"Yulia, how do you feel after coming to China?"
Inside the hotel room, Barron asked Yulia who was sitting in front of him.
"I'm surprised. Shenzhen looks very prosperous, not inferior to cities in England. It's very different from my previous impression of China."
Hearing her words, Barron smiled and said:
"Because the modern side of China doesn't appear in our media, so you still have to see it with your own eyes to know it."
When Barron said that he was going to promote Grace Tourism Group's castle attractions in Asia, including China, Yulia still had her doubts. She knew that Japan and South Korea were developing rapidly, especially Japan. In the 1980s, Japan was once the representative of "wealth", and those Asian faces who went to Europe and the United States and spent money lavishly were almost all Japanese.
As for China, she was a little skeptical. Is it really possible for a certain number of tourists to go to England?
Barron was not surprised by her surprise after seeing the fastest-growing Shenzhen market in China. Many Westerners who came to China for the first time would have such an expression.
After all, it's not just Britain. These prosperous cities in China rarely appear in media reports throughout the West.
What left a deep impression on the public were the dilapidated rural scenes in those internationally award-winning and well-known Chinese films.
This is why in the future, when the public's information source shifts from newspapers to self-media, everyone can publish what they see and hear on the Internet for their followers to see. When foreigners on video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok see the spectacular skylines, clean streets, orderly traffic and pedestrians in Chinese cities, they will feel incredible...
Of course, on Western platforms that allow for "free 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 let Laura go out with me."
The banquet that Barron mentioned was tonight. After learning that he had come to Shenzhen, Ding Sanshi from NetEase rushed over from Guangzhou to specially host a banquet for him.
Since Yulia didn't want to go with them - after all, Wangyi Company was not part of the family trust fund's business, and Yulia had never had any contact with Ding Sanshi before, Barron arranged for his personal assistant to follow her, and then brought two bodyguards with him to wander around casually.
It just so happens that Wang Wanting can also serve as Yulia's translator. As for Barron, there is no need to bring an interpreter. He can just communicate directly with Ding Sanshi in Chinese.
Speaking of which, the investment in NetEase stock can be said to be one of DS Capital's most successful investments in the stock market.
Last year, DS Capital started to invest in NetEase Technology in two installments when the share price of NetEase was less than $1, with a total of 3 million pounds mobilized. It currently holds approximately 4.3 million shares of NetEase Technology, accounting for 14.3% of the total share capital of NetEase Technology.
The average holding price of these stocks is around $1.05…
As of mid-April, NetEase's stock price has risen to more than $16...
It can be said that throughout last year, NetEase Cloud Music's stock was the stock with the highest increase in the Nasdaq market, without a doubt.
DS Capital invested 3 million pounds to buy about 4.3 million shares of NetEase, which are now worth nearly 46 million pounds, an increase of more than 15 times!
"Mr. Duke Cavendish, you should come to our Guangzhou when you come to China this time. 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 meeting him. It can be said that he thinks highly of this British Duke...
It's not mainly because Barron holds their shares. After all, he holds 14.3% of the shares, and all of them were purchased on the stock market. For NetEase, its importance is not so obvious.
What Ding Sanshi was more concerned about was Barron's noble status, and he was a duke second only to the royal family!
You have to know that in this era, many Chinese people still generally have a filter of "elegance, nobility, and gentleman" for British aristocrats. And having a duke like Barron among their major shareholders is also a very important publicity point for Wangyi Company...
Although they won't actively publicize it, the media will cooperate... those who understand will understand that a lot of news that looks like "leaks" are often published by the parties themselves.
In China, people often have the habit of discussing things over a drink.
Although because of his experiences in his previous life, Barron did not completely quit drinking in this life, but he certainly did not drink strong liquor, and only drank a little.
Of course, given his identity and the fact that he is a "foreigner", Ding Sanshi naturally would not urge others to drink.
However, during the meal, he still talked about the purpose of coming to see Barron today:
"We are now preparing to develop a new online game, which will be more ambitious than the current "Westward Journey Online II", but we need some financial support..."
Barron knows that in the future, the three major portals will all undergo transformation. NetEase has found the profit point of games, Zhalang is mainly based on Weibo, and Sohu is very strong in the video sector, but missed the opportunity and allowed Tencent Video, Youku and iQiyi to rise. However, Sohu Video still has a certain room for survival.
The online game "Westward Journey Online" originally developed and launched by NetEase was quite good at first, but due to the game settings, it was subsequently discontinued. It then launched "Westward Journey Online II", which also performed quite well.
Now it sounds like what Ding Sanshi said should be "Fantasy Westward Journey" which will allow NetEase to gain a firm foothold in the online game industry and make huge profits in the future.
"Is that so? I also think that Wangyi Company still has great prospects in online games. Mr. Ding, are you planning to raise funds?"
Hearing Barron's question, Ding Sanshi looked a little embarrassed:
"Uh, Mr. Duke, I heard that you are going to lend money to Penguin to help them develop. I wonder if we at Net Art can do the same... We only need 5 million US dollars."
"Five million dollars is no problem, Mr. Ding, but how do you know I will lend money to Penguin Company?"
Seeing Barron's expression, Ding Sanshi secretly felt a little regretful and quickly explained:
"Don't get me wrong, it wasn't Xiao Ma who told me. You know, our Net Art and Penguin are very close, and Internet companies like ours in China actually have a lot of personnel turnover, and many employees are classmates or friends, so this kind of news is still easy to spread."
"But what you need to know is, Mr. Ding, that the situation of Penguin is different from that of NetEase. In addition to my shareholding, Penguin has not yet gone public... Pony promised to treat the loan I gave them as convertible preferred stock, which can be converted into publicly issued common stock after their IPO..."
DS Capital itself holds 43% of Penguin's shares, which can be said to be higher than the total shareholding of their management team. As the largest shareholder, it is reasonable for it to assume certain obligations for the development of the company.
However, they only hold 14.3% of NetEase's shares, so there is no need for them to make such a low-interest loan.
Barron said:
"Moreover, Wangyi is a listed company and can raise funds by issuing additional shares."
"It's mainly about issuing additional shares on the stock market, which also requires going through some procedures, and the use of funds and other things must be made public. We don't want any more mistakes to happen..."
It seems that the last time NetEase Technology Co., Ltd. was suspended from trading by the SEC due to financial problems really left Ding Sanshi with some concerns.
"In this case, I can accept a private placement of shares at the current share price of NetEase Cloud Music and provide you with the funds you need."
What Barron said gave Ding Sanshi some ideas, and it seemed to be a good idea.