Chapter 196 What is inheritance rights?

The rain came and went quickly, and in the blink of an eye the sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear.

The fusion of flowers, trees and high-rise buildings on both sides of the street has a futuristic sense of technology. Pedestrians wearing slippers, short-sleeved shirts and shorts are accustomed to it. They shake off water droplets, put away their umbrellas, and chat casually in a mixture of Chinese and English motorcycle accents.

Singapore, known as the Garden City, has a unique and exquisite and lazy tone among many major cities in Southeast Asia.

In the Marina Bay Financial Center, Xie Jingxing pushed up his sunglasses and looked up at the glass curtain wall of the office building that reached into the sky.

This place was just completed last year, and Mr. Lee personally presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. It carries the symbolic significance of Singapore as the financial center of Asia in the new century.

The economic miracle of the four Asian tigers at the end of the last century no longer exists, but capital flows like water and never stops, so there must always be a reservoir as a safe haven.

Singapore has worked hard for decades to dig reservoirs and build the most livable capital environment. The harvest season has finally arrived. In the next 20 years, countless wealth from all over Asia will gather here.

"Jingxing, have you been waiting for a long time? Sorry, I was just assembling the desk."

A middle-aged woman with a thin figure, dark skin, neat short hair, and ordinary looks who inexplicably resembled Li Yuchun walked quickly in front of him.

Xie Jingxing took off his sunglasses and opened his arms: "Long time no see."

"Should I say you're as handsome as ever?" Chen Huiling smiled and hugged.

Xie Jing Xing complained seriously: "I know it's just a compliment, but it sounds very comfortable. It turns out that people like to hear nice things."

"Come on, I sincerely praise you. At least your fame is growing. Bingyao really wants to meet you, but unfortunately he has returned to Malaysia. He had to repeatedly ask me to treat you well." Chen Huiling explained regretfully.

Xie Jingxing shrugged: "Then please take me to visit your new office first."

Often the first contact between people determines how they get along with each other. Chen Huiling is a Malaysian who graduated from Harvard University and previously worked in McKinsey Asia.

He is a typical high-end Asian elite template, and he is less than ten years older than Xie Jingxing. The two of them have a lot in common when they are interested in getting to know each other.

The two made an appointment to go cycling when they first met a few years ago, and then went to a concert and had a few drinks in a bar.

Rather than discussing alliance and cooperation, it was more like getting along with friends, so when they occasionally chatted on Facebook over the past six months, Chen Huiling did not call him Mr. Xie, but only called him Jingxing.

Xie Jingxing was very happy about this. There were too many people who called him Mr. Xie, or the older brothers of the same generation as Old Xie, such as Old Ma and Little Ma, who called him Little Xie, which was a bit boring.

"Jingxing, look over there. We will move in in two years and have an entire floor of offices."

After entering the office building and taking a brief tour of the small and simple office, Chen Huiling looked out the window with longing eyes at the scenery of Tanjong Pagar Port and the second phase of office building under construction next door.

Grab is a Malaysian company and failed to get investment from the Malaysian sovereign fund. When Xie Jingxing and Xie Jingxing met at the end of last year, she was busy trying to get investment from the Singapore government's sovereign fund.

It wasn't until last month that it was finalized, when Temasek Sovereign Fund invested several million dollars in them through one of its sub-funds in China, completing its Series A financing.

She and the company's other founder, Chen Bingyao, immediately decided to move the company's headquarters to Singapore, which would not only facilitate the introduction of top investment institutions for subsequent strategic financing, but also facilitate the business layout throughout the Southeast Asian market.

"So you told me this because you want to invite me to join you?" Xie Jingxing asked with interest.

"I must admit that I was a little sloppy during our last meeting."

Chen Huiling held the office door with her hand and gestured for you to come in. "Fortunately, we had a pleasant chat at that time, otherwise I really don't know how to face you now."

"I'm not a stingy person, but the wine you treated me to last time was pretty good." Xie Jingxing walked into the office.

Chen Huiling followed behind him and spread her hands, "No problem, drink as much as you want tonight, it's my treat."

The last time Xie Jingxing came, he only said that Didi and Grab were cooperating to fight against Uber. From her perspective, she naturally believed that Didi was targeting the Southeast Asian market.

As a result, when the Didi-Kuaidi merger was completed in February, it was realized that Didi's size had suddenly grown to the point where it could compete with Uber in the Chinese market, and it was not impossible for it to open up a second battlefield in Southeast Asia.

Therefore, for Grab, Didi has considerable strategic value, and cooperation is always better than having one more enemy.

"I can help you take the lead in the discussion, but I can't decide the specific details." Xie Jingxing felt pessimistic.

