Chapter 582: Not for Sale
After discussion, everyone unanimously decided not to accept foreign capital investment for the time being.
Judging from this period of time, the changes that Lu Yiming has brought to new energy technology are enormous.
Funding is certainly one aspect, but it is the most insignificant one.
The most important thing is that Lu Yiming understands technology and marketing!
From a technical point of view, Lu Yiming's words awakened everyone and pointed out that there might be problems with the electrolyte. This immediately corrected everyone's research direction, greatly reduced the cost of testing, and allowed the product to be brought to market faster. Logically speaking, Lu Yiming's name should also be added to the invention patent.
Which capitalist can do just this?
Not to mention the various media offensives that followed. Publicity is a sore spot for engineering men. If it weren't for Lu Yiming's combination of attacks, who would know the name of this company that couldn't even fit together a round table for team building?
In a nutshell, Lu Yiming has everything that new energy technology companies lack, but he may not have other capitals.
So, this is the key reason why everyone unanimously decided to cooperate with Lu Yiming.
It was time to get off work. Zeng Yuqun had just packed up and left the company when a group of people suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The leader of the group was holding a half-meter-long microphone in his hand. He directly stood in front of Zeng Yuqun and blocked his way: "Hello, are you Mr. Zeng Yuqun? We are reporters from Pravda. I would like to do a simple interview with you. Is that okay?"
Zeng Yuqun looked at the big man carrying the camera, who was very sturdy and flexible in his movements. After thinking for a while, he said, "Okay."
The reporter was very satisfied with Zeng Yuqun's cooperation and said, "As far as I know, New Energy Technology's polymer lithium battery patent technology comes from Nokia. Nokia did not complete the key steps of research and development and believed that it was a failure, so it sold the patent. Is that right?"
As the saying goes, there is no impenetrable wall in the world. After New Energy Technology became popular, there were naturally people who would dig up the company's past and present and even the founder's relatives. This matter, which was originally a company secret, is naturally no longer a secret now.
Zeng Yuqun said calmly: "Yes."
Anyway, the patented technology was bought with real money, and there is nothing shameful about it, so Zeng Yuqun naturally would not hide it.
The reporter then asked, "As we all know, Nokia is an internationally renowned high-tech company with strong financial and technical strength. How did you solve a problem that even they couldn't solve?"
Zeng Yuqun was very modest and said, "To be honest, the person who should be thanked most for the improvement of polymer lithium batteries is Mr. Lu."
"Mr. Lu? Which Mr. Lu?"
The reporter expressed confusion.
Don't you call technical masters XX technician, XX chief engineer, X engineer, etc.?
Who is this Mr. Lu?
The style is not very unified.
Zeng Yuqun said: "Of course it was our richest man Lu. He not only gave us financial support, but also pointed out the direction of research and development. If it weren't for him, I'm afraid this new technology would not have been born so quickly."
"Mr. Lu?"
The reporters were horrified.
"What kind of battery technology do you guys know about?"
This is definitely beyond everyone's cognition.
After all, it is well known that Lu Yiming is called "Xiaguo Stock God" because he is good at stock trading and financial manipulation. In fact, it is true that he can become the richest man in just a few years, and only by playing with finance can he do it. It is simply impossible to start a business and become the richest man.
It's only been three or four years, and some real estate projects may not even be able to deliver the houses.
The most important thing is that this is not just any technology. It is a technology that even Nokia, one of the world's top technology companies, cannot master!
unbelievable!
It's really outrageous!
Zeng Yuqun said with emotion: "Yes, Mr. Lu is simply a god. Apart from the word "god", I can't use any other words to accurately describe him. You know, battery technology itself is a technology with a very high threshold. If you are a layman, you will have no idea what it is. But Mr. Lu pointed out the way for us in just one sentence. It can be seen that his understanding of this industry is more thorough than any professional! Although I am a professional battery expert, when Mr. Lu pointed out the problem to us, I felt like I was a complete layman!"
