Chapter 461 Four Bank Negotiations
On Yang Mi's Weibo interface, a line of carefully crafted text appeared before her eyes:
"From today on, I have a new identity #JiaxingMediaBossYang#
But the name that I cherish most in my heart is always - actress Yang Mi.
The boss personally takes charge of the new company's first strategic project!
In "Gu Jian Qi Tan", I will play Feng Qingxue @李一峰v @Dear-迪丽热巴v
"You saved this life, you can take it anytime you want!"
Tomorrow, the filming of "Gu Jian Qi Tan" will start, so stay tuned.
Special thanks to Mr. Zeng @嘉行传媒曾加v for approving the boss to join the team with salary."
In the office area that Jiaxing Media had just rented, Yang Mi stared at the copy that the operation team had repeatedly scrutinized. After confirming that it was correct, she lightly touched the send button with her fingertips.
Right now, topics related to her and "Jaywalk Media" are dominating the hot searches. This wave of popularity cannot be wasted. It is a good opportunity to warm up and build momentum for her first big drama "Gu Jian Qi Tan" after leaving Tengda Culture.
As soon as the Weibo post was published, Dilraba Dilmurat next to her immediately leaned over and replied in the comment section: "Sister Mi, Jiaxing's number one employee, Dilraba Dilmurat, here to report! @杨蜜v"
After the interaction, Yang Mi put down her phone and looked at Zeng Jia across from her: "Sister Jia, everything is going according to your plan."
Zeng Jia raised the corner of his mouth with a confident arc.
Today was just a small test, but it allowed the company to gain enough exposure, successfully launched its first hit, and incidentally, it also surpassed Zhang Ziyi, really killing two birds with one stone.
"Tomorrow at Huanrui Century's press conference for the launch of 'Gu Jian Qi Tan,' you're bound to be asked about Jiaxing. You have to be aware of this."
"Don't worry, I know what's going on." Yang Mi nodded in agreement. Having been in the entertainment industry for many years, she was already very familiar with dealing with reporters' interviews.
He turned to look at Dilraba next to him and said softly, "Dilraba, I will find an opportunity to introduce you to the media tomorrow. You will definitely be asked questions then, so be prepared in advance."
Dilireba nodded vigorously, her little face full of seriousness.
"Be sure to be careful with your words and actions in front of reporters. Don't talk nonsense. Your sister Mi is here and will take care of you." Zeng Jia still reminded him worriedly.
She has high hopes for Dilraba Dilmurat. If she can produce another top-tier female star, Jiaxing Media will be able to gain a firm foothold in the film and television industry with two first-tier companies in hand.
"Yeah." After hearing this, Di Lieba became a little nervous.
"Mi Mi, for the time being, you can take Reba to shoot some scenes outside. I'll set up the company's production team. Once the team is set up, we can start our own film and television projects."
"Okay." Yang Mi's eyes flashed with anticipation. "Jia Jie, help me keep an eye out for resources in the industry. As long as it's the leading female role, I'll take it in principle."
"Oh, I almost forgot." Zeng Jia slapped his forehead. "I heard that Deng Chao is recently working on a movie project called 'The Breakup Master'. He will be directing and starring in it, and he's looking for a popular actress to play the female lead. I'm trying to contact her, and there's hope that she'll get it."
When Yang Mi heard this, she looked a little strange. An image of a famous director and eight assistant directors flashed through her mind. She asked suspiciously, "Deng Chao? Can he make a movie?"
Zeng Jia, however, didn't care much: "A good actor turned director. This is his first transition, so he will definitely take it very seriously. If he and you star in it, with your popularity, the box office will definitely not lose money."
"That's right." Yang Mi thought about it and felt that this made sense.
The next morning, the lobby of the Westin Hotel in Peking had not yet fully woken up.
Huanrui Century's launch conference for "Gu Jian Qi Tan" was scheduled for 10 a.m., more than an hour before the show started.
The organizer's staff had just started to get busy outside the venue, and most of the media reporters had not arrived yet.
But a few reporters with a keen sense of smell had already been waiting in the hotel in advance, Xiao Kong and Xiao Li were two of them.
The two belong to different media studios and are responsible for reporting news on the Beijing entertainment industry all year round. They both received invitations to the press conference today.
Since they are in the same industry, they often run into each other at various events. When they meet now, they start chatting in a corner of the lobby and exchanging the latest gossip in the circle.
As he was speaking, Xiao Kong suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure walking into the hotel's revolving door out of the corner of his eye. He stopped abruptly and his originally fluent words were stuck in an instant.
Only a stuttering sound remained: "It's Song, Song..."
Seeing his expression suddenly change and his eyes full of shock, Xiao Li couldn't help but turn his head to look curiously - just one glance, and he himself gasped in shock.
He lowered his voice and blurted out: "Why is the richest man here?"
I saw Song Ci walking side by side with an elegant old man, and the two seemed to be talking in low voices.
Behind him were a dozen or so entourage members, and around him were many security personnel in black suits who were scanning the surroundings vigilantly, forming an invisible barrier.
