In the social economy, there are numerous ways to ’make money’ or, to put it another way, to raise funds in a short time. One can crowd-fund, find partners, take out loans, or utilize the leverage principle—even with just tens of millions in assets, Suming could raise hundreds of millions or even billions of yuan in a short period.
Suming believed that with his current network, it wouldn’t be difficult.
However, he didn’t want to raise money in this way. Introducing other capital would mean losing complete control over the zoo even if he managed to buy it. Capital is bloodthirsty; the more it sides with you in a struggle, the more it will carve up the spoils when it comes time to share the profits.
The privatization of the zoo was merely one part of Suming’s plan. There was no imminent threat that required him to exchange support from capital with the cost of profits and management rights. He didn’t want to expend considerable effort only to end up with a privatized zoo at the mercy of others.
Making money was not the immediate priority. Before considering the privatization of the zoo, the first step was to get approval from the government.
It’s true that the Yangchuan City Zoo had undergone restructuring, as had many enterprises in Yangchuan City and across the country, but restructuring did not necessarily lead to privatization. If it were a pure production and operation enterprise, like a toy manufacturer in Yangchuan City, privatization would be straightforward—an acquisition of the staff, equipment, and debts. However, for many restructured entities, there’s more to consider than just the money.
Especially for a zoo, the assets are one part, the ownership of the animals another, but its educational and public welfare nature is the true purpose of its existence. The government can relinquish management rights, but it would not likely permit the zoo to be repurposed. If privatization were to happen, it would be challenging to guarantee this aspect legally.
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Unless the zoo went public and directed itself to the capital market, anyone with the funds could purchase shares. Of course, this was the least desired option for Suming to acquire the zoo, as it would require more money than he could currently afford.
So he first needed to negotiate with the government and obtain a preliminary agreement, or at least establish the possibility of privatization, before considering how to raise funds.
At Suming’s level, officials like He did not have the authority to make decisions on such matters but could only act as intermediaries, conveying messages up and down the chain.
Even Wang Jian She’s influence was limited. On one hand, privatization of the zoo involved many departments and units, and since Wang Jian She’s current focus was on economic development, it wasn’t up to him alone; on the other hand, he was just an executive vice mayor, a member of the municipal party committee. The privatization of the zoo would require discussion by the entire committee and final approval from the provincial level.
Although Wang Jian She did not have the final say, he could play a pivotal role.
Therefore, Suming specifically set aside time to arrange a meeting with Wang Jian She.
Wang Jian She was very busy, and it was not easy to get a meeting with him. It wasn’t that he was putting on airs—leaders at his level often genuinely could not help it. His daily schedule was packed, and any ad-hoc adjustment could trigger a chain reaction affecting a multitude of other matters.
Suming first made a call to Wang Jian She’s secretary. Upon recognizing Suming’s voice, the secretary hesitated before mentioning that Mr. Wang was in a meeting with the leadership of the municipal party committee. As soon as the meeting was over, he would report to Mr. Wang immediately and get back to Suming as soon as possible.
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While Suming was trying to schedule a meeting with Wang Jian She, the meeting of the Live Broadcasting Platform Association Federation in the capital was drawing to a close.
The so-called ’federation meeting’ is a broad term that includes the official founding celebration, the concluding banquet, seminars for establishing a common charter, with the most critical part being the seminar. Read the latest on Freewebnovel
Fortunately, Suming had the foresight not to attend. The discussion meetings alone took several dozen sessions over more than a month to produce a charter, which included constraints on industry behavior, suggestions for resolving industry disputes, and the responsibilities and obligations of association members, totaling twenty-six major items and over a hundred specific rules. Each rule would have wide-ranging effects in practice, potentially impacting one or many enterprises’ real interests, leading to heated discussions at the meetings.
Without getting into details, the issue of membership fees alone was debated for an entire day.
The focus was on two points.
The first was the amount of membership fees. Usually, for self-organized associations, the fees are symbolic and, for companies capable of running live broadcasting platforms, they are negligible.
Wang Hao suggested setting a higher membership fee, akin to a deposit, which could be forfeited if a company violated the charter and refundable if they complied.
This would make the amount painful enough for many enterprises.
The advantage was clear, though. An association is a loose organization, and despite having a charter, it lacks enforcement power. If a company violated the charter, the association had little means of punishment.
Rules don’t fail because they’re imperfect, but because they’re repeatedly broken. A few companies flouting the rules a few times would render the month-long, brain-cell-killing effort to produce the charter and countless hours of discussions useless. In the short term, it might seem like the association members were freer, but in the long term, the initial purpose of forming the association would be lost, which is detrimental to sustainable development.
With this membership fee, the association would have a trump card, significantly strengthening the charter’s binding power on companies. If a company violated the charter and a fine or partial fine was imposed, it would be painful enough for them. While it still wouldn’t guarantee that all companies would follow the charter, it would greatly increase the cost of non-compliance.
If there are punishments, there are also rewards. With membership fees including a deposit, the combined amount would be substantial. If used for investments, it would involve too much interest. But to maintain transparency, it had to be hands-off, so it would sit in the bank accruing interest. The interest alone would cover the association’s annual expenses.
This would significantly increase the association’s authority. Most enterprises attended the meeting, showing they supported the original intent of the association and were willing to establish an industrial body to seek cooperative opportunities.
At the same time, the significance of the three companies acting as vice-chairmen for managing the association’s day-to-day operations would be greatly increased.
Although it seemed like a lot of money was involved at first glance, upon analyzing Wang Hao’s suggestion in detail, most enterprises quickly expressed their support.
The first point of contention was precisely how much to pay, with significant differences of opinion.