nycdaug Chapter 88: First Major International Deal Secured
Chapter 88: First Major International Deal Secured
Chapter 90: Closing the First Major International Deal (Seeking First Subscriptions)
The two sides discussed some matters related to the plasminogen lysate technology in the reception room, and then Lin Chuan led the wealthy men to conduct an on-site inspection.
The group first arrived at the "Plastic-Eating Bacteria" project laboratory.
At this moment, Zhao Funing is demonstrating the degradation process of the plastic-eating bacteria to the group.
She placed a piece of PET plastic film into the cultured blood, added bacterial solution and nutrient solution, and turned on the projector to display the image under the microscope in real time.
Hamad leaned closer to the screen, watching the swimming microorganisms.
Jaber, the president of the Saudi environmental engineering company, was a large man with a thick black beard. He took out his phone, snapped a picture of the screen, and whispered something to the person next to him in Arabic.
Zhao Funing explained methodically: "PET plastic takes more than 300 years to completely degrade under natural conditions, while our plastic-eating bacteria only takes 25 days, and the main products released are carbon dioxide and water."
The translator translated the sentence into Arabic, and the wealthy men chatted amongst themselves, nodding occasionally.
They already knew about these things, and now they came to see the effects for themselves and to learn more.
A short while later, Zhao Funing pulled up a time-lapse video.
The entire process was compressed into two and a half minutes. In just over twenty days, a piece of PET plastic film went from being whole to fragments, from fragments to granules, and from granules to disappearing altogether.
After the inspection, the wealthy guests sat down again in DeepBlue Technology's VIP reception room to talk.
Mr. Lin —
'
Apdul looked at Lin Chuan and said, "Your company's technology is even better than we expected; this is the ideal alternative we were hoping for."
Many of the solid waste generated by several wealthy Middle Eastern countries is exported to China.
But with China announcing a ban on the import of foreign waste, the plastic waste from these wealthy Middle Eastern countries suddenly had nowhere to go.
If an alternative solution is not found soon, once the ban on importing foreign waste takes effect in January next year, garbage will soon overflow into ports and landfills.
Exporting to other countries is also a solution, but they dare not compete with Europeans and Americans for market share.
Another point is that countries that receive imported waste dare not refuse Europeans and Americans, but they may not be afraid of Middle Eastern tycoons.
Currently, the Middle East generates about 5% to 7% of the world's plastic waste annually, which is between 1400 million and 2000 million tons.
Most of the waste is simply disposed of in landfills. Several wealthy countries around the Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are rich from selling oil, pay more attention to environmental protection. After all, they are not short of money and also want to maintain a respectable image on the international stage.
At this moment, both sides officially entered the negotiation phase.
Besides Lin Chuan, Zhang Wei, Jiang Miaolan, and Shen Yuxin were also present at DeepBlue Technology's side.
There were seven people sitting opposite, representing Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. They had clearly planned to come together to negotiate.
At this point, Hamad spoke first: "Mr. Lin, we are very satisfied with your company's technical solutions. Now let's talk about the price. Please give us a reasonable price."
Lin Chuan smiled and replied, "Mr. Al Thani, Deep Blue Technology's price remains unchanged at $220. This is also the price we offer to Europeans and Americans."
Hamad's expression didn't change much; he glanced at Jaber and the others beside him.
They exchanged a few glances and nodded slightly.
After a while, Hamad turned around and said, "Your company's offer is extremely attractive. We'll make the deal."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei was stunned. He couldn't help but glance at Lin Chuan, whose expression remained unchanged.
The cost was around 30 yuan, but the export price increased 46 times to nearly 1400 yuan. The other party didn't even haggle and agreed immediately.
Compared to previous negotiations with Europeans, which involved various back-and-forth bargaining and several rounds of talks that ultimately broke down, this was a far cry from previous ones.
At this moment, both parties quickly reached a consensus on cooperation, and DeepBlue Technology signed a five-year contract with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
From 2013 to 2017, DeepBlue Technology will provide a processing capacity of 1200 million tons of plastic waste.
Lin Chuan was certain that it wouldn't take five years, at most three years, before he had to come and place additional orders.
The growth rate of plastic waste generated by these wealthy Middle Eastern countries is astonishing.
The total value of this contract reached US$26.4 billion, equivalent to approximately RMB 165.1 billion.
The specific contracts were signed separately by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE with DeepBlue Technology, each with different required quantities. Saudi Arabia required the largest quantity, accounting for about 65%.
At 17 PM, the contract was officially signed.
From the initial meeting to the formal signing of the contract, everything was completed on the same day, which is incredibly efficient.
For these three Middle Eastern tycoons, the $26 billion is a mere fraction of the cost, spread over five years, amounting to only $5.28 million per year.
The signing ceremony was simple and quick.
Lin Chuan signed the final contract. After signing the last contract, Lin Chuan put down his pen, stood up, and extended his hand.
"Mr. Al Thani, it's a pleasure doing business with you."
Hamad shook his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Mr. Lin. Your technology will change the world."
