NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 190: This Betting Agreement Won’t Work
Chapter 190: This Betting Agreement Won’t Work
The next morning, in Shenzhen, at the Deep Bay Hotel.
This hotel is one of the few five-star hotels in Shenzhen, known for its luxurious architecture and esteemed reputation in the city.
Ma Huateng and his group of five, along with a secretary, arrived at the hotel early and waited in the lobby.
A little while later, at half-past eight, two black Buick business sedans arrived at the hotel entrance almost simultaneously.
Two middle-aged men with slicked-back hair alighted from the cars; one wore gold-rimmed glasses and a suit, while the other was dressed in a casual jacket, slightly overweight, with a kind face.
Ma Huateng and his group went up to greet them with smiles, saying, “President Gong, President Sun, good morning!”
The man in the suit was Gong Feizhang, the Vice President of IDG, attending the meeting on behalf of IDG.
The other man in the jacket was named Sun Feng, the President of the Investment Division of the Telecommunications Corporation.
“Ha ha, you guys are really early. Has the person from Xifeng Company arrived yet?” Gong Feizhang asked with a smile.
Looking at the time, Ma Huateng replied, “Just called them, they’ll be here soon.”
Sun Feng said with a smile, “President Ma is really capable, securing new investment so quickly, congratulations.”
Although he was smiling, a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes.
He had been discontent with Ma Huateng for a while. If Ma Huateng failed to manage the company successfully, their investment of over a million dollars would be completely wasted.
Introducing new investors and capital was all well and good, but if it didn’t solve the revenue dilemma, it wouldn’t address the root problem.
For investors who don’t involve themselves in the daily operations, what matters most is the return on investment. If they could recoup their investment instead of losing it all, it would be a significant investment failure.
Telecommunications and IDG had a joint investment. They shared the same view: introducing new capital was acceptable, but the most fundamental issue was improving the company’s profitability.
Tencent had been established for nearly two years, with most of its funds spent on staffing and server expenses, yet a profitable model had yet to be discovered, and several attempts had failed.
This situation led them to doubt Ma Huateng and his team’s abilities deeply.
Ma Huateng bowed slightly, “Introducing new capital is urgent. As long as we get through this difficult time, the company will recover.”
Gong Feizhang just smiled noncommittally.
Sun Feng nodded, smiling, “Let’s hope so. By the way, I’ve looked at this investment and shareholding plan. Is Xifeng Company really willing to sign the betting agreement?”
“Yes, President Sun, they are quite sincere. Moreover, their company is also developing an internet product that seems to be a hit. It looks like they have the capability to meet the betting agreement,” Ma Huateng replied.
“If they can achieve it, that would be great. I’m just worried it’s all talk, hehe. But it doesn’t matter, we have to try something to know the result,” Sun Feng shrugged and laughed.
He didn’t care much about the 1 million investment; it was minor to him. He hoped the new investor would increase Tencent’s profitability, thus raising the value of their shares. That way, it would be easier to find someone to take over their shares later, ensuring the investment wouldn’t be lost.
As they were talking, a black Audi 100 sedan arrived at the hotel entrance.
Everyone instinctively looked towards the entrance.
Two young men dressed in white shirts and black trousers got out of the car.
The doorman took the keys to park the car, and the two young men quickly entered the hotel lobby.
The young man leading, with a side-part hairstyle, handsome, and a confident smile on his face, wore a gleaming wristwatch.
Seeing the newcomers, Ma Huateng’s eyes lit up, and he quickly went forward to greet them with a laugh, “Ha ha! Welcome, welcome, welcome Yi Feng to Shenzhen!”
“President Ma, sorry to have kept you waiting. I hope I’m not late?” Yi Feng replied with a hearty laugh.
“Not at all, we’ve only just arrived ourselves,” Ma Huateng reached out to shake hands firmly with Yi Feng.
Then, Ma Huateng introduced Yi Feng to everyone.
Yi Feng shook hands with them, getting to know each other.
Sun Feng scrutinized Yi Feng closely, noting how young he appeared.
Probably in his early twenties, although dressed maturely, his face still bore traces of youthfulness.
