Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1335 Use magic to defeat magic

Li Dongling said what Li Yan most wanted to say. Hearing Li Dongling break the ice, Li Yan hurriedly nodded.

Going public is an obsession for countless people, and even more so for people today. Going public represents success and fame, a reward for all the work done over the years, and a symbol of status.

Of course, Li the Great Philanthropist didn't care about these things. Having experienced the impact of those unicorn giants in his previous life, going public wasn't so mysterious.

Leaving aside companies like Huawei from the past, there are also DJI, ByteDance, and Xiyin, among others. Even if they are not publicly listed, no one dares to underestimate them.

As for DJI, they even introduced a competitive bidding system for financing, meaning that if you want to give money to DJI, you have to see if DJI is willing to accept it, which completely breaks the rule that the one who invests money is the boss.

Even though DJI's demands were outrageous, more than a hundred institutions were vying to send money to DJI, and the amount these institutions were prepared to invest was more than thirty times the amount DJI wanted!
This is the power of a unicorn that monopolizes an industry. Even if it hasn't gone public yet, it doesn't stop it from being the uncrowned king of its field.

As for Dongling Hi-Tech's headquarters, Li Dongling had no interest in listing it on the stock exchange. Once listed, the rules would change, and many projects and decisions would not be made by Dongling Hi-Tech itself, but rather for the sake of stock price and market value.

Li the philanthropist doesn't want to spend all his time dealing with the various demands and even meddling of investment institutions and small and medium-sized investors; otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to get anything done.

At most, companies like Feiyan and Dongxin Semiconductor under Dongke will go public, allowing them to profit from retail investors, raise R&D funds, and enable Dongke executives to achieve financial freedom.

However, not everyone thinks like Li Dongling. As Dongling High-Tech grows larger, more and more people will develop different ideas, which is inevitable.

"Focus Media wants to apply to headquarters to go public at an appropriate time!"

Li Yan said that Focus Media had previously applied to Dongling High-Tech's headquarters for a listing, and according to Focus Media's estimates, this application should not be rejected.

After all, Focus Media's development is among the best in the entire Dongke Group, but its previous applications were suppressed by Dongling High-Tech headquarters, neither approved nor rejected.

After making inquiries, Li Yan learned that it was Li Dashan who had suppressed the matter, which left Focus Media somewhat helpless.

If it were any other powerful figure at Dongling High-Tech, Focus Media could do some public relations, and Li Yan could swallow his pride and pull strings. But with Li Yan, the philanthropist, what kind of public relations can Focus Media possibly do?

Li Dongling glanced at Li Yan, seeing his expectant yet nervous expression, and shook his head with a smile, "Dongling High-Tech headquarters will not hinder Focus Media's listing!"

Focus Media mainly focuses on advertising and live-streaming e-commerce, while Dongling Hi-Tech positions Focus Media within its group of companies as a publicity and sales channel.

Dongling Hi-Tech has been working on its advertising channels, and Focus Media is the most important link. Wherever Focus Media's business extends, it signifies that Dongling Hi-Tech's products have established advertising channels in that area.

Therefore, Li Dashan did not intend to obstruct Focus Media's listing. On the contrary, he hoped that Focus Media could be listed in more places.

It would be better for Focus Media to merge its branches in America, London, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Siam, Singapore, and other locations with local advertising and media companies before going public. This would allow it to gain more local support and make its future development in those regions smoother.

"But now is not the right time!"

Upon hearing that Li Dongling wouldn't obstruct Focus Media's IPO, Li Yan's expression brightened. But what followed left him stunned.

But Li Yan knew that Li Dongling was not the kind of person who would fool Focus Media when he had nothing better to do.

"What does Mr. Li mean...?" Li Yan composed himself and humbly asked Mr. Li the Great Philanthropist.

When it comes to vision, not only Dongling High-Tech, but even many outsiders know how insightful Li Dashan is.

After all, just looking at the fact that even mathematical models can't simulate the development speed of Dongling High-Tech over the years, one can tell how strong Li Dongling's vision is. Moreover, he has never made a mistake so far, which is what makes those who have studied Dongling High-Tech feel most apprehensive.

"Does Focus Media want to go public as a traditional advertising company, or as a technology stock?"

Li Dongling posed a question to Li Yan.

This question surprised Li Yan again. He and the executives of Focus Media had been planning to go public, but they had never thought about what kind of listing they would take.

What is going public?

"It's not about how much money Focus Media can make right now, or how many users it has. These are indeed the factors that enable Focus Media to meet the standards for listing. But what happens after the listing is completed?"

"TV shopping is Focus Media's largest business at present, followed by SMS advertising revenue and elevator and outdoor advertising revenue."

Li Dongling took out a cigarette from a pack of special-supply tobacco produced by the Pingyang Cigarette Factory and pushed it in front of Li Yan. Nowadays, most tobacco factories have special-supply cigarettes, but some use the guise of special supply to exploit consumers, while others supply the provincial government, even Beijing, and some state-owned enterprises.

