Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 928 - 864: Unable to Keep a Low Profile _2

Chapter 928: Chapter 864: Unable to Keep a Low Profile _2

He must have known, after all, when Wang Ye represented Polar Bear Investment to contact him back then, he used the identity "Mikhail."

Moreover, although Wang Ye hadn’t had any dealings with Little Brother Ma in the past two years, he had appeared on CCTV News several times!

As long as Little Brother Ma paid a little attention, it would be impossible for him not to know Wang Ye’s identity...

...

When they heard Wang Ye say that he had invested in Tencent, both Liu Mei and Zhang Xiaoxi were surprised and their eyes widened.

"Wow, is it the QQ company? This is the hottest Internet company in the country these past two years, basically everyone is using QQ," Liu Mei blurted out.

Zhang Xiaoxi also nodded and added, "This software is really popular. It’s said that it now has more than 300 million users, considering that the entire country only has just over 400 million Internet users. That’s equivalent to having a QQ account as long as you’re online, it no longer has any real competitors."

Wang Ye nodded slightly, in just over three years, Little Brother Ma and his team had done well.

From a company on the brink of bankruptcy and virtually unknown, to dominating today’s domestic instant messaging market.

Of course, when Wang Ye invested in Tencent, the company was already not doing too poorly, having gotten through the most difficult period.

Otherwise, Wang Ye certainly would not have given it a flat valuation of one billion US dollars...

That time, Wang Ye personally made the decision, investing fifty million US dollars in Tencent, acquiring a fifty percent stake in the company and then adding another twenty million US dollars for the company’s rapid development.

In the following three years, Tencent underwent two more rounds of financing, and Polar Bear Investment participated in each, so up to now, they still controlled fifty percent of Tencent’s shares!

Unless Tencent officially went to Nasdaq for a public listing, those shares would not be diluted.

Even if Tencent did go to Nasdaq for public listing, the shares held by Polar Bear Investment would at most be diluted to around thirty percent, no lower.

Because Polar Bear Investment was not short of money, nor was it in a hurry to cash out and exit.

When investing initially, Wang Ye had said that he wanted to be Tencent’s "cornerstone investor."

Simply put, he planned on holding Tencent’s shares for the long term, not selling them regardless of the price fluctuation!

"This investment was made three years ago by an investment company based in Moscow. Oh, to be exact, my investment company is the largest shareholder of Tencent, without any doubt," Wang Ye spoke casually.

Liu Mei and Zhang Xiaoxi once again marveled, even though they had known Wang Ye for so long and were aware of many things about him.

However, they still felt they didn’t completely understand Wang Ye, as any casual remark he made could take them completely by surprise...

But thinking about his astonishing "titles" and the wealth that no one could precisely calculate, having one more identity as a major shareholder of Tencent didn’t seem all that significant.

...

In 2004, the global Internet winter had largely passed and signs of recovery were visible.

Especially in China, major Internet companies began to thrive, giving rise to several so-called Internet factories.

Famous ones included Sina, Sohu, NetEase, Baidu, etc. Tencent was only considered a "little brother," just beginning to stand out but not yet a giant.

After all, in those days, including Little Brother Ma, no one in the worldwide Internet industry could clearly articulate how a networking software like QQ could monetize traffic.

In other words, even though Tencent had over 300 million registered users, with monthly active users in the hundred millions and a peak concurrent online user count of seven to eight million.

It still equated to "begging with a goldmine underfoot," as the company remained unprofitable.

In the latest rounds of financing, the company’s valuation had only gone from one billion US dollars three years ago to six billion now, which, despite not being a small increase, was definitely not high for the Internet industry.

It is said that Little Brother Ma’s most pressing concern is not to develop more new users, but to turn the company’s losses into profit!

Wang Ye was returning to the country this time intending to meet with Little Brother Ma and discuss Tencent’s next direction for development.

Others may not be clear about how Tencent should develop in the future, but he knew!

Perhaps just a little guidance was all that was needed, and then the embryonic form of a global Internet giant would start to emerge...

Of course, there’s no need to discuss these things with Liu Mei or Zhang Xiaoxi. They don’t really understand them anyway.

...

Although Wang Ye’s return to the country was low-key, he definitely couldn’t evade the eyes of the "relevant departments."

Before his private jet had even landed, Wang Xueqing received a notice, informing her of Wang Ye’s impending return.

Her work was cut out for her as well, since Wang Ye’s personal safety while in the country and coordinating his schedule required her involvement.

As for finding a pretext that wouldn’t upset Wang Ye, that was something Wang Xueqing had to figure out on her own.

So, from the moment she received the notice, Wang Xueqing had been pondering what kind of pretext she could use to strike up a conversation with Wang Ye...

She understood that Wang Ye had returned so discreetly, without notifying any Chinese entities, meaning he didn’t want to be disturbed.

If she rashly made contact with him, it wouldn’t turn out well; Wang Ye might feel displeased and even suspect that he was under "surveillance"!

For someone of Wang Ye’s status, such a thing was a significant taboo.

After much thought, Wang Xueqing decided to tentatively probe Wang Ye’s attitude indirectly.

She and Liu Mei had a good relationship and shared a bit of a personal connection, having helped Liu Mei with a few small favors.

Of course, she did these favors also because of Wang Ye’s influence.

Wang Xueqing sent Liu Mei a text message, casually asking, "Sister Liu, what are you up to? I’m off tomorrow. How about I come over and we hang out?"

At the time she sent this message, Liu Mei was having dinner with Wang Ye.

Therefore, upon receiving Wang Xueqing’s text, Liu Mei was taken aback.

Being shrewd herself, and while not completely clear on Wang Xueqing’s identity, she had a certain level of understanding.

Liu Mei knew that during Wang Ye’s previous visits to China, when he came with an "official" status, Wang Xueqing was one of the Ministry’s personnel accompanying him throughout his trip.

If Liu Mei were to say that this sudden text was unrelated to Wang Ye’s current visit, she wouldn’t believe it herself.

How could it be such a coincidence that just as she was dining with Wang Ye, Wang Xueqing’s message arrived...

Putting down her phone, Liu Mei turned to Wang Ye with a smile and asked, "Boss, do you remember Wang Xueqing?"

Wang Ye paused, reflexively trying to remember who Wang Xueqing was...

Seeing that Wang Ye did not immediately remember, Liu Mei reminded him, "The girl who accompanied you during your last few trips back to China, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs... "

With that hint, Wang Ye instantly remembered.

He exclaimed, "Ah, that girl, I remember. What about her?"

"She just sent me a message. Although she didn’t mention you, I think it must be related to you," said Liu Mei with a smile.

She was unclear on whether Wang Xueqing had any... other relationships with Wang Ye, so she simply left the choice up to him.

If Wang Ye was willing to meet with Wang Xueqing, then she would have done Wang Xueqing a favor, a favor Wang Xueqing would have to return in the future.

If Wang Ye did not wish to see her, then she had still conveyed the message properly, and Wang Xueqing couldn’t blame her...

Hearing this, Wang Ye understood the situation.

It seems that staying low-key was difficult after all!

He shook his head in resignation but did not overly resist. After all, he was a stranger in his own homeland, especially since he was heading to the southern parts.

He had heard that the public security there wasn’t very good. In case of any emergency, relying solely on himself and the security personnel he brought along would not suffice.

If he had someone like Wang Xueqing, with her special status, by his side, many things might become much more convenient...