2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 834 Saving the Market? Absolutely! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"Why does he have so many tricks up his sleeve? Will he ever stop?"

Wei Lai's marketing department acted quickly; the boss's personal secretary called, so they must have taken it very seriously.

In just one day, Lotus Evora400 became one of the hottest internet buzzwords.

Giving consumers the right to name a Chinese character was still quite novel in 2015. In the past, voting was more often seen in entertainment programs, and it was rare for companies to do this.

"Let's give him the worst song we can hear, and make him feel utterly miserable."

The threat from Wei Lai is growing, and Boatman is now paying close attention to news about Wei Lai. Wei Lai's acquisition of Proton and Lotus was quite a sensation in the automotive industry.

The industry generally views this acquisition positively. While it wasn't as sensational as Geely's acquisition of Volvo, Proton's Southeast Asian market channels and Lotus's technology are still very valuable assets.

Unlike some companies that acquire a bunch of worthless assets in China from foreign companies, spending a lot of money but ultimately not being able to use them.

However, everyone knows that the "Lotus" trademark cannot be used in China. Everyone was wondering how Wei Lai would solve the problem, whether to acquire the trademark at an exorbitant price or to use Lotus directly. No one expected that Tan Jincheng would resort to such a borderline approach.

The official website of Weilai has announced ten candidate flower meanings, such as osmanthus, peach blossom, apricot blossom, plum blossom, lotus, cherry blossom, etc. These are all words with good meanings and flowers, which makes people unconsciously associate them with lotus flowers.

This tactic is truly disgusting, but there's nothing manufacturers with the Lotus trademark can do. It's a common term, so even if you urgently register a trademark, it's useless.

Which one should we choose?

The boatman's assistant felt that his boss's behavior was a bit strange when dealing with President Tan. Choosing an unpleasant word to disgust President Tan seemed like a child throwing a tantrum.

Touching his chin, the boatman's eyes lit up: "Let's organize a group of people to throw cherry blossoms."

He had been to Beicang. There was a road in Beicang lined with cherry blossom trees on both sides. It was indeed very beautiful when the cherry blossoms were in bloom every year. In addition, there were cherry blossom forests and plum blossom forests on Jiufeng Mountain in Beicang, which were also very beautiful when they were in bloom.

That's probably why Wei Lai listed cherry blossoms as a candidate.

Cherry blossoms aren't unpleasant to hear, but they easily evoke images of everyday life, which is like digging a hole for Wei Lai.

The assistant didn't think much of it, secretly thinking that it wasn't that bad.

After the assistant left, the boatman personally cast his vote for Sakura, secretly marveling at Tan Jincheng's diverse marketing methods. Evora400 was already a hit even before its official launch.

The voting period lasts a week, and once the official Chinese name is released, it will generate considerable buzz, allowing for promotion over a period of more than half a month.

"Is this what Xiao Tan always calls being down-to-earth? Sigh, I can't learn it."

Most entrepreneurs are aware of the benefits of being down-to-earth, but this is easier said than done, and it is largely related to the entrepreneur's temperament and past life experiences.

Learning it poorly can have the opposite effect.

Many others, like the boatman, were up to no good, but Mr. Tan, who was in London, was unaware of this and was being interviewed by the BBC.

This media outlet has a penchant for setting traps for its interviewees and for taking things out of context, but it must be said that it has a huge global influence. After much consideration, Tan Jincheng accepted the BBC's interview request.

After acquiring Lotus, the first move after taking control was to invest in the Lotus F1 team, including injecting capital and raising wages for workers. A series of public events around London have also fueled speculation.

"Cooperating with world-renowned automobile companies has always been our goal. Learning from their advanced management concepts and technologies to improve our young team and provide consumers with better products has always been the goal of all of us at Weilai."

The continued sharp decline in A-shares caused Mr. Tan to lose his title as the richest man in China, but his global fame is not based on the empty title of the richest man.

The world's largest new energy vehicle manufacturer, the world's most promising power battery supplier, and the world's largest two-wheeled electric vehicle manufacturer—this is why Tan Jincheng is famous worldwide.

