There were only six people sitting in Yi Ke's large conference room. After an exchange of views that was generally considered to be ungraceful, the conference room fell into an evocative silence.
As a partner of DCM and the head of China business, Connor acted recklessly and has fully expressed his tough attitude.
Xu Kaiwei was basically silent and expressed his silent attitude.
Zhang Hongli was basically silent and expressed his silent attitude.
Xiong Xiaoge was basically silent and expressed a complicated attitude.
In fact, just as Fang Zhuo and Xiong Xiaoge said in a friendly private exchange, why did TSMC sue SMIC about Bingxin? Even if he has judgment about other companies, why should he bear additional responsibilities?
Yu Li, the contract is in black and white, very clear.
Be sensitive to the situation, do not evade or shrink back, and convene the board of directors for relevant evaluation as soon as possible.
What should the leader of a third-party company do?
Therefore, Xu Kaiwei's request to call Fang Zhuo was to avoid legal risks. Zhang Hongli's small move was to inform DCM that there had been a tacit understanding. When Conner Mang came in, he only used the tacit understanding as an excuse and proposed cutting off the situation.
Also, Xiong Xiaoge rushed into the CEO's office today instead of raising an issue on the board of directors.
Everyone understands that Bingxin has followed procedures and it is difficult to make legitimate accusations. All that can be done now is to put pressure on the young president.
Of course, no one knows better than Xiong Xiaoge how well Fang Zhuo can withstand pressure. He sat in the conference room and watched Connor's true and false behavior without thinking it was of any use. He had the initiative in this matter.
In Fang Zhuo's hands.
There was a strange silence in the conference room for two minutes.
"TSMC sued SMIC on the 23rd. The latest news is that they submitted a lot of evidence in their favor and the claim amount is US$1 billion."
"This lawsuit will definitely not end soon, it will definitely be protracted."
"In addition, I think another point worthy of attention is that TSMC also submitted an investigation application to the U.S. International Trade Commission, saying that the import and sale of SMIC semiconductor devices infringed its patents."
"I don't know if you are familiar with the International Trade Commission. Its abbreviation is ITC. We at Yike have dealt with it. One of the more troublesome points in this regard is that if the ITC makes a ruling, SMIC is likely to face import
ban."
Fang Zhuo opened his mouth to talk about the breaking news and started the formal process of the board of directors, as if the previous small conflict with Connor was just a spring breeze and passed away.
No one else felt anything was wrong, and even Connor was quickly attracted by Fang Zhuo's explanation.
As one night passed, the evaluations of several institutions focused on court litigation, and the role that the ITC could play was ignored.
"Mr. Fang, how long do you think it will take for the ITC to make a ruling? How much impact will it have?" Xu Kaiwei asked.
"I don't know. I called Zhang Rujing last night but didn't get through. I sent a text message about ITC's situation. I don't know if he saw it." Fang Zhuo said, "Mr. Xu, you can let Goldman Sachs' department analyze it now.
In this regard.”
If Goldman Sachs is willing to act, it can certainly provide a more comprehensive analysis.
DCM, IDG, and Deutsche Bank are the same, but the incident happened suddenly, various news are true or false, and the focus has not yet been focused here.
Fang Zhuo added: "SMIC's sales to the United States this year are around 130 million U.S. dollars, and the annual sales are around 360 million U.S. dollars. If a ban is really imposed, 36% of SMIC's sales will immediately evaporate, which will be fatal.
Strike."
Xiong Xiaoge:?
Are SMIC’s sales figures so accurate?
Fang Zhuo turned to Vice President Su Wei and asked the latter to turn on the projector.
Soon, SMIC's 2003 sales performance was greatly displayed in front of several presidents.
For a moment, Xiong Xiaoge thought he was in charge of SMIC's board of directors...
What we have in front of us is obviously the full-year sales table estimated by SMIC in the past 11 months.
Full-year sales for 2003 are estimated at $365 million.
Sales in the U.S. market were 134 million, accounting for 36.7%.
Japan’s is 41 million, accounting for 11.2%.
Europe is 40 million, accounting for 11%.
Baodao is 98 million, accounting for 26.8%.
Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan and Taiwan) is 53 million, accounting for 14.5%.
Xu Kaiwei coughed: "Mr. Fang, is this data accurate? SMIC is in big trouble this time."
Fang Zhuo looked at the CEO who sent him the information and said with certainty: "Accurate."