What surprised him was that this young man showed no signs of nervousness, behaving and speaking in a very calm and mature manner!
Such performance from a young man in his early twenties was truly unexpected.
“Ha ha, President Yi, I’ve heard that your computer business in Guangxi is booming. So young and yet so capable, truly admirable!”
“This is what they call the new waves pushing the old waves. President Yi, your wave is quite something,” Sun Feng praised.
Yi Feng just smiled modestly, “President Sun is joking. It’s all thanks to the support of my seniors. I still have a lot to learn from seniors like President Sun and President Gong.”
Yi Feng’s response was neither humble nor arrogant, showing respect by calling them seniors, which also helped to close the gap between them.
Gong Feizhang appreciated Yi Feng’s attitude, “Ha ha, President Yi, you’re too modest. We should all exchange and learn from each other. I’m also interested in the computer market. Let’s find time to have a good chat.”
His comment was merely polite. For IDG, a few million was considered a small business, and they weren’t greatly interested.
“Sure, that sounds good,” Yi Feng replied with a smile, not pursuing the topic further.
This, in turn, increased Sun Feng’s esteem for Yi Feng. Previously, when he encountered small company CEOs, they would flatter him endlessly, eager to discuss investment over drinks.
Now, it was clear to him that President Yi was different; confident, a confidence stemming from real strength.
“Since President Yi is here, let’s all head to the meeting room,” Ma Huateng gestured for everyone to follow.
They chatted and laughed on their way to the pre-booked meeting room.
Ma Huateng took the head of the table, with Yi Feng and Wang Tie to his right, and the rest arranged to his left.
Wang Tie, experiencing such a setup for the first time, was understandably nervous, his palms sweating.
He whispered to Yi Feng, “Brother Feng, do I need to do anything later?”
His voice trembled slightly.
Yi Feng patted his shoulder, whispering back reassuringly, “Don’t be so nervous. Just be ready to offer them cigarettes when you see the opportunity; those two presidents smoke.”
“Got it,” Wang Tie took a deep breath, calming himself down.
He didn’t want to embarrass Yi Feng outside, knowing he needed to be stronger mentally.
Yi Feng smiled, “That’s the spirit. Just treat it like a chat; you just listen in.”
Yi Feng deliberately brought Wang Tie along to give him some exposure, hoping it would make him more composed in future discussions.
“Zhibei, distribute our proposal, and let Yi and everyone take a look at the details,” Ma Huateng instructed.
Zhang Zhibei stood up and distributed a document to everyone.
The meeting’s agenda was to confirm the investment plan, detailing the investment amount, the time of fund entry, the betting agreement, and more comprehensive information about Tencent, including background, scale, major shareholders, team, employees, products, operations, etc.
This detailed information was essential for investors to understand.
Yi Feng took over half an hour to carefully review the entire plan, which was mostly as expected.
The financial statements and condition revealed that Tencent was spending more than it was earning, especially on human resources and server setup costs, with server maintenance alone costing 200,000 a month!
No wonder QQ often crashed. Despite the high maintenance cost, it was relatively low given QQ’s vast user base.
These were indeed challenging times for Tencent.
Yi Feng had no issues with the investment amount and timing, able to complete the 1 million investment within a week. However, the terms of the betting agreement…
One clause only granted Yi Feng advisory rights, requiring approval from other Tencent partners for any suggestions.
Yi Feng frowned slightly. Didn’t this minimize his operational involvement to the lowest possible level?
Without direct control, achieving the 10 million revenue target for the betting agreement might face unexpected obstacles.
Because he wouldn’t be able to directly oversee the progression of work projects, which was also detrimental to his effort to gain internal power within Tencent.
Ma Huateng noticed Yi Feng’s expression and asked, “President Yi, what do you think of this proposal?”
Yi Feng placed the document on the table, stating indifferently, “Everything else might be fine, but this betting agreement won’t work.”
“President Ma, is this the sincerity you’re showing?”
His words fell, and the room went silent.
Everyone looked at him with a mix of astonishment and disbelief.
No one expected Yi Feng to suddenly take such a firm stance!