181: Chapter 181 San Sang Enters the African Market

"I'm not in a rush regarding the India market. Let's wait for someone to help us set a precedent first."

Laughter erupted in the conference room once again...

That destined person should be forced to head to the India market soon, right?

Meanwhile, on the other side, Xiaomi Company also began its year-end meeting.

Unsurprisingly, whether to enter a new market was a key topic of discussion.

Ultimately, they decided to first establish an expansion team to tentatively promote products like the Xiaomi Youth Edition to see how they would perform.

If it goes well, Xiaomi will take the lead before Transsion starts taking action.

...

January 10, 2011, Lagos.

Mr. Adebayo sat in his office, looking at the data that Van Dijk had just had his secretary send over; it contained some truly astonishing figures.

AfriLink registered users: 123 million.

Seeing this number, he felt a wave of excitement.

The African market had finally welcomed its first internet platform with over 100 million registered users.

His homeland had finally risen.

His phone rang, and Van Dijk's name flashed on the screen.

"Mr. Adebayo, you've seen the data, right?"

"Mr. Van Dijk, I have seen the data. 123 million, number one in Africa. The AfriLink team is capable, and the company's support is truly important."

Mr. Adebayo didn't say anything more...

Van Dijk's lips curled up slightly; the swap really wasn't too much of a loss.

Soon, he added imploringly: "Mr. Adebayo, I want to discuss something with you."

"What is it?"

"Going public."

Mr. Adebayo clearly didn't react in time: "Going public?"

"Yes." Van Dijk's voice was calm, almost matter-of-fact. "AfriLink's scale is already sufficient for an IPO. NASDAQ, the London Stock Exchange, or the Hong Kong Stock Exchange—we can choose."

He hesitated for a moment: "I haven't discussed this with Mr. Huang yet. But I believe he will generally agree."

"Now, I want to hear your opinion."

In truth, Van Dijk was still a bit anxious; in terms of user growth, he hadn't lost too much.

But last year, he had taken over at a high valuation. Although it was a 10 billion USD valuation, the discounted Tencent shares brought its actual value to around 12 billion USD.

If he didn't take advantage of the African gold rush to drive up the stock price, he would ultimately only end up losing money...

He was far less relaxed than he appeared.

"Mr. Van Dijk, after going public, will the company still belong to the African people?"

Mr. Adebayo hadn't forgotten how Van Dijk had persuaded him in the past, so he asked specifically.

To this, Van Dijk smiled awkwardly...

"Of course. We are only selling a small portion of shares; the majority is still in our hands. Going public is just for financing, to make it even bigger."

"In that case, I believe Mr. Huang will agree."

Van Dijk said: "Certainly, but I would like to ask Mr. Adebayo to give Mr. Huang a heads-up."

"I will go prepare the materials now."

After hanging up the phone, Mr. Adebayo put it aside; his acting skills were truly getting better and better.

It was just software.

The moment the shares were handed over, this software had already been abandoned.

Currently, Huaxin only held 21% of AfriLink's shares; the rest had all been exchanged for the core technologies that Transsion needed.

In Van Dijk's eyes, AfriLink might be a new treasure trove to prove himself, but in Huang Tianya's eyes, it was merely a capital trap.

Regardless, as Van Dijk said, Huang Tianya would certainly agree to the IPO.

After all, they could still harvest another batch of leeks.

...

January 15, the African edition of Time magazine was published.

Cover person: Mr. Adebayo

Title: "The King of the African Mobile Market: From Street Vendor to Billionaire"

The article wrote that a few years ago, he was still a small street vendor selling second-hand phones. Now, he managed the largest mobile phone company in Africa and had become an honored guest in various countries.

It was a symbol of the African Dream and a model of the combination of Chinese capital and indigenous African power.

This magazine made Mr. Adebayo very excited. He hurriedly reported this good news to his family and Shen Fei...

But on the other side, AfriLink founder Sayid angrily pounded the table.

He's just a hired hand, how does he deserve this? How does he deserve to appear on Time magazine one after another?

In order to let AfriLink's market value reach a new height, he and Van Dijk had specially found someone to get him on Time magazine, but in the end, the cover was changed to Van Dijk...

He's a running dog for the Chinese, a professional manager on a fixed salary—how can he be considered a billionaire?

How can he surpass him?

How can he appear on Time magazine one after another?

Go public! Must go public!

However, before that, he still needed to lie low for a bit. After going public, he would wash away more of Huaxin's 21% stake; only then would he be truly liberated.

Only then would he be able to truly get rid of the title of "Sinner of Africa".

...

February 1, South Korea, Seoul.

In the Samsung Electronics Chairman's office, Lee Kun-hee looked at the report in his hand and was also very shocked.

That godforsaken place in Africa could actually burst with such great potential.

What shocked him even more was that in just two years, their market share in the African market had actually dropped to 8%.

From the original 20% down to 8%, this made him a bit worried.

He put down the report and looked across at the other side:

"President Choi, how is the preparation for the Africa Division going?"

President Choi nodded confidently. He firmly believed that the reason Transsion was able to achieve a market share of around 70% was because Samsung hadn't competed for it, along with their low-price marketing.

As for those so-called technologies, they were useless, just flashy, and nowhere near as important as the brand logo.

As long as the powerful Samsung took it seriously, they would definitely collapse.

"Chairman, it's already prepared.

A team of 50 people, a budget of 300 million USD, officially launching next month."

Lee Kun-hee nodded.

He looked at the report...

High-end market 78%, a step further compared to the report from last year.

The price range for the low-end market had increased from under 100 yuan to 150 yuan.

Transsion's T1, Power max, and Power2max had completely swallowed up the sinking market.

"This competitor cannot be underestimated. When we go to Africa, we must take back the market, and in this process, we can use any means necessary."

"Remember, any means necessary."

President Choi nodded; he understood what Chairman Lee meant.

Making empty promises.

They would give what China Star dared to give, and they would even give what China Star didn't dare to give.

...

February 15, 2011, Lagos. The Samsung Africa Division was officially established. The office location was not chosen next to Transsion, but instead, it was set in the most expensive office building on Victoria Island.

They didn't come this time to compete with Transsion; they came for dimensional reduction strikes.

A brand name, plus a serious team—taking back the high-end market would be an easy task. After all, what the rich wanted was this face.

On the day of the opening, President Choi attended in person.

Looking at the dealers who had come for his reputation, he looked at the audience:

"Samsung is the world's number one mobile phone brand. Now that we are here, the African market will be different."

A smattering of applause rang out in the audience. He looked at these excited dealers and said:

"Transsion's products are indeed good, but they don't know how to share.

Those who hog all the benefits are destined not to go far.

Here, we welcome all franchisees. As long as you are willing to spend money, you can become our agents.

As long as you become an agent, we are family. Whatever Transsion can give you, Samsung can give you double."