I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 525, 524: "Haha. To use an old Chinese saying, this is called 'great minds think alike'."

Yan Zhaotao could understand this request. Both President Bai and her husband were from Nanxin and hoped that their hometown would develop economically and its people would become wealthy. Most people would think the same way.

But it's quite difficult.

According to materials sent by Dajiang Company, they plan to place it in a location in Guangdong Province, not far from Shenzhen.

"Minister Yan?" Bai Ou suddenly called out softly.

Yan Zhaotao quickly took off his headphones and asked, "President Bai, what's the matter?"

He was thinking that the other party might be asking him how to persuade Dajiang to build a new factory in the south, and he was looking for some brilliant ideas. Unexpectedly, Bai Ou handed him the document he had just been looking at.

"This is an investment report prepared by Ouyang Shaoqiang, the deputy manager of the Hong Kong branch. He just sent it to me today. Please take some time to do a risk assessment."

This was his job, and Yan Zhaotao dared not neglect it, but it surprised him.

It seems that General Manager Bai is not worried at all about whether Wang Tao of Dajiang agrees to place the new production base in Nanxin.
Forget it, it's best to mind your own business if it's not your concern.

Yan Zhaotao picked up the document and began to read it carefully.

The plane arrived at Bao'an International Airport at around 3 p.m. Bai Ou and her two companions took the subway and finally checked into the Shenzhen Metro Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is close to the headquarters of DJI Innovations—the Pengcheng Industry-University-Research Building of Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Dajiang now has around 1000 employees, and the original Xili University Town Entrepreneurship Park can no longer accommodate them.

After spending the night there, Bai Ou led two people to DJI's headquarters the next morning, where she met DJI CEO Wang Tao and the company's CFO Lu Di.

Five years ago, Bai Ou accompanied Fang Qingye to Pengcheng for the first time, and it was with these two people that she made the deal. Some time ago, when she went to Pengcheng to announce the personnel appointments and removals of the Hong Kong branch, she also made a special trip to Pengcheng to meet with the two people, naturally to discuss the financing.

"Mr. Bai, please have a seat."

Lu Di greeted her warmly. Looking at Bai Ou dressed in a white women's suit, looking every bit the sophisticated and elegant lady, he couldn't help but marvel at how much this woman had changed since the first time he met her five years ago, when she still seemed like a student.

Of course, Wang Tao and DJI, the company he founded, have also changed a lot.

Five years ago, DJI's annual revenue was only 400 million yuan, but last year it reached 8.3 million yuan!
As for market valuation, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) assessed the value of this financing at RMB 30 billion.

"Mr. Lu, have all the representatives from the investment institutions arrived?" Bai Ou asked.

Wang Tao is a tech fanatic and not interested in these things; Lu Di is the one who handles everything.

"Representatives from Sequoia China, Temasek, Macquarie, and Matrix Partners China have arrived one after another," Lu Di said.

Yan Zhaotao was secretly surprised when he heard this.

These are all major state-owned investment companies, and they have all shown great enthusiasm for this drone manufacturer.

"I want to see them," Bai Ou said, standing up.

“Okay. By the way, Mr. Bai, we have already rejected Alibaba’s investment request,” Lu Di added, as if remembering something.

Bai Ouliao smiled slightly after hearing this: "My husband said that doing business with Alibaba is no problem, they are very good business partners, but we must not let them invest or get involved, otherwise they will cause a lot of trouble."

“I can relate.” Lu Di smiled and said, “This way, Mr. Bai.”

Bai Ou walked out, and Yan Zhaotao followed behind, feeling a mix of emotions.

The renowned Alibaba has actually suffered a setback!

I've heard that Alibaba has wanted to participate in several rounds of financing for companies invested in and controlled by Topway Technology, but has been rejected without exception.

Does Topway Technology have a grudge against Alibaba?
Or perhaps Bai Ou's husband, Fang Qingye, has a personal grudge against Jack Ma.
Yan Zhaotao's inner gossip suddenly ignited fiercely.

However, the two companies are not in the same league. Topway Technology is too small; even if you add up all the companies it controls and invests in, it probably wouldn't be a fraction of Alibaba's size.

Alibaba's market capitalization is a staggering $1813 billion!
Doesn't this look a bit like the duel between David and Goliath in foreign mythology?

But it seems David actually won!
Yan Zhaotao was lost in thought as he followed the others to a meeting room at the end of the corridor. Inside sat a man in his early forties, and next to him was a younger man who seemed to be his assistant.

Shen Nanpeng, President of Sequoia China!

Yan Zhaotao recognized him.

He is a big name in the domestic investment community.

"Hello, Mr. Bai." Shen Nanpeng stood up and extended his right hand to shake hands.

"Mr. Shen, hello." Bai Ou shook hands warmly and said with a smile, "I've noticed that it seems like many of the companies invested in by Tuofang Technology are from Sequoia China."

"Haha. To use an old Chinese saying, this is called 'great minds think alike'."

Bai Ou smiled gently.

"Didn't President Fang come this time?" Shen Nanpeng asked again.

"Yes, he has other important things to do in Nanxin."

"It's a pity, I still wanted to play golf with him in Shenzhen."

As the two were chatting, representatives from other investment institutions came in one after another, making the meeting room lively.

At 9:00 AM sharp, the meeting officially began. Representatives from various companies sat around a round table to discuss the specifics of the financing, while Yan Zhaotao and others, as his entourage, sat in chairs at the back.

Bai Ou, CEO of Topway Technology, has a unique role: he is both a shareholder of DJI Innovations and a representative of the investment institutions involved in this round of financing.

"DJI proposed a total financing amount of 4 million RMB this time. According to the agreement signed between Tuofang Company and DJI Company, Tuofang Company's shareholding in DJI Company shall not be less than 10%. Therefore, Tuofang Company's investment this time shall not be less than 4000 million RMB."

A faint smile graced Bai Ou's face.

That means I won't chat with you old hands; anyway, Tuofang Technology will participate in every round of financing!
The meeting lasted a full day, mainly about how these investors would divide the 400 million yuan, with each person discussing their own views and advantages. This reminded Yan Zhaotao of the uncles and aunties haggling over prices at the farmers' market.

There's nothing we can do about it; this once unremarkable company has somehow managed to thrive in this field.

Instead of getting involved in the internet, fintech, or P2P lending, they're going into manufacturing!

But they're still incredibly successful; the company already holds approximately 50% of the global market share for small drones!
Bai Ou, however, remained completely relaxed, leisurely sipping her coffee, oblivious to the commotion around her.

Sitting in the back, Yan Zhaotao felt even more bored.

I'm just a background character.

Fortunately, I met up with an old classmate in the evening and had some drinks, which made me feel quite relaxed.

Yan Zhaotao's college classmates were also starting businesses in Shenzhen. Several wealthy bosses took out their spare money to set up an investment company called Zerui Investment and hired him as the general manager. However, their strength was not strong enough to compare with the big shots at today's meeting.

His classmates once invited him to work with them, even offering him shares, but he politely declined.

Don't get together with your classmates to start a business; you might end up losing your classmates altogether.

So, he comes to Shenzhen, and sometimes he goes to Shanghai. It's quite enjoyable for old classmates to meet up and have a few drinks.

That's it for today.

(End of this chapter)