In addition, Orange Technology, which is listed on Wall Street, has consistently performed very well in the capital market over the years.

While the A-share market experienced a stock market crash, Orange Technology, listed on Nasdaq, did not suffer a sharp decline. With its GMV increasing and having turned a profit, Orange Technology has seen a continuous ten-month upward trend since September 2013.

Currently, Orange Technology's stock price closed at $117.92, with a market capitalization of $109.67 billion. Tan Jincheng and his family hold more than $30 billion worth of shares in Orange Technology.

"Does Wei Lai have any plans to cooperate with or acquire Aston Martin?"

The BBC's Q&A sessions are always so direct. Tan Jincheng's appearance at Aston Martin's headquarters, accompanied by their new global president and CEO Andy Palmer throughout, leaves no room for speculation.

Compared to Lotus, which was recently acquired by Wei Lai, Aston Martin is also having a tough time. As of fiscal year 2014, Aston Martin had suffered losses for four consecutive years.

According to its interim report, Aston Martin expects its losses for the 2015 fiscal year to be nearly double those of the previous year.

The decline in sales is the main reason for Aston Martin's losses. While the global luxury car market has grown by 81% for four consecutive years, Aston Martin's growth is only 8%, and their sales have declined sharply since last year.

Global sales were 4200 units in 2013 and 3661 units in 2014, and sales have continued to decline this year.

Despite Aston Martin's strong emphasis on the fastest-growing market, China, sales have been consistently poor, with only 200 units sold last year despite the introduction of several new models.

In addition, Aston Martin's performance in investment has been very poor. The new CEO just announced the start of a new century plan for the brand this year, but then made a big joke in terms of investment.

With electric vehicles so popular, luxury brands are all jumping on the bandwagon, and Aston Martin is naturally not going to be left behind.

It's no exaggeration to say that the automotive industry is rife with shady deals and acquisitions. It's not just us who are easily scammed when acquiring companies overseas; many foreign brands have also been taken advantage of when trying to enter our market.

Proton's predicament was exacerbated by Huatai's deception, and Aston Martin has not escaped the same fate.

In order to enter the electric vehicle and Chinese markets, Aston had to choose a partner in China. Ironically, they didn't know how they chose it, but the partner turned out to be LeEco!
They had just announced the establishment of a joint venture for electric vehicles and signed a memorandum of understanding.

Shortly after, Accountant Jia absconded, leaving behind the famous quote, "I'll be back in China next week," which made the old man Andy Palmer suffer endless ridicule.

“Dr. Andy is a very knowledgeable person. I benefited a lot from his visit to Aston Martin headquarters, and I am very grateful to him.”

Ignoring the BBC's questions about the project, Tan Jincheng continued talking to himself. He had little experience dealing with BBC reporters, but he had watched a lot of short videos in his previous life. Anyway, he just wouldn't give them a direct answer. If they said one thing, he would say another.

In fact, his visit to the Aston Martin headquarters was a planned itinerary before he came abroad, not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

In mid-June, the Weilai Group sent a letter inquiring whether their president could visit Aston Martin's headquarters during his visit to the UK, which gave Andy, who had recently made quite a few jokes, a glimmer of hope.

Since entering the Chinese market in 2008, Aston Martin has been making headways and slams.

They spent a lot of money, did a lot of promotion, and the model was well received, but it just didn't sell. The sales of 200 cars a year were even less than when Wei helped promote the Tesla Roadster.

The reason Andy chose LeEco wasn't because he was fooled by Jia Yueting, but because they had their own ulterior motives.

Internet companies have money, but they lack the capability to manufacture cars. Partnering with them allows them to better control the joint venture while still having access to funds.

But no one expected that LeEco, which focused on its ecosystem, was just an empty shell.

While Tan Jincheng was visiting the headquarters, he also expressed a certain intention to cooperate. This gave Andy a new idea: if they could reach a cooperation agreement with Wei, they could use the most advanced and low-cost power battery system and solutions in the field of power batteries.

