2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 573 A Turning Point Through a Backdoor Listing
"Long time no see! You've been doing really well lately. By the way, should I call you President Tan or Tan the Leek?"

The 1.8 million yuan investment dwindled to 1.2 million yuan in less than a month, becoming a laughing stock in the secondary market.

"Haha, let them say what they want. I'm just a sucker anyway. If President Shen doesn't have anything to do during his trip back to China, he should stay here a bit longer. The Olympics are coming soon."

Shen Nanpeng sighed and said, "What a year of disasters. I hope the Olympics will be held smoothly."

Shen Nanpeng has spent a lot of time abroad, and his experiences and perceptions are completely different from those in China.

"Don't worry, everything will go smoothly. We will definitely host the most successful Olympic Games in history."

Without considering the news and memories he had seen in his previous life, Tan Jincheng had also traveled abroad in this life, so he naturally understood what Shen Nanpeng meant. Before the 2008 Olympics, our image abroad was really not that good.

We are poorly informed, and foreigners are no better off; some even have impressions of us that are stuck in the 1950s and 60s.

For example, the torch relay that Tan Jincheng participated in was peaceful and caused a great sensation in China, but it was completely different abroad.

"President Tan is so confident?" Shen Nanpeng was somewhat surprised.

Young people tend to have more of a "that" complex, and Shen Nanpeng believes that Tan Jincheng certainly has it too, but he definitely won't be as blindly passionate as ordinary young people. Tan Jincheng's most prominent label is definitely not "young man," but "entrepreneur."

Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "Of course, if we don't even believe this, what kind of business are we doing? Doing business is often about gambling on the fate of the nation."

"Haha, well said, but let's not talk about that now; let's get down to business; I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad, which would you like to hear first, Mr. Tan?"

Shen Nanpeng stared at Tan Jincheng with a grin, wanting to see his reaction, but Tan Jincheng did not hesitate at all: "Then let's hear the bad news first."

"Why do we hear the bad news first?"

"Although it's true that bitterness doesn't necessarily lead to sweetness, since President Shen has given us both bad news and good news, then sweetness must follow. Let's just endure the bitterness first."

Shen Nanpeng laughed heartily. He actually enjoyed chatting with Tan Jincheng. This guy's way of speaking was very avant-garde, and he always came up with some refreshing words.

"Alright, the bad news is that the Land Rover acquisition project is off the table. The Indians raised their bid to $23 billion and bought it outright. You should just stick to promoting your Serena sports car, even though it's not nearly as good as a Land Rover."

Tan Jincheng calmed down and actually breathed a sigh of relief. Shen Nanpeng said this was bad news, but for Tan Jincheng, it might not be such a bad thing.

After returning, I learned about the Indian company. It was a conglomerate, an incredibly powerful super conglomerate. Even large state-owned enterprises would have to think twice before going head-to-head with such a company.

Okay, $23 billion, which is more than 160 billion RMB. After the acquisition, a lot of investment will be needed, at least 200 billion RMB. This is indeed too much for Flashcore to handle at present.

"Alright, I know the acquisition will be difficult to complete. After all, time is too tight, and the Indians are too rich. Even if we join forces, we may not be able to beat them. If we really compete, Ford will only benefit in the end."

"That makes sense. I thought there was still a chance to compete, but now that Ford has accepted India's offer, it's over. In just a few days, the two sides will officially reach a cooperation agreement."

Redshirt had tentatively contacted Ford, but soon received news that the Indians had raised their offer. It seems that the Indians had already won over some high-ranking Ford officials and were able to keep them informed.

In this situation, it is extremely difficult to complete a comeback acquisition.

"Never mind then, tell me the good news."

"You don't seem to have much regret?"

"I wouldn't say that. I'm definitely happy to have been able to buy it. Even if we don't develop our own brand, if we manage these two brands well, given the development trend of the domestic automobile industry, the probability of making money is still very high. But the competition is too strong, and there's nothing we can do about it."

I don't want to buy a Land Rover not because it's expensive, but simply because I can't afford it.

Even if you manage a Land Rover for over 20 billion yuan worse than India or Chery, you can still double your investment. Even if you transfer it to Chery after a few years, you'll still make a profit.

Knowing the information gap, this is actually a sure-fire way to make money. As an investment institution, Sequoia Capital's interest in getting involved in this acquisition clearly shows that Shen Nanpeng has given it full consideration.

"The good news is that, as you mentioned before, we've also been interested in investing in Jinshidai and Weilai Auto. I just don't know if this counts as good news for President Tan?"

A few days ago, ATL announced that it would invest $15 billion to build the largest power battery factory in China in Fujian Province, which indicates that the power battery project has officially entered a new track and has attracted the attention of various capital.

Currently, there are only a handful of domestic power battery companies that can achieve an annual output value of over 100 million yuan. Hangxin Times' production capacity has also failed to reach the 100 million yuan level, and it was originally considered a second-tier company.

But the brilliance lies in the fact that Tan Jincheng successfully entered the mobile phone battery business through acquisitions, joining ATL and BYD to supply lithium batteries to mobile phone manufacturers of all sizes.

In terms of power batteries, Hangxin Technology is still very weak, but in the field of mobile phone lithium batteries, Dexian Electronics, after its production capacity explodes, is absolutely not to be ignored. The growth rate of the domestic mobile phone market can only surpass that of the automobile market.

