Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 646 The Eve of Listing
As early as the end of last year, when the milestone achievement of 200 offline Xiaomi Homes was achieved, Lei Jun convened a meeting of Xiaomi executives in the headquarters conference room. The content of the meeting was one and only one: should Xiaomi go public!
Not all founders in the meeting agreed to go public.

Wang Chuan, who is in charge of the smart home business, said, "Xiaomi is not short of money and there is no urgency to go public. However, after becoming a listed company, the short-termism of the capital market will erode our long-term strategy."

In fact, Wang Chuan's concerns are not unreasonable, and they have caused concern among several other executives present. After all, after some companies go public, they will indeed use some short-term behaviors to operate the business because they consider whether their quarterly financial reports are impressive, which will have a negative impact on the company's long-term strategic deployment. This is contrary to Xiaomi's style of focusing on long-term interests and making friends with time.

After several other Xiaomi executives spoke, Chen Mo, the second-in-command, expressed his own views on the phone.
"Going public is a double-edged sword, but we have to look at this issue in a certain way: are the advantages greater than the disadvantages or the disadvantages greater than the advantages? But now is the critical leap period for Xiaomi's internationalization strategy. We need the help of the capital market to expand overseas markets, and now is the time to go public!"

The reason why Chen Mo strongly recommended the listing was that as far as he could remember, Xiaomi went public in 18. During that period, international relations were tense, which led to a sluggish stock market. Although it was finally successfully listed, the stock price fell below the issue price on the day of listing, and then fell to around 8 yuan per share.

And now international relations are relatively stable, so this is also what he calls the right time.

Lei Jun, the helmsman, showed strategic vision in his summary, "Mr. Mo is right, going public certainly has its disadvantages.

Although going public will bring challenges, these risks can be controlled as long as we maintain strategic focus. More importantly, going public will promote the improvement of the corporate governance structure and enable Xiaomi to achieve a qualitative leap in organizational structure and brand strategy. Vote below.”

In the end, Lei Jun and Wang Chuan abstained from voting, and the rest voted in favor. Adhering to the principle of majority approval, Xiaomi's decision to go public was finally passed.

In casual conversation after the meeting, most of Xiaomi’s founders simply believed that for some employees who have worked at Xiaomi for a long time, five years have passed and their hard work should be rewarded. This is also a key for Xiaomi to lock in outstanding talents and maintain the company’s core competitiveness.

Soon after, Xiaomi will formally submit its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Now, after a night of discussion, the two men split up into two groups on June 6.

Before parting, when Chen Mo heard that Lei Jun wanted to borrow his big plane, he agreed without thinking, and just said, "Given our relationship, forget about the fees. Just remember to wash the plane and fill it with oil when you return it."

A few hours later, Lei Jun and his team flew directly to New York on a Gulfstream private jet for a roadshow. His senior executives divided into three groups and rushed to various places. Xiaomi's global roadshow officially kicked off.

Chen Mo, on the other hand, finished his job first and took out a week to attend Xiaomi's listing ceremony at the end of June.

On June 6, Chen Mo, as the chairman of the Bian Shore Group, issued an open letter to all employees, "Notice on Several Personnel Appointments", officially announcing the position adjustments of core executives such as Zhou Shouzi, Dai Wenyuan, Li Jianchao, and Wu Dan.

The letter not only elaborated on the past contributions of each executive, but also clarified their strategic positioning and future mission in their new positions.

On the same day, the Bi'an Group announced this series of personnel changes through official channels, which triggered widespread interpretation in the media.

Among them, the most eye-catching is Zhou Shouzi, who is known as the "God of Wealth from the Other Shore", who was appointed as the CEO of Bi'an International and is in charge of the overseas business.

In an interview, Chen Mo spoke highly of Zhou Shouzi: "Zhou Shouzi has profound experience in both science and technology and finance. His global vision will help Bi'an achieve breakthroughs in key markets." The market generally believes that Zhou Shouzi's latest appointment is regarded by technology media as a key layout for Bi'an's subsequent expansion in overseas markets. His financial background and international experience have provided significant support for Bi'an's commercialization in overseas markets. This appointment sends a strong signal that Bi'an is accelerating its internationalization.

Moreover, with Xiaomi's upcoming listing, it forms a dual pattern of one bright and one dark, one soft and one hard.

It is worth noting that the executive team adjusted this time shows a distinct trend of getting younger - Zhou Shouzi and Dai Wenyuan were both born in 83, and Wu Dan is nearly 28 years old, making him the youngest executive of the Bi'an Group.

The average age of these people is only 30 years old. The appointment of 42-year-old Li Jianchao is seen by the outside world as an important step in the replacement of the old and new management of the other side. Above him are Zhang Changfa, born in 62, Chen Tong, born in 67, and Zhang Xiaolong, born in 69. Next up is Li Jianchao, born in , Chen Tong, born in , and Zhang Xiaolong, born in .
For a time, the outside world even began to speculate whether the post-60s veterans on the other side of the Taiwan Strait were facing "exit".

Facing the rumors, Chen Mo simply responded on Weibo:
"On the other side, only ability matters, not age!"

On June 6, the day after the Dragon Boat Festival, a fully fueled Gulfstream G21 took off from Beijing Capital Airport, carrying Chen Mo and Lei Jun to Hong Kong. After landing, Lei Jun booked an entire floor of the Four Seasons Hotel as the frontline "combat headquarters" of the IPO team.

In the next few days, the professional team worked intensively in the hotel to complete the prospectus, while Lei Jun took Chen Mo to visit Hong Kong business tycoons and investment institutions intensively to build momentum for the listing.

Every time they appear, it makes the headlines in the financial section, and the market enthusiasm is completely ignited - the news that local dignitaries visited the Xiaomi Home Hong Kong flagship store pushed public opinion to a climax.

The reaction of the capital market far exceeded expectations: the first round of brokerage valuation was locked at US$750 billion, and then soared to a sky-high price of US$1000 billion or even US$2000 billion under crazy pursuit.

Xiaomi's financial team was dumbfounded, while countless retail investors in the financial market were eagerly waiting to make a fortune after Xiaomi went public.

As the news of Xiaomi's upcoming listing spread in China, many netizens were scratching their heads, because opening the Hong Kong Stock Connect requires a threshold of 50 yuan, or one has to go to Hong Kong in person to open an account. This threshold blocks at least 99% of people, causing many people who want to get a bargain to sigh and regret that they will miss out on this huge fortune.

Now even those who have never played the stock market know that this is an opportunity to make money for free.

June 6th, the eve of Xiaomi’s IPO.

The bright lights of Victoria Harbour shine through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the 30th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel.

Lei Jun and Chen Mo stood side by side, each holding a champagne glass. Their well-tailored suits outlined their tall figures - both were 1.80 meters tall, with an aura of 2.80 meters, which was very eye-catching.

Staring out the window for a long time, Lei Jun sighed, "Xiao Mo, do you know? I have reviewed it privately - without you, Xiaomi's development speed would not be so fast, and it would take at least two to three years to go public."

(End of this chapter)