2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 574 Integration at the Olympic Games
If mergers and acquisitions between companies are encouraged, then acquiring car companies facing bankruptcy would be much simpler.

Whether Changfeng Group can survive will be clear by early August, as the sales figures for car dealers in the first month after the new rules were implemented in July will be the best proof.

How did you come to know this kind of person?

When he came out of the tea room, it was already afternoon. Tan Jincheng paused for a moment and asked.

Shen Nanpeng smiled and said, "We acquired Land Rover together last time, so we weren't worried about the money. That's why I was thinking of using connections. We met by chance, through an introduction."

"How about it? Is that considered a generous gift?"

"This is indeed a great gift. This information is very useful to us. Thank you, Mr. Shen."

In fact, nothing was said while drinking tea, but everything was said at the same time; that's the art of language.

"It's alright. Since we've started this collaboration, we should strive for a win-win situation. Please remember to share any good or useful information you have. I hope Mr. Tan will do the same."

Tan Jincheng nodded: "Understood."

Weilai Auto needs more than just funds. In terms of funds, Tan Jincheng is not worried at all. Money is always the least of his worries. The key to the success of an automotive brand is to have more people with connections and influence.

Next, Tan Jincheng just needs to wait for the right opportunity to arise.

After scheduling a meeting with Shen Nanpeng to discuss financing, Tan Jincheng then visited the Beijing office of Hangxin Technology. The office had recently undergone an expansion, renting out the upper floor as the Beijing office of FlashTech.

With the Olympics approaching, promotion in Beijing is a key focus. In addition, electric vehicles in the Beijing area are likely to experience a surge in sales, leading to an increase in supply to the surrounding areas.

The summer sales season is already a peak season, and with the addition of major holiday promotions, this year's first peak season will be a big test for FlashTech.

Exploding production capacity is a must. FlashTech's factories across the country have entered an endless period of overtime. It seems that the old employees from two years ago have returned to the days when they first entered the factory.

"Boss, come and see how the setup is going?"

As soon as Tan Jincheng went upstairs, Zhou Ao stood at the door to greet him. Due to the importance attached to the promotion of the Olympic Games, Zhou Ao, who is now the marketing director of the Flash Group, personally led the team to be stationed in the capital.

"With you here, what do I have to worry about? Even if you mess it up, I might not do any better than you," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

"Boss, you're really flattering me. Give the employees a boost. Time is running out, and to be honest, everyone's a bit nervous. We've never experienced such a big holiday before."

"Actually, there's no need to be nervous. Just focus on topics that are relevant to us. The key is to boost morale. During this period, just use the women's volleyball team members as spokespeople in your advertisements."

"Just remember, whether it's a press release or an online troll campaign, your content must be positive, positive, and positive again."

Positive energy is always needed.

The one or two months before and after the Olympics are the golden exposure period for athlete endorsements. FlashTech also has a partnership with the women's volleyball team, whose main venue is Beicang, and can use their image for promotion during the Olympics.

"Our plan for athletes from Ningbo and Yicheng who win medals is to give them houses. Does the boss have anything else to add?"

Tan Jincheng thought for a moment and said, "Let's add a niche athlete from Anhui and Zhejiang provinces. You can filter this by popularity, we don't need to cover them all. If they are particularly popular, we can also ride their coattails."

It's not easy for amateur athletes either; they rely on the Olympics to earn a living. If they gain popularity and get a little help from the Olympics, it can be a win-win situation.

"Okay, we'll look into that later and make a preliminary list of candidates as a plan."

"Okay, I won't disturb your work any longer. I have to go back to Ningbo to tell everyone that if sales reach expectations this peak season, everyone will get a bonus."

The workload is definitely much heavier than last year's peak season, but we should be able to make a push. The snow disaster in January had very little impact on the Flash Group, and production was not delayed at all.

From January to June 2008, Flash Motors sold a total of 60.38 electric vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 45.45%, ranking first. Xinri, which ranked second, sold 52 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 30%.

The top ten sellers are still the same few companies, such as Yadi, Luyuan, Bidewen, and Supaqi.

It's worth noting that not all of the top ten manufacturers maintained growth. Among them, Green Source's year-on-year growth rate dropped by 15.83%, the largest decline among the top ten.

Another example is Supaiqi, an electric vehicle company located in Changzhou. By 2008, it seemed to be losing momentum, which shows that competition among electric vehicle companies is becoming increasingly fierce.

Some of the top 10 have already fallen behind, with Luyuan's sales ranking plummeting to ninth, much to Ni Jie's dismay. Luyuan's biggest drop is mainly due to its direct competition with Shanchi in its territory. In previous years, Shanchi hadn't really developed the Zhejiang market, but last year Shanchi began to aggressively develop it, and naturally, the first to be impacted was Luyuan, the former leader in Zhejiang.

