2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 350 "Outlasting the Opponent"

"See? Every now and then, Xiao Tan manages to create some kind of news," Zhang Congxun said to Dong Jinggui, pointing at the computer with a grin.

After a period of reorganization, Zhang Congxun has thoroughly sorted out Xinri's marketing department. In a few days, the distributors will come to Wuxi to hold a distributor conference.

Although ChipSun cannot avoid the turmoil caused by Lin's departure in the short term, things should gradually stabilize after the distributor conference.

It has to be said that Emma's drastic move to poach talent is a significant blow to ChipSun.

While FlashEx is expanding, leading manufacturers such as ChipRide, Yadi, and Green Source are also expanding and starting to build factories in various places. In addition to its factory in Tianjin, Yadi has already established a property industrial base in Cixi, Ningbo.

Competing on sales volume, scale, talent, and technology—that's what leading manufacturers need to do.

Often, a company's growth is driven by the development of the industry, not by the fact that its boss is content with his lot. Companies like Pang Donglai, which are only well-known in one city or region, are, after all, outliers.

"Yeah, everyone's building factories, but he's always the one making the biggest fuss. He's young after all, always trying to show off," Dong Jinggui said sourly.

These two peers with similar temperaments are not only competitors but also good friends. Dong Jinggui also helped Xinri move its headquarters to Xishan District. They often get together to smoke and boast.

"Haha, a thousand acres of land, a total investment of 10 billion, he really dares to brag, this kid has gone astray."

Dong Jinggui disagreed: "It should be about right. He's essentially built a small town. That's a lot of money. But given the size of their group, completing an investment of 10 billion yuan within three years is no problem at all. Their development is really fast."

"It's also driven by the industry. We've only developed in the last few years. But we really have to acknowledge Xiao Tan's ability. He was able to seize the opportunity and make the company bigger and stronger in such a short time. Not everyone can do that."

In the past few years, Yadi and Xinri were not doing so well either, and their situation was not as good as that of bicycle factories.

The two companies have similar development trajectories. They both started with motorcycle parts. Xinri started earlier and fared well, while Yadi started out not long before the calls for banning motorcycles became widespread.

If it weren't for the timely transformation, it would probably have ended up losing money and closing down, just like the previous times.

With the rise of electric vehicle manufacturers in recent years, Flash is just one of the best performing ones. There are actually quite a few other factories that have a certain degree of recognition in their respective regions or even nationwide.

Like Zhang Congxun, many people are discussing the big announcement that FlashDrive has made this time.

Some are optimistic, while others are pessimistic.

A three-year, 10 billion yuan investment, settling in a small county, was truly beyond everyone's expectations.

It's easy to see from Flash's industrial layout that its production bases and industrial chains are mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta region, as well as Tianjin. It's understandable that it would choose to locate in its hometown county.

While third-tier county towns certainly have many disadvantages, their advantages are also obvious. In popular investment cities, a flash sale would definitely not be able to acquire a thousand acres of land.

This is a thousand acres! How could we possibly use it all? We could even build a few apartments under the guise of employee dormitories and still make a profit.

Believe it or not, even when housing prices were down more than a decade later, the housing prices in Wangjiang County were more stable than those in Yicheng City. One reason was that there was a Sinopec plant in the city, so many people were unwilling to live in the city.

On the other hand, the county's No. 2 Middle School has good educational resources, and many rural residents in the school districts of several high schools choose to buy houses nearby for their children's education. Coupled with the purchasing power of Shenzhou employees, the real estate market is doing reasonably well.

In his previous life, Tan Jincheng had heard his father say that people who bought houses in the city couldn't sell them, while those who bought houses in the county were easier to sell and had good liquidity.

This also shows how important an industrial park formed by a large, intensive factory is to a county town.

In an office in Changzhou, a sigh escaped: "What a pity, his hometown still snatched it away."

Actually, it's because they didn't pay enough attention to it, or rather, they underestimated the investment amount for Flash's third industrial park. Flash has always been relatively conservative in building factories, and the scale has never been particularly large. No one expected that Flash would make an investment of 10 billion this time.

If it's like the Tianjin factory where the first phase of the project only requires an investment of 100 million yuan, Changzhou doesn't really need to care too much. Their own small and medium-sized electric vehicle manufacturers can create that kind of value.

This is why we were simultaneously negotiating with FlashCiel to allow them to join our platform while also trying to persuade FlashCiel to voluntarily abandon the price war.

To put it bluntly, they want it all.

If they had known that this investment was in the billions, they would never have made such a request.

The city knows that a large part of the reason why Flashcart stopped negotiating was because of this. Although Flashcart eventually made concessions and stopped the price war after the National Day holiday, it also terminated the negotiations.

"Alas, we've lost more than we gained."

