Chapter 1479: What to Do

"Have you really made up your mind?"

When leaving Future Advertising, Zheng Yao looked at Zhao Fusheng and asked word by word.

Clearly, she was still somewhat hesitant about Zhao Fusheng's speech just now.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: "What, don't you trust me?"

Smiling bitterly, Zheng Yao shook her head: "It's not that I don't trust you, but I feel that doing this goes against our original intentions."

You see, when they started the business back then, Zhao Fusheng had said several times that going public was not a good choice.

And now, he was actually considering letting several of his subsidiaries go public. In Zheng Yao's view, this was really hard to understand.

"Times have changed."

Zhao Fusheng said to Zheng Yao: "Some things are not for us to decide."

Zheng Yao fell silent.

Zhao Fusheng's words were not fully explained, but she had an idea in her mind.

After Zheng Yao got out of the car and left, Wu Sijie, sitting in the passenger seat, asked Zhao Fusheng in a low voice.

"Chairman, are we still going to Future Investment?"

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Let's talk about it tomorrow. I'm a bit tired today; let's rest."

Having visited three branch companies in a row, met many people, and held meetings with middle and senior management, even Zhao Fusheng felt somewhat drained.

"Okay, Chairman." Wu Sijie nodded and agreed.

...

...

Early the next morning, Zhao Fusheng received a call from Dong Chenxi.

"What's this? I heard you said at Future Advertising yesterday that subsidiaries can go public and be responsible for their own profits and losses?"

On the phone, Dong Chenxi's voice carried a hint of delight.

Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly.

He naturally knew what Dong Chenxi was thinking; she had always hoped he would take bigger steps.

"Alright, stop daydreaming." Zhao Fusheng waited until Dong Chenxi had said a lot before slowly replying: "Future Investment definitely won't have a chance to go public, unless you plan to change positions. Otherwise, you certainly won't have the opportunity to lead a listed company."

"Zhao Fusheng!"

Dong Chenxi was completely exasperated and called Zhao Fusheng by his full name.

Clearly, she was furious.

"I'm telling the truth." Zhao Fusheng, however, was not affected by Dong Chenxi's emotions and said seriously: "You should know how important Future Investment is to me. We can be shareholders of listed companies, but we must not become a private equity firm. Although it's a bit cruel, this is best for the company."

Dong Chenxi was silent for a long time, then finally sighed helplessly.

"I understand. You really know how to fool people." Although Dong Chenxi was somewhat unwilling, the trust in Zhao Fusheng's words still made her feel quite warm.

As Zhao Fusheng said, they were on the same side. Although Future Investment seemed small in scale, it controlled too many industries and had too much value.

Zhao Fusheng wouldn't feel at ease if it were in someone else's hands.

It is often said that wealth moves people's hearts; this saying holds true.

Even Dong Chenxi herself, if not for her long-standing friendship with Zhao Fusheng and the fact that Zhao Fusheng had given her shares in Future Investment, couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't be tempted by so much capital.

"Alright, I'll take a look around later. Let's talk in person; I have something to discuss with you."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and hung up the phone.

True to his word, his first stop for the morning inspection was Future Investment.

After listening to the company's recent reports and learning about the progress of various previously invested projects, Zhao Fusheng kept Dong Chenxi in the meeting room.

Along with several other senior executives of Future Investment.

"Focus on angel investing?"

Dong Chenxi stared at Zhao Fusheng in astonishment: "Do you mean we should lie low?"

"No, no." Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Not lying low. Carry on with your previous plans as usual. What I mean is, can we set aside a portion of the company's investment plan from now on for angel investing?"

"That's no problem."

Dong Chenxi discussed briefly with a few executives, then said to Zhao Fusheng: "Actually, Chairman, you don't necessarily have to entrust this to Future Investment. If necessary, you could set up an investment company in the United States specifically for angel investing. Of course, Future Investment would be one of the shareholders..."

"That's possible?"

This time it was Zhao Fusheng's turn to be stunned; he hadn't thought of such an approach.

"Alright, I'll have Wu Sijie communicate with you later." Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Chenxi with a smile.

Dong Chenxi nodded: "Chairman, as per your instructions, we've been mainly focusing on three projects: Tencent Technology, Alibaba, and JD.com. All three companies are growing rapidly, especially Alibaba. According to our estimates, to maintain our current shares, we may need to inject more capital soon."

Zhao Fusheng frowned, but he understood that what Dong Chenxi said was true.

Internet companies develop faster than实体 enterprises, especially companies like Alibaba and JD.com, which can be described as advancing at a tremendous pace.

Rapid corporate growth is a bittersweet thing for shareholders.

The joy is that the better the company performs, the more valuable the shares become, and the higher the return on investment. Conversely, as the company's market value increases, to maintain existing shares, one must increase investment.

Otherwise, they face the risk of equity dilution.

Zhao Fusheng's situation was even more frustrating because he knew too well the future value of Alibaba, Tencent, and even JD.com.

For example, although Zhao Fusheng only owned five percent of Tencent Technology, those five percent were currently worth only one billion Hong Kong dollars, because Tencent Technology's market value was one hundred billion Hong Kong dollars.

But Zhao Fusheng knew that ten years later, at its peak, Tencent Technology's market value would be a full one trillion Hong Kong dollars.

In other words, those five percent shares would increase a thousandfold in ten years.

The same logic applied to Alibaba's shares.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Fusheng was truly torn about how to balance things to maximize profits.

Should he really give up some shares to avoid straining the company's finances?

Or should he consider taking out a bank loan to secure his shares?

For a moment, Zhao Fusheng sat there, frowning deeply, lost in thought.

Everyone around him exchanged glances, and even Dong Chenxi, who had just raised the question, dared not speak.

After all, this concerned the company's future development, and no one except the boss, Zhao Fusheng, had the right to make that decision.