I began discussing business in earnest with Ma Yun.
“How is business these days? I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to keep track.”
“It’s not a very good situation.”
Rumors were spreading that the Chinese governnt had made up its mind to target Chairman Ma Yun’s Alibaba. At this point, it was no exaggeration to say the B2B business was essentially dead.
B2B was about diating transactions between companies. And in China, being marked by the governnt was effectively a death sentence.
I had already heard that partner companies were rapidly pulling out.
“Our core cash cow—the B2B business—is practically finished. It was the only division turning a profit, but now it’s slipped into the red, and our overall losses are growing even larger.”
But I had heard the problem wasn’t limited to B2B. Crossing my arms, I asked Ma Yun:
“What about the C2C business?”
“The losses have increased even more. We expected losses to grow, but the scale is worse than anticipated. The biggest issue is that competitors are popping up everywhere.”
“Competitors are increasing?”
“Yes. A company suddenly poured in massive capital and is swallowing up the market.”
In my mory, there had been no e-comrce company in China capable of threatening Alibaba.
Of course, there had been competitors.
eBay had entered China by partnering with a local company, and there were Chinese firms that had entered the market earlier than Alibaba.
But Alibaba had crushed them all and effectively monopolized China’s e-comrce market.
Even later, major companies like Baidu, Tencent, and JD entered the e-comrce space—but none could stop Alibaba’s dominance.
That was how important first-mover advantage was in e-comrce. And yet, a competitor like that existed from the start?
“Is it eBay?”
“eBay is a problem too, but there’s an entirely new company that entered unexpectedly. It’s called Chongzheng Group. Have you heard of it?”
“Chongzheng Group...”
Even combining the mories of my past life and this one, I had never heard of such a company.
“What kind of company is it? Who’s the founder?”
“We haven’t been able to figure that out at all. Half of Alibaba’s employees have already moved over there.”
“They poached your staff...”
That was no different from declaring war.
They had made up their minds to take Alibaba’s share.
“A company we’ve never heard of, with an unknown leader, suddenly appears out of nowhere—right when Alibaba gets targeted by the Chinese governnt. Anyone can see sothing’s off. It’s reasonable to assu soone high up is backing them.”
Ma Yun glanced around briefly, then nodded slightly in agreent.
“Yes. Otherwise, this kind of growth makes no sense. Originally, the C2C market was split between us and eBay. We were first, eBay second, but the gap wasn’t large. But after Chongzheng Group entered, they kept increasing their share and eventually overtook eBay to beco number two.”
“Still, Alibaba is number one for now.”
“But at this rate, there’s a high chance we’ll lose that position within a few months.”
China’s e-comrce market would grow at a speed unprecedented anywhere in the world.
There was no way I would just sit back and let soone else take what was clearly a gold mine.
“How much do you need?”
In this situation, the only thing I could do was invest. Ma Yun swallowed dryly before answering carefully.
“...To put out the imdiate fire and maintain our market share, we need at least 100 million dollars.”
“100 million dollars...”
I fell silent for a mont, thinking. Ma Yun waited quietly for my decision.
“Then I’ll invest 1 billion dollars.”
“...Pardon? 1 billion dollars?”
“Have other investors approached you?”
“...Yes. They have.”
Ma Yun answered honestly. Just like soone who hadn’t let go of my hand even in difficult tis.
“Yahoo and SoftBank have been continuously sending investnt proposals.”
“And together, that cos to around 1 billion dollars, right?”
“...How do you know that? Only three people in our company know that.”
“Haha, trade secret.”
I couldn’t exactly say it was because this was my second life.
I smiled lightly, then wiped the smile from my face and asked seriously:
“Why did you refuse them?”
“I made a promise to you, President Kim. And the contract states that any outside investnt requires consultation with you. I’m not soone who would break that promise.”
I already knew that Masayoshi Son of SoftBank and the CEO of Yahoo would join hands to invest 1 billion dollars into Alibaba.
That was why, before Son could take an interest, I had included a clause giving priority on future investnts.
But even when adding that clause, I hadn’t expected much.
China, and the Chinese, weren’t known for strictly honoring contracts. They treated contracts lightly and broke them without hesitation.
And yet, Ma Yun had endured everything and waited for .
“Since Chairman Ma Yun has shown loyalty, I will repay that loyalty by investing 1 billion dollars.”
“But if you do that...”
I knew what he was worried about. Alibaba’s current valuation wasn’t even 1 billion dollars.
“For the 1 billion dollar investnt, just increase my stake to 45%, on top of what I already hold. I don’t want anything more.”
“...Are you sure that’s alright?”
“Yes. That’s not an unreasonable request. If there are too many investors, there’ll be too much interference. You’ve already experienced it—you know I invest, but I don’t participate in managent.”
I spoke firmly. The hesitation on Ma Yun’s face faded, replaced by visible relief.
“That’s true. Compared to the U.S., where investors exert overwhelming influence... President Kim, you’re an angel. An angel.”
“I’m doing this because I trust you, Chairman Ma Yun. If I didn’t trust you, I would’ve stepped into managent.”
Ma Yun smiled faintly.
There was no greater praise for a founder than knowing their investor trusted them.
“Thank you. With 1 billion dollars, there’s no way we can lose this fight.”
“Jas Han from Dreamhigh will be visiting Shanghai soon. He’ll handle everything then, so adjust your plans accordingly.”
Ma Yun nodded vigorously. Now that the imdiate crisis was handled, he spoke more comfortably.
