Chapter 199: Doglegs and Disputes

At half past nine, the shareholders' meeting officially began.

First, Chairman Jiang Fengnian gave the overall work report of Sina Group in 2005.

Afterwards, Co-Chairman Duan Yongji gave a report on the previous year’s financial matters including revenue, profits, dividends, etc.

Sina adopts a dual-chairman structure. Although the real chairman is Jiang Fengnian, the one who makes the decisions is still Duan Yongji.

Finally, Sina CEO Wang Yan gave shareholders a detailed report on last year’s work and the achievements or mistakes made.

After these steps were completed, some other issues were discussed, such as whether the profits should be used for company development or dividends.

Liu Zhou sat in his seat without saying a word, watching Duan Yongji perform there.

As long as it was his proposal, it would be passed smoothly, and many people even paid attention to Duan Yongji's expression while speaking.

To be honest, Liu Zhou still underestimated Duan Yongji's power.

Duan Yongji has such great prestige at the shareholders' meeting, not to mention within the company.

I think most of these shareholder representatives who were able to attend the shareholders' meeting had been approved by Duan Yongji.

In fact, Liu Zhou was a little confused. Those who could become Sina shareholders should be people with some strength, so why would they be so fawning to Duan Yongji?

He has a lot of experience and prestige, but he wouldn't let them do this.

After deciding some things, the shareholders' meeting came to the last and most important item, which was the re-election of the board of directors.

However, the morning time had passed and it was already past noon.

So we will adjourn the meeting for now and discuss the re-election of the board of directors in the afternoon after lunch.

Many shareholders, including Duan Yongji, just had a simple lunch and then quickly returned to the company.

Liu Zhou did not ask for any special treatment. He also had a meal at a restaurant in Zhongguancun and then came back.

During the break in the conference room, Liu Zhou noticed that Duan Yongji and others looked very relaxed, as if the important matters of the afternoon were just a formality.

Duan Yongji saw Liu Zhou coming so early and said with a smile:

"Boss Liu, don't you want to take a break at noon?"

"I saw that everyone seemed to be back, so I came back too."

"Haha, Mr. Liu, you are really sociable."

"Yeah, I can't be unsociable."

Since he had some time, Liu Zhou stayed next to Duan Yongji and chatted with him.

Duan Yongji looks very kind and wears gold-rimmed glasses, giving people a gentlemanly feeling.

But from chatting with him, Liu Zhou could feel his strong character.

However, Duan Yongji is indeed well-informed. No matter what topic is discussed, he can always contribute a few words, and he even has his own opinions on movies.

He is not pretending to know something, he really has something.

Especially when talking about financial topics, he can talk about it fluently.

Duan Yongji saw that the people around him, including Liu Zhou, were listening to him attentively. Perhaps his former teacher gene had awakened, and he spoke even more enthusiastically.

I didn't stop until the afternoon meeting was about to begin, feeling unfulfilled.

Although Duan Yongji did not think there would be any surprises in the re-election of the board of directors, he put away his previous comfortable expression and his face became serious.

The previous board had a total of seven members.

They are Chairman Jiang Fengnian, Co-Chairman Duan Yongji, CEO Wang Yan, Chen Liwu of Walden International, Liu Zhou of Zhoushan Capital, Wu Zheng of Ideal Investment and former Sina CEO Mao Daolin.

There is no need to say much about the others, perhaps only Jiang Fengnian and Wu Zheng are relatively unfamiliar.

Jiang Fengnian is also a veteran of Sina and an iconic figure of Sina.

He was the founder and chairman of Huayuan Information at the time. After Huayuan Information merged with Sohu.com to form Sina, he has been working at Sina.

He has served as co-chairman since 99 and chairman since 01.

It was he who proposed the dual-chairman structure. He once publicly told the media:

He and Duan Yongji have exactly the same rights and responsibilities, with no division of labor. He and Duan Yongji each have their own strengths. Due to years of experience, he has an advantage in guiding Sina's specific business development, while Duan Yongji has more advantages in personnel and social resources.

However, since Wang Zhidong was kicked out in 01 and he was elected chairman, he has completely kept a low profile.

Later, some people joked that Jiang Fengnian only did three things at Sina:

First, I am passionate about playing basketball;

The second is to look at the financial statements but not express a position;
Three is to raise your hand at the board meeting, that’s all!

Wu Zheng of Ideal Investment represents Ideal Industrial Development Group, and Ideal Investment is a wholly-owned subsidiary of this group company.

Ideal Industrial Development Group is a diversified industrial group integrating cultural industry, financial investment, real estate development and market circulation. The Ideal International Building where Sina's headquarters is located is a property developed by this company.

To the south of Ideal International Building is the central green space planned for Zhongguancun Plaza, and to the north are preserved three original ancient trees that are over a hundred years old.

The reason why Ideal Industrial Development Group was able to build a building in such a prime location in Zhongguancun was because of Duan Yongji's help.

