Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 349 High Barrier Industries

Song Ci reached out and gestured for him to sit down: "Haozi, sit down. Don't get too excited. Have you finished the few things I asked you and Li Ying to do?"

"It's all done, all sorted out!" Lin Hao sat down again, his expression serious. "Mr. Song, are you really going to enter the car manufacturing industry?"

For the past two months, he and Li Ying have been following Song Ci's instructions, using the names of two companies, Shan Hai Capital and Zhongxin Investment.

They have successively invested in more than ten companies, including Huichuan Technology, Jingjin Power, Fute Technology, and Lizhong Group.

They are all top domestic manufacturers of motors, electronic control equipment, and automotive parts suppliers.

Song Ci nodded in response: "I have been planning to build cars for a long time. Building cars is not child's play; I must plan ahead."

We will only take action after we have established a complete supply chain in several core areas, including the three core electric systems and vehicle body manufacturing.

Furthermore, the government will introduce a new energy subsidy plan next year, which will at least double the valuation of these companies. Now is the perfect time to invest.

Seeing that the richest man's idea of ​​building cars was unwavering, Lin Hao's eyes darted around, and he took the opportunity to probe: "Fourth brother, what about that thing I told you before, about investing in a factory in Jinling..."

"Let me think about it some more." Song Ci didn't really want to invest in and set up a factory in Jinling, but she didn't refuse outright because of Lin Hao's sake.

Previously, after he and Zeng Yuqun planned to establish CATL, they traveled north from Mindong City and conducted detailed investigations of several important cities in East China, including Ningbo, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing.

Among these cities, Nanjing does not have any advantages, and its business environment is not good.

Moreover, car manufacturing is a heavy industry. A successful car company can drive the development of dozens of upstream and downstream companies and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

With such a significant project driving economic growth, the Beiping government would not easily allow him to place his investment and factory elsewhere.

Thinking of this, Song Ci couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. The leaders in Donghai had repeatedly asked him to invest, and if the news of his car manufacturing got out, there would inevitably be another round of negotiations.

Seeing this, Lin Hao understood why Song Ci was unwilling to set up a factory in Jinling. He sighed inwardly. As a native of Jinling, he knew all too well the way the officials in his hometown behaved, no wonder that attracting investment was getting worse and worse.

Seeing the somewhat somber atmosphere, Lu Yugang changed the subject: "Fourth brother, that kid Chen Li has been wanting to see you, but hasn't had the chance. So he asked me to ask you what your plans are for handling the South Beauty incident?"

"What's up with South Beauty?"

Lu Yugang looked at Song Ci's expressionless face and felt a tightness in his chest. He couldn't immediately tell whether the richest man was genuinely unaware or feigning ignorance of the obstruction of South Beauty's IPO, but he dared not, and had no need to, find out.

So he quickly explained, "It's nothing serious, it's just that UBS Securities, where Chen Li works, is the underwriter for South Beauty's IPO."

"UBS Securities is so indiscriminate now, even taking on jobs from these second-rate companies."

Song Ci's undisguised disgust made Lu Yugang instantly realize that once the richest man made his attitude toward South Beauty public, people would rush to use South Beauty to curry favor with him.

Lu Yugang, observing the situation, tried to seize the opportunity to extract some information: "UBS's performance has been declining for the past two years, and it needs a major, internationally renowned business to boost morale. Right now, the entire global financial community is eyeing Tengda Group's IPO!"

Song Ci didn't reply, but picked up the teacup in front of him and took a small sip. He had already reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs regarding the underwriters for Tengda Group's IPO.

This was one of the conditions for asking Goldman Sachs to mediate for WeChat in the United States. Although Goldman Sachs is greedy and insatiable, its power and influence in the United States are indeed considerable.

Over the years, all the Treasury Secretaries have come from Goldman Sachs, and sometimes seeking public relations assistance from Goldman Sachs has indeed been effective.

"It's rare for us to get together, let's have lunch together."

Seeing that Song Ci was unwilling to mention Tengda's listing, Lu Yugang gave up his desire to find out more. He had already gained a lot today: "Haozi said that I got a promotion and a raise, so it's my treat today."

Time flies, and on the last day of June, the sun shines brightly in Hangzhou. The atmosphere in the chairman's office at Alibaba Group headquarters is both warm and relaxed.

Today, Ma Jieke was in high spirits, and excitedly smiled at his trusted senior executives in front of him:

"Although the process was tortuous and costly, we finally managed to separate Alipay from the Alibaba Group. From now on, we can move forward with a lighter burden."

"It really is easy!" Cai Zhongxin sighed in amazement.

