboration. Regardless of whether the other employees involved in the project are willing to leave Beijing, he himself is unwilling to leave Beijing to live in an unfamiliar city.

Working in the capital city offers benefits that are unmatched by other cities.

The next day, Tan Jincheng received a call from Chief Engineer Lü, who said that both parties were willing to proceed with the next stage of negotiations on the cooperation. This delighted Tan Jincheng, who had originally thought he would have to wait several more days.

"Brother Zhao, that's pretty fast. I was supposed to be left waiting for at least a week."

"Yes, I didn't expect it either. Normally it wouldn't be this fast." Zhao Jinsheng frowned and thought to himself, there must have been some changes that he was unaware of.

He then added, "Don't be too happy yet. Let's see what conditions they propose. If the conditions are too harsh, we won't be able to accept them."

“Yes, I understand.” Tan Jincheng nodded.

He understood Zhao Jinsheng's meaning: cooperation was fine, but the Beicang government couldn't be left behind, otherwise all the work would be for nothing. He couldn't do something that would just contribute to the economic development of other regions.

After three days of negotiations, FlashTech and the Institute of Chemical Physics and Power Sources of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation officially reached an agreement.

The two parties jointly established "Yongcheng Hang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.", a lithium battery R&D company with a registered capital of 1800 million yuan and a total investment of 3 million yuan. The R&D projects are mainly applied to electric vehicles, electric motorcycles, electric cars, power tools, mobile phones, laptops, medical devices and other products.

The Institute of Chemical Physics Power Sources holds 15% of the company's total shares through technology investment. Hang New Energy Technology has specially hired one of the engineers from the Institute's "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project, namely Chief Engineer Lü, as its chief engineer. With the Institute's technology as the backbone, the company participates in the research and development of lithium battery projects.

As Chief Engineer Lü wished, Hangxin New Energy Technology's R&D department was located in Beijing, while the factory was set up in Beicang. Shanchi Technology holds 85% of Hangxin New Energy Technology's shares, and the actual controller is Tan Jincheng.

Tan Jincheng gained actual control of Hang New Energy Technology. The research institute commercialized their research results and was still able to work in the capital. The staff involved could also receive an extra salary. The Beicang government acquired the factory.

This was a win-win collaboration for all three parties, and all parties were quite satisfied with the terms and conditions.

"Chief Engineer Lü, I'll be troubling you a lot in the future."

"Mr. Tan, you're too kind. From now on, I'll be your employee."

"No, no, besides, it's almost Chinese New Year. If we start before then, I won't have time to set up the department. I'll send someone to select a site in the capital after the New Year to establish the R&D department. Chief Engineer Lü, please feel free to make any requests."

Regardless of the importance of the lithium battery project to Flashpoint Technology, the technical talent like Chief Engineer Lü, who participated in the Shenzhou V and Shenzhou spacecraft projects, deserves Tan Jincheng's respect. It is worthwhile to spend more money to create a better working environment for them.

Seeing Tan Jincheng's sincere expression, Chief Engineer Lü smiled and said, "Alright, I'll have to trouble you, Chief Engineer Tan, in the future."

"No trouble at all, just call me Xiao Tan."

(End of this chapter)