Although these words are indeed somewhat exaggerated, they also represent Zeng Yuqun's admiration for Lu Yiming.
"Boss Lu actually knows this?"
The reporter was shocked, but his train of thought was really tricky. He immediately said, "Since Mr. Lu knows so much, why doesn't he do it himself instead of telling you this secret?"
Zeng Yuqun said: "Because Mr. Lu is a shareholder of our New Energy Technology. Not long ago, he spent 100 million US dollars to buy 40% of our company's shares."
“Good fellow!”
The reporter took a deep breath and said, "A few days ago, the Japanese company TDK announced that it was willing to pay 1 billion US dollars to acquire your New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. According to this, in just one or two months, Mr. Lu has reaped a return of 300 million US dollars from this investment?"
Zeng Yuqun nodded slightly and said, "Yes."
Although TDK's valuation of the company has reached 1 billion US dollars, which is many times higher than a few months ago, Zeng Yuqun firmly believes that this price is not the end of new energy technology, but just a starting point. The company's future market value will definitely exceed 10 billion, 100 billion!
After all, in today's increasingly intelligent high-tech era, electronic devices emerge in endlessly. As long as it is an electronic device, it must be powered by electricity, and batteries are a necessity! How big is the market prospect?
After the news was broadcast, it caused a heated response.
The people of China were once again shocked by the speed at which Lu Yiming made money, and this time the money was not earned through stock speculation, but was actually invested in the real economy.
As a technologically innovative company, New Energy Technology quickly became famous in China, and orders came in like snowflakes.
In the conference room of New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Zeng Yuqun, Liang Shaokang, Chen Tanghua and other company veterans gathered together to talk about their happy troubles.
Zeng Yuqun scratched his few remaining hairs and said in distress, "We have just sent a batch of samples to the testing bureau, and the test results haven't come out yet, but we have received orders. Some want us to produce laptop batteries, and some want us to produce mobile phone batteries. We are so busy that we can't handle it all. It's really worrying."
Liang Shaokang said: "The reason why our products were able to enter the public eye so quickly and gain market recognition is probably closely related to Mr. Lu. It must be said that this rich man has a strong appeal. The step of cooperating with Mr. Lu Yiming is the right one, which has put the company's development on the fast track."
However, Chen Tanghua was vaguely worried and said, "Don't forget that Lu Yiming is a businessman and a capitalist. Everything he does is definitely for profit. Do you remember the previous incident with Zhalang? An Internet company that was going to be listed in the United States was invested in by President Lu, and then gradually eroded, and finally was directly taken over by President Lu and renamed Quwen. Will this kind of thing happen to us?"
After hearing what Chen Tanghua said, Liang Shaokang and others' expressions suddenly became serious.
"This is indeed a problem and we have to prevent it."
"Thinking about it this way, there is indeed a problem. As the saying goes, if someone shows kindness without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief. Mr. Lu knows this industry so well, and it is not difficult for him to start his own company to do research and development. It can't be because of the patent issue, right? As a result, he not only invested in our battery, but also told me how to make it and helped us hype it. This is simply a one-stop service like a nanny."
However, Zeng Yuqun said, "I think Mr. Lu is not such a person. After communicating with him several times, Mr. Lu is still very easy to talk to. He does not have the domineering and arrogant attitude of a nouveau riche. Moreover, Wang Zhidong's incident was also his own fault. If he had not offended Mr. Lu by talking nonsense, Mr. Lu would not have targeted Zha Lang so much."
"That seems to be the case. After all, Lu Yiming has invested in many companies and enterprises, and he has never seen any conflicts. Instead, each of them has developed quite well. Zhalang, which has completely disappeared, is still a special case at present."
"That makes sense. Those who have not had conflicts with Mr. Lu seem to be alive and well, and their businesses are booming."
"It seems that we were right to reject Sequoia Capital's investment. Otherwise, if we offend Mr. Lu, the consequences will be disastrous."
"yes."
