Reinventing the Millennium

four institutions.

Zhang Hongli is the general manager of Deutsche Bank's Asia Pacific region.

Xu Kaiwei is Goldman Sachs’ chief representative in China.

Connor is DCM’s partner in charge of China business.

Xiong Xiaoge is the pure trustee of IDG invited by Fang Zhuo.

Connor, who finally walked into the conference room, knew that Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank still maintained their investment interest. He knew that these two companies had the same optimistic outlook as him, and he also knew that Xiong Xiaoge represented IDG's strong entry.

Zhang Hongli and Xu Kaiwei each had forward-looking communication with Fang Zhuo, and there should be no exchange of information between them. They knew about Connor's investment interest in the project, and they also knew that Xiong Xiaoge represented IDG's strong entry.

Xiong Xiaoge knew the tendencies of the three organizations in the conference room, knew what Fang Zhuo wanted, and knew that he was bluffing in on Fang Zhuo's behalf.

As for Fang Zhuo, he knows what his friends want and knows that these industry leaders need external push to make up their minds.

After all, there is too much money to invest.

There were not only Zhang, Xu, Xiong, Fang, and Connor in the conference room, but also three or four team members from each company, dedicated to providing professional advice on finance, law, etc., and also to collect the latest information for future research.

At nine ten in the morning, with Connor's entrance, the fourth investment meeting of the "Ice Drink Project" began.

Connor called both Zhang Hongli and Xu Kaiwei before coming to this meeting, intending to listen to their attitudes. However, he did not get any useful response from these two calls, so he felt that this meeting would be more routine.

Because there was suddenly an IDG, Connor played a little trick when he arrived at Plaza 66, timing his time to be the last one to enter the conference room.

"Mr. Xiong, why did you suddenly bring IDG here?"

Connor happily greeted Xiong Xiaoge. When the other party attended the meeting for the first time, it was in the name of the newly established foundation. He was basically just a supplementary person. Unexpectedly, he changed roles not long after.

Xiong Xiaoge said with a smile: "Because Mr. Fang's Yike is going to be launched, I talked about it with IDG in the United States a few days ago, and by the way we talked about 'ice core', and then there was a lot of interest in the United States. It’s coming.”

Connor nodded, that made sense.

Fang Zhuo waited until the greetings in the conference room were over. He tapped the table with his fingers and made two crisp sounds to report the progress of the project.

"We are in the second round of city inspections, and the feedback from Chengdu is also good. The local government is very enthusiastic."

"Moreover, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu is basically one or two in the field of integrated circuits and can provide long-term talent output."

"But when it comes to talents, what our project needs are more mature engineers. This cannot be solved by a university. The entire mainland industry is extremely short of relevant talents."

Fang Zhuo lowered his head and looked at the information: "Currently, based on Qiu Ciyun's needs, we have contacted engineers in different positions in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, a total of 63 people. However, some of the targets have non-compete agreements, which is a bit tricky."

Zhang Hongli said: "Anyway, I jumped here from abroad. This part should be easy to solve. Just don't make it public."

Fang Zhuo glanced at several investment institutions and saw similar meanings on their faces. He nodded and said: "Well, it's not a big deal if you use it secretly. You can deal with it by affiliated with a school. However, this risk You can experience it yourself, and don’t accuse me of hiding the risks.”

The mid-level engineers are fine, but if the high-level talents poached suddenly show up at a critical moment, it will definitely cause considerable losses.

Zhang Hongli said with a smile: "You have to do everything you can."

This is what Fang Zhuo said at his first investment meeting, and Zhang Hongli understood it deeply on behalf of Deutsche Bank.

Fang Zhuo said noncommittally: "Well, Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor is said to be suffering serious losses. I'm thinking about whether I can package it up and buy it over."

Buy someone in a package?

The meeting room was lost in thought.

Fang Zhuo nodded lightly: "This may require some money. Qiu Ciyun and I will evaluate it later."

The domestic IC industry is really short of people, and it is difficult to meet the demand just by poaching people. Fangzhuo can cooperate with domestic universities, but this is not something that can be solved in a short time.

Speaking of wafer fabs alone, there are only a handful of them in the country. The number of engineers in the entire mainland is estimated to be only tens of thousands, making it a very small circle.

There are only a few colleges and universities. For example, the School of Microelectronics in Dalian University of Science and Technology of China has not even been established. Jiaotong University has just established a School of Microelectronics, but it turned out that a liar was appointed as the dean.

