Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 205 You deserved to be acquired!
At noon, Chen Xuebing received a call from Xu Jin.

"Chairman, we can't manipulate the market if we don't control more than 20% of the shares. After BOE's share reform, the circulating shares reached 62.74%, with a circulating market capitalization of over 40 billion shares. Isn't it too risky for us to rashly participate in such a large market?"

"There aren't that many. I have the annual report and I looked at their shareholding structure. Apart from the shares held by senior executives and partners, no more than 30% are in circulation on the market. Half of them are still in the hands of overseas investors, many of whom are long-term shareholders. This time we are going down, not up, so these shares are unlikely to be released. This portfolio is at most a billion or so."

"Making a profit from the price difference, short covering?" Xu Jin asked.

There are ways to make money even if you drive down the stock price.

If you sell a stock for three yuan, buy it back when it drops to two yuan, and then sell it again at two and a half yuan and buy it back at one and a half yuan, you still have the stock in your hands and have made a profit.

Of course, there are prerequisites for doing this.

There must be a group of panicked stock market investors and a rival who has no choice but to drive up the stock price.

Panicked investors will follow the selling pressure from Changzheng Capital, creating a combined force that causes the stock price to fall. Meanwhile, those who push up the stock price are the basis for forming a profit range.

As the news spreads, panicked investors will soon emerge, and BOE Technology Group will be the competitor that must maintain its stock price.

Once the stock price falls and the market value decreases, they will no longer have the capital to raise funds from banks.

Recently, their annual report has been disappointing, and with no positive news to boost the stock price, they can only maintain it through share buybacks.

With stock prices fluctuating wildly, they only dare to buy, not sell, because selling would only cause even greater panic.

They're targeting their cash flow.

"Yes, we'll profit from the price difference, but we shouldn't be too obvious when we cover our short positions, as the legal risks are too high. We'll cover our short positions at different prices, from low to mid, to maintain a profit margin. We'll also try to release information so the market knows that BOE is currently negotiating to build a factory. Institutions will naturally know they need to maintain the stock price, allowing other short-selling forces to enter the market. We shouldn't be the main players ourselves; we should just guide the sentiment. If BOE later reports to the China Securities Regulatory Commission and gets involved in the investigation, we can just lose a small amount of money."

"How much capital should be withdrawn?"

"We've been doing T+0 trading lately, and I remember we had over 30 million in working capital, right?"

"3200."

"3200 million is enough. Utilize the ten minutes of darkness before the market opens, bid at a low price of 5% below the opening price, and buy as much as you can. As long as the news is bad enough, we should be able to get enough chips at this price. After the market opens, we'll take another 2000 million from other sources to play along with them. For this 5200 million, the profit or loss should not exceed 10%. Let their stock price move every day. When they buy, we'll quickly drive it down. When they support the bottom, we'll buy chips at a higher price. They don't have much cash. Once a panic sell-off occurs, they won't be able to hold it all. We'll fight a guerrilla war and make their management tremble with fear."

"I understand they won't choose to suspend trading, right?"

"Hehe, no restructuring, no investment, and the suspension of trading means they're scared. We'll have even bigger opportunities to make a move then."

"Tsk tsk, Chairman, you've hit them where it hurts. Forcing them to cooperate in the future won't make them happy."

"Not sweet? If you don't cooperate, of course it won't be sweet. But if you cooperate, I'll make it so sweet it gives you diabetes!"

The financial news surrounding a single stock, once it spreads, has no impact on the offline world.

Only those who are truly interested will pay attention.

Even the Hefei government didn't notice the comments appearing on financial websites and stock market forums.

One afternoon, a play was being arranged on the third floor of the government building.

The cast was impressive, including over thirty people at the clerk and division levels, and even a deputy mayor.

There were only three audience members.

It was almost four o'clock when the audience finally arrived downstairs.

The area outside the government building was deserted. Chen Xuebing, with Cai Zhijian by his side, held an umbrella to greet a taxi.

