Reinventing the Millennium

Yi Ke released a not-so-good second quarter financial report.

In addition to the sales decline caused by limited production capacity, some of the revenue in this financial report cannot be replicated in the short term, such as the technical service fees collected by Yi Ke from Yi Ke Optoelectronics, Yi Gou, Yi Xin, Douyin and other companies.

Regarding this part, Sina's president Wang Yan read it carefully several times. Hmm... they all paid? Why didn't Yi Ke ask Sina to pay?

Wang Yan thought about it and went straight to Shencheng in the name of official business. However, when he arrived here, Sina's business was fine, but Mr. Fang, whom he wanted to meet, had already arrived in Luzhou.

He continued to go to Luzhou. This time he called his boss directly to confirm that he would leave in Luzhou. However, Wang Yan received a call from his boss's secretary Liu Zonghong just after arriving in Luzhou. Mr. Fang had to go to Beijing for something.

Sina's president had no choice but to fly back to Beijing and made an appointment to meet at 11 o'clock in the evening.

Wang Yan didn't see Liu Zonghong until 10:50, and learned that the boss was on the phone. Half an hour later, he saw Mr. Fang walking into the suite.

He hadn't seen Mr. Fang recently, and when he saw him, he felt that the boss was not as haggard as he had imagined, but rather calm in a difficult situation.

"Mr. Fang, I went around in circles to catch up with you!" Wang Yan stood up to greet the boss.

"Brother Wang, if you have anything to say, can't you just call me directly?" Fang Zhuo shook his old friend's hand and smiled, "Or, I have to come to Beijing sooner or later, so you don't have to travel."

"You come to Beijing, but you always come and go in a hurry." Wang Yan said helplessly, "I know you are busy, and I am embarrassed to bother you."

Fang Zhuo sat down, nodded, and admitted: "I am indeed busy recently. Sometimes something pops up out of the blue. I always feel that I can do better if I come forward, so I am willing to run more at this time."

"Mr. Fang, the more times like this, the more we need brother units to share the pressure." Wang Yan felt the boss's schedule , and then went straight to the point, "I see that Yike, Yixin, and Yigoo all charge a technical service fee, why didn't they tell Sina?"

Fang Zhuo was a little surprised, turned his head to look at Liu Zonghong, raised his teacup, and laughed: "Brother Wang, you've been chasing all the way, just to pay the money?"

Wang Yan nodded seriously: "It has to be paid."

Fang Zhuo pondered: "Sina is not easy either."

Wang Yan blinked: "We are OK."

Except that it is not directly or indirectly created by Yike like Yigoo, Yike Optoelectronics, and Yixin, our Sina is also OK. On the one hand, it is a well-known domestic game company, and on the other hand, it has blossomed in the field of information distribution in the mobile era.

Although Yike is facing a very difficult situation now, the Yike system is still very strong in China.

Wang Yan feels that Sina has a responsibility to help in the current situation, but he does not think that the Yike system will decline from now on, because, in his opinion, the core of the Yike system is not Yike Company, but President Fang.

Yike is indeed the most successful company in the Yike system, but other companies do not live by sucking Yike's blood, but each has its own advantageous business.

Wang Yan knows that Yike's production capacity is limited, but he does not think it will be a long-term problem. Once it is solved by Yike and Bingxin, it means that the external restrictions for a considerable period of time will also be stretched.

All these things, of course, are to help in times of need.

What's more, the friendship between Sina and Mr. Fang is also unusual. It is an acquisition case recorded in textbooks.

Wang Yan's eyes were bright, and he did not avoid the boss's eyes. He had expressed his position from the pursuit of this trip and his positive attitude.

"Actually, Yike is not that eager for revenue, but everyone thinks that the situation needs to be stabilized, so this is the way to deal with it." Fang Zhuo pondered for a moment and said tactfully, "Sina just needs to do its own thing."

"Mr. Fang, ever since Bingxin and Yike were restricted one after another, Sina has been indignant!" Wang Yan said seriously, "This is not just my idea. I held a meeting in the company before I came. Everyone has the same attitude and is willing to contribute to spend the current moment with Yike!"

He stood up excitedly as he said this.

Fang Zhuo waved his hand, motioning his old friend to sit down, and smiled, "Okay, since you have spare capacity, then... buy back the remaining game shares from Yike."

He took a sip of tea and continued, "It just so happens that Yike is doing subtraction and Sina is doing addition. You can discuss the price."

Yike and Sina have common game projects. Games like Warcraft and LOL are operated by the latter. In the early days, in order to show the progress of smartphones, Yike also had some good mobile games, which were later handed over to Sina for operation.

