2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 580: Start of the Formal Acquisition
As with all economic crises in history, the socio-economic situation was exceptionally prosperous before the economic crisis occurred.

Just like a stock market crash is preceded by a surge.

"With rapid economic development, people need information, and it is very easy to buy a house or invest in a prosperous economic environment through loans. Banks have very low credit thresholds for loans, and there are even some private lending companies."

"That's the current situation in the US. It's like cooking oil over a blazing fire. Everyone thinks this kind of overspending can continue indefinitely."

Buying RVs, overspending, and credit card overdrafts—this is the current lifestyle of ordinary Americans. Cheap goods from all over the world flow into their market, greatly enriching their shopping experience.

"Wall Street capital is so powerful, don't they know what you're saying?"

That evening, Tan Jincheng and his family invited Zhang Congxun to dinner. Men, as is typical at the dinner table, always like to talk a lot. Being businessmen, they ended up discussing the current global economic environment.

The incident was also brought up by Zhang Congxun, because he discovered that after the share reform, FlashTech's financial statements showed that FlashTech's export direction seemed to have changed this year. There are always many smart people.

If you pay attention, you can see the direction from the slightest clues.

Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "Wall Street's funds certainly know this, but perhaps this is exactly the situation they want?"

It's impossible that Wall Street was completely unaware of the situation. The reason it later spread worldwide couldn't be that they were unaware, but rather that they underestimated the subsequent emergency measures, which was the only way to minimize losses.

Everyone's corrupt, so they can take advantage of the situation by exploiting the dollar's power.

Believe it or not, Lehman Brothers was a very popular stock in the US before 2008. In addition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants, were also very popular.

On August 18, the tenth day of the Olympics, Liu Xiang withdrew from the competition, causing a nationwide uproar.

The transformation from a hero to a pariah sent a chill down Zhang Xupeng's spine.

During the Olympics, all brands with any real strength chose Liu Xiang as their first choice. Zhang Xupeng, with his ambitious goals, also made Liu Xiang his first choice. In addition, Jinpeng could afford the money.

However, Tan Jincheng, who usually doesn't interfere with Jinpeng's management, immediately rejected the idea upon learning of it.

"Damn, thank goodness you stopped us, otherwise we would have been in trouble too."

Zhang Xupeng rushed into the office, grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and started grumbling as he drank.

Tan Jincheng ignored him. Overnight US stocks on Friday saw Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plummet, dragging down other real estate-related stocks such as Lehman Brothers.

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed sharply lower as a result, with Orange Technology falling as much as 6.73% yesterday, closing at $14.14.

If US stocks have fallen, then our A-shares naturally can't be rude and have to suffer the same fate.

At the start of the day, both major A-share indices began to fall rapidly, and Changfeng Group was no exception. Today, Changfeng Group fell 5.51%, with its share price closing at 4.97 yuan, and the total trading volume for the day was only 799.25 million yuan.

The price of 4.97 yuan has caused Changfeng Group's total market value to officially fall below 20 billion yuan.

A trading volume of 800 million shares can drive the stock price down by more than 5%. This market trend is truly over. There is no need for any guidance; retail investors can dump the shares themselves.

Another company that Tan Jincheng is also monitoring, Shuguang Group, has a market capitalization of 11.16 billion yuan after today's market close.

"I'm talking to you, and you're looking at your lousy stocks again. You've lost a hundred million, haven't you?"

Tan Jincheng ignored him, and Zhang Xupeng didn't care either, turning to the back of the office to tease him.

"That's about it, we've lost 8700 million yuan, haha."

Currently, ByteDance holds a total of 6.2% of Changfeng Group's stock through various accounts, spending 2.11 million yuan. After today's closing price, the stock is worth 1.24 million yuan, so it's fair to say that they've lost 1 million yuan.

Cheng Linfeng went to Hong Kong with a team, and acquisitions in the secondary market also stopped, as there was not much to buy.

"Then why are you happy? The money you lost could have been enough to hire Liu Fei for several years. Didn't you complain about the poor cost-effectiveness back then?"

“That’s different. I’m not selling. The more its price drops, the happier I am. I can use that money to buy some technology patents and such. A top 10 domestic car company can’t possibly be worth only 20 billion.”

Zhang Xupeng seemed to understand somewhat: "What, are you going to Xiangcheng again, planning to rob someone?"

"Haha, good brother, you understand me."

The price has fallen below 20 billion, so we can start negotiating. If we wait any longer, things might change. Compared to large car companies, Weilai Auto doesn't have much of an advantage, and the price we have to pay is also higher.

Zhang Xupeng stared at Tan Jincheng for a few seconds. He was so happy even though he had lost nearly 100 million yuan. Something was wrong. There was definitely something wrong.

He was startled: "Wait, you wouldn't be thinking of buying Changfeng Group, would you?"

Zhang Xupeng knew that his good brother had always been quite ambitious.

"Hehe, I'm not telling you. Get lost. I'm going to call Qingqing, and it's not convenient for you to listen."

That's clever of him. He figured it out right away. Looks like he's gotten a bit cocky lately and relaxed a bit. It seems he shouldn't pay too much attention to the stock market in the future.

Zhang Xupeng curled his lip: "Fine, I'll go. It's not like I don't have a girlfriend." "Oh, so you're with Nie Ruoxi now?"

