2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 592 The Grand Scene of Market Rescue Amid Panic

“Dad, why don’t you retire early? Jin Yue is going to start school soon, and if you come and live here, you can help Mom a bit.”

"Yes, my dear in-law, why don't you retire early? You're 48 already, not much later. Just find a reason to take a leave of absence without pay."

“Yes, my youngest daughter is of school age, and it’s a good thing to accompany her as she grows up. Your in-laws often complain that their daughter isn’t close to them. You only see her a few times a year, so how close can a child be?”

Men in special occupations can retire at 55, and some can even retire at 50. Tan Lihua, who is 48, is only 2 years away from 50. Given Tan Jincheng's current abilities, it would be very easy to arrange for him to retire early.

At worst, they can just give up their retirement pension; the Tan family isn't short of retirement pensions these days.

Seeing that everyone was trying to persuade her, Zhang Suzhi also spoke up, "Why don't you think about it?"

I'm home alone with my daughter every day, and the little rascal has started acting up again. It's really getting hard to keep up.

"I'll think about it. I talked to my boss about it when I got back." Tan Lihua went along with it.

He has been living alone in his hometown for years. Although he has no worries about food and drink or money, he still feels very lonely. He had wanted to take early retirement for a long time, but he refused in previous years. Now he feels awkward asking for it himself.

"If you have nothing to do after you come here, I can find you a consulting job."

His father agreed, and Tan Jincheng was very happy.

Tan Lihua is a petrochemical technician. The chemical industry in Ningbo is a major pillar industry, and Zhenhai Petrochemical is very famous. Years later, there was even a very popular TV series based on this story.

Every industry has opportunities for mutual exchange, and Jinpeng Trading also researches new materials, many of which involve the chemical industry.

Even after retiring, Tan Lihua still has opportunities to contribute his remaining energy.

Tan Lihua nodded: "We'll talk about that later. I'll apply to my unit after I get back this time."

The family was in good spirits during the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion. However, the 20-day business trip to Hunan Province that started in mid-August and has lasted until now has been the most difficult period for Tan Jincheng since he became famous.

There are just too many things to consider when making an acquisition worth over a billion dollars.

The talks went smoothly, but the mental pressure was immense, especially since it involved dealing with government departments and there were many rules to follow. For example, he could refuse to drink in Beicang, but he really couldn't refuse here.

After lunch, the family sat in the courtyard chatting and admiring the moon. A little while later, Zhang Xupeng brought over a box of mooncakes and led Nie Ruoxi over.

"Can't you be a little more sincere? These mooncakes are a company perk, right?" Tan Jincheng complained dismissively.

"Haha, I was out playing for a few days and forgot about the holiday. My mom reminded me and I rushed back to celebrate. As for gifts, you don't need anything. Just bring a box of mooncakes to eat together."

"Besides, I know you really like mooncakes, so I'll let you eat more."

Zhang Xupeng said nonchalantly, while Nie Ruoxi greeted everyone somewhat shyly.

Zhang Suzhi smiled as she accepted the mooncake Zhang Xupeng handed her: "You two really did grow up together. Pengya still remembers Jincheng's hobby."

"You like to eat them too, so let's open the box and everyone can try them. The mooncakes we distributed this year are pretty good; I've tried them myself."

When I was a child, resources were scarce and there weren't many good snacks. Seasonal snacks like mooncakes were especially popular with children. Tan Jincheng still remembers that every Mid-Autumn Festival in his hometown, there was a kind of large sesame cake.

The outside is covered with sesame seeds, and the inside is filled with red bean paste. They are all made in small workshops, and they are still warm when my mom buys them.

It wasn't anything expensive, and now that I think about it, it was actually quite delicious, but the memory brings me a special warmth.

Zhang Xupeng had obviously thought of this as well, and said with some emotion, "Yes, when Aunt Zhang or my mom bought sesame seed cakes when we were little, we would share them. They were piping hot, but they don't taste like that anymore."

