Xu: Managing modern listed companies with China traditional classics.
As the CEO of a China company listed in Singapore, it is Xu's daily "compulsory course" to study China traditional Confucian classics such as The Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Yijing and Laozi after work. In his view, "these traditional China classics full of philosophy are not only beneficial for being a man and doing things, but also effective for managing a modern listed company".
The sky will fall to the people of Sri Lanka.
On July 5, 2007, when China Shangshun Chemical Holdings Co., Ltd. was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, this enterprise from Shandong, China officially embarked on the road of internationalization. Only thirty years ago, it was a little-known company in China chemical industry.
Shangshun Chemical was formerly known as Shanxian Organic Chemical Plant in Shandong, China. It was founded in 1977 and transformed into Shanxian Chemical Co., Ltd., a joint-stock enterprise. Shan county, located in the southwest of Shandong Province, is known as "Tibet in Shandong Province", which is remote and barren. "In such a small place with a relatively harsh environment, information is blocked, transportation is inconvenient, and talents are scarce. It is extremely difficult for a company to survive, let alone grow and develop. " Recalling the difficult road to entrepreneurship in those years, Xu can't help feeling a little.
The growth history of Shangshun Chemical Industry is actually the struggle history of Xu himself. 1966, Xu graduated from Shandong Institute of Chemical Technology (now Qingdao University of Science and Technology), and soon resigned from his stable job in Chengdu and returned to his hometown, Shan County, a small county in the southwest of Shandong Province, as a teacher. It was not until 1977 that the organic chemical plant was built in Shanxian county, and Xu Cai really played a role and became the only technician in Shanxian organic chemical plant with only 30 employees at that time.
For chemical engineering, Xu is an expert. I studied chemical engineering for four years, graduated from Chengdu, and worked in chemical engineering. He returned to Shandong to teach chemical engineering. Therefore, this usually taciturn man has become the backbone of many decision-making processes in the early days of the factory, and his speech is often the final word. "No drawings, no design, no funds, no ideas to raise". In a short period of one year, a chemical plant has sprung up on the Donggou River, far from the county seat, and has become the leader of this enterprise.
He walked without orders.
Marketing and product quality are two key factors for a company's survival, and Xu has been adhering to the experience of "doing things with integrity and not making orders", setting an example and paying close attention to marketing and product quality, which has enabled Shangshun Chemical's products to quickly open up sales and win more and more word of mouth.
"At the beginning of the factory, our sales staff were not familiar with the chemical industry. Because I was originally in this business, I took them to the market. " With his deep connections in the chemical industry in China, Xu worked for a large rubber manufacturer. While signing the bill, he gives marketing training and lectures to sales staff every weekend and organizes them to participate in rubber tire fairs in more than a dozen countries. "If the market is well grasped, sales will be good. The sales staff in the front market clearly understand the domestic and foreign markets, and no matter how many products are produced in the rear, they can sell at a good price. "
For a company whose product sales ratio is 1: 1 at home and abroad, one of the secrets of the success of Shangshun Chemical is to strictly control the quality. "To tell the truth, the products of China enterprises do have a certain gap with international big companies in quality. In order to make up for this gap, we strictly adopt Flexex standard (the authoritative standard recognized by the world additive industry) as a reference to formulate internal control standards for enterprises, and specially formulate customer personality standards and exceed the standards according to the contract requirements put forward by different users, thus winning the trust of Michelin, Goodyear, Princeton and other Fortune 500 companies. " Japan's Princeton company is not optimistic about the products of Shangshun Chemical, "but it was not until they used them that they found that our products were better than those of many similar international companies". Therefore, when Princeton held a supplier meeting in Shanghai, China for two years in a row, it gave a special explanation on Shangshun Chemical Industry as an example, which was highly appraised.
If you don't follow the rules, you can't be Fiona Fang. Good business performance benefits from an inspiring corporate culture. From 65438 to 0993, Xu summed up a set of "50-word policy" based on his years of entrepreneurial experience-insisting on scientific and technological development, market-oriented, quality-oriented, paying attention to economic benefits, striving to open up new markets, actively developing new products and improving quality of enterprise in an all-round way. These 50 Chinese characters stand out in the factory and become the soul of the development of Shangshun Chemical Industry. This is not a grandiose boast, but the experience I have summed up from my heart for so many years, and it is also the orientation that enterprises have long followed. It is under the guidance of this policy that "since the restructuring from 65438 to 0998, the company's annual export volume has maintained a growth rate of 40%-50%. 1998 The company's sales were only over 20 million, and now there are 600 million. "
Born in sorrow and died in happiness.
The summer of 2006 was the turning point of Shangshun Chemical Industry, and it was also a sleepless night. "It is a difficult choice for me to decide whether the company will come to Singapore for listing." Once it is decided to go public, it will be a bumpy and conditional road before Xu. Facing the financial bottleneck of the company's development and the puzzled eyes of 1000 employees, Xu, who has just turned 30, finally made a decision after repeated discussions and arguments with the company's decision-making level-listing!
