The 10-day national ZX conference finally concluded. After completing the obligations of members of ZX, Ren Pingsheng also ushered in a new stage of development in his career.

At the Wangfujing Peninsula Hotel in Yanjing, Ren Pingsheng signed a first round of financing agreement with more than a dozen investment institutions and investors. Long before Wanyou Games IPO, Ren Pingsheng had already launched the financing plan of Weibo. After Wanyou Games' entrepreneurial process, he became increasingly aware of the importance of capital in the development of the enterprise. Obtaining funds through the capital market at the appropriate time will have a strong boost to the rapid development of the enterprise.

Weibo has developed too fast, not only beyond the market imagination, but also beyond the estimates of Ren Xiansheng. The construction of the new version of the website, the development of public welfare actions, and the implementation of the big V plan all require people and money. It puts forward higher requirements on the company's labor and financial costs.

In less than half a year, the company has grown from an entrepreneurial team with less than 100 people to a headquarters of 300 employees, and has established contact personnel in 273 cities across the country. The rapidly expanding personnel scale has brought huge challenges to Wang Xing's management and put huge pressure on the company's finances.

Since Weibo is still in the market development stage and its commercial operation has not yet been put on the agenda, it is currently unable to provide any income and it is entirely reliant on Ren Pingsheng's funds to maintain operation. This is of course not a long-term solution.

Although Ren Pingsheng is now worth 20 billion yuan, half of it is paper wealth, and most of the other half is invested in shorting the United States. He also has YY Voice, Wanyou Film and Television, Wanshi.com and other companies to develop, and they don’t have much money to use.

After Wanyou Games went public, it has become a public enterprise. Ren Pingsheng cannot easily transfusion blood to other companies under his own companies through loans or related transactions like before. Therefore, it is imperative for Weibo to launch its first round of financing.

Compared with Wanyou Games’ first round of financing, Weibo’s first round of financing is much easier, because Weibo is now a phenomenal Internet company. Its ranking in Chinese social networks and its popularity and reputation in China have attracted the attention of many investors. Wanyou Games’ outstanding performance since its listing has also provided a good example for Weibo’s financing.

After all, the chairman and founder of these two companies are the same person, a role model for a new and rising Internet entrepreneur.

Supported by these favorable conditions, although the current capital market is somewhat weak due to the subprime mortgage crisis, the investment community has expressed great interest in the first round of financing of Weibo companies and has offered high valuations.

According to the signed agreement, Weibo Company raised US$500 million in the first round of financing, with a company's valuation of US$2.5 billion. The financing was led by Chenxi Capital, which was mainly invested by US$200 million, and obtained 8% of the shares; ICG Capital and Alibaba Mama each invested US$100 million, each obtained 4% of the shares; Fuxing Group and Yingtai Group continued to follow up, each invested US$50 million, and each obtained 2% of the shares.

The reason why Chenxi Capital led the main investment is, on the one hand, because Weibo's valuation this time is very high, and the amount of notification has exceeded the A and B rounds of many startups. Several traditional venture capitalists seem a bit cautious, and only ICG continues to choose to follow up. The remaining investors are the big shots of the Jiangnan Association.

On the other hand, Ren Pingsheng also hopes that Chenxi Capital will provoke this investment because he still owe the Chen brothers a favor.

......

A few days ago, Ren Pingsheng met with a Hong Konger in Yanjing City through the recommendation of Chenxi Capital President Chen Lizong.

This Hong Kong man is thin and elegant, wearing a pair of simple frameless glasses, and his facial features and tone are obviously characterized by the characteristics of Nanyue Province, but his speaking and acting style are very professional, and he is obviously a typical professional manager.

Cheng Beirong, a native of Hong Kong Island, graduated from the University of Hong Kong and obtained an MBA from the University of Singapore. He is currently the head of the mainland northern region of Hong Kong-owned Swire Real Estate. He has rich experience in commercial real estate development. Sanlitun VILLAGE, which he was in charge of the development, has just been renovated this year and is preparing to open within the year.