In addition, Tan Jincheng had also reminded Lü Yuan about the snow disaster, but due to his long-standing habit, Lü Yuan did not take it seriously and thought that Tan Jincheng was being a bit of an overreaction.

Unlike Zhang Congxun and Dong Jinggui, especially Zhang Congxun, who was perfectly avoided by Tan Jincheng during the snow disaster, Tan Jincheng would follow Shanchi whenever there was anything illogical about it, even if it was at a discount, it was better to follow than not to follow at all.

They were really scared of being scammed. The poor sales of Luyuan in the first half of the year were largely due to production capacity issues. Their ham factory did not fully resume production until the end of February.

In an increasingly competitive market, falling behind even slightly means falling behind at every step.
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Beicang, the engine of massive traffic.

"I plan to place the main body of Weilai Auto under ByteDance, with ByteDance holding a controlling stake. Through this, the assets in Chuzhou will be transferred to Weilai Auto. What are your opinions?"

Cheng Linfeng smiled and said, "Of course I have no objection. This is better, otherwise Weilai Auto's assets would be too scattered."

Huang Ming smiled and said, "If President Cheng has no objection, then I have even less objection. This is a good thing for me."

No matter what, Weilai Auto has a factory under construction. Even if it's just an empty shell, it's not an ordinary empty shell. By being brought under the umbrella of ByteDance, it's definitely a bargain.

As for the reduction in shareholding, what does that matter?
"Okay, since ByteDance Engine is controlled by just the two of us shareholders and President Cheng, we can discuss this together. President Huang, what do you think is a suitable valuation for Weilai Auto?"

Huang Ming readily replied, "What's the point of valuation? President Tan already said that the three of us have the final say, so why waste resources on valuation?"

I've been working with Tan Jincheng for quite some time now, and I think I know him fairly well. If you were to try to calculate things with him, he would definitely be able to do it perfectly. But as long as you keep a calm mindset and put yourself in the position of a subordinate, this boss is very generous.

As expected, he also called Cheng Linfeng to attend the so-called shareholders' meeting. Cheng Linfeng would definitely get shares, so he would make a profit.

"Haha, since Mr. Huang has said so, then I won't say much more. How about you reduce your shareholding from 10% to 5%?"

"No problem, thank you for your generosity, Mr. Tan."

Huang Ming was secretly delighted. A car factory! What kind of scale would it be after it was built? If President Tan transferred Yangzi Automobile in Chuzhou to Weilai Automobile instead of using ByteDance to hold a controlling stake, his shareholding would not change, but the actual benefits he would receive would be very limited.

Reducing it from 10% to 5% may seem like a 50% reduction, but in the long run, he actually benefits.

Taking Yangzi Automobile's pickup truck as an example, after investing in upgrading its production line, it will definitely have a place in the domestic market. A car company that can guarantee profitability is not only its business achievement, but also the guarantee of livelihood for generations.

"As for President Cheng, I have seen your efforts. I will give you a percentage of stock options as an incentive. I hope President Cheng will not find it offensive."

Cheng Linfeng couldn't hide his joy: "Everyone knows the boss is generous, but the extent of his generosity has exceeded my expectations. If you still complain about this, then I can only say give me more!"

Huang Ming also burst into laughter.

Considering the current investment and cash reserves of ByteDance's advertising platform, even a small percentage of its shares is invaluable; how could anyone possibly be dissatisfied with it?

“Okay, it’s settled then. I don’t like to fuss over details. Once we’ve discussed it, it won’t bother anyone else. Also, Mr. Gu will be holding a vice president position at the company to manage my family trust.”

"However, this trust institution is not considered part of ByteDance's assets. I hope you both understand."

Operating independently, or borrowing the name of ByteDance's advertising platform, is something that involves capital and understands these principles. Huang Ming and Cheng Linfeng have no problem with it.

They had heard about Boss Tan's domineering attitude at the Yangtze Motors board meeting, so being able to discuss things with them was really giving them face.

"Alright, since you all agree, then the two of you will assist in the integration of Weilai Auto. Try to do it as quickly as possible. Weilai Auto will have another round of financing later, and then it will be time for us to make a big splash."

In addition to integrating Weilai Auto, Tan Jincheng also needs to integrate peripheral assets in the automotive industry chain, including some existing industrial design studios and some parts companies that he wants to invest in.

"Huh? Another round of funding? Which ones?"

For the past two years, Huang Ming has been living a truly exciting life, buying things everywhere, and now he's going to start raising funds again, as if he's back to the time when he returned to China to start his business.

“There’s Beicang City Investment, Luzhou City Investment, and Chuzhou City Investment. In addition to them, there’s also Mr. Shen Nanpeng from Hongshan.”

Tan Jincheng would also ask Kuang Ping about it; having more organizations means having more resources.

(End of this chapter)