2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 403 The Misjudgment of the North Warehouse

Thursday, March 4th.

Luzhou, with an average temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius, is cooler and drier than Ningbo.

At 8:30 a.m., Tan Jincheng and Dong Jinggui finished breakfast at the hotel and prepared to head to the government district where the Luzhou Municipal Government is located.

This time, Tan Jincheng was accompanied by many more people than usual. In addition to his driver Li Yaohui, who always followed him, he also brought two assistants, Zeng Jixiang and Zhao Xinyi.

The world is just a big makeshift operation, and so is Flash. Zhao Xinyi is usually the purchasing manager, but when there's a shortage of staff while he's away on business, he becomes Tan Jincheng's assistant, doing two jobs for one salary.

Although she was being exploited, Zhao Xinyi, who was no longer the naive and foolish girl she once was, actually thought it was a good thing. Having lost her assistant status and gone too far from the boss, unless she could take charge of a department like her former assistant Zhang Xuhui, she didn't know how long she could stay as the purchasing manager.

With suppliers basically confirmed and the procurement system improved, the reason she was able to hold the lucrative position of procurement manager for so long was simply because of her experience as an assistant. This job is actually not difficult and offers a lot of freedom.

If you change to a different person, you can adapt quickly and do the job. As long as you follow the established rules and don't be too greedy, you can make money steadily.

If you were to ask Zhao Xinyi which management position at Flashpoint Technology is the easiest, she would definitely say it's her current position as a purchasing manager. It involves creating monthly work plans and managing the daily purchasing process, which seems tedious but is actually quite simple.

It's much simpler than being an assistant. Being an assistant is like being a handyman; you have to manage everything. You have to arrive early when the boss starts work, and you might not be able to leave when the boss leaves.

Besides the two assistants, Zhang Xuhui and Lü Ruifeng also set off from Shenzhen and Beijing respectively to Luzhou when Tan Jincheng and others departed. The team of six people came here with the intention of establishing a branch of Hangxin New Energy Company.

The CEOs of two electric vehicle companies, each with an estimated annual sales volume of around 200 million vehicles, traveled together and stopped in Changxin County for a few days to sign a battery procurement contract.

Such business owners attract attention no matter which city they stay in.

The destination was Luzhou, where preparations for hospitality had already been made.

Flashpoint is certain of its investment intentions, and has even brought in Yadi to add an extra layer of insurance to the investment. At the same time, it has also contacted Guoxuan, a local enterprise in Luzhou, which shows its sincerity.

Not only is Luzhou taking this very seriously, but other cities that know about it are also keeping a close eye on this project.

When a large project is launched, if it's too big to handle, it's definitely necessary to make a big splash in the early stages. This is partly to generate buzz and partly to see if it can attract other investors.

During Tan Jincheng's trip to Shenzhen, FlashChe promoted the power battery project extensively. Zhang Xuhui, general manager of Hangxin New Energy, and Lu Ruifeng, chief engineer, repeatedly emphasized in interviews that the power battery project is the core business of Hangxin New Energy and even the FlashChe Group in the next stage.

From December 2005 until the end of March this year, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets continued to rise, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising from around 1000 points to around 3200 points in March.

The stock market is constantly hitting new historical highs, the economy is growing rapidly, the media is constantly touting the economic rise, and new projects are being launched in various places.

GDP has become a key indicator, and all regions attach great importance to new investment. Even in industrialized cities like Ningbo, which have no shortage of investment opportunities, the importance of attracting investment is still very high.

With the economy booming, it's somewhat embarrassing that the provincial capital is only a third-tier city, and its development speed is even slower than that of Wuhu, which owns Chery.

The policy shift towards provincial capitals also began around this time.

In terms of the importance attached to attracting investment, projects like Flash and Yadi, which involve large-scale investment, labor-intensive operations, minimal pollution, and can also develop related industrial chains, are undoubtedly key and high-quality projects.

The electric vehicle industry is one with relatively abundant cash flow and very short payment cycles. For popular and hot-selling models, advance payment is often required to secure the supply.

FlashDrive has evolved from monthly payment terms at the beginning of its promotion to monthly settlement now. During last year's peak sales period, when production capacity was insufficient, some anxious retail stores even made advance payments.

In addition, Tan Jincheng has a good investment track record in the internet sector and maintains good relationships with large venture capital firms, which is also an attraction for local governments.

Baohe District is adjacent to the government affairs district, and it looks rather dilapidated now. The road conditions are not very good either. The urban layout of Luzhou feels somewhat chaotic to Tan Jincheng. A bridge appears from time to time, and the road signs are named after the cities under the province.

Back when navigation was expensive, driving on the intricate network of roads in Luzhou really required an experienced driver; it was easy to take the wrong turn.