"Mr. Chen?"

When Zhang Xiang, who had come from afar, got off the bus, he saw the young Chen Xuebing and the municipal government sign on the gatepost behind him, and hesitated.

"Manager Zhang, this is me!" Chen Xuebing said with a smile, leading Zhang Xiang and two clerks inside.

Zhang Xiang paused for a moment as he entered, glancing nervously at the security room.

Sharp's brilliance is a matter for the head office; a manager of his level has never actually worked in a municipal government.

Hefei is a high-level city. What's the background of this Mr. Chen?
"We're having a meeting here?"

“Yes! We have cooperation with Hefei. The government asked us to come here for a meeting to support local industries that are being attracted to investment. Since we couldn’t leave, we applied for an office from the government temporarily.”

"Oh"

Zhang Xiang didn't ask any more questions and led the two clerks into the building, looking around nervously.

Upon reaching the third floor, we approached a small conference room.

A loud "bang" came from the large conference room next door, followed by Guo, the executive director's loud voice.

"Five hundred million! You, Shushan, must raise five hundred million! We must secure BOE! This is an order from the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government! There is no room for discussion!"

The five of them paused for a moment.

Chen Xuebing thought to himself that this play was being played too precisely on time, and seemed a bit fake.

We're sitting right next to you, we can hear you. You could have banged on the table a little longer.

After slamming his hand on the table in the large conference room next door, Executive Director Guo also looked somewhat nervous, realizing that he seemed to have overstepped his bounds.

It's a bit embarrassing.

He usually slams his fist on the table during meetings, and everyone falls silent in fear. But today, some people were actually laughing secretly.

However, Cai Zhijian outside the door still got into character, pretending to glance into the large conference room and whispering, "Mayor Guo seems angry."

Chen Xuebing led the three people into a small conference room next door with a long table, where a group of people from Gu'an Group were already waiting.

Chen Xuebing closed the door, then waved his hand and said in a low voice, "Hey, who cares what they do? They bring in a panel factory and expect us to foot the bill and sign a long-term cooperation agreement with them. We make mobile phones, not TVs. Can we even use BOE's panels?"

After saying that, Chen Xuebing said to Zhang Xiang in a mysterious tone, "Manager Zhang, if anyone asks you, don't say you're from Sharp. We just brought in a panel factory, and they insist that we sign a contract with them. We don't want to cooperate with them. Let's talk in secret."

To be honest, his acting wasn't very good either; he almost came across as a fool.

However, this is an open conspiracy. The information is genuine, and Sharp can find it out if they investigate carefully. As long as the message is successfully conveyed, the acting problem is insignificant.

Zhang Xiang and the other two were completely dumbfounded.

They certainly know what BOE is.

But
Weren't they discussing building the railway line in Shenzhen?
Seeing that they didn't speak, Chen Xuebing gestured with his chin towards Ren Ying.

Ren Ying immediately brought over three envelopes and stuffed them into the hands of the three people.

"Manager Zhang, thank you for making this trip. This is the guesthouse next to the travel accommodation we agreed on before. We have already arranged it for you."

The envelope given to Zhang Xiang contained 20,000 yuan, while the two smaller ones contained 8,000 yuan each.

The envelope in Zhang Xiang's hand was so thick it was almost cracking. When he looked inside, he felt a little dizzy.

This isn't just travel expenses! This is almost half a year's salary for him!
"Mr. Chen, we really have no right to request a price."

His first thought was that Chen Xuebing had asked him to negotiate the price.

"Hey!" Chen Xuebing pushed the envelope into his arms: "It doesn't mean anything else, and we won't make things difficult for you! We just need to confirm some technical details, so please be patient. And don't tell anyone you're from Sharp when you go out. If this deal goes through, we'll have something else to offer!"

Zhang Xiang was stunned for a long time before he finally managed a dry laugh:

"Hehehe, Mr. Chen, don't worry, I know, I know!"

