2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 631: The Proud President Cheng

When Shuguang Auto received the letter from ByteDance Engine, it was already 7 p.m. The management of Shuguang Auto had long since left work and were preparing to invite Cheng Linfeng to dinner.

They were all stunned when they received the call from the staff on duty.

At the same time, ByteDance's advertising platform also sent a letter to the regulatory authorities, and there were no procedural problems whatsoever.

"What exactly is this young man trying to do?"

The information was relayed to Li Xianjin, the chairman of Shuguang Group. He delayed Tan Jincheng for a month, trying to find a way to make him give up his covetousness for Huanghai Automobile.

Who would have thought that while they were negotiating with us, they were still acquiring shares on the secondary market? Could it be that they were annoyed by the long delay and wanted to acquire us like they acquired Changfeng Motors?

Believe it or not, it's really possible. He only needs to raise his stake once more to become the largest shareholder of Shuguang Auto.

Controlling a listed company with less than 300 million yuan in cash seems like a good deal no matter how you look at it.

"Boss, should we issue a notice?"

The secretary looked at her boss, who was frowning, and asked cautiously.

According to regulations, the party that raises the bid cannot purchase shares within three trading days after the announcement is issued; there are no restrictions after three trading days.

Having already raised his paddle once, Li Xianjin naturally understood this rule: "Let's delay for two days. Help me arrange a meeting with President Cheng. I must meet with him tonight."

If we drag this out for two days, it will be the weekend. We can try to find some connections and think of a solution, and at the same time, ask ByteDance to try not to make any more purchases in the next two days.

As the party targeted by the hostile takeover bid, they can naturally retaliate by increasing their shareholding, but it's not easy to get approval for such an increase using company funds.

Using their own funds to increase their holdings is clearly not something they would be happy about; if they really wanted to, their shareholdings would be much larger.

Besides, the stock price has already doubled. In terms of financial resources, the management team led by Li Xianjin really can't compete with the wealthy billionaires.

I definitely need to make a trip to Ningbo as soon as possible.

As the industrial center gradually shifted to the coastal areas in the 21st century, the three northeastern provinces, which were the old industrial base, began to decline.

As one of the top three axle manufacturers in the country in the 90s, Shuguang Automobile, which was acquired by a private enterprise from the Shandong Automobile Factory, was once extremely successful.

In fact, Shuguang Auto's problem is very similar to that of Changfeng Group. Both chose to enter the passenger vehicle market when their core businesses could no longer make breakthroughs, and both chose the same thing: SUVs.

Tan Jincheng had seen Shuguang Auto's own-brand SUV, and it was made with a complete lack of sincerity. It was just a pickup truck with a shell on the back, and the workmanship was rough. Compared to Changfeng Group, which started out making auto parts, they seemed even less sincere.

A pickup truck with a new leather body sold for 12.98 yuan – it's no wonder its sales aren't great.

However, it wasn't entirely without merit. From a 2000 perspective, Shuguang Auto's SUV still had some "cutting-edge technology," such as its rearview mirror displaying the factory switch status, and a media player screen hidden inside the passenger-side sun visor!

Does this look familiar?
Those who are in the know understand their own situation. The industrial advantages built up during a special era were quickly eroded after the reform and opening up. Newly developed businesses are not performing well, and the rigid management system means that what seems like a thriving business is actually facing numerous difficulties.

Andar, which was the first to obtain automobile production qualifications under Tan Jincheng, is an example of this, as is Changfeng Group, and the future Shuguang Automobile will also be hard-pressed to escape this fate.

"When it comes to the whole car manufacturing business, local governments are the main force, but they can only offer limited assistance in the end market. You have to make your product acceptable to consumers."

In a market economy, your products are aimed at end consumers; you can't force people to buy them.

For some time now, brands like Andar have been largely confined to the city. This is because, aside from selling some through connections, what chance do these poorly made products have of facing real market competition?

"Where did you learn that sign-holding routine?"

If Tan Jincheng wants to use his account to buy stocks, he will definitely notify Gu Qingqing. Although she has been studying hard at school recently, she is not ignoring everything. She occasionally participates in some company decisions, such as financial reports.

She now owns quite a few companies, and she has a lot of things to deal with.

Like Tan Jincheng, Gu Qingqing now also has an assistant team to help her with her work. There are no major investment activities this year, and the team mainly does charity work.

As for those two companies dedicated to big data, they don't have much of a chance right now; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them shell companies.

Although the shareholding disclosure mechanism has always existed, it is rarely used in the A-share market today. Although the announcement of ByteDance's second shareholding disclosure has not yet been issued, it has already caused a great stir in the capital circle.

