157: Fully enter the new energy market

Ji Jun had already memorized the core data by heart. As soon as he settled down, he stood up again and said in a steady tone, "Chairman Jiang, colleagues, this year the Group's consolidated revenue totaled 132.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.1%; net profit was 16.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.3%. Core businesses have shown steady progress, and emerging sectors have begun to show initial results."

Jiang Chen rested one hand on his chin, and with the knuckles of his other hand, he gently tapped the table, calmly pressing on, "Tell me more about the specific data for each sector and each company."

"Yes." Ji Jun responded, then looked at Yang Fan, the Chief Financial Officer beside him, "General Manager Yang, please first synchronize the financial details with everyone."

Yang Fan pushed up the glasses on his nose, stood up, and called up the pre-prepared electronic report. The data on the screen was clear and concise: "First, let's start with the core sectors. Xinghe Real Estate Company, General Manager Cheng."

General Manager Cheng Feiyu, the General Manager of the real estate company who was called out, immediately stood up, his back ramrod straight: "Chairman Jiang, the real estate sector's full-year revenue was 49.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11%. During the year, 12,000 high-quality housing units were delivered, with a delivery rate of 99.7%; the sell-through rates of key projects under the company, such as Xinghe Smart Hub and Xinghe Danti, all exceeded 90%. In terms of commercial complexes, Xinghe COCO PARK and Xinghe WORLD attracted over 80 million visitors throughout the year, and rental income increased by 15% year-on-year, firmly holding the basic market."

This achievement was quite impressive in the current real estate market. Jiang Chen nodded slightly, his gaze turning to Wu Gezhi, who also served as the General Manager of the financial company.

Wu Gezhi's body stiffened, and he quickly stood up, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible nervousness: "Chairman Jiang, Xinghe Finance's full-year revenue was 21.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18%. Its financing lease business disbursed over 30 billion yuan, primarily serving the Group's upstream and downstream industry chains; asset management scale exceeded 85 billion yuan, and the yield of fixed-income products remained stable at 4.2%, with no risk exposures."

He reported quickly and urgently, beads of sweat already forming on his forehead, and he consistently avoided making eye contact with Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen said nothing, only letting his gaze linger on him for two seconds before turning to Xu Jinzhong: "Tell me about the daily chemicals and home appliances sectors you oversee."

Xu Jinzhong stood up, his tone resolute: "Chairman Jiang, Xinghe Daily Chemicals' full-year revenue was 15.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22%—the botanical series of cosmetics and skincare products launched by General Manager Zhang Yan's team achieved online sales exceeding 3 billion yuan, directly entering the TOP10 in online beauty categories; Xinghe Home Appliances' revenue was 18.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16%, and the smart inverter air conditioners and built-in refrigerators spearheaded by General Manager Lu Ze saw sales increase by over 35% year-on-year, with offline channel coverage also increasing to 78%."

"What about the technology and property development sectors?" Jiang Chen's follow-up question came quickly.

Lin Zhifeng, the General Manager of Xinghe Technology Company, immediately responded: "Chairman Jiang, the technology sector's revenue was 9.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31%. The most significant growth was in industrial software and smart IoT device businesses, which not only served external clients but also provided digital transformation for the Group internally, achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvements of over 2 billion yuan."

Immediately after, Shu Zhonghua, the General Manager of the property development company, also stood up to report: "Chairman Jiang, the property development sector's full-year revenue was 7.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19%, primarily focusing on the operation of high-end office buildings and industrial parks, with occupancy rates stable above 92%..."

Subsequently, the heads of other companies who were called upon also stood up to report in turn, with clear organization and detailed data. After nearly two hours, all sectors had finished reporting. Everyone's gaze refocused on Jiang Chen—this report card was impressive enough, with a solid foundation in traditional businesses and strong momentum in emerging businesses, leaving almost no room for criticism.

Jiang Chen's face remained expressionless—he had already read through these reports word by word before the meeting. He spoke faintly, "Achievements are worth affirming, but they only represent the past."

As soon as his voice fell, his tone abruptly became heavier, carrying a hint of warning: "Traditional businesses like real estate and daily chemicals have long entered a red ocean market, and the growth ceiling is already in sight; we just took over the aviation industry, and although it's growing fast, its scale is still small and cannot support the Group's future growth needs."

He tapped the table with his finger, his voice gaining a touch of solemnity: "Everyone, we mentioned at the last meeting that the Group plans to enter the new energy electric vehicle market, I'm sure you all remember."

Everyone nodded, their gazes instinctively turning to Chen Yang, who was sitting at the end—he was the Group's newly appointed head of the electric vehicle project, and he politely nodded back to everyone.

"But today, I called everyone here mainly to announce something even more important than the electric vehicle market—this will be the strategic core of our Xinghe for the next five, or even ten, years." Jiang Chen's voice was not loud, yet every word clearly struck everyone's ears.

He looked up at Zhu Zhe: "Zhu Zhe."

"Here, Chairman Jiang!" Zhu Zhe immediately stood up and motioned for the staff to turn on the projector. The screen at the front of the conference room instantly lit up, with the four bold characters "Solid-State Battery" occupying the entire screen, particularly eye-catching.

"Some time ago, the Lightning Research Institute, led by Professor Chen Yang, secretly developed Solid-State Battery Technology and successfully mass-produced the first generation of samples."

Jiang Chen's voice was calm, yet it exploded like a thunderclap in the conference room, "This Solid-State Battery, whether in terms of energy density or charging speed, is dozens of times higher than traditional lithium batteries. More importantly, it completely solves the thermal runaway problem, with world-leading safety performance."

As his words fell, the conference room instantly erupted—the uninformed executives showed shocked expressions, some couldn't help but whisper, and even Wu Gezhi, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly looked up, his eyes full of disbelief: When did the Group quietly develop Solid-State Battery Technology? It was clearly announced that they were entering the electric vehicle market, so how did they directly pull out a 'trump card' technology?

Jiang Chen raised a hand to quiet them, and the conference room fell silent again. He stood up and looked around: "So today's general meeting, the performance report is just a prelude. The real Key Points is that the Group will officially and comprehensively enter the new energy field, with General Manager Xu personally leading the charge and integrating all relevant resources of the Group."

Chang Niande listened to Jiang Chen's words and only then realized, so it was because Xu Minghao was to personally be responsible for the Group's new strategy, no wonder he was transferred to Xinghe Aviation... Jiang Chen's words continued;

"From today onwards, all departments and subsidiaries must unconditionally cooperate with General Manager Xu and General Manager Chen's work."

His gaze swept over everyone, full of authority, "The new energy market is our top priority going forward. If anyone can't keep up with the pace and lags behind, don't blame the Group for being merciless!"

No one dared to raise any objections. The impressive report card from earlier instantly seemed insignificant in the face of Solid-State Battery Technology and the new strategy.

(The reports from everyone in this chapter were really difficult to manage, but it's not a big problem. The main point is just to announce the entry into the new market.)