Extraordinary Genius
Chapter 824 - Li Jingwei"s plan
"Manager Li, what do you mean?" Feng Yuquickly asked.
There are lots of ways to invest. Feng Yuwants to know what sort of investment Li Jingwei is talking about. If LiJingwei is willing to help, Feng Yu will have no problem getting a stake inJianlibao. He might even get the controlling shares in the company.
"Manager Feng, as the biggest shareholderof Lehaha, you can let Zhong Qingxian continue to manage the company, will youlet me and my team continue to run Jianlibao after you become Jianlibao"sshareholder?" Li Jingwei was looking at Feng Yu. If Feng Yu shows anyhesitation, he will change his mind.
"You might not believe that I say. Since afew years ago, I had let other people manage my companies. Even the Chairman ofmy listed company is someone else. You might think there are some agreements betweenthem and me. But there are no agreements. I am really lazy to manage thosecompanies. Look at me now. As one of the directors in Microsoft, I am notworking in the Seattle headquarters, but in New York."
Feng Yu had never thought of replacing LiJingwei even if he had fully acquired Jianlibao. Instead, he will use some ofthe company"s shares to hire Li Jingwei. Li Jingwei can develop Jianlibao tothis scale within 10 years. This proves a lot about his capability.
Feng Yu knew he is not as good as LiJingwei. Since he is so capable and the management team is set up by him, thenit should be like what happened at Bing City Machinery Company. After LiJingwei retires, Feng Yu will still hire him to train a successor.
Feng Yu"s reply was very straight forward,and Li Jingwei was overjoyed. "That means you agree with my condition?"
"Why not? But I have a condition. Themanagement team must consist of elites and lean. I don"t want to see thosestaff who got in using their connections. Also, the headquarters of Jianlibaois too rural. I think it should be moved to somewhere like Shenzhen orGuangzhou Cities. The higher-ups should support this, right?"
If Feng Yu did not have any request, LiJingwei would be suspicious. But after listening to Feng Yu"s demands, LiJingwei firmly believes that Feng Yu will let him hold the reins of thecompany.
Li Jingwei was pleased that the twoconditions set by Feng Yu were what he wanted too. But because he does not ownany shares of the company, he could not do anything about it.
If Jianlibao could be restructured, then hewill be able to change the company. These two problems are the biggestchallenge faced by the company!
"Manager Feng, I promise you that I willsettle these two problems, and you must keep to your words!" Li Jingwei said.
"Manager Li, what we discussed is notimportant now. I am very curious about how you are going to let me invest inJianlibao? From what I know, Jianlibao is a 100% state-owned enterprise. Youdon"t even own a single share, right?" Feng Yu asked.
Li Jingwei felt his blood boiling when heheard what Feng Yu said. That"s right. Li Jingwei does not own any shares ofthe company, but without him, Jianlibao will not exist. Is this fair?
"Manager Feng, let me tell you a story."
Feng Yu picked up his drink and relaxed onthe sofa with an interested look.
"Jianlibao is marketed as a sports drink,and all promotions are related to sports. In 1990, Jianlibao, a Singaporecompany, and an Olympic gold medalist, Li Ning, set up Jianlibao Sports Apparelcompany. Jianlibao owns the controlling stake of this company and the brand ofthe sports apparel is Li Ning!"
Feng Yu raised his brows. In his previouslife, he had heard Li Ning brand was formerly one of Jianlibao"s subsidiarybrands. But he was not sure how Li Ning got separated from the parent company. Itseems like he will get the answer today.
Feng Yu opened up a cigar box on the sidetable and took out 2 cigars. After roasting one cigar, he pa.s.ses it to LiJingwei. "Try this. The taste is different from cigarettes."
Li Jingwei took the cigar, and Feng Yustart roasting the other one, before returning to the sofa. "Manager Li, continue with your story ah…"
Li Jingwei was stunned and felt Feng Yu waslike a judge of a storytelling compet.i.tion. He even lit a cigarette… no… acigar.
"Li Ning"s development is quite good, andafter he got famous during Guangzhou"s Asian Games, the sales grew by severalfolds. The potential of this company is enormous. Two years ago, Li Ning metBeijing"s restructuring expert Liu Jipeng and he told Li Ning that if thecompany"s ownership is not clear, it will limit the company"s growth severely.He encouraged Li Ning to cut ties with Jianlibao.
Feng Yu raised his brows. So, this is thereason for Li Ning"s separation with Jianlibao. He still though Li Ning was notonly good at gymnastics, he was also good at business. It was because Li Ninghad consulted an expert.
"During the 1988 Olympic Games, Li Ning hadmade a mistake and lost the gold medal. This mistake made Li Ning fall fromgrace, but I gave him a helping hand at that time, and he is very grateful tome. He was afraid that others will see him as someone ungrateful and came tolook for me. He even promises to give me some of Li Ning company"s shares."
"Jianlibao Sports Apparel Company is asubsidiary of Jianlibao after all. As the General Manager, I still have lots ofauthority over the company. I supported Li Ning"s decision and represented thecompany to sign an agreement with Li Ning. Li Ning will return 16 million RMBwhich Jianlibao corporation invested over 3 installments, and nothing wasmentioned about the growth of the shares" value."
Feng Yu"s jaws dropped. This is like usingJianlibao"s money to buy out Jianlibao"s shares!
"After that, Jianlibao Sports Apparel wasofficially renamed as Li Ning Sports Apparel. Last month, this company movedfrom Guangzhou to Beijing and even got to sponsor some apparel for this year"sOlympic team. I think Li Ning"s growth will be tremendous after this year."
Feng Yu thought to himself. You are right.Before 2008, Li Ning Brand"s sales and profits have been rising annually. 2008was the down period for Li Ning Brand and it recovered after that. The a.s.setsof Li Ning, the person himself, kept increasing. This will not happen if the LiNing brand was still under Jianlibao.
Wait. Li Jingwei"s story is telling me thathe still has control over Jianlibao? But even if this is so, selling away asubsidiary and selling the shares of the company are two different things. Willthe local government agree?
"Manager Feng, you mentioned that I hadbuild up Jianlibao by myself. Can I say that I made the most contribution toJianlibao?"
"Of course. Without you, there will be noJianlibao." Feng Yu replied.
"Then why am I not allowed to restructureJianlibao into a shareholding company and buy the shares as one of themanagement staff? I had borrowed money from Li Ning. But now, I have an idea.The government is currently trying to attract foreign investors, and Jianlibao,one of China"s most prominent state-owned enterprises must follow suit." LiJingwei said with a sparkle in his eyes.
Foreign investor? I am considered a foreign investor? That"s right. My ident.i.ty is now a Hong Konger. Why can"t I be a foreign investor? I can also use my US company to invest in it. It is also considered a foreign investment. But how come this method seems so familiar?