"At that time, our listing knowledge was still blank. It can be said that an illiterate person with several primary school education levels rushed to the market. " Although Mr. Xu's words were humorous, it was an indisputable fact that the company was short of professionals and time was pressing. However, Xu has full confidence in Shangshun Chemical. Therefore, when the company held a roadshow in Singapore from June 6 to June 3, 2007, Xu's sincere and confident words echoed in the offices of 60 investors: China Shangshun Chemical Co., Ltd. specializes in producing rubber additives, and it is one of the largest producers of rubber additives in China and even in the world, ranking second in the world and first in China. The company has two major production plants with employees 1029. The main products are rubber accelerator, anti-coking agent and antioxidant, with an annual production capacity of 32,000 tons. The company's products are widely used in the production of rubber and tires, and exported to more than 30 countries and regions such as Asia, Europe and America, with more than 400 customers all over the world, including the top ten tire manufacturers in China and the top ten in the world. ...
Be pregnant in October and give birth once. After ten months of planning and preparation, at 9: 00 am on July 5, 2007, a gong rang in the lobby of Singapore Stock Exchange, which witnessed the historical moment of Shangshun Chemical's internationalization. "In just ten months, we have completed all the preparatory work required for listing. In addition to the efforts of our colleagues, we cannot do without the strong support and cooperation of the Singapore Stock Exchange and various intermediaries. " On the day of listing, Shangshun Chemical opened at S $0.555, up 42% from the issue price, and its market value reached S $654.38+S $83 billion. Many investors and investors in Singapore also bought it, showing a good and active trading scene.
After half a year, looking back on this journey again, I am glad that I made a wise decision. "We chose to list in Singapore because the listing process in Singapore is short, the threshold is not high, and the required scale is smaller than that in China, which is very suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises like us. Judging from the company's current performance, listing in Singapore not only solves the fund problem of the company's next development, but more importantly, it puts us on a more standardized and international road. "
"Originally, we estimated that we could raise 1 100 million after listing, but we didn't expect to raise more than 200 million yuan, plus the total amount of private placement was more than 300 million yuan. In this way, our next technological transformation, new product development and market expansion have sufficient financial support. " Shangshun Chemical's plan to use the above funds in the prospectus is also being gradually implemented. Among them, a large part of the multi-functional accelerator workshop with an annual output of 6.5438 million tons has been completed, and some equipment is being debugged and installed, which will be put into production at the end of this year and early next year. "The insoluble sulfur project can be produced in 65438+February this year, and the antioxidant will be put into production in March next year."
Listing in Singapore means that you must be responsible to the shareholders in Singapore. Xu also expressed his sincere admiration for Singapore colleagues at the decision-making level of the company. "Two of the company's three independent directors are Singaporeans, and a non-executive director and chief financial officer are also Singaporeans. Whether in corporate mergers and acquisitions or personnel management, their meticulous division of labor, high-level quality and proficient professional knowledge are worth learning. " "Every month, our CFO takes Singaporean investors to visit China Company, which invisibly urges us to step up efforts to improve the overall quality of the company and raise the market price of stocks with rising performance for the benefit of shareholders."
At the same time, Xu will organize company executives to participate in professional training organized by Singapore Stock Exchange and various intermediaries. "The company's professionals who manage legal affairs and accounting affairs are all trained in Singapore. For the unscheduled training organized by SGX in Beijing and Shanghai, we also require the company's senior management to specially arrange time to participate, so as to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of employees and resolutely act in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of Singapore. Through these four or five months of practice, the accounting and internal and external auditing systems after the company went public have indeed improved. "
Singapore's international influence has also benefited Shangshun Chemical. Although Shangshun Chemical has no business in Singapore, its original business scope in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia has been further expanded after listing, and some large companies including Indonesia and Thailand have also taken the initiative to negotiate. "Not long ago, I attended an international exhibition in the United States and met the company's biggest competitor. I didn't expect the company's exhibitors to buy shares in Shangshun Chemical privately. " When Xu revealed the news, his face could not help showing a little smug look.
On June 28th, 2007, 10, Shangshun Chemical held its first quarterly board meeting after listing in Shanxian County, Shandong Province. "This meeting is mainly to summarize the financial situation of last quarter. Although there are not many topics, after the listing, we are not only responsible for the internal, but also responsible for Singapore investors, so we have to face the constant monitoring of the board of directors. Hanging over your head like a Damocles sword! " Speaking of this, Xu, who has always been serious, actually made a joke.
Just as celestial bodies maintain vitality through movement, a gentleman should constantly pursue self-improvement.
Xu is over sixty years old. When we first met, it was hard to imagine that this gentle and humble elder would be the boss of a listed company with thousands of people. He is neither brave nor overbearing. He speaks in a soft voice and is plain. After real contact, you will soon feel his wisdom and humor. His talk is full of profound China tradition and always shines with the light of modern company management ideas.
Perhaps this is due to Xu's "compulsory course" every day-studying the Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Yijing, Laozi and other traditional Confucian and Taoist classics in China. However, he does not agree with the "boss Chinese studies class" prevailing in China. "They just concentrate on studying for a period of time. How can they compare with me reading every day? " For decades, keeping a classic book at hand has become Xu's habit. "These traditional China classics full of philosophy are not only beneficial for being a man and doing things, but also effective for managing a modern listed company."
Perhaps because of this, Shangshun Chemical will be generous in social charity. On the day of listing in Singapore, Xu, as the executive chairman of Shangshun Chemical, donated S $50,000 to charities in Singapore. Prior to this, the donations of Shangshun Chemical had reached more than 2.6 million yuan. In May 2007, the company was just named as one of the top ten charitable units in Heze City, Shandong Province. "I am old, and people are old. Perhaps Xu's greatest wish is to be young and promising, just like young people.