Chapter 632
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Chapter 632 passed (4k)
Hong Kong is not the preferred listing location for Silicon Carbon Group, a fact that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and all the committee members present are well aware of.
Some people even have a deep belief in the external interference forces mentioned in rumors.
As the Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Automobile Industry Association, Wu Zhiqiang is a prominent figure. As a member of the Listing Committee, he holds the power to decide the fate of the Silicon Carbon Group's application. Today, he hopes to hear a sincere attitude.
Whether Lingang's leader or the king of short sellers, whether Silicon Carbon Group can be listed in Hong Kong depends entirely on the vote count this time.
While he may indeed not be very knowledgeable about the authenticity of market operations, and may not have a deep understanding of industrial changes and development, Mr. Yu, you shouldn't point that out in public like that.
After a brief moment of thought, Wu Zhiqiang, seeing other committee members pick up their microphones, preemptively asked, "Mr. Yu, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, majoring in automotive design and manufacturing. I also obtained a Master of Science degree from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Later, I had many years of work experience at Ford. Even after leaving the front line of the industry, I have always been paying attention to the development of the global industry. The sustainability of range-extended vehicle products needs further verification, and this point hardly needs our explanation here."
Yu Xing listened to the first half and thought the other party was going to hand him his resume on the spot.
He paused for a moment, then said, "Committee Member Wu, I don't mean to disrespect your understanding of the market. What I mean is that even global giants like BMW and Volkswagen have misjudged the new energy vehicle market, regarding its future development..."
This area can be analyzed and understood in many ways.
Yu Xing changed to a more concise way of putting it: "As a well-known short seller, I have a lot of experience in market development and research. This same applies to the future of new energy. So, looking at the current market performance, Silicon Carbon Group has sales and orders that have continued to grow over the past year. Looking at the future market development, we are very confident in overcoming the challenges."
Speaking with facts means sales and orders, while speaking with assumptions has the value of a king of short selling.
Wu Zhiqiang was speechless for a moment.
He could only remain silent before replying sarcastically, "The king of short sellers does indeed have a very strong influence."
Yu Xing nodded slightly: "Thank you."
Cui Zhiyu, who hadn't gotten a chance to speak since entering the meeting, suddenly thought... let's just skip the hearing! If the Silicon Carbon Group keeps holding hearings like this, can these people really pass the vote? Boss, wake up! They have the votes!
"Mr. Yu, the chairman of Silicon Carbon Group has no directors with experience in compliance related to short selling. How can you ensure effective supervision of your actions after the listing?" Professor Zhang Minyi of the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong raised her question.
Yu Xing replied, "We have invited Mr. Chen Zhenbang to serve as an independent non-executive director of the company, hoping that he will be responsible for overseeing the compliance matters related to the separation of the silicon carbon group from my short selling business. At the same time, the board of directors has established a compliance committee, which will disclose a compliance report to shareholders every quarter to ensure that the supervision is in place."
He looked at the professional he had mentioned and said briefly, "Mr. Chen is an independent institutional investor who manages local hedge funds in Hong Kong. He is familiar with short-selling mechanisms and related matters and I believe he can effectively supervise the market. I very much hope that Mr. Chen will accept our invitation."
Chen Zhenbang is also one of the committee members this time; in short, he is a small-time short seller in Hong Kong.
Upon hearing the King of Short Sellers extend another invitation in public, he picked up the microphone and said politely, "I am very honored by Mr. Yu's invitation. I am willing to join the board of directors of Silicon Carbon Group and will do a good job in the compliance committee under public supervision."
Chen Zhenbang's answer came from the bottom of his heart.
However, the other committee members looked at him strangely. Why did his "very honored" sound so obsequious?
That said, people who frequently short sell probably all have this feeling towards the king of short sellers.
Seeing this, Cui Zhiyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the boss had some prepared measures. He had one vote from the short sellers and one vote from BYD, so that meant he had at least two votes...
His worries were quickly alleviated when the question was directed at him.
Not everyone in Hong Kong dislikes the "King of Short Sellers." As the vice president of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the owner of a mainland new energy vehicle parts manufacturer, Wang Jianren's questions effectively demonstrated the Silicon Carbon Group's promotion and in-depth cooperation in the supply chain.
Cui Zhiyu answered very well in his area of expertise; however, there seemed to be no applause at all.
