Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1159 The wind is blowing hard, let's get out of here!

Lu Wenhua received a notification from Li Dashanren when Apple just released its all-in-one computer, instructing the Zhixing Foundation to stockpile a batch of Apple shares.

Lu Wenhua didn't know why Li Dashanren was hoarding shares of rival companies, but Lu Wenhua's greatest strength was that he listened to advice. He never questioned or refuted Li Dongling's instructions, and even if he didn't understand, he would always complete the tasks assigned by Li Dongling first.

Outsiders may not know how shrewd Mr. Li is at investing, but Lü Wenhua knows it all too well!
Since its establishment, the Zhi Xing Foundation's first investment was in Yahoo!, and the returns from this investment have far exceeded a hundredfold!
Moreover, as Yahoo's market value continues to soar, the returns it brings to the Zhixing Foundation are also increasing.

If investing in Yahoo was merely a "coincidence," then the fact that the Zhixing Foundation made a fortune of $28 billion by laying the groundwork in Southeast Asia in advance, following Soros in shorting Siam and other places, and then turning around to attack Soros in Hong Kong.

In the Hong Kong stock and stock index futures markets, they clashed with Soros, raking in over three billion US dollars. These two moves propelled the Zhixing Foundation to become one of the top investment institutions!

Although the Zhixing Foundation kept a low profile in its dealings in Southeast Asia, it was impossible for vulture firms like Soros not to investigate after suffering such a huge loss.

Currently, the Zhi Xing Foundation is perceived in China as an "ordinary" charity that collaborates with Project Hope, builds schools across the country, donates Zhi Xing teaching buildings, provides scholarships for university students, and provides funding for university professors. It was ranked first in donations in mainland China last year.

But once you arrive in Hong Kong or overseas, you'll hear other voices about the Zhixing Foundation, and learn that it has other titles: a globally renowned internet investment institution, the venture capital firm with the highest success rate in Silicon Valley, and rumored to be a member of international hedge fund vultures who have clashed with Soros...

These rumors have added a layer of mystery to the Zhixing Foundation, and Lu Wenhua has become a well-known venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, much like Masayoshi Son!
But Lü Wenhua knew exactly where his decisions for the Zhixing Foundation came from. Without the final decision made by the philanthropist Li and the appointment by Li Dongling, he probably wouldn't even be sitting in some bank or securities company right now.

To put it bluntly, based on Lü Wenhua's experience in the investment department of Zhixing Foundation, if he were to switch jobs, both domestic and overseas investment institutions would be vying to hire him as general manager, and even Wall Street institutions would be eager to recruit him.

If he were to start his own business, the wealthy circles in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia would probably be vying to give Lu Wenhua money, just so that he could lead them to get rich together.

But Lü Wenhua knew his own limitations, and he knew how the Zhixing Foundation achieved these results!

Given the Zhi Xing Foundation's impressive track record, one might ask Lü Wenhua: if he hadn't heeded the advice of the philanthropist Li, would he have acted on his own initiative? He's not just wasting his time trying to prove himself in some vague and unrealistic way; wouldn't it be better to just sit back and win?
"After the release of the Apple all-in-one computer, Apple's stock price started to rise from $3.4 and is now almost at $10."

If sales continue to rise, and some Wall Street firms predict that Apple's stock price could reach over $17 this year, then the Zhixing Foundation could earn approximately five times its initial investment!

The Zhixing Foundation essentially acquired Apple shares at the lowest point of Apple's stock price this year, spending $8880 million to acquire a 3.7% stake in Apple.

If the stock price breaks through $17 by the end of the year, then selling the Apple shares would multiply the investment fivefold—fivefold in six months! If that news gets out, Lu Wenhua would definitely be considered a stock market genius…

But Li Dongling shook his head, "The Apple shares that the Zhixing Foundation bought cannot be sold, at least not now!"

"Continue to acquire Apple shares until you reach approximately 4.9%!"

This year marks the lowest point for Apple's stock price in the next two or three decades. Even if the stock price reaches $20, it will still be considered a "bargain" in the future.

Given Steve Jobs' personality, Li Dongling estimates that he would not allow the Zhixing Foundation to acquire more than 5% of Apple's shares and enter Apple's board of directors.

Jobs finally managed to purge Apple's board of directors and management, getting rid of all the Apple executives he disliked.

How could the Zhixing Foundation be allowed to join Apple's board of directors? Jobs would not allow any changes to occur.

Therefore, acquiring 4.9% of Apple's shares was basically the limit. Li Dongling had no intention of fighting with Jobs for control of Apple's management; he just wanted Jobs to give him a hand.

When Apple reaches its peak and becomes one of the Nasdaq Seven, the value of this equity stake will approach $150 billion!

Even if we do nothing and just wait, the Zhi Xing Foundation can become one of the richest foundations in the world!

