Chapter 921: A Gathering of Storms
As May approaches and flowers bloom, an unusual atmosphere seems to be surging in the city of Yanjing.
Since March, the domestic Internet industry has suddenly heard that Sohu is going to hold a national Internet conference and invite many domestic Internet companies to participate. By mid-April, many companies had received invitations.
However, the organizer listed on the invitation letter was not Sohu, but only a co-organizer.
There are four real sponsors, namely, Guowen Group, State Council X Office, Ministry of Rites, and Ministry of Information Industry.
Originally, when people received the invitation from Sohu, they did not take it too seriously. Although Sohu was the first Internet company in China to be listed on NASDAQ and had a big reputation, the domestic Internet industry was in a stage of wild growth. Although Sohu was listed early, it did not mean that it was a giant that had the final say.
In the eyes of many domestic peers, Sohu's strength is just so-so and it does not have the dominance of those giant Internet companies in the United States. Most of the invited companies just want to send people to deal with it.
Some companies that are in competition with Sohu, such as Sina and NetEase, which are also portal websites, are even more disgusted. They are all companies that are about to go public. Sohu is just listed a little early. What qualifications do you have to take the lead in hosting such an Internet event?
But no matter what everyone thinks, even if they don’t give face to Sohu, they have to give face to the other four organizers listed on the invitation letter.
Needless to say, the State Council X Office is a group headed by the vice prime minister. It is rumored that the management rights of domestic Internet companies are now being transferred to this unit.
The Ministry of Rites is in charge of propaganda, and the Ministry of Industrial Information is still the top boss of the Internet industry, so they dare not offend them.
As for the Guowen Group, which seems to be the least prominent among the four sponsoring organizations, unless its boss is not in a clear mind, domestic Internet companies will understand why a state-owned enterprise at the bureau level can appear on par with the above-mentioned units.
Previously, there were rumors in the industry that the Internet conference was organized by Sohu. Now, after seeing the content on the invitation letter, everyone understands that this matter should have nothing to do with Sohu. It was 100% organized by Guowen Group. Otherwise, you have no way to explain why a bureau-level enterprise would appear together with the above three units.
The most important thing is that the Guowen Group was able to really invite these Bodhisattvas.
The companies that received the invitation letters looked at the names of these units and were filled with amazement. They wondered what kind of background and relationships these units must have!
And even without mentioning Guowen Group's background and connections in the government, they are still Sohu's earliest investor. They are also said to be shareholders of several websites such as NetEase, Rongshuxia, and Joyo.com. These websites are now developing very well.
NetEase, in particular, is now preparing for its IPO. Even though Nasdaq is in a downturn now, it is the most recognized technology stock exchange in the world after all. It is an honor to be able to be listed there.
Guowen Group is one of the earliest institutions in China to invest in the Internet. It can also be said that it is one of the few institutions in China that focuses on investing in the Internet industry. For many domestic Internet companies, there are only benefits and no disadvantages in dealing more with Guowen Group. Who knows when the company will need financing in the future.
At the end of last year, there were rumors in the Internet industry that Guowen Group sold off a large number of shares to cash out after the lock-up period of Sohu's shares expired. If the rumors are true, then Guowen Group is now a local rich man.
Where can you find such good investors who are rich and willing to invest?
On the last Monday before May Day, the United Nations X Office of the China Culture Group, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Sohu and other units held a press conference for the first China Internet Conference in 2000 in Beijing.
According to the spokesperson at the press conference, the first Internet Conference will be held from May 2nd to May 4th, with a duration of three days.
During the conference, representatives from 105 domestic Internet and computer industry-related companies will participate. The conference has also invited representatives from governments, international organizations and industry institutions from many Asian countries. At the same time, the conference organizers have also invited founders of heavyweight Internet companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo and Netscape in the United States to participate in the exchange.
This year's conference was themed "Connecting the World, Embracing the New Century". With more than 500 guests attending, it was a grand event with unprecedented grandeur.
