2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 606 2.75 billion? You're really something, kid!

"Sell the Yongzhou vehicle assembly plant?"

"Yes, what does Mr. Tan think of this suggestion?"

Tracing its history, Changfeng Group can be traced back to 1950. In the context of the Third Front construction campaign, it moved to YZ City, Hunan Province in 1965.

It has been 43 years since then. 43 years is enough time for two or even three generations of state-owned enterprise employees to emerge. In addition, during its heyday, Changfeng could account for half of Yongzhou's GDP. The number of retired employees makes Zhang Yong's scalp tingle.

In fact, Tan Jincheng was tricked in this regard. Changfeng Group played a trick on him by not providing the acquisition team of Shanchi with all the data. In addition, Tan Jincheng was in a hurry to complete the acquisition, so he did not pay much attention to it.

Due to historical reasons, the salaries of retired employees of large enterprises like Changfeng are handled by Changfeng Group itself.

Employees' salaries can be delayed for a few months, but retired employees' salaries absolutely cannot be delayed, otherwise there will be serious problems, as this expense alone amounts to a considerable sum each month.

This is one of the reasons why, despite having many high-quality assets, Changfeng Group has no loans and no banks dare to lend it money.

With no new products and so many retired employees to support, which bank would dare to lend money?

Tan Jincheng looked at the data table that Zhang Yong had passed over, and he was also quite troubled. He was definitely being tricked in this matter, but even if he had seen the real data at the time, he would not have given up on the acquisition.

Whether this is a scam or not, it's all the same.

"Sure, you can ask Mr. Li if he wants it. If he does, you can sell it to him at a lower price."

According to legal provisions, if the salary is paid by the employer, the employee's retirement pension will not be affected. The employee can also negotiate a solution with the employer, but in any case, the employer must pay the employee's basic personal pension insurance.

Yangzi Automobile had undergone several acquisitions, and most of the historical issues from the previous acquisitions had been resolved. Therefore, Tan Jincheng did not encounter any trouble when he took over, and he did not have to pay too much price to lay off a group of people.

However, dealing with the situation in Yongzhou is much more complicated than dealing with the Xiangcheng base. The Xiangcheng production base was only built in 2004, which is only 4 years old, and it is incomparable to the base with more than 40 years of experience.

Suppose an employee joined the factory in 1965 when he was just 20 years old. He would have retired three years ago this year and had 40 years of service. The cost of just one such employee would be enormous.

"Okay, then I'll contact Mr. Li. Mr. Tan, what price do you think would be appropriate for the sale?"

"You decide. We'll take whatever we can get back, which is basically free for us. But the price can't be too low. If it's too low, we'll hand it over to Yongzhou for safekeeping, or they can help us coordinate and resolve the issues of these retired employees. In short, if they can't resolve these issues, we won't take it."

The price of over 5 million yuan for Yangzi Automobile is a high premium, while the overall price of 21 billion yuan for Changfeng Group is relatively cheap. In fact, the assets in Yongzhou are quite valuable, including a complete vehicle production base, an auto parts company, and even a property management company and a series of related industries.

No matter how cheap it is, it can still sell for a nine-figure sum. How much you can negotiate depends on Zhang Yong's ability.

Entrusting it to the Yongzhou government is actually a good option. Flash can exchange this entrustment for certain resources, and it would be even better if it could get a small mining operation.

“Okay, then we’ll proceed with three options: first, we’ll continue to discuss solutions for the employees; second, we’ll see if Mr. Li is willing to take over; and third, we’ll discuss a trusteeship plan with the Yongzhou government.”

Weilai Auto's focus is not on Hunan Province. If the employee issue cannot be resolved this time, at most, it will only retain one vehicle production base in Xiangcheng and one parts base in Hunan Province. This is the boss's intention.

In the boss's words, the Yangtze River Delta region (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui) will always be the foundation of Flash Group, while other places are just supplements.

From a personal perspective, Zhang Yong also hopes that his boss will place the industrial center in the Yangtze River Delta region. Firstly, it would be closer to his hometown, so he could visit it when he travels for work. Secondly, it would also create more job opportunities for his fellow villagers.

Although people from Henan Province are scattered throughout the country, the Yangtze River Delta region is still the first choice for them to work.

Changfeng Group's private placement still requires approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). From Tan Jincheng's perspective, the CSRC was extremely efficient this time, and the backdoor listing process for Flashway Technology went very smoothly.

On December 24, exactly one month after Changfeng Group resumed trading, the company once again suspended trading after the market closed.

Changfeng Group closed at 10.25 yuan today, up 2.30% intraday. The stock price has shown a three-day winning streak. In one month, 23 trading days, Changfeng Group's stock price has risen by nearly 103%. During the same period, the Shanghai Composite Index fell by 5.36%, closing at 1863.80 points.

Undoubtedly, the shareholders of Changfeng Group who were trapped are the happiest. As long as they don't make any mistakes within a month, many of those who bought in the second half of the year have already broken even or even made a profit.

Xiao Zhang is almost back to break even. His cost for 2 shares was 11 yuan per share, and now the market value has rebounded from a low of 10.1 yuan to 20.5 yuan. If there is another limit-up after the resumption of trading, he will be able to go from being trapped to making a profit!

There are two reasons for FlashTech's suspension of trading this time: one is the private placement, and the other is the name change for the backdoor listing. In Xiao Zhang's view, these are two positive factors.

Since the stock was delisted, Changfeng Group's stock price has fluctuated wildly. Xiao Zhang managed to refrain from making any moves. His cost of the private placement was the same as Xiao Zhang's, and since he hadn't broken even, he had to endure it.