In addition, as a leading global new energy vehicle company, WILTE is also renowned for its intelligent driving capabilities, which is very advantageous for Aston's entry into the electric vehicle market.

Of course, the most crucial point is that Andy highly values ​​Wei Lai's marketing and promotion abilities.

If we could get Wei to help Aston develop a marketing plan that suits their national conditions, would that boost sales in the Zhongguo region?
The idea is good, but it's also a case of grasping at straws in desperation.

Tan Jincheng is not opposed to cooperation with Aston Martin, but at present, he will not go too far. The newly acquired Proton and Lotus will take a long time to digest.

He thought that trying to do too much at once would lead to failure. His visit to Aston Martin's headquarters was partly out of curiosity and partly because he wanted to sell batteries.

It's always good to get another customer. The two parties have reached a preliminary agreement on the supply of power battery systems, and Tan Jincheng has brought Xuanwu Battery another customer.

"In my plan, Weilai will walk on three legs: fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles, and power batteries. These three are Weilai's core businesses. Apart from these, Weilai will not get involved in other industries."

"The potential of new energy vehicles is enormous. Judging from this year's growth rate, in five to ten years, the production capacity of new energy vehicles will be on par with that of gasoline vehicles. While doing a good job in the traditional gasoline vehicle business, Weilai will focus on developing the new energy vehicle business."

The BBC presenter was speechless for a moment; this young man really didn't play by the rules.

He never answers any of the questions asked to him that are more in-depth or sensitive; instead, he just talks about his company's development plans and future industry trends.

Fuck, who the hell wants to hear this?

Tan Jincheng noticed the host's expression, but he didn't care. He just wanted to use the BBC platform to express his thoughts and let the capital market hear his plans for Weilai.

By acquiring and absorbing technology, he aims to improve WYD's technological level in fuel vehicles. He does not intend to completely abandon fuel vehicles like BYD did, especially since BYD's abandonment of fuel vehicles was out of necessity.

In the past two years, BYD has launched some gasoline vehicles, but none of them have become blockbuster models like the F3 and F0. Sales have been unable to break through previous highs. On the contrary, although new energy vehicles have a strong competitor like Weilai, their potential is limitless.

One is a red ocean, the other a blue ocean; the choice is self-evident.

The situation in Weilai is different from that of BYD. Although it has been on the market for many years, the sales of the Yuechi series have always been good. The Yuechi A1 and Yuechi A3 are still very competitive. After digesting Proton's channels, the gasoline vehicle business can be fully exported.

With its focus on exporting gasoline-powered vehicles, targeting the domestic market with new energy vehicles, and complemented by its core power battery business, Weilai has consistently maintained its competitiveness. After finishing his interview with the BBC, Tan Jincheng set off to return to China.

It was already July.

On the last trading day of June, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets ended with a surge, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising by more than 200 points in a single day.

On the first day, a thousand stocks hit their daily limit down, and on the second day, a thousand stocks hit their daily limit up. The dramatic ups and downs were shocking and stimulated the nerves of retail investors.

"If we start counting from the market's start in November last year, the three major indices have more than doubled in less than seven months. This rise is really too fast and too crazy."

"That's right. The speed of the rise is much faster than in the 2008 bull market. In addition, the trading volume is also much larger than in 2008. When leverage is involved, it can really easily cause systemic risks."

During the bull market of 2007-2008, the highest monthly trading volume of the Shanghai Composite Index was only four trillion yuan. However, this year, the monthly trading volume of the Shanghai Composite Index in June reached 20 trillion yuan, a full five times the previous volume.

"Tell me, what are your plans to rescue the market?"

In a conference room in the capital, representatives from major securities firms and the national team were seated. After three consecutive days of sharp declines since the beginning of July, the market outlook had become extremely precarious.

Today is Sunday, July 5th, which is also the day Tan Jincheng landed back in China.

Tan Jincheng, who had just arrived in Beijing, was summoned to the meeting. Accompanying him were some well-known private equity firms and executives of large companies that could influence the index.

Weilai is the company with the largest market capitalization on the ChiNext board and is also an important stock that can influence the new energy concept sector and even the overall market index.

