Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1205: Ginger is still spicier when old

To make the Silicon Harbor project a reality and turn Hong Kong stocks into Asia's Nasdaq, a lot of hot money is needed; only hot money can fuel speculation.

While we can't fleece everyone in the world, it's necessary to attract money from Southeast Asia and the Middle East's oil tycoons. Of course, the premise is that these people will only come if they see that there is "profit to be made".

Upon hearing Li Dongling's words, Lin Xianhui knew that this time things might not be easy. Getting so many investors to invest in China.com would require not only connections but also skill.

But Lin Xianhui knew that even if it was difficult, he had to do it. This was the job of a professional manager. If he didn't do it, there were plenty of people willing to do it for him!
"My finance department and I will compile a list of suitable investors as soon as possible!" Lin Xianhui said.

Li Dongling nodded, "Strike while the iron is hot, and get all these things done when China.com is at its most popular!"

I won't be staying in the port city for long. After I finish these matters, I need to return to Pingyang!

It was already late September 1998, and Li Dongling needed to return to Pingyang before November. It was the last quarter, and with the Chinese New Year approaching, Dongling High-Tech had a lot of things waiting for Li Dongling to handle.

Including the Shenzhou mobile phone, Dongling Hi-Tech's last product this year, which is also at a critical moment, there are also year-end bonuses, new project plans for next year, budget review, and a lot of other things that Li Dongling needs to handle.

So when I stayed in Hong Kong this time, I had more than a month to finish dealing with the affairs of China.com and Cyberport. There was no time to delay.

"China.com has already secured advertising contracts worth millions of dollars from seven advertisers!"

China.com suddenly released news that it had secured a million-dollar advertising contract from advertisers.

The news once again caused an uproar throughout the tech industry. A new website, which had only been online for a few days, had already received millions of dollars in advertising fees.

If you look closely, digging deeper into this news story will reveal some clues. The so-called million-dollar advertising contract is basically just advertising fees paid to China.com by a group of companies affiliated with the East Asia Science Park, such as Cyberport, Tse Sui Luen Jewellery, Peregrine Securities, and Focus Media.

But the beauty of media studies is that many people only accept their first impression. They know that China.com received its first million-dollar advertising fee after its launch. As for whether this advertising fee was transferred from one hand to the other or whether there was any shady dealing involved, most onlookers don't really care, and few people delve into the intricacies behind it.

This news has revealed China.com's earning potential. It has only been open for a short time and it has already earned so much in advertising revenue. Will China.com's earning power be any less in the future?

The title of "Eastern Yahoo" for China.com has become increasingly popular. After all, who dares to say that China.com will not become the next Yahoo?
Yahoo's market capitalization soaring to over $30 billion this year is likely related to its revenue. In the first half of the year, Yahoo's revenue reached an astonishing $1.32 million, of which over $110 million was earned through advertising.

Yahoo's stock price soared precisely because of its soaring revenue.

Regardless of which companies are spending so much on advertising on Yahoo, or whether there's anything fishy going on, the Nasdaq Securities Commission has accepted Yahoo's revenue report, so no one can question it.

Compared to Yahoo, which earned over $100 million in advertising revenue in just six months, the million dollars in advertising revenue that China.com received is insignificant.

However, the example of Yahoo demonstrates that China.com has great potential and may become a cash cow in the future!

With the news of China.com securing advertising revenue, it has become increasingly attractive to various investment institutions, almost becoming a highly sought-after commodity.

Do these investment institutions not know that China.com is up to something?

These organizations are certainly aware of this, but they don't care. So what if there's something fishy going on? These shady advertising fees are all paid through legitimate channels, and noticing it doesn't mean there's any legal risk.

The fact that China.com could secure millions of dollars in advertising revenue is, in the eyes of these agencies, a testament to the strength of the organization behind China.com. Other internet companies wouldn't have the same power to pull off such shady deals!
The stronger the backing of China.com, the greater the probability of China.com going public!

Besides stirring up the internet and technology industries, China.com has also suddenly dropped a bombshell in the Asian entertainment industry!
"China.com will join forces with media outlets from multiple Asian countries to launch a voting campaign on China.com for the 10 Most Charming Faces and 10 Most Beautiful Faces in Asia!"
The event will be divided into three stages. In the preliminary stage, all users can nominate their favorite celebrities and stars to China.com, including the voters themselves.

In the second stage, the top 100 will be selected by voting. Finally, in the third stage, the top 10 will be selected by voting. Voting can be done through SMS voting on TV, voting on the China.com website, etc.

China.com will conduct this event in a fair, just, and transparent manner, allowing the world to witness the magnificent beauty of Asia!

"China.com will form a judging panel together with sponsors, TV stations, film companies, and others!"