Sanlitun VILLAGE is the first commercial complex completed and opened in China by Swire Real Estate. The complex has an area of ​​136,000 square meters. It is famous for its international trendy taste and pioneering fashion gathering and distant places. It has become a fashionable landmark in Yanjing City and one of the most benchmark neighborhood businesses in the country.

Since Sanlitun VILLAGE successfully operated in 2008, the rental rate of retail properties has reached 100%, and the annual rental income has reached HK$2.567 billion. It can be said to be a chicken that can lay golden eggs.

In addition to the careful polishing of Hong Kong-funded commercial real estate developers, all this is inseparable from the experience and ability of Cheng Beirong, the operator of Sanlitun VILLAGE project.

Although Sanlitun VILLAGE had not opened yet, Cheng Beirong, the trader, has been famous in the Hong Kong real estate industry for a long time. He is also the target of Hengrong Real Estate, the Chen brothers, who wants to poach people.

The reason why the headhunter came to Cheng Beirong is very simple.

Although Swire Real Estate's main assets and operations are in Hong Kong and mainland China, its parent company Swire Group is an old British foreign company with its headquarters in London, England and its main shareholder is British capital. Therefore, no matter how much Swire Group's business has intersections with mainland Hong Kong, there is an unwritten rule within this British foreign company, and the company's highest leadership must be the British.

With Cheng Beirong's current qualifications and status, it is basically hopeless to get to the next level of Swire Real Estate, so the headhunters saw this opportunity and were working hard to convince him to change jobs and change his boss. Hengrong Real Estate is the one who has the most contact with him.

Ren Pingsheng is currently looking for commercial real estate traders. The demolition and infrastructure of the Guofei Park plot are very smooth and will soon enter the construction stage. However, Ren Pingsheng feels that he still lacks experience in the real estate industry and needs a trader with practical experience.

So after learning the news, Ren Pingsheng immediately approached the Chen brothers. Through the good cooperative relationship they established in the early stage and Chen Xizhu's enthusiasm for investment in the meager company, the Chen brothers finally reluctantly gave up and let Ren Pingsheng take the lead.

At this moment, Ren Cheng and the others were standing in Sanlitun VILLAGE, which had not yet been opened. Cheng Beirong pointed to the open block consisting of transparent buildings of large and small, and said:

"In two months, 180 well-known domestic and foreign brands will enter here, of which 40% of the brands will open stores in China for the first time, and their first stores will be opened in Sanlitun VILLAGE."

"We believe that with the development of China's economy, the rise of the middle class has become the main consumer group, the main consumers are becoming younger, and the consumer's vision is becoming more and more international. Young people will pay more attention to "physical sense" and "shopping experience". Such a market environment has given birth to the first-store economy, making many international brands that have not yet entered the domestic market tend to open physical stores in China.

"When more and more trendy people gather here, a field is formed, attracting more and more trendy brands to open stores here. Because of these brands, more trendy people will come here." Cheng Beirong looked at the empty Sanlitun VILLAGE in front of him.

"Compared with other commercial real estate, Sanlitun VILLAGE's biggest advantage is the first-store economy."

Ren Pingsheng nodded with admiration. Cheng Beirong's business judgment was very accurate, and the future trend of Sanlitun VILLAGE also proved this. Therefore, Ren Pingsheng wanted to recruit Cheng Beirong to his own business complex and let him manage the commercial complex of the National Expo Park plot for himself.

Facing this senior professional manager, Ren Pingsheng asked in a commercial tone that Hong Kong people are used to:

"Mr. Cheng, I want to hire you as the CEO of my company. You can say anything you need, and I have the ability to satisfy you."

Cheng Beirong certainly knew the purpose of Ren Pingsheng's trip. He had learned about Ren Pingsheng and Pingsheng Real Estate through headhunting and his connections. Although Pingsheng Real Estate has not yet completed a project in China, this land located in Handong New District, Hanhai City is extraordinary. The National Expo held in two years will attract global attention and will inevitably drive the flow of people and business districts in this area. This is an excellent opportunity to build commercial real estate.

