My 1999

The unlucky Cai, who was not well-coped, went all the way.

The financial crisis is dangerous, but also has opportunities.

Samsung saw an opportunity.

And soon came up with a trick that later resounded around the world - counter-cyclical investment!

After the outbreak of the financial crisis, Samsung held an internal meeting and made a major decision to take advantage of the opportunities brought by the crisis to accelerate capacity expansion and expand its market share in the field of panels and memory chips.

To sum it up, there are two words.

Spend money.

With this opportunity, Samsung hopes to continue to advance in the field of chip foundry and eventually achieve the goal of squeezing out TSMC.

The South Korean government also actively cooperated and put out 14 billion US dollars to cooperate with the development of Samsung, LG, and Hynix.

When the international financial crisis was raging around the world, in the field of semiconductors, Samsung conquered the international market.

After the financial crisis, the panel and memory chip industries in the Taiwan region declined rapidly.

Only TSMC grew against the trend and withstood Samsung's attack.

In the competition with Samsung, the far-sighted Morris Chang won!

However, the battle is far from over.

TSMC has made the right bets on technology and suppressed its rivals in the competition, and its road to becoming the leader has been smooth.

However, the arrival of a new era has given Samsung a good opportunity to catch up.

Apple, led by Steve Jobs, has brought the smartphone era to the world.

Before Apple, Samsung's foundry business performance was not outstanding.

In 2009, Samsung's foundry business ranked 9th in the world, one-third of SMIC and about one-thirtieth of TSMC.

Samsung's size can be basically ignored.

In 2007, Jobs released the first generation of iPhone, with a 3.5-inch full touch screen, metal body and iPhoneOS operating system, which truly opened the door to the smartphone era.

After launching the first generation of iPhone, it was like opening the door to the future of smartphones.

Soon Apple began to experience the biggest difference between smartphone SOC and feature phone SOC.

Smartphones have almost endless demands on the performance of mobile phone SOC.

In order to meet the performance "black hole" of smartphones, Apple has to develop its own mobile phone SOC.

Apple can handle the design itself, but the key is who will do the foundry?

This first place was taken away by Samsung.

Apple's iPhone 3G uses Samsung's SOC processor - S5L8900.

Apple's first (A4 chip foundry) was given to Samsung, and Apple has been cooperating with Samsung for foundry production until A7.

TSMC also wanted to taste the taste of "Apple", and the turning point appeared in the A8 chip.

As long as the hoe is wielded well, there is no corner that cannot be dug down.

Morris Chang personally flew to the United States to meet with Jobs and Cook in secret, and finally won the foundry order from Samsung.

Apple's A8 uses TSMC's 20-nanometer process technology.

Before meeting Apple, TSMC's old customers were Qualcomm, Nvidia, etc., and TSMC led by Morris Chang relied on the speed of practicing Moore's Law to retain customers.

Everyone in the industry knows that TSMC has a famous three-shift system, which is sleepless and responsive at any time.

Doing the foundry to the extreme and leaving no chance for opponents, Morris Chang will never slack off in occupying the mountain.

In 2008, Liang Mengsong, a general, resigned from TSMC due to personnel issues and switched to Samsung.

After joining Samsung, Liang Mengsong boldly innovated and resolutely decided to skip 20nm and upgrade from 28nm process to 14nm.

Although many people thought it was unlikely at the time, Liang Mengsong was worthy of being a big shot in the industry, and it really worked in the end.

This move made Samsung instantly surpass TSMC's 16nm process and have the most advanced process technology.

It also made Samsung go from a follower to a leader for the first time.

With the lead of 14nm, Qualcomm, which has always had a good relationship with TSMC, turned to Samsung at the 14nm node.

From then on, Samsung became a competitor that TSMC could not get rid of in advanced processes.

The chip foundry industry has also changed from one company dominating to two strong companies competing for hegemony.

Xu Liang's plan is to let SMIC replace Samsung and become the other pole outside TSMC.

First, expand the market share through counter-cyclical investment and squeeze out competitors.

Then through technology investment, we will continue to move towards advanced processes.

"Mr. Zhang, the situation is already like this.

If we continue to hold back, SMIC will lose its future.

So, we should act when it is time.

It is just a lawsuit, both Hanhua and Hongyan are good at it.

TSMC is not so easy to win."

Zhang Rujing nodded slightly.

"There is another point that Mr. Zhang may not know. Hanhua is also a major shareholder of Ames, a mainstream lithography machine manufacturer in the world.