At the press conference, hundreds of reporters from numerous news media outlets were so excited after hearing the introductions by the conference spokespersons that their cameras kept flashing.
If it is really as the spokesperson introduced, this Internet conference will probably become a major event for China's Internet industry. The impact it will cause is immeasurable and may even affect the development of the entire Chinese Internet industry.
After the press conference, news reports about "China's First Internet Conference" spread rapidly in the country in a short period of time.
With the participation of several units including the State Council X Office, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the coverage standards for the conference were maximized.
CCTV, local satellite TV stations, People's Daily, Guangming Daily, Economic Daily, Reference News and many other heavyweights reported on the event, and more than 50 local media followed up with reports, attracting a large number of followers.
Within a few days, a wave of news reports about the Internet Conference swept across China, making the name of the Internet Conference known to the general public in an instant.
This year's May Day, the Capital Airport was particularly busy.
The flow of people was bustling and even the VIP channel was filled with passengers coming in and out.
Amidst such a busy scene, staff from the Yanjing Municipal Government have been working in an orderly manner.
Lin Weimin organized an Internet conference and first asked Sohu to help. Then Lin Weimin contacted several other government departments. With his eloquence, he successfully persuaded several units to participate in such a grand event.
The State Council Office was directly under the leadership of the higher authorities, and the team leader was the vice prime minister, so he reported the matter to Prime Minister Zhu.
Zhu was very interested in this and called Lin Weimin to the sea to ask him about it in detail.
Nasdaq on the other side of the ocean had just collapsed. Now at this time, Lin Weimin wanted to hold an Internet conference and involve so many government departments in such a high-profile manner. Naturally, Prime Minister Zhu wanted to know the truth.
After a frank exchange, Zhu Xiang agreed with Lin Weimin's point of view and believed that the Internet industry would have great potential in the future.
With his approval, the preparations for the Internet Conference went more smoothly. Even the Yanjing Municipal Government got involved and became the organizer of the conference. The standards of the conference were also raised to a higher level.
In the two or three days before May Day, representatives from Internet companies attending the conference from all over the country appeared in Yanjing Capital Airport one after another.
Ding Lei just flew back from the United States. NetEase has now started its IPO process and is conducting a roadshow in the United States. It is about to become the third domestic Internet company to be listed on Nasdaq.
He is about to own a listed company before he even turns 30. He is very proud of himself now, but at the same time, there is a hint of worry on his face.
Nasdaq is currently experiencing a historically rare plunge, and it is not a good time for NetEase to go public.
During the roadshow, NetEase's stock subscription was not ideal. Now many US investment institutions and investors are stuck, and the market has long passed the previous hotness. NetEase is not as popular as Sina, which went public two months earlier.
Of course, Sina is also in a miserable situation now.
Ding Lei was also helpless about this. NetEase's listing was confirmed half a year ago. It had to go through each hurdle one by one, and it was impossible to change the agenda at will.
After landing in Yanjing and stepping on the land of his motherland, Ding Lei felt a little more at ease.
After the Yanjing City staff checked his identity information, their attitude became subtly more enthusiastic, which made Ding Lei feel a little relieved.
Regardless of how the future listing performance will be, at least NetEase is now indeed a leader in China's Internet industry. If they cannot thrive in this market, then the performance of other peers will only be worse.
"I'm sorry, all the conference vehicles are now sending people away. Please wait a moment." The staff member said to Ding Lei.
Ding Lei said: "I'll take a taxi and leave by myself."
"Please wait a moment. Our conference car can take you directly to the hotel. It's very convenient and saves you the trouble."
Ding Lei nodded, "Okay then."
After the two of them talked, a short man who looked like ET walked out of the passage and started chatting with the staff.
After a while, ET was also asked to wait. He came over and asked, "Brother, are you here to attend the Internet Conference as well?"
Ding Lei nodded, "Yes."
"Hello, I'm Jack Ma, from Hangzhou."
"My name is Ding Lei. Are you the Jack Ma of Alibaba?"