In order to make Alipay independent, Alibaba Group had to act first and ask for permission later, forcibly pushing forward the transaction, ultimately forcing Yahoo and SoftBank to accept the fait accompli.

Of course, the cost is also considerable.

Jack Ma promised that when Alipay goes public in the future, it will need to pay Alibaba Group a cash compensation of 37.5% of its total market value, with a compensation return of no less than US$20 billion and no more than US$60 billion.

With one thing on his mind, Ma Jieke leaned back lazily in his executive chair, his tone relaxed: "I spoke with the boss on the phone yesterday, and he made it clear that once the Alipay issue is resolved, there will be no more obstacles to obtaining the payment license."

Upon hearing this, Peng Lei was overjoyed: "That's great! With the payment license, Alipay will have no more worries and can compete with WeChat Pay on a grand scale."

Previously, Alipay did not have an operating license, so she was always hesitant and timid in everything she did, feeling extremely frustrated. Now, she can finally act freely.

"We can't be careless. That kid Song Ci is a bit strange! Moreover, in the mobile payment field, WeChat Pay has a six-month head start over Alipay, so we absolutely cannot let our guard down."

Ma Jieke's expression turned serious, and he turned his gaze to Lu Zhaoxi. "What big moves has Tengda made recently?"

He has been busy dealing with the independence of Alipay lately, and has no time to pay attention to Tenda Group.

CEO Lu Zhaoxi hurriedly reported: "After Tengda Group acquired the group-buying website Nuomi.com, it established a new subsidiary, 'Jinri Youxuan,' based on which it began to enter the food delivery business."

"Food delivery? The kind where you deliver food to restaurants?" Ma Jie frowned.

“Yes!” Lu Zhaoxi said with great seriousness, “President Ma, our research has found that the barriers to entry in the food delivery business are extremely high. Once Tengda takes the lead and successfully seizes the market, it will be virtually impossible for later entrants to catch up.”

Ma Jieke leaned forward: "Tell me in detail!"

Cai Zhongxin and Peng Lei also looked nervously at Lu Zhaoxi. Tengda Group was already powerful enough. If it continued to develop smoothly, how would other internet companies compete?

Lu Zhaoxi was well-prepared and began to explain: "Food delivery platforms need to attract a large number of consumers and merchants at the same time to form a two-sided network effect in order to achieve a positive cycle."

Furthermore, building a delivery rider team requires substantial investment and long-term accumulation. At the same time, food delivery has extremely high technological and operational barriers; its core competitiveness lies in its real-time dispatch system.

Currently, among major internet companies in China, only Tenda's unique big data technology can meet the needs of complex food delivery algorithms.

Another point is that once the food delivery market matures, it will become a high-frequency entry point into the daily life ecosystem, and in terms of traffic, WeChat has the greatest advantage.

Tsai Chung-hsin is extremely sensitive to digital costs and keenly grasped the key point: "The most crucial aspect of food delivery is the riders. What is the approximate cost of a rider?"

Lu Zhaoxi sighed: "Transportation is the most basic cost. A rider who wants to deliver every day needs at least a long-range electric scooter. These scooters generally cost more than 3000 yuan. Add in some miscellaneous costs, and the average cost per order is frighteningly high."

“Fixed costs such as transportation cannot be reduced!” Cai Zhongxin pondered. “Therefore, efficiency is key. We must rely on algorithm optimization to reduce costs.”

“That’s right.” Lu Zhaoxi nodded. “The barriers to entry in the food delivery industry are far higher than what you see on the surface as traffic and subsidy wars. It severely tests the platform’s comprehensive scheduling capabilities and requires strong algorithmic support.”

"High costs, high time consumption, and the need for traffic acquisition, plus complex algorithms! So the barriers to entry in the food delivery industry are really high!" Ma Jieke closed his eyes in thought, his fingertips lightly tapping the table.

Peng Lei smiled confidently: "Being first doesn't guarantee victory. What Tengda did before was merely market development; the real competition has only just begun."

These so-called barriers are a challenge for small and medium-sized companies, but they are not insurmountable for Alibaba.

Lu Zhaoxi shook his head: "We can't do takeout right now."

Startled by this sudden rebuff, Peng Lei widened her eyes slightly: "Why can't Alibaba do it?"

"Is it because of the map?" Cai Zhongxin suddenly recalled an acquisition deal by Tengda Group last year, and at that moment he realized.

“That’s right!” Lu Zhaoxi smiled wryly. “Looking back now, the long-term planning of Song poetry really exceeded our imagination.”

It's possible that from the moment Tengda Group acquired Gaode Maps, he was already preparing to enter the food delivery industry. One step after another, meticulously planned and executed – truly a far-sighted strategy.