This company has close ties with Duan Yongji's Zhongguancun Technology Group.

Therefore, Wu Zheng is Duan Yongji's number one henchman. Usually, he is the first to rush to the front whenever something happens.

In fact, Duan Yongji didn't want to make any big changes to the board of directors. His only idea was to kick Mao Daolin out.

There has been three years of buffer time. Kick him out now will give him face and at the same time minimize the impact of public opinion.

So the voting of the other few people went smoothly and they were re-elected as the new board of directors of Sina.

After the final vote on Mao Daolin, Wu Zheng immediately spoke:
“Mr. Mao has stepped down as CEO for three years, and because of his status, I don’t think he is suitable to continue to serve as a director of Sina.

And I propose that Sina's Chief Financial Officer and Operating Officer Cao Guowei join the board of directors."

After Wu Zheng finished speaking, Duan Yongji looked around and said with a smile:

"Mr. Wu now has a new proposal, and everyone can speak freely."

However, everyone fell silent, and finally Chen Liwu spoke up:
"Mr. Mao has made outstanding contributions to Sina before. Is it inappropriate to ask him to leave Sina completely now?
Keeping him on the board will also allow him to continue to provide advice and suggestions for Sina's development."

"Mr. Chen, I think it's totally unnecessary. Sina is developing very well now, and he worked at Sina for three years without giving much advice," Wu Zheng continued.

"It is precisely because Sina is in such a good situation that we need to work harder. Mr. Mao knows Sina very well. If there are any problems at Sina, he, as an observer, can point them out more clearly."

"I don't believe that so many of us at Sina are inferior to him alone. Is there something wrong with Sina that we and other board members can't see?"

Before Chen Liwu could continue speaking, Wu Zheng continued:

"Mr. Chen, you have been insisting on keeping Mr. Mao on the board of directors. Are you trying to take advantage of the relationship behind him?"

Chen Liwu was so angry that he laughed at Wu Zheng's words.

He felt that it was completely meaningless and degrading to continue arguing with a lackey like Wu Zheng.

He lit a cigarette for himself, then ignored Wu Zheng and said to Duan Yongji:

"Boss Duan, do you also think that Boss Mao should be kicked out of the board of directors?"

"Mr. Chen, the word 'kick' is not quite appropriate. Aren't we discussing this now?"

Duan Yongji was a little puzzled as to why Chen Liwu, who rarely expressed his opinions before, suddenly became so talkative today and insisted on protecting Mao Daolin.

I haven't heard of any relationship or interest exchange between them.

"I was negotiating, but some people were like mad dogs, biting recklessly."

Hearing Chen Liwu's words, Wu Zheng was about to retort, but Duan Yongji glanced at him and he immediately held back.

"Mr. Chen, why do you insist on keeping Mao Daolin on the board? Wouldn't it be better to replace him with Cao Guowei?
He is the company's most senior executive after Mr. Wang, and promoting him to the board of directors will also be more helpful to the company's development."

"I understand. I am not against Cao Guowei joining the board. I am only against Mr. Mao leaving the board."

"But now six board members have been confirmed, and Mr. Mao and Cao Guowei can only choose one."

"Mr. Duan, I will cash out all my Sina shares this year, and then focus my investment on the semiconductor industry. In addition to funding, the relevant policies above are also very important for the semiconductor industry."

After saying that, Chen Liwu glanced at Liu Zhou without leaving a trace and said, "Damn, I even sacrificed myself to help you."

At this time, Duan Yongji was also secretly complaining in his heart.

Damn, Wu Zheng was right. Chen Liwu really was attracted by the connections behind Mao Daolin.

Although they speak with great righteousness, it is all business behind the scenes.

Duan Yongji did not doubt Chen Liwu's words, because he had made his fortune relying on the policies from above, and he knew clearly how easy it would be to do business if he followed the policies from above.

He also heard another message in Chen Liwu's words, that he would cash out all of his Sina shares within this year, which means that he would leave Sina completely this year.

Thinking of this, and thinking of Chen Liwu's previous support for him, Duan Yongji had to give him this face.

This put him in a dilemma.

Cao Guowei is the person he chose to succeed Wang Yan as the new helmsman of Sina, and his position will be voted on at the subsequent board meeting.

If Cho Kuk-wei is not allowed to join the board, it would not be in line with convention to elect him as CEO.

Even if it is forced through, it will have a certain impact on Cao Guowei's prestige.

But these two people always have to make a choice.

Thinking of his future plans, Duan Yongji couldn't help but grit his teeth. He had to be sorry for Chen Liwu this time. Even if it would offend him, there was nothing he could do.

Just as Duan Yongji was about to speak, a voice suddenly interrupted him:
"Mr. Duan, Mr. Chen, I have roughly understood what you said just now. Since neither Mr. Mao nor Mr. Cao are suitable to withdraw, why not increase the number of board members so that neither of them has to leave?"

(End of this chapter)