The cold winter in January was not over yet; the streets of the Yangtze River Delta City group were still chilly. However, the atmosphere of the East Energy Building, which was located at the Pearl River, was hot and sweaty.
In the office of the board of directors, the Chinese man loosened the collar of his formal suit, as if to relieve the tension in his heart. He muttered to himself, “Is the air conditioner turned on?”
This sentence was heard by the secretary standing behind him.
The man immediately stood up, like a conditioned reflex, and almost knocked the chair to the ground.
“I’ll go out and ask—”
“No.” The Chinese man looked at the digital clock flashing on the conference table and continued, “The meeting is about to begin.”
Liu Zhengxing, Chairman of East Asia Energy.
With 1.3% of the shares, he was the largest shareholder of East Asia Energy and had been in the position of chairman for five years. Apart from him, the people sitting at the conference table at this moment were the core members of the board of directors or representatives sent by major shareholders such as the AIIB and Bank of China.
As for why they were sitting here for this meeting…
It had to start with an old popsicle that suddenly awakened, and the huge legacy held in his hand.
The meeting began.
Before Liu Zhengxing had time to speak, a slightly fat man sitting not far from him spoke first.
“I just want to know, are those credentials real?”
About an hour ago, they received a call from the relevant department stating that a piece of frozen shares would be lifted in the near future. They hoped they would make the information public and do the relevant preparations to avoid affecting the normal operation of the company.
As soon as the news came out, it immediately stirred up a storm.
In the past century, East Asia Energy’s shareholding structure had basically been quite stable, and major shareholding changes of more than 5% hadn’t happened in nearly half a century.
Therefore, this made them extremely nervous.
This was a matter of vital interest, and no one knew what impact this matter might have on the operation of East Asia Energy.
“It has a notarization from the Bank of China, so it can’t be faked.”
The man wearing gold-rimmed glasses pushed his glasses, sighed softly, and said, “In fact, a long time ago, when I was studying business at Shanghai University, I was thinking about this question. When Star Sky Technology liquidated its assets, why didn’t it involve East Asia Energy shares at all…”
His name was Zhong Ziyu, one of the managing directors of East Asia Energy and a member of the investment strategy committee of the board of directors. Unlike Liu Zhengxing, he was not sitting here as an individual shareholder. He was appointed by the AIIB, and he was a professional executive with a background in science.
His index finger lightly tapped on the table. After looking around at the directors who were looking at him, he gently pushed the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and continued to speak.
“The patent period of 20 years has passed, and after several rounds of technology upgrades, East Asia Energy no longer has to pay patent fees to Star Sky Technology. Those shares of East Asia Energy that are being held by Star Sky Technology will still receive a lump-sum annual dividend. Using this funding support, even if the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study is a money-losing business, it will not fall into bankruptcy…
“But now, everything makes sense.”
Liu Zhengxing spoke with a heavy face.
“What makes sense?”
“Everything is pre-arranged.” There was a hint of admiration in the pupils behind those gold-rimmed glasses. After a pause, Zhong Ziyu continued, “This is a clever trader. This person is even smarter than the first CEO of Star Sky Technology, Ms. Chen.
“That person may not understand scientific research, but he knows enough about Star Sky Technology’s business. Few companies rely on personal abilities rather than business models to achieve the top 100 or even top ten positions in the world. Obviously, Star Sky Technology is such a monster. Its core competitiveness is not the research institute, but Academician Lu himself.
“That person had a foreboding, that after losing Academician Lu, the business model of Star Sky Technology would not work sooner or later, so he made two preparations in advance and transferred important assets from Star Sky Technology.
“Later facts proved that such an idealized model failed to persist. The core R&D department of a high-tech company does prioritize profit, but only if they have more than enough money.”
The man asked curiously, “Who do you think that person might be?”
“If my guess is correct, it should be Lu Zhou’s younger sister, Lu Xiaotong.
“As the heir of Star Sky Technology, only she has the ability to do so. Her teacher was the famous Professor Krugman. I believe that anyone who has studied economics before is familiar with the prediction of the economic crisis in the mid-21st century… Not to mention, she herself was a Nobel Prize winner in economics.”
Having said that, the man with glasses smiled faintly and continued, “However, it doesn’t make much sense to talk about this. It is better for us to talk about the current problems.”
There was a brief silence in the conference room.
The director of the Financial Management Committee, who had yet to speak, spoke with caution.
