Chapter 420

Sometimes, one has to believe in fate. When the time is right, the heavens and earth lend their strength; when the time passes, even heroes are powerless. It is a matter of timing and fate. Back then, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) also saw the potential in Hong Kong's geographical location and its reserve of semiconductor talent.

Furthermore, recruiting talent from America, old Europe, and other places, as well as importing semiconductor equipment, was much more convenient in Hong Kong than in the mainland, with far fewer restrictions.

If Hong Kong could have secured SMIC and successfully revitalized its chip industry to establish a "Silicon Harbor," it would have had the potential to become a pillar industry for Hong Kong in the future.

It would have been just like what Singapore later did in the semiconductor industry: supporting the entire semiconductor industrial chain and attracting the whole ecosystem, from chip design to manufacturing, packaging, and testing.

Semiconductors have the potential to become a region's pillar industry. After all, the financial industry can pack up and leave, and the service industry will eventually have its day of decline, but industries like semiconductors can truly sustain a region's economy.

However, in the previous life, Hong Kong was given a feint by the Li family's Cyberport project. They promised to develop the internet, but after obtaining the land, they focused on real estate and shopping malls. Thirty years later, Hong Kong's internet industry still hadn't developed, and even QR code payments hadn't become widespread...

When it was SMIC's turn to go there, an awkward scene unfolded. The people of Hong Kong no longer believed in any "Cyberport" or "Silicon Harbor," and they treated SMIC's founder as someone who had only come to grab land for real estate speculation.

Even when SMIC's founder eventually stated that they would not buy the land but lease it, some in Hong Kong still didn't believe it. In the end, people from Shanghai heard the news, rushed over, and snatched SMIC away.

Of course, there was likely a share of the blame on Hong Kong real estate companies in all this. There were quite a few companies eyeing the land SMIC held in Hong Kong; if they drove SMIC away, wouldn't the land become theirs?

Otherwise, how could there have been such massive opposition? It wasn't just influential figures in Hong Kong opposing it; there were even people running out into the streets to protest against SMIC. Such tactics are not something an ordinary person could pull off.

Developing semiconductors in Hong Kong is somewhat difficult, but there are currently quite a few companies in Hong Kong's chip industrial chain. Li Dongling still covets companies like Wan Li Semiconductor, the second-largest chip packaging and testing plant in Asia, as well as chip manufacturers like Weiyang and Kefan Micro.

For the sake of chip production capacity, Dongxin Semiconductor will also need to venture into chip manufacturing, packaging, and testing in the future. If he can attract these Hong Kong semiconductor companies, it would be twice the result with half the effort for Dongxin Semiconductor to build its own semiconductor industrial chain!

The time for this exclusive interview was nearing its end, and Tong Lan was quite satisfied with it.

Before concluding, Tong Lan suddenly recalled some news reports she had seen regarding Li Dongling's previous interviews while she was organizing materials related to him.

Tong Lan looked at Li Dongling and suddenly said, "Mr. Li, since the emergence of Dongling Gao Ke, you have changed many industries and created some new ones. Countless companies are also imitating Dongling Gao Ke.

Previously, Mr. Li once said that you would enter the automotive industry in the future. Is that statement still valid now?!"

Hearing this, Li Dongling couldn't help but smile. When he gave an interview a few years ago, Li Dongling had indeed mentioned wanting to enter the automotive industry so that fellow countrymen could afford a domestic car and take pride in driving one.

When Li Dongling's words were spread at the time, they caused an uproar and sparked quite a bit of controversy.

Many media commentators even criticized Li Dongling's words with fierce rhetoric, claiming that Li Dongling was being overly ambitious.

These commentators claimed that automobiles, especially automotive engines, were the "jewel in the crown" of industry. They argued that domestic cars were just barely learning to walk, unable to even walk properly, and that the gap between them and Japanese cars like Toyota and Honda was like comparing the light of a firefly to the brilliance of the moon!

Over these past few years, it seemed that those people's claims had indeed been "proven." Dongling Gao Ke had never made any moves in the automotive industry, and it seemed that back then, Li Dongling had just been blowing hot air.

"Dongling Gao Ke will enter the automotive industry; this point will not change!"

"It just needs some time. In the future, you will definitely see cars launched by Dongling Gao Ke, I guarantee it!" Li Dongling said as he stood up.

It was true that Li Dongling said he would enter the automotive industry, but he never said which year he would launch his own brand of cars, nor did he promise exactly when he would start producing them...

Since the founding of Dongling Gao Ke, Li Dongling has always followed one iron rule: that is, to survive first. Only by surviving can one do the things one wants to do!

Likewise, if one enters the automotive industry and starts by directly researching and producing cars, one will definitely lose money at the beginning. No company is an exception, and some lose even more than others. Of course, some keep losing until they suddenly succeed, while others just keep losing until they disappear without a trace.

Therefore, Li Dongling needs to let Dongling Gao Ke's automotive company support itself first. At the very least, it shouldn't lose too miserably; if it can retain some capital, it will have a chance to break even.

When Dongling Gao Ke enters the automotive industry, it will first set up an automotive design team to research and develop slowly, but there is no need to rush into automotive production.

They can first launch electric bicycles and electric motorcycles, then move on to electric tricycles, electric scooters, balance bikes, and all-terrain assault vehicles like the Lynx. As long as these products are produced, there is basically no worry about them not selling.

As for whether these products have high prestige or what their technical content is like, that's a discussion for another time. At the very least, it can ensure that Dongling Gao Ke's automotive company can survive and lose a little less in the future. Only in this way can entering the automotive industry allow it to survive longer!