We have been increasing our holdings since 2001.

Qinglong Fund now holds 14.2% of Ames' equity and $1.7 billion of convertible bonds of Ames.

It also has two board seats on the Ames board.

So in terms of equipment, SMIC enjoys the same advantages as TSMC."

In fact, if the ASML shares held by Hanhua London Office and Hanhua New York Office are counted, Hanhua's shareholding in ASML is close to 20%.

It is an absolute major shareholder.

Zhang Rujing was a little surprised.

As an industry insider, he certainly knew that Hanhua was a major shareholder of Ames, but he did not expect that it held so many shares.

In order to avoid unpredictable risks, most of Hanhua's shares in Ames are held in a shell.

Without special research, it is not clear how much equity Hanhua actually holds.

If Hanhua controls SMIC, it will indeed give the company a great advantage in equipment.

Thinking of this, the resistance in my heart became much less.

"Mr. Xu, this matter is very important. I hope to discuss it with people in the company when I get back."

"certainly.

But I hope it doesn't take too long. "

"In a week at most, I will give you an accurate answer."

"no problem."

At this point, everything that needs to be said has been said, and Zhang Rujing is ready to leave.

Xu Liang personally delivered it to the door.

Zhang Rujing stopped.

"Mr. Xu is really prepared to invest US$10 billion in SMIC?"

"Of course. I didn't just say this in front of Mr. Zhang, I also mentioned it yesterday when I faced Leader Zhou in Shanghai. Anyone who doesn't believe it, Mr. Zhang or anyone from SMIC, can go consult Leader Zhou."

Zhang Rujing nodded.

As leader Zhou, Xu Liang could not fool him on this matter.

After saying goodbye, Zhang Rujing strode away.

"Mr. Xu, this Rujing looks a bit stubborn and may not agree."

Li Jinling said.

"He had no choice."

The reason why Xu Liang was still willing to say hello was because he showed a certain amount of respect to the other person because he was a rare talent.

Otherwise, he could just follow the contract and end up controlling SMIC.

"Go and ask if Zhao Ronghua is here."

Li Jinling nodded and turned to leave.

It didn't take long before he came back.

"Mr. Xu, Mr. Zhao has arrived."

"Let her in."

Soon, a middle-aged woman with a capable temperament wearing a dark purple suit with small lapels, black pencil pants, and short ear-length hair walked in.

"Mr. Xu."

Pointing to the sofa opposite.

"sit."

Wait for the other person to sit down.

"I have read the semi-annual report of Yuwang Company. The sales revenue is 190 million Chinese dollars, and the net profit from the main business is 41.26 million Chinese dollars, which is very good."

The net profits of water purifier manufacturers on the market are generally around 12%, while the net profits of Yuwang Company have reached 20%.

Zhao Ronghua felt relieved.

Yuwang Company was developed on the basis of Delong's Xianghuo Torch Environmental Protection Technology and Ouchen Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., and uses RO reverse osmosis technology to produce civil water purifiers and filter elements.

RO reverse osmosis technology is not a fancy thing. It is a membrane separation and filtration technology that uses osmotic pressure difference as power.

Originated from the research on aerospace technology in the United States in the 1960s, it was gradually transformed into civilian applications and has been widely used in scientific research, medicine, food, beverages, seawater desalination and other fields.

The pore size of RO reverse osmosis membrane is as small as nanometer level.

Under a certain pressure, water molecules can pass through the RO membrane.

Impurities such as inorganic salts, heavy metal ions, organic matter, colloids, bacteria, and viruses in the source water cannot pass through the RO membrane, thus strictly distinguishing the permeable pure water from the impermeable concentrated water.

It is not difficult to make a water purifier in the country.

Because the reverse osmosis membrane, which requires the most technology and is the most critical, is imported by everyone.

Xiang Huoju and Ou Chen had a certain foundation, but they just wanted to make quick money and failed to do quality control, which directly ruined their production.

As soon as Zhao Ronghua took office, his first step was to improve the modern enterprise management system.

Once the framework is set up, let’s start dealing with people.

One warning, two outright dismissals.

If you don't abide by the company's rules, you can still be regarded as a good example and it won't cause too much turmoil.

The iron-blooded and high-pressure management instantly wiped away the atmosphere of laxity, superfluity, nepotism, and unfair rewards and punishments left over from the Delong era.

As a result of these three measures, the number of people in Yuwang's management team has been reduced by a quarter, administrative costs have been saved by one-third, and efficiency has nearly doubled.