Having finalized the cooperation details, the wealthy individuals did not linger.
After seeing the tycoon off, Zhang Wei came to Lin Chuan's office excitedly and said, "The price was too low. I felt that even if I quoted $300, no, even $400, the tycoon would have agreed. No wonder he's a big spender; netizens never miss a good nickname."
Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan calmly replied, "Just because someone has money doesn't mean they're stupid. Besides, if the price is too high, the excessive profit margin will attract other capital to participate in research and development, which would be cultivating potential competitors for ourselves. The current price can ensure that we maintain our monopoly position for a longer period of time."
The quoted price is $220. At this price, our competitors in Europe and America wouldn't make a profit; they couldn't afford the labor costs alone.
Moreover, they still need to invest money in research and development.
With no profit to be made, and even the possibility of losses, companies are naturally unwilling to invest money. As a result, DeepBlue Technology has no competitors, thus maintaining its monopoly position in the industry. DeepBlue Technology's superior "plastic-eating bacteria" technology has almost no research and development costs.
Because the Hyperdimensional Technology Library provides complete technology, all Lin Chuan needs to do is replicate the technology and then put it into practice.
Therefore, the processing cost per ton can be as low as 30 RMB.
For DeepBlue Technology, a price of $220 represents an extremely high profit margin, more than 45 times higher.
At this moment, Jiang Miaolan thought for a moment and suddenly thought of a question.
She looked at Lin Chuan and said, "The price difference between domestic and international markets is so large that it will definitely lead to middlemen reselling the goods."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei immediately replied, "That's right."
Currently, DeepBlue Technology is selling its shares in the domestic market to Henghui Group for 200 yuan, which is equivalent to about 31.5 US dollars at the current exchange rate.
If a domestic cross-border trading company purchases goods from DeepBlue Technology for 200 yuan and then resells them on the international market for 220 US dollars, it can generate nearly 6 times the excess profit.
With such huge profits, there's a 100% chance someone would want to do it.
Shen Yuxin said thoughtfully, "Such a huge interest rate difference will inevitably lead to the emergence of resellers. To avoid this situation, we can only shorten the interest rate difference between the domestic and international markets, either by lowering prices in the international market or by raising prices in the domestic market."
Zhang Wei nodded in agreement: "That makes sense. If this matter is not properly resolved, every penny that middlemen earn from the resellers will be a loss of profit for DeepBlue Technology."
Lin Chuan said in a deep voice, "Prices overseas cannot be lowered, and prices in the mainland cannot be raised. What DeepBlue Technology needs to do to address this issue is to strictly control the flow of products and sign agreements with purchasing parties that clearly define the specific uses of the products. The penalty for breach of contract must be high."
Zhang Wei immediately replied, "That would require a large number of people to keep an eye on it."
Lin Chuan succinctly replied, "Then hire more people. The company's profit margin is high, and we can afford to keep them."
Zhang Wei continued, "But the problem with the workers is also significant. With such a large profit margin, our frontline staff will inevitably be bribed by resellers with huge sums of money. How many people can resist such temptation?"
After a moment's thought, Lin Chuan slowly said, "First, we need to make the employees in this area move around frequently, so they don't stay in one place for too long; second, we need to provide adequate salaries and benefits, as high salaries can reduce the risk of taking risks to some extent."
Third, the company established an internal inspection team to conduct both overt and covert investigations; anyone found guilty was immediately sent to jail, creating a deterrent effect.
That's about enough. Lin Chuan knew that even if he did that, it wouldn't be possible to completely eliminate the problem.
However, as long as the scale is kept within a small range, it is acceptable.
Don't expect a perfect solution to this kind of thing once and for all. It should be treated as a long-term cat-and-mouse game. Catch the mouse when you see it, and patch the loopholes when you find them.
In the domestic market, the price of the "plastic-eating bacteria" business definitely cannot be increased.
Because this industry mainly earns money from government funds, in order to cover the whole country, the price will have to be reduced to around 50 yuan.
Lin Chuan is not a political novice. He has already realized that the country's decision to ban the import of foreign waste five years ahead of schedule is an attempt to take advantage of the situation and support DeepBlue Technology.
It's important to understand that banning the import of foreign waste will also take away the livelihoods of many people; companies that rely on this for a living will have to go bankrupt if they don't transform their business models.
Lacking even this basic awareness, relying on technological monopoly to set exorbitant prices and rake in huge profits from the national treasury, is simply lacking in common sense.
DeepBlue Technology may face the iron fist of antitrust enforcement.
Set a low price in the domestic market, don't seek exorbitant profits, just earn a reasonable profit, while at the same time making a lot of money from foreigners.
You can rest assured that the government will absolutely not impose anti-monopoly measures on DeepBlue Technology.
On the contrary, it will be protected in practice, allowing DeepBlue Technology to maintain strong international competitiveness and earn money from foreigners.
Lin Chuan turned to Shen Yuxin and instructed, "Draft an announcement to disclose the order contract signed with the wealthy client in the Gulf."