Zhang Xupeng scratched his head a little embarrassedly: "Actually, I came here today to talk to you about this. I wanted to ask if you have time to come over for dinner tonight."

Zhang Xupeng was aware of Nie Yunlai's purpose, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. It's understandable for parents to want a better future for their children. After getting to know her, Zhang Xupeng thought the girl was pretty good, so he started to get to know her.

Nie Ruoxi has been working at Jinpeng for almost a year now. Although he is very busy with work, they still see each other quite frequently. Before long, his good friend is about to get married, so Zhang Xupeng thought they should just be boyfriend and girlfriend for now.

“Sure, I have to go. Come to think of it, I haven’t really met Secretary Nie’s daughter yet. I’ll take Qingqing and Jinyue over tonight to see her.” Tan Jincheng readily agreed.

Nie Yunlai is now Tao Qinian's secretary. If it weren't for the unexpected turn of events at Flash Group and Nie Yunlai's ability to seize opportunities, this position would have been almost impossible for him. Given his background, it would have been the ceiling for his career.

But who knows what the future holds? If Tao Qinian is promoted further, he might also be able to advance further.

"Should we call Uncle Tan and Aunt Zhang?" Zhang Xupeng was facing this situation for the first time and was somewhat nervous.

Tan Lihua is still in Beicang. He has come to terms with it and is now in a semi-retired state. He doesn't have to work if he wants to, and it's good for him to spend more time with his wife and children in Beicang during this hot weather.

"Suit yourself. You can ask your parents; they're here anyway. But won't making such a big fuss scare them?"

"That's true. How about we eat at a hotel tonight, just the few of us?"

"You're the vice president of Flash Group, why are you acting like a novice? You've already decided on this matter yourself. Just do what you think is right and get lost, I have other things to do."

As he spoke, Tan Jincheng laughed again.

Speaking of this good brother, his romantic history is really clean. In his previous life, he at least dated on his own, but he had never dated before. His family only found him a blind date because they were anxious for him to get married, and unexpectedly, they ended up getting married.

Although I've been to many glamorous and extravagant places in my life and met all sorts of women, I've never actually had a serious romantic relationship.

"What are you laughing at? I realize I shouldn't have come. You're acting like you're crazy."

Feeling a bit embarrassed by Tan Jincheng's laughter, Zhang Xupeng left, grumbling under his breath.

Watching Zhang Xupeng's disheveled figure, Tan Jincheng laughed even harder. To be honest, their marriage these days could hardly involve any love anymore; it was more about whether it would benefit his business.

Nie Ruoxi is Nie Yunlai's only daughter. Nie Yunlai's future depends on Tao Qinian, and Tao Qinian's promotion is almost a done deal. Generally speaking, even if he doesn't take Nie Yunlai with him, he will make arrangements for him before leaving.

He's not bad-looking, and if we get along well, his background is already quite suitable for Zhang Xupeng.

"Old Zhang is bringing his girlfriend to dinner tonight. You can pick out a gift then."

"Okay, I'll go back ahead of time to prepare."

After sending Zhang Xupeng away, Tan Jincheng actually had important matters to attend to, matters that were inconvenient for him to discuss, but he did need to talk to Qingqing about them.

To fully acquire Changfeng Group, Weilai Automobile's current strength and Tan Jincheng's influence are definitely insufficient. If they were to approach Xiangcheng City Investment Group to negotiate a takeover offer, Xiangcheng City Investment Group would certainly reject it outright.

The big shot introduced by Shen Nanpeng became Tan Jincheng's lifeline at this time.

After organizing his thoughts, Tan Jincheng dialed Shen Nanpeng's number: "President Shen, I'm a little embarrassed to ask you to do something for me. Do you have anyone with you?"

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

As Shen Nanpeng responded, he waved his hand, signaling his assistant to leave. The assistant then went out and closed the office door behind him.

"Can I still contact that big shot from last time? I need his help with something very important."

It was indeed very presumptuous, but Tan Jincheng didn't have a better solution. The other party was too strong for Shan Chi to handle, so he could only find someone even stronger to act as a go-between.

Shen Nanpeng frowned: "Is it important? Can you tell me?"

"Yes, it's very important, and there's nothing I can't say. ByteDance is preparing to fully acquire Changfeng Group, and I want to formally contact Xiangcheng City Investment, so I'd like to ask that person to make the connection."

"A full acquisition of Changfeng Group?"

Shen Nanpeng's tone didn't show much surprise. He should have expected it. This kid dared to have designs on Land Rover. After months of turmoil, how could he be content with just acquiring one subsidiary of Changfeng Group?

A state-owned enterprise, a listed company, haha, investing in Weilai Auto really paid off! With an investment price of 6000 million yuan, once the acquisition is completed, Weilai Auto's market value will rise rapidly.

“Okay, I’ll ask him, but if he doesn’t agree, there’s nothing I can do. I can only say I’ll do my best.” Shen Nanpeng was also very decisive.

"Mr. Shen, you're not surprised?"

Tan Jincheng was somewhat surprised by Shen Nanpeng's decisiveness.

"Not surprising at all. If you dare to target Land Rover, what is Changfeng Group to you?"

(End of this chapter)