What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 690 Stepping Stone (4k)

Xu Xin felt a tightness in her chest.

She felt she could accept a certain degree of misunderstanding, but when faced with the opinions of acquaintances in the industry, she found that her tolerance was still somewhat lacking.

What's even more frustrating is that her husband defected, making the situation even more difficult to explain.

If Zhang Chaoyang has this perception, what about others?

As Xu Xin thought about her friends, the investors of Today Capital, and the scrutiny from inside and outside the industry, she became increasingly depressed and couldn't help but scroll through her contacts.

She called Liu Wanying, the real short seller, and told her about her helplessness in being misunderstood.

Liu Wanying replied, "It's okay, don't worry about it. I'll let you win a couple more rounds of mahjong when you have time."

Xu Xin thought to herself, "If you don't care, why did you go to Hong Kong in the first place? Even playing mahjong can't relieve this kind of depression!"

She then called Xiong Xiaoge of IDG and mentioned the carbon and silicon short-selling ecosystem created by President Yu.

Xiong Xiaoge's response was: "Misunderstandings are always possible. We investors encounter them all the time, so don't worry about it."

Xu Xin couldn't relax, especially after learning that Xiong Xiaoge had also acted as a go-between for the Guoshanfeng Fund and was suspected of being a member of the short-selling ecosystem, while she herself was completely different from him!
She called her friends and even mentioned it when she received a call from her son. However, her son's words were full of curiosity and admiration for Guo Shanfeng, and he kept asking about the details of the short selling.

Xu Xin finally understood why Xianglin's wife kept repeating her story to everyone she met; it was because she had to keep talking about this unresolved emotion.

She finally called Li Song, who had already flown to Hong Kong, but her words were very brief.

However, Xu Xin did not expect to hear comfort from him.

“Sigh, it’s my fault too. Everyone thinks that way now, so it’s tough on you,” Li Song said. “Why don’t we go back and go see President Yu together to see if there’s any way to resolve this? The one who tied the knot must untie it.”

Xu Xin paused for two seconds, listening to the still-continuous voice on the phone, and suddenly said, "Forget it, let's just leave it like this. It's easy to make things worse by trying to cover it up."

Li Song was somewhat surprised.

The next moment, Xu Xin said, "Our LPs have had a meeting and they are all willing to put up some funds to try out the mountain peak's funding strategy. Remember to reserve some for me."

Capital Today has its own established investment style, but investors from different regions almost reached a consensus when they tested the waters of Peak Fund. In any case, whether it's Capital Today's investment in silicon carbon or personal relationships, there seems to be a lot of room for maneuver.

Li Song: "..."

He hesitated, then said, "Well, you..."

Xu Xin's voice became very calm: "One thing at a time."

Li Song understood; no wonder President Yu had been able to assess him so clearly so early on.

He agreed. Everyone's money is money, and President Yu wouldn't refuse to give face to the silicon carbon shareholders.

"Do you know who wants to see me today?" Li Song asked at the end of the phone call, mentioning what would happen after he arrived in Hong Kong.

Xu Xinjing awaits further developments.

Li Song said with a hint of pride and excitement, "It was Guo Kongcheng who handed me the phone, hoping to meet me."

Xu Xin was genuinely surprised: "Guo Kongcheng from Malaysia? The one who talked to Teresa Teng?"

Li Song smiled and said, "Yes, the current boss of Kerry Group, the eldest son of the Sugar King."

Kuok Khoon Cheng is the current head of the Kuok family in Malaysia. His father, Robert Kuok, was known as the "Hotel King" and the "Sugar King of Asia." He owned the famous Shangri-La Hotel and was a globally renowned Chinese tycoon with a significant position in Hong Kong.

As for him personally, his early appearances in Hong Kong newspapers were not due to the Kwok family's achievements, but rather to his relationship with Teresa Teng.

Xu Xin exclaimed, "You've really gotten ahead thanks to President Yu. People still want to see you. You should really go and visit them."

Li Song laughed several times: "It also depends on who can make more money. This time, the Peak Fund is not just about President Yu's reputation, but about actually making money."

Xu Xin naturally understood this attraction; otherwise, her own wife wouldn't have been tempted as well.

After ending his call with his wife, Li Song drank half a cup of coffee, kept track of the time, and tidied his clothes, wanting to appear in his best possible light when meeting the head of the Guo family.

Robert Kuok is now 93 years old and has long since retired from the business world. The Kuok family now runs its vast business under the leadership of the eldest son, Kuok Khoon Cheng, with his other brothers and sisters assisting him.

Despite having the backing of Shanfeng and President Yu, Li Song dared not neglect this established and powerful family.

The "Over the Peak" campaign has indeed made a name for itself in various ways, but the use of funds and the exchange of resources are also matters of consideration. Hong Kong, as an Asian financial center, already has many well-known funds, and those from the mainland are relatively newcomers.

