Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1238 Horse Judging Techniques

The area where Shehong Lithium Industry Company is located is now mainly agricultural. Besides farming, the most important pillar industries are two companies: a winery and a fertilizer plant.

As for the lithium industry in Shehong, it was not very prosperous locally, but the arrival of Kunlun Minerals gave the local area hope.

If Shehong Lithium Industry Company can receive support from Kunlun Minerals, it could potentially create a new pillar company for the local area.

For the local community, a company that can provide hundreds of jobs and pay taxes annually, even a large company like Torch Group that can provide tens of thousands or more jobs, is unthinkable...

"It seems unlikely. The technician that Manager Li brought doesn't seem to think much of the lithium plant's technology!" the investment promotion bureau official said in a low voice.

After all, from their own perspective, Shehong Lithium Company doesn't seem to have any major advantages, but rather many shortcomings, so it seems only natural that Kunlun Mining would abscond.

Upon hearing these words, Li Bo, the technical manager of the lithium company, couldn't help but say, "We do have a chance. Lithium carbonate is currently under research and development worldwide. As long as there is funding, we might be able to develop it ourselves..."

"That would require Kunlun Minerals to even consider us!" Liu Weidong, general manager of Shehong Lithium Industry, poured cold water on Li Bo's enthusiasm.

To prove oneself, empty talk is useless; the lithium company must survive first, and that requires investment from Kunlun Mining!
Just as the guesthouse room was unusually stuffy, the door was pushed open, and an employee of a lithium company rushed in excitedly, but was then choked by the smoke in the room and had to leave.

"General Manager Li from Kunlun Mining said he wants to meet with Factory Director Liu to have a talk!"

Upon hearing this, everyone inside rushed out. "Does President Li really want to see us?"

Are you sure you don't want to leave?

The group of people asked the employee a lot of questions, and when they heard that Li Minghan didn't seem to be trying to run away, they were relieved.

"The major shareholder of Kunlun Minerals is willing to invest in Shehong Lithium Industry Company!"

In the meeting room vacated by Shehong Lithium Industry Company, Li Minghan pointed to the tape recorder on the table and the small camera next to it, indicating that the negotiation should be recorded.

Today's negotiation must be recorded, and it will definitely be shown to Mr. Li in the future.

On the bright side, if the lithium company develops in the future, this scene will be a historic moment. But on the dark side, if something goes wrong one day, this record will be evidence!

Kunlun Mining Company is registered in Gangcheng, which serves as a window to overseas markets. If a public opinion storm occurs there, it will become international news.

Shehong Lithium Industry Company had no problem with Li Minghan's request. As long as Kunlun Minerals was willing to invest, what was the big deal about appearing on camera?
"Is Kunlun Minerals really willing to invest in the lithium company?" Liu Weidong couldn't help but ask first.

"Kunlun Minerals must first acquire more than 75% of the equity in Shehong Lithium Industry; this is a prerequisite for the investment!"

Li Minghan stated bluntly that Kunlun Mining must first acquire a controlling stake in the lithium company to control its future development direction; otherwise, it might not be able to continue operating.

"This……"

Upon hearing that Kunlun Minerals wanted to take over the controlling stake in the lithium company, Liu Weidong felt a pang of difficulty.

To be honest, whether or not to sell the controlling stake in the lithium company is not a decision that he, as the factory manager, can make.

The director of the county government office and the head of the investment promotion bureau exchanged glances, their faces showing a troubled expression. They could decide whether to let the lithium company accept the investment, but selling the controlling stake was not something they could decide.

Kunlun Minerals is willing to offer RMB 2150 million to acquire 75% of the equity of Shehong Lithium Company.

Furthermore, they promised that there would be no large-scale layoffs at the lithium company after the acquisition; however, existing employees must pass relevant skills assessments to remain with the lithium company, otherwise… they might need to find other employment!

Li Minghan laid it all out in advance: to be honest, given the current state of the lithium company, anyone with even a little bit of connections would have already run away.

Those who stayed at the lithium company were either genuinely worried about the factory or had no connections whatsoever. The lithium company was their only source of support, and as long as they had that one path, they would work tirelessly because their entire families depended on the factory for their livelihood.

"After the acquisition is completed, Director Liu will still be in charge of management, but Kunlun Mining Company requires that the lithium company undergo a modern corporate transformation and has the right to supervise it!"

"In the future, the entire lithium company will transform into battery-grade lithium carbonate. Kunlun Minerals will make an additional investment in the lithium company as soon as the technology and production capacity reach certain requirements."

If the transformation is successful and the product technology and quality meet the standards, Kunlun Minerals can guarantee that companies such as BYD and Kunpeng Power will become buyers of the lithium company!

Furthermore, even if the lithium company's headquarters relocates to Chengdu or other regions in the future, the production base can still be guaranteed to remain locally; all of this can be stipulated in the contract agreement.