While everyone was chatting, Tan Jincheng's phone rang. It was Zeng Jixiang calling.

"Boss, the China Securities Regulatory Commission's inquiry letter has arrived. Should I send it to you now or tomorrow?"

"So fast? You're not even taking a break for the Mid-Autumn Festival today? You're really dedicated. We don't need to pay attention to him today. Starting tomorrow, I'll have all the departments submit their inquiries to me and organize people to answer them."

"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away."

It's been three days since the application for a backdoor listing was submitted to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). Although it's a holiday, the CSRC still attaches great importance to a leading company in an industry. The listing of any industry leader is always a matter of great interest.

Zeng Jixiang gave Tan Jincheng a brief overview of the inquiry letter, including FlashTech's estimated value, profitability, trends in labor costs, core competitiveness, and comparable transactions in the same industry.

FlashTech is required to explain the rationality of this estimated value and the reasons for selecting the income approach valuation as the basis for pricing.

"Wow, that's impressive. The questions you asked really hit the nail on the head."

You can ignore everything else, but you absolutely must read the China Securities Regulatory Commission's inquiry letter; the questions asked are all very crucial.

Of course, before Kangmei was delisted due to fraud, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had sent a letter inquiring about its performance. Nothing happens without a trace, and nothing can escape the CSRC's notice.

It seems somewhat similar to the tax system in the United States.

Unfortunately, well, let's not talk about it anymore.

"Hey, they've already sent an inquiry letter. Is the China Securities Regulatory Commission taking this so seriously?"

Tan Jincheng made his phone call without keeping it from everyone. Zhang Xupeng also became interested. Apart from Nie Ruoxi, everyone present had shares in Flash Technology. Once the company went public, they would be the original shareholders of the listed company.

"As an industry leader, such companies are generally more valued and their progress is faster."

Another reason is probably the subprime mortgage crisis. Our A-shares have been falling for three quarters, and it coincided with a time of global financial panic. We had to boost our morale.

What surprised Tan Jincheng was that despite the severe market downturn this year, IPOs were not explicitly suspended. Although there weren't many listed companies, some were still approved for listing from time to time. For example, iFlytek, which would later become very famous, went public this year, and the timing of its listing was quite special—May 12th was iFlytek's first trading day.

5月12日这一天，发行价12.66元的讯飞上涨了139.42%，报收在30.31元价位。

But they dared not publicize it, probably because they were somewhat frustrated.

In fact, the government has already shown signs of rescuing the market. On August 25, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced several newly revised regulations on cash dividends for listed companies, and today it lowered the benchmark interest rate for RMB loans by 0.27 percentage points.

In addition, some policy information also indicates that major market rescue policies are being formulated; of course, some of this information is unknown to ordinary investors.

However, Tan Jincheng couldn't find out the specific details. There were only some rumors circulating, which Cheng Linfeng found out. This shows that inside information is nonsense. Only powerful people know the inside information and can use it.

If it weren't for his memories of his past life, Boss Tan really wouldn't dare touch this thing.

"How long after the backdoor listing can it officially go public?" Gu Hongshun asked with some curiosity.

Tan Jincheng now understands this somewhat: "That's not necessarily true. After the materials are submitted, the initial review is usually completed within 20 working days. If the initial review is passed, an on-site inspection and feedback are still required. The whole process takes about one to two months."

If everything goes smoothly, it can be launched in about two months. However, if there are any problems, it may not be possible.

However, under normal circumstances, it will not take more than six months. If you fail to pass the review several times, the China Securities Regulatory Commission will directly reject your application.

Of course, going public as quickly as possible is not necessarily better. A company's listing requires thorough preparation and planning, and rushing into a listing can lead to some risks and hidden dangers.

FlashTech's financial situation is very healthy, and from its own perspective, Tan Jincheng has been preparing for the IPO for a long time, so there are no problems.

The biggest concern is not being familiar with the procedures, which often requires supplementary materials, and that's a bit of a headache. These days, even in developed coastal cities, administrative efficiency isn't that fast; they can easily put you on hold for a week.

