2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 283 Enterprise Restructuring (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Lishe International Airport.

Tan Jincheng hugged Gu Qingqing, who came to pick him up, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I only came back on the last day of the May Day holiday."

"It's alright, work is the priority. Anyway, the holiday is only three days long, and we can't go out of town to play." Gu Qingqing said considerately, though she was a little disappointed.

"Let's go back first and head straight to Beicang?"

"Ah."

After receiving the reply, Tan Jincheng said to Li Yaohui behind him, "Brother Li, you take Xiao Zhao back, and then you guys will have a holiday. I'll ride back in your boss's wife's car."

Lai Yiu-fai smiled and nodded to the lady standing next to Gu Qingqing.

Gu Qingqing was a little embarrassed, as this was the first time her brother had openly called her "boss lady."

At this moment, the lady next to Gu Qingqing stepped forward and said, "Hello, Mr. Tan, I am Liu Suman, and I am Mr. Gu's new driver."

"Yes, hello. Brother Li and your CEO Gu have already told you about your benefits, right?" Tan Jincheng nodded.

Lai Yiu-fai was quite efficient; in just a few days, he found a reliable candidate in the place where he used to work. Gu Qingqing thought he was good after the interview and stayed on.

"I already said so." Liu Suman smiled, clearly very satisfied with the treatment.

"Let's go then."

Tan Jincheng had no interest in inquiring about the specific compensation for hiring a driver for Orange Technology; Gu Qingqing would naturally arrange it.

Upon arriving at the temporary parking spot, Liu Suman led Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing to a brand-new BMW 5 Series. This was Orange Technology's first car and also Gu Qingqing's ride.

"Why did you buy a BMW?" Tan Jincheng asked curiously.

"Your first car was a Volkswagen Passat, probably because you didn't have the money back then. Your second car was a BMW 3 Series, and your third car was an Audi. The Audi was for official business, because bosses in Ningbo all like to buy Audis, so I guess you probably prefer the BMW brand more."

“Then you guessed wrong. I prefer the Mercedes-Maybach. Buying a BMW 3 Series is the same reason as buying a Passat – it’s because I don’t have the money but still want to show off,” Tan Jincheng laughed.

"Oh? I thought you liked BMWs. Well, what are we going to do now that we've already bought them?"

"It's okay. You said you'd already bought it, so let's just leave it at that. Or if you don't like it, we can get a different one."

"I don't really have any likes or dislikes, so let's leave it at that; by the way, is FlashTech going to make a big move?"

"Why do you say that?"

“It’s all over the internet. I even overheard your conversation with your uncle.”

"Not really, it's just building two factories. These are basically things that have already been decided, so there's not much point in organizing any activities."

However, before building the factory, Tan Jincheng had to restructure FlashTech. If FlashTech's structure was too loose, it would no longer be suitable for the next stage of development.

FlashTech, Hangxin Energy, Orange Technology, ByteDance Engine, plus a vaguely mentioned Zhongtai Shares, as well as agents and Mingcheng Industry and other miscellaneous shares.

If we also consider the motor and controller companies that are expected to be acquired, FlashTech has already met the prerequisites for establishing a group company.

Bringing all industries under the umbrella of a group-owned joint-stock company will be more conducive to the next stage of growth.

This is what Tan Jincheng needs to resolve in May.

Among these, AVIC New Energy needs to be separated, and the shares of the agents and Mingcheng Industry also need to be reorganized. If possible, Tan Jincheng wants to transfer these shares to ByteDance Engine.

However, the shares of these three companies currently belong to Flash Technology, and Tan Jincheng is not the only shareholder of Flash Technology. Beicang City Investment also holds 5% of its shares.

In addition, Tan Jincheng also wants to separate the shares of Zhongtai (Yongcheng) branch. This is a very important project in the future, and it is not appropriate to place it under Shanchi Technology.

If he were a small shareholder, Tan Jincheng could easily use financial means and absolute control to forcibly change the ownership of these assets.

However, this is Beicang City Investment, representing the Beicang District Government, so Tan Jincheng naturally cannot use such methods to deal with it.

Therefore, for the next period of time, Tan Jincheng will need to spend more of his time negotiating with the Beicang District government.

Tan Jincheng's plan was to directly convert the shares of FlashTech into shares of the group's parent company, and to separate the electric vehicle business from FlashTech to establish a new "FlashTech".

Each specific business is independent; electric vehicles are electric vehicles, cars are cars, the internet is the internet, and investment is investment. This makes it easier for each subsidiary to go public independently this year.

The group company, which is the main entity, can remain completely independent and operate behind the scenes.

