In 2005, there was another private enterprise that could shine like Zhonghua Group, that is, Huawei Group, which conquered the international telecommunications market, and their sales revenue exceeded 45 billion yuan, achieving a high growth rate of 40% year-on-year.

The two outstanding companies have something in common, that is, they are non-state-owned enterprises, which are strongly controlled by the company's founders and adhere to a technology-driven market strategy with high investment in independent research and development.

What would the prospects be if two of China's best private enterprises could be brought together?

After leaving Guangfu City, the capital of Nanyue Province, Han Hao went to Pengcheng, the forefront of reform and opening up, and was invited to visit HiSilicon Semiconductor, a chip research and development company jointly established by Zhonghua Group and Huawei Group.

As soon as the company was established, it was a high starting point, with a registered capital of up to 3 billion yuan, of which Huawei accounted for 70% of the shares, and the remaining 30% was borne by Zhonghua Group.

In fact, HiSilicon Semiconductor did not start from scratch, but inherited from the former "Huawei Application Specific Integrated Circuit Center", but now the official shotgun to cannon has started the development of high-precision chip technology, the pinnacle of impact technology.

Huawei deeply feels the importance of chips when making telecommunications equipment, and Zhonghua Group has also discovered the irreplaceable core of chips after making cars.

Now whether it is Huawei's telecom terminal or the Zhonghua car running on the road, all the chips used in the body are imported, once foreign countries ban exports to China, then the original vigorous Chinese national enterprises will be paralyzed.

With this consensus in mind, the two Chinese private giants have joined forces to launch a suicide investment project that seems impossible to succeed in the outside world.

3 billion real money, less than 2 years to consume, this time to invite Han Hao to come, Huawei's boss Ren Weizheng The main purpose is to let him see where the money is spent, and by the way, discuss the additional follow-up investment amount.

So much money will be used up all at once, and sure enough, chips are an industry that burns money without blinking, and if it was a listed company, shareholders would have voted to terminate such a hopeless project.

Semiconductor chips are an industry with a long industrial chain and the need for collaboration in various fields. The simple distinction involves different industries such as software, computers, new materials, manufacturing equipment, precision machining, and chemical raw materials.

In fact, China's semiconductor industry did not start late, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, a large number of returned talents from abroad built an independent semiconductor industry system. Due to the influence of the Soviet Union, China's industrial system also embarked on the path of a planned economy, focusing on military heavy industry. The budding semiconductor industry has made outstanding contributions to our country's "two bombs and one satellite" and domestic aircraft and submarines.

However, in the civilian field, semiconductors have not made any progress, and after the reform and opening up in the 80s, it was found that China's semiconductor industry has lagged behind foreign countries for at least 10 years under the influence of Moore's theorem. Coupled with the constraints of the planned economic system, a large number of state-owned electronics factories closed down in the tide of marketization, and China's semiconductor industry suffered a heavy blow.

Originally, it was only behind the two economic and technological powers of the United States and Japan, but I didn't expect to be surpassed by neighboring countries and regions such as South Korea and Taiwan, and chip imports have become a strategic material like oil for China.

The country also saw the importance of chips, and from the mid-80s to the end of the 90s, it deliberately organized three key battles, hoping to catch up with the technical level of foreign semiconductors. The results are not satisfactory, the chip industry is updated too fast, our country has fallen into a vicious circle of "introduction-factory-production-backwardness-re-introduction", coupled with the impact of ten years of turmoil has led to the discontinuation of talents, and we have to watch the technology gap widen.

It's a pity that HiSilicon Semiconductor has met two of China's craziest private entrepreneurs, whether it is Han Hao or Huawei's CEO Ren Weizheng, both of whom are determined to continue to fight this battle that cannot see the dawn for the time being.

A whole R&D center, as many as thousands of young engineers, as well as high-end semiconductor technology talents poached from abroad, as well as chip testing and R&D equipment imported from abroad, etc., these are the places where the initial investment of 3 billion yuan goes.

"Don't look at these young engineers as immature, they are all a new generation of talents cultivated by our country since the reform and opening up, and they have very strong learning and hands-on ability. I firmly believe that in the future, China's independent high-end chips will be born in their hands, and they are Huawei's most valuable asset. ”

He personally led Han Hao to visit HiSilicon, and Ren Weizheng pointed to the busy engineers and introduced Han Hao.

China's engineer talent dividend has also been noticed by Huawei's CEO Ren Weizheng, who recruits all kinds of talents regardless of the cost, and is ready to rely on crowd tactics to overcome the difficulty of chips.

"I'm relieved to see that you're spending all your money on them. If we want to engage in products that can directly be in line with international standards, we can't repeat the mistake of falling behind when they are put into production. I have been in business for so many years, and I have summed up a rule that investors are the most cost-effective deal!"

