Free Web NovelTo go up against America’s eBay required an enormous amount of capital.
eBay was already the global frontrunner in the online commerce sector.
They had finished preparations to acquire and merge with EachNet, the leading player in China’s C2C market, and were ready to land in China this year.
If eBay merged EachNet and entered the Chinese market, there was currently no company that could stop them.
Right now, Jack Ma needed money, and I had more than enough to supply it.
The answer did not come from Jack Ma, but from Tsai Chongxin.
“We need at least fifty million dollars.”
I turned my head to look at him. Tsai flinched, but held my gaze without backing down.
“When you say ‘at least’, you mean you might need more?”
“Yes. I do not know if you are aware, sir, but the C2C market requires massive initial investment. Marketing, of course, and the cost of crushing competitors.”
“I know the basics. But fifty million dollars right from the start... Tsai, you are still in contact with Masayoshi Son, aren’t you?”
That amount was almost certainly the figure Masayoshi Son had suggested. Tsai did not deny it.
“I am responsible for Alibaba’s finances. No matter how much priority you have as an investor, I cannot cut off all ties to other investors. No one knows what might happen in the future. Jack also agreed to this.”
I glanced at Jack Ma; he nodded in acknowledgment.
“We had no choice.”
“What exactly do you mean, ‘no choice’?”
“Your patron, Vice Premier Wen Jiabao, fell from grace within the Party, and the Shanghai faction began pressuring us. The one who mediated with them at that time was Masayoshi Son.”
For them, Wen Jiabao’s fall must have been terrifying.
I let out a small sigh. It could not be helped.
People on the mainland would feel the shifting currents on their skin.
That was the reality of China. To do business, you had to be close to the Communist Party while keeping your distance at the same time...
“Of course, we did not actually receive any investment. Masayoshi did not make any unreasonable demands either. He only asked that, if you refused to invest, we give him an opportunity then.”
I understood that, from Jack Ma’s perspective, there was nothing else he could do.
But unlike Jack, Tsai could very well start thinking differently.
I intended to make him relearn this point properly.
“I invested in Alibaba and in you, Jack, for the sake of the future. I believed in Alibaba’s future, and at a time when you had nothing, I put in twenty million dollars. And even then, I only took thirty-four percent of the shares. On top of that, I bought the fifteen percent held by Goldman Sachs.”
Foreigners were allowed to own at most forty-nine percent of a Chinese company’s shares.
That would change later, but for now, that was the rule.
“So I hold all the shares a foreigner is allowed to have. Which means that if you want to bring in another investor, you have no choice but to dilute the value of my stake. Are you saying this while fully aware of that?”
I could not accept my stake being reduced because they changed their minds, rather than by my own decision.
Looking not at Jack but at Tsai, I issued my warning in a calm voice.
“This will be the last time. You may pursue any business you like. But there is just one thing: without my permission, no other investor enters Alibaba. Ever.”
Silence fell over the large conference room.
“I own half the shares, and yet, aside from appointing a single finance director, I have never interfered in Alibaba. As you know, I have not touched any area besides finance. I trust you. So trust me as well.”
“...I am sorry.” ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Jack Ma bowed his head in apology. The others did the same.
“Raise your heads. Just because I am not in China does not mean I know nothing. You all realize that Wen Jiabao, whom you believed to be finished, will ultimately be appointed Premier, don’t you?”
No one answered, but it was clear they suspected as much.
No one watched the Party’s mood more closely than they did; there was no way they did not know.
“The era of President Hu Jintao is about to begin. Once it does, for at least ten years, no one will be able to threaten Alibaba. So stop worrying about politics and think about how to grow Alibaba.”
“Understood.”
“I will invest. But since I can no longer receive additional shares... that is what troubles me.”
If I put a Chinese national up front as a proxy, I could take more, but there was no Chinese I trusted enough for that.
“For now, whether it is fifty million or a hundred million, I will invest as much as you need. So stop looking over your shoulders. Do not bow your heads to other investors. I do not want to see any of you bending to anyone else.”
Jack Ma apologized once again, and I nodded.
“James will enter the country in time for Hu Jintao’s inauguration. He will attend the ceremony and then come to Hangzhou. We will sign the investment contract then. By that time, cut all ties with Masayoshi Son. I have a decent idea what kind of tricks he has been trying. Remember this: anything he can do, James can do better. Do not waver.”
I fixed Tsai with an expression devoid of emotion.
“Do you understand, Tsai?”
“...Yes. I understand.”
He bowed his head meekly.
He was no fool; he knew that raising a flag in opposition here would only hurt him. A warning this far was enough.
I lost interest in him and turned back to Jack Ma.
“Everyone else, return to your work. Jack, stay. Let us have a more constructive conversation.”
“All right.”
At that, everyone stood up—everyone except one person, his wife, Zhang Ying.
I smiled as I looked at her sitting calmly in her seat.
“Once again, you have no intention of leaving Jack alone, do you, Mrs. Zhang?”
“I think listening together will be good for him and for me. If you want me to leave, I will.”
“No. You will find out later anyway; you might as well stay.”