The Beicang Securities Regulatory Bureau won't block FlashDrive, nor will the Ningbo Securities Regulatory Bureau, but it's hard to say about other places.

According to Tan Jincheng's expectations, if he could complete a series of procedures before New Year's Day in the fourth quarter, he would be very grateful.

Tuesday, May 9th.

Even with the reduction in the reserve requirement ratio, the A-share market still failed to stabilize, with the Shanghai Composite Index falling by 4.47%, officially breaking below the 2000-point mark, and the Hang Seng Index also experiencing a sharp decline.

Meanwhile, stock markets around the world continued the downward trend of yesterday, and apart from a few short-selling institutions, the financial markets were in a state of despair.

Changfeng Motors also received an inquiry letter from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). Tan Jincheng didn't know how they handled it, but FlashTech was responding to the CSRC's inquiries in a well-organized manner.

To help FlashTech go public as soon as possible, Beicang really went all out to provide guidance. The Beicang Securities Regulatory Bureau specially assigned several staff members to assist FlashTech, helping it avoid many detours in some procedures.

According to Zhao Jinsheng, Beicang hopes that Shanchi can complete its listing plan before New Year's Day, so that the district will have two newly listed companies in 2008, which is something the district can be very proud of.

Furthermore, there's no need to worry about next year, as Ligong Environmental Technology is currently in the IPO review process at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It's highly likely that another new company will be listed on the SME board next year.

In Zhao Jinsheng's words, our Beicang District is also getting better.

If Tan Jincheng was truly lucky, he only remembered the approximate highest and lowest points of the stock market in 2008, but he had no idea about the overall trend for the year.

The decision on whether to buy is based solely on comparing the current market value with the market value more than 10 years from now.

Furthermore, I remember the 4 trillion yuan plan.

FlashTech responded to the China Securities Regulatory Commission's inquiry letter one by one over two days, and now it's just a matter of waiting.

However, instead of a reply, what awaited the new investors was a scene unlike anything they had ever experienced!

Friday, September 9st.

In the early hours of the morning, a major announcement of market intervention triggered significant turmoil in the financial markets.

Following the reduction of stamp duty from 0.3% to 0.1% on April 24th in the first half of the year, it has been lowered again today, changing from bilateral collection to unilateral collection!

Lowering the stamp duty twice in one year—they're really desperate!
"I remember the whole market hit its daily limit on April 24th, the day the stamp duty was reduced, right?"

Tan Jincheng said somewhat uncertainly that he hadn't slept that night.

"Yes, the entire market hit its daily limit that day, and this time will probably be no exception. We've caught a good wave; major policies are coming, and listing at this time will be beneficial for our share price after the backdoor listing."

"Haha, it's been falling for so long, it should have bottomed out by now. Let's start buying the dip once the money from short selling comes back."

This should be the so-called policy bottom, but it probably isn't, since the 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan hasn't been announced yet; that should be the real policy bottom.

The market fell for three consecutive days in the first three trading days of this week, and the lowest point only touched 1800 points, which is still some distance from the 1664 that Tan Jincheng remembers.

If you calculate the timing, it happened right after the funds that were shorting US stocks withdrew, right?

On September 19, at 9:9 a.m., the Shanghai Composite Index opened at 2067.64 points, a 9.06% increase. More than 95% of stocks in the two markets opened at their daily limit, and the market reached a frenzied state.

The Shanghai Composite Index surged 9.46% and the Shenzhen Component Index rose 9% throughout the day.

"Wow, this is amazing! The index hit the daily limit. This is the second time this year that retail investors have seen such a spectacle. It's a wonder."

Bull markets are often characterized by sharp drops, while bear markets are often characterized by long bull runs. It's true what they say, with the stock hitting its daily limit up. For uninformed retail investors or those who are stuck with their losses and haven't checked their accounts, there's simply no chance.

In short, don't even think about making money; the term "financial consumer" seems more appropriate for stock market investors.

(End of this chapter)