Li Minghan revealed his trump card: as long as the lithium company can produce lithium carbonate that can be used in batteries, then BYD and Kunpeng Power, as fellow students, will definitely have to purchase it from the lithium company.

After all, it doesn't matter whose technology you buy from. BYD has been sourcing raw materials from foreign companies for years. As a fellow company, if the lithium company publishes its technology, we should definitely support "our own people".

Liu Weidong was already tempted by Li Minghan's offer, and the county government office director and others standing nearby were also somewhat tempted.

The conditions proposed by Kunlun Minerals are already quite outstanding, taking into account all parties involved.

Li Bo, the technical manager of the lithium company, was even more tempted. He knew all too well just how good Li Minghan's conditions were.

BYD is the designated battery supplier for Dongling High-Tech and is now the largest mobile phone battery supplier in mainland China, as well as the second largest notebook battery supplier after Sanyo and Panasonic.

As long as we can develop battery-grade lithium carbonate, we can become a material supplier for BYD batteries. If this gets out, our domestic competitors will be green with envy. Shehong Lithium Industry will have no shortage of orders!
As for who Kunpeng Power is, since the Chitu electric bicycle has not yet been put on sale, Kunpeng Power, which supplies batteries for Chitu, is naturally still unknown, so Li Bo naturally has no idea.

Li Bo knew that Kunpeng Power was probably no ordinary company, given that Li Minghan might mention it alongside BYD.

"Manager Li, we are quite interested in Kunlun Minerals' proposal, but this matter also needs to be reported to the county government for approval!"

After discussing in hushed tones for a while, Guo Weidong and the others spoke to Li Minghan.

Upon hearing this, Li Minghan frowned. His schedule in the inland area was very tight, and he still needed to inspect companies such as Salt Lake Industry. He couldn't stay here for too long, nor did he have time to waste here.

"To be honest, I still have a lot of things to deal with at Kunlun Mining, and I also have important matters to attend to overseas. I can't stay here for too long!" Li Minghan said.

"We'll give Manager Li an answer within half a month, no, within a week!" Guo Weidong said through gritted teeth.

Li Minghan glanced at Guo Weidong, then nodded.

His reason for allowing the other party to remain at the lithium company was to ensure a smooth transition after the acquisition. Even if there was a change in management, it had to be done step by step to ensure the lithium company could continue operating normally. Shehong Lithium's actions were much faster than Li Minghan had anticipated, and the county government was much more proactive than expected in its handling of the Kunlun Mining system.

To Li Minghan's surprise, when the local county government submitted its proposal regarding Kunlun Minerals, the Sichuan provincial government also sent representatives, and Sichuan State-owned Investment Group actually joined the deal.

The reason why Sichuan State Investment Corporation did this was that after investigating the background of Kunlun Minerals and learning about its details, it immediately decided to join the project.

The reason is simple: Hanxi Guotou has been making a name for itself in recent years, backed by Dongling High-Tech. It is known as the most successful state-owned investment company in China, having invested in a number of projects such as Torch Group, Dongxin Semiconductor, and Pingyang Airport. How could Sichuan Guotou not be envious?

Kunlun Minerals is also a company under the Dongke Group, so Sichuan State-owned Investment Group naturally wanted to give it a try. What if they invested in a giant company?

Just five days later, a news report appeared on Sichuan TV that Kunlun Minerals and Sichuan State-owned Investment Group had jointly completed the acquisition of Shehong Lithium Industry Company.

After the acquisition, Kunlun Minerals will hold 75% of the shares, Sichuan State-owned Investment Group will hold 15%, and Shehong County Government will hold 10%.

Shehong Jiyue Company was officially renamed Tianqi Lithium!

When the news broke, perhaps no one in the area knew what it meant, nor could they have imagined that this place would one day be known as the "World's Lithium Capital."

No one could have imagined that this place would give birth to a giant that accounts for half of the local tax revenue, contributes more than 20% to the local GDP, and brings together an entire lithium battery industry chain...

After acquiring Tianqi Lithium, Li Minghan left personnel to oversee and rectify the company. He then began inspecting other companies, bringing one ore processing company after another into the Kunlun Group.

……

First, he crossed the Pacific Ocean to reach the port city, and then transferred to Binh Duong. Stepping onto the ground of Binh Duong Airport, Li Yanhong felt a sense of unreality. After so many years of wandering in foreign lands, he had finally returned to China.

Stepping out of the airport terminal and arriving at Binh Duong Airport, Li Yanhong found it quite different from what he had imagined. While not exceeding the standard, Binh Duong Airport was undoubtedly a modern airport, and frankly, it was much more impressive than many of the older airports in the United States.

America's era of massive infrastructure development is long past, spanning half a century. Now it's in the maintenance phase, making places like airports, train stations, and subways look quite old.

Of course, Commissioner Smith is indispensable when it comes to maintaining and renovating these buildings. The New York subway had a budget of seven billion dollars for 128 platform guardrails. Whether the guardrails were actually installed is unknown, but Commissioner Smith, New York council members, and Capitol Hill officials certainly had plenty of money.

