2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 644 "Weilai Automotive Concept Stocks"

This isn't the first time they've been praised by analysts; both Orange Technology and Flashpoint Technology have been praised before.

But it's quite strange that analysts are praising Weilai Auto, which has only been established for a year and hasn't even gone public yet, and all this without spending any money!
"Actually, he didn't exaggerate much. The data inside is all publicly available and verifiable. Ideally, Wei Lai can really achieve it. Mr. Xie, just wait to collect your money."

Weilai's strategy is new energy vehicles. It will not develop many models of fuel vehicles, and will not follow the strategy of flooding the market with cars like BYD and Geely. It will be enough if one or two models sell well.

Great Wall Motors, for example, only sells pickup trucks and SUVs, and the same strategy applies to its gasoline-powered vehicles.

If the Yuechi A1 gets off to a good start, then we can adopt an update and iteration approach and sell it for several years.

Make money, don't be embarrassed.

Xie Hongjun glanced at him blankly: "What, is it really like he said, launching the IPO in 2012?"

Beicang City Investment didn't spend much money on Weilai Automobile, and Weilai Automobile is not profitable at present, so dividends are out of the question. However, if it can really launch its listing plan in 2012, that would be an extraordinary thing.

The fact that a company dares to go public after only four years of operation, regardless of whether it succeeds in its IPO attempt, demonstrates that the company has already reached a certain scale.

"Whether or not we go public will be decided later, but just like investing in stocks, there's always an expectation. This expectation comes from an analyst's perspective, and it's not something we've asked people to hype up; it's based on some kind of reference."

Xie Hongjun agrees with this point. A proper analyst is not a sports intern. Regardless of whether one can accept his views, they serve as a spur to the company.

"Don't you plan to go public?"

Ying Jianren couldn't help but ask, as he really wanted to take Zhongtai to the point where it could be listed on the stock exchange. After the backdoor listing through Jinma, Ying Jianren had tasted the sweetness of capital, and Zhongtai's ultimate goal was definitely to go public.

"There are no plans for that at the moment. There is no need to go public if we don't lack money. To be honest, if it weren't for wanting Changfeng Motor's qualifications and the promises I made to the district, I really wouldn't want to take FlashTech public."

FlashTech is making a killing. Wouldn't it be better to keep quiet and rake in the profits for a few years?
Not to mention the large number of shares that had to be distributed during the listing process, the regulatory oversight and financial reporting alone added a considerable amount of work for Tan Jincheng after the listing.

Going public certainly has many advantages, otherwise so many companies wouldn't be lining up to go public. But as far as Tan Jincheng is concerned, he doesn't particularly care about going public.

Both companies' IPO dates seem a bit promotional; a few more days later would have resulted in better valuations, especially for Orange Technology.

In short, Boss Tan felt he had lost out.

"To be honest, I was initially looking down on Weilai because it's only been established for a year."

Ying Jianren sighed, then added, "But after reading that research report, I realized that you've developed very quickly. You already have mature models in all three major segments. There's no one else who can match your development speed."

Pickups, large and medium-sized buses, SUVs—this is a mature product line system, far superior to their aimless acquisitions everywhere.

"There's no other way. I don't have as much capital as Zhongtai, so I can only use the money wisely. The acquisitions of Yangzi and Huanghai didn't actually cost much."

Neither of these acquisitions was as much as what Zhongtai spent on Fiat, so it was actually quite worthwhile.

Huanghai Auto's business is currently in an uncertain state, but Yangzi Pickup is on the right track and selling better and better, with monthly sales exceeding 2000 units. It seems that achieving this year's target will not be a problem.

Thanks to this year's policies, otherwise pickup trucks wouldn't have been able to get on track so quickly.

"You're making fun of your older brother."

Ying Jianren smiled bitterly, but it seems that Fiat really did make a bad investment. Technology that you can't fully understand is useless. It would be better to make some models that you can handle and start making money first, like before.

It seems that imitation is easier these days.

"I didn't mean that, brother, don't misunderstand."

"Haha, it's nothing. I was just too eager to acquire Fiat. By the way, I heard something yesterday. Tell me if it's true."

The domestic auto parts industry chain is actually quite small, with very few large auto parts suppliers.

Coincidentally, Zhongtai is one of them, and Ying Jianren also started his business in the automotive parts industry.

"Go ahead, bro."

Ying Jianren squinted and smiled, "I heard that your Weizi brand Yuechi signed an order for 6 sets of parts in one go?"

6 sets! That's quite a large sum. His Golden Horse Film Company must be eager to get a piece of the action.

Jinma is involved in various parts such as automotive body stampings and automotive instruments, and its supply system is quite mature. Entering Weilai Auto's supply chain system will not only increase the company's business, but also boost its stock price.

