I'm back in 1990

Chapter 527: Soso Goes Public

On January 28, 2000, just before the dot-com bubble burst, Soso.com went public on Nasdaq.

Because the Nasdaq index was heading towards its peak at that moment, after several parties held emergency consultations, the offering price of Soso.com was readjusted from the original $21 to $28. As a result, the original plan to issue 860 million American Depositary Shares and raise a total of $18 billion was changed.

The number of shares to be issued remains the same, but the amount of funds raised has increased to $24 billion, $6000 million more than originally planned.

After the bell rang, Soso.com's stock price began to soar. By the close of trading that day, Soso.com's closing price was $67, but it had reached a high of $70 during the day.

This means that Soso.com's stock price rose by more than 239% on that day.

When the news reached China, it was widely reprinted and reported by major media outlets, becoming a major news story known to everyone in China these past few days. Although many people did not know the true significance of listing in the United States, one thing was certain: as all the major media outlets reported, founder Zhang Xiangguang is now a veritable billionaire.

Moreover, his assets will henceforth be calculated in US dollars.

In this context, Soso.com's success as the first technology company to list in the US has given other eagerly awaiting tech companies great confidence, prompting them to accelerate their plans to list on Nasdaq.

After the stock market closed, Zhang Xiangguang calculated the time. It was 5 a.m. in China. He thought Huang Xiaochuan should be up by now. There's a saying that the early bird catches the worm. Huang Xiaochuan must be a hardworking person, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to build such a large business at such a young age.

Just a few minutes past five o'clock, Huang Xiaochuan's phone rang. Because of a habit he carried over from his previous life, Huang Xiaochuan never turned off his phone 24 hours a day. Firstly, the people who knew this number were the people he was most familiar with, and secondly, in case of any emergency, he could get information immediately.

Huang Xiaochuan, who was woken up by the phone call, didn't bother to check who was calling. After answering the call, he went to his study. He did this mainly because he was worried about waking Yu Xiang. After all, she usually works very hard, and if she didn't get enough rest at night, it would be too bad for her health.

After closing the study door, he said "feed" into his phone.

Upon hearing Zhang Xiangguang's voice on the other end of the phone, Huang Xiaochuan glanced at the time, still half asleep, and immediately became grumpy.

"Old Zhang, what the hell is it? Is your house on fire? Why are you calling me so early?"

Still caught up in his excitement, Zhang Xiangguang didn't mind Huang Xiaochuan's profanity at all. Instead, he shouted into the phone, "Have you forgotten? I'm in the US, and Soso.com went public! The offering price was $28, and it just closed at $67! Our net worth has both increased! We're both billionaires now! Aren't you happy?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaochuan groaned and covered his forehead, complaining inwardly, "Damn it, you, Lao Zhang, have only become worth a few hundred million. Is it really necessary to be this happy?"

However, since this is Zhang Xiangguang's shining moment, let's not dampen his spirits.

Huang Xiaochuan replied perfunctorily, "Happy, happy! Congratulations, Lao Zhang, you succeeded!"

Perhaps it was a case of excessive joy turning to sorrow. Recalling all the hardships he had faced since starting his business, Zhang Xiangguang suddenly sobbed and said to Huang Xiaochuan, "Xiaochuan, I've had it so damn tough, sob sob sob!"

Huang Xiaochuan understood Lao Zhang's situation quite well. When Lao Zhang first returned to China, there was a wire mesh around his head, but less than half a year after he founded Soso.com, the wire mesh disappeared, leaving behind an empty skating rink.

Huang Xiaochuan could only patiently comfort the bald man in his thirties over the phone.

"Old Zhang, as the saying goes, after hardship comes happiness. This is what you deserve, and it's only natural to be happy. But you're a grown man, don't shed tears in front of a bunch of foreigners. Aren't you afraid of embarrassing us Chinese people? You're not just representing yourself now, you know?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiangguang quickly glanced around furtively. Luckily, no one was there. He quickly wiped away the tears on his face and his tone returned to normal: "I know, I was just a little emotional."

Seeing that Zhang Xiangguang had gradually calmed down, Huang Xiaochuan finally felt relieved: "Alright, alright, calm down a bit. You can get all excited when you get back. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now. It's still early, I can go back to sleep."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiangguang was so angry that he wanted to rush over the phone line and pull Huang Xiaochuan out of bed.

He seemed completely unconcerned about such a joyous occasion, and even wanted to go back to sleep? Shouldn't he be too excited to sleep?

Before he could speak, Huang Xiaochuan on the other end had already hung up the phone.

Zhang Xiangguang glanced at his phone, then shook his head with a wry smile.

By this time, people had been looking for him for quite some time.

"Hey! Zhang! What are you doing hiding here! We're all waiting for you to pop the champagne!"

Zhang Xiangguang calmed himself down, put on a smile, and said to the newcomer, "They're here, they're here!"

Zhang Xiangguang personally opened a bottle of 1996 Dom Pérignon. The foam instantly meandered down the side of the glass, much like the soaring stock chart of today.

Everyone raised their glasses and cheered.

Huang Xiaochuan, who was woken up by the phone call, was unable to go back to sleep. In order not to wake Yu Xiang, he did not go back to his room, but lay down directly on the small bed in the study.

He lay on the small bed in the study, his hands behind his head, his mind racing with calculations. Currently, a total of 217 shares of Soso.com were held by an investment company under Huang Xiaochuan's control.

Based on the current stock market value, the value of these circulating shares has skyrocketed, but these are all illusory figures. Moreover, according to Zhang Yun's plan, these circulating shares will be quickly pledged to banks and exchanged for circulating currency shortly after Soso.com goes public.

By then, these profits will no longer be just abstract figures; they will be real, tangible cash.

However, this plan was not revealed to Zhang Xiangguang. I wonder what kind of expression Old Zhang will have when he finds out about this in the future?

Huang Xiaochuan originally wanted to tell Lao Zhang, but Zhang Yun firmly disagreed. This is what she told Huang Xiaochuan.

"This short-selling of the Nasdaq involves hundreds of billions of dollars. What if your actions expose the plan?"

Huang Xiaochuan thought about it and realized it made sense. If a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if a minister is not discreet, he will lose his life. In the face of such a significant event, it is better not to do some good deeds.

Don't get lost while following the book; bookmark it and read "1990, I'm Back" anytime.