During the merger of Didi and Kuaidi, Cheng Wei and Liu Qing also did not know how strong they were, so they simply adopted his strategic approach of cooperating with the "rebels" around the world.

Now, after half a year of recuperation and internal reorganization, the attitudes of this male and female duo have gradually changed.

Markets such as North America, Europe, and the Middle East are out of reach and we can only cooperate. But how can we allow others to sleep soundly under our couch in regions like Southeast Asia and India, which are right at our doorstep?
Cheng Wei said privately that if he was going to use hundreds of millions of dollars to support his Southeast Asian counterparts in their fight against Uber, why not take out half of the money and fight Uber himself and take them along at the same time?

This shows this guy's inflated self-confidence. In short, Didi's Southeast Asian business department is being set up, Grab wants to accept investment, but Didi is unwilling to invest.

"Thank you very much for your help. It would be best if we could arrange a meeting as soon as possible. We have other plans."

Chen Huiling understood the implicit meaning and returned the favor by revealing that Grab has financing plans in the near future, which also meant to increase its bargaining chips.

Although you are very strong, we are also not weak as we have received continuous financing. It is best for everyone to get along well and make money.

"Next month, I'll invite Didi President Jean Liu to come over."

Xie Jingxing didn't take it seriously and responded directly. Liu Qing was going to Silicon Valley next month to invest in Lyft, so it wouldn't be a big deal for him to stop by Singapore on the way.

He explained after a moment of hesitation: "Actually, I hope you and Didi can cooperate, but you know, a certain degree of competition is often unavoidable."

In Southeast Asia, there are more than a dozen countries, each with its own folk customs, and the situation is very complicated.

In the market, Grab has launched more than ten travel business software, some of which are specifically for passengers with pets, some are specifically for passengers with children, and some are specifically for "motorcycle taxi" rides.

Without mobile payment, Didi has to collect a deposit from drivers first. Every time the driver completes an order on the platform, the commission deducted from the deposit is enough to make Didi pay a lot of money.

Not to mention the political and business rules and regulations. Facts have proved that in Southeast Asia, whether it is Didi or Uber, it is difficult for outsiders to truly localize.

But Didi has no choice. Although Cheng Wei is full of confidence, the deeper reason is that the many investors behind the billion-dollar valuation will not allow him to implement an appeasement policy at his doorstep.

There is no reason to make peace without fighting. Fight first. Winning is the best. If you lose, you should understand your own strengths and talk about cooperation.

Chen Huiling understood this logic. In fact, there were great differences within their company regarding the introduction of Didi's strategic investment.

She and Chen Bingyao knew clearly that Didi and Uber were not easy to deal with. If everyone understood this, there would be no distinction between smart people and fools in the world. The company swept the Malaysian market with great momentum, entered Singapore as a springboard, and gradually integrated Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The huge map hanging in the conference room was filled with flags.

Why don’t we dare to fight Uber and Didi head-on? Why should we cooperate with them?

Everyone is in the game and is being pushed forward. It is unavoidable that there is a certain degree of competition. So what happens after the results are out?

Chen Huiling looked to the future: "Jingxing, putting Didi aside, what do you think of us personally?"

"High-quality founding team, high-quality projects. In fact, I think you are different from Didi."

Xie Jingxing was well prepared: "The Chinese market is too big. A single market is enough to create a company with a market value of $100 billion, which leads to too fierce competition. Cheng Wei has been busy fighting, acquiring, and fighting again every day in the past few years since he started his business."

"Didi doesn't have the energy to expand its refined business development. Cheng Wei must force himself to look further ahead and think about what the online car-hailing industry will look like in ten years, and focus on this track."

He said with a complicated tone that he felt sorry for Xiao Cheng, and then changed the subject: "You are different. There are many barriers between regions in the broad Southeast Asian market. It is more appropriate to focus on the present rather than the future, and diversify your development every time you win a market."

"For example?" Chen Huiling nodded repeatedly as if thinking about something.

Xie Jingxing raised his eyebrows: "For example, the transaction payment problem you are facing. Since you have already taken the leading position in the Malaysian market, why don't you do mobile payment business yourself?"

“There are also food delivery, group buying reviews, and even inter-city logistics that we talked about last time. We will focus on the entire local life concept and become the ‘all-purpose Grab’.”

He emphasized slowly: "All of these can be supported by mobile payment business."

Southeast Asia is a market where cash transactions account for as much as 90%, there is no Internet or mobile payment, and the credit card penetration rate is only 3%.

Grab has the potential to become a giant among its domestic peers by using mobile payment as its core. Its market value of US$500 billion ten years later speaks for itself, and this is based on the premise that they have several small competitors of the same level.

