Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1394: Let go of helping others and respect the fate of others

Inside a villa in Hong Kong, Lü Dongliang watched the news on TV. This was the first big news Li Dongling had made since returning to Hong Kong.

The first step was to raise HK$30 billion for the Hong Kong Future Industry Fund.

But what's even more outrageous is that Lu Dongliang saw investment institutions, wealthy families, trust funds, and even insurance companies and banks in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia rushing in like sharks smelling blood.

The amount of money people want to invest in the Gangcheng Future Industry Fund is four or five times more than the funds raised!
In other words, nearly HK$150 billion was spent to grab that HK$30 billion investment quota!

As Lü Dongliang watched the news on TV, he wondered if he was out of touch or if the world was just too crazy. But was all of this even reasonable?

However, seeing that the expected rate of return of the first phase of the Gangcheng Future Industry Fund had reached 300%, Lü Dongliang understood the mentality of these institutions.

Even Warren Buffett, who is hailed as a stock market guru by the United States, has an average annual return of only around 20% for his Berkshire Hathaway.

This is already quite astonishing, otherwise he wouldn't have the title of "Oracle of Omaha". But compared to the returns of the Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation, Buffett is like a greenhorn, left far behind.

This explains why investment institutions in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia have taken such actions; they are all completely impressed by the returns of Hong Kong's future industrial fund.

When the opportunity to invest in the Cyberport Future Industry Fund arises, the attitude of these investment institutions, foundations, trusts, insurance companies, and other companies is predictable: they practically beg to hand over their money to the Cyberport Future Industry Fund, fearing that Cyberport might refuse to accept it.

They don't do all this for nothing. As long as you invest money in the Gangcheng Future Industry Fund, let alone a 300% return, they'll exaggerate the return to the heavens, even if it's just 100%.

Then they would boast about this investment, showing off its track record, and claim that it could attract ten or even a hundred times more investors to entrust their money to them for management. They claimed that the money they would earn would be more than ten times that invested in the Gangcheng Future Industry Fund!
This is the fundamental reason why trust funds, insurance companies, and even banks are all interested in it; frankly speaking, it's all about self-interest.

As Lu Dongliang watched the news on TV, he knew that the Hong Kong Future Industry Fund was an industry under Cyberport.

As a long-time follower of Cyberport, he became a stock trader who used Cyberport to increase his net worth from millions to tens of millions.

Although Lu Dongliang did not directly receive dividends from the Hong Kong City Future Industry Fund, Cyberport's stock price continued to rise due to the stimulus of the fund.

It's important to know that Cyberport receives a 2% management fee from the Cyberport Future Industries Fund every year. In addition, the profits are split 30/70, with Cyberport taking 30% and the remaining profits being distributed to various investors.

Cyberport’s Future Industry Fund may become Cyberport’s most important business. It is precisely because of the existence of Cyberport’s Future Industry Fund that Cyberport is regarded by the outside world as an internet technology stock, rather than just a telecommunications company.

Lu Dongliang bet on Cyberport when it acquired Hong Kong Telecom, and as a result, his net worth skyrocketed.

Most importantly, when Soros attacked and shorted Hong Kong City, Cyberport took up the banner of fighting back against Soros, becoming a pillar supporting the Hong Kong stock index.

Despite pressure from Soros and international hedge funds, Cyberport's market value has been pushed up to nearly HK$350 billion.

This directly wiped out a group of short sellers, causing Soros's disciple, Zuckermiller, to flee Hong Kong in a panic. Furthermore, an international hedge fund manager jumped off a building due to bankruptcy.

Hong Kong became one of the few markets in Southeast Asia that Soros had not yet penetrated.

After Soros was ousted, Cyberport's stock price surged, once reaching a market capitalization of HK$400 billion.

However, after Soros's defeat in Hong Kong, although the city's exchange rate was preserved, it suffered heavy losses, especially in the stock and real estate markets, which were back to levels seen a decade ago.

Cyberport's share price inevitably declined, with its market capitalization falling from HK$400 billion to HK$350 billion.

Because Cyberport is such a large company, every one-point fluctuation in its share price results in a market capitalization fluctuation of several billion Hong Kong dollars. Therefore, Cyberport's market capitalization hovers around 350 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Regardless of the fluctuations in Cyberport's market value, Lu Dongliang has always held Cyberport shares and has never sold them.

Now that the Cyberport Future Industry Foundation has raised a large sum of money, Lu Dongliang can't help but wonder if Cyberport will make any big moves next, and whether its stock price will rise.

Lu Dongliang is now a staunch holder of Cyberport shares. The villa he lives in and the sports car in his garage were all earned from Cyberport shares. How could he not support Cyberport?

While Lü Dongliang was lost in thought, he saw new reports on the TV station, several of which were related to Cyberport and its major shareholders.

3721.com, an internet company from Zhongguancun in inland China, will soon launch a new round of financing. After completing the financing, it will apply for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

3721's IPO will also set a new record for the fastest listing of a mainland Chinese internet company, taking less than 400 days from its founding to its listing!

"Ruyan E-cigarette Company, headquartered in the port city, is the first global e-cigarette company to go public, and may soon apply for listing on the New York Stock Exchange."

