Video Game Empire

Almost all the newspapers in Hong Kong sent reporters to report on the grand roadshow of Aikang in the Peninsula Hotel, and both ATV and TVB sent news vehicles. (starter)

But Li Xuan didn't have time to stay to enjoy the pomp and circumstance of the headlines of various Hong Kong newspapers the next day. After the second investment promotion meeting in the afternoon, Li Xuan and the roadshow team ate a delicious and sumptuous Chinese working meal together, and hurried to Kai Tak International Airport to take the chartered flight that Aikang had already prepared to return to the UK.

In the past two years, the road show team has almost flown around the earth. Everyone is physically exhausted, but mentally they are still very excited. Looking at the high enthusiasm returned by investors from all over the world, everyone believes that Aikang's next listing will be a complete success.

The most important factor that makes investors enthusiastically pursue the stock of iKang is undoubtedly the financial statement of iKang in the first quarter of this year. In the first quarter of 1981, Aikang sold a total of 122,000 -1 computers and 78,000 -2 computers, achieving an after-tax profit of 22.174 million pounds.

Based on this calculation, even if Ikon is priced at the highest price range of 8 pounds, the price-earnings ratio of the stock is only 9 times, which is far lower than the average price-earnings ratio of 15 times for the IPO of the London Stock Exchange.

Of course, it cannot be said that Aikon's price was low when it negotiated with the brokerage, because if the financial data of the past four quarters are combined, the price-earnings ratio of the issue price is about 15 times when the issue price is set at 6 pounds. But Ikon was clearly in a period of rapid growth, with revenue in the first quarter of 1981 up more than 30 percent from the last quarter of last year.

Especially for U.S. investors when they value Ikon. My favorite reference is Apple, which went public at the end of last year. Both companies are well-known names in the PC market, but Apple's financial statements for the first quarter of this year. On the contrary, it is not as good-looking as Aikang. Although Apple's stock price has been falling all the way in the past few days, its market value still exceeds 2.5 billion US dollars. Equivalent to about 1.1 billion pounds.

Even at the £8 issue price, Ikon's total valuation is only £800 million, far lower than Apple's market value. How can a company that outperforms Apple be worth less than Apple? No one is a fool. Aikang's issue price is significantly lower than the actual value. If there is such an opportunity to find a leak, it is natural to seize the opportunity to make a fortune.

Among the several Eastern companies, Li Xuan has the weakest influence on Aikang. One is that Ikang is headquartered in London, far from Hong Kong, and the other is that the executives of Ikang are not the ones who started from scratch with Li Xuan. Among the current directors and senior executives of Aikang, except for Han Peng, who also serves as the chairman of the board of directors. And Currie, one of the three founders of the original Aikang Company, became the executive director and chief technology officer, and the rest of the senior management were newly hired in the past year or so.

Li Xuan had a lot of conversations with the executives of Aikang in the video conference before, but the opportunity to sit together was much less. And only when they sit together face to face can this kind of communication truly penetrate the soul and have no barriers.

Icon's global roadshow team includes the CEO, CTO, COO, CFO and other senior executives. Li Xuan took advantage of the rare time to travel with everyone, and everyone sat together and talked about the next development of Aikang Company. The most heated discussion is naturally the new computer that is about to go on sale. Aikang is not going to give the new computer another name. Instead, it is directly called -3 computer.

Li Xuan took this opportunity to ask Hawke to greet other executives about his plan to disclose the technical data of the -3 computer. Everyone else looked surprised, because publicizing the technical information of their own computers would easily attract imitations from followers, which would likely intensify market competition.

So Li Xuan gave him the reason for convincing Albert Hawke before. Repeat it to others. On the downside, publicizing the technical data of the -3 computer may usher in imitation by other companies, so that the -3 computer has to face more intense competition.

But on the bright side. Aikang can take this opportunity to quickly promote the standard of its own computer into an industry standard. Thus become the person who sets the rules of the game and seize the commanding heights of the market in the future competition. In general. The pros outweighed the cons, and Li Xuan used this analysis to convince most of Aikang's executives.