Seeing that this man was greedy for money, Chen Xuebing smiled and gestured towards the conference table.

"sit!"

Money shouldn't be wasted.

Chen Xuebing presented the panel standards that they had negotiated with the other three factories and discussed them with them.

Sharp's high-end panel specifications are indeed impressive. It boasts 60% sRGB color coverage, a 25-color screen (18-bit color), and a 60Hz refresh rate.

18-bit color is actually a non-mainstream solution, just like 80nm chips, it is a transitional solution. The mainstream standards are 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit.

Each bit differs by a power of 2. 18-bit color has four times more colors than the current 16-bit color (65536 colors). However, because it is not a proportional increase, there is some color loss. But Sharp's ASV technology can reduce the reflection of LCD TVs and increase brightness, viewing angle and contrast by reducing the spacing between the particles on the LCD panel, increasing the aperture on the LCD particles, and adjusting the overall arrangement of the LCD particles.

This level is already very good; many mobile phones will still be using 16-bit color display several years from now.

However, Samsung's phone panels are even more advanced, having already broken through the 24-bit color technology barrier, reaching 1677 million colors.

This level is called "true color," which is close to the resolution limit of the human eye. Further down the line, only displays with large sizes, high brightness, and gradient areas (such as the sky) have higher research value.

The first generation of Apple products didn't have a high resolution, only 480×320px, but it made users feel that the visual clarity was better than that of smaller screens at the time thanks to its 24-bit color screen.

However, what caught Chen Xuebing's eye was that Sharp had also noticed the refresh rate issue.

Other manufacturers' panels all have a 30Hz refresh rate.

This thing is almost indistinguishable on feature phones, and no manufacturer uses it as a selling point. Whether it refreshes 30 times or 120 times per second, it's the same. Only games with high demands for continuity will have a noticeable difference.

When he was reborn, mobile phone screen standards had gradually become meaningless, moving from resolution, color, and coverage to the point where "high refresh rate" became the new standard.

High refresh rates require a chip to handle them, but for smartphones, a 60Hz refresh rate is still quite necessary.

He was indeed tempted, because Samsung's high-end panels were still in the testing phase, and even if he placed an order, there was a high chance he wouldn't be able to get the goods.

So I tentatively asked when Sharp's screens would reach 24-bit color.

Zhang Xiang said he didn't know.

Chen Xuebing then asked about "HVGA resolution".

The most commonly used resolution on the market today is QVGA.

VGA, Video Graphics Array, is a computer display standard proposed by IBM in 1987, corresponding to 640*480 pixels.

Q stands for Queater, one-quarter, 240*320 pixels.

H stands for Half, 480*320 pixels.

For screens of the same size, the higher the pixel count, the higher the PPI, and the lower the pixelation. If Chen Xuebing wants to make a 4.2-inch phone, even if it uses HVGA like Apple, it will lose to Apple in terms of PPI. However, higher resolution also requires a better chip to support it, and HVGA is already very power-consuming.

Of course, it would be even better if the manufacturer could adapt it to a non-mainstream resolution with a PPI of over 150.

Zhang Xiang finally asked Chen Xuebing with a puzzled look, "What size phone screen are you making? Why do you need such high color and resolution?"

Chen Xuebing was speechless.

Previously, the department at Singularity Technology responsible for liaising with suppliers had been specially trained in their communication skills to never reveal the design details of the phone. On the contrary, it was he, the chairman, who revealed some things that should not have been disclosed to a supplier with whom he had not yet confirmed a partnership.

Fortunately, Executive Director Guo from next door interrupted the conversation with another soul-searching shout.

"We must secure BOE's services!"

The shouts pierced through the walls.

Sharp and his two companions were startled and kept glancing towards the wall.

"Um, Mr. Chen, does Hefei really need panel manufacturers that much?"

Zhang Xiang asked tentatively, as if it were a casual conversation.