Ruyan e-cigarettes is currently the world's largest e-cigarette company, with monthly revenue exceeding $80 million. The e-cigarette market is growing rapidly, and experts predict that its size may exceed $3 billion within the next three years. "According to reports from Nihon-Ben, SoftBank, the controlling shareholder of Nihon-Ben Yahoo, plans to launch a share buyback program to repurchase 14% of Nihon-Ben Yahoo's shares from the Zhixing Foundation."

This buyback was a premium acquisition. SoftBank stated that it remains optimistic about Yahoo! Japan's future prospects, and the entire acquisition project will exceed $5.6 billion!

"Yoshitaka Kitao, General Manager of SoftBank's Investment Department, claimed in a media interview that SoftBank may be forming a new investment fund, and the size of the entire investment fund may be quite astonishing!"

As Lü Dongliang watched the news on TV, his eyes widened in surprise. He didn't care about SoftBank at all, since he hadn't bought any SoftBank stock anyway.

He knew about the Zhixing Foundation. Back in Hong Kong, the Zhixing Foundation was a major force against Soros, aggressively pushing up the Hong Kong stock index and ultimately winning.

But the most crucial point is that the Zhixing Foundation actually sold its shares in Yahoo! Japan and cashed out $5.6 billion in one go?
With this news out, who would dare question the profitability of the Port City Future Industry Foundation?

Back then, the Zhixing Foundation simply used the Yahoo! Japan brand to acquire Yahoo! Japan's equity from SoftBank, but now, with a single resale, it has made billions of dollars.

Like the Gangcheng Future Industry Foundation, the Zhixing Foundation has the same major donor.

As Lü Dongliang watched the news on TV, he felt a chill run down his spine. He now felt that those investment institutions, family trusts, and insurance companies were still a bit too conservative.

If Li Dashan is truly in charge of the Gangcheng Future Industry Foundation, wouldn't it be in high demand?!
Indeed, just as Lu Dongliang predicted, when the Zhixing Foundation sought to cash out another $5.6 billion from Yahoo! Japan, the Hong Kong Future Industry Phase II Fund was completely snapped up.

Not only Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, but also a group of oil-producing countries in the Middle East, as well as investment institutions from countries in Northern Europe, have all set their sights on the Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation.

The number of investment institutions subscribing to the second phase of the Hong Kong City Future Industry Foundation began to soar, making Lin Xianhui, who manages the foundation, somewhat uneasy.

……

"Mr. Li, if this trend continues, the amount subscribed to the second phase of the Gangcheng Future Industry Foundation may exceed five times, or even six times!"

Lin Xianhui arrived at the office in the Dongke Port City Building that belonged to Li Dashanren and reported to Li Dongling.

The problem isn't a lack of subscribers to the Future Industry Fund, but rather an overabundance of subscribers. Many of these investors are backed by large investment institutions with significant backgrounds, making it difficult for Lin Xianhui to manage.

Li Dongling flipped through the list that Lin Xianhui had brought over. It contained a list of investment institutions that would have been famous worldwide in his previous life, and behind these investment institutions were countries.

Even investment institutions that came from the inland areas were joining in the fun, which made Li Dongling shake his head.

"Select suitable investors from investment institutions in inland areas, port cities, Southeast Asia, and Middle Eastern oil-producing countries. You can choose several to join at the same time!"

Li Dongling placed his hand on the investment list and said to Lin Xianhui, "Right now, these investment institutions and foundations are begging to invest money in the Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation. They'd be unhappy if we didn't accept their money."

Li, a philanthropist, is known for his kindness. How could he bear to see these investment institutions disappointed?
Furthermore, having these investment institutions join is tantamount to having them endorse the project, thus creating a bond. When they share common interests, they don't want their invested money to go to waste, so they have to support Cyberport and Dongling Hi-Tech in the local area!
"There's another thing. SoftBank is setting up an investment fund, and I heard it might be quite large. Rumor has it that many Japanese conglomerates are interested in supporting it."

Lin Xianhui said with some concern that SoftBank would compete with Cyberport for investment targets in the future.

"Do not care!"

Li Dongling, however, remained calm and said, "How much money SoftBank can raise is its own business. We must respect the fate of others!"

If SoftBank were to launch the Vision Fund now, it might make a fortune in the short term, but after the dot-com bubble bursts, it's hard to say how much money will be left in the Vision Fund's account.

When the time comes, SoftBank, carrying a bunch of Japanese conglomerates, will accelerate down a cliff and completely destroy Japan's internet industry. That's SoftBank's business, and Li Keqiang can just watch.

"Go over there!"

Li Dongling glanced at the time, stood up and said to Lin Xianhui, then headed towards a conference room in the Dongke Port City Building. It was estimated that Li Dashan would spend the next few days in this conference room.

As soon as you enter, you're greeted by a scene of frenzied talking, not much better than a vegetable market. Today, this is 3721's last round of financing before its IPO.

"A valuation of $500 million is too low. 3721 is about to enter the international market, at which time its user base and scale will double!"

What Li the philanthropist saw was Zhou Hongyi tearing off her tie, rolling up her sleeves, and displaying a style reminiscent of a scholar engaging in a heated debate.

(End of this chapter)