The entire Southeast Asian Internet market has a capacity of hundreds of billions of dollars and is a backward "third world market" with ample room for growth.

"What did your Chairman Chen Bingyao say? Drive Southeast Asia Forward."

Xie Jingxing concluded frankly: "I like this statement. If you invite me to join you, I will say yes without hesitation."

“…wait a minute, it’s driving growth in Southeast Asia.”

Chen Huiling held her forehead with her hand. She just wanted to test Xie Jingxing's attitude. If necessary, she could get him to invest, so that she would have more options for competing with Didi in the future.

As a result, I received a grand blueprint of Didi + Meituan + Alipay + local logistics. This pie was drawn so beautifully.

The biggest opportunity in emerging markets comes from providing services to the billions of poor people who are experiencing the market economy for the first time. Chen Huiling recalled the business case courses she had taken at Harvard and her views coincided with those of Xie Jingxing.

Xie Jingxing nodded his chin to himself: "It doesn't matter whether it's to spur or drive, or to rule Southeast Asia, I'm willing anyway."

"So, respected Mr. Xie, are you willing to marry us?" Chen Huiling joked lightly.

Xie Jing Xing sat up straight and replied seriously: "It's my honor."

He did not consider the online car-hailing business this time. He originally planned to cooperate with the food delivery business and then seek financing opportunities.

This makes things much simpler. Grab will promote mobile payment business and assist food delivery business, and initially establish an investment ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

The subsequent layout direction for the entire Southeast Asia region became clear instantly. There was no need to devote too much energy to it, and we could invest in projects one by one step by step.

We should wait quietly for Tencent, Alibaba, and many other domestic venture capital peers to explore Southeast Asia, a Feng Shui treasure land. Then we can talk about the dividends that we should reap as the "first to try".

"To be honest, I think you are very similar to Bingyao. You are very good at communication and operations." Chen Huiling said inexplicably and in a complicated tone.

Tan Bingyao’s grandfather was one of the three great Chinese leaders in Malaysia in the last century. He was called “Red Boy” in China and his family was one of the richest in Southeast Asia.

Chen Huiling and he are Harvard alumni. After graduation, when she worked in McKinsey Asia, she complained about the unsafe social environment in Southeast Asia. She had to pretend to talk to her mother on the way home every night after working overtime.

Tan Bing Yao was inspired to leave the family business and start Grab. Similar to Xie Jingxing’s experience, his father did not believe in him.

He could spend money profligately but not start a business, and at one point the issue came to the point where they threatened to cancel his inheritance rights to the family wealth.

Coincidentally, Chen Bingyao's mother is not the kind of person who is content to be a full-time housewife at home. She is the president of the family business and holds great power.

I unconditionally supported my son with tens of millions of dollars in start-up capital, and even served as the chairman of Grab in its early days. No one can cancel my son's inheritance rights, not even his own father.

With such a starting point, when Chen Bingyao went out to look for taxi companies to cooperate with, industry leaders would come forward and say, "Your grandfather once helped me, I couldn't repay the favor back then, and now you are my junior."

He is also capable and did not let the legacy of his ancestors go to waste. He integrated various resources and in just two years expanded the company from Malaysia to Singapore, and now has his sights on the entire Southeast Asia.

Their growth path is basically the same as Xie Jingxing’s, as if all the power and wealth in the world can be related to them.

It doesn't take much effort to bring Chinese capital to Grab, connect it with the technical resources of one Internet giant after another, and obtain policy-level assistance.

The reason why Temasek went around in circles and invested in Grab through its Chinese sub-fund was to obtain these things. Now it only needs to become friends with Xie Jingxing and demonstrate its own value, and everything will be within reach.

This is their innate talent for "communication operation" that ordinary people cannot imitate. Chen Huiling feels sorry for her own academic qualifications.

"The Chinese market is so huge, and the Internet industry is developing rapidly."

Xie Jingxing concluded: "For Southeast Asian peers, if they want to grow bigger, they will almost certainly have to be related to Chinese capital. Or to put it another way, whoever gets strong support from Chinese capital first will be able to grow rapidly."

"This is the market's choice. Chinese capital will always come here. It has nothing to do with me."

He instinctively avoided the halo of his father's generation, but discovered the commonalities among the children of the powerful and wealthy. Chen Huiling smiled knowingly.

"In fact, Chen Yaobing and I are completely different." Xie Jingxing retorted helplessly.

Chen Huiling looked as if to say, "Do you think I believe it?"

"He has two brothers, but I don't. I have never known what inheritance rights are!" Xie Jingxing raised his chin.

(End of this chapter)