In addition, businesses like Jinpeng Trading and Jinyi Industrial, which are exclusively owned by Tan Jincheng, should also be appropriately changed, especially Jinyi Industrial.

At present, FlashTech's electric vehicle export business is not very large, and the main sales are mainly in Southeast Asia, a market with low profit margins and high sales volume. But what about the future?

It should be noted that Jinyi Industrial is the personal property of Tan Jincheng. If the electric vehicle business goes public in the future, it would be suspicious that a private company owned by the actual controller would be in charge of the group's overall electric vehicle export business, raising concerns about the transfer of benefits.

If this issue is not resolved, given the current strict listing review system, the electric vehicle business may indeed be unable to go public, and even if it is, it will be a hidden danger.

If this gets exposed one day, Tan Jincheng will be in big trouble.

If it's just a private company and not listed, Tan Jincheng can do whatever he wants with it, since he's in charge and nobody can say anything.

However, if a company is used as the listed entity, that is indeed not acceptable, as it would constitute an infringement on the interests of the listed company.

Company restructuring is a major event, involving changes in registered capital, name changes, and subsequent tax issues, among others.

On the way home from the airport, Tan Jincheng had a brief chat with Gu Qingqing about this issue. It is impossible for any company to start as a group company from the beginning. Tan Jincheng's business has reached the level of a group company in just two years, which is quite impressive.

The transformation from a limited liability company to a group joint-stock company represents a qualitative leap.

What could Gu Qingqing say? Of course, she expressed her support. At this stage, she and Tan Jincheng were partners in life, but in their careers, she was more like a tool for Tan Jincheng. She unconditionally supported Tan Jincheng's decision.

As for whether it would harm Gu Qingqing's interests, she had never thought about that.

If Gu Qingqing has concerns about her brother's growing success, such as fearing he might cheat on her or have an ambiguous relationship with other women, then she might be worried about him.

However, in her career, Gu Qingqing truly admired Tan Jincheng and had an almost blind trust in him. Apart from not knowing how Jinpeng Trading operated in its initial months, Gu Qingqing witnessed every step of Tan Jincheng's business, whether she participated or not.

I witnessed Tan Jincheng's gradual rise from clothing export business, electronic product import and export business, Taobao store operation, to the establishment and growth of the electric vehicle project.

From the establishment of Orange Technology to the investment process of Zhongtai Auto, my brother demonstrated his business acumen at every step.

Take the recent case of FlashTech defeating its strongest competitor, Chip-Electric Vehicles, to secure the exclusive electric vehicle sponsorship contract for the Olympics. Some financial media outlets have hailed this business battle as a classic example, even giving it the headline "FlashTech launches a surprise attack on Chip-Electric Vehicles, defeating its rival in a blitzkrieg."

On the Lantern Festival, FlashDrive Technology held a "Journey Across the Seas" event. At the beginning, competitors did not pay much attention to it. However, for two months, FlashDrive Technology continuously updated the event with vivid and interesting cycling videos every day, interacting with netizens and quickly boosting the event's popularity.

FlashTech used an extremely long-term publicity campaign to force competitors to shift their focus from ignoring the company to taking notice and paying attention to the promotional activities.

Prior to the largest electric vehicle exhibition in China on April 17, FlashTech secretly developed the Fengchi Guanneng project, completely unnoticed by its competitors in the industry, truly keeping it a secret.

Perhaps it was around the time the Lantern Festival's "Journey Across the Seas" event began, or even earlier, that FlashTech was secretly developing the Crown Energy series; these questions remain unanswered.

On April 17th, the trade fair began, and FlashTech ignited the FlashTech booth area with a very touching advertisement, coupled with a song that perfectly matched the theme, and the singer's live appearance.

In the afternoon, they took an even more unconventional approach, having their spokesperson, the well-known actress Liu Yifei, act as a salesperson for FlashTech, selling electric vehicles all afternoon!

This bizarre promotional method is truly unheard of, but at the same time, its novelty is also very eye-catching.

With this combined approach, the promotion of the Fengchi Guanneng series officially began!
At the same time, the Fengchi Guanneng series was also included in the list of exclusive electric vehicle suppliers for the Olympic Games, revealing FlashTech's ambition to become an Olympic brand sponsor!
During the exhibition, the top contender, ChipRest, was clearly caught off guard by Flashpoint Technology's series of moves. ChipRest's boss even returned to Wuxi before the first day of the exhibition was over.

However, Xinri was no nobody either. They quickly secured international superstar Jackie Chan as their spokesperson, attempting to leverage his influence and status as an Olympic ambassador to increase their chances of success.

In the electric vehicle industry, where celebrity endorsements are highly valued, this move is indeed a killer strategy, especially since FlashTech successfully broke through by using its celebrity endorsements.