Jack gently clasped his wife’s hand.
“Once again, we apologize. We had our circumstances.”
“It is already over. You were scared. I fully understand.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Jack let out a breath of relief. Zhang Ying patted his hand gently.
“The reason I asked you to stay, Jack, is because I want to hear more detail about what you are planning now. As I said earlier, the investment itself will not be a problem. I simply want to hear more about the future you are dreaming of. Will you tell me, Jack?”
I wanted to know what sort of future this genius named Jack Ma was imagining.
All I knew was Alibaba’s success, not the fine details.
That only made me more curious. What sort of future was this little giant dreaming of?
Jack moistened his lips with water and cautiously opened his mouth.
“As I said before, our current business model is B2B. But that model has clear limits. Yes, we have returned to profitability, but that was merely a stepping stone for growth. We need to capture the hearts of countless consumers. We now need a site that connects directly to end consumers.”
He was right. But there was one issue.
“That is all well and good, but it is not as if there are no such companies already. Take EachNet, which eBay just acquired. Everyone is trying to withdraw because eBay is entering, and yet you want to jump in? Are you not afraid of eBay?”
Despite my sharp question, Jack replied calmly.
“I am afraid. I lived in America; there is no way I would not fear eBay. But if we do nothing just because we are afraid, we will never achieve anything. This is an opportunity. When others are retreating, I want to take a step forward.”
Confidence radiated from his words and his expression.
“Before founding Alibaba, I failed twice. But things are different now. The future will be dominated by the internet. I have seen its potential. Yes, the United States is ten—no, a hundred steps ahead of China right now. But there is no guarantee it will stay that way forever. Sooner or later, companies like Yahoo, eBay, and Amazon may be the ones that fall behind us. Now is the time to move forward.”
“You might fail again this time. Are you not afraid of that?”
Jack gave a wry smile.
“I am afraid. But I must overcome this fear and move forward.”
I had worried that my interference might have changed him, but he had not changed at all.
No wonder the man saddled with a grand nickname like ‘tycoon of the internet’ was still called a madman.
Most people, when afraid, try to back away. He, however, chose to advance.
Choosing Jack Ma had been the right decision. I smiled, lifting one corner of my mouth.
“As expected. You are just the way I want you. Never change. Do not lose that uniqueness of yours. I am not investing in Alibaba; I am investing in you, Jack.”
Only then did he finally smile in satisfaction.
He went on to explain the future he envisioned for Alibaba.
As I listened, I used the future I knew to drop a hint here and there.
“How will you handle payments? As far as I know, unlike America or Korea, China’s credit card penetration is extremely low. And having users deposit cash directly into accounts would be far too inconvenient. B2B is one thing, but when you directly connect retailers and consumers in C2C, convenience is everything.”
Jack did not miss a single hint I tossed his way.
After a moment of thought, he clapped softly.
“You are right. Why did I not think of that? eBay’s powerful weapon is PayPal. We must develop our own electronic payment system. And we should make sure all online commerce uses Alipay. Eventually, Alipay should be able to replace credit cards entirely.”
Excited, he spoke so passionately that even a bit of spit flew.
I nodded, agreeing with his idea.
We continued talking for quite some time.
“Mr. Kim, when do you plan to list on NASDAQ?”
“List on NASDAQ?”
“Yes. Chinese companies are starting to list one by one. There are even cases where founders are essentially forced into IPOs because the investors demand it.”
Alibaba would never need to worry about a lack of money, so they could ignore IPOs for now, but other companies were different.
I placed my elbow on the table, interlocked my fingers, and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) rested my chin on them.
“What would you like to do, Jack?”
“In my view, strengthening Alibaba is more important than listing on NASDAQ. As long as your financial capacity allows it, I would like to delay the IPO as much as possible.”
Still propping my chin up, I looked at him with my usual expression.
“Of course, if you want us to list, then we will.”
Startled by my indifferent gaze, Jack hurriedly added that, but the corners of my lips were already tilting upward.
“You are asking me to keep pouring in the money that would normally come from an IPO? As I said earlier, I have already secured the maximum number of shares I can hold. What else do I have to gain? Give me a reason to keep investing.”
“But we will grow that much more. Is that not the reason you are investing in us—to believe in that growth?”
His bold answer made one of my eyebrows twitch. I had told them not to bow to other investors, and now he would not bow to me either.
I chuckled and straightened my posture.
“Are you not tempted? If you delay the IPO, you might lose the chance to become rich right away. This might be the best opportunity you will ever have.”
Jack burst out laughing.
“As long as you are fine with it, I am fine with it. To me, Alibaba is more important than money.”
I finally understood why Alibaba did not go public until 2014.
“Very well. We will do it that way. We can discuss the detailed investment terms later. I will wait ten years, twenty years, however long it takes.”
Even if I invested billions of dollars, there was no way I would lose.
Alibaba was a company worth hundreds of billions.
“Thank you. I am truly fortunate to have met an investor like you, Mr. Kim.”
He was not the only lucky one here. I simply smiled gently instead of answering.