Like the leader of the electric bicycle industry in the previous life, Yadea, which could have an annual revenue of over 30 billion and a profit of around 2.6 billion, the global electric bicycle industry scale also soared rapidly to 100 billion USD within twenty years.

This stuff sells like crazy not only domestically but also all over places like Vietnam, Siam, and Korea.

The same goes for another national artifact: the electric tricycle. It might not be very widespread in cities, but in towns and rural areas, almost every household has one. Their ownership rate is far higher than that of cars.

Whether producing electric bicycles, electric tricycles, and the like has high prestige can be put aside for now; at the very least, it can allow Dongling Gao Ke's automotive department to survive, and that is enough.

As long as it survives long enough, everything is possible, especially in the automotive industry. Once the financial crisis hits, automotive giants like General Motors will start a fire sale, and one will be able to get their hands on both automotive brands and technology.

As long as Dongling Gao Ke's automotive department succeeds and becomes an industry giant, there will naturally be scholars to defend it.

After the exclusive interview ended, Tong Lan and the other reporters dispersed, while Ren Yuefeng, Hu Zixian, and others walked up.

"Mr. Li, are you really going to join the ranks of those acquiring Hong Kong Telecom?" Ren Yuefeng asked Li Dongling with some concern.

Hu Zixian and other Dongling Gao Ke executives all had the same expression. This was no small matter; it could even potentially become the most important landmark event for Dongling Gao Ke in the future.

Seeing the expressions of Ren Yuefeng and the others, Li Dongling shook his head helplessly. "It remains to be seen!"

"This kind of thing cannot be decided easily; it involves too much. However, even if we acquire it, it will be in the name of Hong Kong's Ning family. Additionally, we need to bring in other investors like the Bank of China and the State Development & Investment Corporation. Dongling Gao Ke will not bear such a large acquisition sum alone!"

Hearing this, Ren Yuefeng and the others still had some concern on their faces, but they finally breathed a sigh of relief. If the acquisition of Hong Kong Telecom were to be borne entirely by Dongling Gao Ke alone, the risk would truly be too high.

"A Century-Defining Frame, the Newest Top 20 Richest People in Asia!"

After Tong Lan returned with the interview draft, *Asia Weekly* soon launched a special edition, placing the top 20 richest people in Asia they had ranked on a single cover.

Hong Kong, which was already particularly attentive to wealth and wealthy families, snapped up this issue of *Asia Weekly* by the afternoon, creating the best sales volume of the year, and they began reprinting it in the afternoon.

And what caught the attention of Hong Kong people and Hong Kong media the most was Li Dongling on the cover, who remained quite eye-catching even after *Asia Weekly* had processed the image!

It was truly difficult for Li Dongling's face not to be noticed among the other nineteen tycoons, who were generally in their sixties.

"Mobile Phone Wang Li Dongling, at under thirty years of age, becomes one of the top 20 super-rich in Asia!"

"The man with the fastest-growing net worth in Southeast Asian history!"

"Li Dongling will join the battle for Hong Kong Telecom!"

"Revealing the road to success for Dongling Gao Ke Li Zong Dongling!"

Following the news report by *Asia Weekly*, various media outlets in Hong Kong began reporting on it overwhelmingly, and naturally, the one reported on the most was Li Dongling.

By comparison, the media had already reported on those other people countless times over the years, and the audience had developed aesthetic fatigue. Li Dongling appearing on the list for the first time, and coming from the mainland, naturally excited the Hong Kong media.

Some media outlets still had integrity and made speculations based on *Asia Weekly*'s report, although they used exaggerated terms like "Industry King" or "Tech Genius."

But some tabloids, in order to attract eyeballs and boost sales, began to make things up, speculating that Li Dongling had a deep background in the mainland, and so on, concocting all sorts of wild stories.

However, it was these reports that sounded unreliable that actually triggered a surge in Hong Kong Telecom's stock price. On the day *Asia Weekly* was released, Hong Kong Telecom's stock price soared by 6%!

After all, "according to" *Asia Weekly*'s report, Dongling Gao Ke was going to join the camp acquiring Hong Kong Telecom. Next, they would definitely have to grab chips, causing many small investors in Hong Kong to rush over, preparing to follow the trend and make a profit.

This change made the main players in this acquisition of Hong Kong Telecom, such as the Li family's Cheung Kong and Singapore Telecom, feel suspicious and uncertain. They didn't know if the rumors were true, but the surge in Hong Kong Telecom's stock price was an indisputable fact.

This issue of *Asia Weekly* had quite good sales not only in Hong Kong but also in Taiwan, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and other places.

And domestically, *Asia Weekly* also flowed into Guangdong and other places. Media outlets like the *Pingyang Daily*, *Hanxi Provincial Daily*, and *Mainland Science and Technology News* also followed up with reports. For a time, Li Dongling and Dongling Gao Ke's reputation became even more resounding domestically.

Domestically, people now "recognize" the rankings on wealth lists, and founders and companies are implicitly bound together.

Once a founder has fame, banks can give the company loans, and local municipal governments can provide more policy support. Dongling Gao Ke doesn't lack these, but this report was more like a "certification of name," establishing Dongling Gao Ke's status in the industry.

After all, Li Dongling's net worth stood alongside those old-school tycoons from Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Doesn't that prove that Dongling Gao Ke is also an existence on the same level as old-school Asian companies like Cheung Kong, Henderson Land, and Asia World?

(End of Chapter)