Chapter 247: Asia

"The first chairman of the Budget Management Committee must be you, Old Hu!"

Li Dongling said with a smile at this moment, seemingly not seeing the undercurrents between Ren Yuefeng and Hu Zi.

Hearing Li Dongling's words, Hu Zi's expression shifted, and a hint of joy inevitably appeared in the corners of his eyes.

Where there are people, there is a "Jianghu" (society). Especially as the scale and influence of Dongling High-Tech grow larger, signs of power struggles are normal. After all, no one wants to watch the cake get bigger and bigger, only to be marginalized and not get a piece of it.

Compared to Hu Zi, Ren Yuefeng's expression was slightly worried. After all, what company's General Manager is willing to be subject to others?

The "Old Guard" faction led by Hu Zi, Yao Luoying, Gao Peng, Zhang Ao, Chen Tao, and others, and the "Professional Manager" faction led by Ren Yuefeng, Duan Youli, Dongling High-Tech's European head Lu Chao, America head Zhou Hualiang, and others, are not clearly divided, but this background exists in Dongling High-Tech, whether real or imagined.

Of course, speaking of factions, Dongling High-Tech also has a faction linked by Hanxi Jiaoda, including Chen Tao, Tianya Network head Guo Jingyun, Zhixing Foundation Investment Department manager Lü Wenhua, and others. They all belong to this faction, and nominally, they respect Li Dongling, the founder of Dongling High-Tech, as their leader.

Within the entire Dongling High-Tech, there is also a considerable number of executives who come from Hanxi Jiaoda. Hanxi Jiaoda has also been the most important source of talent for Dongling High-Tech in recent years. In terms of influence, the Hanxi Jiaoda faction will be much larger than the Professional Manager faction or the Old Guard faction in the future!

"However, the Budget Management Committee is responsible for the entire Dongling High-Tech, and even the funding budgets of all investment companies under its umbrella. Companies like Dongxin Semiconductor, Dongfang Optoelectronics, Focus Media, etc., may not be able to contribute much revenue in the short term, but for the projects they are researching, they must absolutely not be delayed!

Therefore, the Budget Management Committee, in addition to having professional financial audit personnel, also needs personnel from technology, personnel, logistics, and other departments to join, to jointly conduct professional budget audits for the annual funding of various departments and branches of Dongling High-Tech!"

Li Dongling said. The Budget Management Committee must be established, but after it is established, Li Dongling does not want it to become a tool for internal party strife and power struggles within Dongling High-Tech.

After hearing this, Hu Zi and Ren Yuefeng looked at each other and both gave a helpless, bitter smile. According to Li Dongling's words, they would not be able to get their hands on this Budget Management Committee.

The entire Budget Management Committee would likely be taken over directly by Li Dongling, becoming a sword hanging over the heads of various departments and executives of Dongling High-Tech!

Since ancient times, whoever holds the purse strings has the right to speak, and whoever's backbone can stand straight. In the future, the Budget Management Committee may become one of the most powerful departments in Dongling High-Tech!

Hu Zi was not too disappointed by this. Launching the Budget Management Committee was imminent; the entire expenditure of Dongling High-Tech indeed needed budget auditing because the operation was spread too wide. It was just that this new department was not completely in his hands, which was a slight regret.

"Li Zong, there is one more thing. *Asia Weekly* wants to conduct an exclusive interview with you.

*Asia Weekly*, as well as media from Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other places, including *Forbes*, have all reported that you may be crowned as one of Asia's top twenty wealthiest people this year!"

Hu Zi threw out another bombshell. If this news were to spread domestically, one could only imagine how much of a stir it would cause.

With Dongling High-Tech's performance this year, although the year is not yet over, there are already signs that Dongling High-Tech and Li Dongling have reserved a spot among Asia's top twenty wealthiest.

Domestically, with the complete explosion of digital cordless phones and Xiaolingtong this year, Dongling High-Tech's revenue has completely surpassed a host of old-school companies like Sitong, Hope, Lenovo, Giant, Changhong, and Boss Mou.

And within Asia, Li Dongling being ranked in the top twenty of Asia's wealthy list by *Asia Weekly*, *Forbes Asia*, etc., is not because Dongling High-Tech has already surpassed Japanese giant companies like Sony, Sharp, Kyocera, and Panasonic, but because Li Dongling holds enough equity in Dongling High-Tech.

Currently, there are no mature investment institutions domestically, venture capital has not yet risen, and things like valuation have not yet emerged, but overseas, they have indeed started playing this game.

Dongling High-Tech's equity has not been dispersed. Li Dongling plans to use Feiyan Technology's equity to reward executives like Ren Yuefeng and has not touched Dongling High-Tech's equity, which keeps Dongling High-Tech's equity almost entirely in Li Dongling's hands.

