Chapter 174: Shareholders’ Meeting

Under the cover of night, Magic City shone with the dazzling splendor befitting an Oriental metropolis.

Yan Liusu left Liang Weimin’s villa but did not return to her own place; instead, she went to a church.

In recent years, Tang Country has liberalized its economy, and the pursuit of money has become the belief of many; although the younger generation in Tang loves celebrating Christmas and Valentine’s Day, few young people visit the church.

After entering the church, Yan Liusu went straight into a confessional.

“Lord, I come to confess to you!”

“My child, the glory of the Lord will shine upon you, and all that you do will become the ladder to your ascension to heaven.”

“Liang has already attacked Dream Technology. Should we give it an extra push?”

“The attack on Dream Technology is already in motion domestically. It’s sufficient for Tang Country to play a minor role, no need to invest too much effort.”

“Our previous attempt to infiltrate Dream Technology failed; its security is extremely tight.”

“Take a slow approach with Dream Technology, instruct someone to start from the ground up using a silent method.”

“Understood, I’ll arrange it.”

“Now, the boss wants you to find a way to get close to Yu Donghua of Wisdom Technology as soon as possible; obtaining the silicon carbide chip technology is the highest priority!”

“Alright, I got it.”

……

Yan Liusu left the confessional and promptly hurried away.

In the distant Africa, the Tanga Federation.

It was still afternoon, but celebration pervaded the entire Tanga Federation.

The ruling party had completed the formation of a new government, and former Minister of Defense Mu Weini was elected president. This was unanimously regarded by international observers as signaling a more assertive political direction for the Tanga Federation.

However, many also believe that the Tanga Federation will become more open and prosperous.

Because the person who introduced the largest investor to the Tanga Federation is none other than the new president.

Mu Weini’s policies are to fully learn from Tang Country’s methods of economic liberalization, which is the reason for the joy among the citizens.

In a world fraught with chaos, the Middle East has become tumultuous. Although the US military seems worn, domestic anti-war sentiment has not peaked.

Instead, due to a series of attacks on US soil by Persians and their supporters, the nation has become more unified.

As a major country in East Africa and a coastal state along the Indian Ocean, the Tanga Federation has likewise chosen its stance in international politics.

It has always been pro-Tang, standing together with Tang Country in the international political arena for a long time.

Officers of the National Defense Force largely receive training in Tang Country and are known as the “Tang Army of East Africa.”

Disguised as Li Shennan, Du Qiu attended Mu Weini’s presidential inauguration.

After hearing about the happenings in Magic City from Star Ocean, he didn’t expect his self-developed anti-paparazzi system to become a potential source of worry for undercover operatives being exposed.

After making polite conversation with a few Tanga Federation dignitaries, he planned to leave.

“Mr. Li——”

A call stopped Du Qiu in his tracks.

Turning around, he saw Wu Weihua, the ambassador of Tang Country to the Tanga Federation, approaching.

“Ambassador Wu, what a pleasure to meet you.”

“Mr. Li, I heard that the Iron Guard Security was established with your investment?”

“That’s right,” Du Qiu replied, observing Wu Weihua leisurely, curious about what he wanted to discuss.

“On behalf of Tang Country, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for Iron Guard Security’s rescue of our medical team from armed rebels in South Sudan.”

Du Qiu waved his hand and said, “You flatter me, Mr. Ambassador. Although I’m not a citizen of Tang Country, I still share Tang heritage. It is my duty to rescue my compatriots of the same ancestry. Furthermore, it was a business deal for my company—we agreed to the terms, so naturally, we had to deliver a good job.”

Wu Weihua laughed, “Mr. Li, you’re a great businessman. I was wondering if you’d consider investing in Tang Country?”

“Ambassador Wu, your enthusiasm for attracting investment is indeed high. Actually, I already have multiple companies that have invested and built factories in Tang Country.”

“Oh, I was not aware,” Wu Weihua replied, a trace of embarrassment on his face.

“If there’s nothing else, Ambassador, I shall take my leave now,” Du Qiu said, not wishing to have too much interaction with officials from Tang Country in this setting.

“Mr. Li, I have a question I’d like to ask for your advice,” Wu Weihua quickly stopped Du Qiu again, ready to get to the point.

“There’s no need for formalities, Mr. Ambassador. Please, speak freely.”

After a moment’s thought, Wu Weihua asked, “Mr. Li, you are a shareholder of Wisdom Technology, correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“In that case, a company from the north of our country wishes to collaborate with Wisdom Technology, but the president here, Mr. Mateus, says he’s not authorized to make such decisions.”

Du Qiu immediately understood Wu Weihua’s intentions—it was likely that the northern company had discovered the effectiveness of the Wolf-style tanks. Previously, even the light arms modification had made the northern company anxious, and now, given the formidable capabilities of the modified tanks, they could no longer afford to delay.

