2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 839 The Generous and Loyal Boss Tan
Located next to East Lake and Jiangcheng University, Luojia Mountain Hotel's enclosed balconies isolate it from the sweltering heat outside.

"Beer and barbecue, life is pretty comfortable."

"I originally wanted to treat you to something to eat at the night market, but your face is too easy to recognize, so I had no choice but to pack it up and take it back to the hotel."

"Come on, you're way more famous than me in Jiangcheng. I blend in with the college students, and hardly anyone would recognize me this late at night."

Upon hearing this, Lei Bus carefully looked Tan Jincheng up and down. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and slippers, and had a handsome appearance.

"That's true. At your age and dressed like this, you could easily pass for a college student."

Tomorrow is the start of the new school year, and Lei Jun has been invited to attend the opening ceremony of Jiangcheng University. Tan Jincheng is also among those invited to attend the ceremony because Lotus has settled in Jiangcheng.

Despite his reluctance, Tan Jincheng has still been unable to avoid giving speeches at some universities over the years.

Besides the fact that university students are the main consumers in the future, another reason for the purpose is to attract talent from universities. A speech may win the favor of some university students, who will then submit their resumes to the company affiliated with the speaker.

"Two things. First, Wei Lai wants to commission Xiaomi to design a phone for our own brand that matches our brand image. Second, my personal requirement is that the appearance and system be simpler and clearer."

"What, you guys at Weilai are also planning to make phones and enter the mobile phone market? Isn't it a bit late?"

After a round of reshuffling in 2015, the mobile phone market structure has basically taken shape. Xiaomi still maintains its position as the number one in shipments. Among the three major Chinese mobile phone manufacturers (ZTE, Huawei, Coolpad, and Lenovo), Huawei relies on its years of experience in communications and the sweeping reforms implemented by Yu Chengdong (Yu Minhong).

In addition, their willingness to invest in research and development and marketing has enabled them to successfully break through the competition and achieve rapid growth.

In addition, although Apple has gradually become more commonplace and bland, its position in the high-end smartphone market remains unshakable thanks to the advantages of the iOS system. Furthermore, OPPO and Vivo have also broken through the encirclement.

Xiaomi, Huawei, Apple, and OPPO/Vivo occupy the top five positions in domestic sales, accounting for a combined 59.1% market share. The rise of Huawei has resulted in Samsung being squeezed out of the top five.

As for the former kings Nokia and Motorola, nobody remembers them anymore.

Weilai does indeed have the strength to enter the mobile phone market. They maintain good cooperative relationships with American technology companies in areas such as chip semiconductors. In addition, they have independently developed mobile phone battery systems. Furthermore, in the supply chain system, they are also shareholders of several domestic mobile phone OEMs.

In terms of supply chain integration capabilities, Weilai is not weak in the mobile phone industry. It is not impossible for them to launch a mobile phone business, but it is a bit late, as the market has been almost completely divided up.

"No, don't misunderstand. We just want a mobile phone that is suitable for Weilai car owners. We won't sell it to the market. It will actually be sold as a car accessory."

Xiaomi's ecosystem is built around smartphones, encompassing a series of interconnected ecosystems.

Tan Jincheng's idea for Weilai is to integrate cars into the ecosystem, with his own mobile phone brand being just a transitional product. In the future, Weilai's in-vehicle system can be adapted to other mobile phone systems.

"Your idea is interesting. It goes against Xiaomi's ecosystem system, but it's not impossible to implement."

To put it more vividly, Xiaomi's philosophy is "phones plus everything," while Weilai's is "cars connect everything."

"Intelligent car systems definitely need to be more intelligent. In addition to the most basic safety and transportation attributes, they also need to provide a better driving experience."

Lei Jun nodded repeatedly: "That's great, that's a very innovative idea, and it's not difficult to implement. Don't worry, it's just designing a phone. You can come to our company sometime and choose from the design drafts."

"So generous! Aren't you afraid I'll steal your next flagship design?"

"No, I definitely won't take it out."