"It is foreseeable that as SMIC's production lines continue to release production capacity, the importance of the U.S. market to it will continue to increase. This is not only the sales market, but also the impact of technology transfer."
"For this reason, if TSMC's evidence is all right, then SMIC can only use all costs to reach a settlement with TSMC."
"This all-cost is...all-cost."
Fang Zhuo paused and used his tone to emphasize his judgment on Zhongxin's actions.
Connor said pessimistically: "SMIC will only have half its life left at most. It will not be able to compete with TSMC in three, five or even ten years. Even if it can still be listed, it can only survive."
He continued to say sincerely: "The fall of an industry benchmark, the impact of this impact may be beyond your expectation, Mr. Fang, stopping losses in time is never a cowardly behavior, but a wise decision."
Ice core's pile foundation project in Luzhou has just started, and most of the procurement of various expensive equipment is still in the process of being approached. DCM thinks that withdrawing at this time is the best solution out of desperation.
Does DCM want to lose money?
Now it's time to cut it off.
"Connor, look at Goldman Sachs, look at IDG." Fang Zhuo did not mention Deutsche Bank, but pointed at the two people over there, "Why are Goldman Sachs and IDG not in a hurry? They also invest and face the same impact.
Just like you said, an industry benchmark is about to fall..."
"But Mr. Xu and Mr. Xiong, their idea is to create another benchmark, not to break up and divide their luggage like you."
Xu Kaiwei's expression remained unchanged, but Goldman Sachs was different.
Xiong Xiaoge's expression did not change. If you really want to calculate it, IDG is divided into two companies, China and the United States, and social funds have contributed 30 million US dollars.
Connor smiled, and asked for advice seriously: "Mr. Fang, I'm very curious about your confidence, capital, market, and technology. These three directions currently seem to be declining in the direction of deterioration. If nothing else, SMIC's listing
You don’t even know your parents, do you admit this?"
"Admit it." Fang Zhuo nodded.
"When SMIC goes public, the secondary market will be in a mess. The production line of Bingxin will be completed in early 2005 at the earliest. How will we use it for the next round of financing? Who will be willing to invest? Where will there be money for development? How to compete with those
Foundry competition?" Connor asked calmly.
"The funding issue is indeed a big problem." Fang Zhuo still admitted that this doubt was justified. The wafer fab is such a project that requires both technology and funding, and neither one of them will work.
He said slowly: "In the first round of financing, the local government plus Yike Group and my personal money accounted for basically half of the actual investment."
Because there is an option pool for talents, we are talking about actual investment here.
"You are unwilling to invest. Luzhou local government will not just watch the project that was finally settled be liquidated. This is one of them."
"Secondly, I personally still maintain the intention of additional investment."
Connor pointed out the problem: "As far as I know, most of the money Mr. Fang invested this time came from the appreciation of the stocks of NetEase and Sohu. Where will you find such appreciation assets? Isn't Mr. Fang a Buffett?"
"Let's not discuss Buffett or Buffett for now." A sincere look appeared on Fang Zhuo's face, "Let's start from reality. Yike under my name is about to be listed. This is an extremely high-quality asset."
He continued: "As long as Yike performs well after its listing, the lock-up period will be over by the time the ice core production line is completed."
"If Yike stock is good, Bingxin will be good too."
Fang Zhuo strengthened this reciprocal relationship and said: "This time Yike's listing is very important. I think Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, IDG, and DCM can all consider holding Yike's stocks. Mr. Su, go get it."
Let’s show our prospectus to the four presidents.”
What is the purpose of the road show before the company goes public?
To put it bluntly, it is to promote the stocks that are about to be listed to potential investors.
Su Wei stood up and walked out of the conference room.
The four agency presidents in the conference room looked at each other.
Connor was simply stunned. He had never expected such a turn of events. Bingxin was about to lose money, so he was asked to heavily position his stocks?
Is this, is this shameless?
Soon, Shencheng Yike's prospectus was placed in front of the four presidents.
Taking the prospectus, Connor first confirmed one thing: Fang Zhuo was indeed shameless.
Xu Kaiwei of Goldman Sachs said aloud at this time: "Yike's performance is indeed good. Considering its long-term copyright agreement with Sony Music, only Yike and Apple are competitive enough in this field in the U.S. market, and they have also built a
moat."
Connor opened the prospectus without saying a word, as did Zhang Hongli and Xiong Xiaoge.
Fang Zhuo changed a new PPT at this time and talked about Yike's performance and future development in a leisurely manner.
