Investment Forum

Murong Feng came to Sanya City in Hainan this time to attend the "[Third China Venture Capital Summit Forum] and [The Investment, Project Financing and Capital Matchmaking Conference]" as an invited guest. As this was Murong Feng's first time attending such a large-scale, high-level industry event as a keynote speaker, he took it very seriously and carefully prepared his speech. Besides Guo Yong, he also brought two senior investment managers from the company to participate in the conference and see if they could discover any valuable investment projects.

After the plane landed, the reception staff from the organizing committee directly took them to the venue of this forum - the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Sanya, located in the beautiful and tranquil Coral Bay.

As the first hotel of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in mainland China, the Mandarin Oriental Sanya occupied 12 hectares, exclusively enjoying 1.2 kilometers of secluded private coral beach. It had 297 luxury rooms, 11 specialty restaurants and bars, and over 5,700 square meters of outdoor and indoor banquet and conference facilities, making it a top-tier ultra-luxury hotel.

The organizers' choice of this venue for the forum also indicated the high-profile nature of this event.

Murong Feng did not stay in the Pavilion-style guest room arranged by the organizing committee. His secretary had already booked Sky Villa No. 0010 for him before his arrival. This small detail alone made the staff member responsible for receiving him secretly astonished. That was an expensive villa costing nearly 10,000 yuan per day! It turned out this young man with a gentle smile was actually a tycoon!

Murong Feng, however, was quite open-minded about it. Since his current wealth allowed him to live more comfortably, why should he compromise? Moreover, being away from home was already not as comfortable as being at home. If he didn't stay somewhere nice, wouldn't that be self-torture? He was certainly not a miser like Eugénie Grandet.

Similarly, he didn't shortchange the people who came with him. Guo Yong stayed in the villa next to his, while the two investment managers, although in slightly lower-grade accommodations, stayed in independent suites, costing over 4,000 yuan per day. This was already the accommodation standard for many company bosses, which made the two deeply moved and more determined to work for such a generous boss like Murong Feng.

The late autumn in Hainan was still scorching hot. After the welcome dinner that day, Murong Feng didn't go out. Apart from preparing for his speech at the forum tomorrow, his only entertainment was swimming for an hour in the private pool of the villa to maintain his daily exercise routine. After swimming and showering, he felt much more refreshed.

Changing into his pajamas, Murong Feng took out a cobalt blue ceramic bottle of Ballantine's 21-year-old scotch from the wine cabinet. He silently praised the hotel for having such an exquisite Scottish whisky even in the guest rooms. He took a glass from the glass rack, put a few ice cubes from the ice bucket in the refrigerator into the glass, and poured himself a drink. Holding the glass, he sat in a lounge chair facing the sea, enjoying the gentle sea breeze on his face and listening to the sound of waves lapping and splashing. For a moment, he felt so comfortable and lazy that he didn't want to do anything.

Taking a small sip of the whisky, the cold, mellow liquor with a hint of broom flower aroma stimulated his taste buds. Murong Feng couldn't help but think of last night.

Last night was soul-stirring for both Tang Qing and him. He had been constantly recalling fragments of memories from last night throughout the day. Although they didn't actually have sex last night, Murong Feng felt even more gratified thinking about it now. If something had really happened last night, both he and Tang Qing would inevitably lose room to maneuver, after all, there was still Ye Zi between them.

Their embrace and whispered words, their hearts knowing each other, had already brought their relationship into a whole new realm. From now on, no matter how unpredictable the future might be, they both had a beautiful memory. Although there would inevitably be more entanglements and obstacles, just spending this night with Tang Qing had already made him content.

Murong Feng's emotions surged, and he drained the whisky in his glass in one gulp.

...

This forum lasted for two days. The first day was for keynote speeches and roundtable discussions, while the second day was for project roadshows, comments, and project negotiations. Murong Feng would speak during the keynote speeches on the first day and participate in the summit roundtable discussion that day. As for the project negotiations on the second day, the investment managers below him could represent him to attend.

The forum venue was arranged in the Coral Bay Ballroom. The spacious hall of nearly 900 square meters could accommodate nearly 300 people for conferences. Murong Feng was led by staff to his seat in the front row, marked with his name. After nodding and exchanging greetings with other investment company bosses he knew from previous industry meetings, Murong Feng's nervousness slightly eased.