Besides Redmi, Xiaomi has many other sub-brands, including Black Shark, which it supports, as well as its own sub-brand targeting the Indian market, and Meitu phones, which are in collaboration with Meitu and target the female market.

In addition, there are senior-friendly mobile phone brands that have partnered with 21g, and they have extensive experience in such collaborations.

The collaboration with Weilai to develop a mobile phone for Weilai car users shouldn't be too difficult.

"Have you chosen your OEM supplier? If so, we'll need to discuss it with them later."

"I plan to use Luxshare for manufacturing. I will have someone talk to them about it later. The only headache is the mobile phone chip. We want to use the Snapdragon 820, but we don't know if Qualcomm will agree."

The Snapdragon 820 is Qualcomm's flagship chip, which is expected to be released in November. Their previous generation, the Snapdragon 810, was a disappointment. It remains to be seen whether the 820 will perform better, but it is still a flagship chip.

Even for niche products, Tan Jincheng hopes to have flagship quality.

Lei Jun frowned: "That's a bit difficult. If the production capacity is small, Qualcomm might not sell to you specifically. I'll help you make some connections. If that doesn't work, we can squeeze some out from our supply."

"Okay, if you don't agree, I'll think of another way."

At this time, Huawei had not yet been sanctioned, and HiSilicon's chips were performing very well. In addition, you can also contact Samsung, which has several very powerful chips.

Meizu has several high-performing phones that use Samsung chips. Qualcomm doesn't sell them, but other retailers do.

"What I mean is to make it a flagship model, with similar specifications to Xiaomi's main brand. Could your company help me with the cost design?"

In the mobile phone industry, Xiaomi's cost control capabilities are outstanding. They can make a profit while compressing profit margins to a very low level. After their listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2018, their stock price was sluggish and even fell below the issue price on the first day of listing. A large part of the reason for this was the low interest rate.

"This is our forte. You just need to send someone to coordinate with us; don't worry, we won't cheat you."

"Okay, let's talk about something else. You've heard of Pinduoduo, right?"

"You know the company that's owned by Boss Duan's apprentice, right? Their Pinduoduo model is developing quite fast. Pinduoduo was incubated from that project, wasn't it? So, are you starting venture capital funding?"

Tan Jincheng nodded: "Yes, strictly speaking, it's a combination of venture capital round and Series A funding. However, it's not certain whether you can participate. I can only help you with the introduction, since they don't lack investors."

Pinduoduo is not yet listed on the stock exchange. The planned Pinduoduo is scheduled to officially launch in September, and Huang Zheng is preparing to start setting up the platform.

"That's true. Ali, an e-commerce website, has a monopoly. I don't know much about Pinduoduo's model, but it must be very difficult. However, since you're optimistic about it, I'll definitely give it a shot. Your reputation is very valuable in the domestic investment community these days."

Tan Jincheng, known as the "Midas touch," is skilled at participating in venture capital rounds and Series A funding rounds, and the companies he invests in are all high-profile projects.

Huang Zheng certainly doesn't lack investors. In this round, besides his mentor, there's his good older brother Ding Sanshi, as well as SF Express CEO Wang, Tan Jincheng, and Sun Tongyu.

Interestingly, in this round of investment, Huang Zheng only accepted individual investments and not formal investment institutions.

“Interesting. This is a networking event. President Duan has OV, President Ding has media resources, President Wang has express delivery, and you and President Sun need no introduction.”

Tan Jincheng has a prestigious reputation and has also contributed the title of "Father of Taobao". Sun Tongyu has been involved in the development and operation of Pinduoduo since leaving Orange Technology, and has participated in the incubation of Pinduoduo as an independent investor.

"Yes, all the conditions are ready. I think you also have mobile phone hardware resources, so Mr. Huang shouldn't refuse. However, you'll have to discuss the specifics yourselves."

"In addition, Pinduoduo targets the lower-tier market, which goes against the current trend of consumption upgrading. It may not be able to make a profit for a long time, and there is even a risk of going bankrupt. You should also consider this."