“It’s me.” Ma Yun smiled brightly. “Are you the Ding Lei from NetEase? Oh, I’ve heard of you for a long time!”
Jack Ma shook hands with Ding Lei and started chatting with him enthusiastically.
Ding Lei is an optimist who can get along with anyone, but he doesn't have a good impression of Jack Ma.
After they chatted for a while, he felt that this person was a bit slick, and the key was that he was too good at bragging. Through chatting, he learned that Jack Ma had previously set up a China Yellow Pages, and later because Hangzhou Telecom also set up a China Yellow Pages and shared the market, Jack Ma decided to merge with Hangzhou Telecom.
In 1997, Jack Ma took a fancy to the field of e-commerce and decided to give up China Yellow Pages. Before that, he had been providing technical support to the government and planning to start a business again.
Last year, he founded Alibaba and successfully obtained US$5 million in Series A financing, led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from several other institutions including Fidelity Investments, Singapore Government Technology Development Fund, and Investor Relations.
What Jack Ma talked most about with Ding Lei was the field he was in. In Jack Ma's words, e-commerce has become the most promising investment field in the future Internet. His company, which was established not long ago, will also become a well-known e-commerce company in China and even the world.
While Jack Ma was chattering on and on, Ding Lei was daydreaming and couldn't help thinking that if he sent this guy to the roadshow, the effect might be much better than if he went on stage.
After waiting for a short while, the conference car that went to pick people up came back.
Ding Lei and Jack Ma were in the same car. As soon as they got in, Jack Ma looked around and said, "Guowen Group is really willing to spend money. They use Audis to pick up people."
He then asked Ding Lei, "I heard that Guowen Group is also a shareholder of NetEase?"
Ding Lei said truthfully: "Yes. Guowen Group was our earliest investor in NetEase. In 1998, Mr. Lin went to Guangzhou specifically for us."
Upon hearing this, Ma Yun said with emotion: "Time flies. It has been many years since I last met Teacher Lin."
Ma Yun pretended to be very fresh and refined. Ding Lei asked curiously: "Are you old friends with Teacher Lin?"
Ma Yun waved his hand modestly, "Not really. In the early 1980s, when Mr. Lin went to Hangzhou on a business trip, I received him."
Ding Lei looked a little surprised. He looked at Jack Ma twice. The early 1980s was almost 20 years ago. How old was he then?
Looking at Ding Lei's expression, Jack Ma felt proud in his heart but did not show it on his face.
"You can't tell, right? Actually, I was still in high school at that time..."
Ma Yun took out a photo from his wallet and handed it to Ding Lei, "Look!"
Ding Lei looked at the photo. It was a black and white photo that looked quite old. The background was the West Lake, a scenic spot printed on banknotes that everyone in the country knew.
There are two people in the middle of the photo. The young version of ET is very easy to recognize, and it is Jack Ma who is sitting next to him. Next to Jack Ma is a handsome young man, who has his hand on Jack Ma's shoulder and is smiling. The two seem to have a close relationship.
When Mr. Lin was young, he was too handsome!
"Teacher Lin was very handsome back then, right?" Ma Yun asked with a smile.
Ding Lei nodded, "Indeed."
"I thought so too at the time. How could a person be like this? He is handsome, talented, and has a very good personality..."
Then, Jack Ma naturally talked about how he met Lin Weimin, and recounted how he worked as a free tour guide for foreign tourists by the West Lake in order to practice English.
It seems to be telling how he met Lin Weimin, but as the story goes on, he becomes the protagonist, a plain-looking young man who failed the college entrance examination but has always been working hard and has great ambitions.
When the car arrived downstairs of the hotel, Ding Lei shook Jack Ma's hand and his impression of him changed greatly.
"Brother Ma, I believe that with your talent and perseverance, Alibaba will one day become an outstanding Internet company."
Ma Yun smiled and said, "I'll give you good luck."
I was confused while writing and realized that the timeline was mixed up. The content of this chapter has been modified. Jack Ma has already founded Alibaba and obtained financing.
(End of this chapter)
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