Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1398 Lure them with profit, seize them amidst chaos

With the addition of Hong Kong Telecom, Peregrine, and the Hong Kong Future Industries Fund, Cyberport has become a cash cow in Hong Kong, boasting telecommunications, insurance, and banking.

Based in Hong Kong, backed by the mainland, and facing Southeast Asia, Cyberport will soon begin to expand its reach once its internal restructuring and integration are complete.

Whether it can become the tech version of Berkshire Hathaway is hard to say, but with three cash cows, Cyberport will have a very strong cash flow and a much greater supply of ammunition than its competitors.

In the past, some insurance companies could act like barbarians, buying up everything they could find. Why can't Cyberport do the same?!

The bursting of the Nasdaq dot-com bubble was bad news for other companies, but for Cyberport, it might not be so bad. In fact, it could be an opportunity to act as a white knight!

Of course, if any company is unwilling to accept Cyberport's goodwill, then Cyberport can simply take it itself. Cyberport's gesture is an expression of goodwill, but it does not mean that the company receiving the goodwill is allowed to say "no."

Li Dongling shook his head, putting the matter aside for now. Liang Botao returned to the conference room where he had been, as he was in charge of the financing and listing of Kingsoft and Jiangmin Technology, since both companies were going to be listed in Hong Kong.

Li Dongling and Lin Xianhui got up and walked towards the conference room of the Dongke Gangcheng Building on the other side. Li Dongling really had a lot of things to deal with in Gangcheng.

Compared to the previous meeting room, the meeting room Li Dongling had just arrived at was much smaller, and there were far fewer people sitting inside.

Cao Zongyan, the general manager of Bank of China Hong Kong City Company, who was just here, has also arrived. In addition, Wei Jiaxuan, the person in charge of Bear Stearns Asia, and Cornell, the president of Goldman Sachs Asia.

After Li Dongling and Lin Xianhui sat down, the meeting room door was closed.

Both China.com and Ruyan e-cigarettes are aiming for listing in the United States, so they can only rely on Wall Street. At this point, it would be pointless for the Qatar Foundation and others to get involved.

Wall Street doesn't care about any Middle Eastern bigwigs; in the eyes of the American Empire, that place is just a field of leeks to be harvested.

It's great to see you all again!

Li Dongling addressed the group of people in the conference room, mainly Wei Jiaxuan and Cornell.

Looking at the people in the conference room, Li Dongling got straight to the point, saying, "The listing of China.com has already been postponed!"

When China.com raised its first round of financing last year, Li Dongling hoped that China.com could complete its listing in March of this year, but now it is already April 1999.

Wei Jiaxuan and Cornell exchanged a glance. In America, China.com was mainly handled by Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs.

Both men had a look in their eyes that was hard to define, but Cornell finally spoke up, "Last year, China.com was too young, and the Nasdaq Securities Commission temporarily suspended China.com's listing application!"

Li Dongling simply chuckled at the two of them without revealing their thoughts. Indeed, it was rather sudden that China.com, which had only been established last year, had applied for listing.

However, this is probably only one aspect. On the other hand, it's possible that Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs felt they hadn't acquired enough shares in China.com and were secretly delaying its listing.

Last time, China.com was valued at a record $28 billion, with Bank of China Hong Kong City, Bear Stearns, and Goldman Sachs each acquiring a 5% stake in China.com.

At the time, they felt that China.com's valuation was too high, but now, it's no longer a question of whether it's expensive or not, but rather that they feel they've acquired too little equity in China.com!
The reason for this change in mentality is mainly because China.com has developed too fast, or rather, the development speed of the mainland Internet has exceeded the imagination of the outside world.

Thanks to the proliferation of internet cafes, led by Lingyun chain internet cafes, across the country, coupled with domestic computer brands such as Hasee and Founder, the price of domestic computers in the mainland has been reduced by nearly 40% in just a few years.

The growth rate of internet users in China is much faster than in the previous life. It is estimated that the number of internet users in China will exceed 10 million this year, or even reach more than 13 million!

The mainland internet is the core of China.com, plus Chinese internet users in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Siam, Singapore, Japan and other places, as well as the Japanese, Korean, Siamese and Malay versions of the website launched by China.com.

China.com now boasts an astonishing 13 million daily users and over 200 million daily page views.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that current internet users have never had much good food. Apart from browsing portal websites to read news, or posting on Tianya forums, or playing single-player games, there's not much else to do online.

China.com has a wealth of news, with constant updates from mainland China, Southeast Asia, and overseas regions. The comment sections are also a battleground for arguments, and the comment sections of the entertainment section are even more intense, with fans from all walks of life going all out for their idols, even crossing regional boundaries to express their opinions.

