The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Big fart didn't go anywhere during his few days off; he just stayed home doing live streams and playing the erhu.

By the way, teach Er Yatou how to be a good second sister.

Erpiya was really pitiful; she was forced to be the background character for her sister's live stream for three days straight.

Days passed by in a flash, and it was already late September.

It's been almost a month since the three kids started school, and a few messages came from the old CEO class group.

The gist of it was to invite Chen Pingsheng to a gathering, since very few of those former CEOs are still enjoying their former glory.

Putting everything else aside, Wang Yanfeng is a well-known rich second-generation and the nation's son-in-law.

After rounds of investment, it has become a joke in the circle of the wealthy.

In addition, he is unrestrained and loves freedom, always looking for female internet celebrities. Any woman with Chen Pingsheng's family status or conditions would not even look at him.

His father has also had a tough time these past few years, having to sell off various things.

This young master is now a typical example of someone who is all talk and no action. On the internet, he might still be called "national husband" by some women who earn a few thousand a month.

But in the world of the wealthy, very few families would even consider him a worthy candidate.

As for the other members of the CEO program, top domestic investors such as Tong Zhelan and Shen Nanpeng reside abroad year-round.

I rarely go back to China anymore.

Also, because it had been seven years since the CEO training program ended, and Chen Pingsheng himself was also attending, the gathering was held in Hong Kong.

It's a rare occasion for everyone to gather together.

So many years have passed since the CEO training program started, and as for their current situations, it's fair to say that some are doing well and others are not.

Liu Hai, the real estate tycoon, is now in a terrible predicament, and Lao Yang, the former hotel king, is no longer as glamorous as he once was.

He Bijun, who used to have a very good relationship with him, is doing quite well.

He is able to live a good life mainly because he doesn't make reckless investments and has always stuck to his pig farming business.

In addition, Hu Ding, the gaming tycoon who has a long-term partnership with him, is also doing quite well.

One thing can be seen from the circumstances of these people: those who stick to their core business and do not expand recklessly are doing quite well.

Those who invested here and there are now in a much worse state.

As for Wang Yanfeng, he has to respectfully call Chen Pingsheng "Uncle Chen" when he sees him.

Only his father could be his equal; he wasn't worthy of it.

The host of this gathering was clearly Chen Pingsheng, and the venue was still the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.

"Old Chen, we graduated together seven years ago. When we meet again, you're already at the peak of your career."

"Not quite at its peak, but I'd say I did alright, not too badly."

"Haha." He Bijun, the pig farmer, laughed loudly, "I'm not surprised at all that you can do such a big business. The key is that you're raising more pigs than I am, a professional pig farmer. I can't help but admire you for that."

"If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't be where I am today in pig farming."

"Forget it. I've been keeping an eye on your Tengnong Livestock Farming. In the agricultural and livestock sector, there's no one in the country with a larger scale than yours. You're far behind."

He Bijun said, "You've probably invested at least 30 or 40 billion in this area, haven't you?"

Liu Hai was somewhat surprised. Everyone knew that Chen Pingsheng was doing extremely well now, and it was entirely true that he was one of the top entrepreneurs in the country.

I just didn't expect him to invest so much money in agriculture.

"That's about right. Over the years, all the various investments have amounted to this much."

"admire…"

Tong Zhelan chuckled and said, "What's so special about that? You probably don't know that Old Chen has made at least 300 billion US dollars on Tesla stock alone, and he's also a major shareholder in Nvidia."

There's nothing wrong with saying these things; everyone here knows Chen Pingsheng's current status.

Once you go to Jinshan in Shanghai, you'll see that Tengying Group is no longer a private company.

It's practically a city, and he also has his own R&D centers in major cities across the country.

His business position is already unshakeable.

"Haha, if Old Chen can make football investments that rank among the top in the world, what can't he do?"

"That's pure nonsense."

Chen Pingsheng said, "I don't have the ability to manage domestic football well. I just invest some money in foreign football teams. It's been a few years since we've all gotten together, so let's not just talk about me. Let's talk about your situation."

"What could possibly happen to a pig farmer like me? I may not become a millionaire, but I can still be a successful pig farming tycoon."

"Your situation is alright, but the situation on my end is very dire."