In 2015, no one was optimistic about Pinduoduo, even though it developed rapidly, listing on Wall Street in just three years and experiencing a booming subscription period. However, there were still many doubts about whether it could truly succeed.

Pinduoduo's stock price was lukewarm in its first year of listing. The real stock price surge began at the end of March 2020, stemming from that special event.

"Betting on economic trends? That's a big move, quite interesting."

Ali and Dongzi's business model is betting on consumption upgrade, and Ali is also sparing no effort to promote consumption upgrade. For this purpose, they did not hesitate to launch two "Bei" products, and the benefits that the two "Bei" products bring to them are obvious.

Currently, copycat apps are springing up like mushrooms after rain, and almost every internet company wants to get into online lending.

The period between 2015 and 2016 was also the most intense time for the promotion of online lending. You could see people holding flyers and small gifts on the street, in shopping malls, and in movie theaters, trying to trick ordinary people into downloading online lending apps.

The unchecked and unrestrained growth of violence has brought many hidden dangers to society, with some unscrupulous individuals even extending their reach into schools.

For thousands of years, no industry has been more profitable or lucrative than selling DAI. This is a well-known fact. Ali, as a giant, is promoting such an industry in the open.

In the short term, it has indeed boosted consumption upgrading, but in the long term, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

Under pressure from Tan Jincheng, Orange Technology did not choose to follow suit. This money was indeed easy to make, but what goes around comes around.

Doesn't Jack Ma know the negative consequences of doing this? Don't other internet companies know? Not necessarily. The reason they rushed in is simply because they think that the law won't punish everyone, assuming it will be like the development period of third-party payment licenses before, so they'll just do it first and worry about the consequences later.

"Yes, the underlying logic of the two is different."

"You've decided to invest, and you've also contributed Mr. Sun. What are your thoughts?"

Whether to invest or not, the decision naturally rests with the decision-makers.

"I don't have any opinion. Whether it's consumption upgrading or consumption downgrading, there will always be people who can't afford very expensive products. Cheap products will always have their market and their consumer base."

"Just like the senior-friendly mobile phones you developed, our Orange Products Club also allows you to buy your favorite products at the lowest prices."

A cup of Luckin Coffee costs 9.9 yuan, and a cup of milk tea costs 20 yuan. Most young people would think that's cheap, but actually, 9.9 yuan can buy a pound of pork. Not everyone thinks it's cheap.

Cheap, counterfeit products, even if their quality is poor, will always have a group of people who need them.

Maintaining basic dignity with minimal expenditure. Even without that particular event, Pinduoduo might not have become a giant, but it still had its place. Most importantly, their efforts to support farmers were truly commendable, benefiting countless farmers and those engaged in basic agriculture.

Although this company is controversial, there's really nothing to criticize about it.

"You've convinced me. After the opening ceremony, I'll go to Shanghai with you. Whether it works out or not depends on Mr. Huang."

Lei Jun has already decided to invest; it's just a matter of venture capital round plus Series A funding. Excluding himself, there are already five investors involved, so it doesn't require much capital.

"By the way, you didn't inform General Manager Ma and General Manager Shen, did you?"

"No, didn't I say that in this round, Mr. Huang only accepts personal investment? Besides, the two of them are now more involved in investments after Series B."

In the investment world, everyone does a little bit of everything, but they all have a focus.

Companies like Tencent Capital and Sequoia Capital typically invest in Series B and later rounds where the outcome is more certain. Some investment firms prefer to invest in the pre-IPO round, even though it's expensive and the profit is limited, because it's the safest.

While those involved in venture capital rounds and Series A funding can reap very high profits if successful, it also carries the greatest risk.

Tan Jincheng's focus on venture capital and Series A funding rounds is due to his cheating ability. True venture capital players, on the other hand, invest in ten or eight companies in an industry they believe in.

There's a possibility of total failure here. Take Sequoia Capital, for example. If Tan Jincheng hadn't led them into the ride-hailing market, they would have been completely wiped out.