It was understandable. Unlike the previous time he attended the communications technology forum with Li Xiangnan, where he was merely an observer and investor in the communications industry. This time, he was truly speaking as an insider, even as an emerging industry leader. Murong Feng suddenly felt that he had found something he had been looking for all along at this moment.

Murong Feng's speech was on "Private Equity Investing During Crisis's and How to Identify Excellent Companies That Will Thrive in the Next Economic Spring". This was a long speech title, but the contents of Murong Feng's speech was even longer.

Combining his own views, the contents of his usual discussions with Zhou Haitao, and the analysis reports on the economy and emerging industries from his investment managers, he elaborated on how in many aspects the financial crisis and economic recession were beneficial for PE 1and VC 2firms and their investments. He explained that this financial crisis would prompt investors to reassess the investment frenzy caused by overheated markets, rethink and review market opportunities, and focus more on corporate innovation. Additionally, they would pay more attention to the core factors of an enterprise's growth potential, such as technology, products, and differentiated advantages. Investors would also gain a deeper understanding of the multiple aspects affecting enterprises, including management and credit.

Through analysis, Murong Feng clearly pointed out that the current opportunities were very good. China's market was huge, and there were enormous investment opportunities in multiple industry sectors, including traditional industries, consumer goods and services, TMTTE (the convergence of telecommunications, media, and technology in the new digital media era), environmental protection, and green energy.

Murong Feng gradually relaxed during his speech. His excellent eloquence, expressiveness, and charisma, honed through years of drama performances and debate competitions in university, were fully displayed in his speech. The forum venue frequently burst into warm applause, and many famous investors in the industry who had previously looked down on him couldn't help but nod in approval. They believed that, at least judging from his speech, he indeed seemed to have a thorough understanding of investment research. But could Murong Feng truly gain the respect of these industry insiders?

This industry also looked at performance! Murong Feng's most famous investment so far was Huayou Films, investing 40 million yuan and cashing out at 1.5 billion RMB, a 40-fold investment return that shocked the industry. But that was his personal investment, which couldn't reflect his professionalism.

Only when Chang'an Capital could really invest in and cultivate one or two top companies in the industry, like star-level investment projects such as Shanda Network or Focus Media, could Chang'an Capital and Murong Feng truly become one of the top recognized companies in this industry!

But that's for the future. At least up to now, Murong Feng had performed excellently. This was a very brilliant speech! After Murong Feng smiled and left the stage, several investment industry bigwigs sitting next to him shook hands with him to offer congratulations. Murong Feng had just established his first initial position in the industry. He appeared calm and composed on the surface, but was exhilarated inside.

In the afternoon's roundtable discussion, Murong Feng's performance was still praiseworthy. He didn't talk big; he mostly listened attentively and applauded with a smile when many big shots were speaking. He appropriately and briefly expressed his own views and opinions, always proper and to the point. Neither flamboyant or ostentatious, yet it was impossible to ignore his presence.

This was an extraordinary figure! Was the internal evaluation of Murong Feng by all the attendees.

...

Tonight, the organizers hadn't planned any activities. Murong Feng and others, including Guo Yong, jokingly called it a team dinner and decided to find a good seaside spot for seafood. As they took the hotel's buggy to the lobby, Murong Feng unexpectedly encountered an acquaintance.

"Director Wang! What a coincidence, you're in Sanya too?" Murong Feng delightedly greeted Wang Lei, who was sitting in the lobby lounge. Although he had largely withdrawn from Huayou Films, he still maintained a good personal relationship with Wang Lei. They were especially close on weekends when they exchanged horse-breeding tips at the racecourse, considering themselves horse friends.

Wang Lei was equally surprised to see Murong Feng. "Murong! What brings you here?" He smiled and stood up to shake hands.

After chatting for a while, Murong Feng learned that Wang Lei had come to Sanya to attend the "Cheung Kong Annual Forum."

The Cheung Kong Annual Forum, jointly organized by the Hainan Provincial Government and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, aimed to explore two critical dimensions of enterprise survival and development - business models and leadership - in the context of the global financial crisis, and to analyze ways for enterprises to thrive.

Murong Feng asked curiously, "Director Wang, are you a student at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business?" He was intrigued that Wang Lei, nearly 40 years old and a busy chairman of a listed company, would still be pursuing education. Wang Lei nodded and smiled, "Yes, when an enterprise reaches a certain stage, you always feel that your knowledge system and understanding of the overall economic situation are lacking. You need to recharge!"