The "Top Ten Most Beautiful and Handsome Faces in Asia" contest held by China.com is nearing its end, and the competition has intensified. Users from Hong Kong and Taiwan are arguing about which celebrity is the most handsome, while Chinese-language users are united against Japanese users, making for a fierce battle. Besides providing global news, commentary, and entertainment industry gossip, China.com also offers a library of books and novels, contributing to its rapidly growing user base and consistently high user engagement.

China.com currently boasts an average of 13 million daily visitors and 200 million daily pageviews, making it virtually unrivaled in Asia.

Compared globally, China.com's daily visitor count ranks only behind Yahoo! and America Online, placing it among the top three portal websites worldwide.

As for the current market capitalization of Yahoo! and America Online, after Yahoo!'s market capitalization broke through $80 billion, it launched a rapid assault on the $90 billion market capitalization.

American Online (AOL) has seen its market capitalization surpass $150 billion, and news has surfaced that AOL is flirting with media giant Time Warner. Although many people feel that the idea of ​​AOL acquiring Time Warner is somewhat absurd, it still stimulated AOL's stock price to surge.

If Yahoo and AOL have such market capitalizations, what should China.com, which ranks third globally in daily user visits, be valued at?

Is a valuation of $28 billion too high? If it goes public, what will its market value be?

Even if its market value is not as high as Yahoo and AOL, everyone knows that after China.com goes public, its market value will definitely not be low, and it may even increase tenfold!
After glancing at Wei Jiaxuan and Cornell, Li Dongling said, "China.com will be conducting a new round of financing. I hope that after this financing, China.com can pass the listing review of the Nasdaq Securities Commission within a month, and complete the roadshow, stock distribution and listing before June this year!"

Get China.com listed on NASDAQ within two months!
It might sound like Li Dashan was being a bit aggressive, but in reality, the Nasdaq of today is completely different from what it will be in later years.

Nasdaq is now encouraging internet companies to go public because the market is so hot. Wall Street is using internet stocks as bait to fleece investors, and they're still raking in the profits, with a constant stream of new investors pouring into Nasdaq from all over the world.

In later years, if an internet company were to apply for a Nasdaq listing, it would take several months just to prepare materials and financial data under the guidance of Wall Street institutions. Then the Nasdaq Securities Commission would conduct an audit, which would take as long as six months, and there would be several rounds of inquiries before the company could be listed. The whole process would take at least a year and a half.

Now, that system doesn't exist at all. As long as an internet company applies for listing and has a reputation, and advertises aggressively, it doesn't matter whether it makes a profit or a loss. It can pass the Nasdaq listing review within ten days because most internet companies are losing money hand over fist these days.

During the review process, the roadshow can be conducted simultaneously. The most crucial point is that the issued shares must be able to be sold.

As long as the stock can be sold, everything else is not a problem. Sixteen days is enough time for an internet company to complete the entire process from application to approval, from roadshow to stock listing!

Therefore, Li Dongling's demand that Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs help China.com pass its Nasdaq listing application within a month was not considered forcing them, but rather giving them ample time.

This was done with the consideration that China.com is not a Silicon Valley company, and that Wall Street needed to accept China.com, so sufficient time was allocated.

"China.com's new round of financing is expected to value the company at $42 billion, involving the transfer of 20% of its equity. In addition, after the financing is completed, approximately 20% of its shares will be publicly issued!"

Upon hearing Li Dongling's words, Wei Jiaxuan and Cornell showed expressions of surprise and delight.

The good news is that China.com's new round of financing is much larger than expected, but the shock is that China.com's valuation has soared far too fast.

Before they could speak, Li Dongling stopped them and continued, "But I hope that with this round of financing, the equity of China.com will allow more 'people' in America to benefit from China.com's dividends."

Upon hearing these pointed words, both Wei Jiaxuan and Cornell couldn't help but show a hint of confusion on their faces.

"Li, what do you mean?"

Cornell was the first to speak, asking, "With Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns, two major Wall Street investment banks, it's enough for China.com to complete its IPO." Li Dongling's words were not just empty talk.

Li Dongling placed his palms on the conference room table and stated directly to Cornell, "I hope that Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns can invite members of the American presidential family, or members of the cowboy family, or members of the Kennedy family, to endorse China.com!"

Using magic to defeat magic, Li Dashanren is preparing to hire local swordsmen in America to endorse and support China.com and Dongke America Company.

Over the years, Dongke has also sought endorsements from powerful figures in America. For example, after the establishment of Dongke America, it sought endorsement from New York Democratic Congressman Johannes Reid, and donated large sums of money to Reid every year through a public relations firm.

It also witnessed Reed's journey from a New York City councilman to a New York State Senator.

But one Reed is no longer enough to endorse East Coast Science and Technology; we need to find a new powerful figure in America!

(End of this chapter)