Unfortunately, they encountered the highly efficient Tan Jincheng, who managed to win over Jay Chou, a pop star with considerable popularity and influence, in less than ten days.

The official announcement that followed immediately after ChipSun's announcement turned ChipSun's big move into a futile effort!

During this period, it even pushed the personal reputation of Tan Jincheng, the founder of Flashpoint Technology, to a whole new level!

"Great, that's a good compliment. This media outlet and this reporter will take note. We'll give them an exclusive interview sometime in the future."

On the way back, Gu Qingqing mentioned a financial media outlet's commentary on the selection of sponsors for the Olympics, praising FlashTech endlessly.

Tan Jincheng was somewhat skeptical, but after returning home and reading the report, he realized that Gu Qingqing was not exaggerating at all.

This feels really good. Financial reporters are actively promoting it, which shows that FlashTech's status has been recognized, and the brand is becoming increasingly accepted by both the public and mainstream media.

In 2006, no matter how much you value internet publicity, you must not ignore the influence of mainstream media.

Authoritative media outlets are an important source of information for many people, and they generally have a high level of trust in their reports.

Television commercials, expert recommendations, and print media reports could still provide data for several years before the advent of mobile internet.

"Brother, play with me." Tan Jinyue didn't care what Tan Jincheng was having fun about, she snatched the newspaper from Tan Jincheng's hand and said in a childish voice.

Xiao Jinyue adores her older brother, who loves to lift her up high and often buys her toys. She just doesn't understand why her brother disappears from time to time. When she asks her mother, her mother says that her brother has gone to work.

The little girl's mind couldn't quite understand what work was, but she hoped that her older brother would spend every day with her, lift her up high, buy her toys, and play games with her.

"Okay, brother will give our little Jin Yue a big horse ride and play with her." Tan Jincheng picked up little Jin Yue and laughed heartily. After laughing, he forced a kiss on her cheek.

Before long, the billionaire, who was hailed by netizens as a top-tier eligible bachelor, actually lay down on the ground and became his sister's horse. Little Jin Yue straddled her brother's back, shouting "Giddy up!" and letting out a silvery laugh.

Zhang Suzhi and Gu Qingqing were already used to such scenes, but Tan Lihua, who had never seen one before, was somewhat shocked. Could this son have a split personality?
"I was wondering why Jin Yue kept asking me to ride horses after I'd only been here a few days. Turns out, that's where it all started."

"Haha, Dad, why don't you go on a trip with Mom for a few days and enjoy some time alone? As for Jin Yue, I can help you take care of her for a few days." Tan Jincheng, who was lying on the floor circling the living room, said to his father with a smile.

My father has been here for a few days, while I've been away all this time. I feel somewhat ashamed.

"You're going back to work tomorrow, how will you take care of the child?" Zhang Suzhi was somewhat tempted by her son's suggestion. She was staying at home taking care of the child all day and really wanted to go out for a walk and relax.

As for whether her son would have any problems taking care of the child, she wasn't worried at all.

“I’ll take her to the company. Besides, Qingqing comes over occasionally. I also have a few assistants, so taking care of a child won’t be a problem and won’t affect my work.”

"I want to be with my brother, I want to be with my brother!" Tan Jinyue shouted, bouncing on his back. She understood.

"Will this work?" Tan Lihua asked with some doubt.

“There’s nothing wrong with it, Dad. You rarely have a few days off, why don’t you go and relax with Mom?”

“Yes, Uncle and Aunt, you’ve come all this way, why don’t you go out and have some fun? Auntie stays home with the kids all day, it must be so boring, a little relaxation would be good for her,” Gu Qingqing added.

"Yes, that's how it's said. Jin Yue, how about your brother takes you to work tomorrow?"

"Okay, I'm going to work with my brother tomorrow."

"Shall we go have some fun?" Tan Lihua asked his wife.

"Go ahead, pick a place, pack your things, and take a spontaneous trip. I'll have my secretary book a hotel for you tomorrow morning, and I can also send you a car."

"No need to book hotels or anything, just give me a car and your mom and I can go on a road trip and wander around."

"Whatever you want, I'll have someone bring the car over tomorrow; let's go, Qingqing, let's go shopping." Tan Jincheng winked at Gu Qingqing.

Gu Qingqing wanted to laugh but didn't dare. Her brother was really too bold, even teasing their own parents.

"I want to go too!" The little guy is always there for everyone.

"Okay, I'll take you with me." He turned and pulled the little one off his back, then got up and picked her up again, and led Gu Qingqing out the door.

Only the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Tan were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What does he mean?"

(End of this chapter)