The newly launched Yuwang water purifiers and filters rely on Xu's sales channels, such as Fuhua's finely decorated houses and Kelong Supermarket's home appliance stores.

Open the market quickly.

But after eating up all the traffic brought by Xu's channels, King Yu's development has reached a certain bottleneck period.

"Without your strong support, King Yu would not be able to develop so fast." Zhao Ronghua said modestly.

"There's no need to say any polite words. Just by looking at you, I know you'll go to the Three Treasures Palace for anything. Just tell me."

"You have a sharp eye."

Zhao Ronghua took out a document and handed it over.

"Mr. Xu, this is the inventory of all water purifier products accumulated by Xianghuo Torch and Ou Chen during the Delong era, with a total value of about 54 million.

Among them, 60% of the products have no quality problems, and the remaining 40% have quality problems.

My idea is to take out all these water purifiers and smash them.

It can not only strengthen the awareness of factory employees to strictly control product quality, but also provide marketing for the company. "

This kind of thing is not new.

Haier, which did this for the first time, reaped the biggest dividends.

Delong also did this for a while after acquiring Xiang Torch, crushing all unqualified spark plugs with a road roller.

Now King Yu does this again.

It will have a positive impact on employees, and it can indeed strengthen their quality awareness, but it is basically impossible to achieve the effects of Haier.

"I agree to this."

After saying 'thank you', Zhao Ronghua continued.

"Mr. Xu, I hope the head office can support us with a sum of money."

"Do you also want to acquire companies in the same industry?"

"No."

The affirmative answer surprised Xu Liang.

During this period, he spent a lot of money on his companies. Fengshou and Denong were working hard to acquire companies in the same industry and expand continuously. Even companies like NVC Lighting, which hold 50% of the shares, came to beg for money, thinking of acquiring Opple.

She actually gave up?

Zhao Ronghua explained quickly.

"At present, all domestic water purifier companies only produce. The better ones will do some research and development, but generally do not pay enough attention to after-sales.

Whether it is Angel, which is the number one in sales, or Qinyuan, which is the second.

They basically adopt the dealer model.

Under this model, although the products can be quickly spread all over the country, it will also cause a problem.

Distributors will not feedback accurate customer information.

Water purifiers are different from other products. Its filter element needs to be replaced regularly.

If customer information cannot be accurately grasped, timely and thoughtful after-sales service cannot be provided. Many customers use water purifiers beyond the expiration date without knowing it.

When problems arise, all the reasons are pushed onto the manufacturers.

Original loyal customers are lost just like this.

Some dealers, in order to make money, maliciously replace high-quality filter elements with inferior ones.

They take the benefits, and we, the manufacturers, bear all the disadvantages.

Direct stores are the best way to solve these problems.

Offline stores with a good and unified decoration style can also promote the brand of "Yuwang" to the greatest extent.

Combining online and offline, strive to sell a water purifier and increase a loyal user."

Xu Liang's eyes are full of appreciation.

There are many excellent professional managers in this world, but not many of them have a long-term vision and can do things down to earth.

"Is this the reason why Yuwang's net profit margin reached 20%, almost twice as high as that of the same industry?"

Zhao Ronghua nodded confidently, "We sell not only products, but also meticulous and thoughtful services."

"Now Yuwang has 33 direct stores, right?" Xu Liang asked with a smile.

"Yes. But with Yuwang's current revenue and profit, it is difficult for us to quickly expand the scale of direct stores on the basis of taking into account research and development, so we can only ask you for help."

"How much money do you want?"

"200 million."

"200 million? Huaxia currency?"

"Yes."

Xu Liang sighed slightly, "Of all the people who come to me, you ask for the least money."

"Yuwang is a new company. With our current capabilities, we can only digest 200 million. Any more will just be piled up in the account and cannot be turned into revenue, which is not very meaningful."

Looking at the mature and calm woman in front of him, Xu Liang's appreciation in his eyes became more and more intense.

"I'll give you the money, and there's one more thing you need to take care of."

"Please go ahead."

"A few days ago, Hongyan officially acquired Supor, a cookware company. I plan to integrate Supor, Yuwang and NVC Lighting into a group company.

I want you to be the CEO of this group."

Zhao Ronghua was shocked. Although Hongyan's acquisition of Supor has not been officially announced yet, as a senior executive of the company, she has known about it for a long time.

But she didn't expect that she would have the opportunity to take charge of this high-quality company with a revenue of over 2 billion Chinese yuan and rapid development in the cookware field.