2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 289 The Road to Successful Copying
Building a second production base in Tianjin is an important part of FlashTech's strategy to connect the north and south and expand its national footprint.

They've already extended an olive branch, which is much better than blindly going to them on your own. Besides, Xinri also has an industrial base in Tianjin, and I think Aima also started in Tianjin, as Tan Jincheng recalls.

The business environment should be pretty good, at least for electric vehicles. Otherwise, so many large companies wouldn't have moved in. After all, it's one of the largest electric vehicle industrial bases in the country, a project with advantages.

On the other hand, I already have enough businesses in Beicang District, and it's time to expand outwards.

"I understand the nationwide expansion strategy, but don't take too big a step, or it will strain the cash flow," the leader nodded.

Beicang District already has an electric vehicle industrial base. Adding or removing one more factory of the same type will not make much difference. What the district wants is industrial diversification, so the battery factory can be located within the district.

"Thank you for your understanding, leader. I will strictly control the company's debt ratio. Currently, our company's debt ratio is still very low, and we will do a good job in this aspect of management."

Debt ratios vary across industries. Real estate companies tend to have higher debt ratios, while high-tech companies, with their strong innovation capabilities and market competitiveness, can have lower debt ratios.

For companies like Flashpoint Technology, a debt ratio between 40% and 60% is generally considered reasonable. Currently, Flashpoint Technology's debt ratio is 30%, which still leaves room for expansion.

We can raise some funds from Beicang City Investment and increase the debt ratio further. It shouldn't be a problem to set up the framework for the battery plant and the Tianjin Industrial Base in the early stages. The battery plant's current production capacity is not large, so we can acquire more land. The first phase of construction doesn't need to be too large.

The main focus should still be on upstream mineral resources. Tan Jincheng had previously learned about the price of lithium ore, and compared to the peak of 20 yuan per ton, it was practically the floor price, even though the price had increased quite a bit this year!

"Yes, businesses need to expand, but risks must also be controlled. Also, I heard that people from your hometown have come to contact you?" the leader said with a smile.

"Yes, they wanted to try and get the battery factory project, but I turned them down. That's why I sent my parents on a trip," Tan Jincheng said with a wry smile.

In fact, what Wangjiang really wants is an electric vehicle factory. Lithium battery factories don't generate significant profits right now, but electric vehicle factories are different; once built, they can directly generate economic benefits.

It's not that they lacked foresight, but rather that they couldn't afford the risk and lacked the courage. If they had gone all in to support enterprises like the Badu government did years later, Tan Jincheng could have set up the lithium battery R&D center in Wangjiang or Yicheng.

However, it's still necessary to play the victim appropriately. The leader is unlikely to inquire about the details, and the person who came was Tao Qinian's secretary, probably just scouting the situation and gathering information.

They still can't let go of their pride. Many city leaders will use every means to attract investment for a single project, disregarding all pretenses.

"Oh, there's more to it than that?"

"Yes, my dad is very concerned about his reputation. I was afraid they would come to him for help, and I would be caught in the middle. So before May Day, I asked him to take a few more days off to come to Beicang. After he came, I found a way to send him away. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to bring the kids to work."

"Boss, guess what my assistant said about my sister?"

"How did you tease him?"

Tan Jincheng said in a serious tone, "Tan Jinyue, age 23, 20 years of service!"

The leader was stunned for a moment before realizing the joke and burst into laughter.

"Hey, stop trying to pull strings with me and stop playing the victim. As long as you run your business properly and develop it well, the district will definitely treat you fairly. If there's nothing else, go ahead. I have work to do and don't have time to waste with you."

"Also, I'm a little curious about how you turned down those people from your hometown?"

Tan Jincheng's little scheme was immediately apparent. Sending his parents on a trip might have been partly due to that, but it was definitely not just for that simple reason. Bringing the child to work wasn't necessarily for that reason either; rather, it was to send some kind of signal to the outside world.

"It's not exactly a rejection, it's more like they offered a pie in the sky," Tan Jincheng said, his smile fading.

"Drawing a pie in the sky? What does that mean?"

"First, I signed a labor export agreement with our county. In the future, migrant workers from our county who are willing can be given priority to be trained and employed in my industry. College students from our county who are willing to work at Flash Technology will also be given priority in training."

The leader nodded. There was indeed no problem with that. Solving the employment problem for migrant workers is the most direct way for many large enterprises to cooperate with impoverished counties and cities. Once Flash Technology's several factories are in operation, they will need a large number of employees. Giving back to their hometown in this way is also a good choice.

But what does "drawing a pie in the sky" mean?
"In addition, the industrial chain involved in the lithium battery project is no less than that of electric vehicles. When our lithium battery solution matures in the future, I will consider building a lithium battery factory or R&D center in our county or city."

