Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 397 Initially Finalized
On December 5, 2008, in Beijing, the chill of early winter had completely enveloped the morning.

North Fourth Ring Road West, Ideal International Building, Sina Headquarters.

The building stands majestically against the gray-blue sky.

After nine o'clock in the morning, white-collar workers wearing wool coats began to pour into the lobby on the first floor of the building. The male employees wore plaid scarves, while the female employees wore ankle boots and held unfinished soy milk in their arms, exchanging pleasantries with each other.

The turnstiles beeped incessantly, and the elevator lights flickered incessantly.

Each floor is a neuron of the rising stars in Beijing's internet industry.

In the general manager's office on the tenth floor of the building, in a stylish but not luxurious office, Xiong Xiaoge leaned against the sofa with a contented smile on her face.

Wu Chen and Cao Guowei each held a teacup and sat at the table. The atmosphere was gentle, yet it also subtly revealed the probing and testing before business negotiations.

"Haha, I'm sorry, Mr. Wu. Mr. Xiong told me before that you were interested in a strategic partnership with us, but the development of Weibo has been too busy, and we haven't had time to sit down and have a proper chat."

Cao Guowei spoke with a smile, his words humble.

"Mr. Cao, it's alright."

Wu Chen waved his hand gently.

He wouldn't believe such a ridiculous reason, even if Xiong Xiaoge hadn't told him beforehand.

They're just waiting for the right price to go.

Xiong Xiaoge had contacted Cao Guowei before, and although the latter was interested, he had not taken any action.

On the one hand, Weibo's internal testing product had not yet been completed, so the timing of the talks was not right. On the other hand, Sina was not particularly short of money, so naturally they would not discuss financing cooperation so quickly.

Secondly, Cao Guowei himself is also observing the best partners.

As a company favored by capital, boasting three top directors and being the strongest private company in the industry, Starry Night Pictures is naturally the top choice at this time.

"To be honest, Mr. Wu."

Cao Guowei put down his teacup, rested his hands on the edge of the table, and said with great curiosity: "Currently, there are quite a few companies offering this type of product, and several have started to seek external financing."

Why did you choose us specifically? As you know, our product hasn't even been officially launched yet; we haven't even had public testing.

Although Sina has been working on this product, they only released a private test version last month, and the publicly released version is not planned until the second half of next year.

"Sina has always been closer to our film and television industry in the entertainment section. For example, our movies are all promoted through special sections on Sina."

Sina is more attractive in this area, at least because it understands us better and is more knowledgeable about entertainment and film. As for real-time interactive social media, I personally think it goes quite well with entertainment, and it's a good fit for both sides. Of course, this is just my personal opinion.

Therefore, I think Sina has the DNA for this kind of product. Rather than cooperating with people who don't understand it, it's better to cooperate with people who understand the industry better. Mr. Cao is one of those who understands it better.

Wu Chen said it half-jokingly.

Cao Guowei saw this point; otherwise, he wouldn't have made a special trip to meet with him, nor would he have appeared so frequently in the entertainment industry in the second half of the year.

Upon hearing this, Cao Guowei couldn't help but burst into laughter: "President Wu, you're really flattering me to death!"

Sina's leading position in the entertainment sector compared to other portal websites is due to its sound decision-making, and this advantage has indeed brought Sina a huge amount of traffic.

Xiong Xiaoge also agreed with Wu Chen's words.

His investment philosophy is the same: he resolutely refuses to invest in what he doesn't understand. This is his investment bible. No matter how tempting the prospects are, he will only invest in what he understands, and the entrepreneurs he invests in are just as knowledgeable as he is.
Xiong Xiaoge finally interjected, "Mr. Wu truly has a discerning eye. With this kind of vision, even if Mr. Wu didn't become a director, he could still achieve great things in the investment field."

At this moment, Cao Guowei took the opportunity to tease, "President Xiong, when it comes to investments, President Wu's achievements are even more impressive than yours. The investment multiple for 'Spirit: Ghostly Records' is close to 20,000 times!" "Rumors, the profits are just small change. The costs aren't calculated like that," Wu Chen said with a smile, waving his hand in denial.

After the laughter subsided, the conversation finally returned to normal.

Cao Guowei composed himself slightly, sat up straight, and looked at Wu Chen. "Mr. Wu, shall we formally discuss the specific intentions and methods of investment today?"

Mr. Xiong previously told me that the approach would be a combination of resource exchange and capital investment.

Wu Chen nodded upon hearing this.

"We need to gather a large number of users within one week and one month of Weibo's launch in the second half of next year."

Wu Chen was not surprised by Cao Guowei's demands, nor was he surprised that he could only offer about 10% of the equity, which was obtained through resource exchange.

The initial communication agreement has been finalized.

At this moment, Wu Chen suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, President Cao, I remember you've always wanted to cooperate with China Film Group, right?"

"Yes, I talked with Chairman Han for a long time about wanting a long-term strategic partnership with China Film Group, including in areas such as content, publicity, branding, and distribution."
"Speaking of which, the first time I met Chairman Han was in 05. Back then, the annual box office was only 10 billion yuan. I never imagined the film industry would develop so quickly in just one year."

Cao Guowei chuckled and said that since Wu Chen had brought up the matter of China Film Group, he was naturally happy to speak up, though he didn't say it outright.

You help me, I help you; only then is there value for both of us.

Wu Chen smiled and nodded.

If he remembered correctly, quite a few people were vying for this collaboration, but China Film Group ultimately gave it to Sina. Since that was the case, he might as well go along with it and help Sina get things done a little earlier.

"Okay, then we'll put the promotional material for 'The Martian' on Sina's portal page and blog. Mr. Cao, remember to help us develop this page as soon as possible."

After the conversation, Wu Chen smiled, stood up, and shook hands with Cao Guowei.

"rest assured!"

Cao Guowei escorted Wu Chen and Xiong Xiaoge downstairs.

Wu Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, which added a bit of weight to Xingchen Pictures' future.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Xiong."

"Haha, I'm just the matchmaker. I can't help with the rest. But if Mr. Wu needs investment consulting, acquisition, restructuring, or listing services, he can contact IDG."

Xiong Xiaoge laughed heartily, and even managed to drum up some business along the way.

"By the way, Mr. Wu, does Starry Sky Pictures have any capital plans? IDG can help connect them with top-tier investment institutions in the industry, ensuring they can provide Starry Sky with the best value-added services."

"Let's wait a bit on this. By the way, Mr. Xiong, have you ever invested in online game companies?"

As Xiong Xiaoge walked, she was somewhat puzzled as to why Wu Chen's conversation had drifted towards online games, but she still shook her head slightly.
"IDG has always been optimistic about the online game industry, but it has not invested in companies such as Shanda and 9City. It has invested in projects such as Tianqing and 173, but the results seem to be so-so."

However, due to this year's financial crisis, some online games have seen a significant drop in revenue. Director Wu, do you still like this area?

"I'm not interested in online games, but I am interested in Shanda Literature; we work in the film and television industry, which belongs to the content industry, and I'm interested in that area. I wonder how much Mr. Xiong from Shanda Literature knows about it?"

Xiong Xiaoge nodded slowly. He wouldn't say he knew everything about the latest developments in the internet industry, but he was generally aware of them.

"Although the online literature industry is growing rapidly, its monetization ability is low and its profits are meager."
Shanda Literature previously sought external capital cooperation to "reduce its burden," and within the Shanda system, it falls under the category of "splitable and financeable" segments. However, as far as I know, Chen Tianqiao does not intend to release a significant portion of it to external parties.

(End of this chapter)