"Okay, sure."
Shen Yuxin nodded, then got up and left the office to deal with the matter.
Around 8 p.m., DeepBlue Technology released an announcement disclosing a major contract signed with a Middle Eastern client.
This announcement immediately caused a stir among DeepBlue Technology's investors.
Around 9:30 PM, Shi Xiao opened his stock trading software to check out Deep Blue Technology, and he was surprised to find that the stock had actually surged to the top 3 of the real-time popularity ranking.
"What's going on? How come it's so popular?"
Shi Xiao clicked into the stock forum of DeepBlue Technology and saw a newly pinned announcement.
The announcement is titled: "Announcement from DeepBlue Technology Regarding the Signing of a Major Contract with a Gulf Country".
"Holy crap?! The rumors from earlier today were actually true?"
Shi Xiao was overjoyed and quickly clicked to read the announcement.
On October 23, DeepBlue Technology (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") officially signed the "Plastic-Eating Bacteria Solid Waste Treatment Service Contract" with the environmental authorities and related companies of Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
According to the contract, the company will provide a total of 1200 million tons of waste plastics disposal services to the aforementioned countries from 2013 to 2017.
The total contract value is approximately US$26.4 billion, equivalent to approximately RMB 165.1 billion. The fulfillment of this business contract will have a positive impact on the company's operating results over the next five years.
Upon reading the announcement, Shi Xiao was overjoyed: "Damn it, thank goodness I held on and didn't get the cut! If I had, I would have fainted from the shock. Now I can finally eat my fill, right?! What child cries every day? What gambler loses every day?"
In a great mood, Shi Xiao casually browsed the stock forum to see what the investors were discussing.
[Sit tight and hold on, takeoff!]
[Wow, that's incredible! Just three Middle Eastern countries secured a mega-deal worth 165 billion.]
[Is the rumor from earlier today true?]
[This efficiency is unbelievable! Didn't they say they only arrived in Xin'an City today, and the contract is already signed?]
[As expected of a wealthy dog.]
How much profit will DeepBlue Technology make from this order?
[The profit margin is explosive. The cost is said to be no more than 50 yuan, and the announced price is 220 US dollars, equivalent to 1375 yuan. Even if we calculate based on a cost of 50 yuan, that's still a profit of more than 27.5 times!]
[Holy crap! Does that mean DeepBlue will make a profit of 159 billion from this 165 billion deal?]
[Amazing! This performance is absolutely explosive!]
[It's awful, I've been swept away. Didn't they say that Europeans and Americans transfer their solid waste to other countries?]
[This world isn't just populated by Europeans and Americans.]
[Will I still be able to buy it tomorrow?]
[Forget about it. Those who didn't get on board today definitely won't have a chance tomorrow. It's guaranteed to hit the daily limit and break new highs.]
The following day, Wednesday, October 24.
DeepBlue Technology opened at the daily limit without any surprise, successfully achieving a second consecutive limit-up.
It hit the daily limit up again on Thursday.
It opened at the daily limit on Friday, then briefly hit the limit down, but speculative funds quickly stepped in and pushed it back up to the daily limit within about 20 seconds of opening.
On Monday of the following week, DeepBlue Technology opened significantly higher, pulled back briefly, then quickly rallied again to hit the daily limit, with the stock price reaching 30.17.
A new high for the yuan.
It achieved five consecutive limit-up days in five trading days, and continued to rise in the following trading days.
The main upward wave reached a high of 31.73 yuan before peaking, and DeepBlue Technology's total market value climbed to a peak of 2008.19 billion yuan, surpassing the 200 billion yuan mark for the first time.
A market capitalization of hundreds of billions can easily drive consecutive limit-up days.
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Those who don't know might think it's a small-cap stock worth tens or hundreds of billions.
But in reality, it's not that difficult to drive up the price, because DeepBlue Technology's actual circulating shares are very small.
The shares held by Lin Chuan, Su Qingyue, the 15-person founding team, and the seven major investment institutions will not be traded on the secondary market.
Although the shares held by Shenhong Group are tradable shares, they will not be sold on the secondary market.
After removing the shares held by long-term investors, the market capitalization, which appears to be as large as 200 billion, actually has very little floating shares. At most, it only has a circulating market capitalization of about 5 to 6 billion.
At this moment, Shi Xiao was also very pleased with his account, which had turned red in a week.
"Finally, it's my turn to eat meat. Damn, it wasn't easy!"
His cost price was 25.45 yuan. He had previously suffered a loss of nearly 30 points, but now he has not only broken even, but also made a floating profit of more than 22 points.
Since the resumption of trading after the backdoor listing, the stock price has risen by approximately 750%, with the cumulative increase reaching around 750%. In just about six months, the market value has increased by as much as 7.5 times.
Without a doubt, DeepBlue Technology has become the most dazzling supernova in the A-share market this year.
The current stock market is widely recognized as a bear market, and the fact that it can buck the trend and rise in a bear market makes its already dazzling brilliance shine even brighter.