"Hey, don't even mention it. This has brought all of us retailers here. Manager Zhang, these are their secrets. Don't go back and talk about it. Offending the government isn't a good thing for you."

Chen Xuebing emphasized the word "confidential".

Zhang Xiang hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

They dragged Sharp and his two companions into the third day.

I've already asked all the questions I needed to ask.

The Hefei government remained calm and did not receive any contact from Sharp.

There wasn't even a phone call from the relevant authorities to inquire.

Early on the morning of the 28th, Zhang Xiang called to ask if there were any questions they needed to ask, as they needed to book the earliest available flights back to Shanghai for the Chinese New Year.

Chen Xuebing was also very troubled. For three days, the three Sharp guys were extremely well-behaved. The government building was very close to the guesthouse where they were staying, but they seemed to have not received any instructions at all. Apart from coming to the government building for meetings, they did not come out to inquire about BOE's affairs. They did not even leave the guesthouse, eating, drinking and relieving themselves all inside.

It's New Year's Eve and there's not a sound. Who the hell doesn't want to celebrate the New Year?

Yesterday, this group of people wanted to leave, but Chen Xuebing kept them at it by saying he hadn't had time to book their return tickets. It seems like he can't hold them off any longer.

Upon receiving the call, Chen Xuebing rushed to the guesthouse.

As soon as he entered Zhang Xiang's room, he feigned surprise and said:
"Manager Zhang! I just found out that you have such a big competition with BOE? You didn't tell your headquarters about Hefei bringing in BOE, did you?"

Zhang Xiang was genuinely surprised.

"No, no? What's wrong?"

Chen Xuebing looked suspicious: "You really didn't reveal anything? Don't try to hide it from me. I know that Sharp went to Shenzhen to stop BOE from opening a factory."

Zhang Xiang felt a little aggrieved: "President Chen, I'm just an employee. You're paying me so much money, how could I possibly reveal anything? Besides, even if I did, no one would listen to me!"

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Xiang sighed and explained, “You know Japanese companies are particularly distrustful of foreign workers, right? Our head office is even more Japanese than that! It’s a typical paternalistic system! Our market research can’t be decided by ourselves; it has to go through four or five levels of departments before it reaches headquarters in Japan! Sometimes, even when they’re the ones delaying the transmission of important market information, we’re still held responsible! Tell me, if I just overheard some news, and the content is so important, would I dare to report it? What if they think the report wasn’t timely and hold me accountable? Don’t worry, Mr. Chen, I’ve already spoken to my colleagues; they definitely won’t cause any trouble!”

Chen Xuebing is numb.

After all that, it was all for nothing.

His expression darkened.

"Manager Zhang, what if I want you to report this?"

Zhang Xiang's expression hardened.

"What do you mean by this?"

Chen Xuebing didn't want to play dumb anymore: "Report this news to your headquarters, and I'll give you 50,000 yuan."

"Fifty thousand? Is this fake news? What are you after??"

"The information is guaranteed to be true, and it's not a bad thing for you. Don't worry about what you're after. Just report it to your Japanese boss in front of me, and I'll give you the 50,000 immediately. If you don't report it, I'll report you three to Sharp for taking a 36,000 kickback from a client."

"Mr. Chen, you..."

Zhang Xiang hesitated for a long time before saying, "Give me a week!"

"What do you do in a week? Doesn't headquarters work? Do the Japanese not celebrate the Lunar New Year?" Chen Xuebing began to press aggressively.

"Didn't I say it has to be reported up the chain of command? I still have to go back and write a report, and if the email format is wrong, I'll get yelled at by my boss! It'll take at least a week to get a result after it gets through from me!"

Chen Xuebing: "."

He suddenly remembered that Sharp, which was once at the height of its success, would be acquired by Terry Gou of Foxconn in just a few years.

The once dominant company that held Samsung and Sony back, a company that was still so successful, has now been reduced to a low-end brand.

Damn it.

With this kind of efficiency, you deserve to be acquired!

(End of this chapter)