It's not just America; the HS2 high-speed rail in the UK, which took 15 years to build 30 kilometers of track and cost £27 billion, became a project for the John Commissioner family. Those whose bloodlines weren't pure enough weren't even eligible to join the project. This one project alone is enough to feed the John Commissioner and Lord Robert's family for generations.

As for other projects such as the Beifu Battery Project, Berlin Airport, and Brandenburg Airport, those are all matters of America and old Europe with their own national circumstances.

Ping Duong Airport offers various transportation options, including buses, public buses, and taxis. Of course, there are also unlicensed taxis that illegally solicit passengers.

These unlicensed taxis don't dare to openly and honestly steal customers, so Pingyang Airport is really cracking down on them.

"Let's go to Yuhe Leisure Resort!"

Li Yanhong didn't wait for the bus; he got directly into a taxi that was picking up passengers in order.

"From the airport to Yuhe Resort, it'll cost 120 yuan!"

The taxi driver said directly to Li Yanhong that the price was outrageous. Taking a bus to Pingyang city would only cost a few dozen yuan, and a public bus would only cost a few yuan, but it would take time to wait for the bus and transfer.

But that's the current taxi fare, and there's no such thing as using a meter. Otherwise, why would you say that being a taxi driver is a high-income profession?

However, taxis at Pingyang Airport, although they charge high prices, are required by the airport to inform passengers of the price before departure and not to raise the price midway to avoid disputes.

The reason why Pingyang taxi drivers are willing to accept these rules and regulations is not because they are particularly well-mannered, but because Pingyang Taxi Company is a joint venture established by Pingyang Airport, Pingyang Bus Company, Pingyang Urban Investment, and Dongling High-tech Logistics Department.

Any taxi driver who dares to break the rules will have their taxi license confiscated, and may even find themselves without a place to stay in Pingyang. Even the most reckless and unruly person has to consider the consequences of offending so many people in Pingyang.

When Souxin was acquired, Li Yanhong also received Souxin stock options. He is not short of money now, so naturally he won't care about this small fee.

Upon seeing Li Yanhong nod, the driver stepped on the gas and sped off towards the Yuhe Leisure Resort.

"Are you an investor from out of town?"

"Cooperate with Dongling High-Tech?"

"Here to visit President Li?"

In the car, the driver chatted familiarly with Li Yanhong, and after asking a few questions, he finally caught Li Yanhong's attention, "How did you know?"

The driver couldn't help but smile smugly, "Everyone who comes to Pingyang and goes to the Yuhe Leisure Resort is there for Dongling High-Tech and General Manager Li."

"Let me tell you, if you go to Yuhe Leisure Resort and catch Mr. Li's eye, you'll become a billionaire!"
You know Focus Media, right? It's supposedly the largest advertising company in China. The boss of that company got his hands on Dongling Hi-Tech and was chosen by CEO Li, which is how he rose to the top!
There's also the boss of BackJoy, the boss of Aigo MP3 player...

The taxi driver recounted to Li Yanhong a series of legendary tales that had taken place in the Yuhe Leisure Resort Area.

These accounts, made as if the taxi driver had witnessed them firsthand, were filled with exaggerated praise, as if anyone who entered the Yuhe Leisure Resort and was received by the philanthropist Li would become a potential billionaire.

Listening to the taxi driver's ramblings, Li Yanhong looked at the bustling urban construction in Pingyang. The Pingyang before him was almost completely different from the domestic cities he remembered when he left a few years ago.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Yuhe Leisure Resort, the driver stopped the car, pointing out to Li Yanhong, "You need to buy a ticket. After entering the Yuhe Leisure Resort, you need to apply to the Yuhe Leisure Resort Management Center. Whether you can see General Manager Li depends on your luck..."

Just as he finished speaking, the taxi driver's eyes widened as he saw Wang Hanning, the general manager of Yuhe Leisure Resort, walking towards his taxi.

Although Wang Hanning is only the general manager of Yuhe Resort, he is already a very important figure to taxi drivers.

The legends surrounding Wang Hanning in the underworld are that he is ruthless. Once, when someone tried to collect protection money from the food stalls at the entrance of the Yuhe Leisure Resort, Wang Hanning wiped out the entire gang and executed the bandit leader. This story spread like wildfire throughout the Pingyang underworld!

"Are you Mr. Li Yanhong? Please come with me. Mr. Li has already given instructions; you can just come in with me!"

He then took the luggage from Li Yanhong and invited him to get on the golf cart that runs through the resort area.

The taxi driver stared in disbelief at the scene before him, recalling the rumors he had told Li Yanhong along the way about the billionaires born here. Could it be that he had actually encountered one today?
The taxi driver couldn't help but swallow hard. "Did I just pick up a future billionaire today?!"

(End of this chapter)