Yike has not needed games in recent years, but it is an important territory for Sina.

Even if Sina makes a one-time acquisition at a slightly higher price, high-quality games will not be a loss-making business.

Wang Yan naturally understood this. He wanted to mention the technical service fee again, but then he thought about it and realized that his attitude had been expressed. Mr. Fang was not the kind of person who would be polite when he really needed it.

So, he nodded after a little thought and said, "Okay, Mr. Fang!"

Wang Yan completed the matter of the share money and inevitably mentioned the current situation of Yike and Bingxin. He also asked about the situation of Yike being targeted by short sellers again after several years.

In the middle of the month, data released by Nasdaq showed that Yike had climbed to the second place, and the gap from Alibaba's short position was only $300 million.

It is almost certain that Yike will achieve the honor of "No. 1 in the world" again at the end of this month.

"There is nothing we can do about it. The main focus of the current situation is not there. If they want to short, they can short." Fang Zhuo shook his head, "Now there should be many people who have made money from Yike."

Yike's market value exceeded 400 billion US dollars at its peak, and now it has fallen to 250 billion US dollars. Although there was no large-scale short selling at the beginning because they could not figure out the situation, this decline must have made some institutions profit.

"I think this group of short sellers is coming aggressively, and they want to continue to distort Yike's value measurement." Wang Yan said seriously, "Like Russell, he has been speaking out frequently and singing short Yike."

Fang Zhuo nodded slightly: "They are probably still waiting."

Yike's stock price has fallen in more than half a year. The short sellers probably want to wait for a sudden drop in Yike or the secondary market that cannot withstand the pressure, which will inevitably cause more selling and crushing, and Russell and his ilk are now speaking out in various occasions to try to do this.

Of course, Fang Zhuo did not study carefully what the short sellers were doing, nor did he know what price they wanted to wait for before they stopped.

He only knew that he was waiting for a breakthrough in photoresist or 10nm. The former was still unclear, but the dawn of the latter within the year had gradually become clear.

Even if SMIC's 10nm foundry for Yike would also be limited, it would be able to leave at least half a year, which would buy time for a breakthrough in photoresist.

Fang Zhuo came to Beijing this time to communicate in advance about the merger of Bingxin and SMIC. The two companies will still retain their own brand operations, but the integration of funds, talents, and resources will undoubtedly burst out stronger power in the future situation.

He talked with Wang Yan about the current situation for a while, and he felt a little extra emotion when he saw this old friend again after a while.

"Yike will not have a big problem, and Sina is also developing very well. Brother Wang, we have lived up to the consensus of that year." Fang Zhuo mentioned that year.

Wang Yan also sighed, and after a long time, he said: "I am now the best president of Sina in history."

There is no doubt that Sina, which once had chaotic management, still stands in the era of mobile Internet under the leadership of Wang Yan. He is the best president.

This sentence was one of the reasons for Fang Zhuo to unite the front when he controlled Sina. He wanted to be "an ordinary CEO who was not successful" or "a business strongman who solved the profit dilemma and created the company's glory" when evaluating Sina.

"Brother Wang, of course you are." Fang Zhuo affirmed without hesitation.

Wang Yan raised his teacup, replaced wine with tea, and smiled at President Fang.

At midnight, Fang Zhuo said goodbye to his old friend who was maliciously acquired, and took out his mobile phone to call SMIC to confirm that risk trial production might be tried in August or September.

He was not sleepy, so he asked his secretary to make another cup of coffee.

Seeing that his boss was not looking at his phone or flipping through documents, Liu Zonghong watched him drink coffee and said something new about product development: "Mr. Fang, there is some progress on the flexible screen at BOE. We will see the new Selfy when we go back."

Selfy is also a well-known product brand created by Yike, but it was discontinued at the beginning of the year to make way for Mars, which the company felt was a pity.

However, the R\u0026D department also felt that Selfy and Mars were increasingly overlapping in product positioning, and the imaging performance of the two was almost the same as the hardware progressed. Therefore, this time, taking the opportunity of discontinuation of production, they also reconsidered a more radical design. BOE tested a flexible screen this year and is expected to officially achieve mass production next year.

Therefore, the new Selfy wants to use a flexible screen to change the design style, highlight the "fashion" element, and carry out a folding product positioning that is completely different from Mars.

Anyway, no matter when the production capacity is restored, Yike will definitely focus on Mars in the early stage, and it doesn't matter if the new Selfy is less iterated.

Fang Zhuo said, "It's good news. Mars pursues the best flagship positioning and is top-notch in all aspects. Selfy needs to change."