"Just this morning, several Wall Street institutions discussed the development of the mainland's new energy industry and the future of the Silicon Carbon Group, including the impact of Mr. Yu's short-selling background on market confidence." Another committee member, Wang Dehui, focused on market confidence, asking, "Mr. Yu, could this fluctuation in market confidence lead to insufficient financing, thereby hindering capacity expansion? How do you assess the impact of this risk on valuation?"
"Wall Street institutions haven't conducted accurate research on the domestic market, and their statements aren't accurate," Yu Xing first addressed the question, then said, "The valuation of Silicon Carbon Group has already been discounted after comprehensive consideration, and I believe the IPO price will be warmly received. Mr. Huang can provide a more professional and comprehensive answer to this question."
Sponsor Huang Guobin immediately added: "We have already introduced two cornerstone investors, one is Temasek and the other is China Resources New Energy, which will lock in 20% of the issuance share, effectively hedging against market sentiment risks. We do not rule out the possibility of introducing one or two more cornerstone investors."
The cornerstone investors introduced in the Hong Kong stock market are long-term investors who have reached agreements with well-known institutions with high market credibility and financial strength, and who commit to subscribing to a certain percentage of the issued shares at a fixed price.
This is clearly beneficial for stabilizing issuance and boosting market confidence.
Silicon Carbon Group had to switch to the Hong Kong stock market, and Goldman Sachs did this to deal with the additional impact of the short-selling king.
Huang Guobin concluded by saying, "At the same time, Mr. Yu has committed to a five-year lock-up period after the listing, during which he will not transfer any shares of the Silicon Carbon Group. This commitment has been written into the prospectus and witnessed by Hong Kong lawyers, and is therefore legally binding."
Yu Xing then brought the topic back: "As the founder and major shareholder, I have absolute confidence in Silicon Carbon Group, absolute confidence in the development of the new energy industry, and absolute confidence in Silicon Carbon Group's future on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange."
"In the past, short selling by Guoshanfeng aimed to expose fraud and deception by listed companies, not to seek malicious profit. Under the compliance framework, it was an important part of market correction and a supplementary force to promote information transparency and squeeze out false value bubbles. This is consistent with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's adherence to the principles of 'fairness, impartiality and openness,' and the essence of both is to maintain a healthy financial ecosystem."
"My short selling is a screening of inferior targets, while my investment in silicon carbon groups is a deep cultivation of high-quality sectors. The two paths lead to the same goal and are both components of the virtuous cycle of finance and industry."
"I know my short-selling background will require the committee to devote more energy to risk verification. I sincerely thank everyone for their guidance and contributions. The rigorous review by the committee members present has not only helped us improve our risk isolation mechanism and solidify our compliance bottom line, but also strengthened our original intention of seeking truth and being pragmatic." "My five-year lock-up is also to repay the market's trust and regulatory expectations with concrete actions. I hope that this fundraising by Carbon Silicon Group can help us expand our new energy production capacity and technological research and development, contribute to the national green energy transformation, and inject vitality into the Hong Kong capital market."
Yu Xing's eloquent questioning drew the attention of many committee members, and his promise to lock up shares sounded quite appealing.
Cui Zhiyu, standing nearby, clearly noticed that some people's expressions seemed to have become much more amiable. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: use force first, then diplomacy, lower expectations? Would that work?
He didn't know if it would work, but the subsequent questions clearly increased the proportion of the silicon carbon group's business, with production capacity, orders, and factory construction becoming the focus of many committee members' attention.
In fact, the company that created the "silicon carbon miracle" is definitely a high-quality IPO target.
As noon approached, the hearing, originally scheduled for 90 minutes, had already exceeded its time limit. After postponing three more questions, Chan Mo-yin finally announced the end of the question-and-answer session. This was followed by a 30-minute recess for the 28 committee members to conduct internal deliberations and vote on the spot.
This process is supposedly designed to make immediate judgments based on the evidence presented during the hearing, but Yu Xing thinks it's probably also to prevent more external interference.
"Boss, is it going to work?" Cui Zhiyu couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead with a tissue and asked President Yu anxiously.
"I don't know," Yu Xing replied calmly.
Cui Zhiyu asked in a low voice, "President Yu, why aren't you nervous? Did you... did you take care of that?"
Yu Xing shook his head: "Don't think too badly of me."