Old Yang, who works in the hotel industry, said: "The hotel industry is in a slump now. In the past, we could still rely on some gray industries to support ourselves, but now even gray industries are becoming increasingly difficult. If anyone wants my few five-star hotels, I'll sell them to you for whatever price you want. I really can't hold on any longer."

He wasn't lying; the hotel industry is getting increasingly difficult.

Old Yang owns three five-star hotels, two in Hangzhou and one in Shanghai.

In his earlier years, he also invested in a huge tourist resort, and the annual net losses can only be described as astronomical.

As for why there was a loss, it's quite obvious.

The impact of this outbreak on the hotel and tourism industries has been beyond imagination.

As Lao Yang spoke, he kept looking at Chen Pingsheng. In this situation, only Tengying Group could help him.

As for Liu Hai, who works in real estate, he didn't even need to say anything. He just smiled bitterly and said, "You all know what the real estate industry is like right now. It's as difficult as climbing to heaven."

Of course, there are more than just these few in the CEO training program; there are also some people from the internet industry, and their situation is equally worrying.

The main problem is that the current internet no longer has government support, and the leading companies are already firmly established.

The best opportunities for startups on the internet right now are concentrated in the short video sector.

And the company that has done the best in the short video field is undoubtedly Tencent Video.

The stock price has exceeded 160 billion.

In short, Chen Pingsheng has become number one in many fields in China.

Even in the field of new energy vehicles, although he has never deliberately promoted it, everyone in this field knows that Tesla is undoubtedly the strongest overseas.

The strongest domestically is clearly Tengfei New Energy.

Even in AI, which has always been considered the pinnacle of future technology, he still achieved the highest level of investment in China.

After going through all the rounds, it became clear that even though everyone knew Chen Pingsheng was powerful, no one expected him to be this ridiculously strong.

That's simply outrageous.

There's a reason why Chen Pingsheng rarely attends the CEO training class gatherings.

His skill level is already far beyond theirs.

If we go abroad, we can still get together with Tong Zhelan, Shen Nanpeng and the others often.

The gap between Liu Hai and Wang Yanfeng is indeed too large.

There's not much to talk about.

Chen Pingsheng didn't deliberately emphasize these points, but he wouldn't invest in assets that would obviously depreciate in value and be extremely difficult to profit from in the future.

However, there are some things he can still buy, such as Old Yang's five-star hotel in Shanghai.

He doesn't run a hotel, but he can use it as a welfare unit for his employees.

What does that mean?

Basically, employees' parents can stay at these hotels for free when they come from their hometowns.

He now has over a million employees, and many parents come to Shanghai twice a year.

Whether it's for tourism or visiting children, having the company provide five-star accommodation is undoubtedly an excellent employee benefit. As for the resort he owns, it has cost nearly five billion in total investment.

Old Yang also ended up with a mountain of debt because of this.

Chen Pingsheng also had the idea of ​​buying it.

"Old Yang, your daughter is a star in my area, and she's been doing quite well. Name your price for your Shanghai hotel, including the five-star resort, and see if I can take it over."

Old Yang was incredibly excited when he heard this.

"Old Chen, are you buying this hotel and resort to run it yourself, or are you using it for something else?"

"I have absolutely no interest in running a five-star hotel. I bought it simply as a benefit unit for my employees. As for the resort, it'll be a toy for my daughter and family..."

Old Yang was taken aback. Buying a five-star hotel as a welfare unit for employees was already incredibly extravagant.

I don't even dare to dream of buying another resort for my daughter as a toy.

A resort is generally a leisure and entertainment place that combines tourism and entertainment.

Sun Island is that kind of place, but unfortunately, it's not for sale.

The selling price is too high, but it's fine for Lao Yang to buy this small resort, which cost over 5 billion yuan, so that his daughter and family can go there for vacation.

He can spend billions to buy a superyacht, so he can certainly spend billions to buy a resort.

Old Yang didn't hide anything from him; his resort, including a five-star hotel, was now being sold at a 60% discount.

This is definitely not high; he himself has already suffered a huge loss.

The two assets together are valued at 3.6 billion.

Things are different now than before; now, those with money are the real big shots.

It's already very difficult to cash out assets, especially when there are bank loans involved.

Harder.