Liu Zonghong said, "Good news is gradually coming."

Fang Zhuo smiled and said, "We don't know how the new Selfy will be. Is this good news?"

"The progress of domestic screens, isn't this good news?" Liu Zonghong said seriously, "Mars has almost achieved a national supply chain. As long as the chip production capacity is restored, the dilemma will be solved."

Fang Zhuo finished the remaining coffee in the cup: "Okay, then wait, just wait for this blade."

This trip to Beijing did not encounter any resistance to the promotion of the merger of Bingxin and Zhongxin. Instead, there was a faint attitude of "it should have been like this a long time ago."

Since the founders, management, administrative leaders, and corporate employees have no objections, then it's time to do it.

Fang Zhuo was thinking about the merger and considering the breakthrough of Zhongxin's technology. This time, he had to learn from Bingxin's experience and lessons and must accumulate chips as much as possible before the industry saw any clues.

I slept very late that night, but got up very early the next day.

Fang Zhuo talked to Kong Yu about the news about SMIC so that he could make some changes and preparations.

"If SMIC can make a breakthrough..." Kong Yu paused for a long time on the other end of the phone before continuing, "Then keep it hidden until the photoresist breakthrough, and then present it to the short-selling friends."

"That's what I mean, too." Fang Zhuo said, "It depends on whether the conditions in all aspects allow us to show our greatest sincerity."

Kong Yu was very excited. One was to ensure the existing competitiveness, and the other was to ensure advanced competitiveness.

Taking advantage of the fact that Yike's short position became the world's first at the end of the month, and adding another "wolf is coming again", it will depend on how many short-selling friends are qualified to stand in front of Mr. Fang.

Kong Yu has deep expectations for this.

- If you have extraordinary talents, can accurately capture fleeting opportunities in the market, create returns beyond expectations for customers, have the ability to understand the rise and fall and advantages and disadvantages of enterprises, and have firm determination and sufficient resources to participate in short selling, then you may be qualified to die in front of Mr. Fang.

...

On the last day of July, along with the data of Nasdaq, Yike undoubtedly became the world's first with a short position of US$14.2 billion.

Such a moment undoubtedly once again made Yike occupy the media pages.

In addition, there are three pieces of news from China that make the market seem a little confusing. One is that Bingxin's 16nm has been confirmed to be discontinued, which means that the photoresist has indeed been consumed. The second is that Yike mobile phones in various channels are almost out of stock.

These two pieces of news confirm each other, making the shorts excited.

However, the third piece of news is just the opposite. It is said that China's mainland has achieved a breakthrough in domestic photoresist.

However, Russell of RC Hedge Fund does not believe this "it is said" at all. Whether it is from the judgment of industry experts, the performance of market share, or the operation of Bingxin International, he does not think that China can have such a breakthrough.

Moreover, looking back at the last news from the China Wafer Manufacturing Service Alliance, the intention of this "it is said" is clearer.

"Fake News!" Russell gave an extremely confident judgment to the media, and further predicted the situation of Yike, "Yike has no mobile phone inventory! Even if there is, it is only a small amount, which will not have any effect at all!"

"Yike's revenue in the first quarter was supported by the previous mobile phones, and in the second quarter, it was supported by sucking blood from companies within the system. Even so, Yike's revenue still fell sharply!"

"Ice core has stopped production, what will Yike do in the third quarter?"

"Q3 is the beginning of Yike's complete collapse!"

"Yike is not worth 250 billion, or even 200 billion!"

"We will witness this day together, in the next few months!"

Russell not only stirred up public opinion, but also gave all the information he could get about Yike, including the performance of various channels in the European and Chinese markets.

The wolf is coming, and short-selling institutions are scrambling to flee.

The wolf is coming again, and the withdrawal of short-selling institutions this time is only a small part.

Without market performance and clear news, Yike's stock price attempt to rebound is extremely weak, and gossip is more like useless chicken blood, which quickly returns to silence after a short stimulation.

Yike mobile phones are sold out. Whether it is advertising or technology costs, the real weakness that is difficult to conceal is already in sight.

Many investors holding Yike stocks are in a state of hesitation. Some are stuck at high prices, and some want to take the opportunity to buy at the bottom, but in this situation... should they sell or not?

If they sell, it will hurt.

If they don't sell, can they still wait for Yike's recovery?

Such a decision seems to be short of a final conclusion on Yike's situation.

Many people weighed the pros and cons repeatedly, and finally wanted to wait for Mr. Fang's direct statement, or the release of Yike's third-quarter financial report.