Chapter 164 Want to borrow money too?
"Yuliya, how do you feel after coming to China?"
In the hotel room, Barron asked Yulia who was sitting in front of him.
"I'm surprised. Shenzhen City looks very prosperous, not inferior to British cities at all. This is very different from the China I had in mind before."
After hearing her words, Barron smiled and said:
"Because in our media, the modern side of China will not appear, so you still have to see it with your own eyes to know."
When Barron said he was planning to promote the Grace Cultural Tourism Group's castle attractions in Asia, including China, Yulia had doubts. She knew that Japan and South Korea were developing rapidly, especially Japan, which had grown rapidly in the last century. In the 1980s, Japan was once the representative of "rich people". Almost all the Asian faces who went to Europe and the United States to spend a lot of money were Japanese.
As for China, she had some doubts. Is it really possible for a certain number of tourists to come to England?
As for her surprised look after seeing Shenzhen City, which is arguably the fastest growing market in China, Barron was not surprised. Many Westerners who came to China for the first time would have such a look.
After all, not only in England, but also in media reports in the entire West, these prosperous cities in China rarely appear.
What left a deep impression on the public were the scenes of rural ruins in the internationally award-winning and relatively well-known Chinese films.
This is why in the future, when the public’s information source shifts from newspapers and periodicals to self-media, everyone will be able to publish what they see and hear on the Internet, so that followers can see the foreigners on YouTube, TikTok and other video platforms. It’s incredible to see the spectacular skylines, clean streets, orderly traffic and pedestrians in Chinese cities...
Of course, on Western platforms with "freedom of speech", these videos showing China's modernization are often restricted...
"Will you come with me to the banquet tonight?"
"No..."
Yulia said:
"I don't know much about Internet companies, so I'd better ask Laura to go out with me."
The banquet Barron was talking about was tonight. After learning that he had arrived in Shenzhen City, Ding Sanshi from NetArt Company rushed over from Yangcheng to specially entertain him.
Since Yulia didn't want to go there together - after all, NetArt Company was not part of the family trust fund's business, and Yulia had never had contact with Ding Sanshi before, Barron arranged for his personal assistant to follow her, and then took two Just a bodyguard, just stroll around casually.
It just so happened that Wang Wanting could also serve as Yulia's translator. As for Barron, there was no need to bring a translator and he could just communicate directly with Ding Sanshi in Chinese.
Speaking of which, the investment in NetEase stocks can be said to be one of DS Capital's most successful investments in the stock market.
Last year, DS Capital started from the time when NetArt's stock price was less than 1 US dollar. It was divided into two times and used a total of 3 million pounds. It currently holds approximately 4.3 million shares of NetArt stock, accounting for 10% of NetArt's total share capital. 14.3%.
The average holding price of these stocks is around $1.05...
And now as of mid-April, NetArt's stock price has risen to over $16...
It can be said that NetEase's stock was the highest-rising stock on the Nasdaq market throughout last year.
DS Capital invested 3 million pounds to purchase approximately 4.3 million NetArt shares, which are currently worth nearly 46 million pounds, an increase of more than 15 times!
"Mr. Duke Cavendish, when you come to China this time, you should go to our Yangcheng. I will treat you well..."
"Actually, I won't stay in China for too long this time. I will go to other countries in Asia later, so I didn't inform you, Mr. Ding."
"You are too polite..."
Ding Sanshi was very enthusiastic when they met. It can be said that he valued the British Duke very much...
It's not mainly because Barron holds their shares. After all, he holds 14.3% of the shares, and they were all purchased on the stock market. For NetArt, the importance is not that obvious.
What Ding Sanshi cares more about is Barron's aristocratic status, and he is also a duke second only to the royal family!
You must know that in this era, many people in China still generally use the filter of "elegant, noble, and gentleman" for British aristocrats, and one of their major shareholders has a Duke like Barron. For NetArt, It is also a very important publicity point...
Although they will not take the initiative to publicize it, but with the cooperation of the media... everyone knows that a lot of news that seems to be "revealing" is often published by the parties themselves.
In China, it is often customary to discuss matters at the wine table.
Although due to his past life experiences, in this life, although Barron did not say that he had completely given up drinking, he definitely did not drink high-alcohol, and he only tasted it lightly.
Of course, with his status as a "foreigner", Ding Sanshi would naturally not persuade him to drink.
However, during the meal, he still mentioned the purpose of coming to see Barron so proactively today:
"We are now preparing to develop a new online game, which will be more ambitious than the current "Westward Journey II", but in terms of funding, we need some support..."
Barron knows that in the future, the current three major portals will all undergo transformation. NetEase has found the profit point of gaming, Zhalang is mainly focused on Weibo, and Sohu is very strong in the video field. However, a good opportunity was missed, allowing Teng Youai to rise, but Sohu Video still has a certain space for survival.
At present, the online game "Westward Journey" originally developed and launched by NetEase was good at first. However, due to the setting of the game, it subsequently stopped operations and launched "Westward Journey II", which achieved good results.
Now it sounds like what Ding Sanshi is talking about should be the "Fantasy Westward Journey" that will allow NetArt to completely gain a foothold in the online game industry and make huge profits in the future.
"Is that so? I also think that NetArt still has great prospects in online games. Mr. Ding, are you ready to raise funds?"
Hearing Barron's question, Ding Sanshi looked a little embarrassed:
"Well, Mr. Duke, I heard that you are going to give Penguin a loan to help them develop. I wonder if our NetArt can do the same... We only need 5 million US dollars."
"Five million dollars is no problem, Mr. Ding, but how do you know that I will lend money to Penguin Company?"
Seeing Barron's expression, Ding Sanshi secretly regretted it and quickly explained:
"Don't get me wrong, it wasn't Xiao Ma who told me. You know, our NetEase and Penguin are very close to each other, and Internet companies like ours in China actually have a lot of personnel turnover, and many employees are talking to each other. They are all classmates or friends, so this kind of news can easily spread."
"But what you need to know, Mr. Ding, is that Penguin's situation is different from Netease's. In addition to my proportion of shares, Penguin has not yet been listed... Pony agreed to the loan I gave them. It will be used as convertible preferred shares, which can be converted into publicly issued common shares after their IPO..."
DS Capital itself holds 43% of Penguin shares, which can be said to be higher than the total shareholding of their management team. As the largest shareholder, it is also appropriate to assume certain obligations for the development of the company.
And they only hold 14.3% of NetArt shares, so there is absolutely no need to borrow money at such low interest rates.
Barron said:
"Furthermore, NetArt is a listed company and can completely raise funds by issuing additional shares."
"It is mainly for additional issuance in the stock market, which also requires certain procedures, and the use of funds must be disclosed. We don't want to make any mistakes in the process..."
It seems that the last time NetArt was suspended from trading by the SEC due to financial problems, Ding Sanshi was really upset.
"In this case, I can use the current NetEase stock price to accept the private placement of shares and provide you with the funds you need."
What Barron said made Ding Sanshi's heart move. It seemed to be a good idea.