But Cheng Beirong did not directly express his attitude. He wanted to see the young boss's vision and knowledge, so Cheng Beirong said lightly with a calm face:

"I did a good job in Swire, and there is no need to switch companies at the moment."

Ren Pingsheng smiled slightly and said:

“Sanlitun VILLAGE is a good project, but Swire Real Estate is not the place you should stay for a long time.”

Seeing Cheng Beirong frowned, Ren Pingsheng said leisurely:

"Swire Real Estate entered the Chinese market in 2002. It took an average of more than 6 years from land acquisition to opening. Its current layout is limited to first- and second-tier cities. Hong Kong-owned real estate such as Hengrong, Xin Acer, Kowloon Zang, etc., which entered the same period, have opened more than a dozen commercial complexes. Swire's speed is too slow."

Cheng Beirong looked towards the empty block and shook his head and said:

"Slow work and fine work are the characteristics of Swire. The company focuses more on first-tier cities, focusing on core areas and developing large complexes. This model does require longer time, but the returns are also longer and better."

Ren Pingsheng smiled and said:

"Slow work and careful work are two different things. Real estate operations mainly depend on the efficiency of capital utilization. Hong Kong-funded enterprises rely on the convenience of Hong Kong's International Financial Center and have inherent advantages in financing. The reason why Hong Kong-funded real estate is deliberately developed slowly is because they do not trust the mainland in their hearts and do not believe in the development prospects of the mainland."

Ren Pingsheng's words were not aimless. Hong Kong-funded real estate developers took advantage of their adhering to the mainland and entered the mainland market early in the early stages of reform and opening up. After obtaining the cheap land at that time, they hoarded it and slowly developed it. There are even more, such as the famous Li Chaoren. After 20 years of entering the mainland, 19 of the more than 20 real estate projects developed have not been built, and 10 have been developed for more than 10 years.

These Hong Kong-funded real estate developers have no intention of developing in the mainland at all. They just want to monetize their resources.

Therefore, Ren Pingsheng revealed the intentions of Hong Kong-funded developers in one sentence.

"The most fundamental motivation for Swire to acquire less land and develop slowly is that they do not want to deposit funds in China, they only want to make money in front of them."

Listening to Ren Pingsheng's judgment, Cheng Beirong was speechless. He has been in charge of project development for 10 years in the mainland and has a deep understanding of Swire Real Estate's style and philosophy. Although what Ren Pingsheng said is not 100% correct, it is not far from each other.

Ren Pingsheng saw that Cheng Beirong's expression had changed, so he continued to put pressure on him:

"Look at everything happening around you, China's economy will only get better and better. Not only first-tier cities, but also hundreds of second- and third-tier cities are undergoing consumption upgrades. People who are gradually becoming middle-class people need more commercial complexes, and they all need better designs, better operations, and better developers. All of this is waiting for us to provide and create."

Ren Pingsheng clapped his hands and said loudly:

"This is an unprecedented opportunity and a good opportunity that all real estate developers dream of. Staying at Swire Real Estate, you can only make one Sanlitun VILLAGE; join my company, we will create hundreds of Sanlitun VILLAGEs."

Ren Pingsheng's words left a deep trace in Cheng Beirong's mind like a big bell, but the scene he described made Cheng Beirong's blood boil.

Cheng Beirong has been in mainland China for 10 years. He has experienced the changes here and is full of confidence in China's future. At the same time, he also feels sorry for the missed opportunity of Swire Real Estate.

The young man's prediction of commercial real estate is largely in line with Cheng Beirong's idea, which also makes him curious about real estate and the National Expo Park project in his life, and he has indeed become interested.

However, after all, Cheng Beirong has worked hard in the workplace for so many years, so he will not make a decision directly and rashly. He needs to slow down and then talk.

"Give me some time and let me think about it?"

Ren Pingsheng nodded without any attention and agreed. He knew very well that Cheng Beirong would not refuse his invitation.

Because, the Chinese market is too big.
Chapter completed!