What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 694 Support (4k)

Silicon Carbon and BYD reached a cooperation agreement. Guo Kongcheng was satisfied with the acquisition plan proposed by the two companies, which mainly focused on mature vehicle technologies. His trip as a middleman was to resolve the issues raised by Mahathir.

However, as the saying goes, "every profession has its own secrets," and he was also thinking about the new energy policies that Mahathir wanted to promote. He had thought that finding a rapidly developing car company like Silicon Carbon would be enough, but now it seemed that a car company like Silicon Carbon was more capable of comprehensively considering various factors.

Kuok Khoon Cheng returned to Malaysia with the proposal from the Silicon Carbon Group, intending to first satisfy Mahathir before continuing to pressure Proton's Syed Mokhtar.

Yu Xing first contacted Chen Rijun of Lingang with the acquisition intention, and then considered further procedures.

As a new energy company, Chen Rijun found it quite strange that it would expand into overseas markets through cooperation with other companies.

Chen Rijun asked a similar question to Guo Kongcheng: "President Yu, why don't you make them yourselves? Why don't you just take the Kyushu models and sell them? If the price is too high, you can reduce the features."

Because it was a private, prior communication, we asked all sorts of questions to get to the bottom of the matter.

Yu Xing patiently recounted the content of his conversation with Guo Kongcheng.

Chen Rijun then gained a general understanding of the Malaysian market and its various circumstances, and immediately raised another question: "If that's the case, why doesn't BYD do it itself?"

“President Wang isn’t interested in Lotus cars, probably because he thinks it’s not the right time yet. Geely is interested, but we also want Lotus,” Yu Xing replied. “Director, this is what we’re thinking: if we can succeed with Proton, we can also import a few more domestic models.”

After a moment of understanding, Chen Rijun laughed and said, "Do you think they would be willing to give you silicon carbide a discount?"

Yu Xing nodded, but then said, "That's just a thought, but we believe that at worst we won't lose too much money from this acquisition, because we've brought in a mature model, so we don't need to invest too much capital."

Chen Rijun had heard President Yu mention the word "funds" several times and knew what he meant.

After reviewing the acquisition plan for silicon carbon again and asking a few more related questions, he said, "Mr. Yu, there shouldn't be any problems with the city. You can talk to the Malaysian side first, get a general idea from both sides, and I'll ask the Development and Reform Commission to see if it can be expedited."

Acquisitions of overseas automakers' equity by companies like Silicon Carbon require approval from the National Development and Reform Commission, followed by review by the Ministry of Commerce and other departments. This entire process can take three to four months.

Yu Xinggang smiled, but before he could even express his gratitude, he heard the director offer further support.

“Since silicon carbide is mainly focused on the domestic new energy market, let’s see if the China Development Bank can provide some support. We can also communicate with the National Development and Reform Commission,” Chen Rijun said. “It would be a highlight if our domestic automobile products could go overseas.”

The China Development Bank has a longer-term and more flexible policy on cross-border lending, and it also collaborates with the National Development and Reform Commission to identify key projects.

As for Malaysia, it became one of the first 11 countries to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative two years ago, so policy support is relatively easy to obtain.

Chen Rijun not only holds a position in Lingang, but with his statement of support, things are basically quite stable.

Yu Xing shook hands with the director repeatedly to express his gratitude.

"President Yu, when will you be able to take your silicon-carbon new energy vehicles overseas and compete? That would be great," Chen Rijun said with a smile, expressing his expectations.

In principle, silicon carbide vehicles are already able to compete with top-tier brands in the domestic market and should be competitive. However, the prospect of domestic brands competing overseas seems inexplicably distant.

"Director, let's first open up channels with ASEAN. We're sure to see results in the next few years," Yu Xing said cheerfully. "I have confidence in silicon carbon and in the development of technology. We've been working on battery research and development recently, and we're already considering the positioning of pure electric vehicles."

After discussing the acquisition intentions, he also mentioned the lithium iron phosphate battery project that Silicon Carbon is working on.

Chen Rijun didn't quite understand, but he felt like he hadn't had enough of what President Yu was saying. One of the main reasons was that what he said always seemed to come true, either quickly or slowly.

After Yu Xing finished communicating with Lingang, he returned to the company and began to consider the issue of acquisition funds.

The acquisition of a 49.9% stake in Proton by Silicon Carbon can be valued primarily by Song's technology, plus bank loans. However, this acquisition also involves the Lotus Group, which is worth approximately $2 million.