And now, Hong Kong media and overseas media are touting that Dongling High-Tech's valuation exceeds 8.4 billion USD. Although this is just a valuation, and Dongling High-Tech is not a listed company and cannot truly cash out so many USD according to this valuation, nominally, Li Dongling's net worth has indeed reached a staggering 8.4 billion USD!

This valuation of net worth, placed domestically, is almost indisputably the domestic richest person. Even if it were to shrink by a significant margin, it would still far exceed last year's richest, the Liu brothers of the Hope Group, as well as those ranked behind them like Boss Mou, Boss Shi, and the bosses of various wealthy health supplement companies like Sanzhu Oral Liquid.

Placed in Hong Kong, this net worth would also rank fifth, behind the two Boss Lis of Henderson and Cheung Kong, whose net worth exceeds 10 billion USD, as well as Hong Kong's Fubon and Boss Guo of Sun Hung Kai. At the moment, Hong Kong real estate is hot to the extreme; almost all of the top ten Hong Kong wealthy individuals come from real estate or industries related to real estate.

And within Asia, among the host of wealthy individuals, there is also the Philippine real estate giant, the boss of Asia World, Zheng Zhoumin, who is also a Chinese land king, the Malaysian sugar king Boss Guo, and so on.

By comparison, Japanese giant companies like Sony, Mitsubishi, and Panasonic have higher market values, but Sony founder Akio Morita, as well as Tsutsumi Yoshiaki, the head of Japan's largest real estate giant Seibu Group who fell along with the collapse of Japanese real estate, did not make it onto the Asian wealthy list because they held too little equity or their companies were on the verge of bankruptcy.

Among the Asian wealthy estimated by Hong Kong media like *Asia Weekly*, they are mainly Chinese and ethnic Chinese, plus a few wealthy individuals from Japan and India, who make up Asia's top twenty wealthiest. And Li Dongling, with an estimated massive net worth of 8.4 billion USD, was also listed among them by the Hong Kong media!

Of course, this is just a valuation. Since it's not listed, no one knows if this valuation can be cashed out. As for cash, there is no need to mention it; Dongling High-Tech is far behind companies like Sony, Cheung Kong, Henderson, and Asia World.

However, the only difference from other Asian wealthy individuals is that among Asia's top twenty wealthiest, most are involved in real estate, banking, finance, etc. Only Dongling High-Tech is the lone seedling playing with technology!

But even if it's just a valuation, as long as the wealth list comes out, Dongling High-Tech and Li Dongling will likely cause a complete explosion in domestic public opinion. Li Dongling is also the first person from the mainland to be listed in the top twenty of the Asian wealthy list in over a decade!

"As long as you, Li Zong, are willing to accept *Asia Weekly*'s interview, they can immediately send an interview team over!" Hu Zi said to Li Dongling.

Regarding media like *Asia Weekly* ranking Li Dongling among Asia's top twenty wealthiest, both Ren Yuefeng and Hu Zi felt a sense of excitement and shared honor.

At this time, the wealthy list had not yet become a "slaughter list." Being able to be ranked in the wealthy list and reported by foreign media was a matter of face and worth boasting about.

Moreover, entering the wealthy list truly has benefits. Being ranked in the wealthy list will make the country, from top to bottom, believe in the strength of the person on the list. Various departments and units will open green lights for them, and various major projects can be obtained.

Banks will provide them with excess loans, and they might not even need collateral; just by relying on the status of being on the wealthy list, they can borrow money. Sales agents and channel distributors will scramble to represent their products, and even the general public will favor the products they launch because of their status on the wealthy list!

These are real, tangible benefits. Naturally, there will be people breaking their heads to get onto the wealthy list.

And this era is a wild era that the country has never seen in the previous dozen years, nor will it see in the dozen years to come. It is a period where thousands of troops and horses are heading to the sea, making everyone have a fanatical pursuit of net worth and wealth!

For Ren Yuefeng and Hu Zi, Li Dongling becoming one of Asia's top twenty wealthiest means that the entire Dongling High-Tech has been recognized. And as Dongling High-Tech's supervisors, they are also the creators of this achievement. The higher Li Dongling's net worth, the more power and net worth they can obtain!

Li Dongling tapped the table lightly with his hand. He was not afraid of any "slaughter list." Dongling High-Tech is different from other companies; there is no such thing as "original sin." Plus, a considerable portion of what Dongling High-Tech earns is foreign exchange, and there are the taxes and employment positions it provides. Dongling High-Tech is not the kind of company that will fall with a light breeze, nor is it afraid of public opinion.

It's just that being too focused on by the media is not a good thing. Every move will be observed under a microscope, and a large group of companies will jump out, wanting to challenge Dongling High-Tech and replace it, which only adds trouble.

"Wait until *Asia Weekly* releases the Asian top twenty wealthy list; they can come to Hanxi for an exclusive interview!" Li Dongling said after thinking for a moment.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 248 =====