Last year, the stock prices of companies in the automotive industry chain suffered a severe decline along with the broader market. This year, driven by policy initiatives, they have begun to recover. Ordinary investors may not have noticed yet, but large institutions have already been quietly buying in. ByteDance's (巨量引擎) large-scale shareholding increase, besides being due to its own business development, is essentially just a result of institutional foresight.

There are quite a few investment institutions like ByteDance's advertising platform.

Some concept stocks have already emerged in the market, centered around car brands that sell relatively well, such as the BYD concept.

Although no automotive concept stocks have emerged yet, Ying Jianren, with his foresight, believes that such concept stocks will definitely appear.

Institutional research reports and the exposure of order volumes will inevitably drive the formation of this concept stock.

Ying Jianren's listed companies have recently performed well in terms of stock price, but that's not enough. Ying Jianren has always had a keen business sense, and he certainly won't miss an opportunity to capitalize on it.

"Wow, this news spread so fast? No wonder the business circles in the Yangtze River Delta region are so small."

Tan Jincheng did not deny that, apart from the order with Shuguang Auto due to a trade-off, Weilai Auto's main components are all sourced from the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai region. Given the current order volume, it will be known sooner or later.

The order for 6 sets of the first vehicle was an incredibly impressive thing in itself.

It's worth noting that even a company like Mitsubishi, when Nagasawa Hiroshi heard Tan Jincheng say he wanted to purchase 6 sets, didn't dare to agree directly, let alone those companies that couldn't handle the entire order at once.

It's inevitable that a single order will be split into multiple smaller orders. If someone bold enough dares to take on these smaller orders, and Yuechi's sales meet expectations, then the company's development will inevitably enter a fast track.

Believe it or not, there really are companies like that.

Businessmen in Beicang District all know that Zhang Mingcan, who was unknown at the time, was struggling with the difficulties of transforming his business in the motorcycle parts industry. He received his first order for the shell of a Flash Motorcycle after meeting Tan Jincheng.

What followed was that this guy was also very bold. In his words, he almost risked his entire fortune to drive an Audi A6 and partnered with Shanchi to start a new factory, Mingcheng Industrial.

Today, Mingcheng Industrial can generate over 2 million yuan in output value annually with just one client, FlashTech. Including other clients of varying sizes, Mingcheng Industrial can easily reach a scale of 3 million yuan in annual output value.

Net profit has remained stable at over 3000 million yuan. Zhang Mingcan has transformed from a small business owner with a factory into a large-scale entrepreneur in the district, and his social status has changed significantly.

Zhang Haiping had a similar experience. His garment factory is now the largest OEM factory of Jinpeng Industry. In addition to handling foreign trade orders, most of GXG's OEM and single-piece orders are also handled by him.

This company, Top Parts Co., Ltd., is also a local enterprise in Beicang. Top, which makes shock absorption systems and interior and exterior trim systems, was established a little earlier than Jinpeng.

However, Mr. Wu was willing to invest heavily. Back when Top was still a small factory, he made a lot of investment in technology and established an NVH R&D center.

When Weilai Auto needed to find a buyer, it was Boss Wu who came to them on his own.

These two are really something; one dared to offer, and the other dared to accept.

Ying Jianren didn't hide his thoughts: "Yeah, give some of the orders to Jinma, let the older brother make some money."

"Splitting up the business is definitely not a problem, but as you know, the person in charge of Weilai Auto is a tech guy, and he has high standards for quality."

Large orders are broken down into smaller orders, and the quality varies from supplier to supplier. To ensure the overall quality of the vehicles is stable, all small suppliers must accept Wei Lai's quality inspection requirements, which Zhang Yong personally oversees.

While it cannot be guaranteed that the first vehicle will be completely problem-free, Tan Jincheng's requirement is to keep the issues within a manageable range as much as possible.

Tan Jincheng explained to Ying Jianren some of the requirements that Wei Lai had set for quality control. These were all proposed by Zhang Yong's team, who had worked in Futian before, and Zhang Yong himself had even been a sales manager, so they were very familiar with the process.

After hearing this, Ying Jianren couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and at the same time, his determination to recruit Xia Bing became even stronger.

"Professional matters should indeed be left to professionals. It's fortunate that President Tan has met such a talented person as President Zhang. Don't worry, we are a nationally renowned auto parts supplier. We may not be able to manufacture cars, but our parts are definitely top-notch."

"That's fine. We can discuss the specific share later, or you can have someone connect with Zhang Yong."

"No problem, that's enough for today; let's go eat."

Xie Hongjun, who had been listening quietly, then smiled and said, "Congratulations to the two bosses on closing another deal. President Ying, you have to treat us to a good meal today."

"Haha, that's a must; let's skip the cafeteria today and go to the best hotel in the city."

They have entered the supply chain system of Weilai Automobile, labeling Jinma Shares as a Weilai Automobile concept stock. In addition, they have reached a preliminary agreement with Xie Hongjun on a real estate cooperation project.

Boss Ying has certainly reaped a great harvest; this share transfer was definitely a worthwhile investment.

(End of this chapter)