He felt that Lotus's brand and technology still had some value, and now was the bottom to buy. However, he did need to think carefully about how to operate such an established brand.

Silicon Carbon is currently researching high-performance sports cars, hoping to use this to promote the research and integration of internal technologies, and then apply them to mass-market models. This seems to complement Lotus, but Yu Xing wants to further establish the image of "Silicon Carbon" first.

Silicon Carbon establishes its technological image through the name "Silicon Carbon," rather than through the name "Lotus." Besides, Lotus itself isn't particularly adept at electric platforms, though its body shape is indeed quite striking.

Cui Zhiyu's suggestion was: "President Yu, the positioning of Lotus is to complement our silicon carbon group. Why don't we use the technological value as the price? Anyway, it's a loss for that Saimoda to keep the Lotus sports cars, so he must be more eager to get rid of them."

Syed Mokhtar was burdened not only by the pressure of his business empire, but also by the pressure of the political situation in Malaysia.

Thinking about Proton and Lotus's acquisition methods, Yu Xing laughed and said, "Isn't this a bit shady?"

Cui Zhiyu advised, "Let's try offering this price. If he agrees, it's a mutual agreement, and no one can force him."

Yu Xing nodded. Indeed, they could still push him a bit.

Proton and FGV have similar practices. If ZR, an anonymous short seller from Europe, launches a short-selling attack on the latter, even though the former is now privatized, mentioning it and pushing public opinion could increase the pressure on Semodalan.

What Cyril is probably most worried about now is being purged, and the introduction of Chinese capital, which at least seems to improve Proton's situation, would effectively improve his unfavorable situation.

Anyway, they were all things that came easily.

Lingang has begun a more professional assessment of the asset value of Proton and Lotus in preparation for further acquisition negotiations, while there has been no feedback from Malaysia yet, and Syed Mokhtar, who received the proposal, has fallen silent.

Yu Xing received a call from Guo Henian, the boss of the Guo family, while he was in Lingang.

Robert Kuok is several generations removed from Yu Xing, yet his voice during this phone call didn't sound like that of someone in their nineties at all. When discussing the development of new energy in China and future competition in the global market, his thinking was remarkably clear.

Yu Xing had a conversation with him and warmly invited him to visit Lingang.

Robert Kuok actually agreed.

The Kuok family has a large and powerful business in Malaysia, but their situation is not good. For example, Wilmar International, one of its subsidiaries, has encountered discriminatory policies and has had to purchase products from its competitor FGV. This has also forced the Kuok family to bet more on changes in the political situation.

Robert Kuok has already settled in Hong Kong, but he still intends to speak out for changes in Malaysia. At the same time, he hopes the Kuok family can make more friends on a larger scale, and Lingang Yuxing, which has seen rapid development in recent years, is one of his preferred options.

Robert Kuok spoke with his son, Kuok Khoon Cheng, about Yu Xing, and was equally astonished by his "one breath transforms into three pure things" theory. However, he believed that with the huge automobile market in mainland China, as long as Silicon Carbon Group continued to invest in technological development, the new energy industry would bring him a different status.

The joint acquisition still needs time to await feedback and processing. On July 13, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange called to inform them of news concerning Silicon Carbon Group, stating that it plans to add the company's shares to the list of securities eligible for short selling at the end of Q3.

In other words, Silicon Carbon Group could be officially shorted in Q4.

According to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's regulations, the requirements for the GEM and the Main Board are the same: both require 60 trading days and a market capitalization of more than HK$30 billion. Once these thresholds are met, they will be included in the list after a quarterly review.

The list of companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is finalized at the end of the quarter and announced and implemented in the first week of the next quarter.

Based on the current timeline, it would be included in the list after review by the end of September, and short selling would be possible after the announcement in early October.

This is all part of the normal procedure.

Yu Xing had no objection to this, but...

"Mr. Yu, we hope that the share price of Silicon Carbon Group will remain stable." The call from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was made by Zhou Luotian, the head of the market, who expressed additional expectations after explaining the situation.

Yu Xing countered, "What does that mean?"

Zhou Luotian said helplessly, "It's all about market stability."

“I’m the chairman of Silicon Carbon, and of course I want our stock to remain stable,” Yu Xing said with a smile. “I just don’t understand what you mean by this.”