"Is this what you call 'pie in the sky'?"

So that's what "drawing a pie in the sky" means—it's using a promise of the future to create a less awkward situation for both parties, giving the other side a way out.

Young people really have a lot of new words.

"Yeah, that's just empty promises." "Alright, are you done being curious? You can leave now if you have nothing else to do. Just remember to have your assistant bring the autographed photo over and give it to my secretary."

"Oh, you still remember this? I thought you'd forgotten. What a good father," Tan Jincheng said, blinking.

"You'll understand when you have children," the leader said helplessly.

"Of course I know," Tan Jincheng thought to himself. "Not only do I know, I know even more than you do."

As Tan Jincheng walked out of the office, he met the thoughtful gaze of his boss's secretary. Tan Jincheng smiled and nodded at him, then left with Zhao Xinyi.

To be able to chat for an hour in the boss's office, with laughter coming from inside from time to time, Mr. Tan is truly remarkable.

Before he could think any further, the boss called him inside.

"Go collect some materials related to lithium batteries, compile them, and send them over." The information just revealed by Tan Jincheng shows that he attaches great importance to the lithium battery industry.

Don't blindly trust others, but you also can't ignore someone who is already very successful in their career. Their business acumen is likely much higher than that of the average person. Spend some time listening to their opinions, doing some research and verification, and there's nothing wrong with that.

What kind of aspect are you looking for?

"In terms of application scenarios and market prospects."

"Ok."
-
Beicang City Investment is moving very quickly. Starting today, they have already begun assembling an audit team to assess the value of Tan Jincheng's various assets in preparation for the share swap.

The first company to move in was Flashlink Technology, which was perfectly willing to do so and fully cooperated with.

However, the lithium battery research institute, including the R&D department of Flash Technology, can only show them the financial situation and daily expenses, etc. The necessary confidentiality measures must be in place, even for the shareholder's audit team.

Tan Jincheng was very assertive in this regard; if he said he wouldn't let them see it, he wouldn't let them.

Technology is valuable because your competitors don't have it, but once it's leaked, it becomes worthless.

Who can guarantee that a hastily assembled audit team will not leak any information?
Next, Tan Jincheng needs to consider how much financing is appropriate. He has inquired about the Tianjin Xinri factory, which covers an area of ​​7.29 square meters, or about 110 acres.

The project is currently in its first phase of construction. However, Tan Jincheng has seen their plans, which show that the total building area after completion will be 5.14 square meters. The project will mainly focus on the research, development, production, and sales of simple electric vehicles and key components.

In other words, their Tianjin base mainly produces low-end models, and its designed annual production capacity is 70 vehicles once fully completed.

Although the total investment is set at 3.5 million yuan, their first phase investment is only 8000 million yuan. Based on this investment amount, FlashTech should have no problem acquiring another 150 mu of land in Tianjin.

The total investment will not be much higher than that of Xinri. The budget for the first phase of the project should be around 100 million.

There's not much of a problem in that aspect; the problem lies with the lithium battery factory. Even at the lowest standards, a lithium battery factory needs supporting facilities such as production plants, solid waste storage, chemical storage, and structural component storage, which requires a significant investment.

It would cost at least several hundred million yuan to start, and we definitely can't make power batteries right now. It seems that we can only focus on lithium battery materials first, as the cost is relatively lower in this area.

First, accumulate reputation and technology in the consumer lithium battery field, and then complete the transformation to power batteries. While doing R&D, you also need to make some money so that you can raise funds in the market. Otherwise, it is simply an impossible task to complete by relying on your own funds.

After thinking for a long time in his office, Tan Jincheng called Zhao Xinyi and Zeng Jixiang over.

Starting today, Zeng Jixiang will also be working with Tan Jincheng. He has basically completed his tasks at Orange Technology and is returning to his assistant position.

From now on, Tan Jincheng will have an even more impressive presence when he goes out, with two assistants, a man and a woman, plus a driver.

"You two help me collect resources on all listed and unlisted lithium-related companies, both domestically and internationally. For international companies, focus on Australia and Canada. The more detailed the information, the better. You can assign the specific tasks yourselves."

People can't earn money without hard work. Since you've identified lithium as a promising concept and are ready to enjoy the benefits of the times, then you should carefully analyze which companies, both domestically and internationally, are involved in lithium-related projects.

For companies that are not listed, investors can seek to invest; for listed companies, investors can buy in when their stock prices are low. When the dividends arrive, it will be the time for Hangxin Energy to explode.

By replicating Ning Wang's path to success five or six years in advance, many people only saw Ning Wang's immense wealth, but they did not know that they initially acquired shares in many domestic and foreign lithium-related companies through their market foresight.

Using stock trading to support his battery research gives the impression of finance supporting industry.

(End of this chapter)