Damn, young people really know how to play! How come they didn't think of this trick?
Tonight, countless institutions are scrutinizing the shareholding structures of listed companies, looking for any potential targets for hostile takeovers. Tan Jincheng's unintentional takeover bid seems to have triggered something. Interestingly, this year's market situation is somewhat similar to that of 2015 in my previous life, when a bull market was followed by a sharp decline.

Market confidence has not recovered, there are few themes to speculate on, and the market value of major valuable companies is almost at its lowest point, which has attracted the covetous eyes of some buyers with large sums of money.

The situation is similar now. The market is not short of money, but it lacks a direction. Perhaps the concept of shareholding increase can be hyped up?
Those institutions that sold today are kicking themselves. Cheng Linfeng went to Liaoning Province for negotiations, and ByteDance's engine has been inactive for more than a month. The news circulating is mostly that Wei Lai wants to cooperate with Shuguang Auto.

Tan Jincheng's recent schedule has been frequently leaked, including meetings, factory inspections for cooperation with Mitsubishi, and visits to Weilai Motors. When interviewed, he only said that it was Cheng Linfeng's decision.

All signs pointed to the matter being over, but no one expected Flash to suddenly raise its bid a month later.
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"Mr. Li wants to see our boss. I can help you make an appointment, but it might have to be a little early, as you know the Shanghai Auto Show is coming up soon."

Cheng Linfeng really enjoyed the drinks tonight. Seeing that Li Xianjin and his group were no longer trying to fool him, he felt like he had finally gotten his revenge.

He stayed in Shandong for a month. These people took turns talking to him and drinking with him, but they never talked about specific matters.

They talked a good game at the dinner table, but they denied everything once they sobered up. I'm really fed up with these guys.

He's the vice president of an investment firm with billions in cash flow; anyone would be furious to be treated like this.

The reason Liu Shaofeng was asked to pass a message to the boss was because he couldn't stand these people anymore. Sure enough, the boss understood what he meant and immediately gave him a second chance to raise his paddle.

We said we weren't going to talk, but if we don't talk now, there'll be nothing left to talk about. Let's just do it on the secondary market.

The boss's assessment of the Northeast region was that their administrative efficiency was low and they were not good partners. Although Cheng Linfeng had heard of this before, he had never done business before, and this time he witnessed it firsthand.

As expected, the boss was right to only transfer the assets he wanted and not to have too many cooperative ideas.

"Mr. Cheng, could you give us two days? We'll release your announcement two days later. Also, could you please refrain from acquiring any more shares on the secondary market during these two days?"

Circumstances dictate that Li Xianjin had no choice but to lower his head, raise his glass in a toast, and say...

Aside from meeting Cheng Linfeng for the first time, he had always avoided him, using the excuse of being busy with work.

"The announcement can be delayed by two days, but I really can't decide whether to buy the stock or not. However, I can tell you that the boss has been trading the stock himself these past few days, saying he's itching to do it."

Cheng Linfeng then joked, "Mr. Li, you know our boss isn't even 24 yet. Young people sometimes have strange ideas that we can't understand."

Li Xianjin drank it down with a sense of helplessness; he was worried about the same thing.

He couldn't understand the young people's thinking. He actually knew less about stocks than Tan Jincheng. Suddenly one day, someone told him that his company was about to go out of business, and it was a young man who was buying stocks. He was really confused.

The key point is that this young man is also extremely wealthy. What's that saying again? "Rich people can do whatever they want."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Cheng. Please convey my message as soon as possible, and also please help me schedule a meeting with Mr. Tan."

Like the people of Shandong Province, the people of Liaoning Province are also very sensitive to what happens within the system. Li Xianjin wanted to resolve the placard-raising incident with Tan Jincheng through private consultation, but he did not want to offend him.

The current one said he was from the same hometown as him, and the next one patted the guy on the shoulder affectionately. It's best not to offend someone like that.

Speaking of which, this guy was lucky. He initially chose Ningbo as the location for his business. Judging from his rise to prominence, it perfectly coincided with the time of the next leader. It's like a Zhejiang enterprise that grew under his leadership. How could he not be a little proud?

Why did he choose to locate his business in Ningbo?

"Don't worry, I'll contact my boss after this meal. But please, brothers, don't get me drunk again today."

Cheng Linfeng also downed his drink in one gulp. The other people at the table were somewhat embarrassed, as they had been responsible for taking this guy out of the water for the past few days to keep him from negotiating.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Li Xianjin's secretary chuckled repeatedly, "Come on, eat, eat, Mr. Cheng. We were just saying there's no need to drink so fast."

Cheng Linfeng nodded with a smile, indicating that he had stopped.

It felt so good to get my revenge today.

However, he didn't forget his business. There was no second round after dinner, so he quickly called Tan Jincheng after returning to the hotel.

"Okay, I got it. I won't buy it then, but Xiao Liu can buy it, you know what I mean."

Cheng Linfeng was speechless for a moment.

(End of this chapter)