Han Hao also had an understanding of the domestic semiconductor industry before he came, and knew that this industry could be said to be a field that had been guarded for ten years, and it was impossible to make a leap.

"Our Huawei's strategy is to first release guns everywhere, and once we find an opportunity through the sound of gunfire, we will concentrate our superior forces to bomb and break through, and form our own fortress after occupying the city wall.

In the past, our independent integrated circuit center developed switch circuit boards, breaking foreign monopoly and reducing costs by nearly 90%. This is enough to prove that semiconductor chips are a vast blue ocean, with few players but a winner-takes-all situation.

Mr. Han, of course I agree with you when you say that you want to make products that are in line with international standards, but you have to consider more substitution. In case a foreign country gets stuck in our neck, at least we can come up with a replacement, which may be worse in performance but can still be replaced.

In fact, semiconductor chip companies are supported by national forces, and our country is still in a wait-and-see posture due to the failure of the first three concentrated research projects. Chip technology is changing with each passing day, and it is definitely too late to just sit and wait. However, the investment risk is huge, and ordinary enterprises really can't afford the cost, and the investment of billions of yuan is not there, and few companies can afford to take the risk. If you hadn't taken the initiative to find it, I really wouldn't have made such a big determination to go to Mahaisi Semiconductor immediately. ”

Although he was one round older than Han Hao in his grade, Ren Weizheng, who was born in 1944, treated him with the etiquette of his peers. Because this has nothing to do with age, nor status, it is purely a kind of sympathy between heroes.

Ren Weizheng said frankly that without Han Hao's joining, he would not have been able to take a key step into chips.

The fact that this young man in front of him was able to bring a township enterprise to the throne of China's largest private enterprise with his own strength is enough to prove his extraordinary ability. What's even more terrifying is that everyone knows that this is not Han Hao's peak, because Zhonghua Group is still growing at a rapid pace and constantly evolving.

"The road of the national team can't go through, so let's give it a try. If we can't even do it together with two of China's best companies, then I can't think of anyone else who can take on such a heavy responsibility!"

Feeling that Huawei's engineer culture is similar to that of Zhonghua Group, Han Hao feels that choosing the other party as a partner will definitely have a successful day.

Under this premise, the two parties agreed to continue to invest an additional RMB 2 billion in chip research and development, and at the same time turn on-board chips into the second largest R&D focus after telecom chips.

Han Hao promised that as long as Hisilicon can build on-board chips, Zhonghua Group will unconditionally support domestic chips and act as an incubator platform to install them on more than one million autonomous vehicles.

After his visit to Huawei, Han Hao could not leave Nanyue Province to go home, and he continued to take a plane across the Pearl River estuary to Haizhu City, where Gree is located.

Since Gree did not plan to sell to the Americans, it had to accept the shares of new strategic investors, and Han Hao acquired 38% of the shares of Gree Electric Appliances held by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Haizhu City at a price of 2 billion yuan, officially becoming the largest shareholder of Gree. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Haizhu City only retains less than 5% of the equity, and acts as a minority shareholder with peace of mind, arbitraging the exit of Gree Electric, a home appliance company with a bad future.

Originally, it was planned to sell it to the Americans for 900 million yuan, but now that Han Hao came forward to offer 2 billion, the Haizhu SASAC felt that it had made a lot of money. There have always been contradictions and differences between the local government and Gree's management, and as a major shareholder, he can't decide Gree's movements.

Gree Electric Appliances does not belong to the Zhonghua Group, but belongs to the investment fund in the name of Han Hao, and it is a loose alliance with the Zhonghua Group.

The money for the purchase of the equity of Gree Electric Appliances was Han Hao's mortgage of his own shares and the financing money from the bank to pay to the Haizhu State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Nanyue Provincial Payment approved the deal as a welcome gift to attract Han Hao to come and invest.

Han Hao's investment is a great joy for Gree Electric, especially the cooperation between the two sides in the field of vehicle air conditioning is a major good news.

Dong Qizhen was continued to be appointed as the general manager of Gree Electric Appliances, and Han Hao did not intend to interfere in the normal operation of Gree, and he would exist as a strategic investor.

Finally got rid of the annoying mother-in-law of Haizhu State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which made Dong Qizhen very happy, and the independence she had dreamed of for many years was finally realized, and she could give it a go in the domestic air conditioning market.

When he knew that Zhonghua Group would put into operation a new base in Nansha New Area, Dong Qizhen took the initiative to invite Yinggree to be the first follower to also settle in, preparing to set up the on-board air conditioning factory in Nansha to facilitate the Nansha factory of Zhonghua Group. This made Guangfu City very happy, and it really attracted the golden phoenix of Zhonghua Group, followed by many little sparrows.

In this way, Gree officially joined the alliance of China Group and formed an industrial complementary relationship.

However, when Han Hao finally returned to Jiangzhou, he received an urgent military information from Nanyue Province, and it seemed that his fate with the local area was not over.