Well, just think of it as a road show in advance.
Of course, Yike's profits are not as good as Apple's, but it also has its own story to tell.
It has established its brand value in China's fast-growing market, and is expected to replicate iMu's success in the future. Of course, this seems possible to the outside world.
At the same time, although profits are low, sales are high.
Apple is not as aggressive as Yike in channel development. They share machine profits cautiously, while Yike actively expands channels to ensure profits, with small profits but quick turnover.
Just like the APEX company that quickly squeezed out Sony and became the number one supplier in the United States with its low-priced DVDs, Yike's MP3 sales are expected to challenge Sony's Walkman's sales position in the situation of ebb and flow next year.
High sales bring about paid interaction with online music, which is a story that makes sense.
Fang Zhuo described it in the conference room for fifteen minutes.
It can be seen that this little road show was very successful, and even Connor, who was full of complaints, did not raise objections in this regard.
"Everyone, the success of Yike's stock price is my success. If I succeed, I will not put down the ice core."
"Moreover, if Yike's market value is not as good as expected, I will still hold shares in Sina."
"The assets in the first round of financing come from NetEase and Sohu's added value. When necessary, the second round of financing can also include added value from Sina."
"What do you think of this financial guarantee, Connor?"
Fang Zhuo finally emphasized: "I have invested 300 million US dollars myself. Am I going to sit back and watch this money go down the drain? I can understand your feelings, but can you understand mine?"
Zhang Hongli from Deutsche Bank had never spoken much, but now he spoke out to comfort him: "Mr. Fang, this change is really too sudden. We are all here to make suggestions for ice cores. I received the news immediately.
, Deutsche Bank also put a lot of pressure on me."
Fang Zhuo choked up and said: "Who is not under great pressure? Funds, hard work, I am the one who is under the greatest pressure."
Adults often collapse in just a moment. Mr. Fang’s words do make sense.
Xu Kaiwei, Zhang Hongli, and even Connor were a little moved.
Xiong Xiaoge raised his head, not knowing what to say. He heard that when Guahao.com held a staff meeting to conduct diversion, the president also cried. Today's situation is much better, he just choked up a little.
Fang Zhuo waved his hand: "Whether the capital market is optimistic or not depends largely on the development of our ice core. For the time being, the funding aspect is the same. The most important thing at the moment is technology and technology."
"Hu Zhengming from TSMC is very important. He will fly from the United States to the University of Science and Technology of China at the end of next month. His guidance can be of great help."
"In addition, the University of Science and Technology of China has communicated with Hu Zhengming through emails, and one thing has already guided us in the direction."
"TSMC is currently engaged in immersion processes with companies in the Netherlands, and Lincoln Laboratory in the United States has similar solutions. Hu Zhengming is very optimistic about the development of immersion. This is probably an opportunity for us to narrow the gap."
Zhang Hongli immediately asked: "You mean to license technology from Lincoln Laboratory and bypass TSMC's patents?"
Fang Zhuo nodded: "We have to wait until we meet Hu Zhengming to discuss it. Only then will we know whether it is feasible. The lawsuit between SMIC and TSMC will definitely last for a long time and will also attract the attention of the industry. Our ice core can
Take advantage of this opportunity to try two more steps."
"Furthermore, it remains to be seen how much impact the SMIC incident will bring. The current judgment is just based on conventional wisdom. After all, it is the most dazzling wafer fab in the country. There may be other forces that can manipulate it."
Connor was silent for a while and said: "It's all just pie in the sky. How much can Hu Zhengming help? Is Lincoln Laboratory's technology mature? What can Yike's stock market performance be like?"
"Then let's start with what is easiest to achieve. Yike's stock is the easiest to achieve." Fang Zhuo said, "Is it possible to just sit and wait for Bingxin to go public without any risk? Connor, next time something like this happens
Good thing, remember to take me with you."
Connor glared at Fang Zhuo, put his phone on the prospectus, and remained silent.
Fang Zhuo glanced around and said: "This is the ventilation of the directors first, and we will talk about any key new news from SMIC."
He ordered Su Wei: "Mr. Su, let everyone else come in and listen to their analysis and opinions."
After a while, teams from Goldman Sachs, IDG, DCM, and Deutsche Bank filed in to provide more professional analysis and opinions.
They were sitting in the conference room and saw that several presidents looked thoughtful. Even President Connor, who was the most angry before, was no longer angry. They didn't know what they were thinking.
This chapter has been completed!