The top four domestic electric vehicle brands are unlikely to set up factories in Changzhou anymore. To improve their competitiveness, they must upgrade their industries, and it's time to regulate the market. As for whether or not to cause trouble for Flash Motors?

Forget it, we can't do this. It will damage our reputation. FlashCheer is a well-known brand in Zhejiang Province and a product exempt from inspection in Zhejiang Province. If we only target FlashCheer in the local market, the other party can simply withdraw and that's it. It's the local reputation that will suffer.
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"Mr. Tan, why don't you stay a few more days?"

Tao Qinian has been looking radiant these past few days, as if he has suddenly become ten years younger. In fact, it's not just him; the entire county leadership team is extremely happy.

The success of this investment attraction will become a model for the province, and everyone will benefit from it.

Moreover, they would be the first to benefit from the development of their hometown, so no one was thinking about anything else, and besides, they wouldn't dare to.

Wangjiang Industrial Park has already become a key industrial zone in the province. Who would dare to make a move at this time?
In addition, they have also witnessed Tan Jincheng's abilities these days. A young man who is doing very well in various places and can be a guest of honor has met many high-ranking people. How could you underestimate him?

"No, I have a lot of things to do at the company. Besides, my parents have left, and my girlfriend has gone back home. It would be a bit awkward for me to stay alone with my grandparents."

Tao Qinian looked reluctant to part: "Alright then, we should meet again around the New Year, right?"

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Shanchi Industrial Park is scheduled for the first working day after the Lunar New Year. According to the agreement, the county is responsible for resolving land acquisition issues before then to ensure the smooth progress of the groundbreaking ceremony.

"Yes, but it won't be more than a few months. Or, if Uncle Tao has time, he could go to Beicang and see if he can bring in some other companies in the industrial chain."

Tao Qinian's eyes lit up: "President Tan is willing to act as a go-between?"

"I can only say that I'll be responsible for introducing you to them; whether it works out or not depends on you," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

It's also good for FlashChi that companies in the industrial chain are investing and building factories in the industrial park. It will make things much easier for FlashChi. Given Tan Jincheng's current industry status and network of connections, persuading a few companies in the industrial chain to build a factory should not be a problem.

"Of course, it would be best if Mr. Tan could help us get in touch with him, so that we wouldn't be left with no way to meet him."

"No problem. Just let me know when you're all set up. I'll invite some company executives over. It shouldn't be a problem."

If Cheng Yongjun and Chen Yanan's father are both within the supply chain of Flashpoint (Zhongtai), then Zhang Haiping and Zhang Mingliang are also within the same supply chain. These small business owners who were known to us the earliest are no longer the same as they were two years ago, and each of them has a need to expand their production capacity.

In addition, Flash has many suppliers. As Flash's production capacity gradually expands, it also needs to expand its production capacity in order to get more orders and avoid being squeezed out of the supply chain.

In addition, Tan Jincheng has a good relationship with the two CEOs of Zhongtai, so introducing them to a few CEOs who have a need to expand production capacity is not a big problem.

Whether the investment attraction efforts will be successful is one thing, but Tan Jincheng can at least ensure that the situation won't look bad.

That's enough. No one can guarantee that everything will turn out well in the end.

"Alright, then I won't keep you any longer. Come back and visit often when you have time; this will always be your home."

"Yes, I will."

Since his parents had already returned to the city, Tan Jincheng didn't need to go back to the village today and could go directly back to the city. However, it was almost impossible for Tan Jincheng to sneak back like he had before.

Once he leaves this compound, the city will know Tan Jincheng's whereabouts, and it's almost certain they'll stop him for some kind of meeting, since people from the city have been coming over frequently these past few days.

After waving goodbye to the people seeing him off, Tan Jincheng walked towards the GL8, where Li Yaohui was already waiting by the car door.

"Let's go back to the city."

The vehicle slowly drove away towards the gate of the compound. Tao Qinian, who was standing by the window watching the direction of the vehicle, had a deep look in his eyes and a slight smile on his lips.

This is his first term, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will be another term, which means there are still more than five years to go. More than five years is enough time to witness the completion and commissioning of the Flash Park. This is why he puts his efforts into attracting Flash, rather than seeking progress.

These are key provincial-level investment projects that have boosted the regional economy; this is a tangible achievement that is justifiable anywhere.

At the same time, he also met an outstanding entrepreneur who was only in his early twenties.

The industrial layout is complete. As long as he doesn't do anything illegal or disorderly, he is practically invincible in the electric vehicle industry.

Among the companies with comparable sales to Flash, their CEOs are all born in the 60s and are over 40 years old. In contrast, Flash's CEO is two generations younger than them, only in his early 20s.

If he doesn't make any mistakes, he can outlast his competitors, even if it's just a matter of enduring.

I heard he's almost guaranteed a spot among Ningbo's top ten outstanding youths this year. Should we mention it to the city and ask them to give him some kind of honor as well?
(End of this chapter)