Xiao Kong was the first to come to his senses. He suddenly pulled Xiao Li's arm. The two of them crouched down and quickly hid behind a pillar not far away. He quickly took out his mobile phone, turned on the camera and pointed it in the direction of Song Ci.
"Song Ci's appearance here at this time must be a big deal! Maybe we can get an exclusive front page!"
When Xiao Li heard this, his eyes lit up instantly. He quickly took out his mobile phone and pressed the shutter button quickly, fearing that he would miss any picture.
After Song Ci and his group passed by not far in front of them and disappeared into the depths of the corridor leading to the elevator, the two dared to come out from behind the pillar.
"I think I was spotted by the richest man's bodyguard just now..." Xiao Li was still a little scared.
"What are you afraid of?" Xiao Kong raised his phone. Several photos on the screen clearly captured the scene of Song Ci and the old man walking together. "Look around, aren't the hotel waiters and guests also secretly taking pictures?"
He stared at Song Ci's profile in the photo and couldn't help but smack his lips. "This is my first time seeing the richest man in person. His looks are too good to be true. God is so unfair. He has wealth, power, and is so handsome. But he gets all the benefits."
Although Xiao Li was also impressed by Song Ci's aura, he was more concerned about another thing: "Who is that old man next to him? He looks very impressive."
"Check quickly!" Xiao Kong urged, "Look at the badges of the people behind the old man. They faintly have the word 'bank' on them. Check in that direction!"
Xiao Li immediately opened his phone to search, his fingertips swiping rapidly across the screen. After a moment, he suddenly exclaimed, "I found it! It's the president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Mr. Jiang!"
The two men looked at each other and saw excitement in each other's eyes - to be able to walk side by side with the richest man, he must be a top figure in the banking system. They first checked the president of the ICBC head office and hit the mark in one go.
Xiao Kong couldn't contain his excitement. "Holy crap! Asia's richest man meeting with the president of ICBC? This is definitely a big deal! If this news gets out, it'll be much more explosive than a launch event!"
The two were secretly delighted when another group of people walked by from the other side of the lobby. The leader was wearing a well-ironed dark jacket, with an upright figure and a calm and majestic look between his brows. He looked extraordinary at first sight.
"Looking at this situation, it's most likely from a bank." Xiao Kong guessed with narrowed eyes.
Xiao Li's phone gave an answer almost immediately: "Vice President of the Agricultural Bank of China, Mr. Zhang!"
"Oh my god!" Xiao Li gasped. "Is Song Ci going to meet with the top executives of the four major banks today?"
Before he finished speaking, another group of people walked into the hotel.
The two were already familiar with the route, and it didn't take much effort for them to find out the identity of the leader - Mr. Li, the president of the Huaguo Bank Head Office, and Mr. Yang, the vice president of the China Construction Bank Head Office, who followed closely behind.
In just over ten minutes, all the head office leaders of the four major state-owned banks showed up.
"Hahahaha! Such immense wealth actually fell upon us!"
Xiao Kong grinned so hard that his teeth were visible, and he pulled Xiao Li back a few steps into the corner. "Hurry up and post on Weibo! Use the studio account! Say that Asia's richest man, Song Ci, was secretly meeting with the leaders of the four major banks at the Westin Hotel!"
His fingertips tapped rapidly on the screen, and two Weibo posts with blurry photos of the scene were sent out instantly.
When the notification of successful sending popped up, both of their faces flushed uncontrollably - they knew that once this news spread, it would definitely cause a huge uproar on the Internet.
In the top VIP conference room on the top floor of the hotel, the air was so quiet that you could hear the low hum of the central air conditioner.
The manager personally supervised the service staff to serve top-grade white tea. The tea leaves in the celadon covered bowl exuded a delicate fragrance. After everything was arranged, he bowed and walked out lightly, closing the heavy solid wooden door behind him.
It was the coldest time of winter outside, with the north wind blowing the snow against the window frames, but it was warm inside.
The nearly ten-meter-long mahogany conference table exudes a warm luster, clearly separating the two groups of people at both ends.
Song Ci sat in the main seat on the left, flanked by Wu Yi, president of the WeChat business group of Tenda Group, Lin Haifeng, head of Yifutong, and others, all of whom looked calm.
On the right sat ICBC President Jiang, ABC Vice President Zhang, CCB Vice President Yang, and Huali President Li. These four head office-level leaders of the state-owned banks had solemn expressions, and their auras were restrained yet dignified.
After a brief greeting, Vice President Yang of China Construction Bank was the first to break the silence, his tone as cold as metal.
"Mr. Song, we restricted the quick payment limit of Alipay a few days ago. You should be aware of the reason behind this.
"By coming to us with the 'WeChat Zero Money' proposal at this time, do you think the bottom line of the Big Four banks can be touched at will?"
President Hua Li immediately echoed this sentiment: "Yu'e Bao has only been online for 20 days, and it has already caused the Big Four banks to lose nearly 100 billion yuan in demand deposits.