But even if you invest in 100 companies, as long as one of them succeeds, you can recover most of the other costs.

Lei Jun's Shunwei Capital has a high success rate in investments, including ByteDance's ByteDance Engine, but in fact, it has also made quite a few failed investments, but they just don't talk about it.

Lotus's decision to locate its factory in Wuhan, based on the various details and construction schedule released, shows that Lotus had been planning the factory's construction for some time. The digital smart factory plan has brought the concept of intelligent factories, which has been discussed for several years, to reality.

"Production is planned to begin in September next year. It seems that Mr. Tan is a bit anxious about the progress of Lotus's localization in China."

"It is indeed a bit urgent, but the development of new energy vehicles in China is rapid, and Lotus has plans for electric sports cars. We have no choice but to hurry. If we delay for a year or two, we may fall behind other brands and eventually lose the entire market."

Tan Jincheng attended the opening ceremony of Jiangcheng University as a guest of honor.

However, the school or the Jiangcheng City government paid close attention to him and made very careful arrangements. Lei Busi and Liu Jincheng were on either side of him.

Lei Jun needs no introduction, and Liu Jincheng is also an old friend of his. EVE Energy, which went public in 2009, was one of the earliest new energy-related companies invested in by ByteDance's investment platform.

At the time, they spent 7920 million yuan to buy 440 million shares of EVE Energy, which was a huge sum of money for ByteDance at the time.

Liu Jincheng is the chairman and founder of EVE Energy.

EVE Energy, which went public in 2009, did not experience the explosive growth seen in other early IPOs on the ChiNext board. Its market capitalization, which was 33.44 billion yuan on its listing day, is now only around 77 billion yuan.

The lowest market capitalization was just over 20 billion in 2012.

Before 2015, the lithium battery industry was not promising. Jinshidai survived only because of Tan Jincheng's various financial injections, strong capital connections, and the support of local governments.

As a "small company" located in Huizhou and not favored by the capital market, EVE was not in a good situation before 2014. Their revenue did not exceed 1 billion yuan and net profit exceeded 100 million yuan until 2013.

However, in 2014, apart from a meager increase in revenue, all other metrics were declining, with net profit plummeting by 46.38%, falling back below 100 million yuan.

It's fair to say that Liu Jincheng hasn't had a single good day since the company went public.

"Indeed, everyone's life has been a bit better this year, so we should definitely speed up our efforts to seize the market."

"We really have to thank Mr. Tan for his support last month. We simply don't have the strength to repurchase and cancel 2000 million shares."

As a lithium battery company located in a relatively remote area, EVE has overcome difficulties and developed in recent years, becoming a well-known listed company in the lithium battery industry, but it is still not very popular in the capital market.

There's no way around it; the internet industry makes money too fast these days. In an era of severe bubble, few people are willing to invest in the real economy. If all else fails, you can go into real estate, or if that doesn't work, try internet finance.

Apart from industry leaders like Weilai, which have large companies with supply chains, all other companies in the supply chain are at risk of going bankrupt.

"That's true. I'm optimistic about EVE's future. Besides, we've been cooperating for so long, so it's only right that we increase our stake."

From the initial 5% stake at the time of the IPO, to the 4200 million yuan private placement by ByteDance during EVE's most difficult period, and then to Liu Jincheng's request last month for ByteDance to allocate a portion of its market rescue funds to EVE in order to stabilize the stock price with ByteDance's reputation.

Over six years, Tan Jincheng invested 1.512 million yuan in EVE, and what he got in return was a peer partner and 2509.2 million shares.

These shares currently represent 6.29% of EVE Energy, with a market value of 4.84 million yuan.

"No matter what, we must thank President Tan for his support. It was thanks to ByteDance's increased holdings that our stock price stabilized."

A threefold return in six years, during the era of fastest capital growth, is not much for ByteDance. Liu Jincheng is quite grateful to Tan Jincheng for contributing 3000 million yuan to increase their company's stake.

