315: Chapter 314 Huaneng's Response

General Manager Yu Tongguang pushed open the door and walked into the office.

The massive office was very empty, and a figure with graying hair sat in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window; the thin back looked exceptionally lonely.

"Elder Ren."

General Manager Yu Tongguang called out softly.

The Figure moved slightly, turned his head, and smiled: "Little Yu is here. How is the preparation going?"

Looking at the old man who had almost not rested all night, General Manager Yu Tongguang said: "Basically everyone who should be here has arrived; we are just waiting for you, Elder Ren."

The Figure stood up, smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes, and said indifferently: "Then let's go; don't keep everyone waiting."

The conference room was located on the top floor of the Huaneng Technology building.

At this moment, both sides of the long table were already full.

Compared to the ordinary employees, the atmosphere here was much more normal, far from being oppressive.

However, even so, it definitely couldn't be called lively.

Most people were talking in low voices, and the buzzing sound was endless.

A small number of people had serious expressions and were silent, not knowing what they were thinking.

The conference room door opened, everyone cast their gaze toward the entrance, and the buzzing stopped abruptly.

When they saw who it was, everyone stood up one after another.

"Elder Ren."

"Hmm."

The old man nodded slightly, came to the main seat, and waved his hand gently: "Everyone, please sit."

General Manager Yu Tongguang also came to the position on the right and sat down with everyone.

After everyone was seated, a Middle-aged man on the left side of the main seat scanned the room and said: "Everyone already knows about the incident. Just at 8:00 PM last night, which is 7:00 AM United States time, the US Government issued a ban against Huaneng Group, requiring all commercial companies in the world not to cooperate with Huaneng Technology, not to use products and components provided by Huaneng Technology, not to accept Chip foundry orders from Huaneng Group, and not to provide any Chips and services to Huaneng Group."

"Up to now, the ban has already taken effect. We have received refusal statements from more than sixty partner companies, including fourteen Chip suppliers including Wanji Semiconductor and Sanxing Semiconductor, who have stopped foundry production of the Chips we designed and refused to provide mainstream high-end Chips, only providing a small amount of low-to-mid-end Chips."

Buzzing sounds arose.

"General Manager Xu."

A shareholder asked: "Has the group conducted a systematic assessment of the risks and impacts brought about by this incident? Can we know the assessment results?"

"Of course, since the announcement was released yesterday, we have evaluated the situation the group is about to face overnight, and the results..."

General Manager Xu paused slightly, cast his gaze toward the main seat, and seeing that the old man had no reaction, he continued: "The results are very unsatisfactory."

"According to our estimates, starting next year, Huaneng Group's mobile terminal equipment will be hit hard, the market share will drop from the current 34% to below 10%, and sales and profits will simultaneously drop by more than 60%. This is just a conservative estimate. If the ban continues, our communication terminal business will also suffer setbacks, especially in the overseas market, which will see a large downward fluctuation."

The expressions of the shareholders present all changed.

They knew the situation would be very serious, but they never thought it would be this severe.

This is no longer just a matter of affecting the consumer business; this is about getting rid of Huaneng Group's core business as well.

If the US Government's scheme is truly achieved, then after losing the consumer business market, Huaneng Group will also lose the communication equipment market, and there will be no possibility of turning things around.

Many people had gloomy expressions, and some others had uncertain complexions.

"Is there no room for negotiation?"

The shareholder who asked earlier asked, unwilling to give up.

"Heh."

General Manager Yu Tongguang said indifferently: "Who is going to negotiate? Are you going?"

The shareholder was a Middle-aged man with yellowish skin. Hearing this, he said unhappily: "What are you saying, General Manager Yu? Am I not doing this for the group's consideration? If we can give up some things to get the US Government to lift the ban, isn't that better than us just waiting here to die?"

General Manager Yu Tongguang's expression turned cold, and his voice deepened a bit.

"Give up? That sounds nice, but it's just empty talk."

"For over a decade, the group has invested trillions in communication technology. Now that we have finally stood up straight and can set world standards for communication equipment, no longer having to look at others' faces, you want to give it all up with one sentence?"

"Mobile communication terminals were a business direction decided by Elder Ren himself. Starting five years ago, how many people in the group have worked day and night without complaint, finally making the product one of the top three in the world, and you want to give it up with one sentence?"

General Manager Yu Tongguang's voice was resonant and forceful.

"You want to give up? Fine, then I'll ask you to give up your shares in the group. Are you willing?"

