Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1216 Thousands of Pear Trees in Bloom
Cyberport just secured $8.4 million in venture capital for China.com, and now it's already working tirelessly to raise funds for 3721.

The speed at which they make money is beyond what outsiders can imagine.

"Hong Kong-based Peregrine Securities has valued 3721 website at $240 million and intends to raise $28.88 million for it!"

"Sources have revealed that 3721 may seek to list in Hong Kong, becoming the first mainland Zhongguancun internet company to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange."

During this period, mainland media have been paying close attention to the port city, keeping a close eye on what is happening there.

After the news broke in Hong Kong, mainland media immediately reprinted it to the mainland.

Compared to China.com, 3721's valuation is much smaller. After all, China.com has too much hype. The title of the world's number one Chinese portal website is too impressive and sounds intimidating.

Moreover, from the very beginning, they seized the Chinese users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and other regions, and quickly built up their momentum.

3721 is located in the mainland. Even though it is now profitable, its brand awareness in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia is not as high as China.com, and its valuation is not as high as China.com.

Although the saying "it's better to boast than to do well" is a joke.

However, this statement is a golden rule in today's internet industry. As long as you can exaggerate and make it sound impressive, you can inflate your valuation and attract investment institutions.

The internet today is illogical; it's all about who can hype it up. After all, in the end, the retail investors who buy internet company stocks are mostly the ones who get burned. To be honest, not many of them truly understand the internet.

As long as you can fool the retail investors, make them believe the hype made by internet companies, and make them willing to buy stocks at high prices, that's enough!
3721's brand recognition is now far less than that of China.com, yet it has managed to secure a valuation of $240 million, nearly 2 billion RMB, which is frankly quite high!

"Professor Guan, what do you think of the rumors about the 3721 website?"

"If 3721, a subsidiary of Yahoo! China, can be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it will set a new record in the history of the mainland internet."

"So, do you think 3721 will do well in listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange?"

"I think there is a high chance that 3721 will be able to complete its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange."

In Guangzhou, Ding Sanshi, the founder of NetEase, was watching a financial news channel on TV analyzing information from the 3721 website.

Unlike Sina and Sohu, which are headquartered in Beijing, NetEase was born in Guangzhou and its headquarters are still in Guangzhou. Unlike its predecessor, it has not moved its headquarters to Beijing.

Guangzhou is adjacent to Hong Kong, separated only by a river. Guangzhou receives more news from Hong Kong and has a clearer understanding of what is happening in Hong Kong.

The internet industry is undergoing tremendous changes, something Ding Sanshi can personally feel. If China.com is still somewhat "far" from the mainland internet scene, then 3721 is right next door.

Even NetEase is cooperating with 3721. NetEase's 163 email and NetEase portal website are promoted by 3721, and NetEase pays 3721 for promotion in order to have NetEase's email and portal website listed at the top of the website directory.

Now, the 3721 website, which he has dealt with before, is valued at $2.4 million, which is a huge shock to Ding Sanshi.

"Professor Guan, you seem to have a high opinion of the 3721 website?"

The television program continued, and the host asked a professor from the computer science department of a local university in Guangzhou, who had been invited as a guest, a question.

"3721 is one of the most famous and strongest internet companies in China's current internet industry!"

The company responsible for 3721's financing plan is Cyberport Holdings Limited, which you may have heard of; it is the parent company of China.com.

The collaboration between Cyberport and 3721 is undoubtedly a powerful alliance in the Chinese internet landscape!

Professor Guan spoke eloquently. As academics in the computer industry, if they couldn't see the situation clearly before, it's now almost obvious. The Internet is showing signs of emerging in mainland China. How could academics like Professor Guan not see this?

"What I care more about is that, starting with 3721, it is very likely that it will become a trend for mainland internet companies to list in Hong Kong in the future."

"As a pioneer and founder, 3721 website has set an example for the mainland internet."

Once Professor Guan started talking, he couldn't stop. "If mainland internet companies, led by 3721, can rise to prominence and successfully list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, then..."

In Zhongguancun and other parts of China, more internet companies will emerge, creating more high-paying programmer jobs.

I believe that computer science is very likely to become one of the majors with the highest employment rate, the most applicants, and the highest salaries in domestic universities in the next few years!

Internet concept stocks have the potential to become one of the most important concept stock sectors on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the A-share market…

If you were to ask Professor Guan, an academic, which internet company has a promising future, he would probably be completely stumped.

But when it comes to purely theoretical matters, that's where Professor Guan's expertise lies. He can rattle off a whole host of stories about how the internet has changed various industries. The host was visibly surprised by Professor Guan's eloquent presentation.

Their show invited Professor Guan today just to take advantage of the hype and analyze the 3721 website. How did it end up bringing up job opportunities, emerging professions, and university majors? Can the internet really have such a huge impact?