Having collaborated for so long, Tan Jincheng is, to a certain extent, using his leading position in the industry and ByteDance's reputation in the capital market to support them.

Since I invested in EVE in 2009, he has always readily agreed to support me whenever I encounter difficulties. I've done him a huge favor.

The reason he took time to return to Jiangcheng this time was actually to thank Tan Jincheng in person.

"Mr. Liu, you're too kind. I'm also one of EVE's major shareholders. I profit from the company's success. Besides, you and your company have provided us with a lot of help in lithium battery technology."

Born in 1964, Liu Jincheng is not only a businessman, but also an adjunct associate professor at Jiangcheng University and a senior expert in lithium batteries in China. He has been engaged in lithium battery research for nearly 30 years.

Tan Jincheng was not wrong. Since the two parties started their cooperation, many technical problems have been solved with the help of partners like EVE.

He doesn't understand any technology himself. What else can he do besides attracting talent and using a lot of money to help companies in the industrial chain develop together?
This isn't like selling boxed lunches; he and Zhang Xupeng could easily create it themselves with a little effort. It's a huge industry chain, and there's no better way than to make as many friends as possible.

In this wave of market rescue, whenever a partner company makes a request, Tan Jincheng will have ByteDance allocate a portion of its resources to support them.

The amount of money doesn't necessarily have to be large, but the influence of ByteDance's trading platform and Tan Jincheng's appeal still plays a certain role in the capital market.

Throughout August, Weilai shares never fell below the 70 yuan mark, and its market capitalization of less than 1500 billion yuan is a good example of this.

To some extent, a market capitalization of 1500 billion yuan is the current market's definition of the bottom-fishing price for Weilai Shares.

"Mr. Liu, there's no need to be polite with him. This guy has plenty of money, but to be fair, he's really generous and loyal. He treats companies in the industry chain very well, especially those around Ningbo."

As a supplier for companies like Flashpoint, Jinpeng, Weilai, and even Orange Technology, we offer short payment terms and quick returns. If any technical difficulties arise that we cannot overcome, Tan Jincheng, as the client, will also provide funding for joint development, reducing the financial pressure on our suppliers.

In today's capital-intensive industries, there are very few companies like Weilai.

Tan Jincheng rolled his eyes at him: "You just want me to praise you a few times, right? I'll applaud you loudly when you go on stage to speak later."

This is true for Weilai, and it's also true for Xiaomi. There aren't many large companies in China that are willing to support the industrial chain, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

Every industry has a few of them.

Liu Jincheng remarked with emotion, "The Yangtze River's back waves push the front waves forward, and a new generation surpasses the old."

He was born in the 1960s, Lei Jun could barely be considered born in the 1970s, and Tan Jincheng was born in the 1980s.

As a scholar-businessman, Liu Jincheng has some literary and artistic elements. The three of them sitting in a row looked to him like a succession of entrepreneurs.

Yes, although Boss Tan often says he is a businessman, a merchant.

However, in the eyes of the vast majority of people, especially his business partners, he is regarded as a responsible and accountable entrepreneur.

With more friends, things become smoother. The smooth establishment of Lotus in this project was not only due to its high quality, but also thanks in no small part to the help of Tan Jincheng's network of friends.

After the opening ceremony, Mr. Tan, who was new to Jiangcheng, was among those invited to attend, so he inevitably had to give a speech.

Of course, donations are also unavoidable.

Tan Jincheng donated 1000 million yuan to Jiangcheng University in the name of Lotus for subsidies for impoverished students, continuing his consistent charitable approach to education.

"Your presentation style is quite good. I don't understand why you've never liked public speaking."

"Don't brag to your own people. Those who can get into top universities are all smart. With my limited education, I wouldn't dare to talk about anything too profound. I'm more likely to just brag."

In the business class of the G678 high-speed train, Tan Jincheng lay down and gave a faint response to Lei Jun.

There's plenty of time; after a four-hour high-speed train ride to Shanghai, we'll arrive just in time for dinner, and then we'll have a meal with Huang Zheng.

(End of this chapter)