Looking at the monthly chart, the 7.25% drop in June 2015 seems insignificant compared to the index's several-fold increase.

In terms of individual stocks, the gains of small and medium-sized growth stocks, ranging from three or four times to ten times, seem insignificant in the face of a single month's decline. Even large blue-chip stocks with average gains have seen their prices double.

Why can a decline of just a dozen or so trading days trigger systemic risks?

Those who didn't experience the 2015 stock market crash will never understand how terrifying those dozen or so trading days were; retail investors, institutional investors, and speculative funds alike were all caught in the crossfire.

Deleveraging, the panic triggered by the sharp decline, and the severe bubble have rendered most individual stocks, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, irrational.

Either the stock opens at its daily limit down, or it experiences a sharp drop in volume within just a few minutes of opening and remains locked at the daily limit down for the rest of the day.

October 1st to November 3th.

In just three trading days, the Shanghai Composite Index fell by as much as 13.8%, dropping rapidly from 4277 points to 3686 points. With the index performing so badly, the performance of individual stocks was even worse.

The vast majority of individual stocks experienced three consecutive days of limit-down in the first three trading days of July.

Retail investors who haven't used leverage can hold on a bit, but some institutions and small and medium-sized shareholders can't. Due to the high-level pledging in the early stage, coupled with the pledging-based share reduction invented by Jia, some small and medium-sized shareholders have followed suit.

Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and growth enterprises have frequently issued announcements, and shareholders of all sizes are facing the risk of margin calls.

Another risk is funds. Funds with large holdings face significant risks due to redemptions by investors caused by sharp declines in net asset value.

When fund investors redeem their shares, they have to sell the stocks they hold, which will trigger a new round of decline.

If those funds of ByteDance Engine hadn't already forced individual investors to redeem their shares, they wouldn't be able to maintain their positions and bear the losses now.

Ordinary investors won't talk to you about strategic thinking.

Tan Jincheng had just returned to China and was immediately brought over. Still jet-lagged, he didn't say anything, but just listened quietly.

Sitting next to him was Cheng Linfeng. Originally, no one expected that Boss Tan would return to China. Cheng Linfeng was attending as Tan Jincheng's representative.

"Your good days are coming to an end."

After listening for a while, Tan Jincheng whispered to Cheng Linfeng beside him, "Market intervention has always happened, but such a huge investment of real money as this time is still very rare."

According to the meeting plan, this market rescue plan will officially begin tomorrow. After the meeting ends today, it will be announced that the market rescue funds will be no less than 1200 billion yuan, with 21 securities firms as the main body and contributing 15% of their net assets in June.

It has to be said that the national team at this stage was really rich.

"Hehe, boss, you don't know yet, I've been back at work for several days now."

Ordinary employees can take their vacation whenever they want, but Cheng Linfeng is different. Even though he is on vacation, he still has to handle company affairs and keep an eye on the stock market.

The stock market turmoil in late June caused significant losses for ByteDance itself.

It would be unreasonable for the actual manager and shareholder to be on vacation at this time.

Cheng Linfeng looked at Tan Jincheng with some gratitude in his eyes. The capital market has been in turmoil recently, and many institutions and individuals have suffered losses. It is almost certain that a certain private equity tycoon will have to work as a sewing machine operator.

Since mid-2014, this private equity tycoon, who was from the same hometown as him, has been frequently investigated. However, at that time, the stock market was doing well and the market was booming, so some things were covered up.

This time he's probably doomed, mainly because his behavior was too blatant.

Starting from 4000 points, ByteDance's trading platform gradually stopped operating until it completely ceased operations in May. Some employees took leave, and during this wave of decline, the platform maintained its positions without moving, incurring a huge loss.

It may seem like the boss is talking about vision, but in reality, he's protecting them, or rather, protecting himself.

If something really goes wrong, he, as the person in charge, will definitely be the first to be affected. With the boss's background, he won't be in any trouble, but it's uncertain what will happen to him.