Today, similar to Guoshanfeng, there is another company called Blue Pool Capital, which manages $30 billion in assets. It was jointly founded by Ma Chuan and Cai Chongxin and is regarded as a rising asset management platform with Chinese capital background.

The others basically fall into three categories: either established real estate families, established financial and industrial families, or Southeast Asian Chinese families like the Guo family.

While Li Song was pleased and happy, he also had some doubts. The Guo family was large and powerful, and it seemed that they had no shortage of platforms to manage their assets. But he explained to himself that the Over Peak Hedge Fund was no ordinary company.

At 3 p.m., Guo Kongcheng, who was 62 years old at the time, came to visit. He was quite amicable and mentioned the $200 million investment that was not unexpected for Li Song.

Facing the head of the Guo family, Li Song tried his best to be neither humble nor arrogant, and did not act coy, basically agreeing to the investment from the Guo family.

Guo Kongcheng slowly took a sip of tea and mentioned the second reason he had come specifically to see Mr. Yu: "President Li, I have long admired President Yu and would like to ask you to introduce me to him. I would like to meet President Yu."

Li Song wasn't too surprised by the request, but as he pondered, he overheard the reason behind it that greatly surprised him.

“Proton Group in Malaysia is looking for a buyer, and we are very keen to discuss such a collaboration with Mr. Yu,” Guo Kongcheng explained regarding the meeting.

Li Song hesitated and said, "Mr. Guo, as far as I know, silicon carbide and Proton already have a partnership, in this regard..."

Guo Kongcheng nodded: "I know about the cooperation between the two companies in Lotus Group, but this time it's not just about Lotus. We hope to have further cooperation in Proton's equity. Doesn't Silicon Carbon want to have a springboard to go overseas?"

Li Song remained silent.

He dared not speak on such matters lightly, and now he knew that the person who came to his door in person was likely mainly concerned with the cooperation with Proton Group, and the $2 million investment was just a prelude to this exchange.

The problem lies in the so-called "recommendation"...

Li Song knows his own family's affairs, so why would he recommend him?
He fell silent, quickly considering the right words.

Guo Kongcheng waited a moment, but didn't receive a reply. He was also considering whether to discuss deeper aspects. Regarding the recent expansion of peak carbon or silicon carbon data, the more fundamental aspect is the Yuxing ecosystem. They were indeed looking at things through a fog, unable to see clearly or explain it clearly. Just like with Li Song, who suddenly appeared and actually took charge of an important fund, they didn't understand his position in such an ecosystem.

Logically, it should be of paramount importance.

Moreover, looking at Li Song's resume, he has a background of studying in the United States and working at Morgan Stanley. In addition, he has always been an important force behind carbon and silicon. Therefore, he may be even more important.

Guo Kongcheng slowly said, "Carbon Silicon and Proton have already cooperated, but President Yu is very cautious about further actions. Therefore, they hope that we can make an effort. Saimoda's DRB has taken on too much debt from acquiring Proton and now wants to raise funds. This is actually a very good opportunity for President Yu and Carbon Silicon."

"Proton could be the best springboard for silicon carbide to enter ASEAN, Mr. Li, what do you think?"

Li Song could no longer remain silent.

He could only deflect the question by saying, "Mr. Guo, new energy is something that Mr. Yu values ​​highly. In fact, it's entirely up to him to decide. I will discuss this matter with Mr. Yu in detail."

Not only carbon and silicon, but also the mountain peaks were of course considered by President Yu, but saying it like that made it seem like I also had a significant say.

Guo Kongcheng was not satisfied with this and directly requested, "President Li, I hope you can communicate with President Yu now. We can hold a portion of Proton's shares on his behalf to gain control of it and circumvent the 49% restriction in Malaysia."

Hearing this, Li Song found it even harder to be negligent.

He pondered for a few seconds, then got up and went to the other room to call President Yu and convey the message from the Guo family.

Silicon Carbon Group had previously collaborated with Proton, with the agreed-upon deal involving a 20% stake in Lotus Group and a 15% stake in Lotus Engineering, along with subsequent capital increase clauses.

However, this time it directly involves the equity intentions of the parent company, Proton Group.

Yu Xing received a call from Li Song and, after listening to the Guo family's persuasion and intentions, felt quite puzzled.

While President Yu was thinking, Li Song described the scene of the meeting: "President Yu, President Guo called me after I arrived yesterday, and today he came to visit in person. His attitude was indeed very sincere."

Yu Xing ignored this and simply concluded, "Proton has indeed been declining in recent years, otherwise it wouldn't have sold part of Lotus's shares before. As for ASEAN, which Guo Kongcheng mentioned... tariffs are an advantage."

