2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 288 Prince Ning, Prince Hang?
Enterprises cannot develop without financing, and to raise funds, they need to give up a portion of their equity.

Back then, Chery only gained the opportunity to develop by transferring 20% ​​of its shares to SAIC free of charge.

Holding 100% of the shares, running a small factory, he's nothing.

10% of the shares are worth 100 million, 100% of the shares are worth 1 million. Which do you choose? No choice is needed.

"Boss, why did you bring out a Barbie doll?"

"It was given to Jin Yue by President Xie."

"Oh, that's a pity. If you had brought Xiao Jinyue with you today, I don't know how happy she would have been."

"Are you happy because you are? If I find you pinching her cheek again, I'll deduct your salary."

In Yicheng, the older generation says that pinching a child's cheeks will make the child drool. I don't know if there is any scientific basis for this, and there has been no statistical analysis on whether it actually causes drooling. But we hear this from childhood to adulthood.

It's like brainwashing. Regardless of whether it's true or not, Tan Jincheng has heard it since he was a child, and he's always been skeptical.

"I won't do it again next time, I won't do it again next time," Zhao Xinyi said quickly.

How embarrassing! I pinched Xiao Jinyue's cheeks a few times, and the boss actually caught me.

"Let's go to the district government," Tan Jincheng said to Li Yaohui in the front row.

"Ok."

The group structure has nothing to do with the district government, but Tan Jincheng doesn't plan to place the second industrial base in Beicang anymore. The district probably doesn't know this yet, so it still needs to be announced.

The finance department is calculating the costs of building two factory areas and acquiring the motor company. Financing from Beicang City Investment is one aspect, but these funds are definitely not enough, and the remainder will have to be obtained from bank loans.

The Beicang District government is currently Tan Jincheng's biggest support; with his support, obtaining loans and other aspects of life become much easier.

The manufacturing industry has a deep connection with the government. It is impossible to grow a business without the government. This is both a hidden danger and an opportunity. All Tan Jincheng can do is to make careful use of this relationship.

However, no matter how it is used, the company's debt ratio cannot be too high. Financing from Beicang City Investment is also to control the debt ratio.

Fortunately, Tan Jincheng had spent 20 years in Beicang in his previous life, and the big bosses there hadn't heard of anything going wrong, which was much better than in many other regions.

After returning from the capital, Tan Jincheng clearly felt that it was much easier to see the second boss, whose secretary was much more enthusiastic and familiar than before.

He went to Boss Gu's office first to explain the details of the group's operations. After that, Tan Jincheng went to the second boss's office, which he had booked in advance. Even the second boss teased Tan Jincheng about bringing his sister to work.

"Beicang District is really not that big, yet everyone knows about such a small matter." Tan Jincheng said with a helpless smile once again.

"To use a celebrity's words, you're a rising star in Beicang now, so it's normal for everyone to care about you; oh, by the way, do you have the new spokesperson's autograph? I'd like to get one for my daughter," the second leader said with a smile.

"Um, yes, I do, but it's in my office. I'll have my assistant bring it over when I get back."

Both Chris Lee and Liu Yifei couldn't escape the autographed photo promotion, and Jay Chou was no exception. Three consecutive spokespeople, plus Xu Wei who came to perform at a commercial event, couldn't escape this fate either, asking for autographed photos in the name of fans.

Tan Jincheng's image as a greedy and opportunistic patron has become somewhat known within the celebrity circle, to the point that even Jay Chou doesn't believe Tan Jincheng could be his fan.

But it doesn't matter. If Chun Ge doesn't renew his contract, Tan Jincheng will just sign another spokesperson at most, and he won't need them anymore.

"Alright, don't forget, you've been bothering me for days." The second boss rubbed his head and said helplessly.

Putting aside his other roles, he is also a father, and he still hopes to satisfy his daughter's needs in this small matter as much as possible. If Tan Jincheng doesn't come, that's fine, but if he does come, he should mention it.

"Tell me, what brings you here? I know you don't usually come to the district government unless it's something important."

No matter how well Tan Jincheng hid it, he couldn't escape the notice of these shrewd people. They could sense that this young man didn't like dealing with government departments.

However, this is precisely what they appreciate about Tan Jincheng: maintaining distance and achieving win-win cooperation is the true path.

As for personal relationships, given that they come from different fields and have such a large age gap, personal relationships might be beneficial for a businessman like Tan Jincheng, but they are of little use to him and could even become a constraint.

It's remarkable that Tan Jincheng, at such a young age, has grasped these points and only discusses serious matters. "My little thoughts can't escape your notice, leader. Here's the thing: I plan to reorganize my businesses and move towards a group structure."

The leader didn't speak, but gestured to Tan Jincheng, signaling him to continue.

