Back at the company, seeing his somewhat shocked colleagues, he and Ji Jiasheng were very puzzled. What happened?
"What happened today?" Ji Jiasheng asked what He Zhengcheng wanted to ask.
"Lenovo's stock price surged by 19%, closing at 1.7 hong kong dollar." Chao Yang.
"???" It rose so quickly, but this is normal. Lenovo's market value is still less than 3 billion hong kong dollar, so it's still very cheap. What's there to be surprised about?
"Could someone have known about our plan?" Lv Lang.
"What was today's trading volume?" Ji Jiasheng.
"Over eight million, much more than in the past few days." Chao Yang.
"It's not that much. This trading volume is quite normal. You haven't bought any, have you?" Ji Jiasheng. Ever since the plan to buy 5% of Lenovo's shares was approved, no one internally had purchased any.
"None at all!" Yu Dehui.
"I think it's normal. Lenovo's stock price is inherently low. We can't buy large quantities at prices below two hong kong dollar. 2.0 to 2.5 is normal, 2.5 to 3.0 is acceptable, slightly high. Above 3 hong kong dollar, we would directly acquire it on the market; that cost should be even lower." He Zhengcheng expressed his view.
"Perhaps we're overthinking it. The Hang Seng Index also surged today, closing at 7200 points. Technology stocks on the stock exchange saw significant gains today." Xu Xin.
"I'm not suspicious of anything, but Lenovo's rapid increase is very unfavorable for our acquisition. The psychological expectation of Lenovo's original shareholders might increase." Ji Jiasheng.
"But below 2 hong kong dollar, not many people would be willing to sell. If it were me, I'd rather hold onto it indefinitely. Given Lenovo's market position and the rapid growth of the Daxia Country market, as long as they don't make mistakes, Lenovo's market value surpassing 10 billion will probably not take more than a year." He Zhengcheng, at this moment, felt divinely inspired, and this statement once again aligned with reality. In June 1999, Lenovo issued 130 million new shares, raising 936 million hong kong dollar, and its market value at that time exceeded 10 billion hong kong dollar.
If Lenovo's stock price is below 2 hong kong dollar, unless one is in desperate need of money, few people would be willing to sell. This can be seen from the sluggish trading volume these past few days; this week, apart from today, the daily trading volume was only around two million. Shanhai Capital, however, aims to purchase approximately 100 million shares of Lenovo.
"Why don't we contact Lenovo directly and see if they can issue shares to us? This way, they can increase their liquidity, and we can achieve our goal without being affected by market fluctuations." Xu Xin.
"This is a good method. The only drawback is that it's too time-consuming. What if Lenovo's stock price rises too much during this period?" Ji Jiasheng.
"The LTCM issue will likely be resolved soon, and NASDAQ might continue to rise in October." He Zhengcheng.
"Less than a month. Should we acquire directly, contact Mr. Liu Chuanzhi, or act simultaneously?" Lv Lang.
"That's also an option. We could encourage Lenovo to establish an internet portal website. Utilizing our capital, combined with their talent advantage, Lenovo has a great chance of creating a Yahoo of Daxia Country." Xu Xin.
"Lenovo is a PC company. Does it have internet genes? You know that even Dell and HP couldn't defeat Yahoo!" He Zhengcheng was quite certain about this point; in the future internet world, Lenovo wouldn't have much of a presence.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be that powerful. As long as there's a possibility, we can profit!" Ji Jiasheng.
"Ah!" He Zhengcheng then realized that he used to be quite naive. Lenovo's foray into the internet starting in 1999 wasn't because it truly wanted to, but because doing so could boost Lenovo's stock price.
In fact, in November 1999, after Lenovo Group released the "internet PC" called Tianxi computer, signaling Lenovo's clear intention to enter the internet business, Lenovo's stock price subsequently rose from 7 hong kong dollar all the way to 17-18 hong kong dollar, and after the Spring Festival, it climbed further to over 30 hong kong dollar. On February 29, 2000, Lenovo Group and Lenovo Hong Kong sold and issued 85 million shares at 33.75 hong kong dollar per share, raising a total of 2.8 billion hong kong dollar.
In just one or two years, Lenovo's market value exceeded 100 billion hong kong dollar in 2000, with the biggest driving force coming from the allure of the internet.
"Then let's acquire some first, and if it's not enough, we'll contact Mr. Liu Chuanzhi?" He Zhengcheng.
"Yes! Let's do that!" Ji Jiasheng.
... The next day, someone from HSBC contacted He Zhengcheng to inquire in detail about the hotel, its property rights, and the loan situation.
"Mr. He, your hotel's situation is quite good, with excellent assets, but there's still a large outstanding debt that hasn't been repaid. It's very difficult to borrow another 5 million US dollars at this time," said the bank specialist.
"I know it's difficult, but I trust your capabilities. If you can't do it, I'll contact someone more capable." He Zhengcheng didn't mince words. He didn't have the time or energy to be delayed by such minor matters. Last night, Yahoo's stock price finally recovered, and he made a good profit. The Hang Seng Index earned 700,000 hong kong dollar yesterday, putting him in a good mood and giving him some confidence.
"I have a slightly more complicated method, which is to first buy out your existing loan, and then increase the loan amount. However, this requires good communication with the bank that holds your current loan." The HSBC bank specialist.
"I can make the arrangements. What about your interest rates?" He Zhengcheng.
"At least not higher than your previous loan interest rates!" The bank specialist.
"Can it be a floating interest rate? The financial crisis is about to end, and I'm worried that bank loan interest rates will drop significantly." He Zhengcheng.
"No problem, I'll handle it for you." The bank specialist.
"Then I'll trouble you!" He Zhengcheng said decisively.
Due to the financial crisis, loan interest rates in Hong Kong had increased significantly, leading to a substantial decrease in the total loan amount. Consequently, for someone with a background like He Zhengcheng, the review process wouldn't be as strict, and loan interest rates would be more favorable. Moreover, because Hong Kong is a free port, capital flows, especially small amounts, are very convenient.
After settling the matter and signing some documents, he returned to the company. Xu Xin would try to contact Liu Chuanzhi, and Ji Jiasheng would visit this leading figure in Daxia Country's technology industry with her. Lv Lang and Yu Dehui would continue fundraising, while He Zhengcheng and Chao Yang would contact Lenovo's shareholders to acquire shares. In fact, they had already prepared 250 million hong kong dollar in capital, plus 50 million hong kong dollar in reserve funds for acquiring Lenovo's shares, to ensure they achieved their ultimate goal.
If Shanhai Capital only invested in internet companies, it wouldn't be so complicated. But if it wanted to invest in more sectors and more companies, it would have to find a Daxia Country partner. Financial institutions were out of the question; those too powerful or too weak were unsuitable. Lenovo, with a market value of less than 3 billion hong kong dollar, was just right. It's worth noting that the committed investment to Shanhai Capital had already exceeded 200 million US dollars, which is over 1.5 billion hong kong dollar. A company that can deploy such a large amount of capital is certainly not a small enterprise in this era. It was already on par with Lenovo.