The biggest advantage of professional investment institutions is that they have a very professional team. Mobile phone batteries are the present, and power batteries are the future. It can be said that Tan Jincheng's design at every step ensures the company's health.

Despite its seemingly debt-ridden state, Hang Shih is actually in a very safe position. If it weren't for Tan Jincheng's multi-front campaign and his assistance in the United States, Red Shirts would not have had the opportunity to intervene.

Local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) will be eyeing these high-quality projects, not only because they can make money, but also because they can influence government initiatives and are more beneficial to their own future. "Of course, Jinshidai and Weilai Auto welcome Sequoia Capital's investment."

Without the slightest hesitation, Tan Jincheng agreed. Although the acquisition of Land Rover was no longer planned, the two major projects still had a strong need for funds, and the car company needed to purchase new production lines for technological upgrades.

Jinshidai's most pressing need, besides factories, is mineral resources, especially foreign mineral resources.

The US subprime crisis will spread to the world, causing a large number of high-quality companies to depreciate. Coupled with the changes in the RMB exchange rate, the period from the second half of this year to next year will be a window of opportunity for acquiring mineral resources.

International investment institutions with significant influence abroad are far more adept at handling such acquisitions than unorthodox methods like those employed by Tan Jincheng.

If you can't buy a Land Rover, then buy a mine, buy shares in a mining company. That's a viable way to break through.

"However, besides General Manager Shen, Beicang City Investment, Luzhou City Investment, and Chuzhou City Investment are also interested in participating; how about I schedule a time with these companies so we can sit down and talk together?"

Sure enough, Shen Nanpeng smiled knowingly. This kid was really eccentric, seemingly very enthusiastic about financing and acquisitions.

In addition to this, Weilai Auto also needs to undergo some restructuring. Currently, Weilai Auto is practically an empty shell, with only a Beicang factory under construction and not many other businesses.

Before raising funds, Tan Jincheng wanted to transfer the actual control of Weilai Auto to ByteDance, making ByteDance the actual controller of Weilai Auto.

This involves Huang Ming's shares in ByteDance's advertising platform, which needs to be discussed with him.

In addition, talents like Cheng Linfeng, who are dedicated to their work and well-versed in the unspoken rules of the secondary market, must be retained, and they must be given equity incentives.

“Okay, no problem, but before that, I have a gift for you.” Shen Nan, Peng Chong, and Tan Jincheng winked.

"what gift?"

"A gift you've been wanting for a long time."

"You're being so mysterious. Is there something I've been wanting for a long time? Show it to me."

Shen Nanpeng's unconventional approach surprised Tan Jincheng. What was this thing that he had been longing for?

"Haha, I can't produce it today, and it's for introducing you to someone; how about tomorrow? I've already arranged to meet him tomorrow morning. Make sure you have time tomorrow, and I guarantee you'll find it worthwhile."

Shen Nanpeng did not consult Tan Jincheng's opinion, but directly asked Tan Jincheng to make time, which clearly indicated that the person he was going to meet was very important.

Tan Jincheng seemed to be deep in thought; this was the capital city, after all.

"Alright, I'd like to see what kind of big gift President Shen will give me."

That night, Tan Jincheng, who usually slept well, did not sleep well. Shen Nanpeng did not reveal to him who he had met, and he felt like he was being tickled. The key was that he did not know who he had met, and he also felt a little unsafe.

"Forget it, Shen Nanpeng probably wouldn't harm me. I'll stop thinking about it."
-
In a very private teahouse in the capital, Shen Nanpeng led Tan Jincheng and his companion slowly into the inner room.

"Don't worry, it's a good thing. We're not telling you who the person is because of their special status."

Tan Jincheng was uneasy, and Shen Nanpeng could tell, so he spoke to comfort him.

"Mr. Shen, you're being so mysterious. If we weren't cooperating, I would have thought you were going to kidnap me," Tan Jincheng said with a wry smile.

"Tsk tsk, I'm amazed you could come up with that. But you certainly have a high level of security awareness."

Tan Jincheng has his own channels, and Shen Nanpeng has his own channels. Previously, because he wanted to acquire Land Rover, Shen Nanpeng had been quite active in China. He met the person in the tea room by chance.

The development of the automotive industry, no matter where it is, is inseparable from mergers and acquisitions. In the 1980s, domestic automotive companies experienced a period of large-scale mergers and acquisitions. In the 1990s, our cooperation with foreign capital was more about exchanging market access for technology.

At the beginning of this century, domestic enterprises gained a certain degree of influence, and mergers and acquisitions entered a new stage. In 2004, Dongfeng absorbed Nissan and became a first-class automobile manufacturer.

SAIC also merged with Nanjing Automobile, becoming the largest automobile manufacturer in China.

Because of the opportunity to acquire Land Rover, Shen Nanpeng inadvertently learned that the rules of the domestic auto industry seemed to be changing again. If they could know some information in advance, it would definitely be a great gift for Weilai Auto and Tan Jincheng.

"Fuck!"

Shen Nanpeng recounted the story in detail, but he was unaware that this information was incredibly impactful to Tan Jincheng.

Big mergers and acquisitions! How could we forget about that? This isn't just happening in the automotive industry; there are policies supporting it in all sectors.

"What a great gift! It looks like the opportunity to acquire Changfeng Group and go public through a backdoor listing has arrived!"

(End of this chapter)