“Actually, I feel that the return of Academician Lu is not necessarily a bad thing. At least from the market’s response, most rating agencies have given positive responses on this matter…”
As he was talking, the director of the Financial Management Committee suddenly noticed that the look on Chairman Liu’s face was a little unnatural.
He realized something immediately and quickly changed his wording.
“Of course, this is just my inference from the market’s reaction. As to whether Academician Lu’s return can bring a positive impact on East Asia Energy, we have to analyze the specific situation. My suggestion is to contact him first. See if he has the idea of joining the board of directors. If he is not interested in the company’s operations, we don’t need to be too nervous.”
“7% of the equity. If I calculated correctly, he should have that many stocks in his hand.” A director sitting at the conference table said in an enviable tone, “All this wealth in the hands of one person. Damn… I am afraid that no one has more money than him.”
After more than one hundred years, East Asia Energy’s largest individual shareholder only held 1.3% of the shares.
Excluding the part held by major institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Bank of China, Academician Lu, who held 7% or more of the equity, would become the largest individual shareholder of East Asia Energy.
It was no exaggeration to say that the shares he held in his hands were even more than the total shares circulating in the market. The world’s richest man was even a humble statement for him.
“You still only counted the part of East Asia Energy.” Another director said with an enviable expression on his face, “If I remember correctly, Star Sky Technology holds 20% of East Asia Communications’ shares… Although submarine optical cables are not as profitable as power generation, their market value is not small.”
The atmosphere on the conference table became uncontrollable.
The directors were completely muddled.
Except for a few core members of the board of directors, all of the other directors were envious. One of the directors, who had yet to speak a word since the beginning of the meeting, couldn’t help but rant.
“20% of the shares are held in the hands of an old popsicle… How is this even possible?”
“According to the new securities law, during the freezing period, the ownerships of assets of dormant persons will be frozen. In other words, in the past century, they do not need to consider the part that belongs to Academician Lu… Of course, from now on, they have to consider it.”
“F*ck, let’s just merge with East Asia Group! With the integration of energy, communications, and industry, we will be the oligarchs of the new world.”
“This is indeed a good idea.” The slightly fat man’s eyes lit up, and he said immediately, “If he takes the lead, there might be real hope.”
Seeing that the topic on the conference table had begun to digress, Zhong Ziyu coughed slightly, interrupting them, and said, “Stop dreaming… The AIIB will never approve.”
As the largest investment bank in Asia, in addition to considering economic benefits, they also had to consider the possible impact of each decision on the economic environment and society.
A huge monopoly was detrimental to the Pan-Asian Cooperation economy and would harm their interests in the long run. Obviously, they wouldn’t agree to such a thing.
Of course, he didn’t deny that Lu Zhou did have this power.
Regardless of how low the probability of success…
The trigger was in his hand…
Zhong Ziyu pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose and continued with a serious tone, “In any case, I suggest contacting Lu Zhou first to test the waters. If he only intends to receive dividends, it should not have any impact on the operation of East Asia Energy…
“If he is interested in being on the board…”
When his gaze fell across the conference table, Chairman Liu’s face tightened.
His expression immediately became somewhat curious, and he said thoughtfully, “Maybe things will get interesting?”
…
The meeting ended.
Several holographic lights dissipated, and the meeting table instantly became empty.
The few people who came to the meeting physically cleaned up the things on the table. They nodded to Chairman Liu, who was sitting down, then quickly left the meeting room.
In the huge conference room, only Liu Zhengxing and his secretary were left.
“Get out.”
“Okay.”
The secretary showed a relieved expression on his face and quickly exited the meeting room.
After the door of the meeting room was closed, Liu Zhengxing suddenly grabbed the teacup on the table and threw it onto the ground.
“This group of f*cking idiots!
“Who has been working hard for East Asia Energy! How dare these snakes do this!”
When he thought of what the man in glasses said, he became furious.
Under his leadership, East Asia Energy had maintained steady growth for five consecutive years. But now an old antique was going to take over his power.
What a joke!
After taking a deep breath, he quickly calmed down.
His finger lightly tapped on the conference table. A blue beam of light lit up from the chair directly opposite him.
After waiting quietly for a few seconds, a virtual portrait that looked like a mannequin model gradually emerged from the holographic beam.
Liu Zhengxing took a deep breath. His expression of sullenness died down a little.
He then said in a calm voice, “There is something that I need your help with.”