After a few seconds of silence on the phone, Zhou Luotian said, "Internationally, there is a certain level of attention paid to the stock price of silicon carbon."

Yu Xing sighed: "Yes, that's why we hope the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will protect us."

Hearing this tone, Zhou Luotian felt a little uneasy.

Public opinion in Hong Kong is quite complex. Since Silicon Carbon went through the review process to list, there have been different voices. Some media outlets have been persistently criticizing the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's handling of Silicon Carbon, arguing that Silicon Carbon Group should not have been listed in Hong Kong given that it has a founder like Yu Xing who is a major short seller.

There is internal pressure regarding the drafting of the list of securities eligible for short selling, and some people want to expedite the process of pushing the Silicon Carbon Group through unconventional procedures.

Even more surprisingly, Zhou Luotian had heard rumors that local hedge funds in Hong Kong were eager to acquire the Silicon Carbon Group.

If Silicon Carbon Group were just an ordinary company, it would be one thing, but its boss is a top short seller, and recently his hedge fund has been successful. No matter how you look at it, it seems like it's trying to stir up trouble in a market with limited liquidity like the ChiNext board.

If a battle between bulls and bears erupts in the silicon carbide stock price, should an investigation into market manipulation be launched...?

After Zhou Luotian finished making the call to inform President Yu, he felt a pang of resentment. He wished he hadn't let silicon carbide go public in the first place, or perhaps he wished silicon carbide could have been listed on the main board earlier.

Yu Xing did not show much emotional fluctuation regarding the anticipated short-selling opportunity for silicon carbon. He acknowledged that the stock market is indeed risky and caution is advised, but in the long run, the market outlook remains positive.

From this perspective, the timing of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect can be considered more closely.

Hong Kong will have a holiday the day after the Double Ninth Festival in October, which is also a time when Liu Wanying is considering the defense of the stock market. She originally had a psychological expectation of being included in the list of securities that can be shorted. Now, following the notice from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, there will be a two-day weekend and a holiday for the market to be closed, which is quite appropriate for the domestic announcement process.

If silicon carbon isn't shorted, it's fine; but if it is, it gives you a backup plan.

Silicon Carbon's seven layers are facing an intensified workload, with plans to investigate Malaysian companies and consideration of potential challenges for the Silicon Carbon Group.

During this period of time, news about old friends in short videos caught Yu Xing's eye.

Vine has ceased operations.

It is the originator of short video applications worldwide, and was even admired and studied by Tencent when it created Weishi.

Twitter acquired Vine in 2012, and four years later, it was announced that it would be shut down.

The competition in the domestic short video market has attracted a lot of resources due to the participation of industry giants, and the media has been very active. The news of Vine's shutdown was reported immediately, serving as a reference for domestic products.

Sohu has a very cautionary headline on this: Who is the next Vine?

With a peak user base exceeding 2 million and monthly new users exceeding 20, and receiving resource investment from social media giants, its eventual closure is hard not to draw comparisons to products from Alibaba and Tencent.

Liu Chiping was deeply moved by this and made a special call to talk to President Yu about the decline of Vine.

Vine had been stubbornly sticking to the 6-second short video limit, but when traffic declined, it hastily extended it to 140 seconds. However, it lost its simplicity and lacked sufficient content to rival long videos. Most importantly, its content distribution relied solely on the follow stream and did not incorporate a recommendation algorithm.

“Mr. Yu, Vine only canceled the 6-second format two months ago, but it was too late.” Liu Chiping sighed, then tentatively asked, “The company is quite optimistic about the Snapchat model now, including Mr. Lü, who thinks it’s good. Mr. Yu, what do you think?”

Snapchat uses a disappearing message model, and its rapid growth is remarkable. It has been hailed as the best app for the young user market, and even Instagram has imitated its model.

When Martin Lau took over MusVid, he pushed for independent financing while also implementing a relatively conservative market expansion plan. However, Snapchat seemed to have become a different kind of competitor.

Most importantly, Snapchat started as a photo-sharing service, but now it also includes short video sharing.

Yu Xing knows about Snapchat, but he hasn't really paid attention to the internal discussions and ideas about it recently.

After thinking about it carefully for a while, he asked back, "What do you think?"

Liu Chiping considered for a moment: "If we were to follow the old ways at Tencent, we would already be learning by now."

Yu Xing smiled and said, "President Liu, we must not bring bad practices into silicon carbide."

(End of this chapter)