Who would have thought that this seemingly dilapidated neighborhood would see its housing prices rise in 2016, ranking among the top four nationwide for single-year price increases, on par with cities like Shenzhen? The vehicle slowly drove towards the government district, and Tan Jincheng adjusted his mindset along the way.

Yesterday, we received a notice from the municipal government that Shanchi, Yadi, and Guoxuan will be holding a closed-door meeting with the Luzhou municipal government today to discuss specific investment plans.

This investment and factory construction plan is led by Hangxin New Energy Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of FlashDrive, with Yadi as a secondary investor, and Guoxuan contributing technology and process assistance through equity investment, to assist Hangxin Power Power's factory construction.

In addition, the Luzhou municipal government is also interested in taking a stake. The successful case of Beicang City Investment in Shanchi has also tempted Luzhou. These days, the government is also short of money. Since the government cannot directly intervene, city investment companies are their money bag.

When it comes to investing money, Luzhou has a fine tradition. Back then, one of their former investors, who has since passed away, was a true stock market genius, incredibly skilled.

In investment parlance, this power battery project was led by FlashDrive, with Yadi as a follow-on investor, and Guoxuan and Luzhou City Investment were just trying to ride the wave and see if they could get some benefits out of it.

Besides the quota, what preferential policies to use to retain this project is also a problem that the Luzhou Municipal Government needs to solve today.

They were unaware that Tan Jincheng had already set his sights on Luzhou, and even had a general idea of ​​the location in mind. On the surface, Luzhou still had many competitors, with Yicheng being the most covetous contender.

If we don't use administrative measures, Yicheng is really willing to take matters into their own hands. But if you can't control yourself, then you can't blame Yicheng for taking action again.

In addition to Anhui Province, Shenzhen, which recently acquired an electronics factory, holds shares in Xingyuan Material, and whose subsidiary Orange Technology has also received investment from Tencent, has also extended an olive branch to Tan Jincheng.

Don't think that Shenzhen has no shortage of projects. In fact, a city like Shenzhen that is deepening its opening up needs projects, especially those with high-tech attributes. In addition to the projects themselves, high-tech projects also mean that they can retain more high-level talents.

Beicang has some regrets. The misjudgment regarding Orange Technology can be attributed to unfamiliarity, but letting go of the power battery project of Flashway is truly a misjudgment of Flashway's development.

Or perhaps it was a misjudgment of Tan Jincheng's style.

Tan Jincheng has always presented a cautious image to Beicang; yes, that's right, cautious.

In terms of corporate publicity, Tan Jincheng is high-profile and even a bit arrogant, daring to take on any competitor. He competed with Yadi for market share in the Southwest region and even dared to launch a surprise attack on Xinri as an Olympic sponsor.

In the Yangtze River Delta region, Jiangsu Province, with its high concentration of electric vehicle brands, took the lead in launching a price war against small and medium-sized miscellaneous brands throughout the province. In Zhejiang Province, they dared to engage in close combat with established manufacturers like Luyuan, making their competitors extremely uncomfortable.

However, Beicang, who had long been in contact with Tan Jincheng, knew that Tan Jincheng was an extremely low-key and cautious person.

He absolutely refuses interviews unless promoting his personal image is beneficial to the company's competitiveness. He also lives a secluded life, doesn't put on any airs, and often only has one driver with him when he goes out.

I try to avoid participating in any activities if possible, and I have my assistant do it for me whenever possible.

In terms of company development, Tan Jincheng has always adhered to a conservative style. Several companies with ample cash flow and good operations have been very cautious in their expansion. FlashChe, on the other hand, seems to have built several factories across the country, which seems a bit aggressive.

But looking back at the sales figures of Flash Motors this year, it can only be said that Tan Jincheng predicted the market trend in advance. Rather than saying that Flash Motors was recklessly building a factory, it is more accurate to say that the market forced Flash Motors to build a factory.

If you don't build, you'll fall behind the market and go from a leading manufacturer to a second- or even third-rate one. For a two-wheeled electric vehicle company, production capacity and sales volume are always the most important factors.

Besides Hangxin New Energy, Beicang has repeatedly stated that if other well-performing subsidiaries want to continue expanding and acquiring land, even for building employee dormitories, they can provide land and loan support.

However, he was always fooled by Tan Jincheng, and all signs indicate that Tan Jincheng is a very cautious person when it comes to corporate expansion.

When Hangxin New Energy initially proposed launching a power battery project, the district actually agreed when Tan Jincheng suggested moving the project to another location, because a power battery investment project is a huge undertaking that requires a substantial amount of funding.

Given Tan Jincheng's cautious investment and expansion style, Beicang believes that this project will not be launched for at least one or two years, considering that the Chunxiao site is still sitting idle.

However, who would have thought that Tan Jincheng would launch the power battery project so quickly? This is completely out of character for him.

What made him make this change?
(End of this chapter)