Although the news report caused a huge sensation, it also caused great controversy.
Many people think that the statement that New Energy Technology’s battery was developed because of Lu Yiming’s suggestion is too ridiculous.
The excuse is easy to find. Nokia has so many scientists under its name, but they can't figure out anything. Several people from New Energy Technology Company have been researching for so long but nothing has happened. Who are you, Lu Yiming? You haven't even graduated from college yet, and you majored in computer science. How can you help scientists? This is too big a step to cross over. It's almost bullshitting.
Everyone thought that this was because the new energy technology company had just received investment from Lu Yiming, so Zeng Yuqun was bragging and trying to flatter Lu Yiming.
At an economic forum, someone asked Lu Yiming about this matter.
"Mr. Zeng from New Energy Technology said that the improvement of polymer lithium batteries was prompted by your suggestion, Mr. Lu. Is this true?"
Lu Yiming said modestly: "It's not that I made a suggestion. I was just chatting with Mr. Zeng and put forward a technical conjecture. If Mr. Zeng hadn't led the scientific research team to overcome all the difficulties, my conjecture would always be just a conjecture. These front-line scientific research and technical workers are the real contributors to the success of the project."
Lu Yiming is not the kind of boss who is crazy about taking credit for himself, otherwise, with his ability, it would be easy for him to become a "great inventor" like Edison.
There are more than 2,000 invention patents. If he were to work himself to death, he would not be able to complete them.
But if you can buy it with money, it would be much simpler.
However, this kind of thing is meaningless to Lu Yiming. Now he no longer needs to use labels such as "scientific research genius" to label and promote himself.
Then the reporter asked, "TDK seems to be very interested in new energy technology and plans to invest in it. Mr. Lu, would you consider selling your shares?"
Lu Yiming smiled contemptuously and said, "I noticed this. As for the price they offered, isn't that just sending away beggars? What do I need that 10 billion or 800 million? In my mind, new energy technology is not for sale."
There is no doubt that Lu Yiming is being arrogant, but he has the capital to be arrogant! Some people have calculated that based on Lu Yiming's current investment portfolio, his daily income may be as high as one million, and his annual income may be several hundred million. If this is true, then TDK's offer is really nothing to Lu Yiming.
But from an economic point of view, Lu Yiming invested in new energy technology for only a few months and was able to make hundreds of millions of dollars by reselling it. This is definitely a very cost-effective deal.
"Why would Mr. Lu say that? This offer is not low now."
Lu Yiming said righteously, "Let alone 800 million, even if it's 8 billion, I won't sell my shares. In my opinion, the business created by Mr. Zeng and his team is expected to break through the market value of more than 300 billion within ten years, and even become a trillion-level giant enterprise in the future. A mere 800 million is not even enough, and you want to buy gold from me at a bargain price? No way!"
New energy technology is worth 300 billion? Or even more than 1 trillion? I'm afraid this is not just a daydream.
This was almost always the thought of everyone present.
Obviously, at this moment in China, it is completely unimaginable how big the future market size of lithium batteries will be with the popularization of smart devices.
Around 2022, the market size of lithium batteries exceeded US$67 billion and is still growing.
Such a huge cake is really beyond the imagination of people today.
Moreover, this industry follows the 80/20 rule, where the winner takes all.
As long as you have good technology and low cost, your products can occupy the market and even form a monopoly. You can really make money without doing anything. Sellers will have to come to you and beg you to sell things to them.
Regardless of what everyone thought, Lu Yiming continued, "Not only will I not sell my shares, I will continue to invest. Now that the research and development results have come out, the production process must be opened up. I will invest in building a battery manufacturing plant, and develop lithium batteries with larger capacity and lower costs, and become a leader in the entire lithium battery industry."
This was the first time that Lu Yiming revealed his ambition to the outside world , and people on the forum also began to pay attention to the field of power batteries and wanted to get a piece of the pie.