In addition to the honorary certificates awarded by China.com and television stations, the final winners will also receive other benefits.

China.com will also invest no less than two million US dollars, in conjunction with film and television companies and television stations, to create film and television projects for the winners!

When China.com announced that it would hold a vote across Asia to select the top ten most handsome faces and the top ten most beautiful faces, the entertainment industries in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and other places were thrown into complete chaos.

The event hadn't even started yet, and the celebrities hadn't made any statements, but their fans had already started causing trouble.

Fans of various celebrities in Hong Kong are arguing endlessly about who should be named one of Asia's Top Ten Most Handsome Faces. However, when it comes to celebrities from Hong Kong and Japan, their respective supporters turn their guns on each other and start arguing.

In addition, celebrity supporters from mainland China, South Korea, Singapore, and other places have managed to squeeze into China.com, even those who are not Chinese internet users.

Users from non-Chinese internet regions such as South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Malaysia also need to vote for their respective national stars.

Otherwise, once the list of the top ten most charming faces is finalized, it will become "ironclad proof." Whether people in South Korea, Japan, or other countries like it or not, it will become a recognized fact, and users in these regions will have no choice but to squeeze into China.com to vote for their own "pigeons"!

In addition to announcing the voting for Asia's Top Ten Most Charming Faces, China.com also announced the "China.com Asia Night" event, which is equivalent to a television awards ceremony, only expanded by China.com to the entire Asian region.

The Asia Night event is similar to the event mentioned above, also centered around China.com, with voting conducted through the website.

However, the scope has expanded to include TV dramas, movies, music, sports, and other industries. Users vote for their favorite TV dramas, singers, and stars, making the TV drama the most popular TV drama of the year in Asia, as well as the most popular movies, singers, and sports stars in Asia.

This kind of vote is bound to be controversial, especially when it involves different regions. Each country will definitely vote for their favorite TV series and stars. When the voting happens, they might fight tooth and nail.

……

"Something interesting!"

"Is this... how the internet works?"

At the Shao family home, Mr. Shao, watching the TVB report, couldn't help but speak to Ms. Fang beside him.

"Due to the launch of voting activities such as the Asian Night, the number of users on China.com's websites in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and other regions has surged, causing the websites to experience outages and other issues."

China.com's user traffic in Hong Kong and other areas has increased by over 304% in a short period today!

Mr. Shao watched the news on TV. At ninety years old, he certainly didn't have a thorough understanding of the internet.

Even though he didn't know much about it, he could tell from the reports on his own TV station that the number of users flocking to China.com today had almost gone crazy.

Just as China.com had entered a "stable period," it experienced another surge in users due to its newly launched campaign. Because voting required account registration, China.com saw a surge in user registrations, with over 150,000 users registering at its peak within an hour, which must have strained the servers.

"China.com's move is indeed ingenious. It uses its website to bring in TV stations, film and television companies, media outlets, and celebrities from inland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and other places."

Moreover... it's an open conspiracy!

Ms. Fang looked at the materials related to the China.com event and couldn't help but say something.

The activities launched by China.com have generated huge traffic and buzz, and China.com's willingness to invest money has made it impossible for companies, including TVB, to refuse China.com's invitation. After all, who would turn down money?

Television stations are also a voting channel, which means that if television stations open paid voting SMS services, they can earn a lot of SMS fees, as well as advertising revenue, allowing them to make a fortune.

Film and television companies can also take this opportunity to promote their own artists. If they can win the title of one of the top ten most handsome faces in Asia, their popularity will increase throughout Asia.

Newspapers, magazines, and other media outlets, especially tabloids and gossip media, love these kinds of events. They can fabricate and hype them up however they want, and every time they release a ranking, the newspapers probably sell out that day!
As for the artists, it can also increase their popularity, and if they win an award, they can also participate in movies or TV series invested by China.com.

A film investment project worth two million US dollars is not considered a large sum. For example, Stephen Chow's "The God of Cookery" had an investment of more than 40 million Hong Kong dollars, which was already considered a huge investment.

However, the investment in "Gunfire" at the same time was only HK$2.5 million and US$2 million. Although it was not a huge investment project, it was considered a big production in Southeast Asia at the time, enough to attract a large number of directors and actors to compete for the project.

China.com's move stirred up the entire Asian entertainment industry, involving television stations, newspapers, film and television companies, directors, and artists, who were even required to actively promote China.com's event.

This tactic of enticing people with benefits is truly ingenious, and Ms. Fang has to admit it. At least for TVB, which is known for being stingy, no, meticulous in its calculations, they would absolutely not be willing to spend so much money on these kinds of activities.

"That's a really big deal!"

“However, the TV station is probably going to have a tough time from now on!” After a moment of silence, Mr. Shao suddenly said to Ms. Fang.

(End of this chapter)