The talent dilemma must be driven by the will of the upper management, rather than being solved by one person or one company.

Take Singapore as an example. The semiconductor industry is one of the two pillar industries of its electronics industry. In order to promote industrial clusters and improve the overall structure, the government has actively intervened and guided it.

From planning assessment to water, electricity, land acquisition, to personnel recruitment, long-term financial planning, etc., we have a series of complete assistance, which has made Singapore the most successful country in the development of multinational companies in the semiconductor field.

Moreover, Singapore is also deliberately promoting the localization of the semiconductor industry and has a fairly mature industrial chain environment.

Although the national conditions in China and Singapore are different, we can still learn from many successful experiences.

Fang Zhuo is willing to promote this kind of reference, and he is also willing to put this kind of reference on the table as a bargaining chip. He does not need to consider the entire country's industrial situation now, as long as he solves his own problems first.

"The recent public response to our project has been very good. I was interviewed by CCTV two days ago." He took a sip of tea and said, "I talked to the leaders of the Ministry of Information Industry and told them that when the project is completed, we should We can get some favorable policies from above.”

Fang Zhuo continued: "At the end of this month, I will go to the capital to have a face-to-face report and fight for it."

Several people digested the new news, Zhang Hongli's eyes flashed, Xu Kaiwei nodded slightly, and Connor was thoughtful.

At this time, Xiong Xiaoge spoke up: "In this case, we must at least finalize the investment framework before the end of the month. The better policies we can obtain, the better we can reap greater benefits in the future."

Connor pondered. He didn't think there was anything wrong with asking the leader for policies, but he was happy to see the results.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s policies, whether it’s state-owned assets, whether it’s revitalizing industries, whatever it is, as long as it makes money, it doesn’t matter.

He just felt that the time was a little urgent. DCM wanted to develop China's business. This trip was basically certain to invest in Zhongxin. Bingxin was also very optimistic about it. However, handling two large investments at the same time required various internal process confirmations.

Today is already the 4th, and it will be three weeks until the end of the month.

Connor coughed and was about to express his opinion.

However, he opened his mouth, and Zhang Hongli of Deutsche Bank on the opposite side immediately said: "Yes, the process should be speeded up. We have no problem. I can make the decision in this regard."

Connor closed his mouth, considering his words.

Before the DCM partner could think of what to say, Xu Kaiwei of Goldman Sachs next to him also agreed: "For things like policy, you have to find the right time to avoid changes. We learned a painful lesson in France before, and I have no experience here. question."

When Connor heard this statement, he felt that he might be a little conservative.

Xiong Xiaoge had a loud voice. He took a sip of water and laughed: "Hahaha, everyone is fine. Of course we at IDG are fine too. Although I have only participated in one meeting on behalf of IDG, I have confidence in the ice core."

Connor thought about it and realized that it was indeed a bit conservative. The internal process could be speeded up by urging it.

The DCM partner and senior vice president immediately said: "Well, our DCM process is simple. As long as there are no problems with the project, there will be no problems in this regard."

With his words, the others drank tea and put the documents, and Fang Zhuo immediately moved on to the next topic.

"Then let me talk about the 10% of this option pool. Regarding this, I have to say that this is the bottom line. If Bingxin wants to have long-term development, it must have top talents to join."

Xu Kaiwei smiled: "Isn't Mr. Qiu top-notch enough?"

"Mr. Qiu is a president, and the technology driver of the fab requires a more advanced technical director." Fang Zhuo said without hesitation, "For example, Hu Zhengming."

Qiu Ciyun can combine a group of engineers and a bunch of equipment to form production capacity, but it may not be easy to continue to advance process technology to a higher level.

Hu Zhengming of TSMC not only already knows more advanced technologies, but he can also continue to make breakthroughs at this level.

The technology driver of the fab is that once it has better technology, it can immediately defeat its competitors. This is an effect that even money cannot produce.

Xu Kaiwei was dumbfounded. Hu Zhengming could indeed be a technical director, but there were probably not many such examples.

He squinted his eyes and glanced at Connor. Investment institutions were in a trench at this time. His psychological price was 5%, and he always felt that the 10% mentioned by Mr. Fang could still be negotiated.

Connor said nothing and looked at Zhang Hongli.

Zhang Hongli said with approval: "It makes sense, 10% is enough."

Connor was stunned, and Xu Kaiwei was stunned.