Pingyang Cigarette Factory now also has special-supply tobacco, mainly to Pingyang Municipal Government, Hanxi Provincial Government, and state-owned enterprises in Hanxi Province such as Hanxi State-owned Investment Group.

Given Li Dashanren's current status as a local bigwig in Pingyang, even without asking, the Pingyang Cigarette Factory would regularly send some so-called special-supply tobacco to the logistics department of Dongling High-Tech, since Dongling High-Tech frequently hosts inspection teams from the provincial government and even Beijing.

Pingyang Cigarette Factory has developed rapidly in recent years, with its output surpassing that of tobacco from Shandong and Henan provinces, and it has even earned the title of the number one tobacco factory in northern China.

Pingyang Cigarette Factory's success is inseparable from the support of Dongling High-Tech.

Previously, when Torch Group promoted disposable lighters, Pingyang Cigarette Factory shipped out their products like crazy, taking advantage of the advertisements on the lighter bodies.

Pingyang Cigarette Factory now covers the surrounding areas and even most of the northern tobacco market, and its products are available there.

Tobacco is an undeniably highly profitable industry. Pingyang Cigarette Factory is now the fourth largest taxpayer in Pingyang, after Dongling High-Tech, Feiyan Technology, and Torch Group.

To be honest, these specially supplied tobaccos do have a slightly different taste, and the tobacco leaves used are indeed of better quality. But to say that they offer any special flavor is just nonsense. These things are more of a symbol of status; taking them out can represent one's identity and position to a certain extent.

Through the hazy smoke, Li Dongling continued, "But the television market is gradually declining in the future, not only domestically but worldwide. At that time, Focus Media's revenue will also decrease!"

"Can……"

Li Dongling knew what Li Yan was about to say and reached out to stop him, "Focus Media certainly wouldn't think that way, but investment institutions and analysts definitely would!"

"On the American stock market, aren't industries like automobiles, banking, and insurance companies like American Media higher in revenue? But do those Wall Street institutions really favor American Motors?"

"Listed stocks are driven by speculative expectations. They need to give investment institutions more room for imagination. Even if people can't understand them, they need to believe that the company is working on a market with huge potential, even if it's not profitable right now!"

Li Dashanren revealed the true way to play the stock market to Li Yan: you have to know how to make grand promises. Otherwise, no matter how much money a company makes, you can see the end of its business at a glance. Any analyst can predict next year's performance, so what is there to look forward to or speculate on?

Since there are no expectations and you can only receive a small dividend each year, yes, receiving dividends this way is very stable, but is this the kind of dividend that Wall Street and investment institutions around the world want?

Everyone can see it clearly; how can Wall Street institutions still hype things up and get retail investors to take the fall?

Only those stocks that even retail investors can't understand, that have doubts from the outside world, but that are hyped up to the skies, preferably with various concepts, can be manipulated by Wall Street institutions. Within a year, they can drive up the stock price by 200%, 300%, or even dozens of times, and then let retail investors take the fall!
"If Focus Media goes public as a traditional advertising company, it will likely just be a traditional advertising company with a slightly higher market value in the future, nothing more!"

As Li Dongling finished speaking, Li Yan asked somewhat unwillingly, "What about listing as a technology advertising company?"

The thought of working so hard to go public, only to end up as a disliked "old-fashioned" company, was something Li Yan couldn't accept.

"Focus Media is trying to become a digital advertising company, an internet advertising and programmatic advertising company, as well as a shopping platform and an investment company!"

One after another, high-sounding terms came out of Li Dashan's mouth, leaving Li Yan with a head full of question marks.

No, Li Yan understood these terms individually, but when they were put together, they left him somewhat confused.

"What should Focus Media do?" Li Yan asked, somewhat troubled.

"For example, if a sneaker brand wants to advertise, typical advertisers might choose to promote the sneakers on television, in sports magazines, or through outdoor advertising."

"But Focus Media does more than just follow the sneaker company's announcement and then precisely target the 25 to 40-year-old age group that is suitable for this sneaker."

This involves cross-platform joint advertising campaigns across various venues, including the user group's favorite TV dramas, variety shows, sports events, sports magazines, websites, and transportation, making advertising more precise and effective!

"Of course, in the future, Focus Media will also digitize and internetize, and may even develop an automatic advertising platform for Focus Media, allowing users to choose where to place ads and see ad placement data in real time."

"In addition, Focus Media's TV shopping can also be extended to internet shopping platforms in the future."

"Let more investment institutions know that Focus Media not only places advertisements, but also supports investment in these companies..."

Li Yan stared dumbfounded at Li the Philanthropist. No, how come Focus Media, as described by Li the Philanthropist, seemed so high-class?!

(End of this chapter)