After a year of hard work, Zhang, a shareholder, is finally getting a chance to break even, and he's been in a really good mood these past few days. Meanwhile, as Changfeng Group's stock price continues to rise, the most dreamlike feeling comes from Xu Xinglei and other grassroots employees who received shares. Before this, they only ever encountered the word "stock" in the news.

Now, a month later, the 5000 yuan the boss allocated has turned into 1 yuan?

Xu Xinglei was so excited he was almost numb, and he even considered investing in stocks. Luckily, he remembered that the boss had warned everyone not to play the stock market during the share distribution meeting. He decided to consider this share as a bonus for the outstanding employees who had followed him all along, as a way of celebrating the company's listing.

"Ordinary people should not get involved in the financial industry. This is not something you can play with. Remember my words, treat this as a windfall. How much you can take is up to you. After the ban is lifted, you can do whatever you want with it."

Such harsh words. Ordinary people shouldn't get involved in finance. Xu Xinglei doesn't know what others think, but he's a bit of a die-hard fan of Tan Jincheng. He just listens to whatever his boss says.

He earns 8000 yuan a month now, and his wife works in the garment workshop of Jinpeng Industry. She can earn 4,000 to 5,000 yuan a month by working overtime. The couple's basic monthly income is 12,000 yuan.

He lives in the couple's dormitory provided by Flash Technology. The rent and utilities add up to no more than 300 yuan per month. He eats in the staff canteen and has almost no expenses. In addition, he has a car, so he can go out with his wife on holidays.

If they have a two- or three-day holiday, they can go back to their hometown.

In addition, Xu Xinglei has saved up some money over the years. He borrowed some from his relatives and his father-in-law, and bought a small apartment in the community developed by his company.

Unfortunately, it's a few months late, and the price has gone up quite a bit. But I can buy a bigger one, and the house will be ready next year. By then, I'll have a house, a car, a job, and maybe even a child. That would make my life perfect.

In Xu Xinglei's view, it all started when he met the boss in the company cafeteria that day, teased the little princess, and the workshop director gave him some better opportunities because he knew the boss. Otherwise, even if he hadn't left, he would probably still be a team leader now.

FlashTech and its boss changed his life. If he hadn't come to FlashTech, he wouldn't have dared to dream of having everything he has now.

So he has to listen to what the boss says. He wants to work at Flashpoint Technology for 15 years. Once he has worked there for 15 years, he will have paid his social security contributions, and then he can quit and start a small business.
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Xiangcheng, the headquarters of Changfeng Group.

"So when Changfeng Group resumes trading next time, its name will have to be changed to Flash Technology, right?"

Li Jianxin was somewhat saddened. The loss of their financing platform was extremely detrimental to Changfeng Motors, and in the future, they would only be able to barely survive by clinging to their off-road vehicle business.

What caused JUN Motors, a company established around the same time as Dongfeng Motors and with a history of 58 years, to fall to its current state?
Is it because I lack the ability? Or is it because the business direction is wrong?
"Yes, after the next resumption of trading, the name of the listed company will be changed to Flash Technology."

Tan Jincheng did not shy away from the question. He still respected this veteran state-owned enterprise employee and technician. However, Changfeng Group had too many problems that he could not solve alone.

It would be unfair to place all the blame on him.

Upon hearing this, Li Jianxin said with a self-deprecating laugh, "Haha, let alone the name of the listed company, this building will also be renamed soon. This old man is going to move."

Tan Jincheng was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say. As for the polite words that Li Jianxin and the others didn't need to rush to move out, he really couldn't bring himself to say them.

What if the other party takes advantage of the situation and tries to take advantage of it? Then we'll be completely at a loss.

"Mr. Li, are you really not going to consider the Yongzhou vehicle assembly base? After all, that's where you started. Maybe the feng shui there is more suitable for Changfeng."

Zhang Yong had previously inquired about Li Jianxin's thoughts, but Li Jianxin hesitated. It wasn't that he didn't want it, but he was mainly afraid that Tan Jincheng would make exorbitant demands.

"We're broke. We finally managed to get some money from you, and we need to use it to get production back up and running."

Tan Jincheng came in person, and he was quite straightforward, unlike the ambiguity he displayed when negotiating with Zhang Yong.

"If you want the vehicle production base, we can offer a discount. Of course, if Mr. Li wants all the assets in Yongzhou, it's not impossible to negotiate. I believe Mr. Li will live a more comfortable life in Yongzhou."

"As for the money, we can pay in installments, or find a bank credit guarantee. I believe that Changfeng Motors, which sells more than 2 off-road vehicles every year, will not default on this money."

Of course, installment payments also require a guarantor, but in terms of trust, it doesn't quite reach that level.

Li Jianxin was slightly taken aback, but it wouldn't hurt to listen: "Then tell me, how much do you plan to sell the complete vehicle base for?"

Tan Jincheng thought for a moment and decided that he couldn't ask for too high a price to get rid of this burden. Taking cash would be more cost-effective than entrusting it to the local government.

"If it's an automobile manufacturing base, let's say 1.5 million. If it's a package deal of all industries in Yongzhou, then let's say 2.75 million."

The amount of 2.75 million yuan was the amount that Shanchi acquired Yangzi Automobile. Once he got that amount back, Tan Jincheng felt that he had made a profit. As for whether it was a profit or a loss, he didn't care that much.

The figure of 2.75 million made Li Jianxin roll his eyes. This kid is really something, managing to acquire a car company with nothing.
(End of this chapter)