Tan Jincheng continued, "Before I came here, I talked with General Manager Xie of Beicang City Investment. In the next step of the group's development, I will convert the shares of Shanchi Technology held by Beicang City Investment into shares of the group's parent company in proportion. In addition, General Manager Xie also intends to increase capital."

Furthermore, FlashPower Technology also plans to build a lithium battery factory in Beicang District. I wonder if the leadership has heard of ATL? Their headquarters are currently in Shenzhen, and our lithium battery company's development direction is to learn from ATL.

"Are you researching battery systems for new energy vehicles?" the second boss asked.

New energy vehicles equipped with electric systems were not a new concept in 2006; Dongfeng Motor had already released a battery-powered concept car at the end of last month.

He knew that FlashTech had plans to make cars, and that extending from two-wheeled electric vehicles to cars equipped with battery systems was also a research direction.

Whether the market will accept it is another matter.

"Yes, our future automotive business will focus on new energy vehicles equipped with battery systems, avoiding the monopoly of foreign patent technologies."

“That’s good, very idealistic, but there’s still a long way to go. Right now, our country’s car market is still dominated by gasoline cars. Getting consumers to accept electric vehicles is not an easy task. First of all, range is a problem.”

"Yes, we definitely can't do this on our own, but I think the future will definitely move in this direction, just like electric vehicles replacing motorcycles. In addition, energy security is also a very key point."

The reason why electric vehicles are selling so well this year is partly due to rising energy costs, which has led to a surge in demand for electric vehicles.

"That's right. A large company does need some long-term planning. You can think about the development situation a few years from now and don't rush to launch electric vehicles, but instead start with battery research and development. This is commendable."

"Thank you, leader. We still need the district's support to build the lithium battery factory. This project is quite large, and I don't have the expertise in this area myself. If there is an opportunity, I would like to ask the district to help me visit ATL. It would be even better if we could recruit some people from them."

Ningwang was not established until 2011. The group of people who founded Ningwang are still a department within ATL. Whether they can poach top talents is unknown, but even second-tier talents can help expand Hangxin Energy's factory.

Furthermore, if Tan Jincheng could persuade them to hand over the company to them for management, and he could simply act as an investor, allowing them to realize their ambitions, it might not be impossible.
Even with a comprehensive plan for the future, a five-year time gap still presents uncontrollable risks, which must be considered. Having an investor to share the risk might not be unacceptable.

Moreover, there is the full support of the local government.

"It seems you value this project highly?" Tan Jincheng's first mention after entering was of the battery project, but he didn't seem concerned about expanding the existing electric vehicle business. The leader was quick to grasp this point.

"Yes, if the battery project is successfully developed, its application scenarios are very broad, including mobile phones, electric vehicles and future new energy vehicles. In some ways, this project is no less promising than the automotive business."

Even larger, Ning Wang supplies batteries to so many new energy vehicle companies, living a very comfortable life. Moreover, Ning Wang's real strategic layout only began in 2012, and many of their upstream mineral resources were acquired at high prices after 2012.

In six years, everything has become clear. The price of upstream mineral resources is naturally much higher than it is now. Starting to lay out plans now, and considering the 08 financial crisis, the cost will be much lower.

As long as the technology keeps up with the pace, and there is a top-notch technical team, with five or six years of advance planning, Hangxin New Energy may very well become the king of Ning in this era, and it is not impossible for it to become the king of aviation in the future.

The general trend of history is irreversible, but the details can be changed. At some point in time, a large company or even a great enterprise will emerge. The people in charge may still be the same group of people, but the investors may not be.

Hangxin Energy has its own lithium battery R&D team, the support of the Beicang District government, and continuous financial investment from Tan Jincheng. These are all available resources, not just money, so convincing the experts is not impossible.

So-called cooperation is always a two-way street. If one party only has money and nothing else, then it is destined to be the one that is abandoned.

"What you're saying is too broad. I need to have someone do a market survey before I can answer you. But building a factory is no problem. You just need to prepare the planning documents and submit the application. However, the land might have to be a bit out of the way."

“It’s fine if it’s a little off-center. It can be placed in Chunxiao. We can build it up slowly,” Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Ideally, it should be located in Chunxiao, so that Geely will not build a factory in Chunxiao in the future, and the Chunxiao car base will belong to Flashcar.

"You're quite sensible and have a good perspective, but aren't you going to continue expanding FlashDrive's electric vehicle business?" The leader nodded in satisfaction.

"Um, I don't plan to build the second base in Beicang anymore. I'm thinking of choosing Tianjin instead, as it will be more beneficial for our company's development," Tan Jincheng said, scratching his head sheepishly.

After Tan Jincheng finished speaking, the leader stared at him for a long time without saying a word, and Tan Jincheng felt quite uneasy.

(End of this chapter)