Du Qiu said, “As far as I am aware, the northern company is a military contractor of your country, while our Wisdom Technology primarily focuses on contract manufacturing for civilian industrial products. I’m not sure how they wish to collaborate with Wisdom Technology—surely the northern company isn’t looking for us to manufacture military equipment?”

Wu Weihua knew that Du Qiu was feigning ignorance, but he was not simply following the instructions of the northern company, there were intentions from higher up.

“Ha ha, as long as both sides can establish cooperation, even asking Wisdom Technology to contract manufacture would be normal,” he responded.

However, Du Qiu didn’t take the bait and said, “Ambassador Wu, Wisdom Technology does not intend to engage in the manufacturing of military products. After all, doing so may be seen as unfriendly by certain countries. As an internationally based company rooted in Germanic lands, we must maintain a global balance and only profit from the civilian realm.”

Seeing Du Qiu’s reluctance, Wu Weihua decided to be direct, “Mr. Li, I’ve heard that Wisdom Technology is assisting the Tanga Federation’s National Defense Force with weapons upgrades and modifications…”

Du Qiu sighed and responded, “You might be mistaken, Mr. Ambassador. It is not the work of Wisdom Technology, but a company called Star Ocean Heavy Industries located within the Wisdom Technology Industrial Park. They have always been a component supplier for Wisdom Technology—an enterprise based in

Germanic lands. Wherever our factories are built, they follow. Their assistance with the Tanga Federation’s National Defense Force is something I only recently heard from President Mu Weini. Possibly, a few engineers from Wisdom Technology have switched to their company, leading to the confusion.”

Wu Weihua was taken aback. This Mr. Li was indeed slippery—the excuse of engineers switching companies was plausible, or perhaps the northern company was mistaken?

“Oh, is that so? My apologies, then. However, Mr. Li, could you help us connect with the person in charge of Star Ocean Heavy Industries?” Wu Weihua decided to play along with the mistake.

“That’s no problem. I’m quite familiar with their president, Mr. Lonkar. Where would you like to meet him? He usually stays in the Germanic capital, Berlin.”

“That will do. Please arrange a meeting with Mr. Lonkar for our representatives from the northern company; they will visit Berlin soon.”

Du Qiu handed a phone number to Wu Weihua, saying, “Once your people reach Berlin, call this number. Mr. Lonkar will coordinate the meeting location with them.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Li.”

Time flows swiftly, and in a blink, it was Monday.

In a large conference room of Xingguang Precision, an emergency shareholders’ meeting was being held.

Previously, the second-largest shareholder, Powerful Capital, had proposed a private placement issue and leaked it to the media, which led to Dream Technology’s announcement of its non-support for the proposal, causing significant fluctuations in the stock price. However, following Dream Technology’s new product launch and great sales, Xingguang Precision’s stock price surged once more.

Shareholders did not view Xingguang Precision as wanting to compete in the same industry with Dream Technology; instead, they believed Dream Technology intended to capitalize Xingguang Precision.

How much money is Dream Technology making? Trillion-level revenue in just one week; wouldn’t a bit of capital injection into Xingguang Precision send the stock price skyrocketing?

Following the board’s showdown, Powerful Capital had the advantage, and the proposal passed in the board meeting. Now, as long as the shareholders’ meeting approves it, the proposal will merely await regulatory approval.

Thus, Xingguang Precision became the first company on the Sci-Tech Innovation board to have consecutive +20% gain limit-up days, and of course, trading has now been suspended pending the shareholders’ meeting outcome.

Today’s shareholders’ meeting attracted countless investors and media attention; outside the doors of Xingguang Precision, numerous reporters awaited to capture the first-hand news.

Though called a shareholders’ meeting, not many shareholders were physically present, apart from representatives of significant shareholders and a few large individual shareholders. Middle and small retail investors usually do not attend in person.

However, these retail investors can vote through online methods.

The company secretary, in charge of hosting the shareholders’ meeting, began to speak: “Ladies and gentlemen, today’s emergency shareholders’ meeting has a single agenda item—to review the private placement stock proposal submitted by the second-largest shareholder, Powerful Capital. Voting by present shareholders and online shareholders will proceed simultaneously. Now, please, shareholders present, cast your vote. Those in favor, please raise your hands!”

As the company secretary’s words concluded, a forest of arms was raised.

Staff quickly began recording. Although many hands were raised at the scene, it did not necessarily mean the proposal had passed.

Whether the proposal passes depends on whether more than two-thirds of the voting power held by shareholders present at the meeting cast favorable votes.

In other words, to prevent the proposal from passing, more than one-third of the voting power must vote against it.

As the largest shareholder, Dream Technology held just over one-third of the shares, including those held on behalf of employees.

This meant that if Dream Technology voted against it and added just a few votes from retail investors, the proposal could be aborted.

This was President Liu’s confidence, which is why even though he lost the board vote previously, he was unconcerned.