On the other hand, ever since Lu Yiming left Leitian Group, Zhong Leitian has always felt vaguely uneasy in his heart.
When he learned that Lu Yiming had invested in Hong Kong's new energy technology, this feeling of uneasiness became even stronger.
Later, after the news broke that New Energy Technology had developed a safe, reliable, and bulging-free polymer lithium battery, Zhong Leitian finally found the source of his uneasiness.
Then various reports came in overwhelming force, and now Lu Yiming was making outrageous remarks on the forum, and Zhong Leitian could no longer hold back.
In the past few months, the newspapers were full of news reports about him and the Lei Tian Group. He didn't expect that it wouldn't be long before the old was replaced by the new.
What’s even more infuriating is that New Energy Technology also makes batteries. As the saying goes, there can’t be two tigers in one mountain. Although the two companies have not had any conflict yet, the market is so big that there will inevitably be collisions in the future, and even fierce battles to the death .
Thinking of this, Zhong Leitian felt unwell.
Tian An just felt helpless. The last time he saw Myron Kern being so respectful to Lu Yiming, he already felt something was wrong. Although the Morgan Group did reach a cooperation with the Lei Tian Group later, allowing the Lei Tian Group to be successfully listed on the NASDAQ, now New Energy Technology has emerged to compete with the Lei Tian Group. The originally exclusive technology now has a competitor.
"Hey, I told you before, don't offend Lu Yiming, there's no need. People are not diodes, they are not either this or that, right or wrong. We can reject Lu Yiming, but we can adopt a more gentle and tactful approach, after all, harmony brings wealth. Rumor has it that the richest man Lu is very petty and will never let go of a grudge. Look, isn't this revenge coming? You say, if he hadn't been provoked by you, would he have gone to Hong Kong to invest in that unknown new energy technology?"
At this time, Zhong Leitian also felt a little regretful.
After all, if he hadn't rejected Lu Yiming's investment, perhaps this wouldn't have happened today. Not only would New Energy Technology not rise, but Leitian Group would also be able to get several hundred million yuan of investment from Lu Yiming , which was simply wonderful.
But it is impossible for him to admit his mistake, not to mention that he is unwilling to admit defeat. After all, Lei Tian Group still has the advantage.
"Humph, so what? He invested in new energy technology, and I still have Wall Street to support me. Since he wants to fight, let's fight and see who will have the last laugh."
On the construction site, the sky was filled with smoke and dust. Lu Yiming, wearing a safety helmet, was inspecting the site. Looking at the newly built headquarters rising up layer by layer, he couldn't help but feel proud.
In his previous life, he didn't even have a house of his own, let alone a building. All he had was a mortgage to pay off for most of his life.
But nowadays, buildings that cost billions to build are built without even blinking an eye.
Lin Shuyi came over with the construction drawings and said with a smile, "Why didn't you tell me that Mr. Lu was coming to the construction site? Someone below told me. Here, take a look. This is the construction drawing. We plan to build the main structure of this skyscraper at the rate of one floor every seven days."
"One floor every seven days?"
It has to be said that this gave Lu Yiming a small shock.
In the era when he lived, there were legends of a speed of three to five days to complete a layer, but now it is the year 2000.
This number also gave Lu Yiming an intuitive understanding of the strength of Jingwan Group.
Building a house actually requires technology, especially a skyscraper, which requires even more technology and cannot be done by just finding some bricklayers.
Lu Yiming couldn't understand the blueprint at all, so he just glanced at it and gave it back to Lin Shuyi. Lin Shuyi said, "Is the battery industry investment thing true?"
Now that Jingwan Group has lost its backing and background, it is impossible for it to reap the dividends of the real estate industry as before, so it has to seek change.
Lin Shuyi was very curious when she saw that Lu Yiming had invested in Lei Tian Group and New Energy Technology successively.
"Why are you so optimistic about this industry? I have asked many people, and the current development of this industry is actually quite average, and there are many warlords fighting for supremacy, and the internal situation is very chaotic."