Murong Feng shook his head in surprise and sighed, "Director Wang, I admire you. I feel so busy now, and you're much busier than me. How do you find time to go back to school?" Wang Lei smiled and explained, "I'm taking the CEO course, which uses modular teaching and doesn't take up too much time." Murong Feng suddenly remembered the news about Zhao Benshan spending 550,000 yuan to take the CEO course at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and joked, "Director Wang, doesn't that make you classmates with Zhao Benshan?"

Wang Lei laughed heartily and replied, "No, I'm from the previous class. He's my junior." Murong Feng couldn't help but laugh too.

After their conversation, they smiled and said goodbye. Wang Lei had another gathering to attend, while Murong Feng was taking his subordinates out for seafood.

When Murong Feng returned to the hotel that evening, he reflected on his performance at the summit forum during the day and felt quite satisfied. Then he thought about his chance encounter with Wang Lei.

Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business! Murong Feng had heard of this business school, currently famous in the Chinese business world. Established in 2002 with investment from the Li Ka Shing Foundation, it had become renowned for its high-end MBA, EMBA, and executive education programs. Several heavyweight figures in the current Chinese business world were among its alumni. It was listed alongside the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai as the twin peaks of domestic business schools, with a reputation surpassing the business schools of famous domestic higher education institutions like Beida University and Tsinghua University.

Murong Feng was no longer the green rookie fresh out of school, stumbling into obstacles. He knew that in today's Chinese society, apart from talent and wealth, which were an individual's own strengths, an even more important factor was connections - the relationship network. The popularity of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and China Europe International Business School, with countless senior corporate managers, with even CEOs willing to pay to study there, wasn't just about improving their knowledge structure and broadening their horizons. While the world-class professors and teaching in these business schools could indeed bring these benefits, more importantly, it was about forming connections with a large circle, a high-end friend circle with similar qualifications and wealth. This network of connections was intangible, but its energy was enormous!

Murong Feng recalled a prime example of this network's power. After the melamine scandal with their milk, Mengniu's share value had shrunk dramatically, and the shares Mengniu had pledged to Morgan Stanley stirred up overseas capital predators. These predators sang bearish on Mengniu to drive down the stock price while simultaneously increasing their holdings of Mengniu shares. If Mengniu couldn't raise funds in time to redeem the pledged shares, the company's control would fall to foreign capital.

When Niu Gensheng issued a ten-thousand-word letter at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business alumni meeting, revealing Mengniu's predicament and the threat of malicious acquisition by foreign institutions, Liu Chuanzhi convened an emergency board meeting of Legend Holdings. Within 48 hours, 200 million yuan was transferred to the Old Niu Foundation account. Yu Minhong of New Oriental, upon hearing the news, quickly sent 50 million yuan without hesitation. Jiang Nanchun, chairman of Focus Media, also prepared 50 million yuan for the Old Niu Foundation as emergency relief. Fu Chengyu, general manager of CNOOC, called to say that CNOOC had prepared 250 million yuan and sent people to assess the situation, ready to help at any time. Tian Suning, Jack Ma, Guo Guangchang, Yu Feng, Wang Yusuo, and others all called, prepared to lend a helping hand. Ou Yaping from Hong Kong contacted Wang Bing and other Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business classmates in the mainland, even buying many Mengniu shares to support and boost the stock price.

This was the power of alumni, the network of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business!

While marveling at this, Murong Feng suddenly thought, should he also apply to study at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business?

In the past two years, Murong Feng had slowly begun to realize that he still knew too little about business. After all, he had graduated from the Chinese department and had never systematically studied business and management, nor had he received any training or education in this area later in his career.

Now Murong Feng not only managed Chang'an Capital but also controlled and invested in several companies. Most of the meetings of the Federation of Industry and Commerce and the China Youth Entrepreneurs Association he attended were about business content. He increasingly felt that he was somewhat struggling. Although he was reading books about business and management, it wasn't systematic enough.

This was not just a problem of industry understanding and technical knowledge, but a problem of Murong Feng's overall business thinking and knowledge structure. Murong Feng had assets of only one billion yuan and only invested in and managed a few companies, yet he already felt difficulties in thinking and management. If his business continued to develop in the future, it would be hard to guarantee that there wouldn't be some mistakes in business judgment. 

Standing on the terrace, facing the sea breeze, Murong Feng set a new goal for himself: to study at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.