No institution can claim to be completely innocent when it comes to secondary market trading; they'll always find something to criticize.

The fact that he was able to represent the boss at such a high-level market rescue meeting was an implicit recognition of him from above. Otherwise, even if the boss hadn't returned, the boss's secretary, Zeng Jixiang, could have attended instead.

The fluctuations in the stock price of Weilai Co., Ltd. can affect the ChiNext index, which has nothing to do with ByteDance's advertising platform.

How much funding can we allocate to rescue the market?

With securities firms and the national team contributing so much money, it would be unacceptable for other institutions and listed companies attending the meeting not to express their support, especially since Tan Jincheng had no intention of not intervening.

“There’s a lot to take. Although we didn’t reduce all our positions this time, we still made a lot of money. Currently, the company’s securities account has 30 billion yuan in cash flow. It’s up to you, boss, how much are you planning to take?”

Several funds started their positions very early, almost all around the time the Shanghai Composite Index was at 2000 points. While it might not be the absolute lowest point, their holding costs were quite low.

With its own funds, the funds raised through private placements, and some leverage, this investment plan from 2013 to 2015 made ByteDance (巨量引擎) a fortune.

The 30 billion yuan in cash that Cheng Linfeng mentioned is only the funds held in the securities account; the majority of the money is converted into company profits.

"President Tan, I wonder what your company's opinion is? I see you discussing this with your company's President Cheng."

This market rescue operation was spearheaded by Zhang Jun, assistant chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), and China Securities Finance Corporation (CSF). The person asking the questions was Zhang Jun, who was sitting in the middle of the meeting room.

As the leader of the ChiNext board, he had to get Tan Jincheng to make a statement. He brought Tan Jincheng over from the airport at the last minute because he didn't want to give the other party time to react.

"Sorry, I just returned to China and I'm not up-to-date with some information. But since we're going to participate in the market rescue plan, both Weilai Group and Shanchi Technology have an unshirkable responsibility, and we will actively participate in the plan."

"We just checked with our CEO Cheng about the current capital utilization rate of ByteDance's advertising platform. We currently have 30 billion yuan in cash available, and we plan to allocate half of that, 15 billion yuan, to participate in the market rescue plan."

Weilai Group allocated 10 billion yuan and Shanchi Technology 5 million yuan to repurchase shares. That's quite a generous amount, isn't it?

Zhang Jun was also stunned for a moment. This young boss was quite generous, asking for 15 billion yuan right off the bat.

"Mr. Tan is very generous. Thank you very much for your support."

The person in charge at China Securities Finance Corporation also smiled, while the various securities firms and other listed companies had different expressions.

On the evening of July 5, 21 securities firms jointly issued an announcement, agreeing to invest a total of no less than 120 billion yuan in blue-chip ETFs in order to maintain the stability of the stock market.

At the same time, two listed companies under the actual control of Tan Jincheng, Weilai Shares and Shanchi Technology, issued announcements simultaneously.

Listed company FlashTech (Group) plans to invest up to 5 million yuan to repurchase its circulating shares. It plans to repurchase no more than 2000 million FlashTech shares at a price range of 15 to 25 yuan, and the repurchased shares will be cancelled in full.

The controlling shareholder of listed company Weilai Co., Ltd., Juxing Engine, plans to invest up to 10 billion yuan to repurchase circulating shares, and plans to repurchase no more than 800 million shares of the company in the price range of 70 yuan to 120 yuan.

Unlike FlashTech, the 800 million shares repurchased by Weilai were not cancelled, but used to implement an employee stock ownership incentive plan.

Compared to the national team's 1200 billion yuan bailout plan, the 10 billion yuan bailout plan of Weilai Group and the 5 million yuan bailout plan of Shanchi Technology seem insignificant. However, compared to the reactions of other companies, Weilai seems to have taken a lot of responsibility.

Among privately-owned listed companies, Tan Jincheng, who had just returned to China, was the first to announce a market rescue plan.

This weekend night is destined to be a sleepless one for stock market investors, as the market rescue measures that have been called for for half a month have finally arrived!
(End of this chapter)