Tengda WeChat now has 600 million monthly active users, and its capital accumulation is several times that of Alipay. If they really want to launch a Yu'e Bao-like product, are they trying to make our banks run out of money?
Song Ci picked up the covered bowl and gently skimmed off the foam. His expression was calm as usual, and his tone was unhurried: "President Yang, President Li, please be patient.
It was precisely because we saw the industry shock caused by Yu'ebao that we came to the negotiation with a more prudent plan rather than launching the product directly - this is what sets Tenda apart from other companies."
Yang and Li exchanged a glance, then calmed down. Vice President Yang nodded and said, "Mr. Song, if you have any insights, please speak up."
Song Ci smiled slightly and gave a wink to Wu Yi beside him.
Wu Yi immediately understood, flipping open the document in front of him and speaking loudly, "Leaders, WeChat Pay and Alipay have fundamental differences in their genes—Alipay is a pure payment tool, while WeChat's core is a social platform.
Our users keep their change in WeChat primarily for small transactions like sending red envelopes and paying utility bills. The average single transaction amount does not exceed 800 yuan, which completely overlaps with the bank's large savings customer base."
He paused, his eyes sweeping across at the bank leader who was listening intently, and continued, "These fragmented funds may have been lying dormant in users' bank cards, or converted into cash and scattered outside the system.
What WeChat Zero Money aims to do is to gather these 'scattered silver coins' into 'silver ingots' and deposit them into the Big Four banks through money market funds - this is not about grabbing deposits, but about helping banks absorb funds that were originally flowing out.
"That sounds nice," said Agricultural Bank Vice President Zhang, sneering, "Didn't Yu'e Bao also claim to be 'inclusive finance' back then?
The result? The agreed deposit rate was raised to 6%, forcing us to raise our savings rate, and the bank's costs were almost unbearable."
"This is exactly the core of our negotiation with the Big Four banks today." Song Ci took over the conversation, his tone sincere but confident, "WeChat Zero Money's money market fund is willing to accept a negotiated deposit rate that is 10 basis points lower than Yu'e Bao.
More importantly, Tengda can sign a 'liquidity mutual assistance agreement' with the Big Four banks. When the money market fund encounters large redemptions, the partner banks will provide short-term lending support, and we will pay the excess penalty interest, ensuring that the banks never bear liquidity risk.
President Jiang of the ICBC, who had been silent until then, finally spoke. He was the most senior and highest-ranking person present. His voice was not loud but carried unquestionable weight.
"Mr. Song, can Tengda really guarantee that these funds will not impact our retail business?
WeChat's social fission capabilities are far more formidable than Alipay's payment scenarios. Today, WeChat Pay has become the leading online payment platform."
"We can set a 'tiered transfer limit'." Song Ci's expression became serious and he gave a clear response.
"Any single transfer exceeding 50,000 yuan in a single day requires an appointment 24 hours in advance, and the funds can only be returned to the user's linked savings card of the bank.
This can not only prevent liquidity risks, but also keep the capital loop within the cooperative banking system."
After a brief pause, he offered a more attractive offer: "In addition, WeChat is willing to open a payment portal to divert traffic to the credit cards and wealth management products of partner banks.
Users can see the bank’s promotional link on the WeChat life service page and click it to make a purchase directly.
This is a traffic pool of hundreds of millions of active users. If the Big Four banks were to build such a channel individually, they would have to invest at least billions.”
President Jiang's fingers stopped at the edge of the table and began to tap slowly, making a regular, light sound.
The conference room was silent for a moment, with only the knocking sound echoing in the air, and the eyes of the other three bank presidents were all on him.
After a while, President Jiang looked around at everyone and finally spoke again, his tone slightly softer: "Mr. Song, WeChat's proposal is indeed more sincere than Alipay's, but the four major banks need to form a united front.
How about this, we first select a bank for a pilot program and implement it according to the interest rate and mutual aid agreement you mentioned.
If there is no large-scale deposit loss within three months and the capital stability standards are met, the other three banks will follow suit.”
Song Ci breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression remained calm. "No problem. We recommend that the pilot bank choose ICBC, which has the most solid retail business foundation, so that we can better test the security of the plan."
In addition, regarding the interest calculation method for the agreement deposit, we hope to adopt 'daily accrual and monthly interest settlement', which will make the return calculation of the money fund more transparent."
President Jiang nodded slightly. "We can discuss the specific details with the risk control departments of both parties. But there is one thing WeChat must promise:
We will not advertise "higher returns than bank deposits" in any public place, and all promotional materials must be reviewed and approved by the partner bank."
"That's absolutely no problem!" Wu Yi immediately responded.
"WeChat Pay isn't here to disrupt the industry; it's here to work with banks to expand the pie. After all, WeChat users are ultimately potential customers for banks."
"I hope so." President Jiang sighed, stood up, and extended his hand. "I wish Tengda Group and ICBC a happy cooperation."
Song Ci quickly stood up, and the two of them clasped hands tightly in the middle of the long table.
Everyone present knew that the game between Internet finance and traditional banking had just begun.
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(End of this chapter)
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