"Personal computers are different from other consumer electronics, and they have a higher degree of specialization! Before the personal computer market was mature, most of the mainstream consumers were computer enthusiasts, and they themselves had good computer knowledge.

Therefore, like the best-selling Altair computer in the early days of the United States, mail order was used. After the company receives the customer's remittance order, it directly sends the unassembled Altair computer parts to the user to assemble by himself! Chris should have a say in this. Ikon's early system1 computers also adopted this model, and most of the buyers were electronic enthusiasts! "

Li Xuan pointed at Corey and said with a smile, and Corey nodded to agree with him. Li Xuan continued: "But with the continuous development of computer technology, personal computers are no longer a toy for computer enthusiasts, but have entered the field of commercial applications as a mature electronic consumer product.

This is reflected in the fact that -2 sales are growing faster than -1. Most of the purchasers of -1 computers are personal users and school users, but most of the purchasers of -2 computers are enterprise users.

The east-operating system developed by Dongfang Software Co., Ltd. allows ordinary people who are not proficient in computers to control the computer proficiently by memorizing various common operating instructions! The development of application software such as east- and east-table has greatly promoted the application of personal computers in the commercial field.

And when a large number of ordinary users with poor computer knowledge became the mainstream of purchasing personal computers, the importance of professional computer sales stores became prominent. Because ordinary consumers are mostly ignorant of the performance data such as the processor frequency and memory size of various models of computers, their sales by store shopping guides can directly affect their purchase choices.

This is also reflected most vividly in the computer sales of Computer Garden Company and other computer sales companies. Computer Garden Company is fully promoting Aikang's computers, while other sales channels are only general sales. The result is that under the same conditions, Computer Garden Company's computer sales are much higher than other channels! This is why I have been stressing that we must fully support the expansion of the computer garden company! "

Li Xuan used a long paragraph to clarify his views on the establishment of a strategic partnership between Aikang and Computer Park. Among the fund-raising purposes disclosed by Aikang to investors, one of them includes the subsequent large-scale financing to Computer Park Company to obtain a 30% stake in Computer Park Sales Company. Aikang's stake in the downstream sales network is also beneficial to itself, and it can make the company's marketing channels more smooth and safe.

The Computer Garden Company will accelerate the construction of its global sales network after receiving the capital injection from Aikang. In fact, since Dongfang Electronics acquired Computer Garden Company, Li Xuan has been investing heavily to support its accelerated opening of branches. As of May 1981, the total number of branches in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe had increased from 170 before Li Xuan's acquisition to 235 now.

After a long journey of 13 hours, the Boeing 747 chartered by Icon has finally landed at London's Heathrow Airport. Li Xuan stayed at the famous Langham Hotel in London.

Icon's listing date is set for Monday, June 1. In the last moments before the listing, the issue price of Ikon's shares was finally set at 8 pounds per share.

In the 1940s, when the computer was first developed, the UK was no less powerful than the US in the computer field. The world's first commercial computer was born in the UK~www.readwn.com~ But since the 1950s, with the world computer The market focus of the industry has shifted from military to commercial, but British companies have not been able to keep up with the pace of market changes. They are still obsessed with government-supported science and military fields, and gradually distance themselves from their American counterparts.

By the early 1980s, the computer industry in the United Kingdom had already completely declined. There were very few companies that could independently develop general-purpose computers, and even the domestic market of the United Kingdom had been completely occupied by American products. The computer division of General Electric Company in the United Kingdom is already one of the best computer companies in the United Kingdom, but it is no longer a company of the same grade compared to computer giants such as IBM and the United States.

Judging from the revenue data in the first quarter of 1981, the newly emerging Aikon Computer has completely overtaken the few remaining computer companies in the UK and has become the largest computer company in the UK. Therefore, Aikang's listing action has also attracted a lot of attention from the British mainstream media.

On the morning of June 1, Li Xuan finished grooming early and took the luxury car prepared by the Langham Hotel to the London Stock Exchange in the Financial City. On the east side of the famous St Paul's Cathedral in London, there is a place called "square" (a square mile). Hundreds of banks and other financial institutions gather here, and it is seen as a replica of Wall Street in London. This is the City of Finance. (To be continued..)

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