The shareholder was furious and shouted: "General Manager Yu Tongguang, I respect you and call you General Manager Yu, don't push your luck!"

General Manager Yu Tongguang was not angry, just said indifferently: "It seems you are not willing either. Since even you know that your own interests cannot be given up, why is it okay to do so when it comes to the group?"

The shareholder was choked and couldn't say a word.

"General Manager Yu is right, giving up is naturally not advisable."

Another Middle-aged man nearby spoke up to smooth things over: "Old He, don't be angry. General Manager Yu is also considering the group's future. Besides, we are here today to discuss how to proceed, let's not lose harmony over a small matter."

The yellow-skinned shareholder snorted, sat down directly, and said no more.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

Everyone cast their gaze toward the main seat.

From beginning to end, the old man did not speak to stop them, seemingly not taking sides, quietly watching everyone express their opinions.

But discerning people knew that from the very beginning, the old man's stance had already been determined.

If there wasn't the shadow of this old man behind General Manager Yu Tongguang's sudden attack, the shareholders would not believe it even if they were beaten to death.

When the first signs of peace talks appeared, he used thunderous means to suppress them, making other shareholders afraid to show their support even if they had it.

This method was still the familiar taste, still gentle yet sharp.

Sure enough, the next moment the old man spoke.

"Negotiation is naturally possible."

The old man's voice was gentle: "But what to talk about and how to talk needs careful consideration. Little Xu, draft a detailed document and submit it directly to me."

"Yes."

General Manager Xu responded.

The old man nodded slightly, raised his gaze, and scanned everyone.

"You are all members of the Board of Directors elected by the employees. Every action and every word must represent the interests of the employees and the interests of the group."

"This morning, I already sent an open letter to everyone in the group in my name. Some of you have already seen the content of the letter. I have promised everyone that I will not lay off any of them, and I will not give up any individual who has contributed to the group."

"They can be eliminated by the system, but they must never be laid off because of the group's reasons. This is the bottom line."

Seeming to have said a lot, the old man breathed slightly, and said indifferently: "Except for the two points above, you discuss the rest and come up with a plan as soon as possible."

After speaking, the old man closed his eyes, looking like he didn't care about anything.

The shareholders looked at each other, feeling a bit bitter.

No surrender, no layoffs. This big boss had already blocked the two simplest and easiest directions. The remaining options were all difficult; no matter which one they chose, it meant going through hard times. How were they supposed to come up with one?

Xu Guoqing scanned the shareholders; everyone showed a thoughtful expression, but no one spoke.

"If everyone has no objection, then I do have a plan here."

Xu Guoqing said indifferently.

Everyone's gaze focused on him.

Seeing everyone showing surprised expressions, Xu Guoqing sneered inwardly.

They jump on benefits and hide when there are none. Although the people here are members of the Board of Directors of Huaneng Technology, they are no different from the opportunistic speculators outside.

When encountering things, their first reaction is to bow their heads.

If it weren't for Elder Ren knowing the faults of these people and making arrangements in advance, I'm afraid what would be discussed at this moment would not be a response plan, but how to come up with a negotiation plan that would satisfy the US Government.

People are just like this.

If someone takes the lead, things will intensify.

And when the person who raised their head is pressed back down hard, the desire of others to support them fades a lot; even if they have thoughts, they can only keep them in their hearts.

No one wants to follow in the footsteps of Director He.

After all, being scolded is a small matter, but if one is really pushed out of the Board of Directors, or even directly loses shareholder status, that would be a heavy loss.

Even if Huaneng Technology's prospects are unclear, at this moment it is still a cash cow that can make people fill their pockets.

Xu Guoqing opened the document in his hand.

"This is the response plan formulated overnight after the incident happened. Due to the high confidentiality level, I will not distribute it for everyone to read."

"Below, I will read it to everyone item by item. If you have different opinions, you can raise them, and we will vote by show of hands."

No shareholder expressed objection. On the contrary, if there is a ready-made plan, and they only need to say agree or disagree, that is really simple.

"Very good."

Xu Guoqing nodded slightly and read directly:

"First, shrink production capacity."

...

And at this moment, on the first floor of the Huaneng Technology building.

A figure walked into the lobby. Her long hair draped over her shoulders, thin-rimmed glasses, delicate features, cold temperament, and a zero egg floating beside her, made her attract the attention of others as soon as she entered the door.

Soon someone came up to greet her.

"This lady, may I ask who you are..."

Before the words were finished, The Figure handed over her business card.

"Frontier Technology, Liu Yemei."