Do you think the internet will bring so many changes to the inland areas in the future?

The host subconsciously asked Professor Guan a question, not expecting that Cyberport could not only cause a stir in the port city, but also have such a great influence in the mainland.

When asked about his academic field, Professor Guan answered with great enthusiasm, "In fact, the changes brought about by the Internet are already taking place in America."

The emergence of internet companies such as Yahoo and Netscape has made internet programmers another high-paying profession in America, following engineers, doctors, lawyers, and securities analysts.

Thanks to the rise of the internet, Stanford has become one of the top universities in America that has produced the most billionaires, and more and more American universities are beginning to emphasize computer science programs.

As the saying goes, "the onlooker sees more of the game than the player." Watching Professor Guan's eloquent speech on TV, Ding Sanshi saw the landscape of the internet industry he was in for the first time from the perspective of the academic world.

The internet industry has managed to reshape the landscape of academia, schools, companies, and venture capital. These changes in these industries in China are all related to Cyberport and... Li Dashan, who was one of the earliest promoters of the internet in China.

Now, Ding Sanshi is beginning to truly understand just how influential Li Dashanren really is!
"NetEase also needs funding!"

Ding Sanshi watched a TV program about the 3721 website and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

With the help of China.com, China has earned the title of one of the four major portal websites in mainland China, but the gap between them is too big, and their strengths are completely different.

After securing huge funding, China.com began setting up operation centers all over the world, claiming that wherever there are Chinese people, they would open a China.com website!

The merged Sina, with its funding and market presence, is relentlessly chasing after China.com, unwilling to be left behind. Not to mention overseas markets, within mainland China, Sina is showing signs of becoming the second largest portal website.

On the contrary, NetEase and Sohu are struggling financially due to insufficient funding. Without money, how can they fight? Similarly, without money, how can they compete with China.com and Sina?

Therefore, Ding Sanshi also urgently needs to find a major investor for NetEase.

The same dilemma faced by Mr. Zhang of Sohu also appeared before Ding Sanshi: should he seek investment from overseas venture capital firms like America or from companies like Cyberport and Tianya, which belong to the Dongke Group?
One camp represents overseas venture capital, while the other represents the mainland camp. Sina chose the former, while China.com belongs to the latter.

Choosing the former means aiming for Nasdaq, while choosing the latter clearly means listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Which camp has NetEase chosen now?

Having not yet experienced the harsh treatment from overseas investment institutions, nor the experience of founders being ousted from the companies they built from scratch due to issues such as performance and stock price, the mainland internet industry is still unaware of Wall Street's tactics.

So Ding Sanshi was also a bit conflicted. However, thinking about the reputation of Dongke Group over the years, there were quite a few Dongling Hi-Tech supply chain suppliers in Guangzhou. These suppliers highly praised Dongling Hi-Tech!

The cautious Ding Sanshi, after careful consideration, decided to first test the waters with Cyberport, since he had never heard of Li Dashan cheating any mainland partners.

Ding Sanshi originally planned to observe 3721 for a while and see if it could raise $2880 million before making a decision, but what happened next surprised him.

Less than three days later, Zhou Hongyi, president of Yahoo! China, the parent company of 3721, announced to Hong Kong media with great enthusiasm, "3721's financing has been fully completed!"
I hope to ring the listing bell for 3721 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange!

Zhou Hongyi's spirited figure was not only seen in the Hong Kong media, but was also widely reported in the mainland media.

A newly emerged billionaire in the internet industry, only 28 years old, and his experience is potentially replicable. As long as he establishes an internet company and lists it in Hong Kong, he has the opportunity to become the next Zhou Hongyi. How could this not drive the media crazy?
……

"boom!"

A golf ball soared high into the air. Li Dongling stood on the golf course, swinging his club. Whether he would make the shot was uncertain, but as long as he hit it, he would definitely receive a round of praise. If he didn't have some self-control, he would probably have been immersed in such flattery long ago.

In the past few days, Li Dongling has been invited to participate in many events in Hong Kong, including art exhibitions, charity auctions, private parties, and club activities of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. He has made quite a few connections, but it is hard to say how much of it he can actually use.

"nice shot!"

"It's a loss for the entire golf industry if Mr. Li doesn't participate in the golf tournament!"

After another swing, Paul, the general manager of Simpson Yachts, whom he had met on the yacht, shamelessly praised Li the Great Philanthropist, almost saying that the golf industry would be like an eternal night without Li the Great Philanthropist...

Li Dongling glanced at Paul, knowing that the guy was here today to deliver yacht design drawings. For that $200 million order, he was really capable of blindly flattering people.

Who says foreigners don't understand social etiquette? They're pretty good at it, aren't they?
(End of this chapter)