The ASEAN Free Trade Area implements zero tariffs on internal trade in complete vehicles, but import tariffs on complete vehicles from outside the ASEAN can reach as high as 30%. China is not a member of ASEAN, but a comprehensive strategic partner. The former is AFTA, and the latter is CAFTA.

CAFTA refers to bilateral trade between China and the 10 ASEAN countries, and does not apply to internal cross-border trade.

Therefore, this is what Kuok Khoon Cheng emphasized. He also stressed the need to avoid the 49% limit because Malaysia has foreign investment restrictions on companies like Proton, which allow a maximum of 49.9% ownership.

However, if the Guo family is willing to hold a small portion of the shares and maintains a consistent stance, they will naturally gain substantial absolute control.

After thinking for a while, Yu Xing said, "What is the Guo family after? These kinds of acquisitions often end up as a mess. Lotus is not bad, but there's no rush with silicon carbon. Forget it, let's meet them."

Li Song's emotions fluctuated with President Yu's voice. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "President Yu, when are you coming?"

Yu Xing replied, "If he wants to talk to me, then let him come to Lingang."

Li Song was surprised, but then realized that President Yu seemed to have more initiative. As for the Guo family, represented by Guo Kongcheng, no matter how large and powerful they were, they didn't have much influence on President Yu.

He ended the call and thus adjusted his mindset slightly.

Li Song sat down in front of Guo Kongcheng again, intending to talk about the process, but then a thought struck him, and he simply said, "Mr. Guo, Mr. Yu is waiting for you in Lingang."

Guo Kongcheng smiled and said, "Thank you, President Li. This is a win-win cooperation opportunity."

Before Li Song could even express his surprise at Premier Guo's seemingly natural willingness to go to Lingang, he asked, "A win-win situation?"

Since it involves many people, it's definitely not just a win-win situation.

Guo Kongcheng did not hide anything and said, "We were asked to do this. Daim from Malaysia hopes that Proton can find a suitable buyer. He is my father's classmate from Raffles College in Singapore."

Li Song was unaware of this person's status, but he nodded seriously.

After seeing Guo off, he urgently checked the information of the last person mentioned. Although there was only a brief name, he quickly located the person, Tun Dai Inzainuddin, based on Guo Henian's alumni status.

This man, who twice served as the finance boss of Malaysia, was involved in Proton's operations, from project initiation and financing to cooperation with Mitsubishi, making him one of the key figures behind the scenes.

More importantly, he was a key advisor during Mahathir's rule, holding a very important position.

From Proton Group to Kuok Khoon Cheng to Robert Kuok, and then on...

After pondering for a while, Li Song reported the important situation to President Yu again, hoping that he could make a more informed decision.

Yu Xing was even more surprised by this. After consulting various sources and filling in the gaps in his understanding of the current situation in Malaysia, if the manipulator behind Proton Group was indeed the evergreen Mahathir, then…

The other party had recently stated that they did not want a national car brand like Proton to be owned by foreign capital, which contradicts the statement made by the Guo family who came to their door.

As for the Guo family and Proton, they were indeed connected before. Although they did not hold shares on the surface, the Guo family held exclusive cross-border logistics agency rights from the early days of Proton's establishment, and were responsible for logistics work such as sea freight, customs clearance, and distribution of related parts, thus obtaining stable income.

Meanwhile, the construction and supporting facilities of Proton's many factories, as well as its 4S store real estate and leasing business, were also undertaken by Kerry Group, a subsidiary of the Kwok family.

The two sides do indeed have very deep-rooted interests.

Yu Xing's question was quickly answered by Guo Kongcheng himself.

“Mr. Yu, Mr. Mahathir does indeed hope that Proton Group will be handled well. As for foreign ownership, that's to oppose the current leaders; if they were in opposition,” Guo Kongcheng directly acknowledged the people behind the scenes. “We all believe that silicon carbide is the best partner.”

Yu Xing understood one word: "outsider".

He wasn't particularly moved by this, only saying, "Proton is a burden that's not easy to resolve."

Guo Kongcheng said with bright eyes, "President Yu, it is also an excellent springboard. Does the carbon silicon industry only involve the domestic market? If it cannot play a role in other people's hands, can it not shine in President Yu's hands?"

Yu Xing felt unsatisfied; the time was too short, the models were incompatible, and the burden was too heavy.

He himself knew the current capabilities of the Silicon Carbon Group. Even if they were to join forces with the Guo family to take control of Proton, they would be powerless to spur change in a short period of time, given that his company was positioned in new energy and had experience in the mid-to-high-end market.

However, ASEAN as a springboard and the Southeast Asian market are objectively a good testing ground. There are advantages to not taking it and advantages to taking it.

Yu Xing believed that silicon carbide could not solve the thorny situation, but he did not limit his thinking to Lingang. Instead, he considered whether he could bring in other companies to handle the situation.

(End of this chapter)