“Are you preparing any new businesses?”
“We’ve launched Zhifubao, an online secure paynt service linked to Taobao. Since C2C transactions are between individuals, there’s always a risk of fraud. That’s what’s been allowing us to hold out against Chongzheng Group’s offensive.”
“Ah, I know about that. As expected of you, Chairman Ma Yun.”
The ergence of Zhifubao had created a sensation in China’s e-comrce industry.
It solved the biggest weakness of C2C: trust.
In C2C transactions, it was common for sellers to take money and not send goods—or send sothing completely different.
Alibaba stepped in to guarantee safe transactions, and the impact was enormous.
“But doesn’t eBay also support secure transactions?”
“They do. But it doesn’t fit the Chinese market.”
The best defense was offense. If you had an advantage, strengthening it was also a good strategy.
After a brief pause, I spoke.
“Ma Yun. The Chinese governnt will soon announce policies supporting e-comrce.”
“...Is that true?”
“Yes. I’ll make sure Alibaba benefits the most from those policies.”
“But if Chongzheng Group is backed by the Chinese governnt, is that even possible?”
“It’s not the governnt. They may be connected to high-ranking politicians... but it’s not Hu Jintao or Wen Jiabao. I have a rough idea who it is, but that person doesn’t have the capacity to focus on this right now.”
A new company appearing exactly when Alibaba was being pressured—was that really a coincidence?
I was certain Jiang Zemin and the Shanghai faction were behind Chongzheng Group.
And right now, they didn’t have the bandwidth to focus on this.
“You can increase your losses. Think of it as throwing money on the ground—invest more. Secure people first. You can make money later.”
“We think the sa way.”
“And you need to go beyond B2B and C2C—enter the B2C market as well.”
Ma Yun’s expression darkened slightly.
“We are preparing for it... but we don’t have the capacity yet. The manpower loss this ti was too severe. We plan to stabilize first before launching.”
“That will be too late. Even if you’re not fully ready, launch within this year. Keep hiring. The e-comrce market will continue to grow.”
Ma Yun listened without interrupting, his face serious.
“It will grow much faster than you or anyone else expects. When that happens, it’s better to already have the workforce in place rather than scrambling to hire. Move faster than others, invest more aggressively, and seize the market first.”
In reality, Ma Yun would enter the B2C market about two years later.
Only after winning the war with eBay in the C2C market.
And even then, he entered too late, taking a long ti to dominate the market.
But if we accelerated it now, Alibaba could dominate far more decisively.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good. I believe China can beco number one in global e-comrce. So don’t hold back on investnt.”
“Understood.”
I had said everything I could.
After lightly clinking glasses with Ma Yun, I looked around leisurely.
“By the way, I don’t see the person I’m looking for.”
All the representatives of the companies I had invested in were supposed to attend this party.
But aside from Ma Yun, none of them were here yet.
At that mont, I saw Ma Huateng of Tencent approaching us.
When our eyes t, he quickened his pace.
As he ca closer, he greeted and extended his hand.
“President Kim. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Well... you of all people should know how I’ve been. And yet you ask?”
Ma Huateng pressed his lips together and slowly withdrew his hand.
He was the one who had turned away from faster than anyone else—and taken the Chinese governnt’s side.
“Still, you ca when called. I thought you no longer needed .”
“Th-that’s...”
I fired at him bluntly, and his face flushed in embarrassnt.
“I’ve said this many tis. I repay goodwill with goodwill—and malice with malice.”
“....”
“Or did you think I’d never be able to set foot in China again?”
At my cold words, Ma Huateng hurriedly responded:
“President Kim, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”
“If we didn’t cut ties with you, the Chinese governnt said they would revoke our licenses—and refuse to grant any new ones. We had no choice.”
I shouldn’t have even given him the chance to speak.
Ignoring him, I turned to Ma Yun.
“What did the Chinese governnt say to you, Chairman Ma Yun?”
“...They said if I kept resisting, they would shut down our operations—and even arrest for treason.”
“Treason...”
That was one of the gravest cris in China. I had heard he’d struggled—but not to that extent.
“Yes. They warned repeatedly. And when I refused, they finally said that.”
“Then why did you endure it?”
“Because I made a promise to you.”
Not once or twice—but repeatedly, he had refused.
I nodded, then turned back to Ma Huateng.
“Did you even refuse once? You gave in to a threat over licenses? You didn’t trust that much?”
“Companies like ours are vulnerable to Party pressure. The longer we resist, the greater the damage. I was just trying to save the company—”
I raised my hand and cut him off.
“I heard you asked for your shares back. Fine. I’ll return them all. I’ll calculate the value and sell them to you at a fair price.”
Ma Huateng’s eyes widened. He clearly hadn’t expected that.
“But you’ll regret letting go of my hand.”
At that mont, Li Yanhong of Baidu approached from afar.
“President Kim. It’s been a while.”
The founder of Baidu—acknowledged as a genius even by Google’s founders.
“Chairman Ma Yun, Chairman Ma Huateng—you’re both here as well. As expected of you, President Kim. You’ve invested in all the companies that will lead China’s future.”
“Well, sothing like that. Are you planning any new ventures, Chairman Li Yanhong?”
He tilted his head at my sudden question.
“...What do you an?”
“I’m asking whether you have any plans to enter the gaming business using Baidu’s massive user base.”
My plan was simple—
to make Baidu take over the gaming sector that ford the largest portion of Tencent’s revenue.
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