Chen Pingsheng only agreed on a preliminary valuation with him. The contract will not be signed until the company's financial valuation team has reviewed it in detail.

He only tends to acquire assets in the four top-tier cities; he won't acquire any assets in other smaller cities.

Everyone knows he's rich, but you can clearly sense exactly how much money he has from this moment on.

The ability to casually spend billions to buy two large toys for the family is something that ordinary people cannot match.

Especially under the current economic circumstances.

There are also restaurant owners who hope he can become a shareholder, or even sell the entire business to him.

He definitely can't take over this kind of asset. His own beloved "Boy Sheep" restaurant is losing three or four hundred million yuan every year. How could he possibly take over a catering company?

After this class reunion, Chen Pingsheng bought a five-star hotel in Shanghai.

The location is still in Jinshan, and they've acquired another resort.

In addition, he also plans to visit a few other companies.

We might cooperate if possible, but it wouldn't cost too much money.

That evening, everyone gathered at the hotel for a lavish party.

Many of Hong Kong's top tycoons came, most of them out of respect for him.

After all, with more companies, there are naturally more people to cooperate with.

I've met quite a few people over the years, more than just one or two.

It can only be said that no one who comes here is an ordinary person.

That evening, Tong Zhelan, along with Shen Nanpeng and several top Hong Kong tycoons, privately arranged a meeting in a hotel room.

This time was different from the CEO class gathering in the morning.

Those who can sit in this room are worth at least 50 billion.

They weren't talking about small projects, but rather large-scale global projects.

For example, acquiring a foreign national power company could provide a steady stream of income.

That power company controls 15% of the country's electricity.

The offer is around 20 billion US dollars.

Another example is investing in two giant port companies to earn money from port leasing.

The larger the capital, the more inclined people are to invest in stable and profitable projects in the long run.

In particular, Li Hongkong alone has invested over 400 billion RMB in infrastructure projects related to people's livelihoods in the UK.

You say his investment failed, but that's because he completely misunderstands the operating principles of large capital.

For these top-tier capitalists, taking risks to make big money is no longer the best option.

Stability and long-term sustainability are the core goals for a family to last for a century or even longer.

Undoubtedly, infrastructure projects that benefit people's livelihoods are the most stable.

This kind of project is impossible to invest in domestically because private capital simply cannot get involved.

It is a state-owned project.

Examples include banking, oil, electricity, tobacco, and healthcare.

Regardless of which one of them it is, even Chen Pingsheng would have to look for opportunities to invest in such projects.

This was his main objective in coming to Hong Kong.

The most prominent characteristic of infrastructure projects that benefit people's livelihoods is their stability.

Aside from this characteristic, its return cycle is actually quite long.

It's simply not something that ordinary small-capital investors can afford to play with.

To invest in this type of project, in addition to having money, one must also possess extremely high political capital abroad.

Of course, if the investment is successful, it will also greatly enhance overseas influence.

These people are planning to jointly establish a top-tier overseas investment fund.

The initial planned investment amount was 20 billion US dollars.

It was jointly funded by Chen Pingsheng, Tong Zelan, Shen Nanpeng, and the Guo, Cai, Liu, and Zheng families from Hong Kong.

The seven companies jointly allocated 1400 billion yuan to invest in overseas infrastructure projects related to people's livelihoods.

They have all reached this point and must plan for the future of their families for a hundred years or even longer. This cooperation is based on their long-standing tacit understanding and cooperation in the past.

This is exactly the same as the Vision Fund on Xiao Rizi's side.

However, their goal is not to gamble big, but to jointly invest in overseas infrastructure projects that benefit people's livelihoods.

No need for big risks, just long-term stability.

Once the investment direction is determined, it requires the joint agreement of all seven parties.

Actually, this conversation was also because a suitable acquisition target had been found.

The acquisition target was proposed jointly by Tong Zhelan and Shen Nanpeng, and the target was Singapore.

Singapore is a small country, but it is incredibly prosperous.

Many wealthy individuals in the country have purchased properties there, pooling together US$20 billion to invest there, which also serves to increase their influence in Singapore.

Chen Pingsheng agreed to the investment because he wanted to have several options for himself.

It's impossible for him to put all his investments domestically; that's simply unrealistic, a very unrealistic kind of unrealistic.

(End of this chapter)