A brief silence fell over the office. Ma Jieke slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with an unwavering determination.

"We must get into food delivery! We absolutely cannot hand over the entire market to Tengda Group just because of high barriers and difficulties."

We can avoid direct confrontation and instead focus on developing cities that Tengda hasn't yet reached.

The three executives exchanged a glance, all agreeing that the chairman's idea was feasible.

The food delivery industry requires such heavy investment that even a company as large as Tengda Group cannot achieve success overnight and dominate the entire market in a short period of time. However, a strategy of differentiated competition might be a viable path forward.

After setting the tone, Ma Jieke continued to ask, "Are there any other companies in the market besides Tengda that are involved in food delivery?"

"Yes. When we were doing market research, we found that Meituan, the final winner of the group-buying war, has also started to enter the food delivery industry."

In addition, there is a company in Donghai called "Ele.me," which started very early, engaging in food delivery as early as 09, and has achieved considerable scale in the Donghai area.

Ma Jie rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment: "Immediately send someone to contact Meituan and Ele.me."

Alibaba can provide funding and technology, while they have an existing operations team and a certain market share. We can definitely cooperate to jointly counter Tengda!

Cai Zhongxin accepted the task: "Yes, Mr. Ma, I'll take care of it."

At this moment, Peng Lei suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Mr. Ma, I received a message that Song Ci is coming to Hangzhou tomorrow."

I have some connections at the air traffic control bureau, and I know that his private plane has been registered and will land at Xiaoshan Airport tomorrow morning.

Ma Jieke was taken aback: "What's he doing in Hangzhou?"

"He's probably going to Hengdian," Peng Lei speculated. "His big star wife is filming in Hengdian, right? She's been to Hangzhou a few times before, and she always went to Hengdian."

Looking out at the gloomy sky, Ma Jieke murmured, "I hope so." But deep down, a vague unease lingered.

Alibaba's top priority right now is to obtain a payment license, but Song Ci's visit to Hangzhou this time makes him feel that it's not that simple.

At 6 PM, in the underground parking lot of the Tengda Technology Building in Beiping, Song Ci finished her day's work and walked briskly towards her Maybach.

I'm setting off for Hengdian tomorrow to take a vacation and see my wife, and I'm finally able to relax a bit.

The bodyguards and driver had been waiting by the Maybach for a long time. As soon as the boss approached, they respectfully opened the car door.

Just as Song Ci settled into her seat and driver Wang Shan was about to start the car, a figure suddenly rushed out from the shadows and blocked the front of the vehicle!

"Screech!" Wang Shan slammed on the brakes, and the car came to a sudden stop. Tang Yue in the passenger seat and the bodyguard in the car behind immediately became alert and quickly got out to check the situation.

A bespectacled man stood in front of the car, clutching a stack of documents tightly in his hand. He looked anxious and muttered to himself, "I need to see the chairman!"

"Control him!" Tang Yue shouted, and several bodyguards immediately stepped forward and quickly pinned the man to the ground.

"Let me go! I'm an employee of Tengda! I have important matters to report to the chairman!" The man struggled desperately, his voice filled with panic and resentment.

The bodyguard ignored his shouts. Tang Yue squatted down, grabbed the name tag hanging on his chest, and glanced at it: "TT Video Network, Dong Dapeng."

Tang Yue squinted and gave his underlings a signal. They understood and quickly began searching Dong Dapeng.

"Boss, I don't have any dangerous items on me."

"Let me go! I want to see the chairman!" Dong Dapeng was still struggling, his voice filled with stubbornness.

After confirming that it was safe, Tang Yue turned around and walked to the back of the Maybach, bowing and reporting: "Boss, it's one of our company's employees who insists on seeing you."

The car window slowly rolled down, and Song Ci glanced indifferently ahead: "What is it?"

"They said the project was canceled and they wanted to appeal to you."

Song Ci hesitated for a moment, then said, "Bring him here."

Tang Yue nodded, returned to the front of the car, and gestured for the bodyguard to let go.

Dong Dapeng was finally able to get up, grimacing as he rubbed his aching shoulder. The bodyguards were incredibly strong; he had almost thought his arm was going to be dislocated.

"The chairman is willing to see you." Tang Yue's tone was cold, his eyes fixed on his every move.

Dong Dapeng took a deep breath and quickly walked to the rear window. Through the half-open window, he finally saw Song Ci's handsome face.

That face, so powerful in the business world, was now so close, yet it made him inexplicably nervous, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Song Ci glanced at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. Wasn't this Dong Dapeng, Zhao Benshan's apprentice?
"Speak, what is it?" The richest man's voice was unhurried, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

(End of this chapter)