Upon hearing that Li Dongling was not planning to sell his Apple shares, Lü Wenhua was taken aback. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him: Li Dongling seemed to have high hopes for Apple under Jobs' leadership...

It's worth noting that Li Dashan hasn't mentioned acquiring any of the currently booming stocks on the American stock market, such as IBM, Sun, General Electric, and American Online.

"Starting from the end of this year, the Zhixing Foundation will begin operations, allowing Yahoo to acquire the internet companies it has acquired, such as ASK Search, GeoCities, and Souxin, or allowing other interested companies to complete the acquisition!" Li Dongling instructed Lü Wenhua. With the internet boom about to begin, the Zhixing Foundation, which has invested in many internet companies, naturally needs to start making moves.

Wall Street institutions are constantly taking advantage of Yahoo.

Wall Street institutions now have complete control over Yahoo. Even Yahoo shareholders like SoftBank and Zhixing Foundation have less say within Yahoo than Wall Street institutions.

The usual tactic used by Wall Street institutions is to invest in internet companies in advance, hype them up, raise their valuations, and then let Yahoo take over at a high price, making a quick profit.

Once Yahoo takes over, they can hype it up again, drive up Yahoo's stock price, and make another round of money!

This is equivalent to harvesting two crops of chives, one after the other, practically turning the Nasdaq chives upside down in a single day...

But now is the period of internet frenzy. Regardless of whether the companies Yahoo acquires are reasonable or not, as long as it acquires an internet company, its stock price will soar. Nobody cares whether Yahoo's acquisitions are reasonable or not. They only care that after the acquisition, its users and traffic have increased, and that's enough!

If Wall Street institutions can play tricks, why can't the Zhixing Foundation, as a Yahoo shareholder, do the same? Is there no justice, no law, no rule of law?
Anyway, the philanthropist Li is planning to take advantage of the good market next year to sell the GeoCities and ASK websites to someone with good fortune—no, someone destined for him.

GeoCities, a website invested in by the Zhixing Foundation, is currently the number one personal web hosting website in America, similar to QQ Space in the previous life. As for its actual value, only God knows.

Whether it's valuable or not doesn't matter; the key is how much it can be worth to Yahoo, and whether it can increase Yahoo's traffic and user base. If it can, Li Keqiang would be willing to "reluctantly part with his beloved GeoCities" for three to five billion US dollars.

In fact, not only the websites invested in by the Zhixing Foundation, but also stocks such as Feiyan Technology and Digital Port under Dongling High-Tech, are all being gradually acquired by Mr. Li next year, with the intention of finding suitable buyers.

After all, if you don't cash out your stocks, they'll just be a bunch of numbers forever. And numbers can't fill your stomach. If you don't cash out at the peak, are you going to wait for the stock price to drop and eat instant noodles in the dark?

Hearing Li Dongling's words, Lü Wenhua was somewhat surprised and looked at Li Dongling with some doubt. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Li, you don't have a good view of the internet industry?"

"No!"

"On the contrary!"

"I am very optimistic about the internet industry. Only when the internet market is at its best will there be a constant stream of blockbuster mergers and acquisitions!"

Li Dongling corrected Lü Wenhua's mistake. This great philanthropist Li was not pessimistic about Yahoo, he was extremely optimistic about it. It was precisely because he was so optimistic that he wanted to add fuel to the fire that was burning Yahoo.

In any industry, there will only be a series of spectacular acquisitions when the market is in a frenzy, because everyone is optimistic about the industry and believes that it can create new history. Not only retail investors, but also investment institutions, foundations, banks and other entities are willing to pour money into it.

"But every industry has its ups and downs; you can't reach the top in one step."

When necessary, a strategic shift is needed to create opportunities for more American institutions and investors, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of the internet!

Li Dongling tactfully explained to Lü Wenyuan that during the internet boom, the philanthropist Li was making a strategic shift. This wasn't about running away; it was about giving up opportunities and transferring shares in companies like Yahoo to those who hadn't benefited from the internet boom, so they could also reap the rewards. One shouldn't hoard everything!
But Lu Wenyuan was shocked by these words. What kind of ridiculous strategic shift was this, giving away the opportunity to make money on the Internet to more people who hadn't benefited from it?

Translated, doesn't that mean "The wind is blowing hard, time to get out of here, time to run away"?

The internet industry is currently entering a period of frenzy, with one internet company after another lining up to list on NASDAQ, but Li Dashan is ready to cash in his profits.

This forced Lü Wenhua to consider when the seemingly booming internet industry would reach its peak, and Li Dongling's answer was clearly that they would start running away next year.

"Are you also going to sell the shares of companies like Yahoo held by the Zhixing Foundation?" Lu Wenhua looked up and couldn't help but ask Li Dongling.

(End of this chapter)