Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 956 Respectfully Sending Off Boss Ma

Having worked in the political and economic fields for decades, the old man has a profound understanding that the core theme of contemporary China is "seeking stability and pursuing development".

But it is precisely because of these six words that there are too many choices, compromises and trade-offs that are hard for ordinary people to imagine.

This time, although he prepared two options for his superiors to choose from, neither choice would ultimately lead to the result he wanted. Because from a holistic perspective, the answer was already crystal clear.

From the perspective of the internet sector alone, halting Ant Group's growth seems to indicate that the other side will be at its zenith, raising concerns about potential monopolies.

However, looking at the bigger picture of the national economy, this is just a "small problem" that can be managed.

The three pillars of China's current economy are the internet, real estate, and finance.

The internet represents technological innovation, consumption upgrade, and efficiency revolution. It is an important area for absorbing capital and high-paying jobs, greatly boosting online consumption and being the main driver of overall consumption.

Real estate, through land revenue, real estate development investment, and the stimulation of upstream and downstream industrial chains, is a key force in stabilizing economic growth, primarily driving "investment".

The financial industry serves both "investment" and "consumption," acting as the lifeblood of the economy by providing financial support for both. It is itself a high-value-added service industry.

Despite the current excellent overall economic situation, the peak is often the time when the risks are greatest.

In fact, he knows the real situation best in his heart.

The financial industry has entered a period of stricter regulation aimed at deleveraging and curbing shadow banking, resulting in a slowdown in growth.

He had actually investigated and learned about the situation of real estate companies and local government financing vehicles before receiving Chen Mo's report on Evergrande, and the findings were shocking.

Compared to that, the ant incident is really similar to a slightly larger ant, while that thing is a real elephant.

Two of the three pillars have already been lost; the internet must not be allowed to descend into chaos again.

Even if the overall economic growth slows down in the future, as long as the domestic consumption engine remains strong, the fundamentals of the economy can be stabilized and the overall social situation can be maintained.

With a leader like Chen Mo who possesses both a strong sense of national responsibility and business acumen, there is hope!
Looking at the bigger picture, isn't this a new kind of trade-off?
Of course, what ultimately made him decide to bet on the Other Shore was another crucial reason: Chen Mo and the Other Shore Group he led were "clean" from head to toe.

In today's complex world where capital and power are intertwined, this "cleanliness" is unique and an invaluable cornerstone of trust.

Two hours later, a brief instruction was issued, consisting of only four words: "Act swiftly and strictly!"

The Summer Davos Forum concluded successfully on September 20.

On September 21, an emergency meeting was held in Beijing to assess the compliance of the current main business model of the new chain.

Just one day later, as if it were a premonition, Ant Group unilaterally announced its IPO price over the weekend, with a total valuation of approximately 2.6 trillion yuan, which will soon become the world's largest IPO in history.

At the same time, many international capital forces have also begun to make their voices heard.

BlackRock's CEO issued the first statement, followed by an emergency press conference held by SoftBank Group's Masayoshi Son in Tokyo.

More notably, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley jointly released a research report, unanimously maintaining their "overweight" rating on Ant Group.

The report refers to this event as "irrational market disruption."

The timing and consistency of these international capital statements are so precise that they seem to have been meticulously orchestrated.

In stark contrast, most domestic media outlets remained silent, with only 36Kr publishing a sharp commentary after reprinting a foreign news report:
"This is clearly an organized and premeditated act of capital endorsement, intended to assert capital's dominance through market pressure."

As soon as the news reached China, Jack Ma convened an emergency meeting at Ant Group headquarters.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was heavy.

Besides Ma himself, Chairman Jing Xiandong, President Hu Xiaoming, and several shareholder representatives were all present. Ma's face was ashen, and he suddenly slammed his fist on the conference table, making the teacups rattle.

"Damn it. What a bunch of incompetent teammates! Do they even know what they're doing? Do they think this will put pressure on us? It's just adding fuel to the fire! Are they afraid the ants won't die fast enough?!"

His voice was hoarse, and he practically squeezed out those words through clenched teeth.

Old Ma closed his eyes, took a deep breath, as if forcibly suppressing his anger back into his chest.

A few seconds later, he slowly opened his eyes, his voice low but clear:
"Listen up, everyone, this is a matter of life and death, and the situation is extremely unfavorable for us."

Now that things have come to this, complaining is pointless—we can only speed things up, and speed them up even more! From now on, we are racing against time.

As long as no new regulatory policies are suddenly introduced, there is still hope for listing.

"Gentlemen," he said, his gaze sweeping across the room, "we must unite as one to overcome these difficult times. Victory is within our grasp."

Before he could finish speaking, a piercing ringtone suddenly sounded.

Old Ma frowned, took out his phone, and answered the call.

As he listened to the phone call, his face gradually changed from anger to rage, then from rage to pale.

Finally, Old Ma slumped back into his chair, his phone slipping from his hand and falling to the ground with a "thud".

The crowd vaguely heard him mutter two words, and for a moment they couldn't tell whether it was "too late" or "it's over".

A few minutes later, the news spread, and everyone in the conference room looked ashen-faced.

The air seemed to freeze, and the entire conference room fell into a deathly silence—a stark contrast to the still bustling work atmosphere on other floors.

Those who are still dreaming of financial freedom are completely unaware that their beautiful dream is about to end.

At the end of the meeting that day, Lao Ma left only one sentence: "Next, we will enter the darkest hour before dawn."

Everyone remained silent.

The next morning, a plane carrying Lao Ma and others flew directly from Hangzhou to Beijing.

Previously, even when dealing with relevant officials on the other side, it was only a one-on-one conversation.

This trip to Beijing to report on duties is just like the scale of this IPO—both are unprecedented.

Coincidentally, the new regulations were released that same evening.

The measures directly target the core business highlighted by this incident—the operation model of micro-lending—and impose extremely strict restrictions on capital, leverage ratio, and the proportion of joint lending.

At the same time, relevant media outlets collectively voiced their opinions.

To prevent fintech from becoming a tool for illegal arbitrage.

Be wary of excessive borrowing and overspending, particularly on luxury goods.

Fintech cannot violate the fundamental laws governing financial operations.

A certain website published a commentator article titled "Someone's words in public are alarmist and misattributed."

An article published in the Securities Times pointed out that "simplifying or even complaining about something does not solve the problem; on the contrary, it fundamentally hinders the development and innovation of financial business, which is difficult to justify both logically and realistically."

The final verdict came from an article published by a second-tier media outlet.
(End of this chapter)