Cui Zhiyu really didn't know how he could imagine the behind-the-scenes operations of a major short seller.
The committee members didn't eat, nor did the team from the Silicon Carbon Group. The hearing had already exceeded its time limit, and the media reporters waiting outside also didn't get much to eat; only a few clever ones ordered boxed lunches.
Since the "King of Short Sellers" had only faced the media a handful of times since arriving in Hong Kong, one of which was an exclusive interview, the reporters chatted and discussed how to ambush Yu Xing later.
The listing hearing of Silicon Carbon Group is certainly something to watch, but everyone is waiting here hoping that the big short seller will talk about his "bombardment" of three market sectors.
Even though the Phoenix TV interview was relatively mild, the fact that the short seller identified three areas he was not optimistic about was still interpreted as a bombardment by foreign media and institutions, and has already caused a strong reaction.
Yu Xing discussed three relatively specific areas, so Wall Street quickly listed the relevant listed companies and began a discussion.
Defining the scope is not difficult. All told, there are 6 SaaS companies, 3 wearable device companies, and 4 gene sequencing companies, totaling 13 listed companies. So, which one is the most suspicious?
Or rather, which companies are most suspicious?
When it comes to niche markets, these 13 companies are not very large, with a combined market capitalization of nearly $1400 billion. However, the fact that the short sellers did not explicitly name them has even led some betting websites to offer odds.
It was nighttime in the US, but the companies involved were already in a state of turmoil, considering how to respond to this mobilization of resources.
Amid this silence, Ackerman, a long-time short seller who had previously clashed with the anonymous Shanfeng, spoke up on Twitter, mocking the commotion: "Clearly, the owner of the electric car company in the East really thinks he's the king of short sellers. He should first deal with the lawsuits he's embroiled in, and then figure out how to continue shorting."
Ackerman once followed the mountain peak in shorting European car companies, but withdrew due to changes in EU policy. Because of these changes, he became one of the people who praised the king of short sellers. However, with the exposure of Yu Xing's identity, he obviously did not want the concept of a super short seller to continue to exist.
The actions of this well-known short seller naturally aroused the gossip of reporters at the entrance of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
At 1 p.m., the hearing of Silicon Carbon Group was still pending, but the listed company suspected to be a party involved issued a public criticism.
Robert, Vice President of Tableau, a publicly traded SaaS company, criticized Yu Xing on Facebook: "I don't know how Yu Xing obtained Tableau's financial information, but it is very inappropriate for him to make such a statement at this time!"
The Wall Street analysts who were still debating were filled with question marks when they saw the vice president's remarks.
—? ? ?
Yu Xing didn't say it was Tableau, but what did he mean by obtaining Tableau's financial information?
Is this just a way of admitting that the financial situation isn't as good as the market expected?
Tableau's market capitalization fluctuated significantly in 2015, starting at $65 billion, rising to $105 billion in the middle of the year, and then falling back to $63 billion at the end of the year. The stock market had already anticipated its fierce market competition.
This is also a key argument in the debate surrounding Yu Xing's remarks on Wall Street.
People weren't unaware of these expectations; they had already factored them into the stock price.
But... Tableau's sudden intervention only seems to prove that the situation was worse than expected!
US stocks haven't started trading yet, but the entire SaaS sector is likely to experience turbulence due to Tableau's actions.
While the reporters were still gossiping about the US-listed company, the group from Silicon Carbon Group finally made a belated appearance. They were immediately surrounded and swarmed around them, half asking about the hearing results and the other half asking about the short-selling attack.
Facing the gleaming cameras, Yu Xing smiled and said, “Thank you to the members of the Listing Committee of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, thank you to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and all the intermediaries for their efforts, and thank you to Hong Kong for its prudent and inclusive approach. Today, I have witnessed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s open attitude towards diverse entities and compliant innovation as a core platform of an international financial center. Carbon Silicon Group will not let down the opportunity you have given us. Thank you all, thank you all.”
The Listing Committee approved Silicon Carbon Group's listing application by a vote of 16 to 12. At the same time, the China Securities Regulatory Commission also issued a resolution in favor, which means that the procedural obstacles for Silicon Carbon Group's listing have been cleared.
Media reporters at the scene were recording what they were seeing – a major short seller was holding up hard stock, and the ChiNext board was attracting a large number of investors!
(End of this chapter)