Xiong Xiaoge was a little unsure of the situation and chose to stabilize his superficial identity first: "We can talk about it later. The value of 10% is indeed very high. The salary can be increased. After all, the options still need time to be cashed in. Salary is the most direct of."

Fang Zhuo glanced at Old Xiong displeased, and his tone became a little cold: "You people don't understand the importance of technology at all. I said 20%, and you objected, okay, 15%, 12%, now it's 10%, Still want to surrender? Do you want to turn it into a project or do you want to mess with my mentality?"

The young president became more and more angry as he talked, and said to Xiong Xiaoge: "If IDG doesn't want to, there is no need to appear here today. Mr. Xiong, I said, this is the bottom line! If IDG can't talk to you, don't talk!"

Xiong Xiaoge: "..."

Liao Yu, the project director who came with Xiong Xiaoge, was quite dissatisfied with the idea of ​​"humiliating his ministers by taking the initiative to their death" and said, "Mr. Fang, are you going a little too far? That's how project negotiations are, there's nothing to lose your temper about."

Fang Zhuo said without even looking at him: "Do you have the right to speak? Who are you?"

Liao Yu blushed and stood up with a roar.

Fang Zhuo then looked at Liao Yu who was standing up and frowned: "Get out."

Liao Yu regretted it the moment he stood up. At this moment, he felt the different looks in the conference room and didn't know what to do for a while.

Xiong Xiaoge said: "Mr. Liao, go outside and smoke a cigarette."

Liao Yu walked out of the conference room without saying a word.

The atmosphere in the conference room was a little solid.

Fang Zhuo emphasized his bottom line through his attitude towards IDG. IDG's Xiong Xiaoge seemed willing to continue negotiating for 10%, while Deutsche Bank's Zhang Hongli had already expressed his stance.

The remaining two companies, Goldman Sachs Xu Kaiwei and DCM Connor, who have not spoken, are silently trying to figure out the option pool that has been negotiated four times.

This figure is reduced to 10%, which means that it has a value of US$110 million at this stage, and once the ice core develops well, the value will further increase.

This is basically equivalent to adding one more investment institution for nothing, and the intensity is really too great.

Xu Kaiwei then thought about it and realized that this was much better than having two more investment institutions before.

He still felt that the 10% option pool was slightly high, but looking at the persistence of the young president...

If an investor doesn't believe in the vision of the project leader, why should he invest?

Xu Kaiwei broke the silence and spoke slowly: "Mr. Fang said that we don't understand technology, as if Mr. Fang is already an expert."

Connor was overjoyed and felt that Goldman Sachs was being sarcastic, so he was ready to help.

Xu Kaiwei continued: "However, even if Mr. Fang is not an expert in the traditional sense, through this period of contact, I believe in Mr. Fang's judgment that reducing it from 20% to 10% is enough. I just hope there can be a few more Experts like Hu Zhengming.”

Connor let out a breath, suppressing it first and then raising it. Why is Goldman Sachs so fat?

Xu Kaiwei finally asked: "Is there any hope that Hu Zhengming will actually join Ice Core?"

"Whether he joins the job or not, as long as he comes to HKUST, it will make a difference." Fang Zhuo said this first, and then said, "Except for equity, I don't know how to attract an absolute expert from TSMC, a Californian Doctoral supervisors and professors at the university, if you have a method, I will be happy to implement it."

In terms of reputation, he has a global reputation and has been immersed in the semiconductor industry for decades.

When it comes to work, I just defeated Intel head-on with the doctoral students I trained.

When it comes to money, people have long achieved personal freedom of wealth.

At present, Fang Zhuo can only ask the University of Science and Technology of China to give him more reputation and Bingxin to give him more money, hoping to impress this technical authority.

Even so, the initiative is not on Fang Zhuo's side - he can give him anything. Is this precious? No, the question is whether people are willing to ask for it.

What is gratifying is that Hu Zhengming is willing to accept the academic exchange invitation from the University of Science and Technology of China, which proves that it is still effective.

Connor listened to these words and tasted them. It did make sense.

He was somewhat convinced, not only by Fang Zhuo's tough attitude, but also by his peers' statements, and even more so by his inability to come up with a better method.

Keep it simple. Keep complicated things simple. People who have skills are just that good.

"Well, we at DCM agree in principle with this option pool."

Connor gave his final words.

Fang Zhuo's face softened a little, this is a good friend.